Selection criteria and common coating attributes for PVD, CVD and other common coatings.
The right surface treatment on small round tools can increase overall life, decrease cycle time and promote better surface finishes. Unfortunately, choosing the right coating for your high production application can be a confusing and arduous task. Each one has advantages and disadvantages in the machining process. An improper selection can lead to less tool life than an uncoated tool and sometimes result in more problems than solutions.
A formed layer of aluminum oxide gives Titanium Aluminum Nitride (TiAlN or AlTiN) tools better life in high-heat applications. This coating is primarily selected for carbide tooling where little to no coolant is being used.
Photos courtesy of OSG USA, Inc.
There is a vast selection of PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition), CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) and alternate surface treatments that are readily available from your manufacturers or coating facilities. This article will better associate you with some common coating attributes and some popular PVD and CVD choices. Each one of these characteristics plays a major role in determining which treatment may be the most beneficial for an application.
A high surface hardness from your coating is one of the best ways to increase tool life. Generally speaking, the harder the material or surface, the longer the tool will last. Titanium Carbo-Nitride (TiCN) has a higher surface hardness versus that of Titanium Nitride (TiN). The addition of carbon gives TiCN 33 percent higher hardness and changes the range from about 3,000 to 4,000 Vickers, depending on the manufacturer. With a surface hardness near 9,000 Vickers, CVD diamond coatings that have been grown onto the tools show 10 to 20 times better tool life compared to PVD coatings. This is the coating of choice for production work in non-ferrous materials because of its higher hardness and its ability to run at two to three times the speed of uncoated tooling.
This is the ability of the coating to protect against abrasion. Although a material may not be hard, elements and processes added during production may aid in the breakdown of cutting edges or forming lobes.
A high coefficient of friction causes increased heat, leading to a shorter coating life or coating failure. However, a lower coefficient of friction can greatly increase tool life. The amount of heat can be reduced by a surface that lacks coarseness or irregularities. This slick surface lets the chips slide off the face of the tool, generating less heat. A higher surface lubricity also can allow for increased speeds when compared to non-coated versions. This further wards off galling of the work material.
This is the point at which the treatment starts to break down. A higher oxidation temperature rating improves success in high heat applications. Although the Titanium Aluminum Nitride (TiAlN) coatings may not be as hard as TiCN at room temperature, it proves to be much more effective in applications where heat is generated. This coating holds its hardness at higher temperatures due to a layer of aluminum oxide that forms between the tool and the cutting chip. This layer transfers heat away from the tool and into the part or chip. Carbide tooling is generally run at higher speeds compared to HSS. This makes TiAlN a preferred choice when coating carbide. Drills and endmills are commonly coated with this type of PVD treatment.
This property keeps material from depositing onto the tool by preventing less chemical reactivity between the tool and the cutting material. BUE (Built Up Edge) is very common in non-ferrous materials like aluminum or brass. BUE can lead to chipping of the tool or oversizing of the part. Once the material starts adhering to the tool, it continues to attract. In the case of machining aluminum with a forming tap, aluminum deposits grow larger after every hole. Eventually, the pitch diameter becomes so enlarged that the part becomes oversized and needs to be scrapped. A coating with increased anti-seizure properties may even be able to aid where poor coolant quality or concentration is a problem.
A high surface hardness from your coating is one of the best ways to increase tool life.
General purpose PVD coating that increases hardness and has a high oxidation temperature. This coating works great while cutting or forming with HSS tooling.
The addition of carbon adds more hardness and better surface lubricity. This coating is ideal for HSS cutting tools.
A formed layer of aluminum oxide gives this tool better life in high heat applications. This coating is primarily selected for carbide tooling where little to no coolant is being used. AlTiN offers a higher surface hardness than that of TiAlN, along with different percentages of aluminum and titanium. It is another viable option in the world of HSM.
The anti-seizure properties of this coating makes it preferred in situations where BUE is common. HSS or carbide cutting and forming tools will be seen with this almost invisible coating.
A CVD process that offers the highest performance available in non-ferrous materials. Ideal for cutting graphite, MMC (Metal Matrix Composites), high silicon aluminum and many other abrasive materials (Note: True diamond coatings should not be used while machining steels. More heat is generated while cutting steels and thus causes chemical reactions that break down the bonds that hold this coating to the tool).
Coatings for hard milling, tapping and drilling all vary and are application-specific. Also available are multi-layer coatings that chip to the next layer instead of the tooling substrate, providing a further increase in tool life.
Having a fundamental base of the facts makes it easier to detail how some of the latest innovations in cutting tool substrates, geometries and coatings can make it easier for one's moldmaking process to go from fast to furious.


✓ The only skills university in the state and one of the first two in the country.
✓ World class education and training with 360 degree teaching and learning pedagogies covering practical knowledge, discussion based learning, group discussions, case studies and interactive learning.
✓ Offers graduate, post graduate and doctoral programs in engineering & technology, management, sciences, hospitality & tourism, arts and humanities, education and skill development and numerous short term vocational training courses under Government of India's mega skill development initiative, and other employment oriented courses, all under at its integrated campus within an environment of specially developed facilities.
✓ Highly educated and experienced faculty from the nationally and internationally reputed Institutes and Universities in India and abroad.
✓ Innovative inter and multi-disciplinary teaching and learning pedagogies to groom, nurture and nourish students with real time exposure for the balanced personality and intellectual development of the students.
✓ Eco-friendly Wi-Fi enabled, well developed campus spread across 50 acres of lush green environment.
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✓ No legacy of tradition – ideally suited for implementation of innovative ideas.


A proposed law change following a dementia patient's fatal car crash would see doctors forced to breach their doctor-patient confidentiality by telling authorities if a person is unfit to drive.
But Kiwi doctors are refusing to take on a coroner's recommendations unless they are bound to do so by amended legislation.
The ethical tension comes as Coroner Michael Robb today released his findings into the death of 77-year-old Malcolm Furgus Gillanders-Ryan.
Gillanders-Ryan had a history of hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, Alzheimer's dementia and Meniere's disease, which causes sudden attacks of dizziness and vertigo.
On April 12 last year, the former engineer was driving home along Broadlands Rd near Taupō but crossed the centreline and collided with an oncoming vehicle.
He died at the scene from a severe head injury, while the other driver survived.
In his recommendations, Coroner Robb said it should be mandatory for doctors to report unfit drivers to the New Zealand Transport Authority (NZTA) under what would be a Land Transport Act amendment.
While not legally complied to, no medical professionals informed police or the NZTA that Gillanders-Ryan's driver's licence should be cancelled and first allowed him to voluntarily surrender his licence.
Currently doctors only have to report an unfit driver to the NZTA if they believe the patient will continue to drive.
Gillanders-Ryan was upset at no longer being able to drive and ignored his medical advice.
He told a psychiatric nurse he had been "robbed of his independence and his rights".
His wife of 52 years, Beverly Gillanders-Ryan, also tried to hide his car keys to stop him getting behind the wheel and even removed a fuse from his ute to disable the vehicle.
Tragically, Gillanders-Ryan and his wife had already lost two sons in separate motorbike accidents.
As a result of the crash, the Lakes District Health Board has already changed its practice of allowing people to voluntarily surrendering their licence.
Now the DHB informs the NZTA of unfit drivers.
But in a letter to Coroner Robb other doctors around the country said they will not follow the DHB's lead and will continue to follow current guidance - raising concerns about the doctor-patient relationship.
The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners also told the coroner they are "very conscious that telling a patient that they are unfit to drive can have a negative impact on the doctor-patient relationship".
"This can be further exacerbated when the doctor then reports the patient as unfit to drive to the NZTA."
The doctors said should reporting to the NZTA become mandatory then they "would expect that the resources provided to GPs would also need to be updated".
"Until such time as the NZTA advice is updated, GPs will continue to follow current guidance."
Coroner Robb said the removal of the ability to drive is a significant loss of independence and may be the subject of unkept promises but the approach now taken by Lakes DHB is a "pragmatic" one.
He said it triggers the NZTA to take steps to prevent the responsibility resting solely on family members to stop unfit drivers.
The Ministry of Transport and the NZTA also replied to Coroner Robb's recommendations in a letter and said a law change could "potentially have a beneficial impact on road safety" and "reduce the burden on family".
An amendment will be investigated as part of the ministry's review of the transport regulatory regime next year.


text:
Trip Advisor – Independent Reviews
Birds and Wildlife at St.Lawrence
What's new at St.Lawrence
We are delighted to welcome you to our peaceful and spacious five bedroom home set within its own estate of 19 acres and with views towards the sea and Caldey Island.
An award winning luxury Bed and Breakfast with a difference, we have two luxury rooms – one on the ground floor and one on the first floor. Four double rooms are on the 1st floor, three with spectacular views across the Ritec Fen – a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) – to the sea and beyond to Caldey Island, and the fourth with views across to our top woodland.
Raphael, Room 1, is a luxury ground floor en-suite bedroom with a super-kingsize (6 ft) bed that can be converted into two separate 3 ft beds according to requirement. This room also has two armchairs, a table, and a refrigerator in which to store fresh milk, wine or ice for your G&T! In-room facilities include tea & coffee making, and a flat screen colour TV with DVD player and Freeview (offering all your favourite TV and radio programmes). Raphael also has some disabled facilities should you need them (please see our Access Statement for details.
Chamuel, Room 6, is on the first floor and is a 'luxury suite of rooms'. It incorporates a spacious main bedroom with comfortable armchairs, a refrigerator, tea & coffee making facilities, a flat screen television with DVD and Freeview, and a super-kingsize (6 ft) bed which again can be converted into two separate 3 ft beds as required. This luxury suite has its own separate toilet and bathroom including a full size bath and large shower cubicle.
Uriel, Room 2, Michael, Room 3 and Zedkiel , Room 4 are situated on the first floor. They each have en suite shower rooms, tea & coffee making facilities, a flat screen TV with DVD and Freeview, and a refrigerator. Michael and Zedkiel are south facing, while Uriel looks across to woodland.
Each room offers the finest quality Egyptian bed linen and towels, a hairdryer, binoculars, and complimentary bathrobes. Free Wifi is available in the bedrooms.
To see photographs of the rooms, please go to The Gallery section.
A large inviting guest lounge is situated on the ground floor with a log burner for the cooler months. Adjoining the lounge is a conservatory where breakfast is served, and double doors give access to seating and tables on the terrace . All these areas have the same scenic views as the bedrooms – south across the Ritec Valley to the sea and Caldey island.
We offer free use of WiFi and computer & broadband facilities are available upon request. We have ample private parking.
If you require a luxury tranquil B&B which is more like a hotel, St Lawrence is for you.
or info@stlawrencecountryguesthouse.co.uk
website by Buzinet Pembrokeshire Web Design

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L & R Tire And Truck Center is a pillar of the community. L & R Tire And Truck Center is a leader in offering name brand tires, wheels, and auto repair services for customers in Elk City, OK, Sayre, OK, Clinton, OK, and surrounding areas. Our goal is to focus on customer service. It is the foundation of our business. L & R Tire And Truck Center employs a well-trained staff specializing in the sale and installation of passenger car, performance, light truck, or SUV tires. Take this opportunity to browse our website or call us for personalized service.


text:
Baghali ghatogh (Persian: باقالی قاتق) is a northern Iranian dish made with fava beans, dill, and eggs. It's usually served with kateh (Persian rice dish) in northern provinces such as Gilan and Mazandaran, and can be considered a khoresh (Persian stew). It is spiced with turmeric, salt, garlic, and sometimes pepper.

Outside of Iran this dish is made with either lima beans, kidney beans or fava beans. If using dried beans, they should be soaked overnight (this will shorten cooking time).

See also
 Caspian cuisine
 Nargesi

References

Iranian cuisine
Iranian stews
Egg dishes
Legume dishes

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Home | Jewish World
Searching for His Father in the Oven Built for Cremating Eichmann
In a new exhibition in Tel Aviv, Tuly Ziv shows works inspired by the furnace his father designed, operated and dismantled after one use.
Ofer Aderet
Jan. 7, 2016 Updated: Apr. 10, 2018
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Work from Tuly Ziv's exhibition.Credit: Amit Gosher
Early on the morning of June 1, 1962, Tuly Ziv's father returned home from work and told his son: "Last night I cremated Eichmann." Ziv, who was 10, had followed the radio broadcasts from Jerusalem of Adolf Eichmann's trial. As the son of Holocaust survivors, he knew what it was about, but after his father announced that he had just burned the body of the Nazi war criminal, Tuly was unable to fall back to sleep. In some sense, he is still in the grip of that nightmare.
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The Nazi collaborator who served ice cream in Tel Aviv
"The Furnace," Ziv's solo exhibition of paintings inspired by that morning 54 years ago, opens tonight at the Tel Avivs Artists House.
Ziv's father, Pinhas Zaklikowski, survived the Lodz ghetto and the Buchenwald concentration camp, the only member of his family who did not die in the Holocaust. After the war he immigrated to Palestine illegally and served first in the Irgun pre-state militia and later in the Israel Defense Forces' Givati Brigade. In Poland, his family had owned a cardboard factory, but in Israel Zaklikowski worked in a factory for commercial baking ovens owned by the Irgun's chief operations officer, Amichai "Gidi" Paglin.
In 1962, Zaklikowski was called upon to design and build the oven in which Eichmann's body would be burned. "For 10 days I worked on this oven with a sense of awe," he told Yehuda Koren in an interview in Haaretz Magazine in 1990.
The Supreme Court had not yet denied Eichmann's appeal of his death sentence when the oven was completed. It waited in the yard of the factory in Petah Tikva. After Eichmann was hanged, it was Zaklikowski who placed the body in the oven and turned it on.
"My participation in Eichmann's cremation wasn't even a tiny fraction of revenge for what he did to my family and me. I continued to feel the same emptiness inside," he told Haaretz. Zaklikowski dismantled the oven immediately after the cremation, and the following day he returned to his usual work responsibilities.
Ziv began work on the new exhibition five years ago, after the death of his mother, Sarah, an Auschwitz survivor. In the attic of her home in Ramat Gan, he found photographs of relatives who died in the Holocaust. And under a pile of floor tiles, in a dust-covered plastic bag, he found a drawing of the oven made by his father. His mother had hidden it for decades, and Ziv hadn't even known of its existence.
"I felt as if I'd been given a punishment. It was as if my father had come and said to me: 'Come on, get to work,'" Ziv recounted. The drawing became the source of an unrelenting obsession that resulted in around 500 works on paper, 100 of which make up the exhibition. The subjects include graves, grave markers, concentration camps, synagogues, railroad tracks and loaves of bread. Through them, he said, he attempted to reengage in dialogue with his late father.
"When I look at a photograph of my father, in external appearance it's the father I know. When I see the 'oven,' he is the internal father that I miss. I am trying to search inside myself, inside him, in essence going inside the furnace," he said.
Ziv graduated in 1977 from Tel Aviv's Avni Institute of Art and Design in Tel Aviv, where his teachers included the Israel Prize laureate Yehezkel Streichman and Avigdor Steimatsky, members of the Israeli artists' group New Horizons. Ziv's work has been exhibited in Israel and abroad. He uses a variety of techniques and materials, but his main subject is the Holocaust. His studio is in the home in north Tel Aviv home that he shares with his wife, Yardena, who for years was the chief designer of the Honigman chain of clothing stores.
Ziv's father died 17 years ago, his mother five years ago. A sister, Esther, died in a traffic accident at a young age.
"I injure the paper and heal it. It heals itself," he declared while describing his work, which features the smearing of oil paint and an obsessive repetition of images in a changing set of compositions on a series of subjects. His work is dense and highly charged. They provoke stress in the viewer even before the content is considered.
"It's frenetic work that generates emotional energy and releases it," said Arie Berkowitz, the director of the Artists' House and the curator of the exhibition.
"I fill the painting and actually fill myself," added Ziv. "I do it through the form of smoke and fill the surface in round strokes. It provides volume and a feeling that something is happening inside," he noted.
The exhibition was produced by Avner Avraham, a former member of Israel's Mossad intelligence service who shares Ziv's obsession with Eichmann. "We have a mutual friend," he chuckled. "Eichmann."
Avraham is an artist and curator who has curated several exhibitions for the Mossad, notably "Operation Finale." Devoted to Eichmann's capture in Argentina, it has received considerable public exposure. It was displayed in the Knesset in 2011, for the 50th anniversary of the Eichmann trial, before moving to Tel Aviv's Beit Hatfutsot. The exhibit is scheduled to travel to the United States soon.
The major source of material for "Operation Finale" was the Mossad's own archives. For the first time in the agency's history, documents and other original items from its archives were displayed in public. A few items were contributed by private individuals, and the Ghetto Fighters' House Museum at Kibbutz Lohamei Hageta'ot lent the famous bulletproof glass booth used to protect Eichmann during his trial.
Ziv met Avraham when the former came to see the exhibit. When Avraham heard about the drawings of the oven that Ziv had found, he realized that another piece of the puzzle surrounding Eichmann had been found.
Zaklikowski's interview in Haaretz was also a part of that story. On May 31, 1962, President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi rejected Eichmann's request for clemency, clearing the way for the only execution in Israel's history.
"At around noon, they called the factory and told me to tell my wife I would be returning from work after midnight that night," Zaklikowski recounted in the interview. "According to the instructions, people who had been through the Holocaust were prohibited from having anything to do with Eichmann's execution, but since my job was only to turn on the oven and to make sure the fire didn't go out, I participated in the operation," he explained.
Tuly Ziv.Credit: Ofer Aderet
That afternoon, an unmarked police truck rolled up to the factory and the oven, which weighed one and a half tons, was placed on it, Zaklikowski told Haaretz in 1990. The oven was brought to a police warehouse near the Ramle prison where Eichmann had been incarcerated and where he was executed. At 6 P.M., Zaklikowski lit the oven to make sure that it worked properly.
"In complete silence and supreme levelheadedness, he built the crematorium," Ziv recalls, "not to avenge a grudge, because there is no real revenge for an entire world destroyed and whole families that were extinguished. Dad built the oven as a citizen and a free resident of the State of Israel, as a partner, a confidant and as an excellent and even outstanding craftsman," Ziv says.
"That's my dad, who would pass out bread in the Lodz ghetto. Bread is baked in ovens. I don't really known what went through his head. He didn't say and I didn't ask. Did he think about the connection between the crematoria ovens and the bread-baking ovens? Did he see his parents in his mind's eye, his brother and sister suddenly alive, watching the kind of memorial that he was making to them, like a marker for a grave whose location is unknown? I no longer have anyone to ask," Ziv says.
Eichmann's body arrived after midnight, in a heavily-guarded car, in the clothes Eichmann was wearing when he was hanged, the noose still around his neck. After the cremation, his ashes were scattered in the Mediterranean Sea from a boat, beyond Israel's territorial waters.
"The morning Dad died, I went into the studio. I felt I had said goodbye to him, but looking back, ever since then I've been running after him, through ghettos and labor camps, trains and death camps and death marches, hunger and helplessness, grief and orphanhood and terrible isolation, trying to catch up with him," Ziv says.
"Even though Dad died many years after the crematoria and after he built the oven to burn Eichmann's body, I still go looking for my father in the crematorium," he confessed.
Israel culture
Holocaust survivors
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Israel's Defense Minister Gantz Tests Positive for COVID
ISIS Attacks on Iraqi Army Barracks, Syrian Prison Kill Dozens


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The film language of Siegfried Kraceur?
I'm sure many of you have heard of or read Siegfried Kraceur's Theory of Film: The Redemption of Physical Reality. If not, let me open your eyes to his beliefs, although I think we are all slightly perplexed as to what the theory truly means. Kraceur believes that the cinema is "animated by a desire to picture transient material life." In other words, "nature caught in the act." By this, Kraceur is saying that any staged or deliberate acts become – by definition – "uncinematic". Isn't this cinema in itself? Is Kraceur unaware of the mass production a film goes through before it reaches the screen?
Kraceur's theory lends itself toward documentary practice; therefore this is the medium that Kraceur exclaims films should fall under. At least this notion suggests Kraceur seems to understand what he himself is talking about. "Films are true to the medium to the extent that they penetrate the world before our eyes." I fail here to 'penetrate' what Kraceur is talking about; film is either solely a form for documentary or the fictional worlds created through film are in fact a reality i.e. filmed as they happened? Furthermore, it would certainly appear that any fantasy or science fiction film is out of the question, or at least it could never be true to the medium. It seems Kraceur is limiting his movie experience to neo-realism. But perhaps I am at fault for taking his notion of 'the world before our eyes' too literally.
Films dealing with the poor, and using non-professionals, are more "natural" according to Kraceur. I can understand how this representation may appear 'natural' before the camera, as it would lend itself to the essence of being an un-staged reality. However, this is by no means the way one should define cinema. Kraceur is saying, "Film… gravitates towards it," but surely film gravitates wherever the director wishes it to, which is a world of his or her own.
Kraceur is going out of his way to separate the medium of film from all other arts. We can take great pleasure from the medium of painting, poetry, photography and literature, and so on, so why not the cinema? Kraceur is attempting to disclose the medium of film as "nature caught in the act," and nature here is defined in a social-realist sense of perceiving the reality of human actions as they unfold. As beautiful as this may seem, the medium is capable of far more translucent behaviours. Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey would not count as an aesthetic of art in Kraceur's theory, not even Georges Méliès spectacular Le Voyage dans la Lune. Kraceur avoids accepting any form of stabilisation, experimentation, or even convention in the cinema. He reduces cinema to a statement of his own ideology, becomes a critic of it like those of other art forms, which leads to a pretension of ideas about what cinema is. Whereas, cinema is quite simply a bleeding-edge medium.
We must not sacrifice the art of the motion picture to a theory that, frankly, is total nonsense. Pauline Kael describes it as, "There are men whose concept of love is so boring and nagging that you decide if that's what love is you don't want it, you want something else. That's how I feel about Kraceur's 'cinema'. I want something else." Kael is still a very judgemental critic of film, but at least she stands outside of academia.


text:
Q: Unable to narrow down why getting wrong timestamp via stat So I am trying to code something for office work which involves getting timestamp for last time the file was updated to compare if the file got changed or not. I have literally broken my head over it for 2 days and moments away from giving it up. Would be huge huge help if someone can help.
/* starter, a code runs and stores a file's time stamp in old_var variable */
int bar (const char* path,time_t *time)
{
      struct stat s;

      if (stat(path, &s)) {
          return 1;
      }

      *time = s.st_mtime;
      return 0;
}

static int
foo_update (const char* path, time_t * foo_time)
{
    bar(path, foo_time);
//printing foo_time here gives correct value.
    return 0;
}

/* one long parent function calls foo_update*/

time_t var;
bzero(&var,sizeof(time_t));
foo_update(path,&var);
//printing var value here gives wrong (older val).

/* post this, we compare the var value with old_var to see if the its 2nd time we are parsing something or not.
when we do memcmp of var and old_var, it does not come 0.
I have even tried printing time_t val by converting to struct tm type. Then I saw
when I am trying to print var value, it comes as old val in this func, whereas it comes as new val when printing it in foo_update. This is very surprising as old_var is not being used anywhere in this func.
I am passing by reference. Not sure what is missing.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


PMS, also known as pre-menstrual syndrome, is a temporary condition that many women will experience at least once. This is a condition that often results in mood swings, intense cramps and long periods of pain. The sad fact is that many women experience PMS symptoms of some kind, but this does not mean intense pain has to be normal.
There are several types of PMS, and each woman may experience the condition differently. For instance, most women who experience PMS suffer from anxiety symptoms, tension and mood swings. Some women have intense cravings, headaches, depression and even weight gain.
The reason for PMS could be linked to hormonal imbalance. Some women could have more estrogen whereas others have too much progesterone.
One of the first things you can do to keep the symptoms at bay is to manage your stress levels. Cortisol is one of your body's hormones that can influence your body in negative ways when you excrete it in excessive amounts. You can manage stress by meditating, writing about problems in your journal or even spend time walking around outside.
Your diet can also have a lot to do with the PMS symptoms that you experience. Green vegetables, like broccoli and brussel sprouts, can detox your liver and encourage healthier hormone levels. You might also want to consider eliminating processed foods from your routine and up the ante on omega-3s.
You can also get plenty of sleep to combat these symptoms. Sleep patterns are influenced by hormones, and even a decrease in the quality of your sleep (not merely the quantity) can have negative results.
Myth: PMS makes women emotionally unstable.
Reality: There is no evidence to suggest that most women are seriously debilitated by PMS. The reality is that PMS has the ability to give some women mood swings, but it takes an extremely rare condition like premenstrual dysphoric disorder to cause significant problems. In reality, women are just as capable of making logical decisions when they are experiencing PMS as any other time.
Myth: PMS occurs during a woman's period.
Reality: PMS typically occurs before the period starts, sometimes up to two weeks before menstruation even begins. PMS is not synonymous with menstruation.
There is no doubt that PMS can be difficult to cope with on a daily basis. It is especially difficult to cope with the emotional and physical changes when you are trying to go about your daily business. Talk to your local healthcare professionals, such as Women's Healthcare Associates LLC, for more information.


Today, the last conference day at BASTA! Spring 2011 has ended. Thanks to all users, user group leaders and interested attendees for stopping by at our crowded booth. Thanks for your feedback, ideas and other input - we really appreciate that.
It is already a tradition that we raffle a Microsoft XBOX 360. The following video shows this raffle and our booth area.


A 21-year-old British hacker believed to be the leader of Islamic State's cyber division has been killed in a US drone strike in Syria, Reuters reports.
The US Defense Department likely played a part in the operation that targeted Birmingham-born hacker Junaid Hussain, a source familiar with the matter told the agency.
CSO Online reported that the drone strike was carried out Tuesday near the Syrian city of Raqqa, the power base of Islamic State (formerly ISIS/ISIL).
It is believed that Islamic State's hacker group, CyberCaliphate, was led by Hussain. Previously the group released what it claimed to be personal data of US military personnel, including names, photos and ranks. The data was published on a website and advertised on social media by the self-proclaimed Islamic State Hacking Division.
The group reportedly attacked a Pentagon-owned Twitter account in January. However, it is unclear whether or not Hussain was personally involved in the attack.
Hussain moved to Syria sometime in the last two years, the Birmingham Mail reported.
In 2012, he was sentenced to six months in prison for stealing former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's address book from an online account. Hussain admitted publishing the contents of the address book online, as well as making prank calls to a counterterrorism hotline.
US sources admitted that Hussain recently attracted a lot of interest in defense agency circles, but said he was never a top three target for US drone strikes.
ISIS has occupied large swathes of territory across Iraq and Syria with the goal of establishing a radical Sunni Islamist state. The group uses social media to spread its message and recruit fighters and supporters from abroad.
An increasing number of anti-ISIS hackers have come together to fight the threat of extremism online. One such attempt featured a hacker collective, known as Ghost Security, or GhostSec, combining forces with two other groups – CtrlSec and Anonymous – to confront ISIS.
RT spoke with someone known as Mikro, who claims to represent GhostSec and CtrlSec. "We have taken offline over 100 websites and suspended over 55,000 Twitter accounts," the hooded spokesman said over Skype. Some sites and accounts are having to be shut two or three times a day, he said, adding that anti-ISIS hackers are "literally stalking" those accounts.


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Special medical board examines ousted PM Nawaz in Jail
Lahore (Staff Report): The special medical board constituted Nawaz Sharif's treatment on Wednesday conducted a detailed examination of the former premier at Kot Lakhpat Jail.
The board comprising cardiac experts from Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC), Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) and Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology (RIC) examined the health of Nawaz.
On Monday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) summoned all medical reports of ousted PM.
A two-member bench, comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani heard Nawaz's plea seeking to suspend his sentence in the Al-Azizia reference on medical grounds.
The court issued notice to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Superintendent of Lahore's Kot Lakhpat Jail, adjourning the hearing of the case till February 6.
The former premier in his plea, requested that the court to suspend the sentence awarded to him by the accountability court verdict till a decision is announced on his appeal against the jail term.
The petition read that the sentence in Al-Azizia reference should be suspended and he should be granted bail on medical grounds against surety bond.
A medical report of the former PM dated January 17 has also been submitted along with the petition.
Former PM Nawaz Sharif underwent a medical examination at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) on January 22.
According to medical sources, three tests namely ECG, echocardiogram and Thallium of the former premier were conducted. "The echocardiogram report showed that Nawaz's heart is larger than normal," they said.
The former PM had earlier also moved the IHC seeking a suspension in the seven-year jail term handed to him in the Al-Azizia reference. His petition has been fixed for hearing on February 18.
On Dec 24, 2018, the Accountability Court 2 of Islamabad had handed a seven-year rigorous imprisonment to Nawaz Sharif along with a fine of Rs1.5 billion and $25 million in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills/Hill Metal Establishment reference. It had, however, acquitted him in the Flagship Investment reference.
Tagged special medical board examines nawaz jail neo tv
Court acquits Nawaz in Flagship, awards 7-year jail in Al-Azizia ...
02:56 PM, 24 Dec, 2018
Former PM Nawaz should be shifted to hospital, suggests medical board
06:56 PM, 1 Feb, 2019


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Nathan Jones | Composer
I would live in your love is taken from Sara Teasdale's second collection of poetry, Helen of Troy and Other Poems, published in 1911. Teasdale's style bridged the gap between the poetry of the Victorian age and 20th-century free verse. Throughout her career, she chose to write in metered verse and use regular rhyme scheme long after it had become passé. This poem, however, is an example of her exploration of poetic development in the 20th century. While it uses the elements of rhyme and meter, the rhythm of the text is uneven and flowing and the lines do not fit neatly into couplets. Teasdale paints images of profound beauty that reveal a woman who wished to balk Victorian tradition and marry for true love. Teasdale's own marriage to businessman Ernst Filsinger in 1914 was mostly an effort to please her parents. She divorced in 1929 and committed suicide four years later.
I chose to set the text using rich harmonic language and a thick texture to reflect the poet's desire to be completely consumed by love. The first stanza of the poem draws a metaphor between sea-grass surrounded by ocean waves and the poet surrounded by love. Throughout the piece, the pervasive melodic content is a minor third (G – B-flat) filled in by the middle note (A). This motive symbolizes the ocean surrounding the grass and, ultimately, the feeling of being consumed by love. I incorporated my love for the music of Robert Schumann at the climax of the piece by referencing the first movement of his Op. 17, for piano which he wrote for Clara Wieck. Here, he uses a recurring theme that signifies, "Clara;" a descending 5-note scale. At the climax, on the words, "your soul", I use this motive that cascades through the voices. The piece should be performed with sensitivity and flexibility, allowing punctuation to guide phrasing and breathing.
Available for purchase at J.W. Pepper.


text:
Q: Quickly make a static linked list I want to quickly make a static linked list, with as little code as possible, which is very readable and without clutter. How do i accomplish this elegantly?
something like
1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> NULL

A: struct node {int x; struct node *next;};
#define cons(x,next) (struct node[]){{x,next}}
struct node *head = cons(1, cons(2, cons(3, cons(4, NULL))));


James Yap refused to feel down following Rain or Shine's 94-89 defeat to Alaska on Wednesday.
The loss, which was the Elasto Painters' fourth straight to end the eliminations, has placed his team in an unenviable position in battling Blackwater on Friday for the last quarterfinals slot.
"Well, ganun naman eh. Kailangan tiwala lang sa isa't-isa. Kailangan solid ang team sa mga ganitong situation eh. Dito magiging matibay ang samahan namin. Manalo, matalo, dapat intact kami," Yap said.
Yap played through flu, racking up 16 points, three rebounds, and two assists.
His trey at the 7:15 mark of the fourth quarter even gave Rain or Shine an 86-79 lead before being subbed out for Jeff Chan with 6:54 to play. That was when Alaska staged a fightback, taking an 87-86 lead en route to the victory.
The two-time PBA Most Valuable Player shrugged off his apparent benching late and would rather focus on the collective effort of the Elasto Painters.
"Actually, sa dulo lang nagkakatalo. First quarter to gitna ng fourth, okay naman. Sa depensa, okay naman pero may mga lapses lang," he said. "May chance pa naman eh at di pa naman kami out.
Yap said Rain or Shine has to move past its recent struggles and just focus on the task at hand as it seeks to avoid early elimination.


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AbeDraws: Day 10: The sharpest tool on my desk!
Day 10: The sharpest tool on my desk!
I guess that many photographers would consider this macro. I drew it with a Prismacolor Verithin Colored Pencil, Crimson Red (2450) color pencil and the Bic Clic Stic Retractable Ball Pen, Medium Point (1.0 mm), Black, 12 Pens , which I had used on day 7 and 8. The pencil sharpener is based on a real sharpener, but I took the brand-name off of it. Yes, there is a little man in the middle scratching his head at the enormity of the situation. Wouldn't you?
Please share by clicking on any of these button below!
The little guy is a nice and unexpected touch! Congrats on your new daily drawing journey!


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The Top Horror TV Shows of the 80s
TVOvermind Staff 12 years ago
Television viewers have seen a resurgence of horror themed television shows appearing on the schedule from not only cable channels, but network television as well. From True Blood to the most-anticipated horror show of the year The Walking Dead (check out our review here), horror has taken television by storm by pushing boundaries that wouldn't have been acceptable 30 years ago. Despite horror dominating the 80s in every form of entertainment back then from movies to books, the one medium that the genre couldn't really break into was television.
With that being said, a few shows made the cut, but they were either only available on cable, were in syndication, or were canceled before their time due to protest from parental groups and televangelists crusade against the genre in the late 80s. These shows defined horror in the 80s as the genre was testing new ground, breaking down barriers, and scaring the hell out of us all at once. To the youth (and posers) of today, these shows might come across as lame, boring and downright cheese fests not worth their time. But to those of us who saw the shows on this list and experienced the horror from either the back of a couch, under a blanket, or through our fingers as our hands covered our faces, they induced nightmares and made us think twice about turning the light off in our rooms.
Can you really say that some of the horror shows today are capable of that?
So, in the celebration of Halloween, we here at TVOvermind give you the shows that horrified us as daring kids, thrill-seeking teenagers, or young adults with a slight penchant for the macabre. Some of these gems you can find on DVD or, if you are supremely desperate, on VHS somewhere in the five places that still sale them. This list by no means is a Top 10 countdown, just a celebration of an era that is debatably considered one of the best of the horror genre.
Let the journey began…
First, a "spin-off" of the horror anthology film "Creepshow"…
Tales From The Darkside
Man lives in the sunlit world of what he believes to be reality…
But! There is, unseen by most, an underworld, a place that is just as real, but not as brightly lit…
A DARKSIDE!
When these words were uttered over one of the most eerie opening themes for a horror television show, your skin crawled, you tensed up, and most importantly, you zone out. Welcome to the Darkside, folks. Enjoy your stay, because you're not going to make it out intact…
Original conceived to be a spinoff of the George Romero film "Creepshow," Tales From The Darkside became it's own frightening franchise, which had stories written by or/and adapted from authors like Stephen King, Harlon Ellison, and Clive Barker to name the few. The show lasted in syndication for four years, ending it's run in 1989.
In 1990, the series was turned into a feature film starring Deborah Harry (of Blondie), Christian Slater, Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore, and Rae Dawn Chong to name a few. The film is memorable for having Deborah Harry as a witch, preparing a big meal that would include a young Matthew Lawrence as the main course. To stave off the dinner, Lawrence reads stories from a book called, you guessed it, Tales From The Darkside.
SyFy and Chiller are currently running the series in sporadic time slots, but some of the episodes that stuck out to me include "Snip, Snip", "Inside The Closet", and "The Word Processor of the Gods". The movie is also an annual treat for me as well…
Next, Reenter The "Zone"
The revival of the cult classic television series in 1985 had a similar creepy opening, which (in my opinion) slightly surpassed the original series opening. While not as iconic as it's predecessors, the 1985 incarnation of The Twilight Zone still managed to scare the hell out of me on plenty of late nights when it was in syndication. It wasn't until later in life that I found out the show actually aired on CBS for two seasons before dropping the third season in syndication.
The show is memorable for it's guest appearances from various stars at the time in front and behind the camera, such as Bruce Willis, Fred Savage, Morgan Freeman, and Helen Mirren to name a few. The names behind the scenes included Rockne S. O'Bannon, Wes Craven, Joe Dante, Stephen King, Tommy Lee Wallace, and J. Michael Straczynski, masters of the genre and idols to some of the new directors on the block now. The (New) Twilight Zone theme was redone by the Grateful Dead and, like I mentioned before, made me shiver under my own skin. The opening credits were very creepy to my five to 10 year old eyes, even unnerving me to this day if I come across it in the middle of the night.
Even though the series had it's ups and downs, it is still one of the best horror television shows to come out of the 80s and the episodes are still watchable to this day.
Coming Up: Mama Always Told Me Not To Pick Up A "Hitchhiker"…
This show was probably the only one my parents had a problem of me watching, not because of it's dark twisted nature… but because of the nudity!
The Hitchhiker was one of HBO's first original shows and got me in trouble plenty of nights due to me sneaking in to watch the depravity it displayed on a weekly basis. Every bit the genesis for HBO's later horror effort, Tales From the Crypt, The Hitchhiker's tales found their center in the dark passages of the human psyche. Where it separates is that these tails were almost entirely human, The Hitchhiker had supernatural overtones – but frequently it induced screeches in the human dimension.
Nicholas Campbell played the 'host' and hitchhiker of the title for 3 episodes. Page Fletcher did the remaining 82 episodes. The full series is available from HBO home video.
Next: Are you afraid of 'Monsters'?
After the success of Tales from the Darkside, producer Richard P. Rubenstein launched a second independent horror anthology titled Monsters, and it was all about – you guessed it – monsters.
Running from 1988 to 1991, Monsters used a very specific template for its story telling: each story would center around a new '˜type'of monster, only occasionally would Monsters stick with a tried and true beasty from the horror catalog – production was mostly interested in coming up with the freakiest creatures their meager budget could afford.
Like Tales From the Darkside, though, Monsters'protagonists often wound up falling victim to their own character flaws rather than the ill intent of some misanthropic miscreation.
The series was saved from near obscurity when Syfy picked the series up after it mostly washed out in syndication.
Next: One, two, Freddy's coming for you…
Freddy's Nightmares
This show, no matter how cheesy it is today, made me sit in a hallway over a friends house all night, due to my complete and utter fear of Freddy Krueger.
The Man of Your Dreams dominated the screen and possible got a little victim happy, so he extended his wrath of terror to television sets where he sliced and diced his way through new denizens of Springwood, Ohio in an anthology-styled series. The episodes ran an hour long, but contained two linked stories, where a minor/secondary character from the first segment would appear in the second segment. Freddy served as the show's host, but that didn't stop him from joining in from time to time to personally make someone's life a living hell.
Freddy's Nightmares to most fans was a way for New Line (the studio behind the franchise) to cash in on the Freddy Krueger craze, but it might have proven to be overkill instead of a gold mine. Some of the guest stars featured on this weekly anthology are Morris Chestnut, Mariska Hargitay, Lori Petty, Eva LaRue, Bill Moseley, and Brad Pitt. Yes, THE Brad Pitt.
In a case of life imitating art, Freddy's Nightmares, with most of the horror syndicated fare during it's time, were attacked by parental groups who felt that the show was too violent and soon was canceled. In other words, the parents got Freddy, again…
Reruns of Freddy's Nightmares can be found on ChillerTV
Next, It's Friday the 13th. You're luck just ran out…
Friday the 13th: The Series
Like with Freddy's Nightmares, Paramount wanted to bring their own horror icon Jason Voorhees to the small screen as well. Problem was that Jason is a killing machine and doesn't crack jokes, you know, with him being mute and all. So Paramount decided to leave Jason on the big screen, but take the name of the movie series and use it as the title of their venture into television, which is how Friday the 13th: The Series was born.
The series was about a man, Lewis Vendredi, who made a deal with the devil, to sell cursed antiques. When the Vendredi reneged on the deal, the devil took his soul. Unfortunately, cousins Micki (Louise Robey) and Ryan (John D. LeMay) inherited the store, which was called Curious Goods, and the duty of retrieving the cursed antiques from demented individuals with the help of Jack Marshak (Chris Wiggins), an old friend of Vendredi's.
Does that premise sound familiar to you? Yes, that's because Warehouse 13 is getting flak about stealing ideas from this 80s classic. The sharp difference between both series is tone. Friday the 13th: The Series was dark, moody, and captured the serious side of 80s horror. Warehouse 13 is more light and not as serious with it's cursed items, but that could change. Who knows?
The episodes of F13: The Series were graphic in nature, putting them ahead of their time. There was more blood shown (and shed) on this show than most other stuff on TV. Some of the memorable antiques include a compact mirror (which made two appearances it was so cursed), an antique doll, a boxing gloves, and film projector that could transport you back in time.
The items represented the themes of the show which mostly circulated around power, beauty, greed, and hatred, which correlated with the 'greed is good'era of the 80s, especially the latter part of the decade.
Like Freddy's Nightmares, Friday the 13th: The Series met it's maker due to parental outrage and a casting change that might have turned some fans off from the series.
Next, looking for another tale? Let's meet The Crypt-Keeper…
The Crypt keeper became a horror icon in this offering from producer Robert Zemeckis. One thing that made Tales From the Crypt such a spectacular was that it attracted a literal who's who of filmmakers and actors throughout its run including directors like Richard Donner, Walter Hill, Tom Holland, and of course Zemeckis himself. Writers included such royalty as Fred Dekker, Jeffrey Price, and Frank Darabont.
Tales From The Crypt was inspired by the stories in the EC Comics series of the same name. That series survived numerous attacks during the 50s and 60s from decency proponents who found the depraved stories to be troubling. The hedonistic culture of the 80s was fine with it though, and record numbers tuned in for Tales From The Crypt's sexually charged supernatural sojourns.
Next: An Honorable mention. Want to see something … Amazing?
Honorable Mention: Amazing Stories
Without a doubt, in the 1980s Stephen Spielberg was a champion of the imagination so it was only appropriate that he be the one to bring Amazing Stories to the screen. Not specifically a horror show, Amazing Stories was prime time fantasy as it has never been done since.
Much like Zemeckis did for Crypt, Spielberg's association with the show – which survived for two seasons – attracted all sorts of big league talent including Burt Reynolds, Clint Eastwood, Joe Dante, Martine Scorsese, and of course a few episodes directed by Spielberg himself.
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The Word Processor of The Gods is by Stephen King
I didn't see where I could edit the last post. I totally agree that these shows were awesome. 80's horror and scifi was way better than the stuff they come up with today.
The Bold and the Beautiful Spoilers: Ridge and Quinn Share A Moment of Passion
Should the Stan Lee Cameos Continue?
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Find how many "verified twitter" users are following you?
Twitter is one of the primary social network + micro blogging site out there. On twitter instead of friends we have "followers". But did you ever wonder that from those hundreds or thousands of followers how many had that "blue tick" against their twitter name. Or in simple words how many of your followers are "verified" twitter users.
1) Go to twitfrnd.com. It is a twitter tool that shows the relation between the followers of two different users.
2) In the first field enter "verified". Twitter.com/verified is an official twitter account that follows all the verified users on twitter.
Or simple go to http://twtrfrnd.com/verified/ and enter your username in the second field.
It's a pretty simple trick to find the number of verified accounts followed by you.
Why does Twitter verify accounts?
Verification is currently used to establish authenticity of identities on Twitter. The verified badge helps users discover high-quality sources of information and trust that a legitimate source is authoring the account's Tweets.
What kinds of accounts get verified?
Twitter proactively verifies accounts on an ongoing basis to make it easier for users to find who they're looking for. We concentrate on highly sought users in music, acting, fashion, government, politics, religion, journalism, media, advertising, business, and other key interest areas. We verify business partners from time to time and individuals at high risk of impersonation.


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text:
48 hours in . . . London, an insider guide to the capital of cool
The river Thames is still the life blood of London, flanked with culture at every turn Credit: ZoltanGabor
Alison Taylor, Destination expert
3 January 2020 • 9:00am
Alison Taylor
Past, present and future – the city that has it all
Having it all is most definitely a good thing but it can also be a somewhat overwhelming – where to start? London has so much to offer, for all tastes, budgets and cultural persuasions. There is proper (grisly) history, statement buildings old and new, and world-class museums housed in jaw-dropping architecture. There are wonderful parks dotted, peacefully, throughout the city, markets galore, a thriving culinary scene spanning street food, fine dining and global cuisine that rivals any city in the world. It's also a centre for fashion, art and music.
And running through it all is the river Thames – still the life blood of the city, flanked with culture at every turn. London is also very much a collection of distinct neighbourhoods, each with their own flavour and characteristics so we'd advise you to play pick and mix with all it has to offer. Then come back.
Discover the best of London
Hot right now . . .
Alison Taylor, our resident expert, offers her top tips on the hottest things to do and places
Be sure to book ahead for the William Blake retrospective at Tate Britain (Millbank; 020 7887 8825). Radical and rebellious, the painter, printer and poet created some of the most iconic images in British art. And with 300 original works, it's the largest show of Blake's work for almost 20 years. From Sept 11 to Feb 2.
• The best things to do in London
The Tate Britain is hosting the largest show of Blake's work for more than 20 years Credit: Christian Markel
The suburban food hall has been reinvented as an all-day food "theatre" with the recently opened Arcade, an Olympic swimming pool-sized, marble-finished space in the basement of Centre Point, Tottenham Court Road's Sixties tower block. Go on a tasting expedition of some of London's top food and drink, from Lina Stores to Flat Iron Workshop.
Go on a tasting expedition of some of London's top food and drink at Arcade
Pizzas come by the metre, gelato by the litre, 20,000 bottles of spirits line the walls, and thousands of festoon lights stuffed in foliage adorn the ceiling – Circolo Popolare (40-41 Rathbone Place), the Fitzrovia follow-up to Shoreditch's much-hyped Gloria, is Italian dining at its most kitsch. Pass the door and enjoy the ride.
• The best restaurants in London
For kitsch Italian dining, Circolo Popolare should be your go-to
It's London's most hotly anticipated hotel in years and now King's Cross has a Standard (10 Argyle Street; 020 3981 8888) to call its own. The US hipster party hotel brings cinematic retro interiors, late dining and, of course, a serious drinking den. High hopes are in place for the October opening of Decimo, a 10th-floor restaurant, where acclaimed chef Peter Sanchez-Iglesias will combine Mexican and Spanish flavours.
Everywhere you look at The Standard there are geometric shapes galore, potted plants, colourful retro tiles, quirky lights and leather sofas for sinking into
• The best hotels in London
Insider's tip | Neighbourhood Watch
48 hours in . . . London
Let's start at the very beginning. The Tower of London (St Katharine's & Wapping; 020 3166 6000) takes you back to the London of William the Conqueror – it was around 1078 when he began work on a great stone palace with walls 15 feet thick. You can learn about the history, in a very entertaining way, from the Yeoman Warders (more commonly known as Beefeaters) who run tours, as well as still living within the walls of the castle. Yes, you will hear about torture, death and punishment but you can also view the British Crown Jewels and eat ice cream.
Once inside the fortress walls, it's not what you would necessarily expect – a gentile mini-village in the heart of the City that's perfect for a wander – with its own pub, village green, church and doctor. We recommend getting to the Tower for opening time and staying for a few hours, taking you to lunch. Note that if you get there ahead of the 9am opening time you may be ushered in early.
The Tower of London takes you back to the London of William the Conqueror Credit: Tetra Images
Exit the tower via the middle moat (or Traitor's Gate, as it was affectionately known) and walk a short distance, riverside, to take in the stunning view of Tower Bridge (Tower Bridge Road; 020 7403 3761), before heading up the steps to walk over it.
Now for lunch. You have two options. The first is to keep walking down Tower Bridge Road (for approximately 15 minutes) to get pie and mash – and jellied eels if you're feeling brave – from M. Manze (87 Tower Bridge Road; 020 7407 2985), the oldest (and resplendently tiled) pie and mash shop in London – serving since 1902.
Alternatively, you can grab food on the go at either (or both) Maltby Street and Borough Markets (8 Southwark Street; 020 7407 1002). Maltby is Borough's grungier little sister and all about the latest street food in ramshackle pop-up spaces – go for toasties at The Cheese Truck, doughnuts from St John and gin from Little Bird. Borough is an institution and an absolute must-visit (even if you're just walking through) as it's a real hub for diverse London. Note that Borough Market is open every day except Sunday; Maltby Street is open on Saturdays and Sundays.
Maltby Street Market is all about the latest street food Credit: tjs11/tjs11
For dinner, you have options aplenty in and around Borough such as Elliot's Café (12 Stoney Street; 020 7403 7436), a modern local institution with locally sourced fish and meat dishes, or Roast (The Floral Hall, Stoney Street; 020 3006 6111), for spectacular roasts up in the roof of the market.
Tate Modern houses an impressive collection of British and international contemporary art dating from 1900 to the present. Credit: Mike Kemp
You are now in the same post code as Tate Modern gallery (Bankside; 020 7887 8888). Sitting on the river face to face with St Paul's, the former power station has somehow, magically, held onto the special buzz that accompanied its arrival in 2000. Take advantage of the late opening hours (until 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays) and getting a culture fix with the advantage of it not being as busy. Plus, you get the twinkly riverside walk at night taking in The Globe Theatre, too (21 New Globe Walk; 020 7902 1400).
If you're still going, head for a botanical cocktail at fancy bar Lyaness at the Sea Containers hotel (20 Upper Ground; 020 3747 1063), bang on the river.
Botanical cocktails are the order of the day at Lyaness at the Sea Containers hotel Credit: @jamesmcdonald/James McDonald
• The best bars and pubs in London
Insider's tip | Attractions
Start your day in leafy South Kensington for a whistle-stop tour of the major museums. You can access the big three – Natural History Museum (020 7942 5511), Science Museum (0333 241 4000) and V&A (020 7942 2489) – all via entrances on Exhibition Road. So, depending on your cultural persuasion, you could visit one, two or all three (three is pushing it but never say never). Plus it's handy if you are in a group to make this your base for the morning and splinter off.
The V&A and Natural History Museum are both housed in breathtakingly beautiful buildings, which is a big part of the joy of visiting, and they really deliver with their permanent exhibits. Both museums offer tranquillity, too, with the Natural History Museum's wildlife garden free to wander, and the Bonsai-lined Sackler Courtyard in the middle of the V&A the perfect spot for a pit-stop. Don't miss the excellent shop at the V&A, especially if you're hunting for quirky gifts.
• The best free things to do in London
A vast range of specimens – more than 80 million items – make up the collection at London's Natural History Museum Credit: TIM GRIST PHOTOGRAPHY
Jump on the tube a few stops to Green Park to treat yourself to a long, wine-filled lunch at Hide (85 Piccadilly; 020 3146 8666), one of London's most talked about restaurant openings of the last year. In the second-floor 'Above' restaurant, which overlooks Green Park, you can enjoy a beautifully prepared set lunch (reasonably priced for the calibre of food) - you might have cured meats served speared on feathers or chutney made at your table for the cheese course. If you're feeling flush, opt for the tasting menu, with matching wine flights.
Hide, one of London's most talked-about restaurants, overlooks Green Park
From here you are perfectly placed to have a stroll through Green Park and a mini Royal 'gawping' tour to have a peak at Buckingham Palace (020 7839 1377) and then along The Mall to head into St James's via Charles and Camilla's residence (St James's Palace). This area is very much 'old London' and with its own distinct character.
Take in the gentleman's shops along Jermyn Street and the upscale boutiques of the ornate Piccadilly and Burlington Arcades (51 Piccadilly; 020 7493 1764) – nip into French luxury confectioner Ladurée (71-72 Burlington Arcade; 020 7491 9155) for a macaroon, and don't miss a visit to Royal Grocers Fortnum & Mason (181 Piccadilly; 020 7734 8040), back on Piccadilly, for a look around the food hall (again, brilliant for gifts).
Buckingham Palace has been the London home of the reigning British monarch since Queen Victoria's accession in 1837 Credit: CHRIS HEPBURN
In keeping with the old-London vibes of the afternoon, book ahead to have a martini at Dukes Hotel, hidden away between Green Park and St James's Street. Dukes is one of those vintage London hotels that reeks of history and high-class debauchery. Also, frequented back in the day by James Bond author Ian Fleming, the bar is said to be the inspiration for the classic line, 'shaken, not stirred'.
Continue the evening in Soho. It might not be quite the place of disrepute it once was but there's still a whiff of hedonism in the air whatever day of the week you go. There are many drinking establishments to enjoy but we suggest starting in The French House (49 Dean Street; 020 7437 2477), a former Francis Bacon hangout where it bustles with smokers outside and is always crammed with characters inside, before heading for a negroni at Italian institution Bar Termini (7 Old Compton Street; 07860 945018) that is popular with local workers. Finally, finish your night at Milroy's (3 Greek Street; 020 7734 2277) – it's a whisky shop but behind the bookcase at the back you'll find a secret cocktail bar. Very Soho.
A negroni at Italian institution Bar Termini in Soho is not to be missed Credit: Addie Chinn/Addie Chinn
• The best nightlife in London
The best things to do in London
Where to stay . . .
On a quiet road in Mayfair perpendicular to Selfridges on Oxford Street: The Beaumont is in a dream location for devoted shoppers and gallery lovers. This five-star hotel combines Art Deco-style interiors with Twenties panache, complemented by an immaculate service and a luxurious spa.
Doubles from £425. 8 Balderton Street; 020 7499 1001
You can almost see the characters from The Great Gatsby gliding through the Art Deco-inspired interiors at The Beaumont Credit: © VIEW Pictures Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo/VIEW Pictures Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo
Designer Digs
It's all about fun at the Ham Yard, from Kit Kemp's signature cosy-cool interiors to the neon light-lined bowling alley and bar. As with the other seven Firmdale hotels, several colour schemes run across all grades of room, interpreted in cushions, curtains, walls and headboards.
Doubles from £310. One Ham Yard, Soho; 020 3642 2000
Ham Yard is a light-filled, spacious new build in an 'urban village' setting at the bottom of Regent Street, perfectly placed for Mayfair and Soho
Myhotel Bloomsbury is well-priced urban conversion on the corner of a fine terrace, ideally placed for brainy London and fashionable Fitzrovia. An East-West theme is interpreted in cool style with clean lines and lots of black/brown and white, with touches of leather, suede and silk.
Doubles from 129. 11-13 Bayley Street; 0333 240 9094
There are 78 well-equipped rooms at Myhotel Bloomsbury, each with simple cream walls set off by dark Asian woods and splashes of colour from throws, silk cushions and leather bedheads
• A complete guide to the best hotels in central London
Insider's Tip | Hotels
The best hotels in central London
What to bring home . . .
Anything from Fortnum & Mason's (181 Piccadilly; 020 7734 8040) food hall – though posh jams and tea are pretty foolproof.
Fortnum & Mason, established in Picadilly in 1707, has an exquisite food hall Credit: csfotoimages/csfotoimages
A Tate Modern (Bankside; 020 7887 8888) mug, calendar or set of postcards – tasteful, arty and pleasing to even fussy recipients.
Pick up something cool and art-inspired during your visit to Tate Modern Credit: Ed Reeve/Ed Reeve
• Where to shop in London
City Hack
48 hours in . . . East London, an insider guide to land of the hip and happening
When to go . . .
London is always open, as the Mayor would say, but spring and summer are particularly appealing because you can make the most of the city's many green spaces and partake in a festival or two. Days are long and Londoners really do cheer up at the first sight of sunshine and once there's the opportunity to start drinking outside. There is no summer exodus like in Paris or Rome.
Spring and autumn are cooler, but can be crisp and sunny and great for wandering around. Winter is cold and often wet, with short days. You can always find a cosy pub with a fire, though. Central London is very festive at Christmas, with lots of lights, trees and opportunities for ice-skating.
September and February are London Fashion Week months, which means which means the city is buzzy – but so are the hotels. The Frieze Art Fair has turned October into an unofficial art month. The quietest time is post-Christmas to late March and the busiest is July/August, when school groups arrive.
Know before you go . . .
• London is huge so you will need and want to use public transport and/or taxis. You have a lot of options – the underground being the most obvious and probably most useful because you won't get stuck in traffic like you can (and will) with the bus network and in a taxi. Head to tfl.gov.uk for all the information you could need, and to plan journeys, within the public transport network. You will need to purchase an oyster card (£5 deposit for the card itself) and top up at machines in stations or online. You can also use most debit or credit cards to tap at tube barriers and on the bus network.
• A good tip for getting around, and making the most of opportunities to walk and actually see something rather than be zooming under the city, is the Citymapper app. You can plug in where you want to go and it will give you all the options, from buses, to tubes, to walking and even how much it would cost you in an Uber.
• Black cabs are handy for short journeys because the drivers really know their way around the city (thanks to 'The Knowledge' they have to study for three years). You're also likely to get some lively chat, plus it's a black cab so pretty iconic as far as the London experience goes.
• The tube now runs throughout the night on Fridays and Saturdays (most main lines) and there is also an extensive night bus service (not for the fainthearted). Again, tfl.gov.uk has all the info.
• London bus tours (go to visitlondon.com for info on service providers) provide a unique opportunity to appreciate the full architectural splendour of London's streets and monuments. Tour guides offer historical background and interesting facts, with commentaries available in several languages. Some regular bus routes are good for sightseeing too – try routes 9, 14, 15 and 22.
• If you're planning to visit lots of museums and galleries, good news – most of them are free for the permanent exhibitions. For big attractions like the Tower of London, London Eye and Sealife Centre etc it's worth investing in a London Pass, which has good deals if you know you plan to do several of these kinds of activities.
• When it comes to eating out, you won't be short of options. But be sure to check whether you need to book ahead because some of the 'it' restaurants get really busy. There are also a lot of trendy no reservation places, which attract lengthy queues. Do a bit of research to find out best times to visit.
• Tipping is appreciated but not always necessary in London. It is customary to leave a 10-15 per cent of the bill as a tip when eating out, though some restaurants add on a service charge instead. Most hotel bills also include a service charge, if it is not added it is customary to tip 10-15 per cent of the bill. People often tip porters but not every single person who helps you as per the US model. It is polite to tip 10-15 per cent of the taxi fare to black cabs and licensed minicabs.
Visitlondon.com is an excellent resource for info on all of the above and more.
Telephone code: 00 44
Alison Taylor moved from Yorkshire to London 18 years ago and never looked back. She will mainly be found eating and drinking in East London, or grabbing dumplings in Chinatown and a taking wander through the reassuring madness of Soho.
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Blackfoot occupy the Northwestern Plains of North America (southern Alberta, Canada, and north-central Montana, U.S.A.). The region is short-grass prairie in the rain shadow of the Rocky Mountains, with conifer forests in the mountain foothills. Principal rivers include the North and South Saskatchewan Rivers with the latter's tributaries the Bow and Oldman Rivers, and the Milk River which flows into the Missouri River. Winters are cold, but relieved occasionally by warm chinook winds, and summers are short with some hot days.


In late April, I accepted a development & communications summer internship at the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. While I found the prospect of working in Washington D.C. very exciting, I was not sure what to expect. I was looking for experience with an advocacy or non-profit organization, so the Law Center seemed like a great fit for me. I had devoted the past year of college extra-curriculars to a club that focused on global inequalities. We had hosted a modest forum on homelessness in Alachua County, Florida, where I am a resident.
I anticipated that my internship would expose me to non-profit business practices and office skills. I am happy to say that my knowledge in these areas were most certainly improved. However, I gained so much more than simple filing skills. I gained perspective. I gained the ability to look at a problem, a truly complex problem like homelessness, and think critically about solutions. Homelessness has never affected me personally. I have led an extremely blessed life, and while I have stresses, worrying about the roof over my head has never been one of them. Unfortunately, I believe this has made me blind to issues of homelessness.
Imagine my surprise when I learned that Gainesville is one of the nation's meanest cities towards the homeless. I didn't know that homelessness was a real problem in Alachua County. Now, when I read about an anti-lodging ordinance in Charlotte County or a law restricting food sharing, these laws mean something to me. I have placed a face on homelessness, and now understand that people experiencing it are not a population to be shuffled away; they are people who deserve a better quality of life. Armed with the knowledge I have gained this summer, I can return to my home and speak for the voiceless homeless in my area.
Even more than these new perspectives, I have been privileged to spend an entire summer with the employees of the Law Center. This is a remarkable group of people. They have taken it upon themselves to face the colossal (yet manageable) problem of homelessness, and stick with it until the end. They fight tirelessly for what they know is right, and the word "inspiring" fails to describe it. While the Law Center is a modest office, the workers inside remain undaunted. Never once did someone utter "what is the point?" or "this problem is just too huge." The Law Center works unselfishly for people who deserve it, never afraid of the outcome and never settling for mediocre. I am proud to call myself a part of the Law Center family, and I will continue throughout my life to carry on its mission.
I also, thanks to a Law Center friend, received a great Bruce Springsteen mix for the ride home.
P.S. – the Law Center would like to extend a HUGE thank you to summer interns Lisa Coleman, An Duong, Brittany Libbey, Joanna Parnes, Kieran Paul, Robert Sanderman, and Susan Zhu. With your help, we accomplished much.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Civil Rights, homelessness. Bookmark the permalink.


09/06/2016 - Which is better, Sj 107 Ergonomic Height Adjustable Desk or Heartland Computer Desk And Hutch? Through this comparison both items are placed side-by-side for the in depth analysis of features, pricing and testimonials.
09/06/2016 - Compare Allstar 52 W Sport Computer Desk Sport to Sierra Computer Desk which is better? Learn which is the ideal product out of the two with this side-by-side comparison. Which product is rated highest by customers and is the best deal.
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I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Vivid Lacquer plates too. Your stamping turned out really pretty. I did the houndstooth last night and it's absolutely perfect!
I've never heard of vivid plates!!! I want some! It looks like this stamp is in french? so cute.
Wow, this looks great! I LOVE the writing stamp and it really looks fab with Natty!


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Could swarm robotics be used to solve real-world problems?
When will swarm robotics be deployed to solve real world problems?
The relatively new field of swarm robotics emerged in the beginning of the 2000s. The concept is based on controlling vast numbers of minuscule robots simultaneously, with the objective of carrying out a task that would be too complex for a single machine to accomplish. A small robot in a swarm is made from ultra-light materials, compact sensors and wireless technology. The first of these little machines were experimental and compared to their size today, quite bulky and unable to carry out complex tasks. They were usually the size of small birds, also capable of flight but they had rather poor battery life and were made of heavy materials.
The technological advancements in the 2010s enabled us to develop a new generation of spy drones which could be as small as insects. And they didn't just emulate the size of the insects, but also their body structure, behaviour and movements. And as electronic components keep getting smaller and we further develop technologies like artificial intelligence and remote guidance, we will be able to better organise these machines into bigger and more capable networks, capable of a large variety of tasks.
Swarm behaviour can be seen in honeybees, wasps and ants. Engineers look to these insects as incredible examples of engineering to inspire them and guide them on how to create robots that can act in the same way. The way bees collect nectar for instance, is actually an algorithm that can be replicated in swarm robotics. The cockroach is another insect engineers like to take inspiration from. These bugs can detect changes in air pressure, which enables them to dodge danger extremely fast. Inspired by the collective behaviour of ants when building complex structures, researchers at the Wyss Institute created mobile robots capable of performing tasks collectively, including moving large objects from one location to another or even building human-scale structures all on their own. Most robots today can only perform the one function they were designed for, but Wyss researchers wanted to change that. One particularly promising application of their technology is a group of 1024 Kilobots that can be programmed in such a way that the commands apply to all of the robots in the swarm simultaneously, regardless of their number. This means that they can actually collaborate with each other, for instance gather materials together. A swarm of Kilobots could be very useful for pollinating fields, putting up barriers around toxic chemical spills or stacking sandbags along the coastline in preparation for floods or hurricanes.The applications are endless.
A swarm of Kilobots could be very useful for pollinating fields, putting up barriers around toxic chemical spills or stacking sandbags along the coastline in preparation for floods or hurricanes.
By 2030, we will be able to create machines smaller than 0.15 mm. This minuscule size would make them almost invisible to the naked eye and suitable for a wide variety of applications, the military being the first that comes to mind. The military is constantly looking for ways to improve their soldiers' capabilities in the field but more importantly, they are trying to develop devices that will allow them to perform tasks without endangering the lives of their soldiers. Millions of these machines, which are essentially flying robots, could be programmed to join together and form vast networks. These could then be dropped in capsules by UAVs and released into the environment to perform tasks like advanced reconnaissance, coordination of cyber-attacks or even physical attacks on military bases, either by targeting enemy soldiers or disabling large vehicles. The latter would be achieved by arming the robots with specialised appendages, capable of chewing through electronics and other defensive equipment, which would leave the enemy vulnerable to physical attacks. These swarms could even be used to target underground bunkers by dissolving their reinforced armour or finding their way inside through cracks, air vents or keyholes.
Not everything about these robot swarms has to be sinister, however. They have many other potential applications and could play an important role in environmental matters. They could serve as artificial pollinators in areas affected by the collapse of the bee colonies. They could also be used to provide incredibly detailed monitoring of the atmosphere, water and land. Search and rescue missions, healthcare and construction are just some of the other areas where swarm robotics technology could prove very valuable.
When it comes to swarm robotics research, the majority of it has been confined to virtual reality simulations. The problem with these simulations is that they don't take real-world constraints into account. That is why it is important to experiment with swarm behaviour algorithms in more realistic conditions as well, which would produce more accurate data. However, if we were to perform these tests in the labs, which are usually limited in size, we would need these robots to be as small as possible, particularly as we would need thousands of them to properly test the algorithms. Furthermore, such large numbers also mean that we need to find a way to keep the manufacturing and maintenance costs low, which is why they would need to be made from cheap and commonly available materials and components. Another aspect to keep in mind is that the robot needs to have a modular design that would allow us to quickly exchange pieces of hardware to accommodate the requirements of different swarm algorithms, such as different types of sensors.
In June 2016, a team of researchers at the University of Toronto's Department of Mechanical Engineering developed mROBerTO, a modular robot that meets all of these demands. mROBerTO costs about $60 to produce and even though it's not yet available in stores, the developers will provide both the software and hardware source files. mROBerTO is only 16x16mm in size and comes with a modular design that allows you to easily add or remove components. It can be used for a variety of projects that require miniature robots but it was primarily designed to provide swarm robotics researchers with affordable physical tools that can help them test their swarm behaviour algorithms. Each robot has a unique ID and is equipped with IR photoresistors and transmitters, which they can use to send and receive IR signals and to determine other robots' distance and bearings. They also have Bluetooth Smart and ANT Wireless communication capabilities, which allows them to communicate with each other. Finally, there are two small motors on the back of the robots which are responsible for their movement.
Another type of swarm robotics is nanotechnology, which is slowly finding more and more promising applications a host of industries, including medicine. Scientists from various universities recently announced that they were able to create nanorobots capable of navigating through the bloodstream and injecting drugs into cancer cells. This is a groundbreaking revelation in the ongoing battle against cancer, one that could help us finally defeat the terrible disease which has already taken so many lives. Conventional cancer treatment like chemotherapy can damage a patient's healthy organs and tissues. Nanotechnology, however, makes it possible to target only the cancer cells, without affecting the surrounding tissue. Professor Sylvain Martel, one of Canada's foremost researchers in medical nanorobotics and Director of the Polytechnique Montréal Nanorobotics Laboratory, leads teams from Polytechnique Montréal, McGill University and Université de Montréal in successfully testing this method on mice. So far, there have been no human trials.
The nanorobots in question are actually composed of a strain of Magnetococcus marinus bacteria, or MC-1. Each robot holds more than a 100 million of these bacteria, with magnetic iron-oxide nanocrystals contained in each cell. Each tumour contains hypoxic zones, cells with low oxygen levels, that usually don't respond to radiotherapy and most other forms of cancer treatment. But nanobots inserted into the tumour can locate these areas and inject them with drugs directly. During the trials, the MC-1 nanocarriers were able to successfully reach the target areas in the mice where, thanks to the strong propelling force of the drug, more than half of the MC-1 bacteria were injected deep into the tumours' hypoxic zones.
Not only will this transportation method help increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy, it also helps us develop improved engineering ideas, novel methods of intervention and new vehicles for imaging, diagnostic and therapeutic agents. The possibilities of this technology are only limited by our imagination and until today we have only scratched the surface of what it can do. From search and rescue missions, military applications in the form of reconnaissance robots or those that can attack and disable human targets or vehicles and infiltrate underground bunkers, robots that perform environmental tasks such as pollination of fields or helping with natural disasters, all the way to cancer fighting nanorobots, the applications of swarm robotics are nearly endless and we can only look forward to the future and wait to see what else it brings.
8. When will swarm robotics be deployed to solve real world problems?
Swarm robotics has the potential to promote flexibility, robustness and scalability but is not yet ready to be used to solve real-world challenges. Much more research is required to overcome hardware shortcomings that limit the functionality of these robot systems. Behavioural control is another area of swarm robotics that needs to be researched and tested in order to discover ways in which human operators can interact with the swarm. Furthermore, it is important to provide compelling case studies to demonstrate their applications such as in farming or waste removal, to demonstrate ways in which swarm robotics can be more effective than other approaches.