text:
\section{Introduction}

Highly curated labelled datasets have recently been emerging to train deep learning models for specific tasks in medical imaging. Thanks to these fully-annotated images, supervised training of convolutional neural networks (CNNs), either from scratch or by fine-tuning, has become a \textit{dominant} approach for automated biomedical image analysis. However, the data curation process is often manual and labor-intensive as well as requiring expert domain knowledge. This time-consuming procedure is simply not practical for each single task in medical imaging, and therefore, automation is a necessity.

The first step of data curation in medical imaging typically starts from data cleaning where desired images are extracted from a hospital image database such as a PACS system. Due to the nature of such image databases in hospitals, these systems often record important attributes such as image sequences in an unstructured fashion as meta-data in the DICOM header of the images. Meta-data in the DICOM standard, the most widely adapted format for data storage in medical imaging, may seem as a reliable option for automated annotation but it is often incorrect, incomplete and inconsistent. This represents a major challenge for data curation. Gueld et. al. \cite{gueld2002dicomquality} analyzed the quality of the DICOM tag \textit{Body Part Examined} in 4 imaging modalities at Aachen University Hospital and found that, in 15\% of the cases, the wrong information had been entered for the tag because of the user-originated errors. Misra et. al. \cite{misra2016humanbias} reported that labelling with the user-defined meta-data containing inconsistent vocabulary may introduce human-reporting bias in datasets, which degrades the performance of deep learning models. Categorization can be even more difficult for images stored in other formats, e.g. NIfTI in neuroimaging,  where meta-data is limited and/or simply not available for image categorization.

To categorize medical images in a realistic scenario, designing fully supervised methods would require a prior knowledge about the data distribution of the entire database, accounting for long-tailed rare classes and finally devoting significant effort to accurately and consistently obtaining manual ground-truth. In this work, we propose a different paradigm by efficiently using abundant unlabelled data and perform unsupervised learning. Specifically, we demonstrate that large-scale datasets of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) images can be categorized with a generalizable clustering approach that uses basic deep neural network architectures. Our intuition is that categorization of unknown medical images can be achieved if clusters with high purity are generated from learned image features without any supervision. Our approach builds on a recent state-of-the-art method, DeepCluster \cite{caron2018deepcluster}.

Our main contributions are the following: (i) we show that pure clusters for CMR images can be obtained with a deep clustering approach; (ii) we investigate end-to-end training of the approach for both class-balanced dataset and highly imbalanced data distributions, the latter being particularly relevant for medical imaging applications where diseases and abnormal cases can be rare; (iii) we discuss the design considerations and evaluation procedures to adapt deep clustering for medical image categorization. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to perform simultaneous representation learning and clustering for cardiac MR sequence/view categorization and evaluating its performance on a large-scale imbalanced dataset (n = 192,272 images).

\section{Related Work}

A number of self-supervised and unsupervised methodologies have been explored to train machine learning models with abundant unlabelled data. In self-supervised learning (SSL), a pretext task is defined to train a model without ground-truth. While several studies have been explored in the context of self-supervision \cite{gidaris2018unsupervised,bai2019self}, domain expertise is typically needed to formulate a pretext task unlike our work. Similar to self-supervised learning, different strategies of unsupervised learning have been implemented with generative networks \cite{donahue2016adversarial} and deep clustering \cite{yang2016jule} to learn visual features. In this study, we focus on unsupervised deep clustering approaches at large scale. Although this has been investigated in a number of studies for natural images \cite{caron2019unsupervised,caron2018deepcluster}, various attempts in medical imaging have explored them with only limited amount of curated data in contrast to our methodology.

Moriya et. al. \cite{moriya2018unsupervised} extended the JULE framework \cite{yang2016jule} for simultaneously learning image features and cluster assignments on 3D patches of micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) images with a recurrent process. Perkonigg et. al. \cite{perkonigg2020unsupervised} utilized a deep convolutional autoencoder with clustering whose loss function is a sum of reconstruction loss and clustering loss to predict marker patterns of image patches. Ahn et. al. \cite{ahn2019unsupervised} implemented an ensemble method of deep clustering methods based on K-means clustering. Pathan et. al. \cite{pathan2020ynet} showed clustering can be improved iteratively with joint training for segmentation of dermoscopic images. Maicas et. al. \cite{maicas2020unsupervised} combined deep clustering with meta training for breast screening.

One related approach to our study is the "Looped Deep Pseudo-task Optimization" (LDPO) framework proposed by Wang et. al. \cite{wang2017unsupervised}. LDPO extracts image features with joint alternating optimization and refine clusters. It requires a pre-trained model (trained on medical or natural images) at the beginning to extract features from radiological images and then fine-tunes the model paramaters by joint learning. Therefore, the LDPO framework starts with a priori information and strong initial signal about input images. On the contrary, our model is completely unsupervised and trained from scratch with no additional processing. In addition, we do not utilize any stopping criteria, which is another difference from LPDO \cite{wang2017unsupervised}.

\section{Method}

Our method builds upon the framework of DeepCluster \cite{caron2018deepcluster}. The idea behind their approach is that a CNN with random parameters $\theta$ provides a weak signal about image features to train a fully-connected classifier reaching an accuracy (12\%) higher than the chance (0.1\%) \cite{noroozi2016jigsaw}. DeepCluster \cite{caron2018deepcluster} combines CNN architectures and clustering approaches, and it proposes a joint learning procedure. The joint training alternates between extracting image features by the CNN and generating pseudo-labels by clustering the learned features. It optimizes the following objective function for a training set $X = \{x_1, x_2, ..., x_N\}$:

\begin{equation}
\min_{\theta, W} \frac{1}{N} \sum_{n=1}^{N} \ell(g_w(f_{\theta}(x_n)), y_n)
\end{equation}

\noindent Here $g_w$ denotes a classifier parametrized by $w$, $f_{\theta}(x_n)$ denotes the features extracted from image $x_n$,  $y_n$ denotes the pseudo-label for this image and $l$ denotes the multinominal logistic loss \cite{caron2018deepcluster}. Pseudo-labels are updated with new cluster assignments at every epoch. To avoid trivial solutions where output of the CNN is always same, the images are uniformly sampled to balance the distribution of the pseudo-labels \cite{caron2018deepcluster}.

In this study, we keep parts of DeepCluster \cite{caron2018deepcluster} such as VGG-16 with batch normalization \cite{simonyan2014vgg} as the deep neural architecture and K-means \cite{johnson2019billion} as the clustering method, and then we adapt the rest for cardiac MR image categorization, illustrated in Fig.~\ref{figure}. To begin with, we add an adaptive average pooling layer between the VGG's last feature layer and the classifier. In DeepCluster \cite{caron2018deepcluster}, PCA is performed for dimensionality reduction which results in 256 dimensions whereas we preserve the original features. These features are $\ell_{2}$-normalized before clustering. DeepCluster \cite{caron2018deepcluster} feeds Sobel-filtered images to the CNN instead of raw images. In contrast, our method uses raw cardiac MR images in our experiments. We utilize heavy data augmentations including random rotation, resizing and cropping with random scale/aspect ratio for both training and clustering. Lastly, we normalize our images with z-scoring independently instead of using global mean and standard deviation.

\begin{figure}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{figure.pdf}
\caption{Entire processing pipeline of our method based on DeepCluster \cite{caron2018deepcluster}} \label{figure}
\end{figure}

We utilize the UK Biobank cardiac MR dataset which is open to researchers and contains tens of thousands of subjects. The whole dataset contains 13 image sequences/views, including short-axis (SA) cine, long-axis (LA) cine (2/3/4 chamber views), flow, SHMOLLI, etc \cite{petersen2015uk}. These images are in 2D, 2D + time or 3D + time. UK Biobank employs a consistent naming convention for different cardiac sequences and view-planes. We generated ground-truth labels using this naming convention and classified images into 13 categories \cite{bai2018cardiovascular}. To investigate the effect of class distribution on our methodology as well as the training stability, we designed three experiment settings using subsets of the entire dataset: (i) a subset of 3 well-balanced classes (LA 2 / 3 / 4 chamber views), and (ii) the large dataset of and (iii) the smaller dataset of high class imbalance of 13 classes. In these datasets, 2D images at t=0 were saved in PNG format for faster loading and training. If the images are in 3D + time, every single slice in z direction at t=0 were saved. Total numbers were 47,637 images in the dataset (i), 192,272 images in the dataset (ii), 23,943 images in dataset (iii). Example images are illustrated in Fig. 4, and the class distributions are reported at the Table 2 in the supplementary material.

\section{Results and Discussion}

In our experiments, we followed a systematic analysis of the proposed methodology. We want to answer these four questions below:
    \begin{enumerate}
        \item Is it feasible to categorize uncurated large-scale cardiac MR images based on their cluster assignments?
        \item How does the class balance affect deep clustering for medical images?
        \item How stable is training given there are no clear stopping criterion?
        \item How should we interpret the evaluation metrics?
    \end{enumerate}

\subsubsection{Experiment settings:} For training, we set the total number of epochs as 200. Our optimizer was stochastic gradient descent (SGD) with momentum 0.9 and weight decay of 1e-5. Our batch size was 256 and initial learning rate was 0.05. In the literature, there is a large body of empirical evidence which indicates that over-segmentation improves the performance of a deep clustering method \cite{caron2018deepcluster}. Based on this evidence, we set the number of clusters to be 8 times of number of classes in the datasets, which corresponded to 24 for the dataset of 3 well-balanced classes, and 104 for the datasets with 13 classes.

\subsubsection{Evaluation metrics:} We used normalized mutual information (NMI) \cite{schutze2008introduction} and cluster purity (CP) \cite{schutze2008introduction} to evaluate the clustering quality of our models.

\begin{equation}
    NMI(X, Y) = \frac{2I(X;Y)}{H(X) + H(Y)}
\end{equation}
Here $I$ is the mutual information between $X$ and $Y$ and $H$ is the entropy. For our experiments, we calculate two NMI values: NMI against the previous cluster assignments ($t-1$) and NMI against ground-truth labels.

\begin{equation}
    CP(X, L) = \frac{1}{N}\displaystyle\sum\limits_{k}\max_{j}|{x_k\cap l_j|}
\end{equation}
Here $N$ is the number of images, $X$ are the cluster assignments at epoch $t$ and $L$ is the ground-truth labels.

Accurate interpretation of our metrics, CP and NMI, is important. CP has a range from 0 to 1, which shows poor and perfect clusters, respectively. As the number of clusters increases, CP generally tends to increase until every image forms a single cluster, which achieves perfect clusters. In addition, we utilize NMI which signifies the mutual shared information between cluster assignments and labels. If clustering is irrespective of classes, i.e. random assignments, NMI has a value of 0. On the other hand, if we can form classes directly from cluster assignments, then NMI has a value of 1. The number of clusters also affects the NMI value but normalization enables the clustering comparison \cite{schutze2008introduction}. In our experiments, we did not employ any stopping criteria; thus, we always used the last model. In addition, during the training, we did not use NMI between cluster assignments and ground-truth, or cluster purity for validation.

\setlength{\tabcolsep}{0.305em}
{\renewcommand{\arraystretch}{1.2
\begin{table}[t]
\centering
\arrayrulecolor{black}
\caption{Performance of our method for different data configurations after 200 epochs}
\begin{tabular}{cccccccc}
\arrayrulecolor{black}\cline{1-8}
\thead{Dataset} & \thead{Balanced \\ Classes} & \thead{\# of \\ Images} & \thead{\# of \\ Classes} & \thead{\# of \\ Clusters} & \thead{NMI \\ t vs t-1} & \thead{NMI \\ t vs labels} & \thead{Cluster \\ Purity}  \\
\arrayrulecolor{black}\cline{1-8}
(i) & \ding{51} & 47,637 & 3  & 24 & 0.675 & 0.519 & 0.997  \\
(ii) & \ding{55} & 192,272 & 13 & 104 & 0.782 & 0.605 & 0.991  \\
(iii) & \ding{55} & 23,943 & 13 & 104 & 0.745 & 0.609 & 0.994
\end{tabular}
\label{results}
\end{table}
}

\subsubsection{Discussion:} Metrics and loss progression throughout the training are given at Fig.~\ref{metrics_2}. Results of our deep clustering method, which are calculated from features at the 200th epoch, are given at Table~\ref{results}. Our method is able to reach a clustering purity above 0.99 for both class balanced and imbalanced datasets, which shows the feasibility of the deep clustering pipeline to categorize large-scale medical images without any supervision or labels. The class imbalance does not affect overall performance but balanced classes provide a more stable purity throughout the training. We also show that a relatively smaller dataset can be enough for efficient clustering with high cluster purity.

\begin{figure}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{metrics_2.png}
\caption{Training metrics of our method for different data configurations} \label{metrics_2}
\end{figure}

Additionally, we want to extend the discussion about deep clustering at \cite{caron2018deepcluster} to medical imaging in a realistic scenario. One major challenge in deep clustering is the lack of a stopping criterion. Supervised training with labelled data as a stopping criterion could be utilized but this usually requires the prior knowledge of classes, which may not be possible to have beforehand at an unstructured hospital database.
Pre-defined threshold-based methods on evaluation metrics, e.g. NMI and purity from adjacent epochs \cite{wang2017unsupervised}, could be another option but their robustness has yet to be proven. This is why it is important to investigate whether the training diverges. For this aim, we trained the dataset (iii) with 1000 epochs to observe the training stability. As we can see from Fig~\ref{metrics_stability_2}, although we observed some fluctuations in metrics from time to time, they were stable throughout the training, which is similar to the observation at \cite{caron2018deepcluster}.

\begin{figure}
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{metrics_stability_2.png}
\caption{Training stability and metrics for 1000 epochs} \label{metrics_stability_2}
\end{figure}

Lastly, we observed that changes in NMI and CNN loss could indicate changes in clustering quality. Normally, we expect to see a steady increase in NMI and a steady decrease in CNN loss during the training. A sudden decrease in NMI and/or a sudden increase in CNN loss may be a sign of worse clusters generated. However, steady decrease in CNN loss does not necessarily mean better cluster purity. Therefore, we think that it is beneficial to closely monitor not one but all metrics for unusual changes as well as to consider other metrics of clustering.

\section{Conclusion}
In this work, we propose an unsupervised deep clustering approach with end-to-end training to automatically categorize large-scale medical images without using any labels. We have demonstrated that our method is able to generate highly pure clusters (above 0.99) under both balanced and imbalanced class distributions. In future work, expanding the evaluation, adapting deep clustering approaches to other clinical tasks and improving their robustness and generalizability are some of interesting avenues that could be explored.

\section{Acknowledgement}
This work is supported by the UK Research and Innovation London Medical Imaging and Artificial Intelligence Centre for Value Based Healthcare. This research has been conducted using the UK Biobank Resource under Application Number 12579.

\bibliographystyle{splncs04}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


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text:
Home	Mohammad Mithun
Mohammad Mithun
Mohammad Mithun Ali
http://www.facebook.com/mithun08official
Wicket-keeper Right-handed Top Order batsman
Bangladesh, Sylhet Division, Khulna Division, Barisal Burners, Khulna Royal Bengals, Rangpur Riders, Kandahar Knights, Bangladesh Cricket Board Academy, Kalabagan Krira Chakra, Khulna Royal Bengals, South Zone, Bangladesh A, Bangladesh Under-19
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Mohammad Mithun is a prolific wicket-keeper batsman, which gave him a permanent place in the national team of Bangladesh. After making his impact on limited over games, he started his test career against Zimbabwe in 2018 and considered the most-experienced first-class cricketer of Bangladesh in the test squad. In April 2019, he was named in the team of Bangladesh for the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.
Debut Test Match: at Shere Bangla National Stadium Vs Zimbabwe on 11th of November in 2018
Last Test Match: at Basin Reserve Stadium Vs New Zealand on 8th of March in 2019
Debut ODI Match: at Shere Bangla National Stadium Vs India on 17th of June in 2014
Last ODI: at The Village Stadium Vs West Indies on 17th of May in 2019
Debut T20I Match: at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium Vs Sri Lanka on 12th of February in 2014
Last T20I Match: at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium Vs Sri Lanka on 18th of February in 2018
Highest scorer in his first-class debut for Sylhet Division in 2008-2009
Most experienced Bangladeshi debutant with first-class matches in test format with 88 first-class matches

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Representatives of the Aurora Group, the Industrial Technology Research Institute and the Tongtai Group give the thumbs-up at a press conference in Taipei yesterday announcing the launch next month of Aurora's new 3D printer.
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Home Coach Bobby Johnson
Bobby Johnson
February 8, 1951 (age 72)
South Carolina , United States
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Harry Secombe
Distant Laughter
November 18, 2021 September 14, 2021 by The Drinker
The Goons in 1956: L-R: Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe. From a cuttings scrapbook in the Secombe family archive.
'Anyone who does a job of work and at the end of the day has nothing tangible to show for it, apart from his salary, has every reason to feel insecure. All the average comic is left with at the end of his career are some yellowing newspaper cuttings, perhaps an LP or two, and a couple of lines in The Stage obituary column.' Harry Secombe; Preface to The Hancock Companion, Roger Wilmut, 1979.
David Secombe writes:
Comedy is a fragile thing. It is dependent on context. Watching flickering footage of ʻturns' from the nineteen-thirties, forties or even fifties can be a baffling experience. It is usually like watching Arthur Atkinson, The Fast Show's brilliant parody of period stand-up, wherein Paul Whitehouse's Askey- like comic performs a routine of senseless catchphrases and arbitrary physical tics to rapturous houses. Anything from the past that still retains the power to make modern audiences laugh is rare indeed.
My father was Harry Secombe, who is remembered for three things: The Goons, his Dickensian turn as Mr. Bumble in the film of Oliver!, and singing hymns on Sunday night TV. (The latter is not comedy, except inadvertently.) He left a considerable archive of personal and show-business memorabilia, a voluminous assemblage which I have been trying to manage for about forty years. The material comprises letters, notebooks, posters and promotional materials, press cuttings, cartoons, paintings, scripts, 16mm home movies and broadcast material, audio and video tapes, and an avalanche of photographs, of him and by him. There used to be a whole room devoted to this stuff at the top of my parents' house. Looking at the material now is a slightly disorientating experience: leaving aside the weirdness of seeing a close relative treated as public property decades before you were born, it is like seeing history through the prism of one man's career. He was really big in the fifties and sixties; he seemed to be everywhere. How did he fit it all in? Very often the press photos (there are thousands) show anonymous faces, beaming crowds, my father grinning manically if not desperately, or doing totally incomprehensible things in indecipherable situations. He poses for ill-conceived LP covers. He stands next to armies of unidentifiable people in unidentifiable locations; or with unlikely celebrities in unexpected contexts. (For instance, a celebrity canvas of The Last Supper alongside the likes of Stanley Baker, Bernard Bresslaw, Alfred Marks, Lionel Bart, John Gregson, etc., with Richard Harris as Judas Iscariot and ʻrugby star' Clem Thomas as Jesus Christ. The artist was Andrew Vicari, and I invite readers to look him up because his is such a strange story.)
Study photo for Andrew Vicari's 1960 version of The Last Supper. Richard Harris is well into character as Judas Iscariot, while Bernard Bresslaw's Simon the Canaanite is ripe for 'Carry On Calvary'.
The photos and cuttings and home movies are mute souvenirs of occasions my father turned into anecdote. I grew up in a large house in suburban Cheam, a landmark property (it was on a main road opposite a bus stop) decked out with the trappings you'd associate with late 1950s showbiz success. Notable features included a white baby grand piano, a panelled, Danish-style study with a built-in hi-fi and screen for showing movies (a room I still aspire to recreate), and a bar for entertaining. The bar was equipped with an implausibly extensive array of booze (including undrinkable display-only beverages like Bols Gold Liqueur) arrayed on glass shelves behind a counter dressed with miniature Doric columns. My father's favourite drink was Pernod: a perfect match for the décor. He was a fabulous raconteur and the bar was a little theatre for him to trot out his party pieces: Mike Bentine farting in polite company was a favourite story, as were the ones about his chaotic stint as a junior clerk in a colliery office when he was fifteen (touchingly, he kept a post-war letter from the same office, offering him his pre-war job back), as well as countless soldier's tales. When I was young my father hosted an annual charity cricket match on the sports ground opposite the house, and the bar was the focus for the evening's socialising, with all manner of personalities barnacled around its embossed leatherette finish. The sheer glamour and excitement of those times is so remote now; that was the mid-late seventies, but it was a throwback to early sixties style. Who has a bar in their house now?
My father's career was sparked by the fact that at the war's end he couldn't believe he was still alive; and the archive reflects the intoxicating excitement as his career gathers pace and begins to shape the post-war moment. The Goon Show catered to an audience that had survived the war only to find themselves stuck in the drab fifties. ʻYou've no idea how grey the fifties was' my father said, and the decade had been conspicuously good to him. The fifties seems impossibly remote now, an impoverished era when opportunities for fun seemed to be on ration along with just about everything else. The fact that the Goons made it onto the BBC at all is a kind of miracle, and it's no wonder that contemporary audiences were either deliriously thrilled or utterly baffled. But young people loved it. The Beatles were awestruck when George Martin told them, during Abbey Road sessions for their first LP, that he'd produced records for The Goons. (Jane Milligan has a nice family photo, taken in the 1970s or 80s, of George Harrison kneeling in homage at Spike's feet.)
But all things fade. The house in Cheam was pulled down in the early eighties, shortly after my father sold it, and somehow an era went with it. I am always happy to hear The Goons repeated on Radio 4 Extra, and today the BBC broadcast The Last Goon Show Of All, a 1972 reunion special which, perhaps, has a slightly rueful quality, given that the seventies weren't working out as well for the participants as the extravagant success of the fifties and sixties seemed to predict. Ten years later, Peter Sellers was dead and my father started doing those Sunday night religious TV shows which killed off any chance of a return to comedy. (He was teetotal by then too.) That the Goons remain funny is largely a testament to Milligan's genius; but Spike knew he was supremely lucky to have Peter and Harry on hand to people his enchanted world. But there is something unnerving about hearing joyous studio laughter coming from beyond the veil: a kind of memento mori I suppose. There's my dad laughing on the radio: in his prime, decades younger then than I am now. Anyway, to mark my father's centenary, the archive is being shipped to The National Library of Wales, and I am sure that they will take very good care of it. I leave you with a portfolio of unexplained images, snapshots from another era, another world, and if you have any idea what is going on in any of them, please let me know.
David Secombe is a writer and photographer.
Categories 20th Century, Artists, Celebrities Tags Arthur Atkinson, British comedy, Harry Secombe, Peter Sellers, Spike milligan, The Beatles, The Goon Show Leave a comment


Hengdian World Studios is one of the largest artificial film studios in China. It is located in Hengdian, Zhejiang Province.
Much of Legacy of China was shot using the Hengdian Studios in March 2008.
This is the opening scene shot at Hengdian World Studios, showing two Generals which are about to greet Qin Shi Huang, the 1st Emperor of China.
The supernumeraries were recruited locally from the surrounding villages.
The picture shows a scene in the region of Guilin, which is famous for its karst mountains and the unsurpassed beauty of the Li River.
Guilin fishermen used birds (Cormorants) to catch fish. These large birds are tied to the fishermen but have enough rope length to dive for fish. They cannot swallow their catch because a ring device is placed around their throat hindering them from doing so. The fishermen often fish at dawn and use their long poles and lamps to light their way. The lights attract schools of fish and make it easy for the cormorants to catch them.
The traditional Yushu Horse Racing Festival takes place each year from July 25th to 30th. The festival is a pageant of the local Yushu Tibetans who are dressed in their traditional costumes. The program includes horse racing, Tibetan tumbling, horsemanship, archery, shooting, dancing, and singing.
The festival was used to introduce and explain the impact on warfare which the invention of the stirrup had in the 3rd century BC. The stirrup allowed accurate shooting of weapons and a close association between horse and rider that has continued to this day.
The stirrup was unknown to ancient cavalry armies including the Persians, the Romans, the Egyptians, and the Greeks.
Every year on the 28th of September the Birthday of Confucius is celebrated in Qufu, the hometown of the great philosopher.
The philosophy of Confucius was primarily concerned with the proper relationships between human beings. He stated different rules for different kinds of social interaction including family life, the correct behavior towards friends and elders, and the relationship between the Emperor and his citizens.
New York has many examples of one ancient Chinese invention, the suspension bridge.
Chinese engineering of the suspension bridge manifested an advanced understanding of physics as early as the 3rd century AD. The West did not build suspension bridges for at least another 1800 years.
The Anlan Suspension bridge across Minjiang River in Dujiangyan was built about 300 AD. It is the first of its kind in China. It was 261m long and was supported by wood pegs, stone piers, and bamboo ropes of 500m length.
This ancient Greek theatre was designed in the 4th century BC and provided space for an audience of 15,000 people. Greek theatre was used for drama, in a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece between 550 and 220 BC.
The design of Greek theaters allows for excellent acoustics. The audience could easily hear an actor speaking without amplification. In fact, you could even hear the sound of a match struck at center-stage.
In 1264 Emperor Li Tsung gave a banquet in the Palace Hall in honor of his Empress-mother, Kung Sheng. A display of fireworks was supposed to impress the guests. Probably by accident, an unpredictable squib, nowadays known as the "ground rat", raced towards the Empress-mother and frightened her greatly.
The ground rat firework is most likely inspired by another Chinese invention, the rocket. Developed around 1150AD, rockets were first applied in warfare in 1206 by the Sung Chinese defending the city of Hsiangyang against the Chin.
The Dongyuan Well is still producing 20,000 m3 of natural gas a day. It has accumulated a total of more than half a billion m3 �C an uncontested world record.
As early as the 1st Century BC, during the Han dynasty, the people of Sichuan province drilled for "brine" (a combination of salt and water) in order to produce salt. Often it required to drill hundreds of feet through rock. Instead of finding brine only, they often also found gas. The Chinese started to channel the gas through bamboo tubes and used it to heat giant iron pans in which they placed the brine. The heat made the water vaporize and thereby separate from the salt. This marks the beginning of the Chinese gas industry, which started operating about 1400 years before the West did.
In 904 A.D, Song Dynasty military forces used gunpowder devices against their primary enemy, the Mongols. The weapon was "flying fire" (fei huo), an arrow with a burning tube of gunpowder attached to the shaft which instilled terror among both men and horses.
Director Jonathan Finnagan and Director of Photography (camera operator) Grant Mason with a crew of 65 persons at the Hengdian World Studios, shot the opening sequence of the film.
The TV series was recorded on a super 16mm film and transferred to HD (high definition TV format). For the film production, a highly sophisticated lighting system was used.
You can see how the camera is set up on "tracks"in order to guarantee smooth movement of the visuals. No efforts have been spared in order to create a visual masterpiece.
Family Mo lives in Guanxi Province in Southern China, an isolated rural area hundreds of miles from Shanghai. The family has been living there for hundreds of years and their property has been passed on from generation to generation. As the air is particularly fresh and everything else also seems to be better than anywhere else, the Mo's believe that there is very good "fung shui" in the area. The family counts about 50 to 60 people who all participate in the agricultural production.
In the Chinese culture, family life has always been extremely important. In the rural south, up to 100 relatives may live together under the rule of the oldest male. "Five generations under one roof" is said to be the ideal case.
Younger generations are expected to obey older ones, to show respect towards them and to maintain the good reputation of the family name.


Keeping you bulldog in tip-top shape is easiest with a daily spot check on 10 different areas prone to issues that can quickly get out of control.
Dry, chapped noses are part of a bulldog's makeup, and those noses can crack and become crusty without proper care. Apply a daily dab of a natural moisturizer, such as hempseed oil, rosemary extract, almond oil or Vaseline. Shea nut butter and Vitamin E are two more options that double as natural sunscreens if you guys are planning a day in the sun.
Wrinkles act at the perfect pocket for moisture and germs that can quickly turn into bacteria and fungus. These painful and nasty infections often come with an unpleasant, yeasty or mildew-like odor, gunky buildup and a dark color on the skin or hair beneath the fold, wrinkle or rope. Daily cleaning is a must, and it can be as simple as a quick wipe of the wrinkle, folds and ropes to keep the bacteria and fungus at bay.
Eye irritations are big in bulldogs. If left untreated, your bulldog can end up scratching his eye or rubbing his face on hard surfaces to find relief, two moves that can result in permanent eye damage.
Gently lift up the area covering your bulldog's gums to ensure his gums are a healthy pink color. Gums that are pale or white can indicate serious internal distress and merit an immediate trip to the vet.
Because bulldogs are prone to heart disease, keeping their teeth clean is vital. Untreated plaque buildup can make its way to your dog's heart, contributing to serious cardiovascular stress.
Keep an eye out for dark spots around the teeth, cleaning them with a pet-safe toothpaste on any type of toothbrush. Professional teeth cleanings are recommended as regularly as you can afford them.
Steer clear of dental procedures that require anesthesia, which can pose a high risk for serious complications due to the bulldog's compromised respiratory system.
Baby wipes or hydrogen peroxide applied with a cotton swab can work for routine cleaning, but medication may be required for more serious issues. Severe chin acne merits a vet visit.
A full skin and coat check lets you check for any number of irregularities. Look for irritations, lumps or bumps, redness, open sores, odd discolorations, flaking, crusting and other signs of dryness.
Your dog's coat should always be soft and shiny. Bathe your bulldog every two weeks to wash off irritants and use a moisture-infused shampoo and conditioner to keep the coat soft and healthy.
Bulldogs' compromised anatomy makes it impossible for them to reach their genital areas to clean themselves. Gently clean the areas with a hypoallergenic flushable wipe every time your dog urinates. Keep an eye out for unusual discharge, odd smells, redness, spots or irritation, which are possible signs of potentially serious problems.
Most bulldogs have corkscrew tails that hug their bottoms, a prime place for feces to become trapped. Keep infection at bay by gently cleaning your bulldog's bottom the same way you would wipe a human baby after every poop.
Bulldogs with tail pockets require daily cleaning of the pockets with a wet wipe or antibacterial solution while checking for strange odors, discoloration or irritation.
Check in between your bulldog's toes for redness, cysts, bumps, cuts or splinters. Pay special attention to the areas between the toes and underneath the paw pads when bathing your dog, as these areas are prone to sensitivity and irritation.
Your bulldog's nails should be trimmed short, but not too short. Learn proper nail trimming with this helpful video.
Weight gain can be a hefty issue with bulldogs, with each extra pound of weight equivalent to 50 pounds of pressure on your dog's joints, ligaments and bones. Bulldogs' low activity levels make it easy for them to rapidly gain weight, with some gaining 5 pounds in just a few weeks.
Exercise is an ideal option if your dog needs to lose weight, although bulldogs can't perform exercise like most other breeds without the risk of injury or overheating. Check out a number of bulldog-safe activities that can help him improve strength and lose weight in our section on Exercising your Bulldog.


A Kimberley Hall wedding at Christmas! As if Kimberley Hall isn't magical enough at any time of the year! It's one of my favourite Norfolk wedding venues, literally just down the road from our home. Kimberley Hall was where Lisa & Paul celebrated their wedding with friends and family. I knew this wedding was going to be fun because earlier this the year we met for their engagement shoot at Wells next the Sea on the North Norfolk coast.
The boys were getting ready at Park Farm, as were the girls, in separate rooms of course. I do love to cover the groomsmen's preparations as well as the bride's whenever possible. It's definitely possible when they're at the same venue, and a great way for me to get an idea of the 'main characters' of the wedding day.
Photography is all about light, the quality of it makes such a difference to wedding photographs. Thanks to Lisa & Paul for not choosing the 4pm slot!
Lisa & Paul's wedding speeches were hilarious. There were lots of 'head in hands' moments and so much laughter in the room. These two love to travel, as do many of their friends so I can't wait to follow their instagram account for honeymoon photographs.
It was great covering your day! And what a great way to end my wedding photography commissions of 2017! Thank you to softley events for Sarah's work on the day, and to Constance Rose for her beautiful wedding bouquet and flowers.
Many congratulations to you both! I know you're dying to see these wedding photographs, so here you go – more tomorrow!


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Tag: hugs
I Love The Person She Has Become
Published on March 22, 2011 March 22, 2011 by Kristin BryanLeave a comment
I watch her as she handles life, friends, school and responsibility and I think to myself, "I love the person she has become."
As a mother, one of our many worries in life is who our children will grow up to be. Will they aspire to greatness? Will they know happiness? Will they be good people? Will they be the amazing and successful individuals we think they can be? These are normal parental questions that we all ask ourselves at one point or another. And, there are times, let's just get this out there, that we want to simply close our eyes from the sheer exhaustion of it all and hope for the best…especially when they become adolescents!
My sister, who raised an adolescent before me, told me once, "Relax, she's an adolescent and adolescent means to simply to be immature…you can't expect someone in the throes of adolescense to do everything you want them to do, it's just not going to happen." Wise words from someone who did it before me and very good advice because I found myself in a constant state of worry that my child would not make good decisions or display some long-term effects from the stress of divorce and a strained relationship with her father. I worried that every pull away from me was a signal that something was wrong.
What I've learned is that parents who are engaged in their child's life will innately know when a pull is just a sign of independence or a sign of a problem. Our children will absorb our guidance and our love even if they do not express it; they pay more attention to us than they want to admit. I've also learned that my child is who she is, she's not me and that difference is something that a parent needs to consider. Our children will most definitely approach life with a different view or tackle an obstacle in a way that is completely foreign to us but that's okay, because they are who they are and that should be celebrated.
I love who she's become and I'm even more excited to watch who she will eventually be. I am discovering there is a fine line to walk, as a parent, learning to allow our children to be whom they want to be while at the same time guiding them towards their potential. What fun this is, what beauty unfolds everyday; it's like watering an exotic plant and waiting to see it in full bloom.
Categories building self-esteem in children, Children, divorce, enrichment, gratitude, happy children, How to raise a happy child, living in the present, making someone happy, Motherhood, Obstacles, parent, parenting, parents who are active in child's life, Raising Children, raising grateful children, single parenting, Teens, Uncategorized, women•Tags Appreciation, attitude, building self-esteem in children, Children, Daughters, divorce, empowering yourself, empowerment, Gratitude, Happiness, hugs, parents active in childs life, positive parenting, relationships, single mothers, single parenting, womens issues
Locked Inside the House of Fear
Published on February 22, 2011 by Kristin BryanLeave a comment
"Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven't half the strength you think they have." — Norman Vincent Peale
There are times in our lives when we reach a crossroad before us and we haven't a clue how to proceed. We are faced with a challenge, a difficult decision or a painful life dilemma and it lingers around us begging for answers. We want out of the house of fear but end up succumbing to the safety net of not having to make a difficult decision because we are afraid of the unknown, afraid of the obstacle and unsure of the path we should take. We have all been at this point; however, what separates us from the rest is how we overcome the fear and conquer the obstacle that is keeping us from reaching goals or simply moving life forward.
Fear keeps us from success because it causes deep-rooted insecurity, anxiety and low self-worth. This unfortunately leads to poor decision-making and/or ignoring the inevitable or on the flip side, ignoring the possible.
I was fortunate to be among a group of women at a professional women's event recently where one of the speakers said something powerful that resonated deep inside, "If you must make a difficult decision, ask yourself this question, am I making this decision out of fear or out of courage?" – Dr. Deborah German. Dr. German's point being, always make your decision out of courage, even if you fail. The courageous decision will move your life forward, allow you to unlock the door and exit the house of fear which releases you from the anxiety and insecurity blocking your success.
Many of us find ourselves facing obstacles everyday, some more difficult than others; however, as women, as mothers, as friends we have the power within to fight back, be courageous, be supportive of each other and move our lives forward; leaving behind the house of fear and opening doors to finding success and pursuing wonderful new dreams.
Categories building self-esteem in children, Children, divorce, Fatherhood, Fear, gratitude, happy children, How to raise a happy child, making someone happy, Motherhood, Obstacles, parent, parenting, parents who are active in child's life, Raising Children, raising grateful children, Teens, Uncategorized, women•Tags Appreciation, attitude, building self-esteem in children, Children, Children who are grateful, dreams, empowering yourself, empowerment, Fear, Gratitude, Happiness, how to raise a happy child, hugs, learning to live as a single mother, Life, parents active in childs life, playtime, Raising Children, raising children as a single father, single mothers, womens issues
This One's for the Single Dad
Published on October 5, 2010 by Kristin Bryan2 Comments
Thank you to the Single Dad who gets it…
Although he is not listed as the primary caregiver on the divorce papers, he never stops giving all of his heart and all of his soul to care for his children.
Thank you to the single dad who wholeheartedly participates in his child's life. He conducts his share of the "pick up and drop off" at school, volleyball practice and Karate. He learns to boil water, make an awesome hot dog, iron school uniforms and can't wait to play wiffle ball in the park, because it means so much to be with his kids.
A big thanks to the single dad who chooses to drive a car loaded with miles, weathered paint and worn out seats because that means there are no more car payments and it frees up extra cash to buy the airfare, hotel and rental car required to see his children as much as possible. Thank You to the single dad living miles away who decides to use his personal days and vacation time to make the recital, the school play and a baseball game or two. Thanks to the single dad who arranges a special "daddy/daughter date night", only to spend most of it listening to his teenager talk incessantly about things he cannot really comprehend but tries desperately to understand, because he loves her. Thank you to the single dad who understands that no matter what happened between the mother of his children and himself, his children remain his priority and he chooses to take the "high road" during angry confrontations or unfair accusations, because he knows the young tender hearts of his children could never comprehend the complicated emotions of adulthood.
Thank you to the single dad for not giving up on himself, his children or the world around him, even when his heart slowly breaks as he views a little league game in the distance, wanting nothing more than to be there with his own child. Thank You to the single dad who understands how much his presence in his children's lives contributes to their emotional stability and their happiness. And although they may not know it now, his children will someday recognize the sacrifices, the unconditional love and the support that he generously and unselfishly gave from his heart. Thank you to the single dads who have plowed through the negative stereotypes to be a force of strength, love, stability, reason, discipline and courage for their children and the children who will someday be our tomorrow.
Categories building self-esteem in children, Children, Dinner, divorce, Family Dinners, Fatherhood, Food, happy children, How to raise a happy child, making someone happy, Motherhood, parent, parenting, parents who are active in child's life, Raising Children, Teens, Uncategorized, women•Tags attitude, Attitudes, building self-esteem in children, Children, Daughters, divorce, dreams, Happiness, how to raise a happy child, hugs, Inspiration, learning to live as a single mother, Life, mothers, parenting, positive parenting, raising children as a single father, single fathers, single parenting, summer, teens
Spread the HAPPY and Don't Wear White After Labor Day
Published on September 15, 2010 September 15, 2010 by Kristin BryanLeave a comment
At my house we give these awesome little "Happy's" to each other. Not all the time, just now and then and I think it's such a cool idea (which I cannot take credit) that I wanted to share it with all of you today. I really love this…here is how it started.
During my first job out of college I met one of my dearest friends, Susie. She was (and still is) a lovely, gracious and beautiful Southern Belle with perfect skin and hair (of course). I, on the other hand, with a lot of the SoCal girl still in my blood and a love for all things a bit left of center, flip-flops and my Jeep, didn't exactly scream "Debutante", but hey, I managed. Anyway, I think she was the first person to embrace my somewhat offbeat personality and I think I might have been the first to admire her complete sense of style and total togetherness. It was then, and is still today a relationship that I treasure. Not only did I learn more than I ever thought I could learn about the appropriate wardrobe for good Southern girls (like never wearing white or patent leather after labor day (which was never and is still probably not a rule in California), she taught me a little something about spreading happiness to the ones you love.
A "Happy" is a little surprise gift you give to a friend, a loved one, a spouse or a child. It's a simple gift that says "you're important to me". A "Happy" doesn't have to be expensive or a one-of-a-kind treasure, just personal; no breaking the bank on this one. One of my first "Happy's" from Susie through the years was a necklace. It was not just any necklace because it had a little glass bird charm on the chain and she knew I LOVED birds. How thoughtful, how very cool it was to have her sunshiny self drop by my house with a "Happy" for her friend. It meant so much to me and made me feel so good that she thought of me that day and she didn't even realize it had been a difficult week. This was the little ray of happiness that gave me a smile and made me feel like things were looking up.
I adopted this creative gift giving ritual and use it with my family. Although sometimes a "Happy" in our house is simply bringing home their favorite ice cream and movie, It's also finding my daughter a fun set of earrings and wrapping them up in a colorful bag and placing it on her bed so she will find it after school or surprising my nieces with cool and colorful flip-flops. It's a small gesture that delivers a big dose of wonderful.
So here's a challenge; think about a little something special you can bring home tonight to your kids, the hubby, significant other or a fantastic neighbor and start spreading the "Happy" beginning today!
Categories building self-esteem in children, Children, Dinner, divorce, Family Dinners, Food, happy children, How to raise a happy child, making someone happy, Motherhood, parent, parenting, parents who are active in child's life, Raising Children, Teens, Uncategorized, women•Tags Attitudes, building self-esteem in children, Daughters, divorce, dreams, Happiness, how to raise a happy child, hugs, Inspiration, learning to live as a single mother, Life, Love, mothers, parenting, parents active in childs life, playtime, positive parenting, Raising Children, relationships, single mothers, single parenting, teens, womens issues


Starting on or about Monday, Feb. 6 and continuing until Feb. 24 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project crews will construct sign foundations in two areas along the north side of the Hourly/Daily Terminal Parking Lot at Dulles International Airport.
Left lane closures will occur on Saarinen Circle from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and traffic along the perimeter road in the terminal parking lot will occasionally be flagged for safety as needed around the work areas. See the diagram below for more detailed information.


These days, regular business cards just won't cut it. You need to have a unique design and make it convey what you do with more than just words. If you're a cardiologist, now you can hand your patients a business card with a built-in electrocardiogram.
Made by MobilECG, this self-funded ECG business card uses your thumbs to give you a readout of your pulse and beats per minute on a tiny screen built into the card.
While this is a neat invention and a great way to leave an impression on somebody, MobilECG makes it clear that this is a toy, and not something that can replace a professional ECG. Routine ECGs in the medical industry require 10 different electrodes attached to your limbs and chest to get an extensive diagnosis of your heartbeat.
This ECG business card uses a button cell battery, which MobilECG Founder Péter Isza told Mashable lasts for at least an hour of continuous use. Unless you put both your thumbs on the touch pads on the back, the card stays in standby mode and doesn't use any power.
The front of the MobilECG business card, which doubles as an ECG on the reverse side.
If you're interested in getting one for yourself, you can sign up online and MobilECG will let you know when it is available. They list the price at approximately $29, but if there is a lot of interest it could end up costing less. Isza said that after they posted about the card on the website 9gag, they have received a lot of interest from the Internet.
One of the most interesting aspects of this product is that it's all open source, so if you're on the technically handy side, you can check out exactly what makes it tick and even build one for yourself. MobilECG offers the full schematics in PDF form.


text:
package es.polgomez.data.repository;

import es.polgomez.data.mapper.DataMapper;
import es.polgomez.data.repository.datasources.api.IPointOfInterestNetworkDataSource;
import es.polgomez.data.repository.datasources.api.PointOfInterestNetworkDataSource;
import es.polgomez.data.repository.datasources.database.IPointOfInterestDataBaseSource;
import es.polgomez.data.repository.datasources.database.PointOfInterestDataBaseSource;
import es.polgomez.domain.PointOfInterestDetail;
import es.polgomez.domain.PointsOfInterest;
import es.polgomez.domain.repository.PointOfInterestRepository;
import rx.Observable;

public class PointOfInterestDataRepository implements PointOfInterestRepository {

    private final PointOfInterestNetworkDataSource networkDataSource;
    private final PointOfInterestDataBaseSource dataBaseSource;
    private final DataMapper dataMapper;

    private DataPopulate dataPopulate;

    public PointOfInterestDataRepository(IPointOfInterestNetworkDataSource networkDataSource,
            IPointOfInterestDataBaseSource dataBaseSource) {
        this.networkDataSource = (PointOfInterestNetworkDataSource) networkDataSource;
        this.dataBaseSource = (PointOfInterestDataBaseSource) dataBaseSource;

        dataPopulate = new DataPopulate(dataBaseSource);
        dataMapper = new DataMapper();
    }

    @Override
    public Observable<PointsOfInterest> getPointsOfInterest() {
        return Observable.concat(
                dataBaseSource.obtainPointsOfInterest(),
                networkDataSource.fetchPointsOfInterest().doOnNext(dataPopulate::populatePointsOfInterest)
        ).map(dataMapper::transformPointsOfInterest)
                .first(pointsOfInterest -> pointsOfInterest != null);
    }

    @Override
    public Observable<PointOfInterestDetail> getPointsOfInterest(int pointId) {
        return Observable.concat(
                dataBaseSource.obtainPointOfInterest(pointId),
                networkDataSource.fetchPointOfInterestDetail(pointId).doOnNext(dataPopulate::populatePointOfInterestDetail)
        ).map(dataMapper::transformPointOfInterestDetail)
                .first(pointOfInterestDetail -> pointOfInterestDetail != null);
    }

}


PRIME Minister David Cameron has definitely not grasped the new "kinder" way of doing politics announced by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn last week because he used his keynote speech at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester last Wednesday to describe Corbyn and his views as "security- threatening, terrorist-sympathising, Britain-hating".
Cameron said: "But you only really need to know one thing: he thinks the death of Osama bin Laden was a 'tragedy'," — a deliberate lie because what Corbyn had actually said was that it was a tragedy that Bin Laden had not been brought to trial first — a lot of important information would have been made public but clearly his killers did not want that to happen.
And Cameron went on further to vilify Corbyn, whose honest and straightforward politics and whose huge working class following clearly has the Tories rattled.
Earlier in the week we had Chancellor John Osborne tried to gloss over the report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies that his proposed increase in the minimum wage to £7.20-an-hour (he calls it the "living wage") will go nowhere near compensating low paid workers for the cuts he plans to make in child tax credits.
These cuts are part of the £12 billion cuts in welfare spending that Osborne has ordained, which the IFS warns will hit people who have jobs hardest. So much for making work pay!
Instead of admitting a mistake in his sums he claimed to be doing a favour to these families by reducing their total annual income by over £1,300 a year.
"The low paid will suffer if I don't cut their tax credits," said Osborne. He claimed this round of cuts will "finish the job" of clearing the deficit, arguing that reducing the payments to people in low paid jobs would give them "economic security" by reducing the Government's spending deficit. Even Boris Johnson opposed the cuts in child tax credits.
Young workers have even worse to look forward to as the minimum wage for those under 25 will be pegged at £6.70-an-hour while for those aged 18 to 20 it will be £5.30-an-hour and for those under 18 £3.87-an-hour.
According to Government Minister Matthew Hancock this is because workers under 25 are "not productive enough" to deserve the full minimum wage, revealing the Tories' contempt for young workers.
Unison General Secretary Dave Prentis said: "Remarks like this show just how out of touch the Government is. Young people are every bit as productive as older workers, and can have just the same responsibilities as their more mature workmates.
"A young home care worker, for example, has to do exactly the same stressful job as the older colleagues on their team, and probably isn't even getting the minimum wage as many aren't paid for their travel between appointments.
"Younger workers under 25 with families face a double whammy. First they are denied a pay rise and then they get hit hard by the planned cuts to tax credits.
Throughout the conference the Tories were also being nasty to each other as senior figures made tentative leadership pitches — anticipating Cameron coming unstuck over the European Union referendum, if not over the effect of "pig-gate", which delegates and press alike seemed reluctant to mention.
George Osborne, Boris Johnson and Theresa May seem to be the three leading leadership contenders but May's speech on immigration was so vile it even riled a commentator from the Telegraph.
And he goes on to point out that May's claims fly in the face of the Tories' own research into the effects of immigration.
The Tories also proposed setting up their own Tory trade union organisation, according to Robert Haflon, the Tory party deputy chair.
The Conservative Workers and Trade Unionists movement is intended to recruit working class Tories to infiltrate unions and support "moderate" policies and even stand in union leadership contests.


A private and confidential letter from J.B. Manson (Director of the Tate, 1930-1938) to Flechtheim, on 9 Dec 1936, in which he asks for the latter's help acquiring a defence witness for a libel case against the Tate. The libel action was brought by Maurice Utrillo (French painter) who, although alive at the time, was recorded in a Tate catalogue as having died in 1934 as a confirmed dipsomaniac and after living many years under restraint.
For more general information about Alfred Flechtheim, refer to the description at NGA27/32/4.


With prices soaring in the capital, the concept of owning your own home can seem a distant dream for those renting in London.
Some house hunters are choosing to escape the heat of the city and looking further afield for apartments at similar cost to what they could afford in London. Some are even finding that migrating out to the suburbs can give them the chance to afford a house over an apartment.
This rings true for a young couple, Callum and Chloë, who recently bought their first home in Horndean, Hampshire.
Callum Kelly, 30 and his fiancé Chloë Ferrier, 29 could not believe their eyes when they entered The Old Brewery development from Linden Homes, just at the bottom of the A3 in Hampshire. Previously renting in Ealing, London, the couple were looking to make their move onto the property ladder but found they could not afford a home in the capital.
The house hunters were shown a number of properties at the stylish Old Brewery collection from Linden Homes and fell in love with a two-bedroom home nestled on the hill.
To assist with getting the necessary funds together for their new home, Callum and Chloë took advantage of the Help to Buy scheme. This scheme is applicable on properties up to the value of £600,000 (other terms and conditions also apply), and buyers are required to provide just a 5% deposit to then borrow a further 20% from the Government in the form of an equity loan. Buyers then only need a 75% mortgage agreed by their bank or building society to secure their dream home.
Callum explained: "I was aware of the Help to Buy scheme and had originally been looking at Help to Buy 2 – available on the second-hand properties. However, after some research we realised Help to Buy 1 (the scheme applicable to new build homes) was a far better option; the 20% loan was a massive helping hand for us.
Embarking on their new chapter as first-time homeowners, Callum and Chloë are starting from scratch so didn't have any white goods or appliances. As with all Linden Homes, the two-bedroom house purchased by Callum and Chloë came with a fully fitted kitchen and bathroom. Their new kitchen is complete with an integrated and guaranteed fridge/freezer, washer/dryer, oven, hob, and extractor fan; perfect for the couple starting out.
Now, the two are settling into their new routine in the leafy Hampshire village of Horndean, which has all necessary amenities at its fingertips including a deli, a bakers, a post office, a local shop, and a selection of pubs and restaurants. Callum and Chloë are finding that they benefit from splitting their time between London and the Hampshire countryside with ease.
Callum who works as a credit controller in New Malden, Surrey is finding the commute to work each day in the car manageable, as is Chloë to her gardening job in Dorking, Surrey, just up the A3.
The Old Brewery at Horndean was home to the former Gale and Co Brewery, whose familiar tower has been preserved as part of the development from Linden Homes. The award-winning housebuilder has created a large selection of new 2, 3 and 4 bedroom homes and will be launching some refurbished apartments later this year (2014).
Rowlands Castle railway station is just two miles away from The Old Brewery and Havant station offers direct, regular services to London Waterloo. There are excellent road links too, to London, Southampton and Portsmouth via the A3, M27 and M3.
Currently, there are a number of 2 bedroom apartments and 3 bedroom houses available.
For more information on the properties available at The Old Brewery in Horndean or the Help to Buy scheme, please visit the Linden Homes website or call 0844 488 3119.
For further information, contact Claire Cathersides or Emma Cox at Remarkable on 01962 893893.


This session is dedicated to the introduction of APIs and will be divided into two parts.
The first part will let you know more about how to deploy the APIs, how to use them, with some examples of portals and the design process, and prototype and creation.
You will need to bring your laptop to perform the exercises with TIBCO Mashery. The software required for the session will be available during the workshop.


My new Envirovent arrived Friday afternoon; all shiny and new and... uncorroded. Isn't it pretty?
It took most of Sunday afternoon, and a good bit of Monday to install. First I had to patch the holes in the bottom slab, then drill new holes, in a different diameter and configuration. Then I had to mount the fan on the wall, where I discovered that the old vent used 4" ducting, and the new one only 3", so I had to scrounge up some insulation to pack around the pipe, and I still need to jury-rig a collar and vent hood on the outside of the wall to keep the fiberglass in.
After that, it was a matter of connecting the bits. Screwing the hose clamps tight, to connect the dryer duct to the fan, and to the "plenum cup" that goes under the kiln. Threading the spring onto the monopod and the pod into the cup and then--the hardest part--lining the darn thing up so it's tight against the bottom of the kiln, right in the middle, where the new holes are drilled.
Lastly, reattach the lid, put in the peephole plugs, and test the fan. Which you do by turning it on, then putting a lighter next to each of the holes in the lid and watching the flame get sucking into the kiln. Which it did. Success! And I'm no longer tripping over kiln parts in the middle of my studio.
Been sick and miserable all week, as what initially seemed to be a very bad allergy attack morphed into a persistent head/chest cold. No fever, oddly enough, but buckets of snot, irritated throat, cough, the works. Fortunately a little ahead of schedule making pots for my next firing, so only had a little studio time, throwing one last batch of pie plates (we're down to three in inventory) and tall mugs. Mostly, though, I blew my nose. Constantly.
Finally started feeling humanish Thursday, so went down to the studio to get organized for glazing and see if I could figure out what was wrong with the left electric kiln. Apparently, it'd been blowing a circuit breaker before reaching cone 6, making it useless as a glaze kiln. This is the one I found, nearly pristine, at an estate sale a few years back, so I didn't think there was anything wrong with it, but you never know what a year in a busy shop will do.
Karen said they'd installed a new breaker, and wondered whether we should swap the right and left kilns to see if that might narrow the problem down a little. Thought I'd do some lower-impact detective work first.
First thing I did was open the kiln control box. (Well, the first first thing I did was make sure the circuit breaker was off.) The new computer-driven Skutt kilns don't actually show you much--well-labeled leads plug into a well-designed switch block, but all the actual circuit boards are hidden behind a sheet-metal and insulation barrier. Still, everything was plugged into its proper place, no signs of heat or wear.
So I pulled out the plug; here I saw a clue. The nylon faceplate showed a little toasty color around one of the three prongs. I took the faceplate off, but didn't see any further sign of damage in the wires or connectors inside the plug, so set that aside.
Took a flashlight to the outlet itself next. The contacts in the slot corresponding to the over heated prong were black, corroded with copper oxide, so I opened up the box, at which point the problem was obvious. One of the electrical wires had overheated, melting insulation back a good inch from the outlet and frying the bakelite itself. The copper wires were variously pink from the surface melting and resolidifying, and black from corrosion. Messy.
So I disconnected the plug, cutting the wire on that side, as the setscrew was welded solid, and took it to the nearest hardware store.
Where they didn't recognize it, didn't have it, didn't think they were even manufactured anymore. Tried to sell me a different 50A/240V outlet, and when I said the plug wouldn't fit, brought out a clothes dryer power cord. No, guys; just no.
The nearest electrical supply store was in Whitaker, about a half mile further, but they had no trouble rustling up a replacement receptacle. Which didn't fit the circuit box, when I got it back to the Club. Thought I was gonna have to make another round of errands when Jon reminded me that we had a stash of used electrical bits on a shelf in the kiln room, and one of them turned out to be an outlet box in the correct size, complete with a matching faceplate. Success! I pulled out some slack in the cable, cut a couple of inches off the three leads and re-stripped the insulation. Took three hours, all told, and I had to disconnect and reconnect that outlet three times before it all fit together, but in the end, we had both kilns running again. Total cost? $15.26.
Had a couple of less-than-optimal firings just before Christmas, so I decided to see whether a little kiln maintenance might help. I already tightened up the chimney back in December (the bricks expand and push apart over many firings. Gaps allow in cold air that reduces the draft).
1. Take a vacuum cleaner to the burners, clearing out scale and detritus from the venturis.
2. Tear down and rebuild the bag walls. These are hard-brick dividers between the flame trough (where the burners shoot in burning gas) and the ware chamber itself. They're about four bricks high, and divert the flame up to the top of the kiln, where it will be drawn back down through the pots and shelves before exiting through a flue in the floor (and isn't that a tongue-twister). Extreme heat on the outer face has caused them to lean toward the outer wall, constricting the flame as it enters the kiln chamber. I tear them down to the bottom layer, reversing most of the bricks--they've actually started to warp, a little--and shimming them up with ceramic fiber to true them up vertical again.
3. Tighten up the bricks of the door, mostly by banging them with a hammer and two-by-four, to eliminate gaps and get the door face mostly flat again. I also brought in wrenches to tighten down the tie rods that hold the bricks in place in the steel work. We really need to get some new valve springs--the pair we have now are almost crimped flat. Automotive valve springs are often used in kiln frames to allow for expansion and contraction with heat. This set seems to have given as much as they have.
I'm hoping this will make for a better--at least more normal--firing Monday.
ETA: Aaand, it seems to have worked. Cones dropped together, same temperature top and bottom from about cone 1 all the way to the end. Used 64 units of gas, substantially better than the last two outings. Could even trim that down a little next time, as the reduction was pretty heavy throughout, could be a bit less.
A few commemorative photos from the first firing of the new kiln.
The first one is the full stack, before firing. Second, the computer display, diligently firing through the night--currently just passing 1130° F. The last is the following morning, with the display flashing between temperature, time fired (11.49 hours) and CPLT. Complete!
Studio still very warm, despite the half-doors open and the fan running. The EnviroVent seems to have completely removed kiln fumes, though. No smell of sulfur at all.
Dismantling my old kiln is a project in and of itself.
These old Olympics were an early experiment in modular design. Each ring had its own control box, which plugged into the box below and above it using standard extension cord plugs. This was always a weak point in the design. Expansion would push the plug and socket apart, little by little, until the contacts were far enough apart that they'd arc, and presto, dead plugs.
I'd replaced about three of them, oddly enough always in the top box, before I gave up and just hard-wired them together. It took another ten years before the bottom set blew, at which point they were treated likewise.
So to get the kiln out of the studio, I first had to reverse this process. As there's a chance someone else will be putting this back together again, I carefully labeled all the wires and connections.
After that, it's just a matter of destructive distillation. Disconnect the power cord from the wall box. (Of course the circuit breaker is off. Whaddya think, I'm an idiot?)(Oh, right, I'm a potter. Never mind.) Slide the hinge pin out so I can take out the lid. Carry out the rings, one at a time. Throw away the broken bottom slab (fortunately, I have an extra, so the kiln is still useable). Knock all the rust off the stand and take it outside.
Cough and choke in the dust. Remember to put my dusk mask back on. Vacuum up the rust, dust and cobwebs.
Before I can install the new kiln, I need to commit carpentry. Specifically, to cut a hole in the wall for the EnviroVent.
I kill a 2-inch hole saw and a jigsaw blade making the hole. Back when I installed my first kiln, I thought it would be a good idea to fire-proof the wall, so I covered it with HardiBacker, cement board used in tile-laying. Turns out that stuff is death on saw blades. My neighbor Bob takes pity on me and loans me his SawzAll so I can finish the job. (Now I have tool envy.) A standard dryer vent slides in the hole, and a few nails hold it in place.
Installing the new kiln is comparatively easy, stepwise.
1. Connect the controller to the power supply. Set aside.
3. Bring in bottom slab, carefully position on the metal base. The points where the shelves post need to be supported by the legs of the base.
4. Put down some 1" stilts, then the bottom-most kiln shelf. (Needs to be raised up so the vent can draw air out the bottom.
5. Bring in the rings, one at a time in the proper order. Line 'em up and latch 'em together.
6. Bring in the lid; slide the hinge pin back in place and secure it. Position the prop and discover the screw that holds it in place is missing. Go looking for another screw to replace it. Find out the screw isn't missing, it's broken off. Fortunately, I have a screw puller, so make short work of this problem.
8. Reconnect the power leads to the bus block. Plug in the thermocouple. Close the box and screw otto the frame.
9. Say a quick prayer.
10. Flip the circuit breaker. Display reads PF; this is normal when current has been interrupted. It interprets it as a power failure. Press Clear and the display reads IDLE and 67 degrees.
Oh my God, guys, I have a new kiln.
So, strange things from the very start. The switch on the vent cord is rated at 15 amps. Bi-Mart only has that model in a 3-amp rating; Jerry's has a 6-amp version. The fan motor itself seems to only draw 1.1 amps, so I figured I'd be safe with the switch from Jerry's.
The duct was another thing entirely: it's stainless steel, held on with set-screws and silicone sealant, and didn't want to go back to its proper shape for any amount of squeezing, tapping or vise-gripping. Finally, I stripped off the sealant, unscrewed the screws and pulled the whole tube out. I fortunately had a piece of pipe about four inches longer, left over from a studio project, that I could use as an anvil. I slid the duct over it, suspended both ends from sawhorses, and hammered on it until it approximated round again. Rescrew, reseal, and the vent is ready to go.
For some reason, the previous owner had the kiln up on wheels. Possibly easier to position; definitely harder to load, as the casters raise up the kiln a good four inches. Fortunately, they're only bolted on, so come off easily enough.
I decided to decommission the KilnSitter entirely, which necessitates several calls to Skutt. It looks like I can just join the red, black and white wires together and cap them off, then clip the ground close to the box, but I want to be sure, so I call customer support.
They haven't got a clue either. White wire? What white wire? Also, the red and black wires don't seem to connect where the diagram says they should. I shoot them a couple of photos of the inside of the sitter and computer box, then give up for the weekend.
On Monday, we hear back with good news: He's found the relevant circuit diagram deep in their archives. This is when I find out how old this kiln really is.
It turns out I was mostly right: the red and black leads do connect. The white wire only provides power to the limit timer, so it can get cut out entirely, as can the ground. After some scary discussion about whether I should run the red wire directly to the mercury relay (mercury relay?) instead, I choose the better part of valor (i.e. cowardice) and just cut both wires, twist them together, and screw on cap.
Well, not quite. I have most of the bricks I need to replace, neatly bundled with the kiln, although I still need to order one more down from Portland, so there's another week gone.
Replacing the brick is not that complicated. First, I have to tease out the elements from the grooves in the bricks, remembering to first pull out the element pins holding them in place. This needs to be done right-side-up, as the pins are nigh onto invisible otherwise.
Afterwards, I get Denise's help to flip the ring over, as all the broken bricks are at the bottom. I loosen the stainless steel jacket by turning the screws on a set of hose-clamps that are split in half and spot-welded to the frame. Once that's done, it's not too difficult to slide out the broken brick and slide in the replacements. Two of them aren't too badly busted, and all the pieces are here, so I stick them back together with Sairset, a high temperature kiln cement. Tighten down the jacket, thread the elements back in, and press them into their grooves with a plastic putty knife while replacing the pins. And throwing in a few extra, for good luck.
I think it was last November, though it might have been the year before. I'd just had to repair my bisque kiln yet again, when I got an email from Shelly about a kiln she'd found on Craigs-list. It looked like a beauty, a Skutt 1227 (about 30" across the inside, 27" high, same size as my old Olympic), but with computer controls, so basically self-firing. It had been only lightly used, then stored for nearly a decade. The price was not bad, either, somewhere in the range of $2000. (New, they're more than twice that).
It would have been the perfect kiln for me, but for two drawbacks. First, it was in Mt. Vernon, Washington, well on the far side of Seattle, almost to Anacortes (Heck, almost to Canada). Getting there and back to collect it would be a two-day trip. And that was the other drawback.
It was November. I was frantically making pots for my first holiday firing, followed by glazing, firing, unloading, then loading up the van and going to Clayfolk, down in Medford. Come back, and repeat for Holiday Market. There was no possible way to eke out two days anytime before New Years to go kiln hunting.
So I sighed and went back to the studio.
In reply, it sounded even better. Computer control and EnviroVent (a nifty system that pulls noxious gases out through the bottom of the kiln and vents them out doors). Eight kiln shelves. Used briefly as a bisque kiln in North Carolina, shipped to Oregon and then stored in the garage for, this is sounding spooky, nearly a decade while the owner cared for her dying husband. At this point she's decided she's never going to be a full-time potter again, and it's time to let the equipment go.
Current retail value of this package would be around $4500; she's thinking of asking half.
We play phone tag for a couple of days, and when I finally reach her, prepared to offer $2000, the price has gone down to $1800. I put the check in the mail the next day. Sight unseen, not even a photograph. That weekend, we unload the van so that Monday we can drive down to Ashland to collect our new baby.
Okay, it wasn't that bad. It was indeed a hardly used Skutt KM 1227, but one of the earliest models, from around 1997. Nobody quite trusted the computer controllers back then, so they'd ordered it with controller and KilnSitter. Dismantling it for transport was easier than with my old kiln, but not nearly as modular and plug-and-play as the current generation.
Oh, and the movers had kinda beat the crap out of it when they moved it from Carolina. Four of the bricks on the bottom row were broken, as was the screw that holds the lid prop in place. The cord switch on the vent was missing a piece, and it looked like they'd stepped on the outgoing duct of the vent. It was squashed flat.
The EnviroVent itself was also an early model, but that might actually be an advantage. The Type 1's had a burlier squirrel-cage fan, and mounted right into the kiln frame, unlike the newer models that press up against the bottom on a spring-loaded monopod.
The kiln shelves were pristine. But they were also one-inch mullite, which is heavy as heck, so I'll probably not be using them.
So, not a bargain, but not an unfair price either. But it's going to take a bunch of work before I blithely sail into the world of care-free, computer-controlled firings.


Numbers matter significantly in enrollment and admissions marketing, from increasing the applicant pool to lowering student acquisition cost. However, numbers can distract colleges and universities from their primary focus—making meaningful connections with prospective students-and ultimately hurt recruiting efforts.
NAM Youth Marketing, a college and youth marketing company, understands college students' wants and needs, and is utilizing this knowledge to reinvent higher education marketing using a human-centric approach. NAM believes in the necessity to create 360-degree engagements that build brand awareness, resonate with students, and inspire action.


and television to inform the United States about his order to send U.S.forces to blockade Cuba. The blockade was in response to the discovery of Soviet missile bases on the island.
of post-World War Two foreign policy.
President Carter (left) raising a toast to the ousted Shah of Iran.
Admitting the deposed Shah of Iran to the U.S.triggered the Iranian hostage crisis, effecting American-Iranian relations.
A man holds a sign during a protest of the crisis in Washington, D.C..
was on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
deaths of fellow notorious criminals Bonnie and Clyde.
was killed there by FBI agents.
and Qusai died after a gunfight with U.S. forces.
day in 2004. The 575-page report concluded that hijackers exploited "deep institutional failings within our government." The report was released to White House officials the day before.
we know it today, on this day in 1957. It was originally called the Flyin-Saucer.
and caught, providing endless hours of game and sport.


text:
Веряжка — река на территории России, протекает по Волосовскому району Ленинградской области. Левый приток Лемовжи. Длина реки 47 км, площадь водосборного бассейна — 307 км².

До конца XX века нижнее течение реки от существовавшей тогда деревни Гусина и до устья именовалось «Гусинка».

Исток реки восточнее Реполки, в урочище «Дача Чикина» (высота 107 м), далее протекает по болотам, окружающих насыпь бывшей железной дороги Веймарн — Тихвин. Протекает по ненаселённой местности. Впадает в Лемовжу в 16 км от её устья, у деревни Мазаная Горка.

В урочище Верест реку пересекала железнодорожная линия Мшинская — Волосово, разрушенная во время войны. До 2011 года параллельно реке в её среднем течении (по правому берегу) проходила Репольская узкоколейная железная дорога.

Притоки (км от устья)
 руч. Омшаватый (правый)
 9 км: река Селиска (правый)
 руч. Марков (правый)
 15 км: река Сосновка (правый)
 Попенка (левый)
 руч. Чищенский (правый)
 река Торченка (левый)
 руч. Филин (левый)
 29 км: река Хмеленка (правый)
 река Череченка (левый)

Данные водного реестра
По данным государственного водного реестра России относится к Балтийскому бассейновому округу, водохозяйственный участок реки — Луга от водомерного поста Толмачёво до устья. Относится к речному бассейну реки Нарва (российская часть бассейна).

Код объекта в государственном водном реестре — 01030000612102000026237.

Примечания

Бассейн Лемовжи
Реки Волосовского района

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Playing a video game, stock image.
Court documents say Pinkerton Consulting & Investigations sent a cease and desist letter to Rockstar and its parent company, Take-Two Interactive, in December, claiming the popular Wild West video game uses their trademarks without permission.
Rockstar Games is firing back in a legal tussle over the use of a Pinkerton security company's name in its video game "Red Dead Redemption 2."
The letter says the famous detective agency was prepared to sue if a license agreement was not reached.


"A superb apartment and position to the beach and town. Really nicely presented with excellent spacious bedrooms and bathrooms. The kitchen was very well equipped, with everything we could possibly need. Small pool, very nicely laid out, very nice just for a cool off."


I believe that the great majority of programmers has already seen StackOverflowError with beautiful stacktrace. The flow is usually stuck deep inside the invocation of the same, recursive method. However, such an error can be produced quite easy without recursion.
flag but the heap can be as big as 32GB then.
will give us the same effect of StackOverflowException. In the last example we have only one reference allocated and it goes on the stack. new Object goes on the heap because arrays are objects and the heap is their natural environment for living. Hence, we can eventually end up with java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: Java heap space.


text:
Small Potatoes may refer to:
 "Small Potatoes" (Hawaii Five-O), a 1978 episode of Hawaii Five-O
 "Small Potatoes" (The X-Files), an episode of The X-Files
 Small Potatoes (1999 TV series), a 1999 to 2001 British TV sitcom
 Small Potatoes (2011 TV series), a 2011 children's TV series


text:
Carper: "Now is not the Time to Abandon Amtrak"
WILMINGTON, DE - Amtrak's announcement of $290 million in new cuts is a call for Congressional action, Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) said today. For Amtrak to continue providing long-term quality service, Congress must pass a comprehensive rail security bill, create a dedicated a source of capital funding for rail, and pass necessary reauthorization measures. "This is not an omen of Amtrak's demise, but the results of Congress' continued neglect of our national rail service. Clearly, Congress must enact a dedicated source of capital funding for Amtrak," said Carper. "This is not the time to abandon national passenger rail. It's the time for Congress to fulfill its obligations." A spokesperson for Amtrak said that it would be making $120 million in operating cuts and $170 million in capital cuts in order to keep the railroad running through the end of this year. Due to the lack of federal capital funding, the majority of Amtrak's capital plan is privately funded. "This will be a difficult fight, but a necessary one," Carper said. "Amtrak's revenues and ridership is up on important lines. They are doing their job, and doing it better every week. It's Congress that has fallen asleep at the switches." After September 11th, Congress acted to better ensure the safety of airline passengers but shirked its responsibility to support rail security efforts, leaving Amtrak to cover these expenses alone. A supplemental rail security allocation would both improve the safety of Amtrak passengers and help the railroad meet its financial obligations. "When the planes were grounded after September 11, Amtrak stepped in to move emergency personnel, passengers and equipment from one end of the country to the other. To the surprise of many, Amtrak emerged as the key component of our transportation system during our time of national crisis," Carper said. "A rail safety package would both better protect passengers and address some of Amtrak's funding shortfalls."