In this video tutorial, you will learn how to create a knight chess piece in Adobe Illustrator. You will start from basic shapes and with a few distortion techniques that involve the Convert Anchor Point Tool, Direct Selection Tool, Transform and Pathfinder panels you will easily create the shapes that you need. The Pen Tool also plays an important role in this tutorial along with a bunch of gradients and some basic effects. Let's start!
Launch Illustrator and then press (Ctrl + N) to create a New Select Pixels from the Units drop-down menu, enter 830 in the width box and 600 in the height box then click on the Advanced button. Select RGB, Screen (72ppi) and make sure that the Align New Objects to Pixel Grid box is unchecked before you click OK.
Create the Base of the Knight Chess Piece.
2. Pick the Ellipse Tool (L) and create a 146 by 26px black ellipse. Make a copy (Ctrl +C, Ctrl +F) of the black ellipse, then replace the existing stroke color of the copy with red. Keep the newly created ellipse and open the Transform panel (Window > Transform), then change H to 27px. Finally move the red ellipse 10px up.
3. Select the red ellipse and make a copy (Ctrl +C, Ctrl +F) of it, then replace the existing stroke color of the copy with green. With the help of the Direct Selection Tool (A) and the Shift, select four anchor points highlighted with red. Then click on the "Cut path at selected anchor points" icon from the Properties This make the green and the black ellipses become four curved paths. Select two paths like you see in the second image and remove them. Now reselect the remaining two curved paths, right click on the artboard and then select the Join section from the drop-down menu. Next right click on the artboard again, then select the Join section.
4. Select the red ellipse and the green object, then make a copy (Ctrl +C, Ctrl +F) of them. Still having the copies selected, then open the Pathfinder panel (Window > Pathfinder) and click on the Unite Remove the stroke of the resulting object and then fill it with orange (# b6824c). Finally send the resulting shape to back (Ctrl +Shift +Left Square Bracket).
5. Select the green object, remove its stroke and fill this object with the linear gradient as shown in the first image. Keep the resulting shape selected and go to the Effect > Stylize > Feather… Enter a 3px Radius and click OK. Continue select the red ellipse, remove its stroke and fill this object with the radial gradient as shown in the third image. Make a copy (Ctrl +C, Ctrl +F) of the resulting ellipse, then replace the existing fill color of the copy with new radial gradient. Finally apply a 6px Feather effect for the newly created ellipse.
6. Show the Rulers (View > View Rulers > Show Ruler) or (Ctrl +R). Next drag a vertical guide from the Rulers (if the guides locked, go to the View > Guides > Lock Guides) or (Ctrl +Alt + ;). Now select the last ellipse created in the step 5, hold down the Shift, click on newly created guide, release the Shift and then click on the last ellipse created in the step 5 again (to fixed its position). Next open the Align panel (Window > Align) and click on the Horizontal Align Center Now pick the Pen Tool (P) and create a blue path like you see in the second image. Focus on the third image, pick the Convert Anchor Point Tool (Shift +C), click on the upper anchor point highlighted with red, then hold mouse and drag it down. Don't forget to hold the Shift key on the keyboard for straight dragging. Continue click on the lower anchor point highlighted with red, hold mouse and drag it down. Keep working with the Convert Anchor Point Tool (Shift +C), click on the bottom anchor point of the blue path, then hold mouse and drag it to the right.
7. After you are done adjusting the shape of the blue path, reselect it, pick the Reflect Tool (O), then hold down Alt and click on the vertical guide. In the Reflect dialog box, check the Vertical and click Copy. Now reselect the two blue paths, then press (Ctrl +J) twice times to connect these two paths. Finally select and remove the guide.
8. Pick the Ellipse Tool (L) and create a 135 by 33px red ellipse, then place it to the position like you see in the first image. Select the blue object and make a copy (Ctrl +C, Ctrl +F) of it. Keep this copy selected, hold down the Shift and click on the red ellipse. Next open the Pathfinder panel (Window > Pathfinder) and click on the Intersect Now reselect the blue object, remove its stroke and fill this object with the linear gradient as shown in the fourth image. Make a copy of the resulting shape, then replace the existing fill color of the copy with radial gradient as shown in the fifth image. Next apply a 6px Feather effect for the resulting shape. Continue select the red object created in this step, remove its stroke and fill this object with the radial gradient as shown in the next to last image. Finally apply a 8px Gaussian Blur effect for the resulting shape.
9. Pick the Ellipse Tool (L) and create a 119 by 27px black ellipse, then place it to the position like you see in the first image. With the help of the Convert Anchor Point Tool (Shift +C) and the Shift, extend the handles of the left and the right anchor point of the newly created ellipse. Next select the top anchor point of this black ellipse and move it 5px Next reselect the black ellipse, make a copy (Ctrl +C, Ctrl +F) of it and replace the existing stroke color of the copy with red. Next pick the Direct Selection Tool (A), select the bottom anchor point of the newly created ellipse and move it 3px up. Keep working with the Direct Selection Tool, shorten the lower handles of the right and the left anchor point of the red ellipse. Now focus on the sixth image, select the black ellipse, remove its stroke and fill this object with the radial gradient. Continue select the red ellipse, remove its stroke and fill this object with the radial gradient as shown in the next to last image. Then apply a 5px Feather effect for the resulting ellipse.
10. We are going to start making highlights and shadows on the base to give it more of a 3D look. With the help of the Pen Tool (P) and the Gradient Tool (G), create a soft orange shape like you see in the first and the second images. Next apply a 4px Gaussian Blur effect for the newly created shape. Now focus on the fourth image, draw a curved path with the Pen Tool (P) and give it a 4px stroke for the moment. Next apply the Width Profile 5 and the linear gradient within stroke for the newly created path. Continue create another curved path, with 1px very soft orange stroke (# ebd7ba) and no fill. Then apply the Width Profile 1 for the newly created path. Finally reselect the two curved paths created in this step and apply a 3px Gaussian Blur effect for them.
11. Draw a curved path with the Pen Tool (P) and give it a 2px stroke for the moment. Next apply the Width Profile 5 and the linear gradient within stroke for the newly created path. Continue create another curved path like you see in the second image. Reselect the newly created path, then pick the Eyedropper Tool (I) and click on the first path created in this step. This will copy all existing appearances from the first path created in this step onto the newly created path. Next change the stroke weight of the resulting path to 1px. Keep this path selected and open the Stroke panel (Window > Stroke), then click on the Flip Along Finally reselect the two curved paths created in this step and apply a 2px Gaussian Blur effect for them.
12. Pick the Ellipse Tool (L) and create a 5 by 22.5px ellipse, then place it to the position as shown in the first image. Remove the stroke of the newly created ellipse and fill this object with black (# 000000). Apply a 3px Gaussian Blur effect for the resulting ellipse, then send this ellipse to back (Ctrl +Shift +Left Square Bracket). The base is ready and looks like in the last image.
13. With the help of the Pen Tool (P), create an object with shape of horse's head. Next create a red object like you see in the third image. Once your object is drawn, make a copy (Ctrl +C, Ctrl +F) of it. Keep the copy selected, hold down the Shift and click on the blue object created in this step. Open the Pathfinder panel (Window > Pathfinder) and click on the Minus Front Then remove the stroke of the resulting compound path and fill this object with the linear gradient as shown in the last image.
14. Select the red object created in the step 13 and bring it to front (Ctrl +Shift +Right Square Bracket). Change the stroke weight of this object to 5px and replace the existing stroke color with dark moss green (# 715b33). Then apply the Width Profile 6 for the resulting object. Continue draw a curved path with the Pen Tool (P) and give it a 2px dark orange stroke (# a27344) for the moment. Next apply the Width Profile 2 for the newly created path.
15. With the help of the Pen Tool (P) and the Gradient Tool (G), create two shapes like you see in the images below. Reselect the two newly created shapes and make a copy (Ctrl +C, Ctrl +F) of them. Still having the copies selected and go to the Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow… Follow the data like you see in the fifth image and click OK. Now select the compound path created in the step 13 and make a copy of it, then bring the copy to front (Ctrl +Shift +Right Square Bracket). Having the newly created compound path, hold down the Shift and click on the two shapes with shadow effects applied in this step. Right click on the artboard and then select the Make Clipping Mask section from the drop-down menu. Next hide the clipping set behind the two first shapes created in this step.
16. With the help of the Pen Tool (P) and the Gradient Tool (G), create a dark orange shape like you see in the first and the second images. Keep working with the Pen Tool (P), create a path as shown in the third image, with 1px slightly orange stroke (# d7b57c) and no fill. Continue create another path as shown in the last image, with 1px very soft orange stroke (# eac596) and no fill.
17. With the help of the Pen Tool (P) and the Gradient Tool (G), create a shape like you see in the first and the second images. Then apply a 5px Gaussian Blur effect for the newly created shape. Having the resulting shape selected, press (Ctrl +X) to cut it. Then pick the Selection Tool (V), double-click on the clipping set created in the step 15 and press (Ctrl +F) to paste the shape was cut in this step. Finally, double-click on the anywhere outside of the clipping set.
18. Pick the Pen Tool (P) and create an object like you see in the first image. Once your object is drawn, remove its stroke and fill this object with the linear gradient as shown in the second image. Then apply a 6px Feather effect for the resulting shape. With the help of the Pen Tool (P) and the Gradient Tool (G), create two shapes like you see in the last five images. Next apply a 3px Gaussian Blur effect for the lower shape.
19. With the Pen Tool (P), create a blue object like you see in the first image. Next select the compound path created in the step 13 and make a copy (Ctrl +C, Ctrl +F) of it, then bring the copy to front (Ctrl +Shift +Right Square Bracket). Still having this copy selected, hold down the Shift and click on the blue object created in this step. Open the Pathfinder panel (Window > Pathfinder) and click on the Intersect Next replace the existing fill color of the resulting shape with new linear gradient as shown in the fourth image. Continue with the Pen Tool (P) and the Gradient Tool (G), create a shape like you see in the two next-to-last images. Finally reselect the two shapes created in this step and apply a 3px Feather effect for them.
20. Next comes the ear. With the help of the Pen Tool (P) and the Gradient Tool (G), create a shape like you see in the first and the second images. Keep working with the Pen Tool (P), create a dark orange shape (# 97643e) as shown in the third image.
21. We will continue with the eye. Pick the Pen Tool (P) and create a blue curved path like you see in the first image. Change the stroke weight of the newly create path to 4px and replace the existing stroke color with the linear gradient within stroke. Then apply the Width Profile 6 for the resulting path. Keep this path selected and open the Stroke panel (Window > Stroke), then click on the Flip Across The resulting path should look like the third image below. Still having this path selected and make a copy (Ctrl +C, Ctrl +F) of it. Replace the existing stroke color of the copy with dark orange (# 85583f). Make sure that the dark orange path is still selected and click on the Flip Across icon.
22. Pick the Ellipse Tool (L) and create a 16 by 16px slightly orange ellipse (# caa275), then place it to the position as shown in the first image. Make a copy (Ctrl +C, Ctrl +F) of the newly created ellipse. Reduce the size of the copy and replace the existing fill color of it with very dark orange (# 71442b). Then move the resulting ellipse 1px Make a copy of this ellipse and reduce the size of the copy. Next replace the existing fill color of the newly created ellipse with slightly orange (# c2976e). Finally move the resulting ellipse 1px up.
23. With the help of the Pen Tool (P) and the Gradient Tool (G), create a shape like you see in the first and the second images. Reselect the newly created ellipse and go to the Object > Path > Offset Path… Enter a -1.5px Offset and click OK. Then replace the existing fill color of the newly created ellipse with the radial gradient as shown in the third image. Still having the resulting ellipse selected and open the Offset Path dialog box again. Enter a -4.5px Offset and click OK, then replace the existing fill color of the newly created ellipse with dark orange (# 744630). Finally select and group (Ctrl +G) three ellipses created in this step.
24. Select the group created in the step 23 and make a copy (Ctrl +C, Ctrl +F) of it, then move the copy to new position. Next pick the Direct Selection Tool (A), click on the medium ellipse of the newly created group. Then replace the existing fill color of this ellipse with new radial gradient as shown in the second image. Continue select the group created in the step 23 again and go to the Object > Transform > Scale… Check the Uniform, enter a 81% in the Scale box and click Copy. Then move the newly created group to the new position. Next pick the Direct Selection Tool (A) and click on the medium ellipse of the new group. Then replace the existing fill color of this ellipse with new radial gradient as shown in the third image. Finally place the three newly created groups to the positions like you see in the last image.
25. With the Pen Tool (P), create a path as shown in the first image, with 5px very soft orange stroke (# dfba95) and no fill. Then apply the Width Profile 4 for the newly created path. Keep the resulting path selected and make a copy (Ctrl +C, Ctrl +F) of it. Change the stroke weight of this copy to 3px and replace the existing stroke color with dark orange (# 9a5e39). Continue create another path like you see in the third image, with 3px very soft orange stroke (# e8d092) and no fill. Then apply the Width Profile 6 for the newly created path. Keep this path selected and open the Stroke panel (Window > Stroke), then click on the Flip Across icon. Still having this path selected and make a copy (Ctrl +C, Ctrl +F) of it. Replace the existing stroke color of the copy with dark orange (# a57044) and then change the stroke weight to 2px. Make sure that the dark orange path is still selected and click on the Flip Across icon.
26. With the Pen Tool (P), create a slightly curved path as shown in the first image, with 4px very soft orange stroke (# e6bd80) and no fill. Then apply the Width Profile 6 for the newly created path. Keep this path selected and open the Stroke panel (Window > Stroke), then click on the Flip Across Still having the resulting path selected and make a copy (Ctrl +C, Ctrl +F) of it. Change the stroke weight of this copy to 2.5px and replace the existing stroke color with dark orange (# a3724d). Then apply the Width Profile 5 for the resulting path. Continue create another path like you see in the third image, with 4px soft orange stroke (# e2b77b) and no fill. Then apply the Width Profile 6 for the newly created path. Keep this path selected and click on the Flip Across icon from the Stroke panel. Still having this path selected and make a copy (Ctrl +C, Ctrl +F) of it. Replace the existing stroke color of the copy with dark orange (# af7a4d) and then change the stroke weight to 2px. Make sure that the dark orange path is still selected and apply the Width Profile 3 for it. Likewise, repeat the same process to draw more paths as shown in the last four images.
27. Pick the Pen Tool (P) and create six red paths like you see in the first image. Reselect the path as shown in the second image, change the stroke weight to 4px and replace the existing stroke color with (# dbb077). Then apply the Width Profile 6 for the resulting path. Keep this path selected and open the Stroke panel (Window > Stroke), then click on the Flip Across Still having the resulting path selected and make a copy (Ctrl +C, Ctrl +F) of it. Change the stroke weight of this copy to 2.5px and replace the existing stroke color with dark orange (# 996c4b). Having the resulting path selected and then click on the Flip Across icon from the Stroke panel. Likewise, repeat the same process for the five remaining red paths as shown in the last image.
28. We will continue with the mouth. With the help of the Ellipse Tool (L) and the Gradient Tool (G), create an ellipse like you see in the first and the second images. Then send the newly created ellipse to back (Ctrl +Shift +Left Square Bracket). Next pick the Pen Tool (P) and create a dark orange shape (# a27147) as shown in the third image. Focus on the last image, pick the Line Segment Tool (\) create two lines, with a 1px very dark orange stroke (# 613c2e) and no fill.
29. With the help of the Ellipse Tool (L) and the Gradient Tool (G), create an ellipse like you see in the first and the second images. Next pick the Pen Tool (P) and create two paths as shown in the third and the fourth images. Once your paths are drawn, apply a 2px Feather effect for the newly created paths. Continue create a slightly orange shape (# d5a676) as shown in the next to last image. Finally apply a 2px Feather effect for the newly created shape.
31. It's time to draw the horse hair. Pick the Pen Tool (P) and create a red object like you see in the first image. Once your object is drawn, reselect the compound path created in the step 13 and make a copy (Ctrl +C, Ctrl +F) of it. Then bring the copy to front (Ctrl +Shift +Right Square Bracket). Keep this copy selected, hold down the Shift and click on the red object created in this step. Next open the Pathfinder panel (Window > Pathfinder) and click on the Minus Front Remove the stroke of the resulting object and fill it with the linear gradient as shown in the fourth image. Make a copy of the resulting shape, then replace the existing fill color of the copy with new linear gradient as shown in the next to last image. Finally apply a 4px Feather effect for the newly created shape.
32. With the help of the Pen Tool (P) and the Gradient Tool (G), create a shape like you see in the first and the second images. Next hide the newly created shape behind the two shapes created in the step 31. Focus on the fourth image, pick the Pencil Tool (N), create some paths, with 2px blue strokes and no fill. Then apply the Width Profile 5 for the newly created paths. Finally replace the existing stroke colors of the blue paths as shown in the last image.
34. With the help of the Rectangle Tool (M) and the Gradient Tool (G), create an 822 by 596px rectangle like you see in the first image. Continue with the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 192 by 192px dark orange rectangle (# 97643e). Reselect the newly created rectangle and go to the Object > Transform > Rotate… Enter a 45 degrees Angle and click OK. Keep the resulting shape selected, open the Transform panel (Window > Transform), then change W to 5px and change H to 51.5px.
35. Select the dark orange shape created in the step 34 and go to the Object > Transform > Move… Enter a 273px in the Horizontal box and click Copy. Then press (Ctrl +D) once to get the results like you see in the second image. Finally select and group (Ctrl +G) three dark orange shapes, then place the newly created group to the position as shown in the last image.
36. Select the group created in the step 35 and go to the Object > Transform > Move… Enter a -52px in the Vertical box and click Copy. Then press (Ctrl +D) twice to get the results like you see in the first image. Before you continue, select the four newly created groups and press (Ctrl +Shift +G) to ungroup them. Next select four dark orange shapes as shown in the second image and remove them.
37. Select all dark orange shapes created from beginning step 34 to this time, then change the Blending Mode to Luminosity. Now reselect three shapes as shown in the second image and reduce their Opacity to 80%. Continue select three shapes as shown in the third image and reduce their Opacity to 60%. Next select the shape as shown in the last image and reduce its Opacity to 40%. Finally place the knight chess into the newly created background.


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Gas Leak in Fiery Blast
Franklin Square, NY – After dismantling stove in Franklin Square home, fire officials say coupling connecting hose line to gas pipe was cause; KeySpan not at fault
BY Jennifer Smith, Newsday Staff Writer
Gas seeping out through a loose stove coupling caused the explosion that tore Joseph Sicari's house inside out and left the Franklin Square resident with burns over 80 percent of his body, Nassau fire officials said yesterday.
"It's just a terrible accident," said Assistant Chief Fire Marshal John M. Livingston of the Nassau County Fire Marshal's office.
Sicari, 79, told Nassau police that the fireball erupted when he lit a cigarette in his kitchen early Monday morning. After dismantling the scorched remains of the stove, investigators determined that the leak came from a coupling connecting a hose line to the gas pipe.
That finding contradicts an earlier statement from KeySpan spokeswoman Diana Parisi, who told reporters outside the gutted home on Monday that there was no indication natural gas had been involved in the explosion. Parisi said yesterday that her statement was based on early reports from the fire marshal and preliminary tests for leaks in the area.
While fiery blasts like the one in Franklin Square are unusual, at least five similar cases on Long Island have been blamed on natural gas or propane leaks.
KeySpan was not at fault in this case because the leak occurred inside the house, Livingston said. Tests supervised by the public service commission on Monday afternoon showed no leaks along the utility's gas line. "Their responsibility ends at the gas meter," he said.
KeySpan provides emergency response service to anyone who smells gas but it does not conduct nonemergency home safety checks, Parisi said. Last year the utility,which has 523,160 customers on Long Island, received about 25,000 odor and leak calls in the region. About 45 percent of those turned out not to be actual leaks.
Because natural gas has no smell, an odorant is added to help detect leaks.
"If you have a small but longterm gas leak, people become accustomed to the smell and may not notice it, especially with older people where the sense of smell may have deteriorated," Livingston said.
Yesterday Sicari remained in critical condition at Nassau University MedicalCenter's burn unit, a hospital spokeswoman said.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Oh boy, this dress surely is the right way to make things right between you and that someone special. This jaw-dropping black dress may be simple and sophisticated, but with its bodycon fit, long sleeves and round neckline, it's sure to keep them cray cray and lusting over you.
Fabric: 95% polyester 5% elastane. Machine washable.


Have you ever dreamt of becoming a cool character or hero, like you see in movies, animations, and games?
GunZ is an online game that enables you to realize such a dream! GunZ is not your ordinary gunz fighting game. It allows you to imitate a famous hero, create your own fashion style, and perform a number of different actions such as shooting or stabbing whilst running and jumping on the walls.
What makes GunZ ever better than other games is the fact that the game is available online to all users!
Plot: Multi-player only, barely a plot. The site says that the game takes place on the continent of a fictional Astra. It's a battle of adventurers.
Game play: Gunz starts out as your average shooter. You run around shooting and rolling and running on walls. In the beginning channels for low levels, you won't face anyone too good. But once you get past level 10, if you're new, you may have a hard time. Since Gunz was released, players have found many glitches in the game. They involve animation canceling by pressing combinations of buttons. For example, if you press jump, then dash, then you block and slash at the same time, you perform the butterfly, which is a move from the Korean style. There are other styles too, each having their own glitches. The game gets very deep with these styles, and can result in heated clan wars. Not experienced players are often intimidated by these styles. There are two main types of games, death match (with it's variants, teams, assassination, berserker, and gladiator) and quest mode. Death match pits you against other players and is the easiest way to get experience points and money, so long you don't play with advanced players. Quest has you and a team of three other players killing a limited set of NPCs. They include goblins, skeletons, kobolds (a made up creature by MAIET) and Palmpoas (unreleased so far). The objective is simple, kill all NPCs. Bosses are thrown in from gathered quest items, and can be a real challenge to even experienced players. They give great rewards too.
Violence: There is a lot of shooting, slashing, and stabbing. No blood is included, so don't worry about gory scenes.
Sexual Content: The closest thing is one female jacket is just a jacket an a bikini top, along with a bikini set available for purchase with real money.
Graphics: Rather poor, even with everything on high. The models aren't too detailed, and the environments are blocky. Once you get really into the game, however, you're moving so fast there isn't time to really look at the graphics.
Sound: The sound isn't too detailed, with some limited background music, average sound effects, and annoying announcer that says, "Fantastic" or "Headshot" or Excellent" every time you get a kill. I'd recommend turning off the sound and using either an MP3 player or Windows Media Player for some music.
Conclusion: A great game for the competitive player versus player gamer. Not that great for casual gamers and people who are self-concious, as there is a lot of drama and putting down of the less experienced. I'd recommend for 14 and up.
This game is really cool!!! I'm just a noob and the only thing you have to watch out for are the people that spam the chat rooms with swearing which they try to bypass the filtering in the game.
What I like about this gam most of all is that the acctual moves were invented by the players them selves. K Style, D Style, etc.


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Beef Cow Production Will Continue To Shift Out Of The Corn Belt
Posted on September 24, 2013	by Land & Livestock Interntional, Inc.
The bottom line is that economics have begun to shift beef cow production from areas of high cattle feed costs to regions of lower feed costs (grazing). This suggests to me that beef cow production will continue to shift out of the Corn Belt into other grazing regions of the nation
by Harlan Hughes in Market Advisor
A 50-year review of several key economic indicators in five representative years of roughly 10-year increments provides some interesting insights into the beef industry's future.
This September marks the start of BEEF magazine's 50th year of publication. Over the past 50 years, BEEF has grown to play a major role in technology transfer for the U.S. beef industry and beyond. I'm proud to have been a part of that effort for the last 12 years.
In 1963, I was working on my master's degree in farm management at the University of Nebraska. My research involved a large regional project requiring me to build a computerized farm-level model designed to calculate the "most profitable farm organization" for nine different types of farms in eastern Nebraska.I spent a lot of evenings in the university's computer center that year, learning how to run my first computer. Computers have been an integral part of my ranch management educational programs ever since.In 1963, the U.S. corn price averaged $1.11/bu., hay price averaged $25/ton, and slaughter steers averaged $23.60/cwt. I calculate that the steer-corn price ratio was 21 at that time, which means 100 lbs. (cwt.) of steer was equal in value to 21 bu. of corn. I also calculate that retail beef was 90¢/lb. in 1963, and the farm value of retail beef was 68¢/lb.Let's review the last 50 years by examining a few economic indicators in five representative years of roughly 10-year increments: 1963, 1974, 1983, 1993 and 2012. A review of this data shows an interesting economic pattern.Figure 1 summarizes 50 years of corn prices. In 1963, corn price averaged $1.11/bu., but it almost tripled to $3.02/bu. by 1974, and government programs kept corn prices in the $2 to $3 range until 2006, when the ethanol era began. In 2012, corn averaged $6.22/bu., driven up by ethanol subsidies and the 2012 drought. That's a 560% increase in corn price in 50 years; however, most of the increase occurred in the last six years.
Figure 2 summarizes historical hay prices. The average hay price in 1963 was $25/ton. That increased to $80 by 1983, hovering in that range through 2003. The ethanol era, which began in 2006, prompted a lot of hay land to be planted in corn. Then, the added pressure exerted by the 2012 drought drove the hay price to a $191/ton average in 2012. This is an 876% increase in 50 years; again, most of the increase was in the last few years.Figure 3 depicts historical steer prices. In 1963, it averaged $23.60/cwt., generally trending upward each representative year, except in 1993. This is a 521% increase in steer prices over a 50-year period, or a calculated average trend line increase of $1.78/year.
Meanwhile, the steer-corn price ratio in Figure 4 compares corn prices to steer prices. The historical steer-corn ratio increased for 40 years, which indicates that the price of a cwt. of steer was equal in value to more and more bushels of corn. However, in the last six years, it's dropped substantially. In 2012, it was down to 20.Figure 5 summarizes historical retail beef price. I estimate the 1963 average retail beef price was 97¢/lb., which grew steadily to $5.01 in 2012. This is a 516% increase over the 50-year period, with a calculated trend value increase of 8.8¢/lb./year.
I estimate the net farm value of retail beef was 68¢/lb. in 1963. This value increased to $2.43 in 2012 — a 412% increase over 50 years (Figure 6). My calculated trend value for the net farm value of retail beef is a positive 3.2¢/lb./year.Meanwhile, the farm share of the beef retail dollar (Figure 7) has trended down a total of 21% in the last 50 years. This suggests that beyond the farm gate, processing costs, marketing costs, and wholesale and retail profits associated with retail beef steadily increased through time. (Non-farm labor costs and transportation costs are examples of these ever increasing non-farm costs.) I fully expect these non-farm costs to keep increasing with time, suggesting continued decreasing farm share.Now, let's look at North Dakota Farm Business Management's annual record summaries to examine beef cow profits over the last 50 years. I had to extrapolate the numbers for 1963 as I could only obtain data back to 1974.
Figure 8 summarizes the annual total feed costs for these herds for the representative years. Feed costs were fairly stable the first 30 years, but accelerated upward in the last 20. Clearly, 2012 was a year of record feed costs.Total beef cow production costs (minus replacement costs) are presented in Figure 9. Generally, production cost trended up through time. The one exception was in 1993, when costs leveled off. Total costs reached a 50-year high in 2012. The 50-year trend in per-cow costs was $7.70/year.
Figure 10 presents the earned net income summary for these Northern Plains herds. I could not generate a figure for 1963, but earned net income for the mid-1970s was generally negative. This was a time of record cattle numbers in the U.S.: 132 million head. Earned net income for these representative years was the highest in 1993, and again in 2012.The earned net income data indicate that times were tough in the mid-1970s for these Northern Plains herds, so-so in the 1980s, and good in the mid '90s and 2011-2012 eras. In fact, the average annual earned net income the last 20 years is $86/cow.
Figure 11 summarizes the change in selected economic indicators over this 50-year period. Corn and hay increased the highest percentage, while retail beef price is third, followed by the farm value of retail beef.The bottom line is that economics have begun to shift beef cow production from areas of high cattle feed costs to regions of lower feed costs (grazing). This suggests to me that beef cow production will continue to shift out of the Corn Belt into other grazing regions of the nation. These data also suggest that producers in the Northern Plains face a challenging cost structure, given the current trend for the farm value of retail beef price.
Harlan Hughes is a North Dakota State University professor emeritus. He lives in Kuna, ID. Reach him at 701-238-9607 or harlan.hughes@gte.net.
If Nature Cooperates, Good Times Are Ahead For Beef Producers
Forecasting The Cattle Market For The Rest Of The Decade
Nutrient Values For 300 Cattle Feeds
Virtual Feedlot Tour: Dean Cluck Feedyard
70 Photos Honor The Hardworking Cowboys On The Ranch
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March 15 was a dark day, not only for New Zealand but for everywhere else around the globe. Terror attacks were initiated at two mosques located in Christchurch. As an aftermath, the mass shootings received criticisms from the netizens through Twitter.
Looking at the network of "Christchurch shooting" in Twitter, it can be divided into four major clusters. Yet, all of them shared the similarity in condemning the terror attack.
The biggest cluster is the pink group with influencers @KhaledBeydoun, @MichaelSkolnik, @JuddLegum and @mehdirhasan.
This group associate the tragedy with US president Donald Trump. Back in 2016 during his presidential campaign, Trump shared a fake story of General John Pershing. He said that the general executed 49 Muslim terrorists with bullets dipped in pig's blood. The resurface of Trump's past statement led to criticisms towards the US president.
Next is the blue group. This cluster was brought together with the hashtag usage of #christchurh. Twitter users from this cluster tweeted their sympathy for the victims of the tragedy.
Additionally, they also shared the news of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden signing a National Condolence Book to remember the victims.
Meanwhile, the green cluster is discussing on the matter of New Zealand approach in implementing stricter gun control. Consequently, New Zealand government will tighten the nation gun law, particularly banning military-style automatic-weapon.
At the same time, some users posted sarcastic tweets related with news titled, "Americans shocked at New Zealand's move towards gun control". They indicated that there are countries who actually care about the people safety rather than appeasing to the right-wing group.
Last but not east is the orange cluster. Most accounts in this group questioned the international reaction towards the incident, comparing it with the Muslims terror attack in Israel which receive critics from across the globe. Some even argued that the media used the word "gunman" instead of "terrorist".
Overall, majority of Twitter users condemned the terrorist act at Christchurch. Besides, numerous users praise Jacinda Arden and the New Zealand government on the way they handled the crisis.


"Huang Xiaolong, wait, wait for you inside strength that out, capture live you, meeting so you can try my taste." Wan Zhuoyuan watch distant place dodge Primal Chaos giant column attacks Huang Xiaolong, sneered said.
"It's not you, is premature." Huang Xiaolong complexion indifference.
All Heaven of city laid Jue Sha formation, Huang Xiaolong, Bai Yue Old Man before and how to think?
Wan Zhuoyuan laugh: "Is soon. You'll see, I don't, there's gonna be Ruler High Rank come save you".
In Wan Zhuoyuan sound down, Huang Xiaolong figure flashes, suddenly it came Wan Zhuoyuan and Tian Yu two people before, hand in light Divine Staff you a stabbed out.
light Divine Staff it two people forehead.
However, on the Huang Xiaolong, two people forehead prick here, and all of a sudden, in the emptiness, several humanitarian Primal Chaos inside the Huang Xiaolong bang kill and come, will Huang Xiaolong assassination took down.
Wan Zhuoyuan.: "Huang Xiaolong, during the Jue Sha formation within, you still want to kill me? You'renot so naive, tried to kill me, you get this Jue Sha formation. Later, however, if you broke the Jue Sha formation, don't kill me!
"yes." Huang Xiaolong cold sound smile, escaped with Primal Chaos inside the chest Heart of Hell suddenly out a dazzling Darkness rays of light.
This Darkness rays of light, complete gland. Dark World all Darkness rays of light.
At that moment, the entire Po Luo Space are crashing loud sound, All Heaven of the city, Heaven World all Expert just feel heart by a twitch.
Or even Wan Yue, Old Lunzhuan strange people are mind the shakes.
In Wan Yue, Old Lunzhuan strange, people's minds absent-minded, Jue Sha formation meal, then innumerable Primal Chaos light beam actually dim down.
All of a sudden, Antiquity Heavenly Court were Wan Yue, Old Lunzhuan blame, Nine Yin Giant Corpse Old Ancestor Shi Ming, Buddha Ancestor Shi Zhen et al, in Bai Yue Old Man, King of Primordial Chaos, Golden Horn Calf and others to stimulation of movement with Antiquity Heavenly Court as a huge Primal Chaos stars, slam bang killed down here.
Look at bang kills down Antiquity Heavenly Court, very absent-minded Wan Yue, Old Lunzhuan strange people back to here, face has changed.
"kill! "and all of a sudden, a giant howl from, only number of roads giant palm comes breaking through the air, run a Antiquity Heavenly Court.
Antiquity Heavenly Court is up.
Shot prevents Antiquity Heavenly Court this one, is hidden in hidden place Heaven World Law Enforcement Squad Great Leader Xu Yang, liu ying et al.
It's All Heaven City and Heaven World agreed before. All Heaven of city Wan Yue people in public, while Xu Yang, liu ying people in hidden place, in case of a change.
Antiquity Heavenly Court is Xu Yang, chi et al a block, paused, continue to Wan Yue, Old Lunzhuan, people shoot to kill it, but this time, Wan Yue, Old Lunzhuan strange people completely to God, were shot, innumerable Primal Chaos light beams blasted, will Antiquity Heavenly Court completely blown away.
Antiquity Heavenly Court while Bai Yue Old Man, King of Primordial Chaos and others stimulation of movement, with sufficient destroy the sky and extinguish with, but under Wan Yue, Old Lunzhuan, 12. Myriad Worlds Overlord together one under, have got blowed up.
Huang Xiaolong was an accident, but then, Huang Xiaolong cold sound smile, figure flashes, then to Nine Yin Giant Corpse Old Ancestor Shi Ming before, hand in light Divine Staff a thorn came out.
Since this Jue Sha formation is composed of Wan Yue 12 person while stimulating, then, he can kill a person, as long as the death of a person, then, that Jue Sha formation might will weaken a lot.
In Wan Yue 12 people, Shi Ming strength is the weakest of a person, and is also Huang Xiaolong to kill one.
Wan Yue, Old Lunzhuan strange, Black Bird Old Ancestor and others demonstrated a Huang Xiaolong intention, not complexion the changes, however, is Wan Yue, Old Lunzhuan strange people to move, when all of a sudden, Huang Xiaolong chest Heart of Hell again vibration, Wan Yue, Old Lunzhuan strange, Black Bird Old Ancestor human mind once again to short out of control.
Huang Xiaolong light Divine Staff was pricked by a Shi Ming forehead hundr meters away.
Hundred-meter! For Huang Xiaolong, man, it's just not the instant.
Is Heaven World Xu Yang, liu ying want shot rescues Shi Ming, had not.
Seeing Huang Xiaolong light Divine Staff is penetrating Shi Ming forehead, just then, all of a sudden, Shi Ming inside, terrifying's Yin Cold Qi storm shooting and out... that Yin Cold Qi, freezing world, even Space-Time at the condensing, is Shi Ming source energy Nine Yin's.
This Nine Yin chi is world between the Yin Cold Qi, the Shi Ming and threatens the time, automatic master protector.
Look at Jet that Nine Yin chi, Huang Xiaolong cold just grunt, hand in light Divine Staff out the infinite sacred rays of light, then, light Divine Staff, open up Nine Yin force, punctured Shi Ming's forehead, from Shi Ming back of the head permeated.
Huang Xiaolong Three Great Enlightened Saint Spark, Three Great Saint Pulse straight stimulation of movement, strength spout, light Divine Staff, shattered Shi Ming Godhead, light sacred strength crazy destroyed Shi Ming all life.
In Huang Xiaolong shattered Shi Ming Godhead moment, Shi Ming Divine Soul will suddenly become in grey rays of light escape out, swapped them. And, Antiquity Heavenly Court innumerable starlight crashing through, instantaneous, boom in Shi Ming escape out Divine Soul will.
Shi Ming Divine Soul will shrill scream, blow it.
Nine Yin Giant Corpse Old Ancestor Shi Ming, one generation Myriad Worlds Overlord, deter Heavens Myriad Worlds's existence, death!
Look at Shi Ming die, every world, come watch Old Ancestor did heart crazy shock, like not real, unbelievable feeling.
Shi Ming, this had almost conquered Divine World Heavenly Court. terrifying there, just die?
When Shi Ming Divine Soul will be Antiquity Heavenly Court bang out, Huang Xiaolong hands light Divine Staff, it transferred hand stabbing a Scorpion clan Old Ancestor chen fu mountain.
Wan Yue, Old Lunzhuan strange people look big change, If Huang Xiaolong even Scorpion Old Ancestor chen fu mountain and Divine World that three months Old Monster kill, then, 12. Myriad Worlds Overlord was only eight ascendant.
When they eight people catalytic Jue Sha formation, can no longer hold Bai Yue Old Man et al., at that time, Bai Yue Old Man as catalytic Antiquity Heavenly Court, could tear Jue Sha formation light cover, easily escape.
They thousand counts million calculation, no business Huang Xiaolong this could be shot for a breakthrough to Ruler Rank One Middle Stage, moreover, to becoming a Saint Physique, more don't break the Ruler Rank One Middle Stage, after Huang Xiaolong Heart of Hell might believe that terrifying.
Huang Xiaolong is Ruler Rank One Middle Stage, but its Heart of Hell Demon Attribute of sound, even Old Lunzhuan strange and other such Ruler powerhouse's mind ... is going to suffer.
"Come on, all together, kill Huang Xiaolong! Just Huang Xiaolong." Wan Yue hurry fierce said:.
To Huang Xiaolong now strength, it has been very difficult to capture, if not alive, that would be killed, do whatever it takes to kill, or the Huang Xiaolong away, then look/the All Heaven of the city is definitely an enormous disaster.


Tropical Water Lilies add incredibly deep and vibrant colors to any pond!
Tropical Water Lilies are separated into two categories: Day Blooming and Night Blooming. Their differences are clear; Day Blooming lilies bloom during the day (~9:00 to ~7:00) while Night Blooming lilies bloom near dusk (~6:00 to ~9:00 the next morning). Both will bloom multiple days in a row before the flower fades away and is replaced by the next bloom. When fertilized correctly, you will enjoy multiple flowers on each plant and constant blooming throughout the season.
Tropical Water Lilies are available in the entire color spectrum and are known for producing large blooms and very large pads. They thrive in full sun and will grow larger as the season progresses, up to 6′ across!
We order our Tropical Water Lillies from one of the leading distributors in the US. We repot, fertilize, and trim our lilies throughout the growing season to make sure they are ready for your pond when you select them! Not only will a member of our team help you choose a plant size and category that is best suited to your pond, we'll show you how to care for and feed your plants for their optimal growth and bloom potential!


Fashioning contemporary sculpture into modern art decor with a coastal theme, stylized, oversized water droplets promise to quench your thirst for art by artistically suspending your 3"-dia. pillar candle midair. Crafted exclusively for Basil Street of hand-crafted, distressed metal with a faux bronze finish, this distinctively modern abstract art decor piece has an almost Mediterranean style that's as suitable with nautical decor as it is a contemporary setting. At almost four feet tall, this sculpture pays homage to the power of nature. Candles not included. Do not leave lit candles unattended.
Holds three 3"dia. pillar candles.


text:
Костоеды () — род жесткокрылых насекомых семейства пестряков.

Описание
Последний членик обеих пар щупиков овальный. Булава усиков большая, широкая, плотная; последний членик её равен по длине двум предыдущим члениками вместе взятым.

Систематика
В составе рода три ныне живущих и два ископаемых вида:
 †

 †

Примечания

Пестряки
Роды жесткокрылых

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Four Seasons Resort Marrakech invites guests and local visitors to view a new exhibition of contemporary art by Taha Sabie. Presented in collaboration with BCK Gallery, the collection spans the artist's career, telling the personal story of his life and dreams through painting.
The beauty of Marrakech comes to life in Sabie's paintings, inspired by his exploration of the city's architecture and its famous souks. Originally from Baghdad, Sabie has lived in Marrakech since 1977, where in addition to his art, he devotes much of his time to helping children in need.
Sabie's paintings are available for purchase. Resort guests who would like to learn and experience more of Moroccan art and culture are invited to visit the on-site Maarifa Cultural Centre and Boutique, or inquire at the Concierge Desk about excursions to local galleries and studios.


Attendees are invited to attend the silent auction directly following the seminar. (Auction registration fee waived).
Clyde Prestowitz regularly writes for leading publications, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, Fortune, and Foreign Affairs.


Thank you for your interest in attending His Shoes. Her Shoes. Please note that the seminar and meal are FREE. However, if you plan to bring children, please note that there are LIMITED spaces available. If child registration reaches capacity, you will be notified in advance so that you can make the necessary arrangements.


What approach do you use when you initially meet with new investors?
Lead with your strength. Cut to your best metric, your best logos, the best part of your product.
Don't beat around the bush. Don't talk for 10 minutes about the industry. Skip the Rogue One talk.
Any great CEO and any great salesman knows how to lead with strength.
What do investors look for in a startup CEO?
How do billionaire investors differ from "ordinary" investors?
Are Silicon Valley investors different?


text:
Vernon Vipers
North Okanagan Knights
Let's Play! 2016
Progress: North Okanagan Business Review and Forecast 2018
Businesswomen of the North Okanagan
John Straughan
STRAUGHAN, John Robert "Bob"
Cared for at home by his loving wife and best friend, Esther (nee Quantz), married for over 52 years, Bob passed away at his home in Burlington on Friday, May 26, 2006 at the age of 75. Loved father of Kelly Rousell-Gilchrist and her husband Kerry Gilchrist of Burlington, David and his wife Leslie of Vernon, B.C. and Catherine Straughan of Toronto. Loving grandfather of Joel (Kim) Rousell of Ketch Harbour, Nova Scotia, and Jason Rousell of Burlington. The star of his life was his great-grandson Jack. Dear brother-in-law of Ruth Dempster. Predeceased by his sister Jean Barrick of Stoney Creek. Bob was a lover of fine woods and was very proud of the waterfowl that he had carved. Bob retired from Ford Motor Company in 1990 OTP. A Private Family Service was held at SMITH'S FUNERAL HOME, BURLINGTON
(905-632-3333). If desired, expressions of sympathy to the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, St. Joseph's Healthcare Foundation, 224 James Street South, Suite #1, Hamilton, L8P 3A9 (Research Only) would be sincerely appreciated by the family. The family are dearly grateful to the CCAC, the VON, especially Wendy Ekstrom, Dr. Lori Whitehead, Firestone Clinic and Dr. William Proctor for all his care and support for many years.
www.smithsfh.com
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text:
Nicklas Bendtner is a striker who plays for Denmark's national side and Arsenal in the English Premier League. He has been noted for his potential ever since breaking through to the Danish U21 squad at just 17, and is regarded as one of the sharpest shooters in the game. He plays on the right hand side of the field, as a winger or strike-partner, but is at his best when he is using his height and strength to lead the line from the very front on his own.
Nicklas Bendtner was born on 16th January 1988 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was a highly-rated youngster, and was offered trials at all the big Copenhagen clubs ahead of signing on for KB (Kopenhagen Boldklub) at the age of 14.
His natural ability ensured he progressed up the youth teams, with Nicklas often playing against players two or three years older than him. He shot to prominence with 4 goals in 6 games for the Danish U16s, and was immediately sought after by the big clubs.
Nicklas Bendtner signed for Arsene Wenger's Arsenal on 17th July 2004, aged just 16. Other clubs had shown an interest, most notably Chelsea, but Bendtner was sure that Arsenal was the right club for him – Wenger had a reputation for letting youngsters play in the first team.
Bendtner made his debut just three months later, entering the fray in a Carling Cup match which saw Wenger's kids hailed as potential world-beaters in the future. In order to speed up Bendtner's footballing education he was sent on loan to Birmingham City – he scored 11 goals and helped them win promotion to the Premiership.
A period as substitute striker for Arsenal followed, with Bendtner coming on late in the game to use his pace against the tired legs of defenders. He started to be used on a more regular basis when both Robin van Persie and Eduardo were injured, and is an effective foil for Adebayor, even if they haven't always been the best of friends.
Bendtner made his first impact in world football for the Danish national side, and is still making waves with them today. He began his scoring feats in 2004, when he netted four times in six games for the U17s and was voted the U17s Player of the Year. He soon won a call-up to the U21s, in May 2006, and this was quickly followed by his first full team call-up in August 2006 – when he was just 18 years old. He is now a fixture in the Danish side, and will be expecting to score many more goals in the future.


text:
import numpy as np
import cPickle
import math
import string
import re
import subprocess
from datetime import datetime
from cwsm.performance import Performance

def cafferun(params):

    # load general and optimization parameters
    with open('../tmp/optparams.pkl', 'rb') as f:
        paramdescr = cPickle.load(f)
    with open('../tmp/genparams.pkl', 'rb') as f:
        genparams = cPickle.load(f)
    CAFFE_ROOT = genparams['CAFFE_ROOT']
    optimize = genparams['optimize']
    optimizewrt = genparams['optimizewrt']

    # transform parameters accoring to transformation specified in the model file
    print params
    for p in params:
        if paramdescr[p].get('transform', None) is not None:

            # X<>: multiplier where <> stands for any number (examples: X10, X100, X22)
            if paramdescr[p]['transform'][0] == 'X':
                multiplier = int(paramdescr[p]['transform'][1:])
                params[p][0] *= multiplier

            # LOG<>: number which goes to Spearmint corresponds to log with base <> of an actual
            #        number (example: value 2 of LOG10 corresponds to 100)
            if paramdescr[p]['transform'][0:3] == 'LOG':
                base = int(paramdescr[p]['transform'][3:])
                params[p][0] = math.log(params[p][0], base)

            # NEGEXP<>: where <> is  the base, the number which goes to Spearmint is negative of the
            #           exponent (example: value 3 with NEGEXP10 means 10^-3 and correpsonds to 0.001)
            if paramdescr[p]['transform'][0:6] == 'NEGEXP':
                negexp = float(paramdescr[p]['transform'][6:])
                params[p] = [negexp ** float(-params[p][0])]

    # unique prefix for this run
    prefix = datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%d-%m-%H-%M-%S')

	# generate .prototxt files with current set of paramters
    trainnet = open('../tmp/template_trainval.prototxt', 'r').read()
    solver = open('../tmp/template_solver.prototxt', 'r').read()
    for p in params:
        trainnet = string.replace(trainnet, 'OPTIMIZE_' + p, str(params[p][0]), 1)
        solver = string.replace(solver, 'OPTIMIZE_' + p, str(params[p][0]), 1)

    # kappa optimizer has a special treatment
    if optimize == 'kappa':
        valnet = open('../tmp/template_val.prototxt', 'r').read()
        for p in params:
            valnet = string.replace(valnet, 'OPTIMIZE_' + p, str(params[p][0]), 1)

    # update paths for this run
    solver = string.replace(solver, 'PLACEHOLDER_NET', '../tmp/%s_trainval.prototxt' % prefix, 1)
    solver = string.replace(solver, 'PLACEHOLDER_MODEL_STORE', '../caffeout/%s' % prefix, 1)

    # store .prototxt for this run
    with open('../tmp/%s_trainval.prototxt' % prefix, 'w') as f:
        f.write(trainnet)
    if optimize == 'kappa':
        with open('../tmp/%s_val.prototxt' % prefix, 'w') as f:
            f.write(valnet)
    with open('../tmp/%s_solver.prototxt' % prefix, 'w') as f:
        f.write(solver)

    # run caffe training procedure
    caffe_return_code = subprocess.call(CAFFE_ROOT + '/build/tools/caffe train --solver ../tmp/%s_solver.prototxt 2> ../caffeout/%s_log.txt' % (prefix, prefix), shell=True)
    print 'CAFFE RETURN CODE ' + str(caffe_return_code)

    # set result to None by default
    result = None

    # if Caffe ran successfully update the result
    if int(caffe_return_code) == 0:

        # run the performace measure estimator
        if optimize == 'loss':
            result = Performance.loss(prefix, optimizewrt)
        elif optimize == 'accuracy':
            result = Performance.accuracy(prefix, optimizewrt)
        elif optimize == 'kappa':
            result = Performance.kappasq(prefix, CAFFE_ROOT, optimizewrt)
        else:
            print 'ERROR: Unknown perfomance measure %s' % optimize

    print '-----------------------------'
    print prefix, result
    print '-----------------------------'

    return result

# Write a function like this called 'main'
def main(job_id, params):
	return cafferun(params)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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According to a Fully Charged November episode, the Toyota Mirai is a decent car to drive, and is some way reminds host Robert Llewellyn of the Prius.
It drives like an all-electric car (there is only an electric motor to propel the wheels), although there is small delay if you rapidly accelerate, probably because the fuel cell can't keep up with power output changes.
Range of some 300 miles and quick refueling are the biggest differences between Mirai and all-electric cars, at least in theory, because in practice hydrogen fuel stations need to be built out first.
"The world's first designed from the ground up, mass produced hydrogen fuel cell hybrid vehicle.
Will Toyota's hydrogen fuelled offer be the start of the giant move away from fossil burning?
Will the fuelling infrastructure be developed?
Will hydrogen that isn't stripped from fossil fuel become widely available and economically viable?
It's a great car to drive though."


text:
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Membership helps fund energy efficiency contractor advocacy in California.
Advocacy Update – November 2021 – What is the role of EE in a decarbonization future?
In August of 2021, the IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change) released a report outlining the global warming potential and result of our continued reliance on fossil fuels. One thing was made abundantly clear in the report, the impact of greenhouse gas emission from burning fossil fuels is measurable, and their influence is forever changing our atmosphere. To have any chance of controlling global warming, we need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) significantly and swiftly. Policymakers are aware of this fact and the challenge it represents.
The good news is California is leading the charge to a carbon-free energy future. As we push ahead to this new paradigm, many things will need to change. Electrification of the transportation system will be first, followed closely by the electrification of buildings.
EE will be critical in our transition to a carbon-free energy future. One thing remains clear – the role and value of energy efficiency will only increase due to these new objectives.
Energy efficiency has long been touted as the lowest cost renewable strategy. It makes sense that the cleanest and cheapest form of energy is the energy you don't use, although we seldom think in those terms. Many in the industry recognize this, but saving energy is not as sexy as shiny new solar panels or colossal wind generators.
It's a familiar place to be for any home performance contractor, promoting the least cost option over sexier alternatives. Energy Efficiency may not be sexy, but it is crucial in transitioning to a clean energy future. Policymakers know this and count on the benefits of EE as part of our GHG reduction strategy.
Here are three examples of how EE will facilitate the transition to a clean energy future. More specifically, the grid benefits of energy-efficient buildings.
1. More efficient buildings can "glide" through demand response periods. During periods of high demand, utilities will use demand response (DR) strategies to reduce the load on the grid. A straightforward DR strategy is to shut off air conditioners for a brief period. If the utilities curtail usage for 10 minutes out of every hour, it has enormous impacts. This short period without A/C s will likely have zero effect on comfort in an energy-efficient building, as the building does not lose much energy during this DR cycle. EE buildings can maintain their temperature and stay comfortable during DR periods, which benefits the grid overall.
2. Imagine if we reduce the energy needs of an entire neighborhood with EE upgrades. Now everyone in that neighborhood can get an electric car, and the impact on the grid will be neutral. EE allows you to reduce overall loads and increase electrification without adding infrastructure. Reducing consumption to add capacity will be a crucial strategy in building electrification.
3. As we electrify buildings, we often need to increase the electrical service panel to meet the needs. Using more efficient appliances in a home can reduce the entire load of the building. Reducing the loads will allow for electrification without upgrading the electrical service panel. It's a similar concept to making a whole neighborhood more efficient so that you can add electric vehicles.
These are just a few examples of the value of energy efficiency. As we move forward to a carbon-free future, electricity and beneficial building electrification are getting a lot of attention. As always, when the rubber meets the road, the benefits of Energy Efficiency become apparent.
It might not be the shiny object or sexiest technology, but EE will continue to be a critical factor in the transition to clean energy.
© 2022 Efficiency First California | Site by GrowthZone
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text:
Home WarZone Erdogan takes his anti-terrorism charade international
Erdogan takes his anti-terrorism charade international
Jim W. Dean, Managing Editor
Janissaries Abroad: Turkey to Beef Up Military Presence in Qatar, Somalia
… from Sputnik News, Moscow
Erdogan has really gotten full of himself
[ Editor's Note: Erdogan is scrambling to divert attention from his democracy crackdown in Turkey, with his military moves to assist other countries with anti-terrorism military training. With as big an army as Turkey has, he might as well do something for them, as he sure as hell isn't using them to fight ISIL.
He has converted the Army and the Intelligence services into one of the biggest "palace guards" in modern times. Although his long time crackdown and jailings of media people has brought little UN or NATO condemnation, the current crackdown on academics could be the tipping point, as in it triggering a general strike.
At some point the remaining institutions who have kept their heads down will realize that the Erdogan mafia will eventually subdue them all one by one, so it would be better to oppose him in a coalition while there are still organizations that could join.
The NATO countries will also look weak in not being able to influence Erdogan from the embarrassing path he has chosen. Even the EU who has made a big show at bringing Poland and Hungary to heel or limiting the press is playing the dunce hypocrite role for looking the other way on Turkey. Poland and Hungary have not been jailing journalists on vague trumped up charges solely for being in the opposition.
The EU needs a Putin, and not a Merkel, and by that I do not mean a sex change operation for her. They need someone who is not a graduate of Fantasyland University, and who can deal with real geopolitics and be straight with their constituency, rather than acting like an occupational force mandarin, totally disconnected from the people… Jim W. Dean ]
Will Erdogan pretend he is fighting African terrorists now?
– First published … January 15, 2016 –
Ankara is determined to beef up Turkey's military presence in the Middle East and Africa; after concluding an agreement with Doha to build Turkey's first Middle Eastern military base in Qatar, Ankara has unveiled its plans to create a new military installation in Somalia.
Ankara is seeking to expand Turkey's influence beyond the Middle East to Africa in a bid to transform Turkey from the regional state into a sort of neo-Ottoman Empire.
"Turkey is building its first base in Africa… The Turkish army intends for the facility to be a training center for Somali troops. The fledgling Somali National Army — with the help of African Union troops and American commandos — has been fighting a war with Al-Shabaab insurgents for years," American reporter Kevin Knodell writes in his article for WarIsBoring.com, quoting Turkish Foreign Ministry official Emil Tekin.
The initiative has followed the agreement signed between Doha and Ankara to kick off Turkey's first military base in the Middle East.
Remarkably, Qatar is already home to the American Al Udeid military base, which has around 10,000 US troops. According to diplomats, the new Turkish installation in Qatar is expected to accommodate 3,000 soldiers.
"Turkey diversifies allies with first Mideast military base in Qatar; is it possible also in Djibouti and in Mogadishu, Somalia, Soon?" Geeska Afrika Online reported on December 26, 2015, as if they had seen it in a crystal ball.
"Though this will be Turkey's first permanent military base in Somalia, the Turks are hardly newcomers. During the years of the Ottoman Empire, Turks frequently made their way to Somalia as both warriors and merchants," Knodell continues.
By strengthening military ties with its Sunni Islamic allies, the Turkish leadership is behaving like a bull in a china shop toward its neighbors, Syria and Iraq.
On December 4, Turkey unilaterally deployed 150 troops and 25 tanks in northern Iraq near Mosul without permission from Baghdad. The de-facto "invasion" was carried out under the pretext of war against Daesh (Islamic State/ISIL) and the necessity to ensure the security of Turkish operatives in the region.
The Iraqi government expressed its vocal dissatisfaction with Ankara's move; however, the Erdogan government turned a deaf ear to Baghdad's displeasure. At the same time, it is no secret that Ankara has long been allowing foreign jihadists to penetrate into Syria through the Turkish border.
Recep Erdogan's request to establish a US-Turkish 'no-fly' zone over Syria was aimed at splitting up the country, Bangkok-based geopolitical analyst Tony Cartalucci wrote in his article for New Eastern Outlook in October 2015.
"Long sought after 'buffer zones' also sometimes referred to as 'free zones' or 'safe zones' still stand as the primary strategy of choice by the US and its regional allies for the deconstruction of Syria's sovereignty and the intentional creation of a weak, failed state," the analyst emphasized.
Furthermore, while conducting its illegal oil trade with Daesh (thus facilitating the group's prosperity), the Erdogan regime cracked down on the Kurdish Peshmerga, by bombing PKK and YPG fighters — the US-led coalition's allies in fighting Daesh.
Ankara's aggressive military policy has led to the ruining of the longstanding relationship between Russia and Turkey, which nearly ground to a halt after a Turkish F-16 jet shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber in Syrian airspace.
In this light, Erdogan's decision to project Turkey's military power outside of the country's borders should come as no surprise.
"In 2016, don't be surprised to see Turkish troops and advisers pop up in surprising places," Knodell concludes.
Jim W. Dean is Managing Editor of Veterans Today involved in operations, development, and writing, plus an active schedule of TV and radio interviews.
Read Full Complete Bio >>>
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The Push for a Deeper Deployment Pool
Posted on June 9, 2008 by Team VCS
Army Times
June 9, 2008 – In the Army's ongoing push to provide fresh troops for the war zone and give a break to repeat deployers, personnel officials are targeting not only soldiers who have never gone, but also those whose combat tours were brief or long ago.
Now experts are tracking every soldier's deployment record, zeroing in on a formula that considers frequency, length and total months in a combat zone, as well as skills, experience and availability.
They're keying in on what they call the "deployment equity" factor, seeking to fill combat-zone demand with soldiers who have minimal boots-on-the-ground time. At Human Resources Command in Alexandria, Va., career branch managers scour the rolls for deployable soldiers while they look for at-home assignments for those with multiple combat tours.
The new focus on the duration of those tours, rather than just the number of deployments, is an evolution of the deployment process after seven years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, HRC officers say.
"We have officers who may have multiple deployments for maybe 90 days at a time," said Lt. Col. John Waller, branch chief for company-grade logistics officers.
He manages captains, he said, "who may have deployed three times but only for a maximum of a year, while other officers may have two deployments of 12 and 15 months each and are now on their third. So we dig deeper; it's not just the number of times deployed but the total number of months deployed."
Army records show that more than 30,000 soldiers have never deployed, and thousands more logged only months in the war zone or have not been there for years.
Personnel officials say fairness dictates that these soldiers be placed in operational units before those with multiple combat tours of a year or more are again issued deployment orders.
Nearly 525,000 active-duty soldiers have deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, Army data show, including 204,000 who have served more than one combat tour. Many have served three, four or even five rotations.
Today, 140,000 soldiers are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. A new round of deployments begins in the fall for 38,000 soldiers, 21,000 of them from active-duty units.
Software helps
Officers and warrant officers make up 16 percent of the Army, and their career managers stay in touch with them by e-mail and phone, even in the larger combat arms branches such as infantry, which has more than 6,000 officers. Their deployment time is tracked on an individual basis through that correspondence and electronic records.
Managers for the Army's majority of enlisted soldiers use a Web-based software program that shows a detailed view of each soldier's specialty, availability and deployment history. That program was refined after its first iteration in 2007 to show the frequency of deployments. It has been refined again to show the number of months a soldier has spent at war.
"At least we have the tools to do the best possible job we can," said Deborah Jacobs, chief of operations for the management division of the Enlisted Personnel Management Directorate, which designed the program and manages the staff that continues to refine it.
"when people say, 'Oh, they don't even know I've deployed five times,' that's just not true," she said. "We do know, and we do care about that." Deployment duration is measured in months, and any soldier receiving hostile-fire pay is counted as deployed, regardless of location, according to HRC.
The time-away clock starts ticking, Jacobs said, when the deploying unit submits the names and Social Security numbers of its soldiers to HRC at any point between home-station departure and when they arrive in theater.
The ticking stops when that unit submits the data upon redeployment. The same information is being used to determine dwell time, which, as of now, is based on a one-for-one match of up to 12 months. So a soldier who deploys for six months is supposed to get six months' dwell time. On the other hand, a soldier deployed for 15 months is guaranteed only up to 12 months.
Soldiers get tapped for new deployment orders based on skill, experience, availability and deployment history.
For example, if a unit requests a certain number of soldiers in a specific military occupational specialty in the military intelligence branch, that branch manager will search for the names of all the soldiers in the MOS and, by process of elimination using those variables, end up with a short list of eligible soldiers.
In that group, if their skills, experience and availability are equal, the branch manager will turn to the soldiers' deployment history to make a decision, "on the rare occasion that you would find all variables equal," Jacobs noted.
Until recently, the "deployment history" category was not available as part of the equation.
Some deployment decisions are made based on a soldier's need, such as an infantryman who may not have logged platoon sergeant time. If he is compared with a soldier who has already done his platoon sergeant time, he's likely to be the one chosen.
"We have a lot of soldiers who do want to deploy and are volunteering to deploy, because in today's environment, that right shoulder patch is very important for promotion, professional development and all those things," Jacobs said.
There is no mathematical equation, Jacobs said, adding, "If there were a cookie-cutter approach we could take, we wouldn't need people to do our jobs."
Ironically, the Defense Department shelved a plan for "high-deployment pay," a formula that would have compensated troops for repeat war tours. Now, not only is the Army tracking individual deployment time, it has pushed a "warrior pay" proposal that would reward soldiers for cumulative time on combat tours.
Who's doing what
Data compiled by HRC between Oct. 1, 2001, and March 1 shows that 63.6 percent of active-duty soldiers had deployment history, 9.2 percent had pending deployment orders, 7.4 percent were in basic training and 1.7 percent were unavailable to deploy because of medical, legal or other circumstances.
Another 11.5 percent of the active-duty population was listed as recruiters or drill sergeants; in transit, training or some other hold status; or in operational units that may have just redeployed and have no current deployment orders.
The remaining 6.7 percent of soldiers — about 35,000 active-duty troops — are eligible for reassignment to operational units or for an individual replacement requirement. They work in non-operational units, largely under organizations such as Training and Doctrine Command or the Pentagon.
Deployment numbers will never reach a 100 percent rate, according to HRC officials, because of the constantly shifting nature of the Army's population. That includes growth of the force, which is programmed to reach 547,000 by the end of fiscal 2010, and the loss of soldiers who leave the Army at a rate of about 80,000 each year, taking their deployment history with them.
With the combination of seven years of war with increasingly steady, lengthy rotations, and the predictions by Army leadership that the U.S. is in for a period of persistent conflict, branch managers are more focused than ever on that deployment equity, they say, because people are tired, families are stressed to the max and equipment is worn.
Infantry officer branch chief Lt. Col. Ron Clark, who manages the careers of more than 6,100 infantry officers, offered as an example the 808 infantry majors he has on his radar screen.
"Only eight have not deployed, and five of those have pending deployment orders," he said. "A number of them have deployed multiple times … the high end is 49 months deployed. So it's a question of equity, of making sure we don't rotate officers into the fight too quickly again."
Clark pointed out that although a good number of infantry captains are going through Infantry Officer Basic Course, Basic Officer Leadership Course or Maneuver Captains Career Course at any given time, the units that are deploying are always 100 percent manned. Conversely, some non-operational assignments are going unfilled because of the war-zone demand.
The same is true for Clark's counterpart on the enlisted infantry side, Col. Marlon Blocker, who searches for deployment and dwell opportunities for more than 62,000 enlisted infantrymen, the Army's largest military occupational specialty.
"We're almost beyond the point of finding soldiers who have not deployed," Blocker said.
He said that his effort is focused as much on those with multiple deployments as it is on those who want to keep going to the war zone.
He pointed out that high re-enlistment rates are helping alleviate the war-zone demand because many of those re-upping are requesting to return to the war zone.
"We have senior NCOs who are reaching retirement dates and requesting to go to deploying units. There are a lot of infantry soldiers who are trying to get back into the fight again," he said.
Balancing the needs of the institutional Army and the requirement to fill deploying units means somebody has to make do with less. That is reflected, for example, in TRADOC centers and schools where cadres that might normally be manned with eight instructors would have to make do with six or less.
"We do have enough captains to fill the combat formations, but with modularity and transformation, the growth of the Army, the projected growth of the Army, and attrition to a lesser degree, we don't have enough captains to fill the organizations that aren't combat formations," said Lt. Col. Jamie Inman, who manages the careers of about 4,300 field artillery officers.
"We're meeting our requirement for the [war] at the expense to a degree of the institutional Army," Inman said, citing statements made by Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey, who has testified before Congress on several occasions that the Army "is out of balance" because of the requirements of overseas commitments.
"There are some specialties that are a few short right now, and there's a plan to address that in the coming years," said Col. Thomas Webb, chief of the Officer Personnel Management Directorate. "But you can figure it out, it's not that hard, our focus is on the fight forward and we're going to meet the mission."
Military intelligence branch chief Lt. Col. Bryan DeCoster said his soldiers are "right up there with logistics, field artillery and infantry" with its captains, 93 percent of whom have deployed.
"That's primarily because the company-grade officers are most in demand downrange, and then MI is a very large requirement with the transition teams," DeCoster said of the small, embedded transition teams training Iraqi and Afghan security forces in partnered arrangements, sometimes within a brigade or assigned directly from training at Fort Riley, Kan.
Enlisted military intelligence soldiers who specialize in human intelligence collection or the operation of unmanned aerial vehicles are in high demand, as well.
On the other hand, DeCoster said, about a third of the MI MOSs are in signal intelligence, and a lot of the soldiers in that field support missions that don't send them to the war zones, such as working with the National Security Agency at Fort Meade, Md.
Some MI soldiers whose MOSs are related but not in high demand, such as signals collectors and analysts, are volunteering to go in other roles that are required "because they want to be professionally developed downrange."
"But," he said, "you can only do so much of that substituting of MOSs. They are the ones processing the signals intelligence that's gathered downrange from a number of stations worldwide needed at NSA."
Transportation Corps branch chief Lt. Col. Vic Harmon said he has seen some of the same volunteerism in his branch, where some soldiers in one of the Army's highest priority MOSs, truck driver, 88M, ask to be kept in their deploying units. The 88M MOS is chronically short, and the Army offers bonuses to soldiers who reclass into that job. Soldiers from other MOSs, such as field artillery, are retrained or involuntarily reclassed to be truck drivers.
"When we go through the process to take some of these soldiers out of these units and instead of deploying put them elsewhere, they want to stay in these units. They want to stay," Harmon said.
Another trend branch managers are seeing is an increase in the number of enlisted soldiers contacting them directly at HRC in phone calls or e-mails from Iraq and Afghanistan, or when they get home from deployment.
"They're more inclined to call," Blocker said. "They go to the Web site, find their branch and there's a phone number."
Col. Louis Henkel, chief of the Enlisted Personnel Management Directorate, said soldiers are starting to get used to the fact that when they redeploy, they likely will be on the move quickly either to a school or another post or unit.
"I think what you have is a new dynamic. There's an opportunity when a unit gets back, soldiers inherently know something's going to happen," Henkel said. "Before the [war], a soldier was on an installation and there wasn't that mechanism. Soldiers know that when they get home, something's going to happen or they're going to go somewhere, and they want to try and influence that."
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text:
Limits of New Screen for Heart Disease
Less-Invasive Test Prompts More Follow-Up Care But Does Little to Stop Heart Attacks, Study Says
Image produced in a CCTA, or CT angiography
SPL/Photo Researchers
By Jennifer Corbett Dooren
Updated May 24, 2011 12:01 am ET
Screening patients for heart disease with a heart-imaging test prompted greater follow-up care but had little to no effect on the number of heart attacks and other cardiovascular events in those patients, a new study found.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore led the study, which was published online Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
John McEvoy, a heart specialist at Johns Hopkins Hospital and the lead author, said doctors are looking for "optimum use" of a non-invasive imaging test called coronary computed tomographic angiography, called a CCTA test and also known as CT angiography.
Researchers wanted to know whether finding plaque buildup at an early stage slows the progression of heart disease and reduce heart attacks in patients who aren't showing symptoms of heart disease.
CT angiography is a rapidly growing technology. Michael Lauer, director of the cardiovascular-sciences division at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, wrote in a commentary accompanying the CCTA study, "We cannot simply assume that just because a screening test predicts clinical outcomes, interventions necessarily will prevent them."


On what basis can you judge a poker room?
Blackjack is among the most universal games performed in the realm of gambling. You may think this is an unequalled game but actually its probably the most beatable poker games available. All that you should know is how you can play the overall game and take care of it correctly.
First, let us consider your math abilities. You don't have to be considered a complete genius to understand the idea of blackjack all that you should have the ability to do is count. You are able to count right? Okay, now your dealer are playing. The dealership has one card facing up along with a card that's facing lower for just their eyes to determine. You'll have this. The secret is to pay attention to the facing up card of the opponent (within this situation the dealership). You have to find out if the following possible card the dealer draws for you may bust you or provide you with the likely possibility of winning.
Now what's the card's worth? When you get a king, full, or jack, prepaid credit cards count 10 points. An ace may be worth whether 1 or 11 points. I am confident you are able to evaluate which the rest of the cards count just by searching in the number. The entire object of the overall game would be to make certain you beat the dealership and never allow the dealer beat only you obtain a total score of 21. You won't want to review 21 because that'll be a bust and you'll lose your hard earned money.
After receiving your two cards, you (the gamer) have the choice of going for a hit in the deck or standing. Going for a hit is to request for an additional card. To face would be to enable your cards sit and wait for a dealer either to bust or beat your overall quantity of cards.
There's lots of strategy which goes into farmville. You have to be prepared and never get into farmville if you are not serious. Playing blackjack can win you cash, nevertheless its better to know your odds of luck too, and never over exceed your anticipation.
A terrific way to play would be to help make your own "internal wager" on set up dealer will bust when you have possible to bust. Should i be worked a 4 10, I'll consider the sellers hands before I stand or hit. When the dealer has anything on the 4, I'm prepared to risk a success as there is a greater possibility the dealer has greater than I actually do. It's similar to a game title of sacrifice because you are jeopardizing your bust on the potential of the dealer's hands. If performed properly, this skill might be mastered.
Jul 20, 2015 Comments Off on A While Examined and Valuable Blackjack Tips!
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Gambling Stakes In Indonesia Gets Higher With Popularity!


text:
// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
//
// Copyright Microsoft Corporation
// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
// You may obtain a copy of the License at
// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
// limitations under the License.
// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

using System.Management.Automation;
using Microsoft.Azure.Commands.HDInsight.Commands;
using Microsoft.Azure.Management.HDInsight.Models;

namespace Microsoft.Azure.Commands.HDInsight
{
    [Cmdlet(
        VerbsSecurity.Revoke,
        Constants.CommandNames.AzureHDInsightRdpServicesAccess),
    OutputType(
        typeof(void))]
    public class RevokeAzureHDInsightRdpServicesAccessCommand : HDInsightCmdletBase
    {
        #region Input Parameter Definitions

        [Parameter(
            Position = 0,
            Mandatory = true,
            HelpMessage = "Gets or sets the name of the resource group.")]
        public string ResourceGroupName { get; set; }

        [Parameter(
            Position = 1,
            Mandatory = true,
            HelpMessage = "Gets or sets the name of the cluster.")]
        public string ClusterName { get; set; }

        #endregion

        protected override void ProcessRecord()
        {
            var rdpParams = new RDPSettingsParameters
            {
                OsProfile = new OsProfile
                {
                    WindowsOperatingSystemProfile = new WindowsOperatingSystemProfile
                    {
                        RdpSettings = null
                    }
                }
            };

            HDInsightManagementClient.ConfigureRdp(ResourceGroupName, ClusterName, rdpParams);
        }
    }
}