As a veteran of the chemo wars, I should have been better prepared mentally for the food/taste challenges often caused by the infusion of such cancer-fighting chemicals, but I wasn't. Oh, I was ready for the hair loss, the fatigue, the diabetic-type neuropathy, the overall aches and pains (general feeling of discomfort/feeling out of sorts), but for some inexplicable reason, I wasn't ready for the food issue. Specifically, I refer to its lack of taste, and a directly-related effect: minimal interest in eating. Whether the effect/cause was in my head or in my taste buds, it was most definitely an effect from a cause.
Not that I appear, at present, to be the least bit undernourished (disheveled, maybe), or not in need of a modest reduction in weight; nevertheless, not being able to enjoy my daily bread, as but one example, was/is disappointing. Moreover, being one of the many individuals who uses food as a stress-reducer and oral-fixator, not being satisfied by any of my staples has made for a very dull boy. Not cranky. Not irritable. More like miserable. And this misery doesn't like company, and has made this four-time infusion much less palatable than I had anticipated. I had anticipated: been there done that; no problem. However, as experienced as I thought I was; having survived/endured six infusions (round one) three years ago, my overconfidence for this second round seems to have led me to a bit of an emotional thud. I thought I was going to slide through this treatment unscathed. Unfortu-nately, I have been scathed.
What upsets me most about my circumstances is that I think I should have known better, especially since I take such pride in trying to know better/be prepared (I'm not exactly a Boy Scout, but I am usually more on the ball). Yet I wasn't. And when the food began to taste bad a week or two after my second infusion (as if it were a surprise), emotionally I went south. Not only was I "disappointed" in the taste of food, I was more disappointed in my lack of awareness of a fairly likely/predictable occurrence when chemotherapy is infused. If Hostess Brands, the makers of Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Ho Hos, Cupcakes, etc., had not already filed for bankruptcy protection back in January, 2012; given my modest – and uncharacteristic – first quarter consumption of such delicacies, they likely would have been forced to file for bankruptcy in April of 2012. I wouldn't say however, that as an adult I've maintained the pace of my indulgent adolescence (almost a box a day); who could? But I have eaten my share (and a few others' shares, no doubt) and am proud of the hours I've spent satiated and of the product knowledge I've gained as a direct result. This second round of chemotherapy ended all of that. No taste, no pleasure. No pleasure, no patience. No patience, no happiness. And it's all my fault. I have been down this road before, bumpy as it was, and I should have been better prepared, mentally.
If there's one thing I believe I've learned during this whole cancer trip, and some wisdom I feel I can impart, it would be: managing expectations, both good and bad. Control what you can, don't worry about what you can't. Remember what you know and be mindful of what you don't. Expect the unexpected and don't take anything for granted. And though this food/lack of taste thing will pass soon enough, my arrogance in not preparing for/anticipating it will linger. I'll get over it, I suppose, but not before I've told you readers about it first.


text:
Конрад Конон (; умер в 998/1001) — маркграф Ивреи с 970 года, герцог Сполето и Камерино с 996 года, представитель Иврейской династии.

Биография

Конрад родился ок. 941/943 и был третьим сыном Беренгара II и Виллы Тосканской. Он вступил во владение Иврейским маркграфством после того, как его старший брат Адальберт II потерпел поражение в борьбе с германским королём Оттоном I и был вынужден бежать в Бургундию.

Согласно «Gesta Mediolanensium», Конрад, в отличие от отца и братьев, ещё в молодости встал на сторону германского короля Оттона I и за это в 957 был назначен графом Милана и владел этим городом до 961 года.

Не позднее 987 года Конрад женился на Рихильде, дочери Туринского маркграфа Ардуина Глабера.

Около 990 года он по неизвестной причине уступил Иврею Ардуину, сыну графа Помбии (возможно, своему родственнику).

В 990-е годы маркграфу Тосканы Уго I Великому удалось объединить под своей властью всю центральную Италию. Этим он вызвал неудовольствие императора Оттона III. В результате Оттон передал Конраду Иврейскому одно из владений Уго — герцогство Сполето.

Источники
 http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/NORTHERN%20ITALY%20900-1100.htm#BerengarioIIitalydied966B
 Karl Uhlirz,Jahrbücher des Deutschen Reiches unter Otto II. und Otto III., Berlin: Verlag Duncker & Humblot, 1967, 2., p.76, 216

Маркграфы Ивреи
Герцоги Сполето
Правители Европы X века
Иврейская династия

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
C1 & C3: Portfolio > C1&C3: Visual Effects >
TERMINOLGY
"Pulling a key"
This phrase refers to the process of 'Keying' which is essentially using colour or tone to identify the difference between the foreground object or character and the background in an image.
Why green screen? And how does it work? Why green?
Because people aren't green. The reason to shoot anyone (or anything) in front of a green screen is to digitally separate your subject from the background, ready to be transplanted into another shot or scene. The colour green is used because in colour science it is the most distinct from human skin tones, no matter what your ethnicity. Green is far away from red in a colour wheel. We're all made of red tones! If we chose red or yellow screen, for instance, we'd have a harder job getting a clear separation between the person standing in front and the screen itself.
Why have I seen a blue screen being used then?
Blue is next to green in the spectrum, so is also far away from skin tones. Blue was a lot more common when keys had to be created in film, before digital technology, because of the nature of the separate colour emulsions within celluloid. When digital processes came in, green tended to be favoured because of its higher luminance- it needed less lighting. Some digital cameras also record more information in the green channel via their sensors, so providing a smoother (and therefore easier to key) picture.
There's nothing particularly wrong with blue, although if you are adept at Adobe Photoshop and can view individual Channels, you'll know that blue is often a bit 'noisier' or grainy, and so this is reckoned to hinder more delicate keys .
I want to key Kermit the frog; or a potted plant, what are my options?
If you want to key something green, you can actually use any other colour. In some films red screen has been used on models, like spaceships (because they were lit rather blue for outer space conditions, so blue and green weren't good ideas).
Can I key on Black or White backgrounds?
Yes, it's called Luma Key (Luma = Brightness). The problem is this tends to be inexact: for instance if you were filming an actor against White, the eyes would also be keyed, and the teeth, and maybe the highlight on the forehead. It wouldn't be convincing. However it can work fine for white text on a black background (or vice versa), or creating an experimental effect. Many stock effects are shot against black, as you saw in week 1, ready to be luma keyed.
Why learn keying anyway?
Here's the thing that most people don't realise at first; when we pull a key, through whatever method, the computer is really behind the scenes creating a Matte. It's a term from the old days of film, equating to a mask. It's a record of which parts of the image are see through, and which aren't. This is often represented in the computer as a monochrome version of the image. The whitest areas are telling the computer which pixels in the image are opaque, and the blackest areas are those areas that are transparent- where the other image will come through. A range of grey pixels designate translucent areas. You'll see this matte in the KEYING PROJECT.
This matte can be saved as part of the image, like saving an instruction to any VFX software about how the image is to be cut out and presented later. In VFX circles, you may hear this saved Matte referred to as the Alpha Channel. Put simplistically, many digital images can have four channels or separate sub-images inside, namely a Red, Green, Blue, and Alpha channel. The Red Green and Blue channels contain information on the colour of individual pixels in your image, whilst the Alpha Channel only contains information on the opacity or transparency of each pixel. Generally, you don't see the Alpha Channel, it's hidden away and is only viewable in certain software. Some file formats aren't designed to contain Alpha Channels, like JPEGs, so if you want to save this keyed information into your image, you need to choose a TIFF, TARGA or EXR format, or others.
Sometimes, keying isn't possible: welcome to the art of Rotoscoping
Rotoscoping, which as you'll see (it's regularly used by at least one of our guerrilla filmmaker guests), is used when you can't pull a good key. It involves masking your foreground character frame-by-frame by drawing around it. You are essentially drawing a matte or mask, rather than getting one instantly when you pull a key. Although today's rotoscoping software has a level of automation involved, rotoscoping is very time consuming, a bit like drawing frames to be animated. Most VFX artists will use a mix of keying and rotoscoping to 'cut out' their chosen foreground figure.
The big myth?
Actually, keying can be hard work. Getting the first 70% of a shot right is easy, it's the last 30% that needs the hard work, and that's often the convincing bit. There are always edge issues, and also what is called'spill'- the phenomenon where green light from the screen bounces back onto our subject, especially if they are wearing white. Because the way your green screen is shot is such a major factor in the success of your VFX, it's increasingly important that you pay attention to the shoot. Big VFX companies like MPC make sure they are always present when things are shot by the big studios, because a well lit green screen will save so much time later.
A short history of keying
Although we now live in a digital world where keying is concerned, the desire to transplant images from one film into another is as old as cinema. Well, actually older, because cinema only developed as a phenomena years after film was being used in fairgrounds and magic shows.
The image you see above is from one of Georges Méliès films. Méliès is the 'godfather' of VFX; in fact one of his most famous images, that of a rocket stuck into the eye of the moon- is the symbol of today's Visual Effects Society, the organisation that looks after VFX worldwide. Méliès is held in high esteem to this day.
You could say it all started in 1888 when George Eastman developed sensitized celluloid that you could expose an image onto. The first successful system for filming and projecting moving pictures came in 1895 when the brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière exhibited the Cinématographe in Paris. They were businessmen not artists, and they thought the Cinématographe would be a passing craze. They made short mundane films by today's standards - a woman combing her hair, fireman extinguishing a fire, a baby being fed. The idea of projecting a story came later, but there was a restriction on the duration of early films so this wasn't possible at first.
Méliès was an enterprising theatrical magician who saw the potential of this new development for his stage act. When he couldn't buy a system from the Lumière brothers, he hired a couple of engineers to build his own. It's reckoned Méliès made over 500 films in his lifetime, but only a handful survive.
There were two big breakthroughs in the early days of film. One was thesubstitution cut where the camera was stopped and an object in the scene replaced or removed. This amazed early audiences, and Méliès discovered it when his hand-cranked camera broke down whilst he was filming. There was a gap of a minute in the street scene he was filming "I suddenly saw an omnibus changed into a hearse and men into women" he exclaimed. You can see an early example of this substitution cut if you search for Alfred Clarke's "Execution of Mary Queen of Scots" (1895) on YouTube. At the time of course, this was all new and people were amazed.
Discovery of the matte
The second effect, and the one that concerns us most, was the matte used with a double exposure. It was discovered that if you exposed the film (by shooting a scene) and then wound the film back into the camera, you could expose a new image over the top. Filmmakers like Méliès saw that if you left parts of the scene dark in the first exposure, then you could align some action to happen in that space on the second exposure. The India Rubber Head (1901) was a case in point.
From the still at the head of this article you can get the idea. An alchemist/scientist places a version of his own head on a table and begins to inflate it with bellows. Conveniently there is a black shadowy archway where this double exposure happens. The head 'expands' by having the camera move closer in the second exposure. Filmmakers soon started experimenting with Matte boxes- simple bits of card over the lens that stopped portions of the film being exposed to light the first time, and then inverted this on the second exposure.
Travelling Mattes
As film processes developed, and film became more sophisticated, the weaknesses of simple mattes became apparent. It would only work if the camera and actors were still or stayed in a fixed area. A travelling matteallowed a freely moving person to be cut out and placed on top of a background without winding film back through a camera for double exposure. To achieve this, just like today's green screen, an actor would perform against a contrasting screen. In film terms this meant creating a number of differently developed prints from the original, starting with a very high contrast film of our foreground character (let's say, dancing around). Then a high contrast negative of this would be created too. Put simply, these two high contrast (black and white) filmstrips of our dancer would be used to create masks or mattes for both the dancer and the background. This film technique was like having a magic moving piece of card that ensures only the dancer is exposed on one film, and that the background has a perfectly synchronised moving black shadow where the dancer should be. These two films are optically printed (projected and refilmed) and combined together and, hey presto, our dancer seems to be dancing on the moon or whatever the chosen background image was! This method was prevalent from the 1920s till the 1960s.
Colour Separation processes
As film grew in commercial importance, there were many variants of this process created; but essentially it's the antecedent of what happens today digitally. When colour film started gaining ground (around 1918-1936) clever new methods to separate foreground and different background were invented. One particular method was the Blue Screen Colour Difference process. Invented by Petro Vlahos it became the basis for the most widely used methods of getting a travelling matte until digital techniques were possible in the 80s. The process demanded a very pure blue backlit background. The film negative produced was copied onto back and white filmstock through a blue filter, which allows only red and green to expose the film, so the blue area is transparent. However there is always likely to be a bit of blue on the foreground character so this black and white film was combined with the original negative to make a new high contrast matte, but this time through a special green filter. By now the blue screen is clear and the foreground character totally black. This 'male matte' is then copied to a negative 'female matte'. There are several other stages to this - each one with other film prints. Aren't you glad we now do this digitally?
The advantage of this system was detail - around hair for instance, and it recorded semi-transparent objects like a glass of water or reflections on a window very well. The system was even used in Superman (1978) -although Superman's costume was blue, they were able to pull a decent key through this method.
Now it's all digital
In the digital age we still use some of these tricks to pull a decent key, although it all happens now at the tweak of a mouse, we don't have to wait overnight for film to be processed through chemicals. However, we sometimes still need to look at the individual Red, Green or Blue channels of a foreground image to make a matte work. It can still be laborious to get your key as convincing as you want it to be.
YouTube is a great place to look for early cinema firsts, like Georges Méliès or Petro Vlahos' work. It's been said that many of the first pioneers of cinematography shared similar characteristics to today's guerrilla filmmakers; the ability to experiment, make do with what they found around them, and inventiveness. Just like today, the field was wide open for newcomers to create things never seen before. As an example have a look at this film about the first colour film ever invented. If you find any interesting clips about any of the subjects in this article, why don't you share them with all of us.
Setting up a green screen, guerrilla-style
Note how Scott is particularly keen to control the light of the space, and even uses separate lights for the foreground and background
Preparation for shooting a green screen is always important, it's really not worth rushing because you'll pay for it later with more time in front of your computer screen, tweaking at pixels, and cursing whoever shot your footage!
Rotoscoping
There'll come a time when you just can't key an object. Either the background is just not distinct enough from the foreground, or you need to key something out of a shot that actually hasn't got a plain background at all. In cases like this you need to resort to Rotoscoping, or 'Roto' as it's often called.
However, most of the times you'll use roto as a technique is as an additional assistance to your key. Roto'ing creates a mask by drawing shapes onto a layer. If you think about first principles, what you are doing when you pull a key is making a matte. Now you may never see that matte, but it's there. You'll see it briefly in the Car Project - the black and white image that shows which areas of the driver and car were white (opaque) and which parts of the image let the background through (the window). So drawing roto shapes does the same thing, except you are drawing a matte by tracing over something in your shot.
Conceptually, think about having a pair of scissors and a book of a film of someone dancing from a musical. Let's say they are shot against an ugly theatrical background which you wish wasn't there. Now imagine each picture in this book is an individual frame from the original movie. With patience and all the time in the world, you could go through the book, cutting out individual frames with your scissors. Then, you could take all those cut outs of the dancer and stick them under a rostrum camera in order, and re-shoot them onto another more pleasing background image. It sounds like an ordeal, but it can be fun, and luckily it's a bit more automated these days than we've made it sound, as you'll see.
Roto History
To understand Roto, let's go back in time. In 1917, animator Max Fleischer (The Fleischer Brothers were famous in the pre-Disney era with work like Betty Boop) developed the process as an aid to the laborious activity of drawing cartoons. Max had a rostrum camera pointing downwards that was adapted with the addition of a lamp so it could also be a projector. Then, frame by frame, a previously shot film was projected onto the table. Let's say it's the dancing person we've just been talking about. Paper is placed underneath and the dancing figure is traced, one frame at a time. Thanks to peg bars on the table, as each consecutive frame is traced onto a separate sheet, the images are all registered in the same place. This way, the natural movement of the filmed dancer can be copied, drawn, and re-filmed.
Now Max cleverly got his brother Dave to pose in a clown suit for the creation of some live action reference footage. This gave birth to the first rotoscoped cartoon character "Koko the Clown". The cartoons were immediately popular. A reviewer for the New York Times wrote in 1919,"After a deluge of pen-and-ink 'comedies' in which figures move with mechanical jerks with little or no wit to guide them, it is a treat to watch the smooth action of Mr. Fleischer's figure"
The still at the head of this article features legendary band leader and singer Cab Calloway performing "Minnie the Moocher" in 1932. You can see the animation here At the start you see footage of Calloway's idiosyncratic act, and then at various times like 1:52 or 2:25 you'll see a walrus creature whose movement has been rotoscoped or traced from Calloway's performance.
This technique was eventually copied by Disney, who famously used it in the animation Snow White. Disney hired a dancer, Marjorie Belcher.Rotoscoping her movements sped up production and gave the animators a realistic reference movement. This tracing of real action soon got adopted elsewhere and took off.
Famous animator Walter Lantz explained "I would take the old Charlie Chaplin films and project them one frame at a time, make a drawing over Chaplin's action, and flip the drawings to see how he moved. That's how most of us learned to animate."
VFX and Roto
Now as VFX matured and film makers started using mattes, rotoscoping became a great way to juxtapose and combine different characters and scenes. You could now draw a matte if you couldn't key one.
In Return of the Jedi (1983) animated walking vehicles (called AT-ATs or All Terrain Armoured Transport) were matted into real forest scenes. A'hold out matte' of some of the trees in the forest of Endor were hand rotoscoped frame by frame to create a matte. These were protected during optical printing, so the AT-ATs appear to walk between trees, adding a sense they were really there, in the midst of the action.
Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963) needed scores of birds to attack a small town. It wasn't possible to control the birds of course, or even key them against a background, and the nature of the shots meant the birds and a luma key against a sky wasn't possible (some were white birds), especially as many were originally shot against cliffs, beach, or sea. So, tracing the birds was the only option. Rotoscoping the 500 frames in one shot of the attack took two artists 3 months to complete. Of course these are pre-digital film examples, but even today roto'ing big shots in feature films can take weeks.
Roto in the digital age
Most VFX based programmes have rotoscoping and masking capabilities these days. Some people prefer dedicated specialist software likeSilhouette or Mocha when they have tricky work to do.
Roto in the digital age is not all about making mattes. The same tools can digitally paint and be used to remove objects from the film- like pylons, boom mics, or the public straying into shot. In the context of this week, roto is a great aid to strengthening keys. Maybe your keyed figure looks great except for one arm- in that case a well-drawn roto of that arm can be added to the matte created by the key, thus saving the key. In one of this week's Blaine Brothers clips you'll see Chris using masks to protect and show breath coming from a character's mouth. That kind of subtlety at that kind of speed was undreamt of by those who had to roto film footage before the digital era. However the same skill of a good eye and attention to detail combined with tons of patience is still needed today. With VFX, if you want good results, you need to put the time in.
NOW - read the CASE STUDIES and COMPLETE the CAR PROJECT
Subpages (2): 2: Car Project Keying Case Studies

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Note - Patch updates are no longer available for software versions older than Oracle VM Server for SPARC 3.0. To receive new and updated software, upgrade to the current Oracle VM Server for SPARC release.
The Oracle Solaris 10 OS is no longer supported for use in an SR-IOV root domain. In addition, SR-IOV I/O domain support in the Oracle Solaris 10 OS is deprecated and will be removed in a future product update.
The network interface functionality of an Oracle VM Server for SPARC vsw driver was deprecated in Oracle Solaris 11.1. The Oracle VM Server for SPARC vsw driver continues to provide virtual network switching functionality for guest domains. See Oracle Solaris 11 Networking Overview in Oracle VM Server for SPARC 3.2 Administration Guide .
Note - The network interface functionality continues to be supported for Oracle Solaris 10 service domains.
Setting the threading property to manage single-thread workloads on SPARC T4 platforms is deprecated. By default, domains are created for maximum throughput, and the Oracle Solaris OS automatically uses the critical thread API to optimize for single-thread workloads.
Using the –c option of the add-vcpu, set-vcpu, and rm-vcpu subcommands to manage hard partitioning is deprecated. Instead, use the add-core, set-core, or rm-core subcommand to assign whole cores. Also, use the add-domain or set-domain subcommand to specify the CPU cap (max-cores).
Using the Hybrid I/O feature is deprecated in favor of using the single-root I/O virtualization (SR-IOV) feature.
Future Oracle VM Server for SPARC releases will no longer support the running of the Oracle Solaris 10 OS in control domains. You can continue to run the Oracle Solaris 10 OS in guest domains, root domains, and I/O domains when using future releases. Oracle Solaris 10 patches will continue to be provided for Oracle VM Server for SPARC 3.2 based on the documented support policy.
In future Oracle VM Server for SPARC releases, the ldmp2v utility will no longer be updated to address bug fix or enhancement requests. This utility will no longer be supported, but will continue to be included and documented as part of the Oracle VM Server for SPARC software.
Future Oracle VM Server for SPARC releases will no longer include the ldmconfig utility as it runs only on Oracle Solaris 10 control domains. This utility will no longer be updated to address bug fix or enhancement requests.
Using the ldm migrate-domain -p filename command to initiate a non-interactive migration operation is deprecated. Instead, use SSL certificate-based authentication. See Configuring SSL Certificates for Migration in Oracle VM Server for SPARC 3.2 Administration Guide .


Actor Lee Jong-suk flew back to Korea after being released from a two-day detention at Jakarta Aiport in Indonesia.
On Tuesday, Lee Jong-suk's agency reported that the actor had taken a plane back to Korea. The travel comes after he and his staff were detained by security officials at Jakarta Airport for two days. Lee is expected to arrive at Incheon International Airport the same day.
The detention occurred during the actor's fan meeting Asian tour "Crank Up," with Jakarta being the last scheduled stop. However, authorities detained Lee and his staff and withheld their passports. As a result, they were unable to travel for two days. According to a social media post from the actor, the incident is partially due to a mistake by Yes24, the company in charge of his activities in the country.
CNN Indonesia reported the story and sought out a response from the Indonesian Ministry of Justice on the matter. According to the Ministry, Lee did not use the appropriate visa for the concert and there were inconsistencies in their profit report.
When a foreign celebrity visits Indonesia for business, such as performances, all staff including the entertainer must obtain a short-term job permit and appropriate visa. Reportedly, Yes24 handled the process poorly leaving Lee without the proper license to perform or receive profits.


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The fast of Nineveh is a three-day lent recognized by the Orthodox Church, which begins Monday, January 22nd and lasts until January 24th. During this fast, we remember the three days Prophet Jonah spent in the belly of a large fish as penance for his disobedience to God and the atonement of the sinful city of Nineveh.
During these three days, we should look at our lives and show remorse for our disobedient natures and follow in the footsteps of Prophet Jonah and the people of Nineveh. As with all other fasts/lents of the Holy church, the fast of Nineveh is observed by refraining from the intake of all dairy and meat products.
May the Lord God accept your prayers, repentance and fasting. May He reward you and shower His blessing upon you.
Click Here for Spiritual Readings of the Nineveh Fast.


8.:30 AM EST Monday, April 28, 2008: Trends, explosions, bubbles and Tsunamis. The key to great investment success is picking the Tsunami before it hits. The biggest fear is coming in too late, when it's collapsing. Investment tsunamis follow a predictable path. By the time they're apparent to you, me and our neighbor, everyone and their uncle has pounced in, bid the stocks up, the companies have built factories, dropped product prices and is about to go broke. You can see that happening with today's corn-to-ethanol factories. Too many, too fast. Previously with telecom companies stringing fiber. Sub-prime lending. And before that a million bubbles.
April 14 (Bloomberg) -- Nihon Shokuhin Kako Co. Ltd., Japan's largest buyer of corn for use in food, is importing genetically modified supplies for the first time this year as high prices deter gene-pure purchases, a company executive said.
The big player in this space is Monsanto. I've always worried that MON was overpriced. And its P/E of 42 is high. But every time I eye it, it goes up more. I no longer believe Monsanto's P/E is too high, given its likely growth this year and next.
The second biggie is the Swiss company Syngenta (SYT), whose P/E is a much lower 27.
Am I late? Yes. Am I too late? I don't believe so. If you want to see some pretty earnings, check these out. These are for net income after taxes, in millions. The Swiss biggie looks especially great.
Lesson No. 1: The numbers don't lie. They can be stir-fried, oven-fried or convection-baked, but in the end they always hold the keys to the kingdom. That is why some short sellers and forensic analysts don't like to talk to companies. They want to avoid the spin or the face-to-face meeting that can create a psychological connection that may skew what otherwise would be black-and-white analysis. Don't ever underestimate the power and influence of the human factor.
Lesson No. 2: Quality, not quantity. Ignore the "beat the Street" headlines on earnings. It is what goes into the earnings that counts. As I quoted investment legend Thornton Oglove as saying last week, the real story is often on the balance sheet. And let's not forget the cash-flow statement. And this tip: The more complex and convoluted the financial statements get, especially for businesses that aren't overly complicated, the more reason to worry.
Lesson No. 3: GAAP isn't the same as a Good Housekeeping seal. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, according to which all financial statements are supposed to be prepared, include plenty of gray areas that give management enough rope to hang themselves, if they so please. GAAP, after all, is subject to interpretation, and some managers are more conservative than others. Remember, just because the accounting is legal doesn't mean the end results won't be lousy.
Lesson No. 4: Don't confuse stocks and companies. They sometimes go in opposite directions. Stocks sometimes really do lie. Sometimes they are pushed artificially higher by a rotation by investors from one industry group to another, because that one sector happens to be in favor. Sometimes they lie because of short squeezes, which occur when short sellers -- who bet stock prices will fall -- are for some reason forced to rapidly purchase the shares they sold short. And sometimes they lie because of momentum. Momentum can take stocks to infinity and beyond, but true believers can wind up learning that momentum has a dark side: It is called reverse momentum, and it tends to kick in when you least expect.
Lesson No. 5: Risk isn't a four-letter word. A good rule of thumb is that before you buy, instead of asking how much you can make, first ask how much you can lose. That is what the smart guys do.
Three keys to a long life: Eat less. Make family a priority. Banish stress. (Good luck.) Eating less is function of portion control.
Alavert is great for allergy control: Allergy season, for some of us, is here. My friends swear by Alavert, an over-the-counter pill. Don't take it unless you really need it. The "adverse effects" detailed here will turn you off living.
New York taxis will be all hybrid. By 2012 all of New York's 13,000 taxis will have to get at least 30 miles a gallon on the city's streets. Hybrids are the only ones that can meet that goal. Today about 7.8% of the fleet are hybrids, 83% of which are the Ford Escapes. My own questioning of cabbies: They spend $22 for a 12 hour shift with a Ford Escape, but $45 with a Ford Crown Victoria. For more on The Greening of the Yellow Fleet.
Frog ringtones for your cellphone. Just what you always wanted. 2008 is the Year of Frog. Frog Ringtone Store.
Battery warning from Lenovo: "Batteries can degrade when they are left unused for long periods of time. For some rechargeable batteries (particularly lithium ion batteries), leaving a battery unused in a discharged state could increase the risk of a battery short circuit, which could shorten the life of the battery and can also pose a safety hazard. Do not let rechargeable lithium ion batteries (e.g. those in laptops and BlackBerries) completely discharge or store these batteries in a discharged state.
Peter Bernstein has witnessed just about every financial crisis of the past century.
As a boy, he watched his father, a money manager, navigate the Depression. As a financial manager, consultant and financial historian, he personally dealt with the recession of 1958, the bear markets of the 1970s, the 1987 crash, the savings-and-loan crisis of the late 1980s and the 2000-2002 bear market that followed the tech-stock bubble.
Today's trouble, the 89-year-old Mr. Bernstein says, is worse than he has seen since the Depression and threatens to roil markets into 2009 and beyond -- longer than many people expect.
Mr. Bernstein, whose books include "Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk," sees two culprits. One is the abuse of securitization -- the trend for banks to hold fewer loans on their books and instead turn them into securities that were sold to other investors. The other is simply years of overborrowing by financial institutions and consumers alike.
Mr. Bernstein is hopeful that Federal Reserve intervention will prevent deflation and depression, but he says there is no guarantee.
WSJ: Aside from securitization, what were the main causes of the problem?
Mr. Bernstein: You don't get into a mess without too much borrowing. It was sparked primarily by the hedge funds, which were both unregulated by government and in many ways unregulated by their owners, who gave their managers a very broad set of marching orders. It was a real delusion. It was like [former New York Gov. Eliot] Spitzer: "I am doing something dangerous, but because of who I am, and how smart I am, it is not going to come back to haunt me."
WSJ: You said that it could turn out that the smart thing to do is to take more risk, because everyone will be so risk-averse. What kinds of investments do you see as the big winners coming out of this?
Mr. Bernstein: You could say: the things that have been beaten down the most, which would be real estate. But I think real estate is going to be under a cloud for so long, and you can't buy real estate with cash, it is too much money. I think you should go with the stock market. If things are better, the stock market will go up, and if things are awful, the stock market is going to be way down. But it is a place where, if you want to take risks, you've got a wide range of choices. This is why I own stocks [in addition to other investments], because I don't know where the bottom is going to come, and I want to be exposed to every kind of possibility I can think of. And, at least, if you pick the stock market and you are wrong, you can change your mind. There is some liquidity there. Stocks never became cheap, but they didn't become crazy, the way other assets were.
WSJ: How long do you think this whole process will take, before we get back to normal?
Mr. Bernstein: Longer than people think. The people who think we will have turned in 2009 are wrong. There has to be a respite along the way. Nothing goes in one direction forever. But it will take longer than people think. If that weren't the case, I would be talking entirely differently. I would be saying, "What an opportunity we have got." And I just can't believe that the opportunity is here yet. There is too much to unwind.
WSJ: Can you explain the reason you think it will take a long time?
Mr. Bernstein: We have to go back to a moment when people have the courage to borrow and lenders have the courage to lend. Until credit is going up instead of down, you can't have growth. Housing has got to be a very important part of that; it always has been. You have to reach a point where somebody says, "This house is cheap, I am going to buy it," or where some businessman says, "This is a great opportunity for us to expand our business. Everything is available to us."
If China goes into a recession, God knows. The Iraq war and the whole situation with terrorism, we really don't know where that is going to come out. There are so many things that have got to get buttoned down before you say that the future looks good enough to take a risk.
WSJ: What kind of indications are you looking for as signs that the economy is about to get better and that the stock market and the investment world are about to turn the corner?
Mr. Bernstein: Somehow, the housing trouble has to at least flatten out. As long as that is going on, I think the pressure on the credit system is going to persist. It is kind of the leading indicator. It is where the trouble started. We have to underpin the consumer. That is why this is different. That is why this is like nothing we have had before.
Before, it was investment that made the V at the bottom of the business cycle. I don't see real investment turning enough without some sign from the consumer side. Maybe the foreign countries will do it for us. That is a substitute for consumption here. Maybe. But I think that they won't do enough for us, and maybe will be too infected by us to do it. But maybe growth in Asia will help us. The Asian thing is tremendously exciting.
Checklists make huge sense: Weekend idiocy: I left my cellphone at my country house. My daughter almost left hers in New York. (She lives in Boston.) Checklists make sense.
To forward your Verizon cell phone to another line: *72. To cancel it, *73.
What will they put on your epitaph?
+ Harry Edsel Smith of Albany, New York: Born 1903--Died 1942.
Here lies an Atheist, all dressed up and no place to go.
Here lies Ezekial Aikle, Age 102 Only The Good Die Young.
The children of Israel wanted bread, And the Lord sent them manna. Clark Wallace wanted a wife, And the Devil sent him Anna.
Reader, if cash thou art in want of any, Dig 6 feet deep and thou wilt find a Penny.
Under the sod and under the trees, Lies the body of Jonathan Pease. He is not here, there's only the pod. Pease shelled out and went to God.


Trying to integrate .net application with SCOM . Need queries through which I can display information like CPU Utilization , Memory Usage , Number of Processes running on the client machine . SCOM has its own database but unable to create a query that can fetch the said information.
For CPU usage information, you can use System.Diagnostics.PerformanceCounter namespace.


So bring back the beat and then everybody sing!
I do admire anyone who wrote this brilliant-cool song!
Ppl impose their will, they run out of time just to thinking what other think 'bout them.
Don't be obsessed of greatness, don't be obsessed of money.
Bcs, yeah, 'Money can't buy us happiness', rite?
Yeaaaaa, that's all. Sorry if there're some mistake with my grammar. hehe.
A: Mah, kok aku gak diikutin ke bimbel-bimbel gitu e?
M: Halah ngapain, kamu kan udah pinter.
A: *bersemangat* Aku besok pinternya waktu UN aja! Mamah pokoknya terima nem-ku bagus deh!
M: Sebenernya ngapain nilai bagus-bagus?
Yaa itu tadi 'cuplikan' obrolanku sama mamah. Mamahku baik banget ya!
The one and only social class in Padmanaba 68.
With --only-- It's 14 students.
But obviously this class had already took my heart.
I do pleasure and thank to God, really, to be here among them.
With this class, I started my 'journey' in social world.
This is Social 68 --in a paper-- :D In the next one year, there are 2 exchange students who enter my class (so ppl in that picture becomes 16, rite?). A girl from Japan named Mana Nishino, and a girl from America named Megan Wright. They're nice and easy going. I hope they can always enjoy their life in this multi-cultural ethnic country called Indonesia.
One of my fav photo of us. @ Amer's bday.
Yeah, I admire that photo so much! That was at Amer's bday (the girl in the center). Was taken at Pizza Hut. But we weren't full team in that photo. But that day was grrrrreat!
L to R: Upik, Linda, Amer, Kamel, Me, Dian, Fakhri.
L to R: Shafa, Upik, Draw, Siti.
Sooo, that's all 'bout my class.
Thanks for reading, GBU, and.... Bye!


The tub grab bar is made out of 1 inch powder coated steel tubing and has rubber contact points.
The clamp adjusts from 3"-7",the dimensions are 12"h x 6"w, and the weight capacity is 275 lbs.
Weight Capacity / Wt Cap	275 lb.


text:
Iran says it busts Mossad network planning to disrupt election
Iranian presidential candidates attend a live debate on state TV in Tehran on May 31, 2013. (AFP)
Al Arabiya with AFP Monday 03 June 2013
Iran has dismantled an alleged "terror network" backed by Israel's Mossad intelligence services that had a headquarters in Britain, the intelligence ministry said on Sunday.
Officials claimed that the network had planned to disrupt the upcoming presidential election in the Islamic republic, the state broadcaster said, according to AFP news agency.
"The intelligence ministry has identified and arrested the members of this terror network, and confiscated their weapons," IRIB said on its website, quoting a statement by the ministry.
The statement said the group had links to Israel's spy agency, the Mossad, through a unnamed "reactionary" Arab country in the region, but did not mention their nationality.
The statement said the arrested group was made up of 12 members, but did not say when it had been busted.
On June 14, Iran is to hold its first presidential election since massive street protests, stifled by a brutal state crackdown, marred the disputed re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009.
Iran accuses its Israel and the United States of waging a deadly campaign of sabotage against its disputed nuclear program, announcing from time to time the arrest of suspected Israeli or U.S. spies
The statement on Sunday said the group had been instructed "to conduct terrorist acts ahead of, and in particular, on election day" as well as "creating ethnic and religious divisions" in restive areas of Iran.
IRAN ELECTIONS
Iran arrests seven election campaigners
Iran presidential election TV debate fails to inspire
Iran's Ahmadinejad says will challenge ally's ban from election
Rafsanjani, Ahmadinejad ally barred from Iran election
Iran election overseers may bar former president
Iran elections: Hardliners urge poll ban on Rafsanjani, Mashaei
Iran's Ahmadinejad could face 74 lashes over election 'violation'


A lonely writer of radically philosophic tendency is visited by an old acquaintance one evening and becomes, to his considerable surprise, amorously involved with her and, subsequently, willing to take-on responsibility, outside of marriage, for her teenage daughter, whom he tutors, once she has come of age, in the ways of what he calls post-atomic integrities - a term doubtless deriving from his philosophical bent! Originally dating from 1982, the year of 'False Pretences', this little novella comes at a time when the author was in the process of abandoning fiction for philosophy, and is therefore likely to provide ample food for moral or social thought.
Post-Atomic Integrities ePub (Adobe DRM) can be read on any device that can open ePub (Adobe DRM) files.


Dawat-e-Islami is an non-political Islamic organization based in Pakistan. Founded in the early 1980s by Muhammad Ilyas Qadri, the organization is ideologically aligned with Sunni Islam. It also publishes Islamic books under its publisher name of Maktaba-tul-Madina. It has several Islamic educational institutions around the world. In addition to local charity efforts, Dawat-e-Islami also offers online courses in Islamic studies and runs a television station, Madani Channel.
Madani TV Online, Madani TV Live Stream, Religious Channel online on internet, where you can watch Madani TV Live Streaming, Madani TV HD, Madani TV Free Live Stream.


For the last six years, Serenity Gardens has been providing fresh, seasonal produce grown without pesticides and gorgeous dahlia and wildflower bouquets. Visit our old-fashioned, handmade garden cart, conveniently located just a mile from the ocean and a few blocks from downtown Hampton.
A wide variety of vegetables in season: cherry and slicing tomatoes, russet and new potatoes, garlic, onions, cucumbers, bell peppers, zucchini, green beans, carrots.


text:
Q: Display text and direct via hyperlink on d3 Map I have an interactive d3 map running (http://atlas.niu.edu/afd/) that is based on a topojson file. The structure of the topojson is as follows:

I'd like to display the CWA and City on mouseover and redirect to a specific URL for each feature geometry. I can hard code in each URL or store them in a separate csv file if necessary. Any examples would be very helpful!

A: The url redirection:
The same  way you listen to .on('mouseover', you can listen to .on("click" to perform an action when the user clicks on a state:
.on("click", function(d) {
  window.open("https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/" + d.properties.State, "_blank");
})

The mouseover tooltip displaying the CWA and the City:
You can add a svg:title to your states nodes which will display the given text when a state is hovered (following the mouseover/click definitions):
.append("svg:title")
.text( function(d) { return d.properties.CWA + " - " + d.properties.City; });

Here is a demo

A: @Xavier's answer is one good approach to get what you're looking for. Although, here's another approach to do the same.
Apparently I found some time to use the data from your site and use it in a plunkr
Here's a plunkr for the same: http://plnkr.co/edit/rlC38fQRU4oF3QslYUbz?p=preview
For the tooltips, I'm just adding a simple div tooltip fetching the CW and City properties.
// Define the div for the tooltip
var div = d3.select("body").append("div")
 .attr("class", "tooltip")
 .style("opacity", 0);

On mouseover:
.on('mouseover',function(d) {
   d3.select(this).classed("selected",true);
   div.html('CWA: ' + d.properties.CWA + "<br/>"  + 'City: ' + d.properties.City)
    .style("left", (d3.event.pageX) + "px")
    .style("top", (d3.event.pageY - 28) + "px").style("opacity", .9);

And for the links (url), I'm wrapping the paths within an anchor tag with target=_blank" (open in a new window) which defaults to [d3JS](https://d3js.org) if nourl` is found in the properties.
Relevant code:
svg.selectAll(".nwscwa")
.data(cwas)
.enter().append('a')
.attr('xlink:href', function(d) {
  return d.properties.link || "https://d3js.org";
}).attr('target', '_blank')

Hope this approach helps and let me know if the plunkr doesn't work for you.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: check box design issue after migrating my native script application I'm using "@nstudio/nativescript-checkbox": "^2.0.4", package for designing the check box in my application.
After migrating, the check box design not matching properly.
Facing alignment issue in checkbox.
How to fix this design issue?


Sherwood talks mental game and advice for upcomers.
Arizona's Matt Sherwood is teamed up with Walt Woodard. Sherwood and Woodard have won RodeoHouston and the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show in Fort Worth, Texas. He is currently sitting in the top 30 of the PRCA World Standings with $13,865.71 with hopes winning a few more rodeos before the winter rodeos come to an end. Sherwood has won two World titles and is in search for what could be his sixth trip to the Thomas & Mack come December.
Kaitlin Gustave: How would you say your year has been so far?
Matt Sherwood: It always feels like we could do better. We won (Rodeo) Houston and we won Fort Worth (Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show) which are two of the biggest rodeos in the winter, so that was really amazing to us to do good at those two rodeos. The winter time is also so big--all the rodeos are so big and pays so good to come out of there winning with $13,000 isn't terrible but there's guys with $40,000 or $50,000 won. To me the goal is to come out of winter with $30,000. We've had two great wins and that is great but we're kind of disappointed with our earnings in the PRCA standings right now.
KG: What goals have you set for yourself this year?
MS: Our goal is to get to the WNFR. We feel like we are a top five team so we feel like we need to go into the WNFR with the top 10 guys and feel like that's reasonable. We both have good horses and we're both roping good so that's what we're set for now. Then once we get to the WNFR we'll change our goals and then have goals to do good there.
KG: Are you and Walt (Woodard) traveling together?
MS: Well, we're roping together and we'll probably travel some together this summer once we get busy and things are going, but right now, no we're not traveling together. He's in Texas right now and I'm in Arizona, so there isn't a way to travel together right now.
KG: What makes your partnership work so well?
MS: We're both don't have other things going on when we're rodeoing—we don't go out at night and things like that. We both enjoy roping and we enjoy doing good so that's what we focus on. We're both kind of in the same spot in life so that really helps us get along and helps us do good together.
KG: Is there anything that you have been really working on with your roping?
MS: When I first started rodeoing I practiced aggressive and roped aggressive and lately I've been working on my horse running to every steer. Here in the last little bit I've been back to trying to rope a little bit more aggressive and and roping aggressive and making a more aggressive practice runs, and being fast. Unless you have a situation where you have to be fast then you've been working on that and not just catching.
KG: What horses do you have on the road with you?
MS: I have a horse that I call Murphy that I pretty much raised and trained. It's the only horse that I've been riding for the last year. I have another mare that I ride that's good.
KG: What do you do to keep your horses sound and healthy on the road?
MS: I try to keep them in really good shape. I turn them out a lot if I can find somewhere to turn them out and keep them fed good. I really try to ride them a lot and keep them in really good shape. I feel like just like people, they're an athlete and they need to stay in good shape. So far she's sound and everything has worked out good.
KG: What do you do to work on your mental game?
MS: One of my favorite mental books to read is called Mind Gym and it talks a lot about the mental training for athletes—I enjoy that. I've found that if I'm doing other stuff and not riding my horses or roping the dummy then it's harder to stay sharp mentally because you know you're not as sharp as you can be with your roping. I think it's a lot easier to have a strong mental game when your roping game is up to par.
KG: What is something that you could tell your younger self about rodeoing that you know now?
MS: My advice to younger people would either have a good time or rodeo. Don't rodeo so you can go out and have a good time every night. You see so many guys that come out on the scene and they rope good, but every night they go out and they stay out late. Focus on your roping. If you want to rope for a living, rope. A guy told me at Houston this year that when he was younger that he wished he would have focused more on his roping as he does now. All the time he went out and partied he wished he would have worked on his roping and made sure his horses were taken care of. My advice would be get where you rope good. If you rodeo it doesn't mean you can't enjoy life. Don't spend all of your time rodeoing and wasting your time and not being as prepared as you could be.


The Ministry of Health has reported a downward trend in new suspected Zika virus infections over the last 6 weeks in Cape Verde. Currently the islands of Santiago and Fogo are reporting the highest number of cases.
Since the outbreak began in October 2015, until 31 January 2016, a total of 7325 suspected cases have been reported; the number of confirmed cases has not been mentioned in this report.
During the first week of February 2016, a total of 67 new suspected cases were recorded from the following areas: Sao Filipe (50), city of Praia (7), Tarrafal (3), Sao Domingos (2), Boa Vista (2), Santa Catarina (2) and one in Monasteries.
No cases of microcephaly have been reported in Cape Verde thus far.


Course of Study being phased out! Matriculation is impossible.
Ecological action to protect the environment and conserve existing natural resources is an essential component of modern-day industrial societies. Environmental waste disposal and sustainable recycling of valuable resources from waste products are important fields requiring well trained disposal engineers with creativity and know-how.
The Masters course in Waste Management Engineering provides comprehensive training in this field and forms an interface between the wide range of specialist fields such as environmental sciences or process engineering.
This course is aimed at Bachelor graduates from various engineering subjects dealing with environmental sciences and disposal engineering.
The Masters course comprises four semesters including completion of the Masters dissertation. Compulsory courses in the degree include basic instruction in the fields of Law, Safety at Work and Project Management.
The major subjects are enhanced by specialist subject blocks which can include contents from inter-disciplinary courses of the RWTH Aachen such as e.g. languages or non-engineering optional subjects.
Attention: Course of Study being phased out! Matriculation is impossible.
Graduates with a Masters degree in Waste Management Engineering are specialists in the fields of disposal of solid waste, waste water treatment, sewage plant technology or soil protection and water management, depending on their respective major subjects.


text:
Councilor Essaibi-George Wants to Make Applying for Affordable Housing Easier
by Beacon Hill Times Staff • February 28, 2017 • 0 Comments
By Beth Treffeisen
At-large City Councilor Annissa Essaibi-George last week filed for a hearing order to determine strategies for streamlining the process to apply for affordable housing.
"I've been working on this issue now for the last 14 months and the most important solution to homelessness is housing," said Councilor Essaibi-George at the meeting. "We have to make it easier for people to access housing."
This matter was sent to the Committee on Housing and Community Development. A hearing date is yet to be determined.
According to the Boston 2030 Housing Plan 3rd Quarter Report of 2016, there are currently 18,786 affordable housing units permitted or completed and 21,270 units of affordable housing in the City's development pipeline.
In addition, the City is on pace to create the needed 1,500 new units for extremely low-income households.
In Mayor Martin Walsh's housing plan, he has outlined the creation of 53,000 new units of affordable housing by 2030. This includes work-force units, affordable units and senior housing.
The inclusionary development policy also leverages new affordable housing through private development as well as expands the City's resources to develop additional affordable housing.
Access to affordable housing is currently managed through multiple City agencies including the Boston Planning and Development Agency, Department of Neighborhood Development, and the Boston Housing Authority.
Private developers, non-profit community development corporations and management companies also play a role in creating access to affordable housing.
"If you can picture a woven web or tangled gate of regulations tape, you'll see a great challenge," said Councilor Essaibi-George. "This tangled web discourages people from even trying to access affordable housing units."
Essaibi- George said that there is a need to make one central place that is easy to access and affordable. Once the red tape is opened up she said it would make it easier for people who want to stay in the city of Boston to do so.
At-large City Councilor Michael Flaherty said that many people across the City believe that in order to access affordable housing it is based solely off of a name lottery but that's really not how it works.
Flaherty said there is a lot of paperwork that still needs to be filled out and that some of it can be very daunting, especially to those who have financial illiteracy capabilities, credit issues or having issues with a spouse just passing away.
"It is particularly intimidating for our elderly population when they start to sit down and start to fill out paperwork and disclose things that they are very sensitive to," said Flaherty. "To have someone there and hold your hand and get you through the process I think will go a long a way."
Flaherty said that despite the increase in affordable units and the large streamline of applications coming in, he doesn't hear very many people in his community taking advantage of them.
Councilor Tito Jackson of District 7 noted that there is a problem in the way that this system works.
"I've talked to small developers who have the hardest time actually getting people in these units," said Councilor Jackson. "I have a couple in my district that are still empty because the process is so cumbersome for someone who doesn't have a whole agency that does this but has one or two units."
Councilor Jackson brought up the question on what is affordable. He said that a lot of the units are 70 percent area median income, which is about $65,000 – $75,000, but 50 percent of the people of Boston make $35,000 or less.
"It's about time that we have all of these agencies come in and have this conversation and figure out how to do it right," said Jackson.
City Councilor Andrea Campbell of District 4 said that she has residents in her district that own two family homes and are trying to work with the Boston Housing Authority to get families that are in need into a unit in their home. But due to the numerous inspections and paperwork that needs to be done, many are giving up on the task.
Councilor Campbell said, "I think there's multiple people in our community now who want to provide actual affordable units to their neighbors and folks in the community who are just frankly throwing their hands up because they are frustrated by the process."
← Police Briefs 02-21-2017
Boston City Council Calls for A Home Rule:Petition to Add Additional Polling Locations →


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For the past five years, Zhao Zeming has called Portland, Oregon his home but Zhao's life as a painter really is humble about his roots, reaching back over 60 years, this experienced painter, artist & calligraphist is highly sought after throughout the world. Few people have the number of accolades as Zhao to say they have worked in so many countries and cities around the world. Zhao, has successfully earned his living by painting. From large wall murals to intimate illustrations on a personal wall hanging – he has been committed to putting his energy and spirit into each piece.
Where Can You See His Artwork?
Zhao's big smile is inviting, his mood-chipper and he wears a trade mark black suit with dress shirt – looking very stylish and dapper for a man nearing 70. Often seen wearing micro ear buds while painting, he escapes into another world to paints what he dreams and audiences are the benefactors for his visions. For five years, His work has been featured in magazine, television spots and newspapers not to mention uploads to Youtube like the clip below.
BELOW: Zhao's artwork creations are popular gifts for birthdays, graduation, get-well cards or anywhere colorful cheer is desirable. Guests watch transfixed, as Zhao's natural skill level dazzles them. Even his paint brushes are made by him. Everyone says he makes it look so easy – yet, it is obvious that this craftsman has invested a lifetime to reach this skill level.
Mr. Zeming is available for commissioned works such as wall murals, framed art, book covers, T-shirt design and other general piece work. He enjoys working as visual entertainer at company picnics, corporate events, grand- openings, fund-raisers and especially birthday parties! Adults and children know his work best from his ability to turn their name into custom artwork. For larger groups, he will create artwork out of the first letter of the person's name.


1 2017 Assessment of accessible facilities for disabled passenger movement in aerodrome terminals in Klang Valley Ramli, M.Z. ; Hasnol, J.N.E. ; Hamid, N.B. ; Ismail, N. ; Zawawi, M.H. ; Zainal, M.Z.
2 2017 Computational fluid dynamic analysis for independent floating water treatment device Zawawi, M.H. ; Swee, M.G. ; Zainal, N.S. ; Zahari, N.M. ; Kamarudin, M.A. ; Ramli, M.Z.
3 2018 Effect of waterproofing admixtures on concrete Hamid, N.B. ; Ramli, M.Z. ; Sanik, M.E. ; Mokhtar, M. ; Razman, R.
4 2018 Factors affecting quality management of construction project using industrialized building system: A review Azman, N.S. ; Ramli, M.Z. ; Zawawi, M.H.
5 2017 Level of service for pedestrian movement towards the performance of passenger information in public transport stations in Klang Valley Ramli, M.Z. ; Hanipah, M.H. ; Lee, L.G. ; Loo, K.F. ; Wong, J.K. ; Zawawi, M.H. ; Fuad, N.F.S.
6 2017 Performance of asphalt mixture incorporating recycled waste Hamid, N.B. ; Abdullah, M.E. ; Sanik, M.E. ; Mokhtar, M. ; Kaamin, M. ; Raduan, R. ; Ramli, M.Z.
7 2018 A review of structural equation model for construction delay study Ramli, M.Z. ; Malek, M.A. ; Muda, M.Z. ; Talib, Z.A. ; Azman, N.S. ; Fu'ad, N.F.S.M. ; Zawawi, M.H. ; Katman, H.Y.
8 2018 Study of factors influencing construction delays at rural area in Malaysia Ramli, M.Z. ; Malek, M.A. ; Hanipah, M.H. ; Lin, C.L. ; Mahamad Sukri, M.F. ; Zawawi, M.H. ; Zainal Abidin, M.Z. ; Mohamad Fuad, N.F.S.
9 2018 The study of Phosphorus distribution at Putrajaya Wetland Zahari, N.M. ; Abdul Malek, N.F.F. ; Fai, C.M. ; Haron, S.H. ; Zawawi, M.H. ; Ismail, I.N. ; Mohamad, D. ; Syamsir, A. ; Sidek, L.M. ; Ramli, M.Z. ; Ismail, N. ; Sapian, A.Z. ; Noordin, N. ; Rahaman, N.A. ; Muhamad, Y. ; Saman, J.M.


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I learnt so much during my time here that I just couldn't help but share some fun facts about India with you; some that may amaze you, and some that may break your heart.
For a country that is often seen as incredibly foreign and far removed from the western world, you'll be amazed to know that India actually has the second largest population of English speakers in the world – coming second behind the USA!
10% of India's population and a total of 125 million people in this country are bound to the English language – isn't that crazy?
People come from all around the world to bathe, drink and worship in the sacred waters of Ganga, in the hopes of washing away their sins and purifying their soul.
And it doesn't stop there… Hindu's also believe that having their bodies cremated on the banks of the Ganges river will free the soul from the cycle of death and reincarnation – These particular Cremation Ghats on the edge of the river burn continuously through all hours of the day and night.
It's an incredibly spiritual place, to say the least!
Children, pregnant women, holy men, people with leprosy and people that have died from a snake bite will not be burnt on the river banks. In these cases, rather than being cremated the bodies are instead weighed down with stones, covered in fabric and left for the river to consume.
Kumbh Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith that takes part in one of four sacred sites every 3 years. During the festival, over 120 million people gather to bathe in the holy river – over 30 million people visit the designated site each day of the ceremony, in order to wash away their sins and become one step closer to salvation.
With such a huge number of people in one relatively small location, the mass was visible via satellite image from space!
It may sound crazy, but over the last few years, India has accounted for almost 14% of all global arms purchases – and they don't even want to put them to use!
This peace-loving nation strongly advocates for all nations to correspond in harmony; and although it may seem a little excessive, this major purchase of arms is simply as a security measure and is driven by defensive concerns. In order to ensure the integrity of their own nation when in danger, India continues to be the world's leading arms importer.
You can make your own opinion on that one!
I don't like to focus on the negative aspects of a country, but this is a fact… And facts can't be ignored.
64 million people are left without a home, forced into child labour, forced to drink contaminated water, left to deal with horrific waste disposal and a severe lack of security. The Mumbai Slum, Dharavi, is one of the largest slums in the world – hosting almost 1,000,000 people.
Across the entire country, there are over 64 million people living in extreme poverty, and this number is greater than the total population of my home country, Australia.
There are almost 27 million babies born every year in India. As a comparison, there are only 23 million people in the whole of Australia.
That's around 51 births each minute, 3,060 births each hour and 73,440 births per day – WOAH!
I'm not going to lie, I was almost certain that Beijing was the most polluted city in the world, but unfortunately for India, New Delhi has taken the cake.
From my personal experience of spending time in this city, there's absolutely no doubt that it's incredibly polluted… But when there are almost 19 million people living within its border and minimal waste solutions, what can you expect?
For the size of the country, India has the longest, densest railway network in the world. With 65,000 km of connected railroad, India carries over 8 billion people every single year – not always inside the carriages might I add – but regardless, this number is the highest in the world!
If this railroad were to be stretched out straight, it would wrap around the circumference of the Earth over 1.5 times! Out of all of the fun facts about India, this one definitely blew my mind the most!
Even during my visit, there were numerous religious ceremonies held throughout the country that was accepted and respected without any question – India is certainly a country to be admired.
For a country that is often generalized for its poverty and overpopulation, India has invented and discovered some incredible things. They were even the first people to discover that there was water on the moon!
But on a more everyday level, imagine life without buttons, shampoo or cotton clothing?!?
India has the lowest rate of meat consumption in the world – It's said that between 30-40% of the Indian population is vegetarian, which is a huge number considering the majority of other countries have a total of less than 5%!
This is because of religious and cultural traditions, such as Hinduism – where they strongly recommend and believe in 'ahimsa' — non-violence against all life forms, including animals.
Have you got any other fun facts about India to share? It's such an incredible country with so much information and fascinating history. I'd love to hear your thoughts down below!
Sadly Ganges is not pure anymore.
It's really informative topic. Share the amazing info. Good Job!
Amazing stuff. I read the full article it is very fruitful.
I'm so glad you enjoyed, thank you!
Thanks for writing this great article! It's very informative, and you included some great facts to equally great article. Great read!
I attended the Kumbha Mela. It was crazy. 300kms away, trains, buses, cars even planes were delayed or cancelled because of the 100 million people attending.
Personally, despite being a white British man, I have organised for my body to be burnt and spread in to the river Ganges.
As you can see living and working in India has completely changed my life.
I think that is so so amazing Gordon. I absolutely love that you're so open and honest about your beliefs – It's definitely something to be admired. India really is a life changing country, I'm so happy that it has had such a positive influence on you!


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And camaro whose combined sales have made favorite
's Pick You'd have to think the Mexico defense keep themselves the match for the entirety.Logically speaking, captain Max Pacioretty should be untouchable.Complaints of the altercations led Hofstra school executives to indicate to Cosmos executives that their lease at the Stadium would not be renewed following the 2016 .And Tykes keeper Luke Steele secured three points for his side with a fine stoppage-time save from Lansbury.
The issue Lernout faces is his decision making on the defensive side of the ice.He added three steals.Elcock hasn't spoken to 44-year-old Blanco since the tackle, which the former Soca Warriors still finds difficult to discuss, but he wants to reach out to the Mexico the name of friendship and forgiveness.
Raiders the year after beating the Dolphins: 1983 the Redskins had won as three-point underdogs.Goaltending has been a problem on the Island for several years, and Russian Ilya Sorokin has nothing left to prove the KHL.joined Peterson and as the only NFL cornerbacks to make the Pro Bowl each of the last four years…De'Vante Bausby was signed to the Eagles practice squad during the 2017 regular .He just approached the fence and looked for the hole.
Inaugurates New Performance and Racing Center: General Motors opened the doors to the all-new Powertrain Performance and Racing Center – a state-of-the- facility designed to enhance the development processes for the company's diverse racing engine programs.Not only did one defensive back mirror Dorsett's motion, but the fake to Dorsett appeared to help hold a pair of Eagles defenders on the offensive left side of the field.London is amazing city.If there were any lingering concerns about Marshawn Lynch 's future Oakland you can toss them out the window.Q: What if phone breaks, dies, or is lost stolen before I arrive?.
And it looks like Gase is the last to know.Kyrie is adding fuel to the fire.Because I believe that, said.
the end the winger's struggles with the boot, he only landed one of his five shots at goal, cost his side a point the final reckoning.From a play caller's standpoint, the implementation of a travel tactic also requires the scheme to feature and zone concepts with a number of moving parts.Just case, pack this tool — which includes pliers, scissors, a bottle opener, a wire cutter, a knife, a screwdriver and more.
This would have been a compelling game to watch on tape, even without all the craziness at the end.Friday 21st .Gabbert's best attribute is his mobility.did not grab a rebound but had three assists, accumulating a plus-minus of -11 his 19 of playing time.I think Burns and I have the same language most of the time, Zimmer said.The caption reads, New England, thank you!
You must be able to be honest with each other out loud, be on the same terms of strategy and nurture the relationship — otherwise, a professional divorce is likely, if not inevitable.The New Orleans Saints are one of the teams that kick-started the process by saying goodbye to a quartet of defensive leaders.1960 Hull won the Trophy as the NHL scoring leader for the first of three times.Through digital destinations, fans be able to select which jersey the team wear during its exhibition game Las Vegas , predict which 12 players could make the final team and other elements.
The game was totally changed, Wayne Tinkle said.He has only two DNFs 32 starts, which is impressive considering the tight nature of the racing here.PICK: SAINTS : The game of the weekend!
Looking back at the past results for Super Bowl MVP all the way back to 1999, the winning team's quarterback was named MVP 10 of the last 16 , a bet on a quarterback for this year's game would probably make the most sense.The Serbian national had his best year 2005 when he started 80 for the Nets as a second year player.Cole did some things that were very, very positive, Bielema said.Lost or stolen Passes, counterfeit Passes, or Passes sold violation of any applicable law not be honored.
Kevin Kolb certainly isn't doing himself any favors.


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Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
Ez 47:1-2,8-9,12
Ps 46: 2-3,5-6,8-9
1 Cor 3:9c-11,16-17
Jn 2:13-22
The source of life
The slaker of thirst.
Everything on earth depends on it. Human history, violent and peaceful, was, and is, very much the story of water. Migration patterns and development have shifted with the availability of water. There have been serious crises worldwide because of prolonged droughts. Some places are almost completely lacking in water. We can go without food for days. (Many Americans should go without food for days.) We cannot survive without water.
Too many people, including med students, whine that physicians don't learn enough about nutrition in med school. Nutrition. Big deal. A Big Mac can solve all hunger problems. However, physicians learn a lot about water, fluid balance, IV's and so on. Water is a much higher priority to human physiology than organic, vegan, gluten-free, and all the other trends and hobby horses today.
Flowing from the Temple in the eschatological promise of Ezekiel.
Making glad the city of God in the Psalm. Water, giving us eternal life in Jesus. Today's readings reflect the basic and elemental nature of this feast.
The Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica is a sign of devotion to, and unity with, the Chair of Peter which, St Ignatius of Antioch noted, "presides over the whole assembly of charity."
The name of the feast may be confusing. We are not celebrating a building. The Church building of the Lateran was destroyed and rebuilt a few times over the centuries. Facades were replaced and restored. What stands today is not the original. We don't celebrate a Church today. We celebrate The Church. The Church into which one enters solely through the waters of baptism the Church which can have no other foundation than the one that is already there, Jesus Christ.
Jesus, the foundation from whom living waters flow in all directions, to all peoples, if they choose to bathe in those waters. If they are willing to drink of the living water that is Jesus.
In his splendid commentary on this Gospel the late Jesuit Father Stanley Marrow writes, "One incidental and puzzling aspect of the narrative is how generation after generation can read or hear the account itself and yet persist in clinging to their cherished image of Jesus. They cherish an image of Jesus so "gentle and mild" as to be incapable of "overthrowing anything, not even the reader's smugness. . . . The Jesus in the pages of this or any other gospel is not exactly a standard-bearer for bleeding hearts. . . .the aim is not to provide us with the biography of an inspiring hero, proportioned to the size of our ambitions, conformed to our ideals, and meeting our currently prevailing notions of what constitutes greatness."
The elemental nature of this feast, as reflected in the Gospel, reflects the elemental nature of water. Without water human life cannot survive. Without zeal for God's house, without zeal for preaching His word the Church cannot survive.
The Jesus of the gospels is not a Jesus of relativism, a Jesus of accommodation, or a Jesus of negotiation. The Jesus of the gospels is not a wimp. The Jesus of the gospels called a spade a spade. The Jesus of the gospels did not cave into secularist society. The Jesus of the gospels did not tolerate desecration of His Father's house. The Jesus of the gospels acted forcefully when He had to.
We do well to remember that.
Winter is making an appearance up here. The temperature will be around freezing for BCs last home game on Saturday. At least it is technically their last home game if one considers home to be campus. There is a game remaining against UConn to be played at Fenway, not too far down the street.
Slowly getting settled at BC. It has been very busy with little time to unpack boxes. By next week there is a bit of a lull. Am awaiting a few seven-shelf bookcases so I can begin unpacking boxes.
The Rule of St. Benedict in its slipcase. It is read each evening before dinner in the men's guest house at the Abbey. The slipcase is a faded reddish color. This is one situation in which black and white is much more effective than color.
This was taken at Campion Center. It may look like a large stained glass piece but it is in fact a shot of a small frame that is only about eight inches square. Photography allows one to notice small details and record them, a definite memory aid.
The Jesuit church on the grounds of Sevenhill Winery in the Clare valley of South Australia. We did the thirty-day retreat here during tertianship. Extraordinarily beautiful place.
There is a cemetery at the edge of the winery. This photo required a lot of post-processing as the large insignia was supported by several struts. They were removed.
Mass of Remembrance for Veterans' Day
Sir 44:1, 9-13
Ps 122:1-2, 4-5,6-7,8-9
Eph 4:30-5:2
Mt 5:1-12a
WW I: Gallipoli, Verdun.
WW II: Iwo Jima, Anzio, D-Day
Korea: Inchon
Viet Nam: Tet, the Fall of Saigon
The Gulf War and all the subsequent worldwide involvements.
The changes in the art and science of war, the way wars are fought, and the reasons underlying wars emerge from changes in society and in those who fight them. Were any of the veteran's of the 26th Yankee Division--or any veteran's of WW I--alive today, it is unlikely that they would recognize anything about the way wars are fought or the way in which those who serve are trained and prepared for war.
The philosophical and theological understandings of conflict and war have changed dramatically in the century since World Wars I and II. It is unlikely that either "Over There," George M. Cohan's WW I song, or Frank Loesser's "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" of WW II vintage would be written today, or become the hits they were at the time.
Much has changed since the founding of the 26th Yankee Division one hundred years ago here in Massachusetts. We commemorate those changes and the veterans of military service, including the recently discharged, who implemented and lived them.
The WW I trenches, hand to hand combat, and bayonets were replaced by a powerful air force, and bombs with extraordinary destructive potential in WW II. Today, missiles can be deployed via computer. There is a risk of sophisticated chemical and biological warfare. All of these developments have changed the experience of those called to fight wars.
The response of American society to veterans has also changed. The ticker-tape parades and welcomes given veterans returning from battle after World Wars I and II contrast sharply with the vitriolic ugliness dished out to veterans of Vietnam by so-called 'peaceniks.' And this is different from the sense of ho-hum that marks returning veterans today. I will only comment on professional athletes quote taking a knee unquote during the National Anthem by ignoring further comment. This is sacred space. There are some words and concepts that cannot be spoken here.
Wars define the generation that fought it and the generation that follows, the veterans' sons and daughters. My dad, born in 1905, was too young for WW I. However, during WW II he served four years in Europe as a physician in the Army medical corps. Like many veterans, he rarely spoke about it, though a few years before he died, we had a few late night conversations on being a physician during war, conversations that I promised not to share with siblings or the rest of the family.
The four years I worked at the White River Junction VA before entering the Jesuits, were eye-opening and, at times, heart-rending. It was not, is not, and never will be, easy to serve.
The first reading from Sirach was an intentional choice.
"Now will I praise those godly men, our ancestors,
each in his own time."
Another version translates the verse differently:
"Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers
in their generations."
Both translation are appropriate for this Mass. Both translations describe the life and plight of the veteran, each in its own way.
"Now will I praise those godly men,
our ancestors . . . "
The sacrifices the veteran made--and will continue to make-- are oftentimes discounted or ignored. Future plans, family life, education, jobs . . . all of these are put on hold when one is called or volunteers to serve in the armed forces. Injuries may short circuit some plans. The risk of death needs no elaboration. Other times military service opens up previously undreamed of opportunities and paths of life.
"Let us now praise famous men
our fathers . . ."
The Revised Standard Version translation was used ironically as the title for a depression-era book of photos and essays by Walker Evans and James Agee. The subjects were sharecroppers. The irony is that the families were anonymous. In fact their surnames were changed for the purposes of the book. Their fame was found only in that anonymity. They were famous for their hiddenness.
That is the plight of the one serving in the military and the veteran. Anonymity. Hiddenness. The fame of the veteran is in the hiddenness of the veteran's service. Doing a job day by day with little recognition or appreciation.
The Godly One.
The Anonymous One.
"Of others there is no memory . . .
Yet these also were godly men, . . .
their wealth remains in their families,
their heritage with their descendants"
It the task of us who are the descendants of the veterans, to keep their memories, and the narrative they shared with us alive. And, by keeping those memories alive, we learn from them. Take a look at the WW I memorabilia on display here. What was it like to carry that canvas backpack in battle? What was it like packing it before shipping out? What about the man to whom they belonged?
The Beatitudes are the most familiar portion of the much longer Sermon on the Mount.
"Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God."
Sometimes peace can only be accomplished through war. Peace may only be possible when enemy threats from the outside are crushed in the fight. Ideally swords will be pounded into plowshares and spears will be turned into pruning hooks. But at times plowshares must be forged again into swords and pruning hooks back into spears.
The reality of the human condition is that we are sinners. At times those sins manifest in actions that threaten the lives and safety of others. At times those sins ignite the fuse that leads to war. This has been true since the beginning of time and it will be true until the end of time. Thus our gratitude to those who served. Our thanks to the veteran who risked everything to ensure the safety and freedom we enjoy.
Paul instructs us that: All bitterness, fury, anger . . . reviling and malice must not find a home in our hearts. This is particularly true after the battle. We are called to put the hostility toward the enemy aside and to work for reconciliation. We may never become buddies with our enemy but we can try to live in a state of cautious armistice. That may be the only form of peace possible in this deeply troubled world.
We thank them.
And we pray for them.
The Mass was held yesterday afternoon, Sunday 5 November, at St. Patrick Manor in Framingham. It was nicely planned and executed, including a color guard, music, and dinner afterwards.
The photos are from Boston College, my new home. I took them before the BC-Florida State football game. It was the firs time out with the new camera at night. Am very pleased with the results.
The Boston College Eagle in front of Gasson Hall. It is a challenge to have one's photo taken with the eagle given that it is about 15 feet above the ground
Gasson Hall from the front facing Commonwealth Ave.
The back of Gasson Hall.
Tailgaters don't change much across schools.
Nice touch.


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Atwood: The Handmaid's Tale
1. Contexts
In this module, we think about some of the contexts that are important to keep in mind when reading the novel. In particular, we think about where and when Atwood wrote the novel, her engagement with contemporary politics – both the totalitarianism of Soviet Russia and the religious extremism of the New Right in the United States –, and the influence of texts such Anne Frank's Diary, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, and George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949).
In this course, Dr Madeleine Davies (University of Reading) explores Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel, the Handmaid's Tale. We begin by thinking about some of the contexts – political, religious, literary – that are relevant when reading the novel, before considering the novel's title, its epigraphs and its opening paragraphs. In the third module, we think about how the narrative is presented in the novel – in particular related to questions of authenticity – before turning in the fourth module to the theme of identity. In the fifth module, we consider the importance of surveillance in Gilead, focusing in particular on the themes of sight, seeing and being seen, before moving on in the sixth module to the connected themes of ideology and indoctrination. In the seventh module, we think about the impact that living in Gilead has on how one perceives the female body – especially one's own body – while in eighth we think about words and silence, focusing in particular on the scenes in which Offred plays Scrabble with the Commander. In the ninth module, we turn to the Historical Notes at the end of the novel, in which a future, post-Gileadean society tries to make sense of Offred's account, before turning in the tenth and final module to consider the longer-term relevance of the Handmaid's Tale – including looking at the 2017 TV adaptation of the novel starring Elizabeth Moss and Joseph Fiennes.
Madeleine Davies is a Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Reading. She specialises in Women's Writing and Feminist Theory, particularly the work of Virginia Woolf and Margaret Atwood. She has published widely on Margaret Atwood in particular, including 'Margaret Atwood's Female Bodies' in C. A. Howells (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Margaret Atwood (2006).
[Download worksheet] (PDF, 73 KB)
Davies, M. (2018, August 15). Atwood: The Handmaid's Tale - Contexts [Video]. MASSOLIT. https://www.massolit.io/courses/atwood-the-handmaid-s-tale/contexts
Davies, Madeleine. "Atwood: The Handmaid's Tale – Contexts." MASSOLIT, uploaded by MASSOLIT, 15 Aug 2018, https://www.massolit.io/courses/atwood-the-handmaid-s-tale/contexts
1. Contexts (12:04)
2. Structure and Beginnings (12:16)
3. Narration (14:12)
4. Identity (14:47)
5. Surveillance (13:49)
6. Indoctrination and Ideology (12:39)
7. The Body (10:27)
8. Words and Silence (10:06)
9. The Historical Notes (13:07)
10. Endings: Herstory vs. History (09:33)
Shelley: Frankenstein
Ishiguro: Never Let Me Go
H. G. Wells: The War of the Worlds
Orwell: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Orwell: Animal Farm


The Son of God took on flesh to be our savior. To make this New Covenant with us.
A few inch long steps in the will of God outpace great strides in man's strength.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.