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ONTARIO – The Boys & Girls Club of Western Treasure Valley is kicking off its annual GREAT Futures campaign with gusto thanks to a $15,000 gift from local business and inmate communications leader, Telmate.
"It's an honor to partner with the Boys & Girls Club," says Telmate President and local resident, Kevin O'Neil. "They really make a difference in the lives of kids in our community." Telmate is proud to have been founded in Ontario, Oregon and now has offices in both Oregon and California and is the third largest inmate communications provider in the U.S. thanks to their customer service and cutting-edge technologies.
"I cannot think of a better investment in our children and community than the Boys and Girls Club of the Western Treasure Valley, it just fits so well with some of the other great projects taking shape here," Bentz said. If you would like to invest in local kids through the GREAT Futures campaign, contact Matt Sorensen at (541) 889-7979 or visit www.bgcwtv.org to donate online.
© Copyright 2019, Telmate LLC. All Rights Reserved.


Like all medicines, roxithromycin can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.
Prolonged useroxithromycin is generally used for short periods of time onlyIn rare cases it is used for prolonged periods of timethis may be associated with increased side effectsand your prescriber should monitor you closely.
Roxithromycin is an antibiotic that is used to treat infections such as infections of the chestskin or genitalsIt works by killing or stopping the growth of the bugs that cause the infectionRoxithromycin is available as tablets.
New Developments in MacrolidesStructures and Antibacterial and Prokinetic Activities.
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roxithromycin has been studied and used for a number of different parasitic bacterial infections in non hiv-infected people.


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Scottish actor to unveil new gravestone
Mick Southworth, CEO of The Works UK Distribution, today announced that Scottish actor James Cosmo is to unveil a new gravestone in Greyfriars Kirkyard at 10.30am on February 2.
The gravestone is a memorial for James Brown, former sexton of Greyfriars, who tended the kirkyard during the time that Greyfriars Bobby was in residence. James Brown died in 1868, and although he is buried in the Kirkyard, he was never given a gravestone. for more click here

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Robert & Clara Schumann: A Mercurial Match Made in Heaven and Hell
Posted on September 13, 2017 September 10, 2021 by bradkronen
A Mercurial Match
Made in Heaven and Hell
A Daguerrotype photo taken of the Schumanns circa 1850
The most notoriously romantic couple which emerged from the world of Music during that most artistically inspired of Ages known as the Romantic Era were Robert and Clara Schumann.
Both were musical geniuses in their own right.
Both were considered to be the greatest in each of their respective art forms.
Both were born with the planet of communication as their astrological ruler and hence were both Mercurial to their core.
He, the Gemini, born June 8th, 1810 was a composer and considered to be one of the vanguards of the Romantic Movement of Classical Music with his compositions of musical daring and originality. Today, Robert Schumann has been elevated to the Pantheon as one of the greatest composers of all time, alongside Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart.
She, the Virgo, born September 13th, 1819 was a concert pianist and during her time was considered to be one of the world's best interpreters of the works of Bach and Beethoven, along with promoting and performing the compositions created by her husband, the majority of which were written for her. Today, Clara Schumann has been elevated to the highest level of performing artist, since not only is she considered to be one of the greatest virtuosos of the piano of all time, but the instrumental concert as we know it was structurally of her Mercurial making. Clara's detail driven, Virgoan mind set the artistic standard for all virtuoso concert performance by having any/all music played before the public being fully committed to memory.
Although their union is praised to this day as one of the best examples of romantic artistry that not even Literature's Robert and Elizabeth Browning could surpass, the marriage between these Music Masters is thoroughly steeped in that most Mercurial of mentally perceived forces – Duality.
The marital misconceptions regarding their relationship is not surprising, considering both Mercurial members of this artistically gifted duo dualistically chose as opposite an approach to both their marriage and Life at large.
His soared further and further to the heights of idealistic fantasy.
Hers rooted itself deeper and deeper in the pragmatic grounds of reality.
From an idealistically archetypal perspective, the Schumanns have been placed on the highest pedestal of marital perfection by both Romantic music lover and lover of Romance alike. Artistically, this can be easily understood by virtue of one being the other's Muse of artistic, and just as importantly for the Mercury ruled, mental inspiration.
However, the Schumanns themselves contributed to creating the idealistic mist of romantic veneration extra opaque by their own making. From the day after their honeymoon through the first four years of their marriage, the couple rigorously kept a "marriage journal", where each divulged their most "intimate thoughts" and "genuinely held feelings" on consecutive weekly entries.
The journal was Robert's idea and your author feels this diary of artificial True Love is one of the best pieces of evidence regarding Schumann's inability to cope with both his, and more importantly, HER artistic genius, by virtue of its almost silly sense of unreality.
With such goopy entries full of saccharine Romanticism as the example below Robert wrote of his wife, even the most die hard romantic would have their eyes rolling (although as a Virgo, Clara must have dualistically shed tears of both Joy and Terror upon seeing the "P" word used) :
"She is a gift from heaven…. Think of perfection, and I will agree to it."
Even critiques made by authoritative musicologists about the Schumann Diary broke from their pedagogical standard by being statements which were purely subjective but still accepted as undisputed fact, such as the following quote from Schumann expert, John N. Burk, which states their marriage diary marks the period of time where "Robert and Clara blissfully entered the serene haven of married life."
We now know that this was far and away simply not the case.
Mercurial to the core, upon being married, Robert Schumann's behavior began to reveal that most Mercury influenced of mental afflictions with its dualistic display of opposing extremes, bi-polar manic depression.
Schumann first exhibited signs of the mental disorder in his early 20's and by his early 40's the composer attempted to end his life by throwing himself into the Rhine River at the height of winter. The man who is so artistically revered today was forcibly committed to the local mental asylum in Dusseldorf upon being rescued from the icy water. Horrifyingly, the music great's mental disintegration took place amidst the jeers from the local townspeople who watched the composer's mental collapse from the sidelines of a carnival which was taking place along the river at the time of his demise.
Robert Schumann never returned from that asylum and was very unceremoniously found dead there 2 years later, at the age of 46.
Where Robert's Mercurial nature broke further and further away from reality, Clara's Mercurial sense of practicality became firmly entrenched in it. At the time of her husband's death Clara Schumann was 37 years old and left alone to care for the couple's eight children. Despite her prospects looking chaotically challenging at best, true to her Virgoan essence Clara came up with a solution that not only assured her and her children's survival, she thrived both as an artist and performer by re-emerging on the virtuoso circuit tour as she first did as a child prodigy at the age of 8.
Clara Schumann would go on to outlive her husband by four decades and her career as a concert pianist where she performed before one sold out concert hall after the other would straddle six.
Although there are opposing misconceptions associated with the marriage of this most Mercurial of couples, the lives of Robert and Clara Schumann are resolved to full cosmic completion through their legacies of artistic genius which shall stand firm until the end of Time.
In 1989, Clara Schumann's artistry was commemorated by the German government with her image being imprinted on the 100 Deutsche Mark note. The Virgo's musical virtuosity was highlighted by the use of the lyre image above the "100" deferring to the man from ancient myth who played the lyre like a god with a near perfect sense of detailed precision, Orpheus.
Tags: asylum, bi-polar disorder, brad kronen, child prodigy, clara schumann, concert piano, dusseldorf, gemini, gemini virgo relationship, june 8, manic depression, marriage journal, piano forte, rhine river, robert schumann, romantic music, september 13, virgo, virgo gemini relationship, virtuoso pianistCategories: clara schumann, gemini, mercurial, mercury, robert schumann, romance, romantic era, romantic movement, romanticism, virgo


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	def char_at(self, n):
		return self.state[n]

	def isAnonymous(self):
		return self.state[4] == 'A'

	def isReady(self):
		return (self.state[3] == 'Y') and (self.state[4] == 'N') and (self.state[0] != 'f')

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


I don't think I've ever been as tuned into the TV game show Jeopardy as I was last night. It's usually on in the background while I'm eating dinner. But last night was different. For weeks, I had known that this episode would be featuring questions related to the International Year of Chemistry.
I was eager to find out what questions would be asked … or in this case, what clues would be posed.
About halfway through the episode, and after a commercial break, host Alex Trebek introduces the categories for Double Jeopardy. The IYC logo pops up on the screen, and Trebek says, "This is the International Year of Chemistry, according to the U.N." He then introduces the other categories: musical theater, papal bulls, writers' relatives, what do you stand for, and nothing.
"Isotopes is right," said Trebek.
"The celebratory year 2011 marks 100 years since this radiant scientist's Nobel prize for chemistry," said Trebek.
Rhee: Who is Marie Curie?
Buzzer (signaling no response). "Energy loss in the electrons," Trebek offered.
And the IYC category was finished, with one clue left in the "Nothing" category.
The anhydride clue isn't really correct, though, is it?
I think the term they were looking for is desiccant (or more generally a dehydrating agent).
An anhydride is a organic functional group with two acyl (carbonyl) groups bound to a central oxygen atom.
Looking at some dictionary definitions, one says an anhydride is 'a compound formed in a reaction resulting in the removal of water.' Unless you knew the workings of the mechanism, I can see how this could be confusing. Two carboxylic acids can combine in a reaction to form an anhydride. During the mechanism, a molecule of water is removed from the reactants in the formation of the anhydride, but the net process (ironically) produces a mole of water for every 2 moles of acids reacted.
(In this reaction, phosphorous pentoxide is commonly added to sop up the produced water and is utilized as the (correctly used) dehydrating agent.
Another definition is perhaps more clear, 'A compound from which water has been abstracted.' That's maybe a bit better, but perhaps still somewhat of an oversimplification.
I'm kind of disappointed in that clue.


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Think about when you first learned an exercise – you had to slow things down and really think about what you were doing. This concept should continue well after the initial learning process – there are always ways to refine and improve technique.
Going through the motions mindlessly can lead to sloppy form and potential injury. We want to own our movement, be in control and move with a purpose.


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Author: Williams, Niall
The rain is stopping. Nobody in the small, forgotten village of Faha remembers when it started; rain on the western seaboard was a condition of living. Now--just as Father Coffey proclaims the coming of electricity--it is stopping. Seventeen-year-old Noel Crowe is standing outside his grandparents' house shortly after the rain has stopped when he encounters Christy for the first time. Though he can't explain it, Noel knows right then: something has changed.
This is the story of all that was to follow: Christy's long-lost love and why he had come to Faha, Noel's own experiences falling in and out of love, and the endlessly postponed arrival of electricity--a development that, once complete, would leave behind a world that had not changed for centuries.
Niall Williams' latest novel is an intricately observed portrait of a community, its idiosyncrasies and its traditions, its paradoxes and its inanities, its failures and its triumphs. Luminous and otherworldly, and yet anchored with deep-running roots into the earthy and the everyday, This Is Happiness is about stories as the very stuff of life: the ways they make the texture and matter of our world, and the ways they write and rewrite us.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing


The adult brain usually produces about one half liter (500cc) of CSF daily in spaces within the brain called ventricles. The CSF circulates out of the ventricles, bathes the brain and spinal cord, and is reabsorbed into the bloodstream. Hydrocephalus is derived from the Greek: "hydro"-water and "cephalus" – head. Hydrocephalus usually results either from: 1) an imbalance between CSF production and absorption (communicating hydrocephalus); or 2) when there is a blockage within the ventricular system such as a tumor that prevents CSF circulation (obstructive hydrocephalus).
Ventricular shunt surgery: If a patient's symptoms improve with spinal fluid drainage, a shunt surgery is offered to the patient (and family). The goal of a shunt is to divert CSF into another region of the body where it can be absorbed, such as the peritoneal (abdominal) cavity or int o a vein just above the heart. The shunt is a soft tube that is just over 2mm (less than 1/8 inch) in diameter. The synthetic shunt material is generally very well tolerated by the human body. The entire shunt is implanted either within the skull or under the skin. No components of the shunt are visible outside of the body. Between the shunt catheter in the brain and the catheter that goes to the abdomen or bloodstream, there is a one way valve that regulates CSF flow through the shunt. If there is too much flow, the ventricles will collapse and bleeding can occur. If there is too little flow, the patient's symptoms will not improve.
All NPH shunts that we implant contain a magnetically programmable valve. This allows us to fine tune the shunt function over time to maximize patient safety and minimize complications. Shunt surgery is usually brief and safe. The shunt is implanted under general anesthesia in a procedure that takes about an hour. A small hole is made in the skull, and the membranes between the skull and brain are opened. The brain end of the shunt is gently passed through the brain into the lateral ventricle. The valve and abdominal (peritoneal) end is passed under the skin and then implanted into the abdominal cavity through a small abdominal incision. For venous shunts that are placed just above the heart, a percutaneous, minimally invasive technique is used.
Patients whose symptoms improve with spinal fluid drainage have a better than 80% chance of sustained improvement in gait function following implantation of a CSF ventricular shunt system. Improvement in cognition and urinary function is more variable, but occurs >50% of the time. A shunt is an implantable tube that allows the excess fluid to drain from the ventricles to other parts of the body for reabsorption. The exact type and location in the body of the ventricular shunt system is determined by the treating surgeon. Most NPH shunts are placed from the brain ventricle into the abdominal peritoneal cavity, although sometimes shunts are implanted into a large vein just above the heart using minimally invasive technology.


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[Herald Interview] Director shares hopes, dreams with 'Food Chronicle'
Star documentary director urges fellow creators to adapt to changing viewer attitudes and broadcast environment
By Lee Si-jin
Lee Wook-jung (Tving)
As a documentary director in South Korea, a country where many people believe documentary series are not popular content, Lee Wook-jung had many questions to ask himself.
Recognizing the changes in the way the public enjoys and accepts creative content, Lee tried to blend his experience as a veteran director and fresh attempt in presenting his latest project "Food Chronicle," which targets young viewers.
"Ninety percent of local content are either drama series or unscripted shows. You can say that the era of documentary is coming to an end in Korea. Slots for documentaries are starting to disappear from broadcasters, too. And you cannot blame the viewers for this change," the renowned documentary director, who led the heyday of Korean documentaries with KBS' "Noodle Road" (2008), said during an interview with a group of reporters at his production company in Jung-gu, central Seoul, Tuesday.
The director believed that the creators are to blame for the downfall of the documentary genre.
"In an attempt to present a fast-paced series, we show the stories from six to eight different countries when featuring a specific food in each episode," Lee said.
Local streaming service Tving's first documentary series "Food Chronicle" features eight different types of food -- dumplings, wrapped foods, tacos, pizza, pancakes, sandwiches, sushi and cake -- that have unique shapes. The first three episodes caught attention not only with the presentation of the foods, but also with the surprising stories behind them.
"If you want to be the best sushi restaurant in Japan, you have to know the owner of the best seafood market. The chef needs to build an intimate relationship with the market. I recognized that this kind of bond requires at least 20 to 30 years in the making," Lee said, explaining that even a small dish reflects many sides of a country.
Asked why the director stars in his series as a narrator, Lee said that he wished to be the storyteller for the viewers.
"I recognized that most of the documentary series from the UK and US, countries which are considered to be leaders in the documentary genre, have a presenter. But many Korean projects have a narrator or a host, who is either an actor or an artist, who knows little about the series," the director told The Korea Herald.
Lee felt that the best way to deliver his message and experience was for him to stand in front of the camera.
Still images from "Food Chronicle" (Tving)
"I am not going to star in any future series. But I want to try many ways to make viewers easily understand and enjoy documentaries," Lee added.
Hoping to present the food culture of Korea and make a documentary series that are enjoyed by both Korean and foreign viewers, Lee shared his future plans.
"I wanted to return with the theme of rice. Kimbap, the seaweed-wrapped rice roll, fried rice, bibimbap, hot stone pot rice and rice porridge are something that I am interested in," Lee said with excitement.
An episode of the eight-part food documentary is released at 4 p.m. Thursdays on Tving.
By Lee Si-jin (sj_lee@heraldcorp.com)


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Iran & Syria - Part 2
Saturday, April 4 began with a visit to the Karim Khan Citadel and Baths. King Karim Khan ruled during the Zand Dynasty in the mid-18th Century. He built this fortress and lived in it. Later it served as the governor's headquarters and then, in the 1920's, was converted into a prison. Now it is a museum.
What most captured my attention at the Citadel was a display of old black and white photographs. They provided a glimpse of life in Shiraz a hundred or more years ago. Or at least life for those at the top end of society. It was reminiscent of the way Indian maharajahs and nawabs lived in those days.
Karim Khan was also responsible for building the Vakil Mosque and Bazaar, both of which I found impressive. As a generalization, every major mosque in Iran is a wonder to behold. This is not the place, nor do I have the requisite expertise, to discuss each mosque we saw in a way that distinguishes one from the other. For that I suggest you consult books or articles on the subject and look at pictures.
It is possible, however, to provide a short primer on Persian mosques. Typically they have a dome and an entrance eivan, a barrel-vaulted structure, that leads into a large courtyard surrounded by arched cloisters. Behind these are four inner eivans, one for each direction of the compass. One eivan includes a mihrab that faces toward Mecca. Sometimes the roof of the inner chamber is held up by dozens of columns.
What makes Persian architecture unique is the lavish use of surface ornamentation and color. Tiles decorate the walls and domes not only of mosques, but also shrines, tombs, and more. The peak period for tile making was the Safavid era (1502-1722). Tiles are made in two ways. The best tiles are mosaics, tiny pieces that fit together to form a whole. Less prestigious are square tiles with a painted surface, called "seven colored" tiles. No matter how the tiles are made, the array of colors and overall impact of these structures is staggering.
I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that bazaars are where life happens. Call them by whatever name suits you – bazzars, souks, markets, malls – their common purpose is to entice people into (usually) tight spaces to facilitate shopping. These are the places where everyday tasks are done. But it's more than just doing business or buying things. In the bazaar people relate to each other. They trade information, gossip, argue, brag, opinionate, laugh.
I love these markets. I may not be able to speak the language, but I can observe what's going on, see how people behave with each other. I can feel the energy, the pulse, of the place. Always, no matter where in the world I am, I'm struck by how much the atmosphere is at the same time foreign, alien to me, and familiar. Walk through a bazaar in Asia or the Middle East and you'll see how much people are both different and the same. Watch the children at play. The games may be different but their enthusiasm is universal. Watch the women talking to each other. They may be covered head to toe in black chadors in the Vakil Bazaar, but as they lean toward each other in an animated conversation, they could be anywhere. Have I mentioned that I love these places?
U.S. economic sanctions against Iran have been in place for 30 years. In some ways trade and financial restrictions have had an impact. For example, even though Iran is OPEC's second largest oil producer, most of which it exports, sanctions have made it difficult for Iran to maintain its refineries, so domestically petrol is in short supply. Also, high oil prices helped Iran provide subsidies for its people, but as the price of oil has fallen the subsidies have been reduced.
Even with these negative economic realities, in the Vakil Bazaar and the other marketplaces we visited in Iran we saw few signs of scarcity or a lack of willing buyers. The shops were stocked with a wide variety of items, many of which were imported. Obviously we didn't conduct a serious research study, but our impression was that at least at the bazaar level Iranians were doing OK.
Having said that, we did hear complaints from younger people that it is hard to get ahead financially, that jobs are hard to get, that salaries are not high so it is hard to save, that real estate to buy or rent is expensive so they have to continue living with their parents when they'd rather be out on their own, that they had to delay getting married because they can't afford it.
We followed our Bazaar stroll with lunch at another impressive eating establishment, the Sharze restaurant. We had a table upstairs, looking down on an attractive central courtyard and musicians who were doing a great job of entertaining us.
After lunch we went to the Shah-e-Cheragh Shrine. The shrine houses the remains of Sayyed Mir Ahmad (brother of Imam Reza, who was a descendent of Mohammed and the 8th of the 12 Imams of Islam), who died in 835 AD. Now, this one is a serious piece of work.
Mehdi kind of hustled us into the place without really explaining what was going on. First, Sandra needed to go off to the side and get a chador to wear. It was typical of what is provided for female visitors at many mosques and shrines – a brown, tent-like garment that is worn over the clothes you have on and covers you head to toe. It is difficult to keep closed, so for the novice it is clumsy to wear.
Then he headed her off to what turned out to be an entrance for women. Until then we hadn't realized we would have separate entrances. Sandra, not knowing what to do next, went inside. As it turned out once she was inside some women took her in tow and guided her through the process.
Mehdi then hurried me off to the men's entrance. He was obviously concerned about how Sandra would fare, so I spent less time inside than I would have liked. He didn't want her to come out before we were finished and not know where we were.
I'd never experienced anything like this shrine. The inside was reminiscent of the Hamze Shrine in that the walls and ceiling were covered with countless tiny mirrors that gave off multicolored reflections that were dazzling. There was a decorated floor to ceiling wall in the middle that divided our side from the female side and in essence made one half of the tomb itself available to be seen and touched by each sex.
For Shiites, visiting Shah-e-Chergagh is an important pilgrimage. It is clearly an emotional experience, and many people were quite vocal in expressing their emotions. I was fully occupied in just taking it all in. I would have liked to take pictures but photography is not allowed.
Mehdi gave me just one instruction: when starting to leave I should back away toward the exit so as not to turn my back on the revered tomb. I followed his instructions, and all too soon we were outside again. Sandra, of course, was in no hurry, so we waited some time before she appeared. For both of us, Shah-e-Chergagh was one place we'd have no trouble remembering.
Our final stop of the day was at the Nasir-ol-Molk Mosque. It won't surprise you to hear that it, like all the others, is lovely. But in just two days we'd overloaded on Islamic monuments of various types. It was time to relook at our schedule with Mehdi.
We were originally scheduled to stay in Shiraz the next day, April 5, and see more mosques, palaces, gardens, etc. Then on April 6 we'd head out of Shiraz toward a small village, Bavanat. En route to Bavanat we'd stop at Persepolis, Iran's best-known ancient site dating back 2,500 years, and the nearby necropolis, i.e., rock tombs of the Persian kings, and the tomb of Cyrus in a place called Pasargadae.
Our favorite lover of old stones, Ms. Marsh, had a different idea. How about we go to Persepolis and environs tomorrow and then if the spirit moved us we'd have time for a second stop on the way to Bavanat? While Persepolis itself gets the most attention, the necropolis and Cyrus' tomb were on her agenda and she wanted to make sure that we left no (old) stone unturned and saw everything. Accepting this plan would require Mehdi to alter his idea about what we should do and when (a challenge for him) and he would also need to make some logistical changes. After some conversation the new plan was accepted. We'd go to Persepolis (about an hour drive from Shiraz) tomorrow.
But we still had dinner in front of us today, and it was to be a special one. We'd been invited by Mohammed Yazdanpanah to dine with him and his family at his home. Mohammed owns and manages our tour agency, Let's Go Iran. We realized that for him this was a business dinner, but for us it was another chance to have a meal in an Iranian home.
Mohammed is an impressive guy. He's about 35 and very entrepreneurial. When I was investigating various tour agencies to decide which one to use, I didn't realize that several agencies with different names are owned by the same person. It turns out Mohammed owns about six agencies and has a number of other tourism-related businesses.
My assumption is that Mohammed was particularly interested in taking good care of us because we're Americans. Compared to tourism in other countries, even though Iran has much that could attract tourists its tourist industry is small. And in terms of American tourists, it is tiny. Most of the people traveling to Iran are Europeans. If relations between our two countries improve it is likely that the American market will open up. Mohammed is well aware of this.
He lives with his family in a large house passed down to him through his family. His living quarters and furnishings are upscale. The first thing we noticed upon entering was a huge flat-screen TV tuned to a Los Angeles-based Iranian station. Also at dinner were Mohammed's wife Lada, Mohsen, his younger brother who had been our driver for the first two days, and a friend who owns a well-known Shiraz restaurant, Teen.
Lada was wearing western dress and told Sandra she was free to take off her "uniform." Sandra was thrilled to be rid of her head scarf, at least for a few hours. Then Mohammed offered us drinks. I was surprised, but probably shouldn't have been. I'd heard that in the privacy of their own homes many Iranians disregarded the prohibitions in force when they were elsewhere. He had vodka and scotch. I opted for vodka over ice. It would be the only booze I had in Iran, and I totally enjoyed it.
The dinner and the evening were also totally enjoyable. Mohsen is just finishing an engineering degree and will soon go into the military for his 2-year mandatory service. Lada seems quite westernized and bemoaned the fact that she hadn't been given permission to travel to Sweden, where she has a married sister. The Teen owner (I can't remember his name) brought the food from his restaurant, which was delicious. Had I not known otherwise I would have assumed it was home cooked. We must have had a good time. It was almost midnight by the time we got back to the hotel.
For our drive to Persepolis and for the next 10 days until we flew back to Tehran we had a different car and driver. It was now Mahyar and his bright yellow cab. Mahyar is 29, married and expecting his first child. He has studied computer science but hasn't yet found a job that allows him to use the skills he learned in the university. He fancies himself as an English speaker but has only limited facility in the language. Mahyar is a very nice guy but is not the brightest light in the chandelier. He lacks whatever it takes to learn from the past and not make the same mistake repeatedly. But our relationship with him was as a driver, and he's very good at that job. I doubt there's a person alive who could drive a vehicle I'm riding in and score at the top level on everything I care about, but Mahyar would come close.
Which reminds me – what is it like to drive in Iran? Well, the answer comes in two parts. There is driving on the highway and there is driving in cities. About the former, not many problems. The highways are easy. They are well maintained, the traffic is light, and there seems to be an acceptable level of courtesy on the road.
Driving in the cities inspires a one-word description: insane. Traffic is heavy. There is a winner-take-all mentality. There is no readily apparent concern for the other guy irrespective of whether the other guy is in a car, on a motor scooter or is a pedestrian. In a society where the rules of the game are different for men and women, I saw no sign that sex matters in urban traffic. Nor does being young or old make any difference. Everyone is fair game for the traffic predators, and to be out on the streets assures that you will be either the hunter or the hunted – or both. The only possible exception is large vehicles. Trucks and buses have an advantage and they make full use of it.
As an observer, the only thing that surprised me was that there were not more accidents. Vehicles entering a line of heavy, moving traffic barely slowed down. They forced their way in. And once in the traffic they constantly maneuvered for an advantage, forcing the car next to them to move over, slow down, speed up or stop. The process was never ending. And it seemed to be done without emotion. When someone lost their little mini-war with the next guy they didn't show any anger. I didn't see fist waving or hollering or horn blowing. It was just on to the next battle.
As a pedestrian I was a frightened novice. Intersections and crosswalks guaranteed nothing in the way of safety. On a busy street I'd ally myself with others who were waiting to cross, and then move out when they moved out – hoping that our numbers would act as an inhibitor for the bad guys. It must have worked; I didn't get run down or injured.
Mahyar's car wasn't the newest item on the highway, but it was medium size and under most circumstances would have been acceptable. But I had a concern about whether all our luggage would fit in the trunk. We had two large and two small suitcases. If you know me you know that I don't assume everything is going to be OK. When my instinct tells me that something may be wrong or could go wrong I want to find out in advance whether my concern is justified or not.
I looked at the trunk space. I didn't think it was large enough. But both Mehdi and Mahyar assured me there would be no problem. I expressed my doubt that they were right, but since we wouldn't be packing up and leaving Shiraz with our luggage until the next day I decided to let it go until then. I'll return for the conclusion of this saga in a little while. Today would be about going to Persepolis.
We went to the rock tombs, called Naqsh-e Rostam, first. They are magnificent. Cut out of a cliff high above the ground are four tombs. While there is some debate about it, they are believed to be the resting place of the Archaemenid kings who ruled from 522-404 BC, Darius I, Artaxerxes I, Xerxes I and Darius II. The openings of the tombs lead to funerary chambers where bones were stored after vultures had picked them clean. Alexander sacked these tombs in 330 BC. Below the openings are impressive, well-preserved bas-reliefs that honor monarchs from the Second (Sassanian) Persian Empire that began in 224 AD.
Facing the cliff is a half-submerged stone cube building thought to have been an ancient fire temple. In a fire temple (Surprise!) fire is worshipped. This is in contrast to other temples in which an image is worshipped. I think Mehdi and Sandra were more fascinated by this old cube than I was.
Our final stop before lunch was Naqsh-e Rajab, nearby cliffs in which were carved more large, monumental Sassanian bas-reliefs depicting various military campaigns and victories. While the scenes themselves were impressive, I was amazed that after something like 1,700 years these out-in-the-open rock carvings are in such good shape. I would have thought that erosion and/or earthquakes plus destructive conquerors would have destroyed them.
We ate lunch at Cane Tavoos (don't know what it means), an open-air eatery that exists solely to feed Persepolis visitors. It is an attractive space, with the tables set among trees and next to a pond. Here, as elsewhere in Iran, two things were ubiquitous – music and birds. Rarely were we in a public space in which no music was playing, and most of it was traditional Persian sounds that I found pleasant, not intrusive. So too with birds. They were everywhere. Mostly small birds with small tweets that were easy to enjoy.
For a lover of old stones it doesn't get much better than Persepolis. As you know, I find it hard to visualize how ancient ruins might have looked in their heyday. What I see, to repeat myself, is old stones. But even for an ornery resister like me, what remains today at Persepolis is sufficient to get a sense of what it was like between about 518 BC when Darius the Great began building his empire's capitol city to when Alexander burned it down in 330 BC. It was obviously extraordinary.
The columns, gateways, staircases, statuary, palaces, bas-reliefs, and the sheer scale of the city combine to leave the viewer awestruck and maybe even a little humbled by it all. I'm told that while Persian in ideology and design, Persepolis incorporated architecture and artistry gathered from throughout what was a vast empire.
I won't go into detail about our visit to Persepolis. There are more than enough words and pictures easily available online and elsewhere. We spent both an afternoon and the morning of the next day wandering through the site. It may be the most memorable part of our exploration occurred as we walked down the main staircase of the Apadana Palace.
The wall of the staircase is covered with three tiers of bas-reliefs that depict a procession of 23 delegations bringing their tributes to the king. At the top of the staircase Mehdi told us where the first delegation was from, described the unique aspects of their dress, pointed out the various gifts they were bringing, revealed the little-known symbolism that could be seen in the panel, and more. I thought, "Well, that's interesting. I wonder if he'll do that for any of the other delegations." I should have known. He talked about each and every delegation in detail. All 23 of them. We heard about the Arabs, Thracians, Indians, Parthians, Cappadocians, Elamites, Medians, and the rest. If was a tour de force.
We called it a day about halfway through what there was to see. Sandra had been brilliant in suggesting we organize this day and the next so there was time for a return to Persepolis if we wanted. Which we did. We finished our walkthrough in the morning and then went to Pasargadae to see the Tomb of Cyrus, which was also on the way to Bavanat. I could have done without Cyrus and other ruins in Pasargadae. Maybe it was because they paled in comparison after Persepolis and the rock tombs. Maybe it was because I was over my limit of so many old stones jammed into two days. Maybe it was because they were just boring. Any explanation will do.
On our ride to and from Persepolis I noticed trash and litter everywhere I looked alongside the highway. At first I thought it might be an isolated instance that could be explained. But the more we traveled the more it became clear that this is just the way it is in Iran. It's really a shame, since the natural beauty of the countryside is phenomenal. It's like a massive garbage dump has been spread out to cover every nook and cranny. There were some places, like deep into the desert, where the trash thinned out, but that was a rare exception. Even when we drove through unpopulated areas we saw a lot of debris. I can only assume it is the result of decades of irresponsible behavior and neglect.
We were about to spend our final night in Shiraz. We realized that this was our only stop in Iran where we'd be able to settle into a four-night stay in one hotel. For the next ten days we'd be in each place only one or two nights. Barely enough time to unpack. But we'd knowingly set it up this way, so we weren't inclined to complain.
The itinerary also required many hours of driving most days. I've mentioned my concern about whether Mahyar's car had enough room for our luggage. It turns out when we were preparing to leave the next morning my fears were realized. One of our large bags and the two small ones would fit in the trunk, but not both large ones. "Don't worry," Mehdi said, "we'll put it on top of the car."
I didn't like the idea – at all. But I couldn't see another way other than changing car and driver, which didn't seen like a practical solution at this late date. There's a subplot here. We had contracted to have one person who would be both a guide and driver. It was clear that the agency was having a problem finding such a person. We learned later that there are very few guide/drivers, and Mehdi isn't one. He'd told us at the beginning he wasn't sure if he'd be with us for the entire trip. He didn't say that they hadn't been able to find a guide/driver (this was the high season and guides were in demand) but we could figure out what was going on. Our hope was that even though we'd paid for one person we'd end up with Mehdi and a driver, which is what happened. Thus my conclusion that changing car and driver wasn't a practical solution.
Back to the lack of luggage space. Mehdi and Mahyar started to tie the suitcase to the luggage rack on top of the car. They were hopeless. No way would the bag not fall off. One of the men from the hotel came to the rescue and did a competent job of securing the suitcase. So now we were ready to go – almost. I asked if they had a cover for the bag, since the weather was changeable and it was sure to rain, if not today then someday soon. No, no cover. So we had to stop to buy a tarp. With that in hand we were ready to head to Persepolis and on to Bavanat.
The 'let's put the suitcase on the roof of the car' chapter only lasted for the first leg of the drive. By the time we arrived in Persepolis, even though the thing was securely tied on and we were (kind of) prepared for rain, my displeasure with this solution boiled over. We had to find a way to get the bag inside the car with us. We found that we could wedge it into the space between the two seats in front, which meant it was partially between Mahyar and Medhi and partially between Sandra and me. For us, we now had less space in an already limited back seat area. But it was better than leaving the bag on the roof. Sandra and I switched seats every day to distribute the discomfort fairly.
Part 1 Pictures
Update - Iran & Syria
Iran & Syria
To Twitter or Not to Twitter
A Very Poor Scam


text:
Competing with C++ for games programming
I'm curious as to why C++ is so popular for games development, and not other languages instead. I know you can create very fast code with it, but what exactly is it that makes it popular?
Is it just because it's fast? Is it some other feature in the language, like the OO paradigm or the portability? Is it because of all the libraries that have been created over time? Or some combination of all these (and other) reasons?
If someone could fill me in on this, I'd be very happy. :-)
KasMA1990KasMA1990
migrated from stackoverflow.com Apr 13 '11 at 15:23
\$\begingroup\$ Speed is reason enough for me, especially since everyones' complaints about the language don't really make sense to me. \$\endgroup\$ – Benjamin Lindley Apr 13 '11 at 14:34
\$\begingroup\$ A quick guess: Most games are written for Windows. C and C++ languages have been heavily supported by Microsoft. And Finally C++ is preferred because of OOP and template metaprogramming. \$\endgroup\$ – sad_man Apr 13 '11 at 14:36
\$\begingroup\$ @ Matt Thanks, didn't know it existed. Can I move the topic there, or should I delete this one and recreate it over there? \$\endgroup\$ – Rainbird Apr 13 '11 at 14:36
\$\begingroup\$ This has already been asked several times. \$\endgroup\$ – Zan Lynx Apr 13 '11 at 14:36
\$\begingroup\$ @Benjamin: Then I daresay you haven't written enough in C++, or you've never used a more expressive language like Python (or even C# with LINQ). However, even if for some crazy reason you prefer writing 20 lines code for what many other languages can do in 1, C++'s extremely poor grammar means that programs take significantly longer to compile than they should, and proper IDE tools (refactoring, etc.) are more difficult, if not impossible, to create. \$\endgroup\$ – BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft Apr 13 '11 at 22:38
Numerous reasons:
Big one you missed: It's portable, simplifying ports your game engine to iOS, XBOX, PS3, whatever
It's fast
All the SDKs support it natively
Lots of libraries available
Everyone writing games knows it, so it's easy to hire experienced games devs for your team
It's trivial to embed a game engine scripting language like Lua
Graham Perks
\$\begingroup\$ Alright, thanks for your answers everyone, you've covered everything I needed I think. :-) \$\endgroup\$ – KasMA1990 Apr 13 '11 at 19:30
There are a few reasons, that I'd like to mention in addition to what @Graham brought up.
Legacy Code - many studios have lots of C++ code, goes to your mention of libraries.
C++ is really a high-level assembler, and has direct access to hardware (as direct as you can get running on top of an Operating System at least) and is quite fast. If you want, in C++ you can drop directly down into assembly language for instruction level control (not that it is always wise, its just not possible with Java, C#, Python, etc)
DirectX and OpenGL natively support C++, most other languages have "bindings" to the underlying libraries through intermediate layers, thats not to say they aren't fast or can't do many of the same things, but it adds a layer of software between your game and the hardware.
As @Graham mentions, lots of programmers know it, so its easy to find experienced developers, and its also quite portable, compared to C# which is stuck on the .NET Framework (there is Mono, but it generally laggs a generation behind Microsoft's implementation.)
\$\begingroup\$ Don't you mean low-level? \$\endgroup\$ – jhocking Apr 13 '11 at 16:25
\$\begingroup\$ C++ is a low-level language; but a high-level assembler, IMO. \$\endgroup\$ – Nate Apr 13 '11 at 16:39
\$\begingroup\$ I disagree. C++ is a high-level language, with the build-in facility to fall back on C (which is a low-level language). \$\endgroup\$ – foo Apr 13 '11 at 20:02
\$\begingroup\$ C++ is a high level language, as is C. Assembly is low level. Now, C++ is higher level than C is, just as C# is higher than C++ and Ruby/Python are higher than C#. \$\endgroup\$ – A.A. Grapsas Apr 13 '11 at 21:18
\$\begingroup\$ Why should legacy code be deprecated (not depreciated)? "Legacy code" just means it's old, not that it's bad. \$\endgroup\$ – user744 Apr 14 '11 at 7:12
Raw speed is the primary reason, but actually it's not an either-or decision so lots of game companies are starting to use other languages for parts of the game. Certain tasks require the computer to work as fast as possible (eg. core rendering routines) but many tasks in gameplay code don't have to run all that fast (eg. making the door open when the player clicks on it) which means it is smart to use a much simpler (and thus faster to write programs in) language for those parts. That is why many game engines are written in C++ but embed a scripting language like Lua for writing gameplay code.
The tricky thing to understand is that when choosing programming languages there is an overall tradeoff between efficiency for the computer and efficiency for the programmer. That is, which is more important to you, how quickly the computer runs the code or how quickly the programmer writes the code?
jhockingjhocking
In C++ you can allocate local variables that disappear after the function ends. Usually, these are allocated on a stack.
The stack variables do not contribute to the dynamic memory allocation issues of fragmentation and overhead. Allocating room on the stack is quick and easy (just adjusting a pointer). Dynamic memory allocation usually involves searching a container for an adequate block of memory, marking the memory, then tagging it as occupied. Deallocation involves adding the memory block to a container, and possibly merging it with existing blocks. A lot more overhead than just changing a pointer.
Java and C# allocate memory dynamically, except for primitive types. These languages depend on a run-time environment that will mark a variable to delete, then run a garbage collector at random (unscheduled) intervals to reclaim the memory. In general, the programmer has no control as to when the variable will be tagged for deletion nor when it will be reclaimed (reclamation of used memory is an advanced topic that most C++ and Java programmers don't experience).
The speed of C++ is primarily due to its direct translation to executable code. Java and C# are compiled to an intermediate code which is then interpreted by a virtual machine. In general, interpretive languages are slower performers than directly translated languages.
Thomas MatthewsThomas Matthews
\$\begingroup\$ -1 (if I could) - local primitives are allocated on the stack in both Java and C#, and in C# you can create stack-allocated structs. More to the point, the extremely extremely small increase in speed this nets you is not nearly enough to justify one language over the other. The real reason is stated by @Graham Perks: it's what game developers are expected to know, so it's what new game developers learn, and what new SDKs are targeted for. There are plenty of languages (ex. Go) which are just as fast or faster, and not nearly as inconvenient to write for. \$\endgroup\$ – BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft Apr 13 '11 at 22:20
\$\begingroup\$ C++ is not very good at stack allocation; in fact, it's very hard to allocate STL-compatible objects on the stack. e.g. The last large engine I worked on was in C, and we had a string which you could start on the stack at some fixed size (usually 1K). If it grew past that it transparently moved to the heap. You can do some similar things with std::string custom allocators in C++, but the code is so much trickier to get right. \$\endgroup\$ – user744 Apr 13 '11 at 23:18
\$\begingroup\$ @Joe Wreschnig: C++ is excellent at stack allocation, just dump an assembly language listing. However, most compiler vendors do not allocate a huge amount of memory to the stack. A common understanding of experienced C++ programmers is that Huge objects are dynamically allocated (heap) not local storage (stack). Huge objects on the stack may overrun into the heap on some platforms as the stack and heap grow towards each other. \$\endgroup\$ – Thomas Matthews Apr 13 '11 at 23:31
\$\begingroup\$ A common understanding of more experienced C++ programmers, particularly those on game consoles, is that everything that won't overflow the stack is stack allocated or preallocated. C makes this easy because the allocator is not part of the object's structural type. This also makes it possible to free something incorrectly, but in my experience that is a rare problem compared to someone screwing up stdlib-compatible allocator implementations/compatibility. There are also some tricks with placement new, but again, that's more complicated than the equivalent in C. \$\endgroup\$ – user744 Apr 13 '11 at 23:38
\$\begingroup\$ No. The speed benefit of C++ is due to its ability to use your own custom-written memory manager for heap allocations. Every sane language allocates locals on stack. \$\endgroup\$ – Nevermind Apr 14 '11 at 7:54
Games were once written in machine language, because they had exotic hardware for which there was no compiler. The hardware also lacked features that C programmers take for granted, such as efficient 16-bit integer math.
Once games settled on familiar hardware, C compilers became available and in a short time all games were written in C.
C++ seemed like a good idea at one time, and most games are C++ today, but engineers are now mumbling about a return to C, and that might actually happen. I would love to work on a game in C, and so would many coworkers. There's no feature new to C++ that I think improves games.
It would seem now that computers are 1000x faster than a few years ago, a high level language would reduce development time ($) making C obsolete.
This has not happened because game buyers know that the hardware is 1000x better, and want to trade their dollars for a game that looks and sounds 1000x better. This removes the slack from the system that a high level language would consume.
Performance requirements in games are brutal. A new frame of graphics must be rendered in under 33ms (or 16ms!) without fail. Everything the hardware does must be accounted for, so that this budget can be met. Any language that goes off and does something with the hardware that the programmer doesn't understand or expect is going to make it very hard to meet this budget. This is an automatic minus against anything high-level.
Game programmers not only work in a low-level language, but they shun high-level data structures and algorithms too. Games typically don't have linked lists and seldom have trees. There is a movement towards avoiding pointers whenever possible*. Any algorithm with more than O(N) time or O(1) space tends not to find wide use.
*If a pointer doesn't cause a cache miss, then why spend 32 bits to store it? If a pointer does cause a cache miss, best get rid of that cache miss.
bmcnettbmcnett
\$\begingroup\$ "There's no feature new to C++ that I think improves games." LOL? OOP? A class human with derivates player and enemy? \$\endgroup\$ – orlp Apr 13 '11 at 23:10
\$\begingroup\$ @nightcracker: Basic is-a inheritance works fine in C; the relationship you describe is better implemented using has-a for performance and cleanliness reasons anyway. \$\endgroup\$ – user744 Apr 13 '11 at 23:14
\$\begingroup\$ There is a growing consensus that C++'s OOP features are not appropriate for games, because these features operate on assumptions that are hostile to cache performance. \$\endgroup\$ – bmcnett Apr 13 '11 at 23:43
\$\begingroup\$ Even if you believe that C++ offers no advantages over C you should surely recognize that a return to C offers no advantages over C++ either. \$\endgroup\$ – Dan Olson Apr 15 '11 at 19:08
\$\begingroup\$ @Dan A return to C offers the advantage that "best practices" like not using templates or OOP are enforced by compile-time errors rather than chasing junior programmers around with a stick. Also since the language is simpler presumably compiler and debugger maintenance is cheaper, too. \$\endgroup\$ – bmcnett Apr 18 '11 at 17:37
Every programming languages have strengths and weaknesses across a range of factors. Examples of these factors are:
Speed on a particular platform
Memory usage on a particular platform
What functionality it exposes more readily
What platforms it exists on
What considerations a programmer has to take on-board
One of the most important factors a game programmer cares about is performance. They want to produce an interactive experience, which means it has to be reactive and able to output as much useful (or interesting) data as possible. You want to know how much health you have at any time and don't want to wait for it. And if you click a button, you expect a gun to fire or your character to jump when you say so. A little lag can interfere with this interactivity so you need performance.
Another important factor is preferring to program in the language of the problem, rather the language of the implementation. A game programmer wants to deal with humans, orcs and race-cars, not memory register ED0. They still want the option of diving into the implementation details if they need performance, but it'd be great if for the most part they can deal on the level of the entities in their game world. They have enough to worry about simulating the game world without having to always care about how a linked list works.
C++ fits these two primary factors very well. You can have the performance benefits of assembly or C code with the expressiveness of objects. To see why this is a natural fit for games, compare with some other language options:
Assembly: This is raw power. What you write is basically what the CPU does. But at every stage you need to know what is going on with registers and the effect of this, and it never looks like the entities in your game world. The programmer has to make the mental correspondence of what their code does versus what happens in the game. This can be quite a mental overhead.
C: Here we have good performance, but we can leverage the experience of gurus to get standard things done (like allocate memory, operate on strings and use standard mathematical functions). We get closer to expressiveness here, but the language more or less forces you to focus on the implementation because you can really only operate on normal data types. Everything is really a char, an int or the like. structs, pointers and arrays can hold things together, but still have to think about the internals.
Java: We leapfrog over C++ and get to Java. Java pushes further away from implementation details. In fact, much of the time you don't get access to the lower levels. Java abstracts away much of the implementation details (eg. what CPU or OS you're using) for the reason that it wants to be cross-platform. You can't access the details because they are not there. You don't program for the computer, you program for the platform (the Java platform, which happens to exist on most computers). Moreover, Java has an arguably better language for dealing in the language of the problem than C++. The trade-off is you can't optimize for a particular computer. Whether this makes a practical difference or not comes down to the specifics of the program and the computer.
Game scripting language: By this I mean something like UnrealScript, or custom scripting languages strapped onto a game engine. In these you have no access to the underlying engine. You delegate performance considerations to the engine, leaving yourself free to worry about making a game. It's easier to write the game, harder to optimize its performance yourself.
Haskell (or your favourite obscure language): Any Turing-complete programming language is equivalent to any other. So while you can write any program in any language, you make tradeoffs, some objective, some subjective. A language like Haskell is more focussed on working in a mathematical spirit. The problems it is geared towards are somewhat different the problems faced in games. It doesn't mean it can't or shouldn't be used for games, it's just its not easily suited to it.
The last point is that some of this is historical and political. Many flame wars have been fought between the different programming languages. C# for example might be just as suitable to games development, but it came after C++. Or people don't like that it's from Microsoft. Some people made the move to C#, some didn't. Some people still program games in BASIC, Pascal, and C. Whatever programmers are comfortable with, they'll stick to. Games programmers have mostly been comfortable with C++, possibly because they grew up with C and C++, and it met their needs. If the computer industry is in a state where Java's performance and uptake satisfies enough people, then maybe Java would be the de facto standard game development language.
BrettWBrettW
Legacy and momentum.
Once upon a time code was written in assembler for ultimate performance. As compute power increased, compiled languages became more viable, and C offered the best compromise between power and productivity, at a very basic level being little more than a macro assembler.
C++ was just the natural successor to C. You throw away no former code or knowledge, yet have the potential to expand into new methodologies. C++ is ultimately very flexible, and I've yet to see a design paradigm that can't be at least simulated in C++, whilst being able to maintain near total control over performance.
Simon LaceySimon Lacey
If you're developing for the consoles, you have no choice: the professional SDKs only come in C++ flavors. Usually they also have C access to most things.
Because many developers are Consoles + PC, it makes sense to do all their PC work in the same language and directly share tech.
Because that's where the pro industry lives, and most everyone wants to be a part of that, most game programmers are C++ programmers.
Because all of that happens, most engine developers are C++ developers too, so when evaluating professional grade engines almost all your choices will be C++.
It's all a big self sustaining engine. Disrupting it would require more than just technical advancement.
Chris SubagioChris Subagio
FWIW: C# is gaining in popularity for game development. See Miguel de Icaza's blog post. Very interesting read, IMHO.
\$\begingroup\$ As usual, Miguel pushes his favorite (usually marginal) technologies while ignoring the ways in which C# has actually become a big player in the industry, e.g. XNA. \$\endgroup\$ – user744 Apr 14 '11 at 7:13
Although I'm fairly heavily anti-C, C & C++, the one thing they DO have that few other languages have is complete control over the platform it's running on, you can be sure exactly what will be going on at all times, no GC, no glitches.
This isn't as important these days, but it can be for underpowered platforms.
On PC/Mac/Linux it's probably the least portable language you'll encounter these days, and the speed bonus is no longer that much of a difference--Minecraft (Java) is smooth and works on pretty minimal platforms (and any OS) with a single executable--I've yet to see a low-manpower indi C/C++ app with as much functionality and as few bugs, let alone work on three platforms.
So at this point I'd say that most of it is inertia and the conception that real games are always done in C/C++, although the ability to "port" to iPhone and consoles is significant (Even though I'm fairly sure most of the UI of games take a LOT of effort to port except between Windows and XBox).
Bill KBill K
\$\begingroup\$ Oh, I dunno about it only being important for "underpowered" platforms. The other way to look at this is that gaming is always at the forefront of performance on any platform: any new power is immediately gobbled up. If we're talking professional game development, then performance is pretty much the primary concern: you don't write Unreal without maximizing every single last cycle the machine has to offer. Every; single; cycle. On every level, from the graphics engine and disk access up to your UI loop. \$\endgroup\$ – Chris Subagio Apr 14 '11 at 18:41
\$\begingroup\$ @Chris: The best way I've found to describe it to non-game programmers is that games are a domain where speed is a competitive advantage. If your word processor starts in 5 seconds where MS Word takes 10, or reflows in 0.1 seconds where Word takes 0.2, that's worthless. But if your game can pump out even 10% more fragments or show even one more detailed character, that can be a huge competitive advantage. \$\endgroup\$ – user744 Apr 14 '11 at 18:56
\$\begingroup\$ Then wouldn't it be silly to ever code in anything but assembly? It would certainly be at least 10% faster. There is a point where you make a call to trade off performance for maintainability and speed of development. Generally that point is C++ these days. It'd be nice if the ability to go cross-platform like Minecraft had more of a weight. \$\endgroup\$ – Bill K Apr 14 '11 at 20:33
\$\begingroup\$ Ah, but it's a fallacy that coding in assembly is faster: current chips are complex enough that it's difficult for a programmer to outperform a compiler consistently. Only in more constrained domains like SPUs on the PS3, inner physics loops and shaders on GPUs are there still clear advantages. C++ is indeed currently the sweet spot, with the caveat that OOP isn't always the best choice: the ongoing Struct of Arrays vs Array of Structs discussion isn't exactly a language discussion, but C++ clearly leads you to AoS naturally; Sometimes... you really just want C. \$\endgroup\$ – Chris Subagio Apr 14 '11 at 21:53
\$\begingroup\$ The step in programmer efficiency between assembler and C/C++ is also an order of magnitude greater than the step in programmer efficiency between C and C++, or C++ and C#/Java. Fred Brooks pointed this out 25 years ago. \$\endgroup\$ – user744 Apr 15 '11 at 7:52
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>I've just finished listening to the latest installment on the BBC interview podcast, which is an Interview with John Maeda, who has left MIT to teach at RISD.
John Maeda is a computer scientist who is also good at art and much of his work has been directed at making computers more human. He tells Owen Bennett-Jones that he doesn't like the way computing trends are going — he thinks technology has run its course and that no one knows what to do with it. So he's just left the world of computing to become president of the fine art establishment RISD, the Rhode Island School of Design, in the United States.
NB: If you want to listen to the interview, do it soon. I get the sense that the BBC isn't letting you listen to old audio from the podcast archives. They only expose "this week's" content. Blech.
You've got to listen to the interview to know why this is funny but ironically, I listened to this while eating tofu that was reminiscent of the stuff from my favorite Seattle tofu factory.


text:
Антоні́на Микола́ївна Івано́ва  — українська художниця, представниця школи «бойчукістів».

Життєпис
Клопотами батьків 1908 року отримала можливість поїхати до Петербургу — навчатися живопису у художників — Івана Білібіна, Миколи Реріха, Володимира Щуко, котрі на той час працювали в школі Товариства заохочення мистецтв.

Повернувшись до Києва, художниця вирішує продовжити навчання до 1919 року вступає до Української академії мистецтв. Навчалася у майстерні монументального живопису, керував професор Михайло Бойчук. Серед інших разом з нею навчалися Тимко Бойчук, Оксана Павленко, Іван Падалка, Василь Седляр.

Ставши членом Асоціації революційного мистецтва України, створює низку станкових робіт у техніці темпери. Переїздить до Москви, однак з групою учнів Бойчука, взяла активну участь у розписах Селянського санаторію ім. ВУЦВК в Одесі — 1928 року у співавторстві зі своїм учителем виконала фреску «Селянська родина». По завершенні роботи над фресками повертається до Москви, де на початку 1930-х років у співавторстві з Олександром Мизіним та Іриною Жданко створює цикл розписів у приймальні Московської ради депутатів трудящих.

Пережила важку хворобу, по якій зосталася прикутою до інвалідного візка, змушена була відмовитися від фрескового малярства, звертається до розпису по порцеляні, дерев'яних іграшок із Загорська та декоративного оформлення тканин — розпису по шовку.

1937 року з гоніннями на «бойчукістів» у художниці до фізичної самотньості додається психологічне відчуження, одначе й в наступні роки сталінських репресій художниця, хоч і прикута до ліжка, продовжувала наполегливо працювати, брала участь у виставках московських художників.

Підтримувала контакти з друзями-бойчукістами — Гізлер Галиною Георгіївною, Сергієм Колосом, Охрімом Кравченком, Вірою Кутинською, Ярославою Музикою, Оксаною Павленко, Марією Юнак.

1970 року в Москві відбулася перша персональна виставка Антоніни Іванової.

12 березня 1972 року художниці не стало — задихнулася у чадному диму тісної кімнати — зайнялася пересохла шовкова тканина на абажурі від перегрітої лампи.

Серед робіт
 «Збір яблук в саду» (1920),
 середина 1920-х — «Робота в полі»,
 «Пряля»,
 «Жінка з граблями»,
 «Прачки»,
 1930-ті — «У полі»,
 «Агітатор на селі»,
 «Голова дівчини»,
 «Під деревом»,
 «Хлопчик»,
 «Тридцятиліття Жовтня» (1947),
 «Народний танець» (1950),
 «Радянська Армія» (1951)
 «Портрет Оксани Павленко» — 1950-ті,
 «Прачки» (1963),
 «Катерина» (1963),
 «Пастушок» (1969),
 «Жінка в саду» (1971).

Примітки

Джерела
 Іванова Антоніна Миколаївна  esu.com.ua
 Я була і зосталась бойчукісткою
 Антоніна Іванова
 Стаття про Антоніну Іванову. 1959 рік.

Українські художниці

Бойчукісти
Члени Асоціації революційного мистецтва України

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


There are 155 models recorded for 1965. Click on a name to see models offered and shown under that name in 1965 or look below for a list of model year highlights.
The following models were all-new or significantly updated in 1965. Click on a name to learn more.


From the sea as a Blue Road, as in last week's Perfect Picture Book (Traveling the Blue Road: Poems of the Sea) to the sea as a dreamed-of destination, I've been enjoying quite a few "sea" stories lately. Here's the latest!
Themes/Topics: sea; desert; dreams; gift; kindness; intergenerational; aging; book in translation; #ReadYourWorld.
Ali lives at the edge of the desert, not far from a hundred-year-old palm tree. He likes climbing it to snack on fresh dates. He never forgets to pick a few for his great-grandmother, too.
Brief Synopsis: Ali's aging great-grandmother has always wanted to visit the sea. With bucket in hand, Ali journeys to the sea and and back to share the sea with her.
Fill a bucket with water. Try not to spill any! How far can you carry it? Why is a bucket full of water heavier than an empty bucket?
This story takes place in a desert, where there is little water. Learn about water scarcity and what you can do to help.
What would you do for someone you love? This question is at the heart of A Drop of the Sea. When Ali learns that his aging great-grandmother has always wanted to visit the sea but is no longer physically able to journey there, he sets off on a two-day journey to the coast, bucket in hand, to bring the sea to her: if she can't journey there, he'll bring the sea to her. But carrying a bucket brimming with sea water for two days is no easy task, especially in the hot sun and dry air of North Africa, the setting of the story.
Focused as it is on Ali's kindness, the grandmother's dreams, the "failed" attempt, and the reactions, I think A Drop of the Sea is a thought-provoking reminder of what it means to give and receive, to fail and succeed, to grow more infirm or stronger, and of the importance of actions & experiences over objects. In the midst of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Green Monday and SALE signs accosting us everywhere, perhaps we'd do well to remember that a drop of the sea is all that we, and the children in our lives, need.
Like the text and the setting, Gurudi's digitally-rendered gouache and pencil illustrations are sparse and evocative. Much of the time, the sand appears more like lined-paper than actual sand, and in one spread, the route of the journey appears as a map underfoot. Is Guridi implying that this story is, in fact, a fairy tale or fable, set down here to make us think about timeless issues of aging, water-scarcity, dreams, and gifts? While I don't know the answer, I believe the illustrations add an additional layer to discuss after reading A Drop of the Sea.
As noted above, the title, A Drop of the Sea, almost reveals the outcome of the story. It also, though, is very intriguing, especially when combined with the overwhelmingly simple and beige cover illustration. As authors or editors, we know that we need to weigh the pros and cons of revealing too much or not enough with a title. In this case, I think they made the right choice.
A Drop of the Sea is a simple, straightforward story, with only two characters depicted and little indication of time period, contemporary or historical, or place (we know only that it's a vast desert, a two-day walk from a sea coast, and we presume it's North Africa). Clearly Ali does not live alone with his great-grandmother in a vast desert with no other family, friends or neighbors anywhere near. But as these other characters are not essential to the story, the author and illustrator haven't cluttered the story with them. By leaving others out, I think the author and illustrator have enabled readers to focus better on the issues that matter, namely, the great-grandmother's dream, Ali's attempt to fulfill it, and the outcome. What clutters your story, and what can you strip away to enable readers to experience its heart?
Per the book jacket, French author Chabbert has published "dozens" of books, including several picture book collaborations with Guridi. Spanish illustrator Guridi is an "award-winning illustrator of many children's books".
Read an insightful review of A Drop of the Sea in CM: Canadian Review of Materials.
So sang Frank Sinatra in It Was a Very Good Year, one of my favorite Sinatra songs, especially as my son sang it solo in concert on my birthday several years ago (proud Mama moment!).
While for many, fall signals sugary holidays and the promise of family get-togethers, for others, the falling leaves and withered blooms signal mortality. That Halloween, All Saints Day, All Souls Day and Día de los Meurtos all loom may be no coincidence. For our family, both of my parents entered life in September, and my father left us in September 1997 and my mother this past October. My mother-in-law's passing was 30 Novembers ago. If I read, and review, a few more serious books these next few weeks, perhaps you'll understand why. And thankfully, there are several heart-filled picture books that tackle the difficult subjects of aging, memory loss and death, and grief.
With subtlety and grace, Benji Davies paints a poignant and ultimately uplifting picture of loss.
At the bottom of Syd's garden, through the gate and past the tree, is Grandad's house. Syd can let himself in any time he likes. But one day when Syd comes to call, Grandad isn't in any of the usual places. He's in the attic, where he ushers Syd through a door, and the two of them journey to a wild, beautiful island awash in color where Grandad decides he will remain. So Syd hugs Grandad one last time and sets sail for home. Visiting Grandad's house at the bottom of the garden again, he finds it just the same as it's always been — except that Grandad isn't there anymore. Sure to provide comfort to young children struggling to understand loss, Benji Davies's tale is a sensitive and beautiful reminder that our loved ones live on in our memories long after they're gone.
Read an interview with Jessie Oliveros on Susanna Leonard Hill's Tuesday Debut.
I paired these books because both are intergenerational, showcasing the special bond between grandparents and grandchildren. In Grandad's Island, Davies utilizes a sea journey and a beautiful tropical island as metaphors for death and the afterlife. In The Remember Balloons, Oliveros utilizes balloons as metaphors for memories that pass from the elderly to younger family members. Both deal sensitively with topics that are difficult for children (and adults). It's clear that both authors had a special relationship with their grandparents – these picture books are filled with heart.
See Lane Smith's Grandpa Green, reviewed at Children's Books Heal; Glenn Ringtved/Charlotte Pardi's Cry Heart But Never Break, reviewed at Brain Pickings; Oliver Jeffers' The Heart and the Bottle, also reviewed at Brain Pickings; and Maria Shriver/Sandra Speidel's What's Happening to Grandpa, reviewed by Richard R Blake.


The Train Can Take Us Anywhere!
Union Street Station, Bangor, Maine. 1908. Completed in 1907, the entire country opened up for residents of Maine. It was a new world. Anything was possible at the turn of the century.
Little more than two weeks after receiving Harriet's reassuring letter, early on Monday morning February 17th, William received a call from his sister-in-law Dora who lived in Brewer. Hearing her news, he left his breakfast untouched and caught the train to Bangor. He met Dora at the Union Street Station. They walked to Harriet's Studio where they found it and Christy in disarray, then visited Mrs. Johnson at the boarding house. Harriet was gone. They arrived too late. William returned home to Machias broken-hearted. After a long day and not a bite of food, he sat in his library lit by lamplight, stared into the darkness that loomed outside the windows. Alone at last, he put his hands over his face and quietly cried. That same day, Harriet wrote to her parents. She was on a train bound for the West Coast with Zeke. They were on the adventure of a lifetime. This letter, hand-written in pencil on lined notepaper, was mailed from Vancouver, Washington on February 27th, the same day she wrote to her little sister Elsie. Soon, she sent a letter to Christy. What did Father say once he heard the news? We just escaped by going Sunday didn't we?
This letter will be the biggest surprise I know you have ever had from Harriet. First, I will say Father I could not keep my agreement to you any longer regarding Zeke. I understood how you felt about it and still love him too dearly to be away from him long. I had that if I got Christy started at my Studio in June I would come home. I could give up my music for good but in the last wk. everything has changed and I am beginning a new life and I am happier than I ever was before. Otto wrote from N.Y. and asked me if I would like to go West and stay until June with Mattie and he would pay my bills to go out as he could not go out quite yet. Well! it was a hard thing to decide for I knew what I wanted to do and I knew also what you wanted me to do. It is an education in traveling which I knew never would come my way again as I am on my way out to Portland, Oregon then to Vancouver, Washington. I knew when I came to leave I would have a hard time without going home first and yet if I came home to see you all I think so much of you I could not leave; so unless the news has traveled by wire you will not know until you get this letter. When it came time to leave I found I could not leave Zeke behind and so we were married Sat. Eve at 8:30 at the Parsonage on Union St. by Rev. T. S. Tessendeau. We were published a wk. ago and got a license Sat. A.M. We had a nice wedding supper which Mrs. Johnson prepared to all those in the house and Marie Stewart and Mr. Blanchard; Marie belonged in Machias you know. It was your birthday, a day I decided to be married on as it seemed all the better for me. It is leap year Mama and I am the same age you were. Our wedding was a very pretty and happy one and if you had only felt as you should toward my marrying I should have loved dearly to have had you all there. You will feel badly as no doubt Mrs. Johnson will also for they do not know until Zeke writes them that we are married. I have the dearest and best boy in the world for a husband, you can say what you like as to it but within five years you will decide in my favor. He has plenty of ambition, no bad habits and will take good care of me. We are young and happy so please think the whole thing over and see if you can't forgive me for it. We left Bangor at 1PM Sunday and arrived in Portland at 5:30. Zeke sent a dispatch to Mr. Coombs and the whole family came to meet us with Lewis Palmer who is in Union Station. We stayed with Mr. and Mrs. Coombs until this A.M. at 8:50 and now are on our way to Montreal. We go thro' the White Mountains and on to Chicago there take the Union Pacific to Portland Oregon – Just think what a fine trip – Christy or none of my friends knew until Sat. I was to be married so don't blame anyone but me. I tho't if I went West alone I might be better contented to live in the East. Mr. Harden has given Zeke a fine recommendation and his chances are as good as in the East but we start with little and I think we can hold our own. We can surely come back as well as we went out. I sold my furnishings to Christy and got cash for all and got full as much as I paid for them so I tho't I had done well. I collected nearly all but from Addie Cousins and as soon as I write her she will pay me so I have enough to last a while. Tell everyone that I had a good opportunity to go West and that I am married and if you don't mourn they won't talk long. I shall write as soon as I arrive and let you know how we are situated and all about it and I hope you will not shed a tear for I am far better off than I was before and shall never regret this. Go down and read this to Gram and Aunt Thirza, write Aunt Dora and all feel glad if you can and when I come back which will be before long. I want you to think as much of Zeke as you do of me. It was very sudden the whole thing but sometimes what we don't plan on comes out better. May God bless and keep you all. Much love to you all from us both.
1314 Chumasero Ave. Thurs. P.M.
I will write you a letter now I am actually out here and have gotten a little rested from my long trip. This is all so strange out here that even the houses look odd to me they are so small. Zeke and I arriv'd at Mattie's Sunday A.M. at 10 o'clock and find her in a very cozy new house built like Mrs. Dinsmore's only I like it even better. I was greatly surprised to see how nicely it was furnished but a school teacher built the house and furnished it and run in debt so much she was obliged to leave it. Mattie rents it all furnished so it is dandy. She and the children were delighted to see us and they talk of Elsie because she sent them Valentines. Fritz says you owe him a letter but I told him you never write to me so I doubted if he heard from you very often. We had a fine trip out here and I never shall regret seeing this part of the country. They have just room enough to live comfortable and the kind of house Mama ought to have now. To give you an idea I will tell you what this one is like. There is a front hall, sitting room with arch between that and the dining room, kitchen and pantry and back porch and front piazza downstairs then upstairs there is a bathroom and three sleeping rooms. It is painted white half way and room and upper part stained green. Otto's people are very pleasant and have been over quite a little and they have a pleasant home here. Of course you were surprised to hear that Zeke and I were married and that we came West but I hope Elsie you will write me real often for I am just as interested in home as I ever was and want to hear all the news. The weather is fine here and seems like May at home. The grass is green and no snow this winter here and the rose bushes and trees are budded. It is a great country so far but I haven't had time to look around much. Yesterday I washed and today I have ironed and there is quite a little to do. We had lettuce for dinner and strawberries last night for supper. I must close as Zeke and Fritz are going to the Garrison the largest in the U.S. is here. Much love and write soon.
You will surely think it's time I wrote you but somehow each day has gone by since I arrived and I have written no letters. We had a nice trip out but was very tired and half sick as we were a day late on acct. of snow in Michigan. I think the West is great out thro' Iowa etc. and I never saw such nice farming land – We went right by Iowa State College. Mattie was very glad to see us and I was lucky on her acct. to get here for she is not well at all. I am doing all the work and taking care of the children so I work very hard but it is a change and having Zeke with me we are certainly very happy and I am very glad we were married when we we were. This is a very cozy new house Mattie has and nicely furnished so we are comfortable. Zeke is going over to Portland to make final arrangements with a Mr. Arthur Architect and Contractor for whom he begins work to-morrow. I think he is lucky being a stranger to get a good position so soon. I suppose we will all move over to Portland very soon and there are so many good positions for me open that I am going to work as soon as Mattie is alright again. We stopped in Chicago a day coming out and visited Papa's friends but it was because our train was late. I just had a grand time and am not sorry it happened so. Well! Christy how are you getting on with my pupils? I hope alright but I am anxious to hear from each one. Mrs. Johnson wrote me that Papa and Aunt Dora called on her the day after I left and that she told him how happy I was and all about my wedding. But she didn't say one word about what he said so I am crazy to find out more. He must have called on you so do write me what he said and how he took it etc. You see I have not heard one word from them for no doubt they are too mad. Tell me if there was an acct. of my going or anything in the paper. It seems so long to get letters out here that I am tired of waiting so long to hear from folks. We just escaped by going Sunday didn't we?
Sherry I am really enjoying your blog. Looking forward to reading more.
Thank you Joann! It's so nice to share these letters and stories. There is much more to come!


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