text
stringlengths 40
770k
| images
sequencelengths 0
0
|
|---|---|
Display Settings:
Send to:
Choose Destination
Jpn J Ophthalmol. 2007 Sep-Oct;51(5):347-52. Epub 2007 Oct 5.
Changes in contrast sensitivity function and ocular higher order aberration by conventional myopic photorefractive keratectomy.
Author information
• 1Department of Ophthalmology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
To evaluate the relation between induced changes in ocular higher order aberrations and changes in the contrast sensitivity function in patients undergoing excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy (PRK).
Myopic PRK using excimer laser was performed in 31 patients (56 eyes). The preoperative refractive error was -6.2 +/- 2.9 diopters. Before and 1 month after surgery, we measured the ocular higher order aberrations for a 4-mm pupil, and three indices of contrast sensitivity function. From the data collected, the area under the log contrast sensitivity function (AULCSF) was calculated.
PRK significantly reduced AULCSF (P = 0.004), low-contrast visual acuity (P = 0.004), and letter-contrast sensitivity (P = 0.013). Coma-like (P < 0.001) and spherical-like (P < 0.001) aberrations were significantly increased by surgery. The change in AULCSF by surgery significantly correlated with the change in coma-like (r = -0.468, P < 0.001) and spherical-like (r = -0.291, P = 0.033) aberrations. The change in low-contrast visual acuity by PRK significantly correlated with the change in coma-like aberration (r = 0.599, P < 0.007), but not with change in spherical-like aberrations (r = 0.136, P = 0.326). There were significant correlations between changes in letter-contrast sensitivity and changes in coma-like (r = -0.450, P < 0.001) and spherical-like (r = -0.255, P = 0.048) aberrations.
PRK significantly increases ocular higher order aberrations, which compromise contrast sensitivity function after surgery.
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
PubMed Commons home
PubMed Commons
How to join PubMed Commons
Supplemental Content
Icon for Springer
Loading ...
Write to the Help Desk | [] |
Any Winter Games?
The first modern Winter Olympic games were held in 1924 in Chamonix, France. There was no winter Olympic festival in ancient times. Separate Winter Games were first authorized in 1911 to be held in 1916, but due to World War I they didn’t occur until 1924, in Chamonix.
Starting with Lillehammer in 1994, it was decided that every other year will be an Olympic year (with Summer and Winter Games alternating), rather than holding Summer and Winter Games every 4th year. This was done to accommodate TV networks and audiences. | [] |
Thief Review: Petty
Posted by: Mike Splechta
Gamezone Review Rating 6.5 Above Average
Your Score
Garrett the Master Thief has had a long, ten year hiatus since his last outing in Deadly Shadows. You would think having a long time to gather your thoughts and hone your skills would do a Master Thief good. In reality, it made Garrett all the more rusty. It's a polarizing experience really, with moments teeming with brilliance quickly overshadowed by mission-breaking bugs, bad lip-syncing or overly frequent loading times.
Thief shines in the stealth department, which is a relief considering the game heavily relies on it. Sure, you can brute force your way through guards, knock them out from behind or send an arrow through their skull, but the brilliance of the game lies in figuring out a way around them. In that way, Thief's sneaky moments turn the game into a puzzle. Do you go out of your way to put out all lightsources and stay hidden, or do you take the high ground and sneak above unsuspecting guards? Do you use Garrett's various specialized arrows to put out fires around him, or start them with a fire arrow and cause a distraction long enough for him to slip by unnoticed? Choice is the keyword here, and Thief thankfully has a lot of it to offer. Each new location you come across will serve up a buffet of choices in how to tackle them.
Garrett's arsenal and move set make him a stealth force to be reckoned with. One of the handiest skills is Swoop, which allows Garrett to quickly move ahead a decent distance, making it one of the most indespensible skills when moving between shadows. Seriously, this ability is amazing. Thief also handles first-person running in one of the best ways I've seen thus far. It just seems natural. From the momentum Garrett gains as soon as you press it to actually navigating when running, the whole process seems super smooth.
However the silver linings end there. NPCs in Thief are just plain stupid. Don't get me wrong, I understand the need and importance of guards eventually stopping their pursuit in stealth games, but the way they do it in Thief just seems silly. Here's a scenario. A guard is patrolling near a burning fire. I need to sneak past him, but to do that, I need to dispose of the fire. After shooting my water arrow at it, he gets startled and goes on alert, giving me the chance to sneak by him while he's looking at the fire. That's great, but a mere seconds after, he relights the fire and goes back to his post, ignoring the arrow that's lodged into it. The fact that Garrett turns practically invisible when crouched in shadows also warrants for some silly NPC encounters. For instance, a guard can be standing literally in front of Garrett and not notice him thanks to being in the shadows. You don't even have to hide behind anything.
Like Deadly Shadows before it, Thief allows Garrett to explore the City in between missions. The City also holds numerous challenges, such as side missions to complete for Basso and other various clients. Garrett can break into various homes to steal valuables and increase his gold amount as well pick up a number of collectibles scattered around. As much as I initially liked the open-world like structure of the City, it wasn't long before I grew to loathe it. Getting from one place to the next or simply trying to reach the next mission can be extremely frustrating. Instead of the City being one seamless playground for Garrett, it's separated into various smaller districts, all requiring about 20-30 seconds of loading (played on the PlayStation 4). But it's not as simple as running to a door to get to the next district. These places are separated by windows or barricaded alleyways that you're never fully sure lead to the place you want to go. In one instance, I spent about 20 minutes trying to reach one end of the district and kept running around in circles because the most obvious path was always blocked.
This frustration is further enhanced by the fact that you don't always know what Garrett can or can't climb or jump across. There are a few visual cues that distinguish a scaleable wall, but there are also ledges that seem like they can be climbed on but can't. It's also frustrating when trying to run across a gap, hoping that Garrett will jump across, only to have him jump down into the streets instead. This makes traversing the town in any efficient matter non-existant. It's a shame, since like I previously stated, I absolutely love Garrett's running mechanics.
Yours for the taking
Continuing with the theme of archaic game design is the constantly repeating audio loops of NPCs in the city. If you stay in one place for more than 10 seconds, you'll hear the same conversation looping over and over with the same responses. It's maddening.
Then come the random bugs that completely ruin the immersiveness of the game. Cutscenes will randomly drop framerate, but the sound will still keep playing, ensuring that the rest of the cutscene is completely out of sync with the audio. Garrett also occasionally has various items stuck to his hands in cutscenes, like his bow. One of the worst bugs I encountered (which required me to completely restart a mission) was having an important NPC get stuck to an object. No matter what I did, he wouldn't budge. Goodbye, last 30 minutes.
Visually, Thief is a really good looking game. Sure it's mostly dark and not teeming with color, but it doesn't need to be. The architecture of the City looks absolutely believable. And those unique collectibles, like necklaces and rings look stunning as well.
The sound is a mixed bag. While the soundtrack is mostly great, it has a few odd tunes that would fit more in a horror game than here, though admittedly, there is one mission that takes place in a run down asylum. Voice acting is also mediocre at best. Garrett just doesn't sound likeable, though the supporting case, Basso especially, sound pretty great.
It might be a silly comparison, but Thief is sort of like the poor-man's Dishonored. Both have cities that are plagued with some sort of disease, and both rely on heavy stealth mechanics to keep the plot going. However, Dishonored had much better level design, voice acting, likeable characters and some sweet powers thrown in for good measure. Maybe it's because Thief is a cross-gen game, but many elements of Thief don't really scream next-gen. The amount of loading screens I had to endure during my playthrough was unbearable.
Some might be able to look past Thief's shortcomings and instead only focus on the moments of brilliance. However, I imagine long-time Thief fans hoping for Garrett's grand return might be somewhat disappointed.
[Reviewed on PlayStation 4]
Tags: Thief, Square Enix, Eidos Montreal, Garrett
Anonymous User | [] |
Arkansas - 908 vacation rentals
How to book the vacation of your dreams...
Enter your Travel dates.
Contact multiple listings.
Pay securely.
Arkansas Travel Tips
Making Your Way to Arkansas Vacation Rentals
The Little Rock National Airport is the largest airport in Arkansas. The airport hosts most major airlines in North America and has regular commercial connections to most major cities in the U.S. There are three smaller regional airports that host domestic and regional flights in and around the state. These can be found in Texarkana, Fort Smith and the Northwest region. For a more leisurely way to get around, why not do part of your journey on the Texas Eagle railroad? The route runs through the state of Arkansas from the northeast to the southwest, and stops in towns and cities such as Walnut Ridge, Little Rock, Malvern and Texarkana. The train runs twice daily. Because of the many outdoor attractions, most people like to drive around Arkansas. If you are not traveling by car from your hometown, you can arrange a rental from any one of the regional airports.
Visitors to Arkansas Cabins
Arkansas has earned a reputation for being the "Nature State." It has vast wilderness areas where vehicles are not allowed and the only way to explore is on foot or horseback. The landscape is made up of wide fertile valleys, mountains and thick forested areas. The Northwest part of Arkansas forms part of the Ozark mountain range. This wealth of natural assets attracts those who enjoy nature and the outdoors. There is a large number of local outfitters that offer guided trails and excursions through the different regions. If you enjoy hunting or fishing, there are many wilderness areas where you can spend your vacation time. Hiking enthusiasts can follow nature trails and camp at remote wilderness campsites.
It is not just the sporting enthusiasts who will enjoy the region. Arkansas has a rich cultural heritage. There are several important Native American sites, Civil War battle sites, and museums detailing the history and culture of the state. Those with an interest in American culture and history can enjoy visiting the various attractions.
Top Things to See and Do near Arkansas Lake Homes
Arkansas is a destination where you can really have fun exploring the outdoors. Pack the bicycles, canoes and hiking boots before you head off to your destination. The Ozark Mountain region in particular offers a wealth of adventure activities. The most popular are the scenic hiking trails that traverse the mountain slopes and explore the thick forests. Another favorite pastime is to explore the region on horseback. Mountain bikers can spend days exploring the many challenging biking trails in Arkansas. Choose from cross country climbs to some thrilling sections of single-track trails. If you are on a family vacation, you can spend some time on the rivers paddling and fishing. Golfers can also enjoy a few rounds of golf on championship golf courses designed by Robert Trent-Jones.
Best Season to Travel to Arkansas
The majority of Arkansas enjoys a humid subtropical climate which results in hot humid summers and cold dry winters. The northern regions of the state have a more temperate climate, owing to the higher elevation and mountainous regions. Your season of choice for traveling will largely depend on what activities you want to do. The winter months see snow over most of the northern region and snow sports can be enjoyed. In the summertime, the rainfall generally is characterized by dramatic thunderstorms which are relatively short-lived. As long as you are adequately prepared for rain, summertime is a great time of year to explore the many natural attractions that the state has to offer.
Sponsored Advertisement | [] |
I own none of the characters of October Road
After Eddie and Janet shared their dance, the D.J. put some music on and the twenty-fifth wedding anniversary party really started. Eddie and Janet retreated from the dance floor when the music started and they spent the remainder of the evening going around the room, talking to their friends and family, catching up on each other's lives and thanking everyone for coming and celebrating with them. Around midnight, they happy couple decided to call it a night because they weren't as young as they used to be and frankly, they were exhausted. Before leaving, they gathered their children and their families together so they could properly thank them with hugs and kisses.
"This was an amazing night. You guys went above and beyond. Mom and I just wanted a nice, quiet family dinner and this great party and trip down memory lane is what we got. I don't know how to thank you." Eddie told his family.
"You guys have been married for twenty five years." Zach told him. "It deserved to be recognized with a big ass party."
"I thought our wedding was wonderful, but it's nothing compared to tonight." Janet said tearfully.
"Nice try mom. There is no way that this evening could have been better then your wedding was." Amber informed her.
"You're wrong Amber. Yes, our wedding was wonderful but tonight, tonight was all about celebrating a love that started twenty some years ago and is stronger tonight then it was then. What makes this evening spectacular is that my children, the family that your father and I created with our love are here to celebrate with us." Eddie saw that Janet was getting all emotional and he decided to pull her out.
"Come on babe. Let's go home." She nodded and hugged her family. "Will you guys all come over for breakfast in the morning?" The kids all nodded and with a final goodbye Eddie and Janet left, holding hands.
Even though it was only a fifteen minute drive Janet dozed off as soon as the truck started moving and didn't waken again until Eddie was standing next to her, placing soft kisses all over her face. Her eyes fluttered open and the first thing she saw was the loving hazel eyes that she has looked into for the past twenty five years. Smiling, she reached out, pulled his face up to hers and kissed him. "Hmmm. I love you." She whispered when they broke apart.
"I love you too darling. Come on; let's get you to bed sleepy head." Janet allowed Eddie to pull her out of the truck and led her into the house.
Janet had bought a new nightgown for tonight so once they got to their bedroom Janet disappeared into the bathroom to change and freshen up. She let her hair down, applied a cherry flavor edible lotion all over because she knew how Eddie's tongue liked to travel around her body and cherry was his favorite. She slipped on the royal blue silk nightgown on, checked her reflection and stepped into her bedroom. "Eddie." She whispered to his form lying on the bed. "I thought that maybe you might want to do an up close and personal inspection of my new nightgown." When he didn't respond she moved closer to the bed and that's when she heard the snoring. "Oh sweetheart." She sat next to him on the bed and stared at the sleeping man beside her.
As much as she wanted to have sex with her husband she couldn't possibly be mad at him for conking out on their anniversary. It had been a very long day and she got to take a quick nap on the way home but her desire to touch him didn't lessen. Reaching out she gently ran her fingers through his hair, down to his face, tracing every line and finally ending up on his bare chest. The instant she touched his chest Janet heard and felt his breathing pattern change and she knew he was awake. She lifted her eyes to Eddie's face and saw that his were still closed so she decided to play along. Leaning down, she took a hardened nipple in her mouth and sucked, smiling against his chest when she heard him gasp. While working on his nipple with her mouth, she reached out and caressed the other, rolling the hardened nub between her thumb and forefinger.
"You better hurry up. My wife can come in at anytime." He mumbled
"What I have planned for you will take a very long time." She purred as she began to kiss down his chest. "So if you're worried that your wife may catch us…"
"Don't stop." He begged.
"What about your wife?" She tapped his hips and he automatically lifted up and she pulled his boxers down.
"Who cares? All I want is you."
"Well if you're sure."
"Oh yeah. I'm really sure. I want you." Taking a few steps forward, Janet was at the head of the bed and she kissed him.
"What do you want Eddie?" She asked when she finally pulled away, breathless.
"I want you to suck me baby. Please, suck me Janet." He begged.
"I suppose that could be arranged. Scoot over." She demanded and he eagerly followed her instructions.
With a smile, Janet lay on the bed with her head level with her husbands cock. First, she took it in her hand and stroked it nice and slow. When he began to squirm impatiently, she decided to quit torturing him and she took him in her mouth. "Oh God. Son of a bitch Janet. He groaned in pleasure and Janet increased her strokes. Without warning Eddie's fingers were traveling up her legs, between her thighs and he was shoving two fingers inside of her. She unconsciously, she lifted her leg up of the bed, bending it at the knee and resting it on the bed, giving him better access and now it was her turn to groan with desire. She continued to suck him until she felt the familiar bubbling in her stomach and had to pull away to she could shriek in pleasure and not bite him at the same time.
Eddie sat up, pulled her nightgown over her head, tossed it somewhere and their lips crashed together in a passionate kiss. When they broke apart Eddie pushed Janet on her back but she wasn't having it. She wanted to be in control. She pushed Eddie off of her and onto his back. Before he could protest she was on top of him and sliding on to his erection. When Janet bent over so she could kiss him Eddie knew what had to be done. He placed his feet flat on the bed, bending his knees at the same time and he began to pump himself furiously into her while holding her flush to his chest until the both were shouting in orgasmic bliss.
"Happy anniversary babe." Eddie whispered as they both snuggled up with each other.
"It's after midnight. It's no longer our anniversary." Janet pointed out.
"I'm still awake so in my mind it's out anniversary so Happy anniversary hon."
"Happy anniversary cowboy. I love you."
"I love you more." Janet giggled and decided not to argue with that.
"By the way, you looked absolutely beautiful in your new nightgown." He whispered lovingly before he drifted off to sleep. Janet smiled in the darkness because she didn't think he even noticed it but it didn't surprise her. Eddie always noticed everything about her.
Janet climbed out of bed early the next morning, showered and stared making breakfast, hours before Eddie woke up and by the time he managed to crawl out of bed and the kids and their kids arrived at their childhood home Janet had scrambled up a couple dozen eggs, fried a few pounds of bacon, whipped up a box of instant pancakes and toasted up a couple loaves of bread. As her family grew Janet learned to cook for an army and if anyone left the Latekka house hungry it was their own fault.
After they all had full bellies they were relaxing in the living room when Emily and Jordan brought a wrapped gift in the room. "What is this?" Eddie asked suspiciously.
"You guys us that amazing party. We don't need anything else."
"It's from the kids. You can't say no to a gift from your grandchildren can you mom because if you did that would be just wrong." Natalie played the grandchildren card knowing her parents wouldn't say no to that. "Fine." Janet agreed.
Knowing the rules Eddie handed Janet the gift and the card. Whenever they got a gift that was meant for both of them Janet always opened the card, handed it off to Eddie and then opened the gift. When Eddie finished reading the card that had their grandkids name on it he hadn't heard anything from Janet. When he looked over at her he saw her staring at some paper in her hands with tears rolling down her face. "Honey?" She handed him what was in her hand. "Oh my God." He whispered. The kids arranged and paid for a two week trip to Paris, France for them.
"This is so thoughtful and wonderful but it's too much. It's way too much."
"We didn't do it. Your grandchildren…"
"Nice try Amber. Your mom and I know damn well your kids didn't buy this trip."
"Technically no they didn't." Zach agreed.
"The tickets are non refundable so if you don't take the trip none of us can get our money back and then talk about a waste of money." Collin added and Janet glared at him. Amber, Zach and Collin looked at their older sister because they new if any of them could convince their parents it was Natalie.
"Mom, dad, you have both spent the last twenty five years spending everyday raising, taking care of us and our kids. You two deserve this trip, more than anyone. Mom we know that you have been dreaming of a romantic trip to Paris for years. Your first trip was a disaster and even though you tried to hide it, we all know how disappointed you were that it wasn't anything like you dreamed it would be." Eddie and Janet smiled sheepishly. "We talked about it and we have all been contributing to this trip since right after you guys got home. We actually paid it off last year. Please mommy, please daddy, take this trip. You have earned it." Janet knew that Natalie had many valid points but she wasn't ready to give up quite yet.
"According to the plane ticket our flight is scheduled for tomorrow. That's not enough time for us to make arrangements. Your father and I have responsibilities."
"Really mom?" Natalie asked. "You must be ready to give in if that's the best excuse you can come up with. We have planned this trip so we have known your departure date. Daddy, we are totally covered for the next couple weeks. I made sure of it and mom you watch our kids during the day. We have all arranged alternate care for them. Sure it won't be as good as Grammy's house but for two weeks it will work."
Eddie and Janet looked at each other and without speaking they came to a mutual decision. "All right guys, first of all mom and I want you to know how grateful that your mom and I am to you for this extraordinary gift. Every day we are reminded what amazingly, wonderful children we raised."
"Duh." Amber said and everyone laughed.
"Thank you all, thank you so very much." Janet whispered tearfully.
"So does that mean that you're accepting your gift?" Collin asked.
"Yes we are accepting your generous gift."
"So you found our reasons convincing?" Zach inquired.
"We did and I know that your mom really, really wants to go." Eddie answered and Janet agreed.
"What about you dad? Do you want to go?" Natalie asked.
"Yeah pumpkin I do."
Eddie and Janet left the following day for the anniversary trip to Paris. This time all of their flights were on time and they arrived in Paris as scheduled. The hotel that they kids booked for them was beautiful. It was an old mansion which had been converted into a luxurious hotel that sat on a lake. Since they were staying in Paris for two weeks they spent lots of time in their room making love and many nights out in a canoe on the lake talking, laughing, and kissing under the stars.
They went to all of the best restaurants with the exception of where they went the last time when they got food poisoning. They went to every tourist attraction that they could find. Eddie even relented and spent two days at The Louve with Janet. Art really isn't Eddie's cup of tea but because Janet wanted to go to the famous museum he went through every inch of the museum with a smile on his face. He would never deny his wife anything that she wanted, even if he hated every minute of it.
Once Eddie and Janet returned home life continued to move on and change for the Latekka family. A month after her parent's got back from their trip Natalie gave birth to a healthy little girl named Olivia Edith Rowan. Janet begged her daughter to change Olivia's name but Natalie refused. She wanted Olivia to have part of her mother's name. Amber and Nate finally had a little girl, the little girl that Amber had been yearning for, a little girl that Amber named Courtney, a name that she had picked out when she was a little girl and Zach and Tammy completed their family with a son, Max.
Meanwhile Collin completed college and then medical school. He ended up specializing in children with diabetes. Collin felt because he has had diabetes since he was two and he never remembered not having diabetes he would be able to relate to his patients. He was very good as his job and his patients adored him. Gay marriage never became legal but Jamie and Collin had a commitment ceremony and became life partners. Like any other couple they eventually wanted children. They considered adoption but the state was giving them a really hard time so Amber stepped up and offered to carry a baby for her brother since being pregnant was one of Amber's favorite things in the world. Collin and Jamie picked an egg donor, each man gave a sample and Amber was implanted with two embryos, hoping at least one would take. In fact not just one but both of the embryos took and Collin and Jamie were by Amber's side in the delivery room when she gave birth to their fraternal twin boys, Aiden Edward and Jaden James. As soon as they were born it was obvious that Collin was Aiden's father because Aiden was born with the same red hair as his father and Jaden had dark hair like his father. So the boys would know that both men were their father, regardless of their biology, Aiden was given Jamie's last name and Jaden was given Collin's last name but it was never an issue, Aiden and Jaden always knew that they were loved and adored by their dads.
Janet continued to watch her grandchildren everyday until the twins were in school and when that happened her heart broke a little bit. She attempted to go back to work a Sully's but she realized that her heart wasn't in it anymore so she finally sold it. All of her children had their own careers and family and none of them had time to manage the bar so it left the family. She split the money from the sale among her nine grandchildren equally and put into the savings account that she and Eddie had started and continued to contribute to every month. Until Eddie retired she spent most of her time volunteering at the kids' schools.
Eddie continued to work until he had a second mild heart attack and his doctors told him that he was done. Thankfully this heart attack was so mild that it did not require any surgery but it scared him enough not to argue with his physician when he was told to quit working. He loved his job but he loved his wife and family more. He knew that he wouldn't be around forever and neither was Janet and he didn't want to miss out on they time that they had left together.
Retirement was wonderful for both Janet and Eddie. After so many years of getting up and going to work everyday it was a shock to their systems that they could lay around in bed all day, sleep in or hang around the house in their pajama's if that's what they wanted to do. Their lives were finally their own to do with what they wanted. Eddie took Janet fishing and he taught her how to golf, something as it turned out that she loved. Janet in the meantime got Eddie into gardening, a hobby she picked up and Eddie surprised himself by having a green thumb and she taught him how to cook more than grilling and boiling of hot dogs that he was great at but most of the time Eddie and Janet could be seen walking through Knights Ridge hand in hand just talking and being together.
Eventually the couple sold their treasured home that had been the foundation of so many wonderful memories and they moved into a small two bedroom condo. Janet missed her big home but she had developed arthritis and keeping up on it got to be too much for her. The worst thing about selling the house for Janet was their new condo was too small to have everyone over at once for family dinners and holidays but the kids tried to help her out with that. They continued to have their weekly dinners but they alternated between Natalie, Amber, Zach and Collin's homes with Janet showing up early and doing most of the cooking. Holidays were the same. Dinner was held at one of the kids' homes after Pops and Grammy made their Christmas morning rounds to see all of the gifts that their grandchildren received for being such good children. Basically what it boiled down to was that if Eddie and Janet could be with their family then it was all good.
Six months into their 48th wedded year together Janet was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure. Eddie was devastated and terrified for his wife but he remained strong and how could he not when Janet was being incredibly brave and strong enough for the both of them. At first her medication worked great and for that reason alone Eddie and Janet decided to keep her diagnosis to themselves. They didn't want to upset their children or grandchildren when there really was no reason to. For nine months Janet's medication worked fine but eventually it stopped working and when that happened her cardiologist told her she maybe only had a few months left.
Eddie broke down in the doctor's office, the knowledge that his Janet was going to die was just too much for him to handle. The older he got the more death was a part of their lives and many nights, he prayed that he would go first because he knew he wouldn't be able to make it without her but obviously his prayers weren't answered. When they got home, Janet talked about the technicalities of her death like her funeral for example without shedding a tear but when they got into bed that night and Eddie wrapped his arms around her the damn broke and she cried until she fell into a restless sleep. That night and many nights thereafter, Eddie spent them lying awake and staring at the woman he loved more than anything.
When the news of their mother's diagnosis reached Natalie, Amber, Zach and Collin they all felt as if their hearts were getting cruelly ripped out of their chests. Their mother was such a huge, important part of their lives and none of them could or wanted to imagine their lives without her in it but now, they had no choice but to start imagining. During her last few months of life Janet was constantly surrounded by her children, grandchildren and she made sure that each of them knew how much they meant to her.
Eddie on the other hand, never left her side. He tried numerous times to have the "last" conversation, but Janet didn't want to have that conversation because she knew, how much he loved her and that's all that mattered in the end. He was terrified that if he left her, even for one minute that would be when she would be gone when he returned. Nighttime was the worst. He spent most nights lying awake listening to her breathe praying that she makes it through another night but sadly one night she didn't.
When Eddie awoke that morning, after sleeping for maybe an hour, he rolled over and reached out for her and when his hand touched her she was cold. Even though he knew what it meant he shook her and called her name but she didn't respond. Sobbing he pulled her upper body into his lap and cradled her as he sobbed and stroked her hair until Natalie found them and took care of the heartbreaking details.
Eddie never really recovered from Janet's death. When she died, she took his heart with her. He actually spent the night before her funeral at the funeral home holding her hand and talking to her. After he buried his beloved wife Eddie Latekka just went through the motions of living. He sold the condo because he couldn't stand living there without her and moved in with Amber since Jordan had moved out on his own and she had an extra room. If he wasn't lying in his room staring at the ceiling he was at the cemetery with his wife. Even though he had their kids and grandkids with him all of the time he had never felt more alone.
The morning of what would had been her parent's fiftieth wedding anniversary Amber went to her father's room to check on him and found that he had passed away. Natalie, Amber, Zach and Collin assumed that their father died of a broken heart and he died on what would have been their fiftieth anniversary because he couldn't go through that day without her. He promised Janet fifty years and since she wasn't here he went to where she was to celebrate fifty wonderful years together. Natalie, Amber, Zach and Collin were heartbroken over the loss of their parents six months apart and as much as they were hurting they knew that their parents were once again together, as they were always meant to be. When Eddie and Janet left this earth they left a big hole in the hearts and lives of their family, a hole that could never be closed but more importantly they behind a legacy of true loved that will be carried on through generations.
The End.
I hope you all enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. | [] |
Skip to content, or skip to search.
Skip to content, or skip to search.
NYC-Bound Flight Grounded After ‘Non-Credible’ Threat
An American Airlines flight bound for New York from San Francisco was grounded for five hours after a phoned-in hijacking threat, which has since been deemed “non credible” by the San Francisco police and other law-enforcement authorities. After the call, the plane was taken to a remote location where passengers were interviewed and re-screened while the airplane was searched. An original report said two people were taken off the plane in handcuffs in conjunction with the threat, but the AP is reporting that the removed couple told authorities they were “picked at random for questioning.” A Yale sophomore on the flight posited their appearance may have led to their selection: "It definitely seems like it was racial profiling, based on what they look like physically and the fact they are Pakistani
. It seems like this was a false accusation," he told the AP. (Other passengers refuted this claim, explaining the twosome “looked like typical Californians.”) The FBI confirmed two passengers were taken off the plane “separately,” but refused to “discuss the specifics why.”
Jetliner grounded in San Francisco after threat [AP via MSNBC]
Hijack threat grounds New York-bound flight in San Francisco [NYP]
Photo: Jeff Chiu/AP | [] |
grand tactics
The topic grand tactics is discussed in the following articles:
• TITLE: tactics (military)
SECTION: Evolution of the term
...but over time each has acquired both a prescriptive and a descriptive meaning. There have also been attempts to distinguish between minor tactics, the art of fighting individuals or small units, and grand tactics, a term coined about 1780 by the French military author Jacques-Antoine-Hippolyte de Guibert to describe the conduct of major battles. However, this distinction seems to have been lost... | [] |
Chapter 9. The Berkeley DB Environment
Table of Contents
Database environment introduction
Creating a database environment
Opening databases within the environment
Error support
DB_CONFIG configuration file
File naming
Specifying file naming to Berkeley DB
Filename resolution in Berkeley DB
Shared memory regions
Remote filesystems
Environment FAQ
Database environment introduction
A Berkeley DB environment is an encapsulation of one or more databases, log files and region files. Region files are the shared memory areas that contain information about the database environment such as memory pool cache pages. Only databases are byte-order independent and only database files can be moved between machines of different byte orders. Log files can be moved between machines of the same byte order. Region files are usually unique to a specific machine and potentially to a specific operating system release.
The simplest way to administer a Berkeley DB application environment is to create a single home directory that stores the files for the applications that will share the environment. The environment home directory must be created before any Berkeley DB applications are run. Berkeley DB itself never creates the environment home directory. The environment can then be identified by the name of that directory.
An environment may be shared by any number of processes, as well as by any number of threads within those processes. It is possible for an environment to include resources from other directories on the system, and applications often choose to distribute resources to other directories or disks for performance or other reasons. However, by default, the databases, shared regions (the locking, logging, memory pool, and transaction shared memory areas) and log files will be stored in a single directory hierarchy.
It is important to realize that all applications sharing a database environment implicitly trust each other. They have access to each other's data as it resides in the shared regions, and they will share resources such as buffer space and locks. At the same time, any applications using the same databases must share an environment if consistency is to be maintained between them.
Database Environment Operations Description
db_env_create() Create an environment handle
DB->getenv() handle Return DB's underlying DB_ENV handle
DB_ENV->close() Close an environment
DB_ENV->dbremove() Remove a database
DB_ENV->dbrename() Rename a database
DB_ENV->err() Error message
DB_ENV->failchk() Check for thread failure
DB_ENV->fileid_reset() Reset database file IDs
DB_ENV->open() Return environment's home directory
DB_ENV->open() Return flags with which the environment was opened
DB_ENV->lsn_reset() Reset database file LSNs
DB_ENV->open() Open an environment
DB_ENV->remove() Remove an environment
DB_ENV->stat() Environment statistics
db_strerror() Error strings
DB_ENV->version() Return version information
Environment Configuration
DB_ENV->set_alloc() Set local space allocation functions
DB_ENV->set_app_dispatch() Configure application recovery
DB_ENV->set_cachesize() Set the environment cache size
DB_ENV->set_data_dir() Set the environment data directory
DB_ENV->set_encrypt() Set the environment cryptographic key
DB_ENV->set_errcall() Set error and informational message callbacks
DB_ENV->set_errfile() Set error and informational message FILE
DB_ENV->set_errpfx() Set error message prefix
DB_ENV->set_event_notify() Set event notification callback
DB_ENV->set_feedback() Set feedback callback
DB_ENV->set_flags() Environment configuration
DB_ENV->set_isalive() Set thread is-alive callback
DB_ENV->set_intermediate_dir_mode() Set intermediate directory creation mode
DB_ENV->set_shm_key() Set system memory shared segment ID
DB_ENV->set_thread_id() Set thread of control ID function
DB_ENV->set_thread_count() Set approximate thread count
DB_ENV->set_thread_id_string() Set thread of control ID format function
DB_ENV->set_timeout() Set lock and transaction timeout
DB_ENV->set_tmp_dir() Set the environment temporary file directory
DB_ENV->set_verbose() Set verbose messages | [] |
Skip to main content Help Control Panel
Personal spaces « simplify3 « Science «
Register with us in one easy step!
avatarUdut, Kenneth -- on Jul. 18 2008, from Golden Gate Estates, Naples, FL
Founder of this Naples site of NeighborHelp Referrals.
One of the dumbest ideas around.
The "Zeno effect" is based on the philosopher Zeno, who put forth the paradox:
Whereas the first two paradoxes presented divide space, this paradox starts by dividing time - and not into segments, but into points.[7] [from wikipedia] "
Interesting but dumb in today's world. [even in the world of the 19th century!]
Take a series of successive photographs very quickly. Show them all in a series. You have what looks like motion.
But you're fooled. It's an optical illusion of film. A series of fixed pictures put together looks like motion.
Now is reality a series of fixed pictures and no motion actually occurs?
No, I think motion does occur. I just see it as another example of catching the baseball. You catch the baseball here, then here, then here, then here. If you let go of the baseball in each of the locations where you caught it, you have to let go of the baseball in a paricular order in order to simulate what motion looks like.
But by catching the ball, you've stopped motion. To recreate it mathematically, the order in which you recreate the baseball moving it in a particular order, otherwise you recreate a reality that didn't exist in the first place. Switch the numbers around and the baseball goes backwards but only in an illusionary recreation of what motion seems like -- just like a film.
The act of observation - measuring - DOES "ruin the moment", sort of like asking the composer in the middle of composing a piece, "Hey, what's your next note going to be?" Once you've interrupped the composer, you've made it hard for him to get back on track. But give enough time, and he can. [I know because when I am "in the zone" and playing new stuff on the piano, any interruption at all ruins the 'NOW', then 'FLOW']
By choosing to use particle calculations to measure a quantum state, you're stopping its motion in mid-stream and asking, "Okay, if you were a fixed object, where would you be fixed?" You stike it with a photon (that's "shining a light on it" - literally) - and the quanta freezes so to speak - you've hit it over the head to ask it a few questions and it takes time to recover.
Now does that mean that observation by humans changes reality? No. It just means that it's a crappy way to measure reality by taking a wave-particle and measuring it like a particle. Well, of COURSE it will give you a particle-style answer.
And if you measure it like a wave, of course it will not show you its "particle ways" because that's NOT what you were measuring.
If you come up with a way to measure waves and particular simultaneously, THEN you'll do alright and be able to measure a quanta's location and movement.
Bah, it's starting to make sense but some of this stuff is quite irritating.
Simplify3 on Jul. 18 2008 edit · delete
Okay, that's cool. See, that explains the problem in quantum physics. It's not that observation "changes" things. It just means that we are NOT YET CAPABLE of measuring a subatomic objects "POSITION" AND "DIRECTION" at the same time.
It's inconceivable for an object to have a definite position and motion simultaneously...
So... "Where are you?" and "Where are you going?" are separate questions. if you could answer them at the same time in a subatomic mathematical way, then you've solved the riddle of quantum states, no?
Kenneth Udut again.
Simplify3 on Jul. 18 2008 edit · delete
Ah ha. Gotcha wondering?
Einstein figure it out, at least for big things, how to measure time and space simultaneously.
" The theory of special relativity answers Zeno's concern over the lack of an instantaneous difference between a moving and a non-moving arrow by positing a fundamental re-structuring the basic way in which space and time fit together, such that there really is an instantaneous difference between a moving and a non-moving object, insofar as it makes sense to speak of "an instant" of a physical system with mutually moving elements. Objects in relative motion have different planes of simultaneity, with all the familiar relativistic consequences, so not only does a moving object look different to the world, but the world looks different to a moving object "
If only people were paying attention to Zeno, they'd have figured Special Relativity a thousand years ago.
Simplify3 on Jul. 18 2008 edit · delete
" Some people, including Peter Lynds, have proposed alternative solutions to Zeno's paradoxes. Lynds posits that the paradoxes arise because people have wrongly assumed that an object in motion has a determined relative position at any instant in time, thus rendering the body's motion static at that instant and enabling the impossible situation of the paradoxes to be derived. Lynds asserts that the correct resolution of the paradox lies in the realisation of the absence of an instant in time underlying a body's motion, and that regardless of how small the time interval, it is still always moving and its position constantly changing, so can never be determined at a time. Consequently, a body cannot be thought of as having a determined position at a particular instant in time while in motion, nor be fractionally dissected as such, as is assumed in the paradoxes (and their historically accepted solutions). "
Oh, I like that idea far better than the stinky calculus solution.
But, wow, Peter Lynds isn't any different than me. Not a PhD, just a guy who did a little thinking.
I don't think it means that time doesn't exist though. It just means that you either measure motion with an object in space by taking a snapshot, which gives you a location at that instant, or you look at overall motion by comparing what happened inbetween the time that an object was at rest, then motion, then rest again without chopping up the motion into little bits and pieces using slices of time.
You can watch a butterfly flutter its wings or you can pin it to a board. If you pin it to a board, you can pick it apart (akin to slices of time) but it can't fly anymore because it's dead. You can shoot xrays at it to see its innards but then that'll eventually kill it too. [ie - change its properties]. It says something about our observatoin methods as being very coarse and destructive, not that nature can't be observed at all. We're like the archaeologists of the early 20th century, using cranes and backhoes to excavate. Now they use paintbrushes to clean away dirt more carefully so less gets destroyed.
Simplify3 on Jul. 18 2008 edit · delete
" Actually, you cant know the exact position and velocity of an object at the same time. In quantum physics this is especially relevant because, for example, to see something a photon must bounce off it. but a photon to a quantum particle carries a lot of energy so when it hits that particle it moves it as it is deflected. So you see the photon as it was at the moment of collision yet the thing you are trying to measure has already moved because of that photon. "
Zeno-effect: quick observations stops time, space and decay? One of the dumbest ideas around. | [] |
Subject: Stuck during gnome meta-package install
To: None <>
From: Trey Sizemore <>
List: netbsd-users
Date: 06/27/2005 18:44:21
I'm attempting to install the gnome meta package on a new NetBSD 2.0
install and it gets to a point where it prompts:
===>Patching for gst-plugins-0.8.9nb1
===>Applying pkgsrc patches for gst-plugins-0.8.9nb1
File to patch:
I'm not sure what it's looking for here and if it doesn't proceed, it
just stops.
What is it expecting?
devise and apply Turing tests to objects of its own creation.
-- Lew Mammel, Jr.
FreeBSD 5.3-STABLE i386 i386 GENERIC
6:41PM up 1 day, 8:36, 0 users, load averages: 0.42, 0.15, 0.09 | [] |
BBC Homepage World Service Education
BBC Homepagelow graphics version | feedback | help
BBC News Online
You are in: Audio/Video: Programmes: Panorama
Front Page
UK Politics
Talking Point
In Depth
Young Robbers, Sunday October 29 2000
When I was still at school ten years ago, I was mugged by a young robber on the way home. However, when one is mugged, one usually is threatened to hand money over to the person. I never carried money with me when I was at school so how could I hand any money over? The problem at the time was that I was about the same age as the person who mugged me and I thought that when I reported it to the police, they would probably put my case as a second rated incident. I thought that if I was elderly or more vulnerable, I would have got better help. Another thing about the mugging was that the mugger was black. I didn't really want to report it, in case people would get the wrong idea and would think that I was a racist and it was a grudge against the person. Since that attack, I have found out that I am in a vulnerable position as I am now disabled. What bothers me is that they go around town centres "taxing" other young people and passers by think nothing of it as they probably think that as both victim and robber are of the same age, they are probably just on the same wavelength. These robbers don't have to play truant to do their stuff; they just wait till Saturday and do it then so that people like myself are too afraid to go out at the weekends.
George Handley
The most striking point about the whole programme for me was the fact that no one was worried by the clearly stereotypical portrayal of muggers in Birmingham. If the police are to be believed and young black males are responsible for much of the crime in Britain today then why is it the case that in rural areas where crime rates are rising rapidly the numbers of ethnic minorities are negligible if present at all. Just like the problems faced with the combat of drug abuse people are quick to point the finger at the easiest target. The rise in Drug use is seen as again a "black issue" but anyone who knows anything about drugs will tell you that the majority of money spent on drugs and cocaine particularly in this country is by white middle-class professionals or students. This is an issue that has never been raised by the police who find it easier to blame a black population who have no real voice. Yes young black males are responsible for some of the crime that is being perpetrated in many urban areas, but this hard line policy is only going to have one real result and that is to cause greater friction between the black community and the police and this supposedly isn't what the police want. Let's try and find out the real reason why people commit crimes and try and solve those rather than returning back to the days when men were stopped simply because of the colour of their skin. It's a black and white problem because we live in a black and white society.
Kwaku Boakye-Adjei
My three teenage sons and their mates have been robbed numerous times in South Manchester. It's been under-reported in the media and politics because teenage lads aren't as vocal as car-owners in the 'political' world. So we're pleased your programme has been made. I've discussed the programme and these comments with eight of them. As far as the stop and search of suspected thugs goes, we recognise the possibility of racism. But certainly round here, they are more often black than you'd expect. Our kids say it's an attitude thing, that being black means they think they've got to be hard, and these days robbing is the first option in demonstrating hardness. We know that in Salford and Wythenshawe, and probably in Newcastle or other areas with few black people, there's plenty done by white thugs too. But all the police have to do to avoid racist bias, surely, is check the victim reports on racial type of offenders, and ensure the proportion they stop are comparable? Stop and search is a dodgy procedure, and could lead to widespread harassment of young people. But we don't think it's too difficult to spot the types - clothes and haircut can be indicators but body language, hoods pulled down unnecessarily, and neckerchiefs over faces enable the spotting of real thugs. If some non-thugs affect the appearance and body language of thugs, they can't complain if they're stopped, can they? Also the police often do have intelligence on who's most doing it, and can easily target them for stop and search without discriminating or harassing innocent young people.
E McDonnell
I think that the police are doing the right thing. In the last 4 years I have seen a lot of crime in B'ham city centre and I think something should be done about it.
Has burglary been forgotten? It is my experience that the same people that go out and commit street robbery are also behind many burglaries. It is all the more frustrating when you know who committed the crime, yet due to the law being the way it is, the police are unable to just go and arrest someone on your "Gut Feeling" no matter how certain you may be. I was recently burgled, and I knew who by, however the police could not arrest that person as there was no independent witness. I have been forced to move home, taking the remnants of my business, which was all but destroyed by the thoughtless burglars who saw my PC as just a toy, or something to sell.
Three things struck me about this programme: The first is that world they were describing was not so different to the one I inhabited as a child in Manchester, except that the children had more valuable goods to be stolen. None the less what we had, dinner money rather than mobile phones, was just as vulnerable. The second point is the role that the war on drugs, mainly used and accepted by younger people, has in needlessly setting up conflict between the police and young people - especially the war against cannabis. This was true when I was young in the 70's, and with the increase of recreational drug use amongst young people, must be even more true today. These foolish laws result in the criminalisation of large sections of society, especially the young and members of ethnic minorities, and it is no wonder that the people so criminalised are reluctant to trust and support the police. The final point is that, whatever changes have taken place in the ethos of the police and in their methods, they are just as crass as ever when it comes to trying to be pally with youths. I would not have thought that social ineptitude would be a desirable characteristic in such a human centred job, but it seems to be the norm!
Mike Gowland
An excellent programme highlighting the seriousness of street crime in the Birmingham area. I have been mugged at knifepoint three times in the past six months in the town of Walsall where I lived and was afraid to even leave my flat after dark alone. Although I am a strong healthy nineteen year old lad the abundance of violence on the streets made me terrified of anyone who even looked suspicious. I even took to carrying a length of metal pipe when going out despite the fact it was illegal fearing the harm which may befall me far more than any criminal prosecution. A clean criminal record is worthless if you are dead. Despite concerns over the use of the 'stop and search' measures used by police I feel that if a hundred innocent people are stopped for every one attack prevented then the initiative is definitely worthwhile. Being stopped should only be a problem for someone who has something to feel guilty about. Serious action is required to make the streets safe for everyone, not just the most violent people around. I hope police and authorities can find some way of effectively tackling this problem which in some areas is ridiculously out of control. In ten months of living in Caldmore Walsall I was stopped for cash, cigarettes or even clothing a total of seven times, three times with a weapon, and twice suffered violence when I refused to co-operate. I did not report these incidences to police as I felt they could do nothing to help me and such action may cause further problems if the police did actually find the perpetrators. Also both of my flatmates were attacked at different times and one was hospitalised suffering memory loss after a beating. Thank you again for the programme which was definitely the best I have ever seen on the subject and I hope it helped others to appreciate the gravity of the situation as it is today.
Adam Ross
Having watched yet another programme about young people and crime, I am again frustrated and angered by the lack of imagination in official places such as politicians and the police, in dealing with this issue. As a young man I was involved in many criminal acts myself. I know that what frightened me away from an area was a vigilant public on the lookout for criminals. I wonder if a simple, cheap, and easy solution would be providing short wave single channel radios to trained members of the public (volunteers), to report all suspicious activity in their areas directly to the police. Descriptions would be immediate, timing instantaneous, and the whole thing would be more effective and cost a lot less than having endless vans full of police officers cruising the streets. As an EX criminal (I have been out of trouble for 15 years) I know the feeling that the person over the road, or looking through their curtains could be in direct touch with the police and giving an accurate and detailed description of me at the time, would have terrified me. What is more, if those people that were trained to do this were instructed to keep it quiet, I would have no idea who they were so reprisals would be non-existent! Unfortunately I had a great deal of experience with crime and I know what makes the average criminal think. That experience is very valuable surely? I am straight now, and very proud of it. I kicked the habit of crime, by the grace of God. Perhaps this little idea, if taken up, would mean I could put something back. If not, well at least I tried.
George Rolph
Concerned that the Police are using an item of legislation which had clear objectives on its inception; that being to deal with crimes related to football hooliganism and related crime. However it is now being used with the right to stop and search without suspicion. This must be contrary to the HRA 1998. It is also a misuse of Parliaments' authority in that the legislation is being used for other than that which Parliament originally intended. Should not Police Chief Constables be obliged to use legislation for its original purpose and objective until otherwise changed by Parliament.
Keith Carr
Two things :- Calling the Police racist is such a cop-out! If the statistics show that people are from a particular (identifiable) group, then of course they will target that group. To do otherwise would be too dumb even for the coppers! All these kids out mugging and where are their parents!
Andy Wood
Having lived in Brixton for 6 years I was not surprised to see that young black males topping the statistics for street crime. I personally have been the victim of 2 street robberies, one of which put me in hospital with a serious eye injury. Both these crimes were perpetrated by black youths. I am not saying that all black people are criminals, indeed nothing of the sort, but there does seem to be a problem in areas of south London with black street crime and also a large degree of racism and bigotry from in particular the West Indian community. I was kind of disgusted by the reactions of many black people who spoke on the programme. There seems to be an unwillingness to approach the subject and to face up to some hard facts. Many of the more radical black thinkers seem to portray black youth as being artists, poets, thinkers etc that are having their potential stifled by the white man. Having lived amongst certain sections of these people I can say that there seems to be a glorification of bad attitude in movements such as the raggamuffins, who have very little positive attributes and whose most common features seem to be aggression, bigotry, misogyny, homophobia and idiocy. Why doesn't the black community take a harder line on these idiots rather than trying to divert blame onto wider society. We all know that the police are institutionally racist ,and not just against blacks e.g. look at the hassle given to New Age Travellers and road protestors for example. Also the white community is expected, and rightly so, to expose and distance themselves from neo nazis and other such scum. I don't see much difference between them and the raggas myself. Let's put these idiots, whatever their cultural background on the spot. Then we might get somewhere.
Why is it that black people accuse police of being racist when that is not the case? Most muggings that take place in Birmingham are committed by blacks. Why can't the black community understand that? That makes it difficult for the police. That's why so many innocent teenagers are approached. Jon-Marc, who featured on the programme, used to go to my school. He was known for being a bully, but sometimes he was a great guy. I live in Harborne, which I think is the safest place in Birmingham. But I become anxious when I go to places such as Handsworth and the City Centre.
Chris Allen
Harborne, Birmingham
It's the innocent people of Handsworth who are the victims as a result of the West Midlands Police Force's failure to police the streets of Handsworth. The lack of constructive policing in Handsworth has allowed Handsworth to become a criminals haven. The laughable number of police patrolling Handsworth makes it easy for any criminal to commit a crime and avoid capture.
Vinod Karra
Sadly this problem is now prevalent in most of the UK. It was comforting to see that your programme recognises this and that the problem must be dealt with before it ruins every day life.
Young people need to be exposed to the value of kindness and the sensitivities of other people
Chris Smith, Wanstead
If we are to deal with this problem and make quick improvements we need psychologists to work with schools to develop a programme consisting of films, posters, essays, improvisations etc. The programme should be implemented in schools to pupils from the age of say 8 or 9 onward and relentlessly. The poster campaign should run in schools, tube stations and bus stops, cleverly demeaning people who take part in such crimes and guide individuals away from cowardly gang mentality and more toward self respect; raising morale and offering suggestions of more rewarding things to do. Young people need to be exposed to the value of kindness and the sensitivities of other people. It should be taught as Religious Studies and Physical Education are. Our qualified psychologist should be employed extensively in this area. Young abusers need to be made to think about the effect their actions have on people.
Chris Smith
Why is an image portrayed that the muggers are the blacks and asians and the victims are the whites. It was clearly portrayed on last night's programme. How come no 'white' people were interviewed as muggers and very few blacks and asians were interviewed as victims - you're programme last night was sh** and it told half of the story and that scheme the police had was just targeting blacks and asians and very few white, therefore I will take this matter further
Kashif Hussian
It's interesting how this problem is primarily a black minority problem. Other minorities don't winge what a hard time they are given or go round being violent they just get on with it the same as everybody else. If the black minority are incapable as a group of taking responsibility for themselves like the rest of us then they shouldn't be surprised that as a group they are treated with less respect. Respect is earned by putting in effort that others can appreciate not by waving a weapon about. When an unmistakable proportion of a group go round exhibiting this sublevel of behaviour then that group will never be treated equally. They must first want to take responsibility of themselves as a group, however, as yet, there seems little sign of that happening.
I was deeply shocked. Coming from Handsworth myself I was deeply upset in the way you portrayed the area. I am an 18 yr old black girl who has grown up in Handsworth for 14 years and have never in my life known anyone who has been mugged. Not to say that this is not true. I was upset that majority of the people questioned were BLACK. Birmingham has a wide range of areas were I would not personally walk alone. You seemed to miss out areas of highly populated white people such as Chelmsly Wood and Kingstanding. You only seemed to notice Newtown, Lozells and Hockley which may I add are not in Handsworth, like your reporter suggested. I was also disgusted at the way the police approached many of the youths they questioned. Stopping and searching youths for no apparent reason than looking away from a police van is no reason at all to question a person. The programme seemed to say that all the victims were white and all the attackers were black. I am not at all trying to rule out the fact that young black people are committing such offences, I am just trying to suggest that these offences are committed a lot more widely than Newtown and Handswoth. Suggestions would include that next time a programme of such an issue is raised, the victims and attackers are racially equal.
Victoria Ebo
Handsworth, Birmingham
As I said in first email I am of West Indian origin but am third generation so to look you might think I was no more than dark European. I am 43 and have suffered exclusions in the past because of my look, however I cannot hold to this claptrap about you should have more police of the same colour as the criminals and that the so-called "victim" of stop and search would by definition be more respectful. Everybody knows that these so called put upon thieves would then call the officers coconut (black outside white inside) and the like and then use that as a ruse to try to escape blame. These criminals are well versed in using any means necessary and as anyone who knows they take any attempt to help them or kindness towards them as a sign of weakness to be exploited. As the robber in the blue jacket that was stopped showed he convinced the reporter that he did not "do robbery" only car crime which was later proved to be a complete lie - why should this person be given any concession at all. He is a known street robber who presumably uses any tactic to get himself left alone by the powers that be so that he can use the space to perpetuate his chosen pastime and he does choose to do it. He is not forced, there is not some latter-day coffee skinned Fagin controlling these people other than the diatribe of rubbish that is foisted on us all everyday from all corners.
Russell Homan
Almost everyone I know either has been or has a close friend, neighbour or relative who has been mugged. My own son in the middle of the day at our local station, my brother-in-law in his car, neighbours on local trains, buses and parks at almost every time of day from morning, mid-afternoon to late evening. No-one has been apprehended in any of these incidents. In almost all cases the perpetrators have been young black men. The social reasons cannot be dealt with by the police, but the effect on the population at large is as reported in your programme - children are (1) growing up with a fatalistic "mugging happens" attitude and (2) we are all having our personal choices restricted (jewellery worn, limiting possessions taken with us) in order to accommodate this. If stop and search is the way to stop these people feeling (as quoted extensively in your programme) that they can more or less take what they want, when they want it, then any restriction on the muggers' "rights" is a small price to pay for reducing the overall threat to society. My teenage son has been stopped and searched by the police at night - we would rather that than the alternative - a society forced into negative reactions to an increasing and apparently uncontrollable threat.
Quetta Kaye
Your earlier comments
Search BBC News Online
Advanced search options
Launch console
E-mail this story to a friend
Links to more Panorama stories | [] |
Take the 2-minute tour ×
Why do I have 3 copper pipes in my gas water heater? It seems two are cold and one is hot. All videos I see online show only two pipes; one for cold coming in, one for hot going out.
share|improve this question
A picture, or a few, would help immensely. You'll have to make links as a new user and someone will edit and embed them for you. – Jason Aug 12 '13 at 19:33
Can you provide the make and model of your water heater? – pdd Aug 12 '13 at 19:40
The third might be connected to the pressure/temp relief valve, in which case it should be going to a drain. This is good, because if that valve discharges significantly and doesn't get to a drain, it can cause a flood. – gregmac Aug 12 '13 at 19:43
gregmac is likely right, only other possibility I can come up with is a recirculation pump, but those tend to be attached to the cold water pipe. – BMitch Aug 12 '13 at 21:25
add comment
1 Answer
Depending on the specific system installation and type of tank it could be any of these:
1. Cold in, hot out, and overflow: Standard water heater.
2. Cold in, hot out, recirculate in. This configuration has diverse uses:
• typical for a solar water heating booster.
• In heavy use applications, it could be for an external hot water reservoir.
• In long lines applications, this could be for recirculating hot water so that a faucet 400 feet away has hot water available just a few feet away. Many motels and hotels are plumbed this way.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| [] |
Forgot your password?
+ - E.U. Drops Microsoft Browser anti-trust case.->
Submitted by timrichardson
timrichardson writes "E.U. Drops Microsoft Antitrust Case Over Browsers. The EU is convinced about Microsoft's moves to offers a genuine choice of browsers, and is dropping the threat of fines and intervention regarding the bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows. The agreement, announced in Brussels by the European competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes, calls for Microsoft to give Windows users a choice of up to 12 other browsers from competing companies, including Google and Apple."
Link to Original Source
Comment: Re:Let the CEO's work from India (Score 1) 493
by timrichardson (#26767503) Attached to: IBM Offers to Send Laid-Off Staff to Other Countries
Yeah, many jobs that have been replaced were highly skilled; even riding a horse is more difficult than driving a car, arguably, and who can thatch a roof to last 50 years these days? As for shoing horses, probably proportionately many more people can change a car's flat tyre than could change a horse shoe in the days of getting around on horseback. You can see the point, but calling it "low-skilled" is not correct.
by timrichardson (#26767309) Attached to: IBM Offers to Send Laid-Off Staff to Other Countries
Of course they are lower skilled jobs being exported. The rising tide of productivity and economic growth means that "low-skilled job" is a moving target. It's a relative term, and it's an indication that jobs in advanced economies are getting more skilled. Moving jobs overseas costs time and money; it's not done for no reason.
Efficiency is "output/cost". If you get the same output for less money, that's more efficient. A car that goes 100 miles on one gallon is more efficient than an car that goes 50 miles on one gallon.
Calling service jobs not real jobs is an old fallacy. Apparently people had the same reaction during the rise of manufacturing. How could manufacturing be really doing something? It just takes things from nature and rearranges them. Everyone knew that only farming and growing things was really creating value.
If someone pays money for something, then value has been created. Service jobs also include programming the iPod, making movies, designing more efficient road systems, career advice, education, medicine, childcare, babysitting, price comparison, ... to me it seems clear there is a lot of value. Mobile dog washes ... well, I'm not so sure, but it must be of value to someone.
And the final point in Economics 101: stable economies are not healthy. You need growing economies. The bedrock of growing economies is really simple. It's the allocation of scarce resources to the most effective use, and the most important scarce resource is people. That's why it's good that jobs are destroyed (in the long run): it's the only way to free people for better jobs. Meanwhile, the places where the jobs go are also getting richer, and downloading more music, watching more movies etc etc
I am not depressed. What gave you that idea? I know I'm right because the past 500 years proves me so.
Comment: Re:Let the CEO's work from India (Score 4, Insightful) 493
by timrichardson (#26761709) Attached to: IBM Offers to Send Laid-Off Staff to Other Countries
The fact is that for 20 years the US has been bringing the smartest and brightest internationals to work in the US: other governments paid for the first 12 to 15 year of educating these people, but in a global economy, they go to where they add the most value. I bet a lot of IBM's US patents have significant contributions from foreigners who live in the US. The same economic forces that attract PhDs means lower skilled jobs get exported. We can all except that manually harvesting wheat or hand-making horse shoes are low-skilled jobs that long ago got swept aside by technology. Perhaps it's hard to accept that this process never stopped happening.
Sorry for any typos, but the typing pool that I normally use to take my dictation seems to have disappeared in the past 50 years.
Comment: Re:der takin oar jorbs (Score 0, Flamebait) 493
by timrichardson (#26761607) Attached to: IBM Offers to Send Laid-Off Staff to Other Countries
They are not "taking jobs"; this is a process of reassigning people to jobs where they are worth the salary they want. It's harsh, but the fact is that if someone in Eastern Europe can do the job for $2000 a month, that is what the job is worth. If you force those jobs to stay in the US at $5000 a month, who pays for this? Either the USD get devalued, or through the force of law you rob the customers of IBM of $3000 a month. Get a grip. Don't you see where this would end? What's so special about IBM workers? Why not block every lost job, and ban every foreign import? Why should T-shirts cost $5 and shoes $70? That's way too cheap, damn foreign labor. Make them in the US, ban the imports and pay $25 for a T-shirt and $200 for shoes. That will fix everything. Of course that's too bad for poor families, but let's fix that with price controls. Or subsidises. Gosh, why didn't anyone think of this before? Anyway, where is Eastern Europe?
Comment: Re:Will there be no wiki truths? (Score 2, Insightful) 439
by timrichardson (#26603889) Attached to: Edit-Approval System Proposed For English-Language Wikipedia
Why assume that wikipedia has stopped learning about how it should work? Maybe this proposal is a bad idea. However, it's an attempt to solve a problem, and it's better than the current tool of locking-down pages. Because this will only be used for a small range of pages, I think/hope. What other solutions are there? Peer review is essential in open source projects, why should it be different for Wikipedia? This is a process or technical question.
The problem with Wikipedia is cultural. Peer review can work if the culture is right. Wikipedia is infested with nits. It's has become cliquey and obsessed with a playground-interpretation of "objectivity". I've seen good articles rejected stupidly by people who don't know anything about the topic, but think the application of a few simple "objectivity" rules is a substitute for their ignorance.
Appealing against rejections is Kafka-esque, it is surreal and one of those activities probably best experienced with the aid of mind-altering substances. Extremely demotivating. It's really hard to avoid the conclusion that its deliberately difficult. How sad is that? Is anyone listening?
Stats on contribution would be interesting. If Britannica gets its act together, good because then Wikipedia will have to get young and fresh again. Perhaps it has entered a mid-life crisis, hesitant, defensive and scared of what it has created. Standing on the shoulders of giants is no good if you're scared of heights.
Comment: Re:OMGITSSOOOOOSHINY (Score 1) 301
by timrichardson (#25699505) Attached to: Study Finds iPhone Twice As Reliable As BlackBerry
Well speaking as an iPhone user I got to say - BlackBerrys suck.
Speaking as a BlackBerry user, I agree. My reference is a series of Nokias, which the BalckBerrry has taught me to appreciate. The BlackBerry user interface ... well, I love to read documentation, but I hate to have to read it.
Social Networks
The Battle For Wikipedia's Soul 471
Posted by kdawson
from the deleting-inclusions-or-including-deletions dept.
njondet recommends an article at The Economist that sheds light on the identity crisis faced by Wikipedia as it is torn between two alternative futures. "'It can either strive to encompass every aspect of human knowledge, no matter how trivial; or it can adopt a more stringent editorial policy and ban articles on trivial subjects, in the hope that this will enhance its reputation as a trustworthy and credible reference source. These two conflicting visions are at the heart of a bitter struggle inside Wikipedia between 'inclusionists,' who believe that applying strict editorial criteria will dampen contributors' enthusiasm for the project, and 'deletionists' who argue that Wikipedia should be more cautious and selective about its entries."
German Police Raid 51 CeBIT Stands Over Patent Claims 191
Posted by kdawson
LeCaddie writes "Last week German investigators raided 51 exhibitor stands at CeBIT, the German information technology fair in Hanover, looking for goods suspected of infringing patents. Some 183 police, customs officers, and prosecutors raided the fair on Wednesday and carried off 68 boxes of electronic goods and documents including cellphones, navigation devices, digital picture frames, and flat-screen monitors. Of the 51 companies raided, 24 were Chinese. Most of the patents concerned were related to devices with MP3, MP4, and DVB standard functions for digital audio and video, blank CDs, and DVD copiers, police said." In the US there are no criminal penalties associated with patents, and such a raid could not be conducted, especially in the absence of a court ruling of infringement.
+ - Attacking hashes used to prevent document changes->
Submitted by
timrichardson writes "A supposedly cast-iron way of identifying digital documents, known as a hash function, is looking a bit rusty. You could, for instance, present your boss with a document to sign. If this all happened electronically, the document might then be hashed to make sure it was not altered after the signing. But if you have a suitably prepared collision attack at your disposal, and have created two very different documents with the same hash, then your boss is at your mercy. Now that could come in handy, says the Economist. Read more, including a fool-proof prediction about who will win the US Presidential election."
Link to Original Source
The Courts
Microsoft Internal Emails Show Dismay With Vista 662
Posted by kdawson
from the you-scratch-my-back dept.
God doesn't play dice. -- Albert Einstein | [] |
oh, and rape? sorry, but it requires at least 2 or 3 witnesses for it to be valid. Forget that DNA evidence - it doesn't count cuz it isn't in the good book.
so says Ron Hamm, the pastor of the Independent Baptist Church of Wasilla, AK (yes THAT Wasilla)
"...And while I understand that in Alaska the lone female is able to convict her alleged perpetrator, this goes contrary to the Bible. In the book of Deuteronomy we find the following: “One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.”
"While in our day of feminism it is asserted that a woman’s body is her own. Biblically speaking, this is only true prior to marriage, for in Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians we read: “Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.”
Views: 60
Reply to This
Replies to This Discussion
I for one would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the feminists (whether they ever called themselves that) who stood up in the face of: death, domestic violence, rape, public humiliation and centuries of roaring male laughter to fight for the life I enjoy today. Yes, this is ridiculous, yes these beliefs are laughable and Yes - we still need to fight against them.
I don't how women can still belong to any of these misogynistic desert dogma's. These religion were created by men who considered women to be nothing more than sex objects, and second class citizens. Yet, when you tell them this they deny it. I'm glad to be an atheist.
Support Atheist Nexus
Donate Today
Help Nexus When You Buy From Amazon
Badges | Report an Issue | Terms of Service | [] |
ITHACA, NY—In an announcement with major implications for future generations of big fat hogs, Cornell University geneticists announced Monday that they have isolated the specific DNA series that makes an individual susceptible to eating a whole goddamn bag of chips.
According to Cornell researchers, the tendency to eat a whole goddamn bag of chips (above) may be genetic.
"We have long known that the tendency to sit down and eat the whole goddamn bag runs in certain families," said team leader Dr. Edward Alvaro. "However, until we completed our work, we weren't sure whether the disposition to cram chips down your greasy gullet was genetic or whether it was a behavioral trait learned from one or both fat-fuck parents. With the discovery of gene series CHP-48/OZ-379, we have proof positive that single-case serial chip-eating is indeed hereditary."
For years, scientists have been aware of the numerous health complications linked to a person's predisposition to plop down and mow through a whole bag of chips, but it wasn't until now that they were able to isolate the gene that carries the trait.
According to the Cornell team, series CHP-48/OZ-379 is a set of "alleles," or collections of genetic material, that cause chip-eaters to develop a markedly larger number of chip-responsive nerve endings in their cerebral material.
"People with this gene have up to four times the amount of fritoceptors normally found in a human," Alvaro said. "This increases their pleasure response to snaxamine-2, the human body's principal chip-eating hormone, which is released in response to giant handfuls of chips being shoveled into the mouth. This tends to promote entire-goddamn-bag-eating behavior in those individuals who possess the series."
One of the most interesting characteristics of the newly discovered series, researcher Dr. Paul Bergleiter said, is its tendency to appear more than once in the gene strands of a human subject.
"Series CHP-48/OZ-379, because it is a fairly large, or 'fat-assed,' allele, tends to just lie around at convenient sites on the DNA sequence," Bergleiter said. "Though many subjects exhibit only one instance of this gene, on others we have found as many as four. This, of course, led these rather rare subjects to eat four times as many whole goddamn bags of chips as those in our control group."
Though many more fatsos must be studied to determine CHP-48/OZ-379's transmission pattern, conventional wisdom seems to indicate that the gene is recessive.
"Who would want to pass on their own intact genetic material to someone who just sat around eating chips all goddamn day?" Bergleiter asked. "Unless, of course, that was the only person you could find because you were such a big lard-ass yourself. That would probably be the only source of friendly RNA-transcriptive culture you could find."
Carriers of the CHP-48/OZ-379 gene are hailing the Cornell find.
"It is about time science took steps to help people like me--people who eat bags of chips like it's fucking popcorn," said 370-pound Erie, PA, resident Russell Roberts. "I can't even get jogging pants in my size anymore."
The discovery is considered the most significant advance in gene-mapping since a University of Chicago team isolated the DNA strand that causes people to shovel spoonfuls of ice cream into their mouths while standing in front of the friggin' freezer with the door wide open. | [] |
Linked by MOS6510 on Thu 10th Jan 2013 23:25 UTC
Permalink for comment 548344
RE: Point by point
by moltonel on Fri 11th Jan 2013 10:06 UTC in reply to "Point by point"
Member since:
In what way is C simple? Take someone who's got a good background and mind for programming and show them C. See how long it takes them to actually understand how to (...)
C is much simpler to understand fully than most other languages, in the sense that you understand exactly what a given line of code does. You pretty much know what (unoptimized) assembly will be generated by reading C. Try that with python, java, or even C++.
Of course C is harder to understand when you start with the language, but that's not what the author is talking about. He's talking about very experienced programmers (which he is).
"Faster Build-Run-Debug Cycles"
In what universe?
In the universe where java is not a "comparable language" I suppose, but I admit I wonder about this one too.
Reply Parent Score: 6 | [] |
Take the 2-minute tour ×
How does one know that a number field $K$ has a maximal abelian extension (unique up to isomorphism) $K^{\text{ab}}$?
I've read proofs involving Zorn's lemma that it has an algebraic closure (And that algebraic closures are unique up to isomorphism.) $\bar{K}$ All these proofs involved ideals of the polynomial ring in variables $x_f$, $f$ an irreducible monic polynomial in $K[x]$, but I don't see any obvious way of "restricting" this proof to abelian extensions.
I tried proving that such an extension exists using Zorn's lemma: Let $\Sigma$ be the set of all abelian subgroups of $\text{Gal}(\bar{K}/K)$ partially ordered by inclusion. Any chain of subgroups $(G_\alpha)$ has an upper bound, namely, $\bigcup_\alpha G_\alpha$ (which is a [sub]group as each $G_\alpha$ is contained in another), so by Zorn's lemma $\Sigma$ has a maximal element. But I don't have that this element is unique. (and I don't think I proved that $\bigcup_\alpha G_\alpha$ is abelian, either).
Additionally, how does $\text{Gal}(K^\text{ab}/K)$ relate to $\text{Gal}(\bar{K}/K)$ ? My incomplete attempt at a Zorn's lemme proof doesn't tell me what the maximal abelian galois group should be, and I don't know many ways of finding abelian subgroups.
share|improve this question
Why are you looking at subgroups? The Galois groups of subextensions of $\bar{K} \mid K$ are quotients of the absolute Galois group. – Zhen Lin May 7 '12 at 15:16
Perhaps because I'm naive. :) But is not looking at quotients of $\text{Gal}(\bar{K}/K)$ equiv to looking at the normal subgroups (except that the inclusion is reversed) ? or am I missing something subtle about galois theory? – mebassett May 7 '12 at 15:25
An abelian extension of the base field doesn't correspond to an abelian subgroup but to an abelian quotient. So the maximal abelian extension has Galois group the abelianization of the absolute Galois group. – Qiaochu Yuan May 7 '12 at 15:37
add comment
1 Answer
up vote 17 down vote accepted
Existence: It's not hard to check that a compositum of abelian extensions is again abelian (the Galois group of the compositum embeds into the product of the individual Galois groups) and the maximal abelian extension of $K$ is precisely the compositum of all such extensions. Once you've constructed an algebraic closure, you don't have to worry about working directly with minimal polynomials.
Relation to $\operatorname{Gal}(\overline{K}/K)$: As mentioned in the comments, the Galois group of the maximal abelian extension is just the abelianization of the absolute Galois group. Note that this abelianization process can be trivial (though not for number fields) -- if you start with a finite field, or $\mathbb{R}$, its algebraic closure is already an abelian extension.
What it looks like: Remarkably, this is a largely wide open question, and I'll just briefly reference you to the whole branch of number theory known as class field theory. When $K=\mathbb{Q}$, the answer is completely understood (but fairly non-trivial): The maximal abelian extension is the field obtained by adjoining all roots of unity to $\mathbb{Q}$, i.e., the splitting field of the set of polynomials $x^n-1$ for all $n\geq 1$. The Galois group is precisely $\prod \mathbb{Z}_p^\times$, where the product ranges over all primes $p$. (Note this is an uncountable group). There's also an explicit version of such a statement in the case that $K$ is quadratic imaginary, where the maximal extension is obtained by adjoining special values of functions defined on elliptic curves. Beyond those two cases, the state of the art ranges from fairly explicit conjectures (e.g., Stark conjectures for totally real fields, in particular real quadratic fields) to completely unknown. That said, there's lots of neat stuff known about these fields and their Galois groups which falls shy of an explicit construction, but I suspect they lie beyond the scope of the answer you were looking for.
share|improve this answer
A very pleasing answer. – Lubin May 7 '12 at 18:43
Yup. If $\alpha,\beta\in K^{ab}$, then the Galois closure of $K(\alpha,\beta)$ is an abelian extension of $K$. – Cam McLeman Jun 26 '13 at 16:24
The Galois group of a compositum of two number fields is a subgroup of the direct product of those two fields (in fact, it's the subgroup that fixes the intersection). The product of abelian groups is abelian, and subgroups of abelian groups are abelian. That's it! – Cam McLeman Jun 26 '13 at 17:44
Maybe the issue is Galois closures? For $\alpha\in K^{ab}$, it's not even true that $K(\alpha)/K$ has to be <i>Galois</i>, let alone abelian. There's also a bit of confusion about the order of the construction. If $\alpha\in K^{ab}$, then the Galois closure of $K(\alpha)/K$ is a subfield of $K^{ab}/K$, so its Galois group is a quotient of an abelian group, so is abelian. Of course, you have to believe $K^{ab}$ already exists to make this argument, which is what I thought was what your question was really about. – Cam McLeman Jun 26 '13 at 18:18
Ah, yes. The compositum of two Galois closures is the Galois closure of the compositum. So since each individual Galois closure is abelian, so is their compositum (by arguments above). – Cam McLeman Jun 26 '13 at 21:19
show 11 more comments
Your Answer
| [] |
Take the 2-minute tour ×
I have a set of files that are commonly used as inputs in my tex files, so I put them in a directory and set the path in the TEXINPUTS environment variable (in Ubuntu). This works fine when compiling files with the latex command, but if I compile them with pdftex, it gives the following error message:
! I can't find file `{header.tex}'.
l.1 \input{header.tex}
As far as I can tell, pdftex is completely ignoring the TEXINPUTS environment variable. Does it use a different environment variable? How can I get it to recognise a path?
share|improve this question
Are you using pdftex or pdflatex. The latter will read \input{header.tex} as a braced argument for file header.tex, but pdftex is Knuth's plain format with the pdfTeX engine: there, \input has primitive syntax only, and the file name searched is {input.tex}. – Joseph Wright Nov 18 '12 at 12:38
Aha! pdflatex works, but pdftex doesn't. Thanks for explaining. – thornate Nov 18 '12 at 12:52
I'll write that up in a slightly modified form as an answer, then :-) – Joseph Wright Nov 18 '12 at 13:06
Start your documents with \NeedsTeXFormat{LaTeX2e} to get a meaningful error message if you use the wrong program. – Martin Schröder Nov 19 '12 at 7:41
add comment
1 Answer
up vote 6 down vote accepted
The latex command runs LaTeX in DVI-output mode. LaTeX's definition of \input allows for a syntax
where the <file-name> is read as a braced argument. The pdflatex command will do exactly the same but with direct PDF output.
On the other hand, pdftex runs plain TeX with direct PDF output. The plain TeX definition for \input uses a 'primitive' syntax, in which the name is read as any tokens at all up to the first space. Thus with pdftex
ends up looking for a file called {<file-name>}, including the braces.
share|improve this answer
It may be worth noting that \input{filename} works also in LuaTeX (as opposed to LuaLaTeX). – egreg Nov 18 '12 at 13:46
@egreg One of the 'features' of LuaTeX which gives me headaches :-) – Joseph Wright Nov 18 '12 at 14:00
add comment
Your Answer
| [] |
Showcase & Discover Creative Work Sign Up For Free
Hiring Talent? Post a Job
Natura Morta
• G3002
• F58
• D0
• “Natura Morta” is a musical concert where the only instruments used are real fruits and the sound we’ll hear is exclusively the electric energy contained within them.
The elettric power of the humans getting mixed with the energy of the fruits makes the sound audible, is the fisical contact between human and nature that generate the music.
Each fruit has acid in it that produces electrical tension, using a special technique we can boost these frequencies making the inaudible audible,
the sound of the vital energy of nature.
The individual fruits are raised on wooden platforms, standing on a transparent plexiglass plate lit from under. Each time a fruit plays its base will lit up, staining the surrounding space, making it changeable and dinamic. Each platform is a home made midi controller which allow us to modulate the sound wave’s, creating more complex rhythms and sounds.
The sound frequencies are emphasized by a large videoprojection representing a macro vision of the fruits.
Slowly the concrete images becomes abstract, the Natura morta (Still life) picture changes reacting precisely to the sound vawes,
crashing and dissolving into pure shapes of colors and lights. | [] |
View Single Post
#5 (permalink)
Old September 13th, 2006, 12:51 AM
Mean Dean's Avatar
Mean Dean Mean Dean is offline
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 2,280
Hey guys,
San007 is allowed his or her theories, just as everyone is. You have yours, he or she has his/her's, and I have mine. And who's to say with absolute certainty that San007's isn't correct? After all it is possible.
But just because something is possible doesn't mean it is probable.
San007, your theory is possible, but highly unlikely. Some sociopath could be hopping from ship to ship committing random murders for his twisted pleasure. But most murders are committed by someone with something to gain by them. Bump the husband off to gain the insurance settlement. Bump the cheating wife off in a jealous rage. One doesn't wander the decks of cruise ships and toss passengers overboard just for fun. The cost/benefit ratio isn't in his favor.
The terrorist is going to make the same cost/benefit calculation. Why toss one passenger overboard when he can walk into the dining room, blow himself up, and kill dozens of passengers? (Assuming he could smuggle the explosives on board.)
But being aware of your surroundings is always good advice.
At the same time, the probability of such an incident is so extremely low.
So go on your cruise. Eat drink and be merry. Each day is a gift. Not to be feared, but to be enjoyed.
Reply With Quote | [] |
Link Details
Link 1050851 thumbnail
User 416609 avatar
By siliconvaley
Submitted: Oct 17 2013 / 07:05
Oracle announced the release of VirtualBox 4.3, this is a major release that comes with important new features, devices support and improvements. According to the announcement, “Oracle VM VirtualBox 4.3 adds a unique virtual multi-touch interface to support touch-based operating systems, and other new virtual devices and utilities, including webcam devices and a session recording facility. This release also builds on previous releases with support for the latest Microsoft, Apple, Linux and Oracle Solaris operating systems, new virtual devices, and improved networking functionality. “
• 4
• 0
• 201
• 47
Add your comment
Voters For This Link (4)
Voters Against This Link (0)
Spring Integration
Written by: Soby Chacko
Featured Refcardz: Top Refcardz:
1. Search Patterns
2. Python
3. C++
4. Design Patterns
5. OO JS
1. PhoneGap
2. Spring Integration
3. Regex
4. Git
5. Java | [] |
Subscribe to RSS
The secret to losing weight every cook should know
By Jessie Price, January 12, 2012 - 12:26pm
• Share
The secret to losing weight every cook should know
As a food lover and food editor of EatingWell Magazine, it’s probably no surprise that I’m not a big fan of any diet where you have to give up a bunch of different foods. No bread or pasta? Forget it. Cabbage soup for two meals a day? No way. That’s why I’m a big believer in the weight-loss and maintenance approach that EatingWell has taken both in the magazine and in our diet books, including EatingWell 500-Calorie Dinners, which I co-authored with Nicci Micco. The idea is that you can eat anything you want. That includes dessert or a glass of wine with dinner. One of the secrets to losing weight on this diet? Portion control, which can naturally help you limit the number of calories you eat each day, your ultimate goal. To find out how many calories you need to eat to lose a healthy 2 pounds a week, click here.
Here are a few tricks for making sure you’re eating the right portions:
Make dinner in cute portion-controlled servings. Research has shown that when dieters ate two portion-controlled meals a day they lost about 5 pounds more than their counterparts who ate the same number of calories but had to portion out their own food. Cook frittatas in the oven in ramekins, bake mini meatloaves in muffin tins, stuff a bell pepper (each person gets one) or make packets of foil or parchment paper to bake with fish and veggies inside.
Recipes to Try: Check out these great individually portioned recipes.
Diet Dinner Plan for Foodies
Use your hands. If you’re not near a measuring cup, scale or spoons, use your hands to estimate portions: 1 teaspoon equals the tip of your thumb, 1 tablespoon equals your whole thumb, 1 cup equals your fist and 3 ounces of meat (which is an appropriate serving size) is the size of the palm of your hand.
Know the size of your utensils and dishes at home. You use the same ladle every time you scoop out some soup, right? So why not measure that ladle (fill it with water, then pour that into a measuring cup) right now so that each time you serve yourself some soup you know exactly how much you’re getting. Also try this with your bowls. If you’re a cereal eater, know what size bowl you eat out of. Should you be using a smaller bowl to make it easier to stick to that 1-cup serving?
Memorize the calorie counts and serving sizes of foods you eat over and over. For example, I like to eat a piece of fruit midmorning. In the winter, it’s often an orange and I know that one medium orange has 62 calories. A medium apple has 95.
Related: 10 Tips to Make Losing Weight Easier
If you need a lot of food to feel satisfied, stack your plate with veggies. This is certainly a gross oversimplification, and you still want to keep portions in mind, but the bottom line is that most vegetables are less calorie dense than other types of food. For example, ½ cup of cooked pasta has 87 calories while ½ cup of cooked broccoli has just 22. So you can eat 2 cups of broccoli to get the same amount of calories that are in just ½ cup of pasta (and that is a puny amount of pasta!).
Don’t Miss: 7 Foods That Do the Weight-Loss Work for You
Check out this video from me and Nicci to see how you can eat a whole lot more when you stack your plate with veggies.
Go for the power salad. Following up on my last trick, I would never suggest you just eat a ton of plain broccoli. The best way to put that veggies-have-fewer-calories maxim into action is to make big, satisfying power salads. That means tons of lettuce, other veggies and a little bit of protein to help keep you satisfied.
Check out this collection of awesome EatingWell power salads.
Salad dressing on the side, please. That’s something you hear all the time when you’re out with someone who’s dieting. And with good reason. While those salads I was just talking about tend to be less calorie dense than other foods, most dressings are the opposite. One teaspoon (the tip of your thumb) of oil has 42 calories. That’s nearly the same as a whole cup of broccoli. So do control the amount of dressing you use, whether that means asking for it on the side at a restaurant or measuring the amount you use at home. Which salad dressing to use? I tend to be a homemade vinaigrette type of person. But when it comes to having a really tasty low-cal salad dressing, the very best way to do that is to make a homemade creamy dressing with ingredients like low-fat mayo, nonfat plain yogurt and low-fat buttermilk and skip the oil altogether. All these ingredients have a fraction of the calories of oil.
Check out this collection of tasty, easy homemade salad dressings.
What’s your cooking secret to losing weight? Tell us what you think below.
TAGS: Jessie Price, Healthy Cooking Blog, Dinner, Weight loss
Jessie Price
Jessie asks: What’s your cooking secret to losing weight?
Tell us what you think:
Connect With Us
20 minute dinner recipes
EatingWell Magazine
more smart savings
Today's Favorites
20 minute dinner recipes
Get a full year of EatingWell magazine. | [] |
First: Mid: Last: City: State:
Will Foust in Springville, TN
Get up-to-date info on TN resident, Will Foust, by subscribing to USA-People-Search.com. Not only can you access billions of public records data here with us, but you can also find trustworthy and reliable data. Our search results include info such as age, recent addresses, names of family members, and phone numbers.
y locate the Will Foust you're in search of, try adding more details, such as their past addresses or other known names, into the search fields. If you still don't see the Will you want , don't worry! You can also browse a comprehensive list of everyone named Will Foust who is also from TN. Once you find Will, subscribe to USA-People-Search.com to gain full access to their contact information as well as any other public records we might have on hand.
To make sense of all the info available on Will Foust, use our powerful search engine to quickly cut through the blur of names and find the right Will Foust. Simply key in any additional info you have on Will, like a nickname, prior address, phone number, or anything else you can think of. Once you find correct Will Foust, sign up to get full access to their detailed profile.
Name/AKAsAgeLocationPossible Relatives
1. Foust, Will Springville, TN
Paris, TN
View Details | [] |
find a flight
Search Deals
Sorry, but we did not find a match for
Please re enter a city or region :
Why book with Vayama ?
Roundtrip flight deals to Beijing
New York
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Vayama knows Beijing
Beijing is a city that somehow manages to balance progress with history. The most conspicuous demonstration of this balance can be seen when visiting the Forbidden City, an ancient palace that still stands proud amongst the skyscrapers popping up throughout Beijing. Beijing is a thriving and vibrant city filled with imperial history, great shopping, delicious food and beautiful parks. Find out for yourself what makes Beijing such a popular tourist attraction; book your flights to Beijing on When planning your flights to Beijing, it’s a good idea to take Chinese holidays into consideration. Forget about foreign tourist crowds; during holiday seasons, the domestic tourists are the ones flooding the city. Peak domestic travel seasons include the Chinese New Year, Labor Day and National Day. It’s also a good idea to take weather into consideration when planning your flights to Beijing. The most popular time to get flights to Beijing is during September and October, when Beijing has pleasant and warm weather. The second most popular time of year to get flights to Beijing is during March, April and May. The biggest attraction in Beijing is the Forbidden City, located in the district of Dongcheng. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is famous for being the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures on Earth. Beijing is filled with museums; be sure to check out popular museums such as the Palace Museum, the National Museum of China, the National Art Museum of China, the Capital Museum and the Beijing Art Museum. If you’re looking to shop, check out Xizhimen in the Xicheng District, Silk Street in the Chaoyang District, Nanluoguoxiang in the Dongcheng District and Tea Street in the Xuanwu District. Some popular and inexpensive Beijing foods include savory pancakes, lamb kebabs, candied fruit and mutton hotpot. Relax in one of Beijing’s numerous parks such as Zhongshan Park, Beihai Park, Chaoyang Park and Ritan Park. It’s easy to find flights to Beijing on, so what are you waiting for? Get your flights to Beijing today! | [] |
(relates to my other question can't upvote edited post)
Suppose this sequence of events occurs:
1. User X posts an answer (revision #0).
2. I read revision #0 of user X's answer.
3. User X edits the answer to revision #1.
4. I decide to EVALUATE (= upvote/downvote/remove vote/accept, I don't know what you guys call it) user X's answer. But I'm still looking at revision #0 of the answer.
When the client-side part of SO sends an EVALUATE request to the server, does it send the revision # of the displayed answer to the server? If so, could the server send back info to warn the user before accepting the EVALUATE request?
At present there's no indication on the client-side that an answer has been updated. I would have to reload the page to check if the answer I'm voting on is the latest revision.
share|improve this question
add comment
2 Answers
While I agree this could be a problem in a few specialized cases, I don't think it's a big enough deal to 'fix.'
Right now, if an answer/question has been edited after you have 'evaluated' it, you are free to change your evaluation. This is meant to combat a very similar problem that you describe.
share|improve this answer
-1, because your 2nd paragraph has a flaw, which was illustrated by my other post (meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/82047/cant-upvote-edited-post/…). I upvoted, then the user edited their post, then I removed the upvote, then I saw that the user had edited their post (which had happened before I removed the upvote), then I went to re-upvote, and could not. – Jason S Mar 7 '11 at 18:07
@Jason, so the scenario was - upvote, edit, remove upvote, edit, upvote? – jjnguy Mar 7 '11 at 18:10
The scenario was the sequence him:post#0, me:upvote#0, him:edit#1, me:remove-upvote#0, me:read#1, me:upvote#1 -- where the problem is that because I hadn't refreshed the page, SO server interprets my remove-upvote request as applying to revision #1 (thus blocking me from changing my vote later), even though I was judging the post on revision #0. – Jason S Mar 7 '11 at 18:20
@Jason, I feel that this scenario would be so rare that it isn't necessary to fix. You should simply edit the post yourself (trivial edit to 'unlock' your vote), and then change your evaluation accordingly. – jjnguy Mar 7 '11 at 18:26
add comment
This seems unlikely to happen very often. If you read an answer and want to vote on it ten minutes later, reloading the page seems pretty reasonable
share|improve this answer
I disagree. From time to time, I will read an answer, then go try it, then come back and vote. The burden is on me to reload the page before I vote... which may be reasonable, but it's another source of errors. – Jason S Mar 7 '11 at 18:05
...and it may be only a minute later, not ten minutes. – Jason S Mar 7 '11 at 18:08
@Jason Between you checking an answer "from time to time", and people editing their answers from time to time, the odds that they'll exactly overlap and mess you up are really small – Michael Mrozek Mar 7 '11 at 18:39
Well, you might think differently if you had been involved in that discussion for my C++ array initializer question. There were a lot of changes happening very fast. One person had to get me to clarify which part of his post I had been commenting on: while I was composing my comment, he had edited the post. There were at least 3 instances of concurrent editing during the first 20 minutes after I posted my question. – Jason S Mar 7 '11 at 19:19
"Between you checking an answer "from time to time"" -- and why do I have to do this anyway? Why can't the server and client help me do this, instead of me having to reload the page every 60 seconds? – Jason S Mar 7 '11 at 19:20
add comment
You must log in to answer this question.
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged . | [] |
I processed my first ever film the other week - a roll of Ilford FP4 plus, rated at 125, in Kodak-HC110 developer, at the recommended time of 9mins, and inversions every 30 secs. Firstly, I had some problems with air bubbles despite thumping the tank after every inversion - large bubbles were visible on two frames, effectively ruining them. And the resultant negatives were somewhat unsharp after I scanned them in my film scanner, and mostly greys - not a very good tonal range at all. Some photos worked out better than others though. So my first developing experience turned out to be a bit of a dud and I am a bit apprehensive about trying it again on an important film. Is the greyness a characteristic of FP4 and should I be using something else, or is it the film+developer combination or something I did, or all of the above?
puzzled newbie,
<See some of the grey Ilford FP4 images here> | [] |
Android G2 Hands On: Close to PerfectionS
The bad news first: Apart from my gripes about the user interface—which are still there—there is one but. A big BUT, bigger than Ramona's, the planetary lady with accidental moustache who serves the bocadillos down at one of the fair's restaurants: The software keyboard. On this first touch, the keyboard felt cramped, probably a result of the screen size, which is smaller than the iPhone's—which is the obvious soft keyboard reference, since it was the first one to implement a finger-touch software keyboard.
In addition to that, there's an additional user interface problem, this time having to do with perception: Instead of popping up above your finger—like in the iPhone so you can clearly see what you pressed—the keys appear on the sides. They flash quickly as you press them, and I found it extremely distracting. They said that they put them on the sides not to obstruct the view, but knowing the over-the-key implementation in the iPhone's software keyboard, it doesn't make much sense. Furthermore, when you are typing with one finger only—like I often do—you will be obstructing the view of the flashing key with your finger. The reason: When you type on the right side of the keyboard, the flashing keys appear on the left. When you click on the right, they pop out on the left.
Other than this, the rest is great. There's a new Google Mail feature to delete or classify mail in bulk, as well as a faster camera, which now can take video—which obviously means you can play back video as well. The rest of the interface and features is what you already have in the Android G1. However, what really steals the show here is the hardware itself.
HTC has got a very smooth phone, which feels great on your hands and in your pants' pockets. While it's sightly thicker than the iPhone, the narrower, rounded body, and weight makes it feel the same size. For sure, a lot less bulky than the G1, which looks like a brick next to this. And as you have seen in the shots, the final HTC Magic is quite pretty. Have no doubt: This thing alone will make many consumers put up with the less-than-ideal software keyboard.
Click to viewOverall, the first feeling is that we got a potential winner here. If they can manage to make the software keyboard better, Apple will definitely have a formidable enemy in the Android G2. | [] |
You are in: World: Americas
Front Page
Middle East
South Asia
From Our Own Correspondent
Letter From America
UK Politics
Talking Point
In Depth
Commonwealth Games 2002
BBC Sport
BBC Weather
Friday, 12 October, 2001, 05:33 GMT 06:33 UK
New York rejects Saudi millions
new york
Row: Giuliani shows Walid the ruins in New York
New York city officials have rejected a $10m donation from a prominent member of the Saudi royal family after he said America should "re-examine its policies" in the wake of the attacks on New York and Washington.
On a visit to the city, Prince Al-Walid bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz - a nephew of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia and one of the world's richest men - called the destruction of the World Trade Center a tremendous crime.
But in a separate statement, he said that the US Government should reconsider its polices in the Middle East and adopt a more balanced stance toward the Palestinians.
We must address some of the issues that led to such a criminal attack
Prince Al-Walid bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz
Mayor Rudi Giuliani said he entirely rejected the prince's comments, calling them "highly irresponsible and very, very dangerous".
He said the people who had attacked New York had lost any right to ask for justification when they slaughtered more than 5,000 innocent people, and the Prince's cheque would not be accepted.
Mr Walid is ranked by Forbes magazine as the world's sixth richest man, with an estimated personal fortune of $20.3bn.
Palestinian issue
In a statement released by his company as he visited Ground Zero with the mayor, Mr Walid said: "I believe the government of the United States should re-examine its policies in the Middle East and adopt a more balanced stance toward the Palestinian cause.
World Trade Center ruins
Mayor Giuliani said there was no justification for the attack on the World Trade Center
Speaking at a City Hall news conference later, Mr Giuliani said there could be no justification for the 11 September attacks.
"The people who did it lost any right to ask for justification for it when they slaughtered four or five thousand innocent people, and to suggest that there is a justification for it only invites this happening in the future," he said.
Saudi Arabia is reported to have turned down a request for UK Prime Minister Tony Blair to visit the desert kingdom on his current tour of the Middle East.
Downing Street denied the prime minister had been rebuffed, saying Mr Blair had discussed making a visit in a telephone call with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah last week but it could not be fitted into Mr Blair's schedule.
The BBC's Jane Standley
"The cheque will now be returned to Saudi Arabia"
See also:
11 Oct 01 | Americas
New York, one month on
01 Oct 01 | Middle East
Saudi leaders fear Muslim backlash
12 Sep 01 | Country profiles
Country profile: Saudi Arabia
25 Sep 01 | Middle East
Saudi Arabia warns of West-Islam split
Internet links:
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites
E-mail this story to a friend
Links to more Americas stories | [] |
Conversation Starters
How to Step-Up Your Tinder Game
Originally posted on
We've all been there: You're sitting at brunch with your BFF who is mindlessly swiping her thumb across her iPhone screen not listening to your really important story. Why? She's Tindering. Tinder, the hot-or-not dating app that connects singles within a certain radius (users can see select Facebook photos and friends in common), has quickly become one of the most popular ways to score a date. Yes, Grindr for straight people has arrived and it's catching on quick.
The app appeals largely to women and men, ages 18-35, and boasts impressive stats: 200 million profile swipes per day (users swipe through potential matches—a swipe to the left indicates interest), leading to over three million new matches per day and 300 million matches worldwide so far.
We recently caught up with the app's VP, Whitney Wolfe, at Tinder's headquarters on the Sunset Strip in L.A. to chat about why the Tinder empowers single ladies, what strategies you should employ to get asked out, and why it's not just a "hook-up" app.
Why is Tinder different from other social media outlets?
Facebook, for example, does a great job of organizing and keeping you in touch with the network you already have, but it’s hard to meet new people. If someone new adds you, even when you have 12 mutual friends, you question it. You ask yourself, "Why are you adding me?" There’s a barrier—online and in real life. So, we’re trying to get you to say "hello" in a socially acceptable way.
Tinder is empowering for women. Why do you think it gives us Sadie Hawkin-style courage?
In a bar, a girl might not approach a guy or make the first move. But, you are always looking around, [evaluating men] thinking "yes," "no," "yes," "no." Online, I would never friend a random cute guy on Facebook or start liking his pictures on Instagram—even if I had a crush on him. But with Tinder, it’s like following or friending each other at the same time. The risk of revealing your feelings is removed.
Should we worry about rejection on Tinder?
You’ll never know [if someone is rejecting you], and you won’t think about it. You’re too busy swiping and doing your own thing.
What are your tips for setting up a Tinder profile?
Be genuine. Put out what you want to receive, that’s the same for real life and Tinder. I’m not going to dress like a "hoochie" in real life, because I don’t want to be perceived that way. And be relevant. Don’t put up a picture when you were 17 and had the best body. It’s a real-life representation. Put your best face forward.
Is there a Tinder strategy for users?
Tinder carefully, because you cannot go back [and re-see someone's profile] yet. For the time being, if you swipe "no" to someone, he or she is gone [from your feed], and sometimes it happens accidentally. It’s like real-life missed connections. My best advice for a new Tinder user is don’t just start swiping left or right. Take a moment and really evaluate everyone’s photos before you say "yes" or "no." Sometimes people don’t know what they are doing when choosing photos. You might see the first one and think "absolutely not," but then he’s scuba diving in the third and, wow, you love that.
Does technology ever have a negative effect on meeting someone?
In real life, we are all on our devices. We might go to a place where we fit the crowd and could meet someone. But, because we are all on our phones, you might not notice the cute boy behind you in line for coffee, and he’s not going to notice the gorgeous girl sitting outside. So, we might as well notice them on our phones, on Tinder.
The apps still has a bit of a "hook-up" reputation, meaning that the people on it are looking for one-night stands and such.
We don’t call Tinder a dating app. We don’t call it anything. We are creating connections that the users get to define. I get very defensive over [that reputation]. Most of the people who say that about Tinder haven’t used the app. If you ask anyone on Tinder if it is a hook-up app, the answer is unequivocally "no." So, if you’re afraid that Tinder is a hook-up app, then don’t use it. But I’d say to that person, "Don’t go out to a bar either. Stay at home. Don’t go out at night. Stay at home and cook by yourself for yourself."
When and where does the app work best?
Anywhere. All times. That’s the beauty of it. You can be eating Ben & Jerry’s in bed and find a guy. Tinder puts the convenience of dating in your lap. You see people up to 50 miles around you, or you can change the radius down to one mile.
Tinder has a global reach, too.
We are growing out of control. We are international. So, even when you are traveling, you can meet relevant people via Tinder. I can’t tell you how many stories of normal, very cool friends meeting up with other very cool, normal two-degrees-of-separation people in Berlin, Croatia, South America, and South Africa. Anytime you have a mutual friend, you can meet anyone, anywhere in the world.
Photo: Ashley Terrill
Tags: tinder
This Is A Developing Story
Start a Conversation | [] |
Andy Grove: How America Can Create Jobs
For Immediate Release:
July 1, 2010
Andy Grove
Bloomberg Businessweek
Not this time. I left the restaurant unsettled. Something did not add up. Bay Area unemployment is even higher than the 9.7 percent national average. Clearly, the great Silicon Valley innovation machine hasn't been creating many jobs of late—unless you're counting Asia, where American tech companies have been adding jobs like mad for years.
The underlying problem isn't simply lower Asian costs. It's our own misplaced faith in the power of startups to create U.S. jobs. Americans love the idea of the guys in the garage inventing something that changes the world. New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman recently encapsulated this view in a piece called "Start-Ups, Not Bailouts." His argument: Let tired old companies that do commodity manufacturing die if they have to. If Washington really wants to create jobs, he wrote, it should back startups.
What Went Wrong?
I am fortunate to have lived through one such example. In 1968 two well-known technologists and their investor friends anted up $3 million to start Intel (INTC), making memory chips for the computer industry. From the beginning we had to figure out how to make our chips in volume. We had to build factories, hire, train, and retain employees, establish relationships with suppliers, and sort out a million other things before Intel could become a billion-dollar company. Three years later the company went public and grew to be one of the biggest technology companies in the world. By 1980, 10 years after our IPO, about 13,000 people worked for Intel in the U.S.
Not far from Intel's headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., other companies developed. Tandem Computers went through a similar process, then Sun Microsystems, Cisco (CSCO), Netscape, and on and on. Some companies died along the way or were absorbed by others, but each survivor added to the complex technological ecosystem that came to be called Silicon Valley.
As time passed, wages and health-care costs rose in the U.S. China opened up. American companies discovered that they could have their manufacturing and even their engineering done more cheaply overseas. When they did so, margins improved. Management was happy, and so were stockholders. Growth continued, even more profitably. But the job machine began sputtering.
The 10X Factor
Today, manufacturing employment in the U.S. computer industry is about 166,000, lower than it was before the first PC, the MITS Altair 2800, was assembled in 1975 (figure-B). Meanwhile, a very effective computer manufacturing industry has emerged in Asia, employing about 1.5 million workers—factory employees, engineers, and managers. The largest of these companies is Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn. The company has grown at an astounding rate, first in Taiwan and later in China. Its revenues last year were $62 billion, larger than Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Dell (DELL), or Intel. Foxconn employs over 800,000 people, more than the combined worldwide head count of Apple, Dell, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Intel, and Sony (SNE) (figure-C).
Since the early days of Silicon Valley, the money invested in companies has increased dramatically, only to produce fewer jobs. Simply put, the U.S. has become wildly inefficient at creating American tech jobs. We may be less aware of this growing inefficiency, however, because our history of creating jobs over the past few decades has been spectacular—masking our greater and greater spending to create each position. Should we wait and not act on the basis of early indicators? I think that would be a tragic mistake, because the only chance we have to reverse the deterioration is if we act early and decisively.
Already the decline has been marked. It may be measured by way of a simple calculation—an estimate of the employment cost-effectiveness of a company. First, take the initial investment plus the investment during a company's IPO. Then divide that by the number of employees working in that company 10 years later. For Intel this worked out to be about $650 per job—$3,600 adjusted for inflation. National Semiconductor (NSM), another chip company, was even more efficient at $2,000 per job. Making the same calculations for a number of Silicon Valley companies shows that the cost of creating U.S. jobs grew from a few thousand dollars per position in the early years to a hundred thousand dollars today (figure-A). The obvious reason: Companies simply hire fewer employees as more work is done by outside contractors, usually in Asia.
The job machine breakdown isn't just in computers. Consider alternative energy, an emerging industry where there's plenty of innovation. Photovoltaics, for example, are a U.S. invention. Their use in home energy applications was also pioneered by the U.S. Last year, I decided to do my bit for energy conservation and set out to equip my house with solar power. My wife and I talked with four local solar firms. As part of our due diligence, I checked where they get their photovoltaic panels—the key part of the system. All the panels they use come from China. A Silicon Valley company sells equipment used to manufacture photo-active films. They ship close to 10 times more machines to China than to manufacturers in the U.S., and this gap is growing (figure-D). Not surprisingly, U.S. employment in the making of photovoltaic films and panels is perhaps 10,000—just a few percent of estimated worldwide employment.
There's more at stake than exported jobs. With some technologies, both scaling and innovation take place overseas.
The Key to Job Creation
Scaling isn't easy. The investments required are much higher than in the invention phase. And funds need to be committed early, when not much is known about the potential market. Another example from Intel: The investment to build a silicon manufacturing plant in the '70s was a few million dollars. By the early '90s the cost of the factories that would be able to produce the new Pentium chips in volume rose to several billion dollars. The decision to build these plants needed to be made years before we knew whether the Pentium chip would work or whether the market would be interested in it.
Lessons we learned from previous missteps helped us. Some years earlier, when Intel's business consisted of making memory chips, we hesitated to add manufacturing capacity, not being all that sure about the market demand in years to come. Our Japanese competitors didn't hesitate: They built the plants. When the demand for memory chips exploded, the Japanese roared into the U.S. market and Intel began its descent as a memory chip supplier. Despite being steeled by that experience, I still remember how afraid I was as I asked the Intel directors for authorization to spend billions of dollars for factories to produce a product that did not exist at the time for a market we could not size. Fortunately, they gave their O.K. even as they gulped. The bet paid off.
My point isn't that Intel was brilliant. The company was founded at a time when it was easier to scale domestically. For one thing, China wasn't yet open for business. More importantly, the U.S. had not yet forgotten that scaling was crucial to its economic future.
Wanted: Job-Centric Economics
Such evidence stares at us from the performance of several Asian countries in the past few decades. These countries seem to understand that job creation must be the No. 1 objective of state economic policy. The government plays a strategic role in setting the priorities and arraying the forces and organization necessary to achieve this goal. The rapid development of the Asian economies provides numerous illustrations. In a thorough study of the industrial development of East Asia, Robert Wade of the London School of Economics found that these economies turned in precedent-shattering economic performances over the '70s and '80s in large part because of the effective involvement of the government in targeting the growth of manufacturing industries.
Consider the "Golden Projects," a series of digital initiatives driven by the Chinese government in the late 1980s and 1990s. Beijing was convinced of the importance of electronic networks—used for transactions, communications, and coordination—in enabling job creation, particularly in the less developed parts of the country. Consequently, the Golden Projects enjoyed priority funding. In time they contributed to the rapid development of China's information infrastructure and the country's economic growth.
How do we turn such Asian experience into intelligent action here and now? Long term, we need a job-centric economic theory—and job-centric political leadership—to guide our plans and actions. In the meantime, consider some basic thoughts from a onetime factory guy.
The story comes to mind of an engineer who was to be executed by guillotine. The guillotine was stuck, and custom required that if the blade didn't drop, the condemned man was set free. Before this could happen, the engineer pointed with excitement to a rusty pulley, and told the executioner to apply some oil there. Off went his head.
We got to our current state as a consequence of many of us taking actions focused on our own companies' next milestones. An example: Five years ago a friend joined a large VC firm as a partner. His responsibility was to make sure that all the startups they funded had a "China strategy," meaning a plan to move what jobs they could to China. He was going around with an oil can, applying drops to the guillotine in case it was stuck. We should put away our oil cans. VCs should have a partner in charge of every startup's "U.S. strategy."
Every day, that Palo Alto restaurant where I met the Chinese venture capitalists is full of technology executives and entrepreneurs. Many of them are my friends. I understand the technological challenges they face, along with the financial pressure they're under from directors and shareholders. Can we expect them to take on yet another assignment, to work on behalf of a loosely defined community of companies, employees, and employees yet to be hired? To do so is undoubtedly naïve. Yet the imperative for change is real and the choice is simple. If we want to remain a leading economy, we change on our own, or change will continue to be forced upon us.
Andy Grove, senior adviser to Intel, was the company's chief executive officer or chairman from 1987 until 2005. | [] |
1. Latest News
2. Submit Press Release
1. PR Home
2. Latest News
3. Feeds
4. Alerts
5. Submit Free Press Release
6. Journalist Account
7. PRNewswire Distribution
Who Is Measuring Your Job For Carpeting
Helps and Tips About Measuring For Wall To Wall Carpet Installation
PRLog (Press Release) - Sep. 28, 2009 - I want to talk about something that is very dear to my heart and a problem that runs rampant in the carpet industry. Wrong sizing on you carpet & flooring needs. You know that a store can really make a deal sound so sweet by telling you that the labor is free and the pad is free and the financing is free, when in reality you are really paying for all the above and then some. I've been on many a job over the last 37 years where a store has told the consumer that they have 1125 square feet. After measuring the job it actually took only 875 sf of product to cover the floor. Just think. That person would have paid for 250 sf of product they didn't get. At $ 3.75 sf that is $937.50. That pays for a lot of the free pad and labor and certainly covers the finance charge.
You know the average LR-DR-Hall is around 55 sq or 495 sf. That is a good rule of thumb figure. You simply measure the lenght of the room and the width of the room. You measure into the middle of the doorway (or jamb). Then muliply the two figures to get the square feet of the room. Typically add about 8-10 % for seaming and waste to the net square footage. That gives you the total sf. needed to do the job. Remember carpet usually comes in 12 ft. wide rolls. So if you room is 10 x 16 you will need a 12 x 16 . The net square footage is 160 but the actual is 192 sf. Now that is pretty simple don't you think ? But when you get into mupitle rooms it gets a little tricky. You simply do each room seperate and add the rooms together and add the 8-10 % and you would be be close to what the needed material actually will be. By doing this simple little math problem you won't be paying for material you didn't need.
I've even found that measuring services ( even the ones the big box stores use ) really get lost in their measurements. They can handle a small job ( like 1 room ), but boy throw in 4 rooms a hall, 10 custom steps and a pattern match and man they are lost. In many cases I've seen the store never call the customer back with a price because they totally underestimated the orginal quote when the customer was in the store. Or they just pile on the yards to make sure they have enough. In any case usually the customer loses. The latter is usually what happens the most and you really got hammered for the Free Stuff (you thought was fee) .
Think about this. A carpet installer is usually a independent installer and on his own. You really don't expect him to go to a complete strangers home, take up the old carpet and pad for free, move your furniture for free, then work all day installing the new carpet and pad for free, put all the furniture back for free, then when he and his helper are dead beat tired load up all the old stuff and haul it off for free. Boy do I have a bridge for sale. Heck it's hard to get my crew to find time to install a room in my own home and believe me it's not free.
One of the true benefits of buying from a locally owned floor covering professional is just exactly what I'm talking about in the above article. Chances are you are dealing with the owner or his family and when they come to measure they know what they are doing. And when their crew comes they will most likely come with them to go over the job. That's the steps that Judy, Brandon and I take on every job we sell at Home-Based Carpet & Flooring. We know exactly how many sf. each job takes, where the seams are going, what kind of quality seam tape we are using and at the end of the day come back and look at each job with few exceptions.
That's the service you should expect and that you certainly deserve.
You can contact Judy, Brandon or Greg at http://www.cincinnatifloorings.com or e mail at [email protected]. You can also visit my blog at http://gregthecarpetman.blogspot.com
# # #
Family owned carpet & flooring dealer in Cincinnati, Ohio. Excellent certified installation. Carpet, hardwood floors, laminate floors and vinyl tile. We also ship in USA and help arrange iinstallation in your location. Major credit cards and shop @ home
--- End ---
Click to Share
Contact Email:
***@yahoo.com Email Verified
Source:Greg Keairns
City/Town:Cincinnati - Ohio - United States
Industry:Home improvement, Home garden
Tags:carpet, carpet installation, measuring for carpeting, flooring, carpet sales
Latest Press Releases By “
Trending News...
1. SiteMap
2. Privacy Policy
3. Terms of Service
4. Copyright Notice
5. About
6. Advertise
Like PRLog?
Click to Share | [] |
Take the 2-minute tour ×
Specifically dual-CPU 32 core - 128RAM - RAID 10 SSD . Ubuntu 64 server.
Heavy Innodb load at times - ~ 2000+ queries per sec. Heavy read and write.
Currently we are running on the default write_io_threads of 4.
Are we "nerfing" the power of our server? Is it safe to run it on max write_io_threads=64 and read_io_threads = 64 ?
How is this number determined?
share|improve this question
add comment
1 Answer
Back on March 15, 2012, I answered this question : MySql recommended hardware.
In my answer, I mentioned a client who is still in my employer's web hosting company to this very day. They are currently running 3 DB Servers in Circular Replication. Each DB Server has:
• MySQL 5.5.9
• 192 GB RAM
• 162 GB InnoDB Buffer Pool
• Dual hexacore (that's right, 12 CPUs)
• 1.8TB Disk Volume
• 528 multitenant databases
• 500 GB of InnoDB Data
• innodb_file_per_table enabled
I have them set with
innodb_read_io_threads = 64
innodb_write_io_threads = 64
innodb_thread_concurrency = 0
innodb_buffer_pool_size = 162G
innodb_buffer_pool_instances = 2
innodb_log_file_size = 384M
Bottom line: You got the cores, and 128G RAM? What are you waiting for ? Crank it up and have some fun. My client has been all but flabbergasted with these settings against that hardware since March 2011. You will be blown away !!!
All kidding aside, you should be careful when working with VMs(VMWare, AWS, any other cloud-based MySQL Instances) or commodity hardware. However, with that much firepower in bare metal, by all means, you should exploit those settings because any version of MySQL before MySQL 5.5 works with single threaded InnoDB. If you have MySQL 5.1, the InnoDB plugin (starting from MySQL 5.1.38) would have to be installed and then set. All Percona Server 5.1 binaries already have these in place. Since you have MySQL 5.5, these settings are natively installed and have been tested in many respects. You just have to take responsibility for tuning the new InnoDB Settings.
Please see my other posts on setting InnoDB's new settings:
UPDATE 2013-01-18 21:52 EDT
You need to take the bull by the horns and setup some benchmarks. Let's go back historically. innodb_read_io_threads and innodb_writes_io_threads did not come with MySQL 5.0 or 5.1. Someone created a plugin and made it available in MySQL 5.1.38. The defaults were 4. I also notice that Percona Server implemented these things early in MySQL 5.1 with defaults of 8. Most people who use Percona Server out-of-the-box swear by it and often say that it is better than MySQL. However, this comparison is usually done with tweeking InnoDB. So, of course, Percona Server, with double the number of threads, would be better.
Given this conservative way to get better performance (upgrading to Percona), you will never really know how good, bad, or ugly InnoDB will go unless you tune for it. Keep in mind my post from Nov 24, 2011. Multiple versions of MySQL were benchmarked and, in some cases, InnoDB under MySQL 4.1 outperformed 5.x in a single-threaded environment. That's given the same level playing field.
To tip the scales in your favor, you must tune InnoDB. Rather than give you any single definitive Pick-This-Pick-That guide, you need to read about the settings InnoDB ghas been given to make multiple cores come alive. Not every environment is like my client's dual hexacore servers or your dual hexadecacore.
If I had to give you a good starting point, it would have the be mysqlperformanceblog.com. Everything performance-centric about mysql is there for you to read, select, and benchmark.
share|improve this answer
Thanks some good info there. So how do I know whether I should use write_io_threads of 4 or 32 or 64 ? What determines (hardware wise I would guess?)this variable besides the obvious benchmarking trial and error? Could I totally bog down the production DB server with an incorrect setting? – Tom Geee Jan 19 '13 at 2:00
add comment
Your Answer
| [] |
New Giz Feature: Threaded CommentsSWelcome to the future, my friends. As of today, Gizmodo (and all the other Gawker sites) now have threaded comments. What's this mean for you? Well, it means that comment threads will no longer be one long list of chronological comments. Instead, when you reply to a specific comment, your comment will go right underneath it. Let's look at it a bit more in depth, shall we? The ladies at Jezebel laid it out pretty nicely, so we'll crib a bit from their explanation:
So, what do you think? Exciting, no? And yes, I know change is scary. I saw how many people flipped out when Facebook changed its layout. But hey, change is fun. Give it a shot in the comments below, fiddle around with it, and let us know what you think. As long as what you think is positive, because after how much work our illustrious tech crew put into making this possible, we ain't changing it back. Enjoy! | [] |
Take the 2-minute tour ×
How do I invoke a Service Operation in WCF from iOS?
I have a Service Operation defined in my WCF Data Service (tied to a stored procedure in my DB schema) that I need to invoke from iOS. Say I've got the following declaration in my .svc.cs file:
[WebInvoke(RequestFormat = WebMessageFormat.Json, ResponseFormat = WebMessageFormat.Json, BodyStyle = WebMessageBodyStyle.WrappedRequest)]
public IQueryable<Foo> GetFoos(int param1, DateTime param2, string param3)
return CurrentDataSource.GetFoos(param1, param2, param3).AsQueryable();
And I've got it set up with the proper rights in InitializeService:
config.SetServiceOperationAccessRule("GetFoos", ServiceOperationRights.AllRead);
When I try to invoke this via HTTP POST from iOS, I get back an error wrapped in JSON:
Bad Request - Error in query syntax.
It seems like it doesn't like how I'm passing my parameters. I'm passing them JSON-encoded (using NSJSONSerialization to turn an NSDictionary into a JSON string) in the request body of a POST request. The same method works on another web service (.svc) not connected to WCF that has operations annotated the same way.
An answer to another question of mine in a similar vein suggests that data formats can be negotiated between client and server, and I've read that dates are a pain to format, so maybe it's my DateTime parameter that's a problem. But I've tried both the JSON format (\/Date(836438400000)\/ and /Date(836438400000)/) and the JSON Light format (1996-07-16T00:00:00) to no avail.
So my question is this: what is the proper way to invoke this operation? If I need to have my app tell the server what format to expect, how do I do that?
Update: I tried using the format datetime'1996-07-16T00:00:00' as mentioned in this question. Same error.
Update 2: The MSDN page for Service Operations seems to suggest that nothing besides Method = "POST" is supported when annotating the WebInvoke for a Service Operation. I tried removing everything from what is quoted in the above code and setting the method to POST. Same error.
Update 3: On Pawel's suggestion, I made a new Service Operation on my Data Service just like this:
[WebInvoke(Method = "POST")]
public IQueryable<string> GetFoos()
List<string> foos = new List<string>();
return foos.AsQueryable();
I was able to make it work in Fiddler's Composer pane by setting the method to POST, adding accept:application/json;charset=utf-8 and Content-Length:0 to the headers. Then I added a single int parameter to the operation (called param1). I set the body of my request in Fiddler to {"param1":"1"} and ran it (and Fiddler automatically updated my content-length header), and got the same error. I changed the type of my parameter to string and ran my request again and it worked. So my problem seems to be non-string types.
share|improve this question
I would try invoking an operation that does not take any parameters to isolate whether this is a general problem or a problem caused by DateTime parameters... – Pawel Sep 27 '12 at 21:37
@Pawel - I'll try that. Should WCF Service Operations work the same way as operations on vanilla WCF services would in general? – Mr. Jefferson Sep 27 '12 at 21:55
@Pawel - See update 3. – Mr. Jefferson Sep 27 '12 at 22:08
It's been a couple years since I looked at it but you are using POST and parameters will be sent in the request body. Therefore I suspect Content-Length cannot be 0 but has to be the actual length of the request. – Pawel Sep 27 '12 at 22:26
@Pawel - When you put something in Fiddler's request body, it automatically changes the content-length parameter for you. No worries there. – Mr. Jefferson Sep 27 '12 at 22:27
show 4 more comments
1 Answer
up vote 0 down vote accepted
You need to send parameters in the Url and not in the request body.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| [] |
Because they are already funded, the exchanges are not affected by the government shutdown that began at midnight when Congress failed to produced a new spending plan.
The Republican-run House wants a plan that would delay other major parts of the new health care law, including the requirement that nearly all Americans buy insurance. Obama and the Democratic-run Senate say that is unacceptable and that Republicans are using the budget to try and gut the health care law.
Meanwhile, other administration officials will be busy promoting the new health care exchanges, which are the key to financing the law.
Vice President Biden will give an interview to air on some 450 college radio stations, explaining to "young Americans the health care benefits that will kick in for themselves and their families," says the White House.
First lady Michelle Obama has an op-ed running on Yahoo! Shine, a women's lifestyle website.
And, throughout the day, White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett and other administration officials will be interviewed on African-American radio shows. The White House list includes the Tom Joyner Morning Show, the Al Sharpton Show, the Yolanda Adams Morning Show, Sway on Sirius HM, the Russ Parr Morning Show, Rickey Smiley Morning Show, and the Joe Madison Show.
Also during the day, Obama and aides will be monitoring events on Capitol Hill, as Republicans and Democrats wrestle over the budget and the government shutdown. | [] |
Frontpage News 2011 Building inside a ceasefire line: The Home for Cooperation in divided Cyprus
Building inside a ceasefire line.JPG
Our guest writer, Yiannis Papadakis from the University of Cyprus, presents the situation in Cyprus and how initiatives such as the Home for Cooperation are needed to overcome distrust and help towards creating a dialogue among opposing historical narratives between the two communities in Cyprus.
The party was warming up, despite the presence of two secret policemen sitting alone at one of the tables. Music, conversation and the smell of grilled meat transformed the UN-controlled Buffer Zone dividing Cyprus, a place usually eerily quiet, into a joyful setting. By the end of the party, the role of the two secret policemen would also be transformed.
This party took place more than a year ago (video blog), on 6th February 2010, to celebrate the commencement of renovation work (video blog) on a building situated in the Buffer Zone dividing Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus. The renovation is funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants. The building has become the Home for Cooperation, a project initiated by a local NGO, the Association of Historical Dialogue and Research (AHDR). As Chara Makriyianni, President of AHDR explained: ‘We came up with an idea of looking for a house in the buffer zone, somewhere neutral. This will be the first inter-communal building that promotes research and dialogue and issues regarding history education.’ What makes the AHDR stand out in Cyprus is that it is one of a few NGO’s where Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots closely work together.
Fifteen months later, on Friday 6th May 2011, the official opening of the Home for Cooperation took place in the presence of the Greek Cypriot leader, Demetris Christofias, the Turkish Cypriot leader, Derviþ Eroðlu. The hope is that this will also be a home for many other organisations who share the aims of fostering dialogue, promoting tolerance and understanding in Cyprus and beyond. Despite the renovation, bullet holes are still visible on the building. Rusting barbed wire is still lying on the ground behind the building. The blue-white barrel from the sentry post of the UN soldier is still there on the roof. These were left there on purpose to remind visitors of the history of the building and the area. This is appropriate for a project led by an association whose focus is history education. ‘The Association’s mission is to defend and promote productive dialogue and research on issues regarding history and history teaching, to develop historical thinking and strengthen peace, stability and, democracy and critical thinking.’ The visible presence of the building’s wounds due to past conflict in Cyprus reflects the Association’s view that education towards a peaceful future does not mean whitewashing past conflicts away, but learning from them and learning to live with them.
The conflict that has scarred Cyprus as well as the Home for Cooperation is known as the Cyprus Problem. But views are divided on what the problem is. One of the few things that both sides agree upon is that Cyprus emerged as an independent state, the Republic of Cyprus, in 1960 with a total population of almost 600,000 of which 78% were Greek Cypriots, 18% Turkish Cypriots and 4% smaller minorities of Armenians, Maronites and Latins. The official Greek Cypriot position is that the Cyprus Problem begun in 1974 with the ‘barbaric Turkish invasion’; the official Turkish Cypriot position is that it started in Christmas 1963 with the ‘barbaric attacks’ of Greek Cypriots against Turkish Cypriots. For Greek Cypriots, 20th July is the ‘dark anniversary of the barbaric Turkish invasion in 1974’ when the Problem begun. For Turkish Cypriots, 20th July is the ‘Happy Peace Operation by Motherland Turkey in 1974’ when the Problem finished, and Turkish Cypriots soon moved to the north of the island where they established their own state in 1983. Greek Cypriots (and the rest of the international community except Turkey) does not recognize any such state, arguing that Turkish Cypriots live in an illegal pseudo-state. The current negotiations between Demetris Christofias, the Greek Cypriot leader, and Derviþ Eroðlu, the Turkish Cypriot leader, to reach a solution that will reunify Cyprus as a federal state once again appear to be in a stalemate.
As with any such conflict, history is one of the major victims. Given such deeply divided official historical perspectives, it is not surprising that a solution has not been found. It is also difficult to see how any kind of solution could be sustainable if people in the two sides are socialised through education into such opposed viewpoints. This is not to deny the presence of competing historical narratives within each community; yet, these too are as deeply divided as those between the two communities. The common ground necessary for a meaningful discussion on issues related to history is missing. This is where the AHDR tries to contribute by providing the physical and mental space for such a dialogue to begin, inside this home that is located neither in one nor in the other side.
The Home for Cooperation is now located between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots; between a Muslim and a Christian society; some argue that it also lies between Greeks and Turks, given that Cyprus is such a divisive issue for these two countries; and it currently lies in the EU’s de facto border with the East. The potential is there for this to become a space for an enlarged dialogue reaching beyond Cyprus, an island ideally suited to host this located as it is between Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
But in order to do this, it first has to overcome certain local mistrust. Even though the events and conferences of the AHDR are always oversubscribed; even though it has the best record of cooperation in Cyprus with the Council of Europe on issues of history education; it has won awards like the Cyprus Civil Society Special Award for exceptional contribution to island-wide cooperation in 2010; and it has been successful in being awarded large grants not only from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, but also Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and UN organisations like UNDP-ACT, it is also sometimes treated with suspicion, by the authorities and certain groups in both sides as attempting to ‘distort history’.
These are the local challenges to be overcome. The presence of the two secret policemen at the party last year was an indication of this mistrust. That these were supposed to be ‘secret policemen’ while almost everyone knew what they were reflects the local culture of ‘open secrets’ that also affects history; most know of past atrocities committed by their own side, yet would publicly deny they ever happened. By the end of the party the two ‘secret’ policemen were no longer alone. They were eating, drinking and socialising with the others. This could be an indication of an emerging trust towards the activities of NGOs like the AHDR that the Home for Cooperation will provide the space for. | [] |
Take the 2-minute tour ×
I don't understand why the array t1 is empty. As I know, memcpy shouldn't care about the underlying types of the objects. What do you think? %)
cout << sizeof(float) << sizeof(int) << endl;
float *t1= (float *)malloc(20*sizeof(float));
int *t2= (int *)malloc(20*sizeof(int));
printf("%f\t", (float)t1[i]);
I know what type casting means. Ok I did a little mistakes. It was carelessness!
P.S. It was sample for understanding how memcpy works!!
share|improve this question
You've tagged this as "C", yet you're using cout? – Damien_The_Unbeliever Aug 24 '12 at 8:04
sorry, it is mix code )) – Myosotis Aug 24 '12 at 8:05
What do you mean by "empty"? – Kerrek SB Aug 24 '12 at 8:05
The final (float) cast is completely pointless: variable function arguments are default-promoted. (And t1[i] is already of type float!) Are you copy/pasting bits of code from somewhere else? – Kerrek SB Aug 24 '12 at 8:06
there is zero in every cell – Myosotis Aug 24 '12 at 8:06
show 5 more comments
6 Answers
up vote 3 down vote accepted
Your array is not "empty", despite your protestations. It just holds a very, very small value: Your machine uses the IEEE754 standard for representing floating points. In that standard, the word with all zeros represents the value 0.0. The next bigger word (i.e. the one obtained by adding 1 to the underlying bits) represents the next biggest floating point value, which is an extremely tiny, denormal value. When you printf this value to standard precision (6 decimal places?), it's just rounded to zero.
Here's a tangentially related answer of mine on a similar question.
share|improve this answer
I see that you are right. I can see these small values with cout << t1[i]; – Myosotis Aug 24 '12 at 8:33
Totally nitpicky point: the latest revision of IEEE 754 (2008) changed "denormal" to "subnormal". – Pete Becker Aug 24 '12 at 12:13
@PeteBecker: Haha, interesting :-) – Kerrek SB Aug 24 '12 at 12:14
add comment
The function memcpy copies bits, verbatim. So you're copying bits from an integer array to a float array: there's very little chance the contents will match the floating point representation. So you get an array filled with stuff that makes little sense to your floating point format.
In a nutshell, at the lowest level, 1 and 1.0f look wildly different.
The cast (float)t1[i]) doesn't really do anything since t1[i] is already float.
share|improve this answer
What should he use instead? – Default Aug 24 '12 at 8:09
Ok. So memcpy is useful function – Myosotis Aug 24 '12 at 8:09
@Default, std::vector<float>, std::vector<int>, std::copy()... – Nim Aug 24 '12 at 8:09
@Leila if it was useless, I don't think it would exist. – Default Aug 24 '12 at 8:10
@Leila It's not useless, it's made for other uses :-) – cnicutar Aug 24 '12 at 8:10
show 4 more comments
You are forcing the integer values 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 .. 20 into floats. Floats and ints use different underlying representations, and offhand, I think those values are just very very small and will print as 0 unless you change the format to include a lot of precision.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Bit arrangement is different in an int and a float.Even if things get copied well you wont be able to understand it.
Change to
printf("%d\t", (int)t1[i]);
and you will see things copied.
share|improve this answer
But I see only zeros – Myosotis Aug 24 '12 at 8:30
add comment
memcpy copies memory as bytes and doesn't care what underlying types have been stored at the memory location. Integers in memory are stored in a different format than floats so what basically ends up in t1 could be but must not necessarily be valid floating point values.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Since you are using C++ you can use the C++ features instead, like std::vector
#include <vector>
#include <iostream>
#include <algorithm>
using namespace std;
int main(){
std::vector<float> floatVector;
std::vector<int> intVector;
std::copy(intVector.begin(), intVector.end(), floatVector.begin());
cout << "element[" << i << "]: " << floatVector[i] << std::endl;
share|improve this answer
It is good. But I use Memory_alloc from c6accel library (sharing memory with DSP). I can't represent this data with vector object. – Myosotis Aug 24 '12 at 8:35
add comment
Your Answer
| [] |
Take the 2-minute tour ×
I'm currently working on replacing a legacy system with JAXB and I'm running into problem with parsing the XML. The number one requirement of the system is that it must be a drop-in replacement so I cannot modify the format of the XML. Below is the XML section that is giving me trouble.
The issue with the XML is that all of the s# objects are the exact same and there can be up to 256 of them. Is there a way in JAXB to annotate such a tag or do I have to create 256 separate annotations? Any help would be most appreciated.
Here is the java code for the xx object. Note: the object was originally programmed with the understanding that there would only be 2 s# objects, but that since has changed.
public class XMLXx implements Serializable {
private static final long serialVersionUID = 4064597372833234503L;
private XMLSite siteOne;
private XMLSite siteTwo;
public XMLSite getSiteOne() {
return siteOne;
public void setSiteOne(XMLSite s1) {
this.siteOne = s1;
public XMLSite getSiteTwo() {
return siteTwo;
public void setSiteTwo(XMLSite s2) {
this.siteTwo = s2;
And here is the XMLSite object:
public class XMLSite implements Serializable {
private static final long serialVersionUID = -4374405403222014476L;
private Integer x;
private Integer y;
public Integer getX() {
return x;
public void setX(Integer x) {
this.x = x;
public Integer getY() {
return y;
public void setY(Integer y) {
this.y = y;
share|improve this question
256 of what? Please be specific. – skaffman Jul 7 '11 at 19:56
of the <s#> tags. So there could be <s3> <s4> <s5> etc each with the <X> and <Y> tags as children – Chris Flynn Jul 7 '11 at 19:57
What does your target object model look like? I lead a JAXB impl and might know a couple tricks that could help. – Blaise Doughan Jul 7 '11 at 20:28
I'm not entirely sure of what you are asking for Blaise (I am very new to using JAXB and am a junior developer). Do you want to see the Java object I am trying to parse the XML into? – Chris Flynn Jul 7 '11 at 20:42
Yes, that is exactly what I'm asking for. – Blaise Doughan Jul 7 '11 at 20:44
show 2 more comments
4 Answers
up vote 5 down vote accepted
If you want to handle at the s# items as a collection:
import java.io.Serializable;
import java.util.List;
import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlElement;
import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlRootElement;
public class XMLXx implements Serializable {
private static final long serialVersionUID = 4064597372833234503L;
private List<XMLSite> sites;
public List<XMLSite> getSites() {
return sites;
public void setSites(List<XMLSite> sites) {
this.sites = sites;
Then you could do something like to fool JAXB into thinking all the elements (s1, s2, etc) are actually called s:
import java.io.FileInputStream;
import javax.xml.bind.JAXBContext;
import javax.xml.bind.Unmarshaller;
import javax.xml.stream.XMLInputFactory;
import javax.xml.stream.XMLStreamReader;
import javax.xml.stream.util.StreamReaderDelegate;
public class Demo {
JAXBContext jc = JAXBContext.newInstance(XMLXx.class);
XMLInputFactory xif = XMLInputFactory.newInstance();
XMLStreamReader xsr = xif.createXMLStreamReader(new FileInputStream("input.xml"));
xsr = new SiteStreamReaderDelegate(xsr);
Unmarshaller unmarshaller = jc.createUnmarshaller();
XMLXx object = (XMLXx) unmarshaller.unmarshal(xsr);
private static class SiteStreamReaderDelegate extends StreamReaderDelegate {
public SiteStreamReaderDelegate(XMLStreamReader xsr) {
public String getLocalName() {
String localName = super.getLocalName();
if(localName.startsWith("s")) {
return "s";
return localName;
For a similar example see:
share|improve this answer
Thank you so much this is exactly what I needed. – Chris Flynn Jul 7 '11 at 21:21
add comment
Write a meta-XSD in freemarker/velocity or the like. It can define the 256 types as subtypes of some parent type using a for loop. If you want to fully automate, you can write a maven plugin to generate the XSD from the freemarker and the run generate-sources on the result.
share|improve this answer
add comment
No, I don't think so, not with standard JAXB. You could, in principle use @XmlMixed, but you'd still end up with a bunch of DOM Element objects, not bound classes. Some proprietary JAXB extension such as MOXy might be able to handle it, though.
This isn't really a good use case for JAXB. As you say, the XML is poorly designed. You'd be better off parsing this by hand (using e.g. STAX or DOM), and building the desired object model yourself.
share|improve this answer
Thank for the information, I'll have to look into parsing it by hand. – Chris Flynn Jul 7 '11 at 20:10
add comment
JaxB does not support "dynamic" tags. Since can only be 256 of these, use a script to generate source.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| [] |
Burmese Activist Charged After Visit By "Wretched American"
Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was charged today with violating the terms of her house arrest after an American man snuck into her house uninvited.
Suu Kyi is the daughter of Aung San, a revolutionary who helped Burma win its independence from Britain ("Burma" is the name used by opposition groups to refer to the country now officially known as Myanmar). She has spent 13 of the last 19 years in some form of custody, due to her pro-democracy activism and helped found the National League for Democracy, which won in a landslide in Burma's 1990 general election (the ruling military junta nullified the results). Suu Kyi, who was voted Prime Minister, was already under house arrest at the time, for giving speeches and campaigning for democracy after a ban on political gatherings. Her continued nonviolent campaigning won her the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.
The latest change in Suu Kyi's status comes as a result of the American John William Yettaw, who reportedly swam across a lake, snuck into Suu Kyi's home, and stayed there for two days. He had tried to visit her once before, in 2008; both times, she told him to leave, but this time he refused. Yettaw's stepson says he "is harmless and not politically motivated in any way." No one knows what does motivate him, but Suu Kyi's lawyer Kyi Win doesn't much care. "Everyone is very angry with this wretched American. He is the cause of all these problems," he said. "He's a fool."
Burma's junta, which took power in 1988 after a bloody uprising, says that by allowing Yettaw's visit Suu Kyi violated Article 22 of the Law Safeguarding the State from the Danger of Subversionists (aka Scary Totalitarian Rule No. 1). The National League for Democracy, however, says she has violated no law. Many speculate that Yettaw's intrusion is merely an excuse for the junta to extend this particular round of detention for Suu Kyi, which began in 2003. Sein Win, Prime Minister of Burma's opposition government-in-exile, said, "It is nothing more than a political ploy to hoodwink the international community so that it can keep (Suu Kyi) under lock and key while the military maneuvers its way to election victory on 2010."
Aung San Suu Kyi To Be Put On Trial [Guardian]
3RD: Myanmar's Suu Kyi Charged Over Detained American's Visit [Breitbart]
Suu Kyi To Stand Trial Again Over US Visitor [Independent]
Suu Kyi Charged With Violating House Arrest [Independent] | [] |
Take the 2-minute tour ×
I am using the Microsoft.Office.Interop.Word library to automatically fill text into a Word template form (.dotx).
When i am filling the form with text i use MS Word bookmarks like this:
object oBookMark = "Bookmark-To-Find";
doc.FormFields.get_Item(ref oBookMark).Result = Value-To-Insert;
The reference is there so i don't need to fill out same information 100 times in the same document.
The MS Word Reference needs to be manually updated when the document is created. Is there anyway to fix this?
Questions: Can i update all references with c# code? Is there any better way to make this?
share|improve this question
Well i dont have any code for the cross reference, the question was: Is there any way to update references when document is created. – Stefan Karlsson Jan 13 '13 at 11:57
add comment
1 Answer
You need to update all fields in the document:
You can also update particular fields only by calling the Update() method of the respective fields within the doc.Fields collection.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| [] |
Health knowledge made personal
Join this community!
› Share page:
My daughter has asked my why she gets tears in her eyes when she pees sometimes.
Posted by Shar D. Facebook
We tried looking this up together but cant find an answer. Loads of others on forums asking the same Q. There is no pain associated.
Post an answer
Write a comment: | [] |
1. #1
Weird Display name when Linking accounts
MMO-Champs, I request your aid.
When I linked my GW1 account to my GW2 account, my display name changed to a lot of digits!
I don't know what it means, but I'm not comfortable linking it here, cause I don't know what it is. (Maybe it's a serial key, but it's so long... I don't know)
Has it happened to others? What did you do?
Can I do anything about it?
Should I contact GW2 support?
2. #2
Those numbers are always attached to your account. If you look into the main page of your account page, it says in big red bold "What's up with the four digits at the end of the display name?" Hover over/click it, and it will tell you.
If you mean your entire screen name such as: RandomGuy24.1234 was changed to 1234567890.1234, than I do not know.
It might be an unexpected error after ANet tried to fix the problem from before and should just call their support line if no one else knows what it is about.
Last edited by Allanon the Mystic; 2012-08-24 at 08:45 AM.
- Guild Wars 2 Characters -
Senari of the Woad | Riven Lightsbane | Cain the Mystic
3. #3
It's just to ensure that your ID is unique, as multiple people can have the same account names, but the numbers will always be different to distinguish it from other accounts.
IIRC :Your in-game friends should just see the username you originally chose, whether this is true on launch or afterwards I cannot remember.
You don't need to do anything about it, you will never need to remember that string of numbers after your name, just email and password.
4. #4
Okay, I will write an example of the digits, since it's not the four security ones;
This is an example of how long it is, and that it contains both letters and numbers. Reminds me of a serial key.
5. #5
Is it in place of your username?
Because the majority of people have something like:
Thunderbeard-1234 or similar.
If it's totally replaced it, then I'd send them a little email.
6. #6
Yes, I had a "Name.1234" too, before linking the accounts.
7. #7
I'd get in touch with them then.
Posting Permissions
• You may not post new threads
• You may not post replies
• You may not post attachments
• You may not edit your posts | [] |
Meta Battle Subway PokeBase - Pokemon Q&A
Is it possible to make any use of a Shedinja?
0 votes
Shedinja, it has an awesome ability.
Moveset could be better.
But what I want to know is: Can you make anything out of a Shedinja?
Any strategies?
Any good movesets?
Anything at all?
asked Nov 25, 2012 by Artist KS
1 Answer
0 votes
Lets see what smogan says:
Shedinja is at once the most blessed and the most cursed Pokemon to
ever exist, thanks to its access to the best ability in the game,
Wonder Guard. Despite being blessed with immunities to any type that
cannot hit Shedinja super effectively, it is cursed with wielding only
a single hit point, and it is around this hit point that any strategy
regarding Shedinja revolves. For Shedinja to even hit the playing
field, extreme team support is needed, as any form of passive damage
will immediately KO it. Furthermore, Shedinja's stats are
exceptionally mediocre, its meager Attack stat is the only stat that
crosses base 50. Fortunately, it does have Shadow Sneak to alleviate
its speed. That said, Shedinja carries weaknesses to only Dark-,
Ghost-, Rock-, Fire-, and Flying-type attacks, and is thus able to
wall many of the metagame's deadly attackers, including dangerous
threats such as Gorebyss. Additionally, Shedinja carries a nice
immunity to every priority attack bar Shadow Sneak and the predictable
Sucker Punch, which ensures that it can't be picked off at will.
Although Shedinja is devilishly difficult to use successfully, and
nigh impossible to bring in safely, when played to its strengths it
can be an unstoppable force, slicing through helpless opposition.
Good moveset:
Item:Lum berry
EVS:252 hp/252 atk/4 spe
Adament nature
~ Swords Dance
~ X-Scissor
~ Shadow Sneak / Sucker Punch
~ Protect / Will-O-Wisp
With great immunities set you can viably use. Shedinja
makes the most out of the little it has available to it, with Swords
Dance giving Shedinja a way of actually threatening the opponent.
X-Scissor is the requisite STAB option, and hits a large number of
Pokemon for neutral damage. Shadow Sneak is one of the key factors
that make Shedinja viable, the STAB priority being crucial in
outspeeding opposing Pokemon that can hit Shedinja super effectively.
Sucker Punch is also a viable option due to its higher base power, but
it also suffers from failing against any non-damaging attack—quite
costly given that many status moves OHKO Shedinja. Protect is another
crucial move, allowing Shedinja to scout an opponent's moveset for
surprise Toxics that would kill it, as well as random Hidden Powers
from the opponent. Will-O-Wisp is also usable to support the team, but
Shedinja will rarely find an occasion to use it to great effect.
answered Nov 25, 2012 by Exca le roi
lol why would you ev train it on HP | [] |
I tried Ektar 120 recently when I bought a Bronica and the 1st roll was dreadful. I processed it for the normal time at the normal temperature but it looked to way over developed with hellish contrast. There was as you describe very blue shadow areas - not dense shadows that could not be dialed out using filtration, because then it became overall yellow.
I think it was a problem of some degree of over development, despite processing it as per normal which gave rise to 'crossed curves' (where the three colours develop at different rates, not what they are designed to) What was also of note was the base colour of the film was a darkish brown, not orange as I normally get on other films. The later films were a little better but not perfect in that respect. Even scanning it was little better and the roll will stay with me as a reminder what a failure looks like
The 2nd roll was better when exposed on a dull day and the third roll also exposed on a day with subdued sunlight wasn't bad either. I have yet to make any 'proper' prints but when I do I will scan and upload them. I will not be using Ektar again. | [] |
Date/Time 14 Mar 2014 6:04:08pm
The story was an editorial Simon. Editorials are distinct from journalism - they are essentially comment.
If you don't agree with the Daily Tele's stances and don't follow Rugby League do not buy their newspaper. If enough people agree wiuth you they will either change their stance or go broke. Easy.
Don't kid yourself you want unbiased newspapers Simon. You simply want newspapers that reflect your own biases. Nothing wrong with that, it is part of the human condition. Just be aware of it. And try not to be afraid of other people holding alternative points of view and publishing them.
| [] |
Humanity is rebuilding and discovering the technolgy behind the Tekno- Powers. D-boy and Aki are getting married, on their wedding Shinya meets a girl and he gets married too.
Than the Prague rebelion starts and Blade, Aki and Shinya are going to Prague to stop the other Tekkaman. Shinya's wife follows him, and she gets killed by the bomb. Shinya, bitterd by the loss of his loved one, leaves Aki and D-boy and goes to a monestry to train. Before he goes, Shiya warns D-boy and Aki that they need to train and let their feelings for each other not getting in the way of their combat skills.
D-boy says that there is no need to train, a new generation of tekkaman is on the way and they will continue the job that he started. Shinya says that D-boy is the only one on earth that is powerful enough to permantly destroy the radam. Shinya starts to fight with D-boy but neither of them can win. And Shinya finally leaves to Tibet.
After Shinya leaves, Aki takes over command of the Space-Knights.
The three new tekkaman come (Yumi, Natasja, David) and they fight of the first wave of Radam. Then Dead comes he defeats Blade, after this battle, D- boy lies in coma, in this state he is talking to Shinya who is telling D- boy that he is becomming weak. D-boy asks Shinya why he didn't come to help him and Shinya answers that he will not interfere with D-boy becomming weak. But Shinya doesn't tell D-boy that he was the one who brought Dead to the Tekkaplant.
After his battle with Blade, Dead returns to his mentor Shinya to tell him that Blade has become weak indeed. When he walks into the streets, Dead meets David and they begin to talk, and they become friends.
Shinya hopes that D-boy will start training because D-boy is the only one who is strong enough to defeat the Radam. D-boy puts to much trust in the new generation, he must realize that he is the only one who can permantly defeat the radam. That is why he lets Dead attack Blade, because it will be the only way to let D-boy realize it.
then comes the normal story of TB II and we continue when Blade has defeated Dead
Dead tells Blade then about his teacher and at that moment, Shinya arrives and so both Shinya and Dead explain to Blade what there whole idea was. Blade understands his brothers motives and forgives him. At that moment, everybody is being warned that the military has dropped the bomb and Blade goes up to the sky to destroy it. He quickly rescues Aki and then uses his voltekka to take care of the bomb.
Earth is safe (for now)
Back on earth, the Space Knights sensor picks up a strange signal and Aki and D-boy investigate it. They find a hidden radam ship that remained on earth after Omega was defeated. They enter the ship and it reads their tekkaman energy and flies off to a planet the Radam want to conquer. Aki and Blade don't help the Radam, but they'll help to defend the planet. As it turns out, another alien species arrive to destroy the Radam, but they are suprised that the Radam are defeated. When they see Aki and Blade, the aliens try to kill them. After a battle, the aliens realise that Aki and Blade aren't possed by the Radam, and ask them why it is that they use Tekno-Power when they aren't possed by the Radam. Aki and Blade explain everything, and then they ask the aliens why they use Tekno-Teknology if they aren't Radam.
Meanwhile on earth, Shinya is gaining more power now he's commander of the Space-Knights, he convinces the military to give their power to him so he can create a powerfull fleet to attack the Radam before they can attack earth again. After a few attacks, that almost fully destroyed earth's fleet, and Shinya and the other Space-Kinghts came to the rescue, they give Shinya full militairy power. Shinya builds a huge fleet to defend earth.
Back on the alien ship where Aki and Blade are, the aliens tell their story.
The aliens say that there home planet has been also attacked by the Radam and was completely conquered. There was a small group of persons who was still able to escape.
From that point on, the small group of aliens has decided to attack the radam wherever they can.
During their journeys, they have found the home planet of the radam but they don't even have enough men to take back their home planet, let alone attack the radams home planet. They hope that they will receive some help from from Aki and Blade.
Aki and Blade agree and ask that 1 of their leaders would acompany them to there home planet to start building a battle plan.
The aliens don't have full faith in our friends and they say that they will only go with them if everybody may come along.
After a quick contact with earth through one of the alien ships communicator, everybody goes to earth where Shinya is trying to assemble a space fleet wich is hard because the military isn't as cooperative as he would like but he also has to face random radam attacks who are aware of his plans and who attack Spaceship building facilities.
But when Blade and Aki arrive, they quickly disable the radam fleet because they didn't anticipated this attack from the rear.
Back on earth, The aliens, D-boy and Aki start building on a war plan while shinya is trying to assemble a fleet but there remains only 1 great problem. They know that when they attack the radam, radam will call back all of his troops throughout the galaxy but nobody knows how much troops this will be.
Since nobody knows how much troops the radam have, they prepare themselves for the worst.
Shinya finally compleats his fleet and they all depart to face the Radam.
Natasha, David and Yumi stay behind for the time being because the radam may attack the earth while the others are on their way to the radam's homeplanet. But they were instructed to go help the others as soon as the offence began. They will need as much help as they can get.
After a journey of a few days, the fleet approaches the radams home planet and after a quick analyses of the enemy's strength the battle commences.
They fleet first launches his 4 soltekkaman squads and each soltekkaman squad has a tekkaman with it for protection against enemy tekkaman.
A fifth group of fighters is also made and this group consist of the aliens Blade and Aki encountered.
They soltekkaman make munch of all the enemy spidercrabs and the enemy tekkaman aren't as strong as the earths tekkaman so everything is going fine. And david, Natasha and Yumi aer on there way so things are look ing great for our heroes.
After a few days, almost half of the planet has been conquered but then, all of the radam warriors that conquered other planets are starting to arrive and that slows down the operation, there major advantage is that they way outnumber the Earths forces.
But that is just the beginning of all their trouble, a group of enemy tekkaman has arrived and they are far more stronger than every other tekkaman they had faced.
Their strength and speed are truly amazing and they quickly destroy an entire soltekkaman corps and our teknkoman are having serious trouble to stand their ground.
Shinya and Blade go to their blastor form and that equals the fight for them but Aki and Dead are getting their buts kicked by the other tekkaman.
Dead and Aki are lying heavily beaten on the ground and the enemy tekkaman are making there final attack to finish them off while suddenly they are being hit with a voltekka. Dead and Aki wonder from where that voltekka came because both Shinya as Blade are having enought trouble of their own with the other tekkaman and then they see David, Natasha and Yumi.
Aki and Dead thank them and then they fall unconscious on the ground.
What the Space Knights don't know is that the radam have send a group of their army has been ordered to attack the earth because there are no tekkaman to defend it.
Back on the main mothership, they bring Dead and Aki badly wounded in the infirmerie. Their condition is bad but the radam has taken some severly hits and it may take some time before they are reorganized.
The operation is succesful but both Aki as Dead have severe injuries and the doctors can't garanty that they will survive. The next 2 days will be decicive for their recovery.
D-boy remains next to Aki's bed with always holding a hand of Aki in his hands because this is the first time that she is so severely wounded and he feels so helpless. It makes him made and he is determined to kill the tekkaman who has done this to her.
The same feeling goes for David because his friend is hurt and all of the Space Knights are mad at the radam.
Yumi sees how D-boy remains besides Aki's bed day and night and starts to realize that she will never be able to have D-boy's his love, because all of his love is for Aki, she is the only thing that he lives for. Because she realizes this, she starts crying and quickly goes to her room becauses she doen't want that anybody sees her tears
On that moment the EDF contacts the Space Knights to let them now that they are under attack. They must take a decision quickly, call off their counter- offensive and defend the earth or remain on their current position.
D-boy enters the room after he heard the news and says he'll go. He is powerfull enough to take the radam on and with Aki in sickbay more motivated then ever. Shinya says however that he'll go, he thinks it is better that D-boy stayed close to Aki and his anger and power would be of better use here than on earth. D-boy agrees and everything is set.
The others must remain their and defend their position.
Shinya transforms and blasts away heading for earth. On that moment, the alien tekkaman (who appear to be in blastor mode because theyre body must be suited for it) commence a counterattack.
Blade goes blastor and rushes into battlefilled with rage and hatred for the radam and David and Natasha who team up and Yumi uses her Reactor Voltekka to keep the enemy tekkaman away from the fleet and especially away from dead and Aki.
Blade flies, full of anger of what they did to Aki, towards the enemy tekkaman and starts bashing in on them, he is so concentrated and focused that he has no trouble at all defeating the enemy. But he doesn't realize that he is being lured away from the others and that they are on their own. David and Natasha are having a hard time and they need to retreat behind the defense barrier that Yumi put up with her reactor voltekka.
The enemy tekkaman are now attacking the space fleet and one has succeeded in breaking through the defensive barrier and is headed for the ship that has Aki and Dead.
Blade sences that there is an alien tekkaman near Aki and rushes back towards the ship. The alien tekkaman sees Aki lying in sickbay and prepares himself for the kill, in a nick of time, Blade rushes in to stop him and kick him throw every wall in the ship right out of the ship. Blade recognizes know the tekkaman and sees it is the one who badly hurt Aki and says to him that he will pay for what he has done to Aki.
The battle commmences and both fighters are very good. It seems that this tekkaman is the leader of the elite group of the radam tekkaman.
Blade starts getting the upperhand and the other enemy tekkaman are going to interven in the battle but Yumi lets aims a few voltekkas at them so that they can't intervine.
In the mean time, Blade has defeated their leader and prepares himself to give him the final blow. He attacks him and stabs him right through his heart.
The other enemy tekkaman are amazed by this happening and they retreat, but Blade fieres his voltekka towards them and they are all defeated.
Back on the ship, the doctors say that Aki and Dead have regained consciousness and are out of the critical fase and will be fine. And there is more good news: Shinya has single-handedly defeated the radam fleet that was going to attack the earth.
At that moment, Natasha and David take the decision to return to earth because they are not powerful enough to help in the offensive against the radam and they will remain on earth till the radam are more weakened and till it is sure that the radam are no more threat to the earth
Everyone is happy now because Aki and Dead will be able to fight again in a couple of days. The threat of the earth being attacked is gone and the elite group of tekkaman of the radam has been wiped out so everyone is happy. They all think that the war will soon be over but only D-boy and Aki have doubts about this.
And they are right, the radam have gathered all of their troops and they are surrounding the Space Knight fleet. All of the planets that the Space Knight fleet has past was conquered by the Radam but they remained hidden so that they wouldn't appear on there radar.
But all of a sudden, all the radam come out of their hiding places and a code red is given on the all the ships. They are completely surrounded with the enemy and worst of all, a second fleet has been send towards earth.
Every soltekkaman and Tekkaman except Aki and Dead is being sent out trying to destroy the enemy. The Saliva's (name of the alien race that supports the Sp.Kn.) will fight in the front of the fleet, the soltekkaman will defend the rear and Blade will have to defend the middle of the fleet while Yumi uses her reactor voltekka to create a wall of voltekkas around the fleet.
The battle isn't going as good as expected because both the Saliva's and the soltekkaman are having trouble to stand their ground and Blade isn't able to be on 2 places at the same time.
Aki and Dead both see this devolpment and want to help but they both stil have to much pain to move around, let alone transform and fight, there is even more bad news because Shinya reports that he is behind the enemy fleet but he can't break through because there are simply to many Radam for him to handle. Aki can no longer see the situation evolve in their worst nightmare and transforms trying to break free through the Radam ring around the fleet to get to Shinya because he is for now the only person that can help Blade, she is still in no condition to fight but she hopes that she can hold on long enough to help Shinya.
Dead does the same thing but he hasn't recovered enough of his injuries and is soon a toy for the Radam.
Thanks to Blade, he is transported back to the ship and there Blade ask where Aki went and Dead tells him what she did.
Blade tries to come in contact with Shinya but the radam mess with the signal so there is no communication possible.
At least, that is what the radam think, via mental communication, Blade talks to Aki and says to her that she must stop endangering her life.
Aki lets Blade know that he has more pressing matters and that she will be fine, she has almost reached her goal. And so it is, But just as she reached Shinya, she is so exhausted that she falls unconscious. Shinya quickly tells Pegas that he needs to reverse the teknotransformation and that he should stay close to him. Pegas obeys and Blade has felt that there was something wrong with Aki rushes away from the battle scene towards Aki leaving a breach in dthe defence of the fleet.
He quickly reaches Shinya and Aki and the 3 of them are heading towards the fleet with has got some severe loses because Blade abandonded his position, approx. 3 large ships were destroyed, Shinya says that he will take over Blades defensive role and that he should take care of Aki.
Back on earth, the situation isn't good either, Natasha and David are heaving trouble to keep away the Radam, there seems to come no end to those radam.
But Honda is now the leader of the Space Knights on earth and he has come up with a brilliant plan to take away the radam threat (for now).
His plan is to het all of radams ships as close to each other as possible and then to drop an atom bomb on the ship and he hopes that by doing that, their will be a gigantic explosion of the ships and destroys all of the radam.
Everyone knows it is a risky operation but they know it is there only chance because they heard that the situation for the others isn't good either.
The operation commences and David and Natasha fly around in circles around the enemy ships so that they come closer to one another, but the problem is now that the bomb needs to be dropped on an exact location and that it may not be set off a moment to soon or too late.
Therefore, David says to Goliate that he needs to drop the bomb and that he will fly just in front of it to keep the enemy away and Natasha needs to get the attention of as much radam as possible.
The plan commences and everything goes perfectly, but only the automatic destructionsystem of the bomb is malfunctioning so it needs to be destroyed on the right moment by a voltekka or by a teknolance.
David is prepared to sacrifice himself and when the bomb is in the right position, he puts his teknolance through the bomb and it explodes taking with it all the radam ships and every other radam.
The only question now is: Will have David survived the explosion?
At first sight, there seems to be no sign of him but after a while, she seems him floating into space, he is ok and they fly back to the earth:
Mission accomplished.
Back with D-boy
D-boy has serious trouble, because Aki transformed and fought some time, her old wounds were ripped open again and she is very weakend because she lost a lot of blood, her condition was never worse than now and because Blade deserted his position to save Aki, the Saliva's and Military command are having doubts about the fact whether or not D-boy is able to succesfully round up this operation.
For military command, he must be replaced and the Saliva are having doubts if there weren't too overconfidentin trusting this man
The Saliva and military command request that D-boye should come to the meeting room. He doesn't feel like leaving Aki alone but he goes anyway because he knows that this meeting will decide the faith of this entire operation.
He enters the room and before him are 2 people sitting in a chair. 1 is the supreme leader of the Saliva and 1 is the leader of the military command.
The leader of the military command says that D-boy should give up his command of this operation to someone of the military who is more capable while the Salive chief says that his people are seriously thinking of withdrawing them of this war.
D-boy has anticipated these decisions and says that he will not give up his command and he also doesn't wan't that the Saliva will retreat them.
D-boy says that it is true that he has abondend his position and that there were a few ships lost. But he also would like to point out that if he didn't left his position, Aki and Shinya would probably be dead by now.
The military leader says that that are just 2 lives that are expendable and that it is no excuse for abondaning his position.
D-boy has to hold his temper because that imbecile considers his twin and his wife as "expendable". He says that Shinya and Aki are both tekkaman and are more valuable for the war than a few ships, because tekkaman can take out enemy troops, that is something that a few transporter ships can't.
The military leader can't go around this fact and has nothing to say anymore, the attempt of the military to command tha tekkaman has failed.
But that still leaves the problem of the Saliva, their leader says that by abondaning his position he has given the signal that his fellow humans are more important to him that elimaniting the radam. The Saliva troops are no longer willing to fight for a person who isn't completely determend to destroy the enemy.
D-boy replys to this with the fact that he has never been more determind than now because he wants to get the radam back for what they did.
He also points out that the retrait of the Saliva would be useless because the Radam know who attacked them and they will surely want revenge and that will ersult in the extermination of the Saliva. They have started something together, they need to finish it together.
After this short speech, the Saliva leader gives D-boy his word that he will not abandon the coalition and that D-boy will remain to have the full trust of the Saliva.
After all the those problems have been out of the way, D-boy can focus on trying to break out of the radam circle around his fleet.
He starts working on a plan that will take care of the enemy threat and he comes up with the following plan: Shinya will defend the righter middle of the fleet, Blade the left middle, the soltekkaman the rear and the Saliva the front ofthe fleet. Yumi will remain within the fleet and will use her reacto voltekka to take care of the enemy, but to blow significant damage to the enemy, she must use a immense amount of voltekka beams. Therefor, she must concentrate and try to reproduce as many voltekkabeams as possible. D-boy calculates that after 1 hour, she will have enough voltekka to take out one quarter of the radam.
Till that time, everyone must protect Yumi and must protect the fleet.
The battle will be much tougher because Yumi won't have the time nor the concentration to build a defence ring round the fleet.
After everyone is briefed, the plan starts to commence.
But there are a lot of troubles, without the defence ring of Yumi, the Salivas and the soltekkaman aer having more trouble to stand their ground and Blade and Shinya are very busy of their own, Blade just hopes that Yumi can have enough concentration to hold on for an hour and hopes that the Salivas and the soltekkaman can do the same.
They have been fighting for an half hour by now and Blade sees that The Saliva and the soltekkaman are doing very bad so he tells Yumi to start with the attack, in an half hour, there wouldn't be a fleet left to defend.
She commences with the attack but she has trouble staying focused because there are just so many voltekkas and enemys on wich she needs to focus.
Blade notices this and says that she needs to focus on the part that Shinya defends and that Shinya needs to go to the soltekkaman.
Yumi's attack is doing fine but she can't hold on much longer so Blade says that Shinya and he need to fire their voltekka when they are both in blastor, they both do that and the enemy is a bit disorganized now that their is an entire flank ripped open. This gives Blade the oppurtunity to bring Yumi back to the ship where she can rest because the immense concentration has made her faint.
Blade returns quickly and starts attacking the Radam and he orders everyone else to do the same because they are disorganized for the moment and now is the time to strike.
With renewed faith everyone attacks and because of the fact that the radam are trying to restore their flank + the fact that they are very heavily attacked, lets them have some serious losses and some some weak points in their attack circle are becoming visible.
After an hour or so, the radam where still unable to get completely reorganized because of the many voltekkas they had to take and the attacks of the Salivas and soltekkaman didn't to them much either.
Yumi arrives back at the battlescene and prepares another reactor voltekka.
After an hour, she is completely ready and fires it now at the radam, because there are less radam than before and because Yumi has already done the same, she can concentrate much better than before and she completely destroys 3 quarters of the remaining radam. Blade, Shinya, the soltekkaman and the Saliva take out another small number and the remaining troops retrait to the radamplanet
Now that the immeadite thread is over, the troops can focus on recommencing their attacks on the radamplanet.
Aki's situation has improved and she must rest now, Dead is completely recovered and is ready for some action. Aki will remain on board and will coordinate the situation from the ship.
By previous scans of the planet, they know that their capital is heavily guarded but D-boy thinks that their must be some sort of mastermind, like when Omega died, all radam plants died too.
Therefore, they will concentrate their attack on their capital because there some to be a huge fortified construction there. The Salivas want to help with the attack on their mastermind so the plan goes as follows:
Blade, Shinya and the Salivas go for the mastermind.
The soltekkaman, Yumi and Dead will be used as a distraction.
The fight commences and the soltekkaman fight against the enemy while Dead destroys the radam their front lines and Yumi uses her reactor voltekka to damage as much radamlines as she can. Damaging those lines is important because it attracts more radam to that battle scene.
The distraction is going on for 10 minutes and Blade, Shinya and the Saliva go to the fortified building in the city and enter it without being spotted.
The resistance is minimal but when they enter the main room of the building, they see a giant blob connected with all kind of wires to the room.
It greets Blade and Shinya and tells them that they have been used.
Blade and Shinya ask what the blob is talking about and the blob starts talking:
Ages agos, that blob was created by a race of people that wanted to have an army of warrior slaves. Therefore, they created that blob and the blob created the radam, the radam plants and everything else we know.
But the blob was tired of being treated as a slave and it started working on a plan to get rid of his master.
He created therefor the radam trees and he captured other civilasations and used them as tekkaman. Before that, he only used the spidercrabs.
He used those tekkaman to attack his masters and get rid of them.
His plan was succesful but a small group got away.
The blobs ex-masters were the Saliva.
Blade and Shinya look bassled at the Saliva and they admit it
The Saliva leader says that everything the blob tells is true and he wants to thank Blade for his kind help to take conquer his planet back for him but he is of no use anymore.
During their stay on earth, the Saliva had the oppurtunity to get to know the earths forces and know their strength and their weakness. After they take back their planet, they will attack earth and their is nothing Blade can do because the Saliva have put armed guards with Aki and she is their prisoner.
The blob says that the Saliva haven't defeated the radam yet and all of a sudden, the last remaining elite fighteres of the radam appear and start attacking the Saliva. The Saliva order Blade and Shinya to defend them ot they will kill Aki. Blade has no other option than to obey and defends the Saliva after first going into his blastor mode, Shinya does the same.
Blade and Shinya know that they can't keep obeing them for eternity so via mental communication, they work out a plan. They both will fire their voltekkas at the enemy in the hope that they fire back, the collision of the voltekkas will cause an explosion and will give them the oppurtunity to escape and go back to their spaceship to free Aki.
They both go into a corner and fire their voltekka, aiming for the blob and as they hoped, the other fire their voltekka to protect their master. A huge explosion follows and the next door rooms are completely destroyed.
In the meantime, Blade and Shinya hurry back to the ship to rescue AKi before the Saliva find out that they are gone.
When the smoke of the explosion clears up, the Saliva notice that they are alone and that they have to face 4 elite tekkaman.
By the time he wants to contact his soldiers that are holding Aki prisoner, he is already dead because the Enemy Tekkaman have immeadetely started their attack.
Back at the ship, Blade and Shinya see the soldiers holding their guns pointed at Aki, they decide to make a little noize so that 1 of them would show up.
A guard shows up and he is quickly been disabled and so is his companion who came to see what was keeping him. Now there are only 2 guards left and Blade and Shinya go for the frontal attack and before the guards know what hit them, they are already been taken out.
After making sure that there are no Saliva's left on the ship, they quickly launch an attack on the Saliva ship in their fleet with their remaining soldiers who were waiting for the command to take over the other ships.
After that was settled they hurry back to the planet and continue their fight with the elite tekkaman.
Things aren't looking to good for the radam because the divirsing has alost broken through the enemy lines and the elite tekkaman group isn't doing as good as in the beginning of the war.
After Yumi, Dead and the soltekkaman have almost completely whipped out the most of the defences of the radam, they hurry ro help Blade and Shinya in the remains of what once was a fortified citadel.
When they reach them, they see that the Saliva have been killed and that only the giant blob remains.
The blob wich only is a giant mastermind, has no defence or attack abilities is an easy pray and all together, they fir their Voltekka at the blob wich is now permantly destroyed, together with the rest of the radam because ther is nobody to order them.
Happily, everyone returns home where they see David and Natasha again.
They are now all happy because the threat of the radam is now permantly gone and D-boy and Aki are going to have a great future together.
A few months after the endeing of the war, Aki happily announces that she is 3 months pregnant. She and D-boy will become parents.
fanfic written by teknomanfan, with the help of gert-jan | [] |
Meet the man who is $6.3 billion in debt [VIDEO]
Jerome Kerviel a former trader at Societe General owes more money than any other person in the world.
Jerome was a junior trader at the bank that can trace its lineage back to 1864 where its authorization decree was signed by Napoleon the Third. He was convicted of creating fictitious trades to hide €50billion ($6.4 billion) in unauthorized trades during late 2007 and early 2008. Societe General closed out the unauthorized positions in January 2008, but in doing so lost over $6 billion. The bank has been pursuing Jerome for those losses through the French courts.
Kerviel’s future is uncertain. He has been convicted in Paris, and a recent appeal has not gone well. The written judgment stated: “Jerome Kerviel was the sole creator, inventor and user of a fraudulent system that caused these damages to Societe Generale,”
As well as facing a three-year jail sentence, Kerviel’s appeal effort to overturn the original 2010 ruling has failed, meaning that he must pay back $6.3 billion in losses to the bank.
Follow Grae on Twitter | [] |
Sorry, its licensed, and not available.
Sorry, its licensed, and not available.
Tips: You're reading Asatte Dance 8, please read Asatte Dance 8 english scan online from right to left. You can use left (,) and right (.) keyboard keys or click on the Asatte Dance 8 image to browse between Asatte Dance 8 pages.
Asatte Dance 8 Chapter Navigation:
Previous Chapter: Asatte Dance 7
Next Chapter: Asatte Dance 9
read asatte dance 8 english, asatte dance 8 raw manga, asatte dance 8 online, asatte dance 8 chap, asatte dance 8 chapter, asatte dance 8 high quality, asatte dance 8 manga scan | [] |
23 November 2009
Cleaner water
Walter Bauer contacted me with an interesting invention/process [pps]:
The Bauer Energy Design® Water Processor improves water quality through many fundamental phenomena: Zeta potential reduction, electrolysis, turbulence and cavitation. Zeta potential controls the growth of particles in water. Reducing Zeta potential allows for growth of particles therefore increasing particle size. This in turn increases filtering and/or settling capability. Lowering Zeta Potential affects the growth of both organic and inorganic particulate matter. The most important effect is that it will stop and reverse scaling.
What all this boils down to (in my non-scientist mind) is a water filter that works better because it makes contaminants bigger. The resulting cleaner water is better for watering livestock, washing contaminated areas, growing plants, etc.*
I suggest that you contact Walter if you want to know more. He has loads of site data and customer testimonials. Here's his blog.
Bottom Line: Water is an amazing molecule, and we are still learning how to "use" it.
* As usual, I am merely passing along these data; I haven't tested anything (and I am not qualified to!)
1. Wow,
They claim their water "cannot be contaminated" and "cannot pass on disease".
Would that it could be that simple...
Remember, (in science)extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.
I didn't see anything novel in any of the pieces of their process (all standard industry tool kit stuff).....its just their claim that their "recipie" can make the water bullet proof, as opposed to filtered, that is incredible.
2. Like JD, I have not found any support for their claim.
Zeta potential is a common concept in colliodal chemistry and in electrophoresis. I would like some proof.
| [] |
Code Red: Lost Ages
This entry is part of the PBM List.
URL: [ dead link ]
Type: science fiction, action, mystery
Last-Update: 2010Dec11
Keywords: free, open-ended, email, www, human, fantasy, space, modern, rpg, abstract
On a world rebuilding itself from a long, bloody war, men and women are taking to the abyss of space and time. With a madman and a betrayed AI on the loose, things are quickly turning grim for the officers of the Vinca Union. In the uncomfortable silence to follow, chaos breeds itself within the very tendrils of time itself, preparing to engulf the world in another war.
Standing between the world and the dark abyss beyond is the VSNS Golden Gryphon (Griffin), a space station that houses thousands of officers working around the clock to protect the planet, Drakor, from annihilation. But they are merely the tip of the iceberg, for inside the deepest depths of the station lies a terrifying device that can alter time... For better or for worse.
Be a part of the Vincan Space Navy and work as a full-time officer aboard the station, or be a captain of your own ship or fleet! If space isn't your cup of tea, join the time travelers who work to explore and prevent disruptions to the fabric of time... Whatever you choose, your fate will be your own.
Site Rating: Peggi 15 (PG-13)
Activity Level: Slow, but paced. Posting will range from a few times each day to three or four times each week.
Roleplay Type: Message Board, On-site Chatroom, Email -- several different ways to roleplay with us!
Open Since: First season Lost Ages began in June 27, 2007. There were a few stops and gos, but second season Lost Ages began approximately September 13, 2009.
Number of Players: 4 full-time currently. 2 part-time.
(Also see for additional information and a simplified method of joining)
Return to the PBM List.
Greg Lindahl | [] |
Westmoreland man gets 21 years in prison for child sex abuse
Share with others:
Print Email Read Later
A Westmoreland County man who last year videotaped himself abusing an 8-year-old girl was sentenced today to 21 years in prison for producing child pornography, and could serve much longer when a state court weighs in.
Timothy Eugene Shearer, 55, of Avonmore, had nothing to say for himself at his sentencing hearing, and his attorney didn't have kind words for him, either.
"He's going to leave this building hanging his head for the terrible thing he's done," said assistant federal public defender Tom Livingston. "Then he's going to go back to state court where he's going to get banged by a judge."
Mr. Livingston said the best he could hope for was that the courts "give him a chance to die with dignity, at home, with some remnant of family."
Shearer faces state charges including rape of a child, statutory sexual assault of someone under the age of 11 and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child. Trial is set for Oct. 7 in Westmoreland County.
Mr. Livingston said he probably faces a 20- to 40-year sentence for those charges.
"Does he have any bargaining leverage? No," said Mr. Livingston. "Why? Because there's a video."
Mr. Livingston persuaded U.S. District Judge Mark Hornak to let 15 years of the federal sentence run concurrently with any state sentence, and six years consecutively. That means that even after Shearer's state sentence is complete, he'll serve another six years in federal prison.
Assistant U.S. attorney Jessica Lieber Smolar prosecuted the case and presented testimony from the victim's aunt. The aunt said the girl has lost weight, is depressed, can't sleep and "seems to be fearful of adult males."
The Post-Gazette does not identify victims of sexual crimes.
breaking - neigh_westmoreland
Create a free PG account.
Already have an account? | [] |
You are here
Blog Posts: ecosystem services
• Governments, businesses, development agencies, and NGOs are increasingly turning to economic valuation as a way to protect coral reefs and mangroves. This process makes the economic case for protection and sustainable use of natural resources by showing the monetary, employment, and infrastructure benefits ecosystems provide—metrics that are easily understood by decision-makers.
But not all economic valuations are created equal. WRI's new guidebook shows how NGOs and other stakeholders can conduct economic valuations in ways that lead to real change on the ground.
• How do people, governments, and corporations “value” ecosystems? And how can you put a price on the vast array of social, economic, and environmental benefits that ecosystems provide?
These are just two of the questions experts sought to address at “The Future of Revaluing Ecosystems,” an event WRI recently convened in Bellagio, Italy, in collaboration with the Rockefeller Foundation, Forum for the Future, and the Economist Intelligence Unit. The meeting brought together 32 participants from public, private, non-profit, and research sectors to consider how society could include in public and private decision-making a more complete valuing of the benefits ecosystems provide to people. The discussions shed light on how we can evaluate ecosystems’ true worth to communities and businesses —and how to use these valuations to foster better environmental stewardship.
• The Wayuu people in northern Colombia depend on shrubland for grazing their livestock. These herds serve as the Wayuus’ main source of income and food, and this is partly why they depend so heavily on the existence and condition of shrubland ecosystems. But livestock are also used to pay dowries or make amends, playing a major role in facilitating social interactions between families and clans. If an oil and gas project adversely affects the shrubland ecosystem, it could impact not only the Wayuus’ income and protein intake, but the social bonds that hold these communities together.
Most planners fail to account for the multiple—and sometimes underappreciated—benefits that people derive from their environment, a concept known as ecosystem services. While new Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) standards require impact practitioners to account for ecosystem services when evaluating a proposed project’s potential impacts, many lack a methodological approach that would enable them to properly integrate social and environmental issues.
Until now, that is. WRI’s new guide, Weaving Ecosystem Services in Impact Assessment: A Step-by-Step Method, aims to highlight the interdependence of development projects, people, and the environment. The guide helps impact practitioners and project developers evaluate the social implications of impacts on ecosystems brought by highways, dams, oil and gas wells, and other such projects. By systematically incorporating a consideration of ecosystem services into environmental and social impact assessments, planners can mitigate negative impacts on ecosystem services while also achieving project objectives.
• Governments, corporations, and development agencies are increasingly interested in putting a dollar value on ecosystems in order to balance conservation and development needs, a concept known as “economic valuation.” For example, St. Maarten’s government recently established the country’s first marine national park after a local organization found that the area’s coastal ecosystems contribute $58 million per year through tourism and fisheries. Belize enacted a host of new fishing regulations based on a WRI valuation, which found that coral reef- and mangrove-associated tourism contributes $150 million-$196 million per year to the country’s economy. And in Bonaire, park managers used economic valuation to justify the Bonaire Marine Park’s establishment of user fees—making it one of the few self-financed marine parks in the Caribbean.
These stories show that economic valuation can indeed lead to better coastal policy, conserving these ecosystems and securing their important economic contributions. However, according to new WRI research, these cases tend to be the exception in the Caribbean.
Economic Valuation and Coastal Policy in the Caribbean
In the Caribbean, there is keen interest in economic valuation of coastal ecosystems to inform policy and improve natural resource management. But while the literature on the value of coral reefs and mangroves in the Caribbean continues to grow, these ecosystems continue to decline.
WRI and the Marine Ecosystem Services Partnership (MESP) took a closer look at the impact of previous economic valuation studies in the Caribbean. Out of more than 200 studies of the economic value of the Caribbean’s marine ecosystem goods and services, we were only able to identify 13 that actually influenced marine and coastal management policies, such as those in Bonaire, St. Maarten, and Belize.
The 4 “Planks” for Corporate Sustainability
Stay Connected | [] |
Blue Valentine
Starz / Anchor Bay // R // $39.99 // May 10, 2011
Review by Jason Bailey | posted May 4, 2011
DVD Talk Collector Series
E - M A I L
this review to a friend
Graphical Version
Derek Cianfrance's Blue Valentine begins at the end of a marriage, and while we're immediately made anxious by this portrait of dysfunction, at the same time a strange calm comes over the viewer. The events on screen are unsentimental; they're played straight-ahead, with a deeply felt (if brutal) naturalism. The performances are unforced, the photography functional. Slowly, we realize that this was a film made by adults, for adults. If only that weren't such a rarity these days.
It is the story of Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams); he is a house painter, she is a nurse, and they have a young daughter, Frankie (Faith Wladyka), who Dean dotes on. But something is clearly missing in the relationship; they snap easily, lose patience constantly, and seem all of out passion. Over the fourth of July weekend, Dean tries to spice things up by having Frankie stay with her grandfather (John Doman) and taking Cindy to a hotel to drink and make love, but that's the kind of forced intimacy that they're long past pulling off.
Meanwhile, in flashbacks, we see how the pair first met, began dating, and fell in love. The structural device is simple, but devastatingly effective; after watching the aged Gosling, a shell with a receding hairline, wander around smoking cigarettes for twenty minutes, we're immediately struck by not only how young he looks, but how vibrant and kind that younger self is. When Dean and Cindy first connect, through a barely-opened door, the spark is palpable--it's so immediate when they meet, and (by comparison) so far gone now.
Cianfrance (and his co-writers Cami Delavigne and Joey Curtis) spent something like a dozen years on the screenplay, yet didn't hesitate to throw it all away for these introductory scenes, allowing the actors to improvise the beginnings of the relationship, capturing Gosling and Williams (who were kept apart before shooting) getting to know each other in character. That sounds like a recipe for undisciplined, self-indulgent filmmaking, but the results are inarguable; look, for example, at the long, lovely scene of the two of them just hanging out, talking and singing and getting to know each other, which is like something out of early Godard.
And that rich, sweet looseness then contrasts sharply with the rigid tightness in the arguments that define their later relationships; when they fight in their car, about an old boyfriend that Cindy has bumped into, the close-ups are so cramped, picking up every misstatement and every escalation, that you feel as trapped as they are. A later conversation, about his "potential," has a prickly candor that feels authentic; Williams is saying so much in that scene, even beyond the mildly aggressive things she's saying out loud. They're even at each other in the scenes where they're not arguing--the passive-aggressive hostility of their overlapping dialogue in the early breakfast scene, the way he barks at her to put on her seat belt, the clunky awkwardness of their sex scene. (It seems revolutionary to see a film where the sex doesn't go so well.)
It seems a glaring omission to say so little about the performances, but in the closely-observed style of the film, they barely feel like performances; Williams and Gosling just seem to have been captured by a present camera, their work is so authentic. The film's construction is nearly flawless; there's something just right about the casual way Cianfrance lets conversations bridge the scenes, lending the picture an easygoing sense of narrative flow, and the cross-cutting gets sharper and more refined at the film's conclusion, culminating in an aching juxtaposition of coming together and falling apart that is absolutely wrecking.
The MPEG-4 AVC transfer is mostly good, though there are some minor flaws. The film was shot on both Super 16mm film (for the scenes of young Dean and Cindy) and with the high-def RED video camera (for the scenes of their older selves). They don't overdo the shift; it's subtle, but certain. In the older scenes, grain is present but not distracting--it contributes to the overall feel, even when particularly heavy in "on the fly" nighttime scenes. The scenes in the present have a naturally colder feel (particularly in the "cheesy sex motel," which has a stark blue lighting scheme), but there's still plenty of warmth in the image, particularly in interior medium shots. However, there are occasional compression artifacts--particularly in the wide opening shots, which look awfully chunky.
For such a quiet, dialogue-heavy film, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is surprisingly robust; surround channels are well-used throughout, immersing us in the woods near their house, the liquor store, the retirement home, and the Brooklyn Bridge (a passing train rattles the speakers). Score cues are also nicely dispersed throughout the soundstage. Dialogue, meanwhile, is consistently clear and audible, even in quieter scenes.
English SDH and Spanish subtitles are also included.
Director Derek Cianfrance and co-editor Jim Helton's Audio Commentary is a touch on the dry side, but is certainly interesting; they exhaustively detail how the project came together, how the different sections were shot, how improvisation was used, how they used real locations whenever possible, and countless other, small details.
Next up are four Deleted Scenes (19:45 total). There's some really great stuff in here (three are extended improvisations between Williams and Gosling)--all of it secondary to the narrative, so the deletions make sense, but they're still well worth checking out. "The Making of Blue Valentine" (13:50) isn't terribly innovative--it's basically a back-and-forth between clips and interviews with Williams, Gosling, and Cianfrance--but it's thorough, as the three collaborators walks through the project from origination to completion. Finally, "Frankie and the Unicorn" (3:04) is a charming faux-home movie with the actors in character, shot during their month-long hiatus between the "young" and "old" sections. One complaint: the film's simple yet perfect theatrical trailer is nowhere to be found.
Make no mistake: Blue Valentine is not an easy film to watch. It is gloomy and upsetting, and deals with some difficult subject matter. But why does every film have to be escapism? Why does a recommendation of a potent, powerful film like this have to wrapped in the language of a visit to the dentist's office? It is not a date film. It is not a "feel-good" film. But it is the closest thing we've had in recent years to the best of John Cassavetes--it has that same relentless drive for emotional truth, no matter how ugly the results might be. It is a cold, hard, unforgiving, brilliant movie.
| [] |
PIX 2015
Please help me not hate my F31fd
Started May 23, 2008 | Discussions thread
Shop cameras & lenses ▾
ForumParentFirstPreviousNextNext unread
Flat view
Junior MemberPosts: 29
Please help me not hate my F31fd
May 23, 2008
Let me start by saying this post is in no way meant to start a flamewar, nor is it meant to shoot down the F31fd. The last time I posted a negative comment here about this camera, I got flamed and was accused of trolling - big time.
Also, please try not to answer with "use the search". I honestly tried but simply don't know what to search for.
Anyway, I understand this camera is probably one of the best, if not the best in its class. Still I hate the thing big time because it has ruined too many photo opportunities. Please allow me to elaborate.
One of the reasons I bought this camera was I wanted something to replace my old trusty Nikon Coolpix 995. The Coolpix is a great camera and the pictures it takes are truly of amazing quality - no graininess whatsoever, vibrant colors and just very, very good. But by today's standards its bulky and not something you carry around all the time. Also, it's less than stellar (read: awful) in low-light conditions.
And since I became a first-time father a few years ago, I wanted a camera I can carry around all the time. My daughter is now 4 years old and she does the darnest things, but that means I don't have time to play with a camera's setting before taking a picture. I just want to point-and-shoot, something my Coolpix was great at.
I did a lot of research and everywhere I read the F30 and later the F31fd got raving reviews and was hailed for its low-light capabilities. So I bought one.
Now, almost 3000 photo's later, I truly hate the thing because it has ruined more "Kodak moments" than I care for. I know this is mostly my own fault. I set the camera to Auto most of the time and expect it to take great pictures just like the Coolpix did. But the camera's preference for high ISO modes (ISO 1600 in broad daylight is more rule than exception for this camera) is one thing that ruined a lot of pictures for me. One of the tips I did pick up from the last time I posted here, was to set it to "ISO 400" mode, where it wouldn't go higher than ISO 400. That helped somewhat , but still it sometimes picks ISO values that, in my eyes, are still too high. I don't understand why the camera picks ISO 200 at a cloudless day in the summer at around 2pm on the water. I mean, it just doesn't get any brighter than that. What does it take for this camera to take pictures at ISO 100 or lower?
And I don't think it's that good at all in low-light conditions. Two days ago, I shot about a hundred pictures on an attic which was "dark-ish". It was a small attic with only a few windows. Darker than an average room, but lighter than, say for instance, a museum. Again, I had set the thing to Auto and most pictures were underexposed. And the weird thing was that it looked like the camera was actually varying the intensity of the flash (I'm not sure if the camera can even do that). Sometimes the flash was very dim, other times it was very bright. This was on a freshly charged battery. So most pictures were underexposed, some were just right (but very grainy) and some were actually overexposed due to the flash.
I also think the contrast is poor, it's nothing compared to the pictures I take with the Coolpix.
But the thing that annoys me the most and has ruined the most pictures is its inability to focus properly. Seriously, my camera has tremendous difficulty focusing. When I take pictures, I always depress the button halfway and wait until it gives me focus confirmation before I press the button all the way down. And still, about 1/4 of the pictures it takes are out of focus. And it doesn't matter if I'm trying to take a picture of something 5 feet away or 50 feet away. Again, this is in Auto mode mostly.
Now I understand that everything else - the high ISO preference, the lack of contrast and the underexposure is probably because I simply don't know how to use this camera. Really, I can't stress that enough that I'm not (really) blaming the camera for that. But the inability to focus? I truly have no idea how I can improve that by any setting. Or can I?
I have read the manual a few times already but I guess it's my lack of knowledge on the subject that make me not understand half of what's in there.
And since I realize this is probably the best compact camera, it wouldn't make much sense of getting another camera. This, as they say, is as good as it gets.
So what are your thoughts? Should I get another camera that's closer to my level of expertise (meaning a much simpler camera)? Or do you have any easy tips to improve my pictures? Things to try?
Or is my camera perhaps broken and is there an easy way to check this?
Please, like I said, help me not hate my F31fd...
ForumParentFirstPreviousNextNext unread
Flat view
Post (hide subjects)Posted by
ForumParentFirstPreviousNextNext unread
Keyboard shortcuts:
Color scheme? Blue / Yellow | [] |
You are here
<i>Eat This Not That!</i>
• It's a scary statistic: 17 percent of this country's kids are now overweight or obese. In fact, no matter what your weight was as a kid, your child faces four times the risk of obesity as you did. But before you blame TV, the Internet, and video games, consider that only 15 percent of a body's daily calorie burn comes from exercise. It's not the culture that's endangering our children's health. It's the food. It's simply different from the food we ate 20 or 30 years ago; for example, it's often full of high-fructose corn syrup, which adds hundreds of empty calories to our diets each day.
When you eat out as a family, there's usually no way to know how many calories and fat grams you're consuming. But armed with the info in this book, you can steer your kids toward healthier options at chain restaurants across America. Here, the offerings at five popular places. | [] |
Skip to content
Isn't it a bit unfair?
An_249810 posted:
Today I saw the e-mail from WebMD (join the Food and Fitness Plan). However I am a bit concerned about it and I think it is unfair even though it is not my place to judge, probably.
The thing is, I have a friend, who sleeps on most days 10 or more hours and here I am, sometimes I get barely 4 hours. Being up and running for 20 hours a day is not an easy feat of course, so after I signed up for the Plan, I realized that it was kind of a mistake to think it was suitable for me.
This is half of the day (5pm); my calorie intake is currently at 900 calories and I barely ate anything compared to my non-diet schedule. I always try to buy and eat from low calorie food options. So I am guessing to be able to make it to 1400 calories, I have to starve a bit...
Isn't it a bit unfair that even though my friend and I have nearly same amount of activity going on in total during our wake time, yet she can eat 3 meals and be done with 1300 calories and here I am, trying to stop eating my 7th meal... The unfairness isn't because of our different lifestyles but because I can't even get a proper suggestion for my food intake on a very famous health website.
abnersmom responded:
Hi, Comparing one's self to another person is never a good idea in any area, but especially food intake. Yes, you will have some hunger at 1400 cals, but it is doable if you make the right food choices. I have gone from 265 to 150 since June 2011. It took me a while and I only ate 1200 cals most days, but I did it and have now been maintaining for about 3 months. I eat no processed foods, lots of fresh or frozen veggies, some fruit, whole grains, lean proteins and low fat dairy. I do not keep any junk food in my house as I know I cannot resist those chips!
I'm not as good about logging my food now, but I have learned what I need to consume for nutrition and I keep up with everything I consume even if I don't log it or write it down. The food log kept me honest at first.
Eating well may not be "fair" or easy, but I promise you it is worth it for your health!!
SueAnne8556 replied to PetuniaPea's response:
When you don't sleep enough, your body creates cortisol, because of stress to the body. that makes you gain. I work 3rd shift, and most of us are sleep deprived and gained weight when we started this shift. I have had the most luck with lowering my sugar and carb intake and trying to sleep as much as possible.
sasach replied to PetuniaPea's response:
It's not that I'm not sleeping enough. It's just I can't I seem to wake up at the same hour everyday, doesn't matter even if I am extremely tired or had never moved an inch that day.
My friend hates sleeping, too. We kind of envy each other. She says when she sleeps 8 hours, she feels like punching someone, only 10 hours is enough for her. (She thinks 8 hours is too much, too, since we work more than half of the day and she has no time for herself and her hobbies, or even her family)
Thanks for the suggestions. I think I haven't been eating enough fruits and veggies lately (even my honey and herbal teas). I will definitely take this up.
PetuniaPea replied to sasach's response:
Try eating more foods that contain tryptophan and melatonin. You can look them up online... 10 hrs is too much sleep!
PetuniaPea responded:
Hi again, my original post got deleted because I had noticed that it repeated twice (maybe I pushed the reply button twice?), so I contacted the moderator to delete the DUPLICATE post, but they ended up deleted BOTH. So I'm basically recapping what I had originally wrote after abnersmom, so that the future posts make sense!
I had said in my original post that lack of sleep can cause you to gain weight because it can make you hungrier during the day. I also had said that it wasn't unfair because your friend found out what works for her, you just have to do the same.
Helpful Tips
How to Decrease Your AppetiteExpert
Was this Helpful?
289 of 356 found this helpful
Expert Blog
Everyday Fitness - Pamela Peeke, MD, MPH, FACP
Related Drug Reviews
• Drug Name User Reviews
Report Problems With Your Medications to the FDA
| [] |
Consensus elusive on NH school funding amendment
By Holly Ramer
Associated Press / June 1, 2011
E-mail this article
Invalid E-mail address
Invalid E-mail address
Sending your article
Your article has been sent.
Text size +
CONCORD, N.H.—New Hampshire lawmakers hoping to lessen the influence of courts in school funding still can't agree on how to do it.
They have tried and failed dozens of times over the years to nullify the state Supreme Court's landmark 1997 ruling requiring the state to provide all public school children with an adequate education.
Given the Republican supermajorities in both the House and Senate, this session marked the best shot in years for passing a constitutional amendment, but consensus appears unlikely as the session winds down.
The House on Wednesday tabled the Senate's proposed constitutional amendment that would have given the Legislature the power to define educational standards, determine the amount of state funding and mitigate disparities among communities. A few hours later, the Senate similarly delayed action on the House-passed version, voting to hold onto the bill for further study during the summer and fall.
"It is clear that the House is divided on the language," House Republican Leader D.J. Bettencourt of Salem said in backing the motion to table the Senate's proposed amendment. "This language is neither pleasing to the House nor the governor. Negotiations continue between the House and the Senate and the governor to try to find language we can all agree with, but this will not be the vehicle."
After the 1997 court ruling, the state began providing a base per-pupil amount to all communities, funded through various state taxes and a new state property tax. That has prompted some wealthy communities to complain that they are helping pay for education in poorer towns because they raise more through the education property tax than they get in aid. And lawmakers who back constitutional amendments argue that the court stripped away local control over education decisions.
Constitutional amendments need approval by 60 percent of the House and Senate to be placed on the ballot, and approval by two-thirds of voters to take effect. One sticking point has been whether any plan without a guarantee of per-pupil funding could pass. And while Democratic Gov. John Lynch supports changing the constitution so state aid can be targeted to needier communities, he also wants to maintain the state's responsibility for education. | [] |
quality posts: 16 Private Messages WootBot
Operation: Imminent Baby
What's worse than a Bigfoot driving a tank? A baby. And why is that? Because there's a chance you can stop a Bigfoot or a tank. A slim chance, sure, but better than the ZERO chance you have of stopping a baby from appearing when it's ready to be born. Gear up now and you won't have to struggle with where to put it later.
Quality Posts
quality posts: 105 Private Messages inkycatz
So how do you choose between all the strollers?
I'm just hanging out, really.
quality posts: 1 Private Messages bloodgain
inkycatz wrote:So how do you choose between all the strollers?
The best way is to go somewhere like Babies R Us and test them out.
That said, we have the Graco FastAction Fold system, and we really like it. The car seat is user-friendly (in my opinion) and has great safety reviews. You do need to read the manual, though.
The stroller itself is great. It isn't too big folded up, but isn't too small unfolded. We found it to be one of the easiest to fold and unfold, and fast to boot. It doesn't have an adjustable push handle, so note that if you're very short or very tall.
quality posts: 3 Private Messages katzchenkitty
inkycatz wrote:So how do you choose between all the strollers?
Like bloodgain said. YOu should test drive the strollers at Babies R Us.
One quip some parents have with the Graco brand is the height of the handle bars. My husband is about 5'6" and he feels its too low.
If you like more height I say go with the Chico.
I have both the Graco travel system and Baby Jogger's City Mini.
I purchased my City Mini a couple of weeks before the Graco FastAction fold strollers came out. Don't know how compact it folds but the city mini is almost half the size of a folded Graco stroller. Down side its almost twice the price of a Graco and sacrificing half the storage space under the stroller where you place the giant diaper bag in.
quality posts: 171 Private Messages neuropsychosocial
I've never seen a folding travel bed before - although I don't have kids, I can picture my friends with young children and how helpful something like that would have been when the little ones were infants. It's something that I'll keep in mind as a potential baby shower present!
However, I agree with the writer: why don't folding travel beds come in ADULT sizes?!?
RIP A.A. Blanks (Obituary)
quality posts: 12 Private Messages MommaBeary
katzchenkitty wrote:
I have found that it depends on the style of Graco. They seem to have too different heights on their strollers. My husband (6') and I (5'8") went to Babies R Us and test drove them. Some were definately TOO short - while others fit fine.
quality posts: 1 Private Messages jacobrd
We have the Graco Ready to Grow, a 2 year old and 1 year old (yes they're close in age lol) fit comfortably in this stroller... the older in the front and the younger facing us in the back.
The cool thing about this stroller is its configuration options.. when the baby gets bigger and toddler gets older, you can remove the baby rear facing seat in the back and the rear converts to a seat for taller children. Check with Babies R Us on their website or Graco's packaging, shows there are around 5 or so options for seating. Its a little bit long but every non-side-by-side stroller is long. Unfortunately the push handle is not adjustable but suits the wife and I just fine. We are of average height.
Its also not the lightest of double strollers (there are heavier) but we like that its narrow for trips to the mall or shopping. Also helps that the older doesnt torment the younger if she were sitting right next to her ... some of the plastic pieces are removable for comfort or travel as well. Hope this helps, we love ours
quality posts: 0 Private Messages issy78
I purchased the chico cortina stroller, along with carseat and base.. I have to say the stroller i absolutely love. Very nice one handed, fast open and close when u have the baby in your arms, not to mention good storage and removable tray so it is easy to clean. I recommend going to u tube and watching a video on it.. Between toys r us and u tube it helped me choose.
quality posts: 5 Private Messages elandria
Someone gifted us the square version of the activity gym and our 3 month old is actually starting to appreciate it now. $20 really is a good price point on this sort of toy, because babies transition from one stage to the next so quickly. We also have a Graco pack and play with a bassinet and I love it.
quality posts: 2 Private Messages gantec
I bought the Infantino Twist and Fold Activity Gym the last time it was offered as a side deal. I needed a replacement for the shabby, second-hand gym that we had that didn't fold up and fit so neatly into baby's closet.
I've been very happy with it, and better yet, so has baby. I only have a few minor complaints about it.
First, occasionally one or two of the leg supports will "pop" back into the twisted position. It's annoying, but doesn't appear to be of any danger to baby at all, so it's something I can live with.
Second, the little velcro ties that keep the whole thing neatly twisted up for storage could stand to be about an inch longer. It still works great, but the shortness of the ties makes it more of a two-hand operation...with a baby, it's really nice when things can be done with one hand.
Third, and sadly, my dog also really likes the gym. Unfortunately, he got a hold of the little mirror that comes with it. This is in no way Infantino's fault, but, after contacting the company, I was extremely disappointed to find that there is no way to get a replacement piece. | [] |
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Talking about the Times' Pope-arama
On the front page of this morning's New York Times, you can find Douglas Jehl's "Senate Panel Postpones Vote on U.N. Nominee:"
A surprise last-minute defection by an Ohio Republican forced the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to postpone a vote that had been scheduled for Tuesday on the nomination of John R. Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations.
The chairman of the panel, Richard G. Lugar, Republican of Indiana, reluctantly agreed to put off any vote until next month to allow a review of what Democrats portrayed as troubling new accusations that cast doubt on Mr. Bolton's temperament and credibility.
Until the defection, by Senator George V. Voinovich of Ohio, the panel had appeared prepared to send the nomination to the Senate floor on a strict party-line vote. But Mr. Voinovich stunned other senators by announcing that more time was needed to explore accusations against Mr. Bolton.
Folding Star wrote about this at A Winding Road:
Lugar clearly is working not on behalf of the Senate or the people of Indiana. In this matter, he's made it clear that he's nothing more than a tool for a White House that loves to get their way at any cost. And usually, the cost is Democracy itself crumbling bit by bit.
Listening to Lugar prattle on was certainly an experience. As he went on about how, even if they'd each personally choose a different Nominee, they've got a duty to Advice and Consent on THIS President's nominee, I had to wonder if Lugar had any real concept of the constitution. For someone who has been in the Senate for 28 years, it seems the answer is no.
Based on his own words, he makes it sound as if the Senate's responsibility is to be a rubber stamp for the Presidents' nominees, even if they don't approve of them. Advice and Consent doesn't mean Approve Quickly. It means that the Senate has the ultimate decision, not the President. A President has the right only to Nominate. The Senate has the sole power of Confirmation. This power exists so that Presidents' don't fill positions with cronies or campaign contributors or ideologues who'd be all wrong for the job. Obviously, the Senate has been lax in its duties time and again during the Bush administration, so it may be no surprise that Senator Lugar is so woefully uneducated about the true role of the Senate, as mandated by the Constitution.
No one is suggesting that they won't vote for Bolton because they'd have chosen someone else to be the Nominee. The idea is ridiculous. The fact of the matter is that Bolton is not someone who is fit to serve in the position, and the Senate's role is to make that judgment.
What else we got on the front page of the Times? Gina Kolata informs that "Some Extra Heft May Be Helpful, New Study Says." (No, I'm not joking, that is on the front page.)
And? One topic dominates the front page, ABC goes with Cheryl Ladd to replace Farrah Fawcett as Charlie's newest Angel. Wait. What? That's not the story?
Shelly Hack replaces Kate Jackson? Tanya Roberts replaces Shelly Hack?
Oh wait, the Pope-arama drama goes on. Yes.
But it is kind of like replacing an Angel, right? I mean, in the lead up, there's all this talk of inclusion. Potentials of color are even mentioned as though this might truly be an open and democratic process. So you get your "Jayne Kennedy may be Charlie's newest Angel." Or you get your "Susie Coelho may be Charlie's newest Angel." Or you get your "Persis Khambatta may be Charlie's newest Angel." But for all the talk of diversity, you always knew you were getting more of the same, right?
Latin America and Africa really never stood a chance and most people (outside of the press) grasped that. They realized it was an angle to build more excitement/speculation/interest in the "search."
The search is over. And a new Pope has been announced. And an announcement is turned into three front page stories, six stories inside the paper and a sidebar.
Of course, that's how the Times normally handles things. I mean, think back to when Valerie Plame was outed and how the Times ran nine stories on that all on the same day, remember that? Oh, no? Because that didn't happen. Give me a second. Okay, okay. Think back to when the Times looked deep within and realized that they'd oversold the WMD story and how they ran nine stories in one day on that. Remember? We were taken into war on lies. And so of course that was big news. So the Times ran . . . Wait. That was just an inside the pages correction.
Hmm. I really don't know what to tell you. Maybe the United States is 100% Catholic? No?
Well . . . okay, it's an announcement that merits this huge attention because of the fact that selecting the Pope is an open process that requires people from all over the world to cast their vote on . . . No, that's not it.
Let's go to Kara.
Kara: As a Catholic, I'm puzzled that this "crowning" has resulted in more than one front page story and an inside the paper biographical sketch. But then I was puzzled by how they teased out the death pagent with daily bulletins. Maybe it's guilt for some slams the paper's taken against Catholics in the the recent past?
Kara, Francisco's wondering the same thing. In fact, we've got thirty-two Catholic members wondering that this morning. We've got non-Catholics wondering how much bearing this has on Catholics today? Writes one, "I'm not trying to be dense, but in my religion, when leadership at the top changes, it's really not news until it ends up changing something we do in my local church."
Francisco notes that when the last Pope spoke out against going to war with Iraq, the Times didn't front page that, "let alone give it all of this. They must just love the pageantry? I kind of think they're trying to make up for their guilt from earlier coverage of Catholics."
Maybe so. Maybe this is The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation? And remember, sometimes we inflict Penance on ourselves.
Okay, let's all say it together:
Oh my God, I am heartily sorry
for having offended Thee,
and I detest all my sins,
because I dread the loss of Heaven
and the pains of Hell,
but most of all because I
offend Thee, my God,
Who art all good and deserving
of all my love . . .
Nine stories in the main section and a side bar. Has the Times been granted Absolution yet? No? How about the readers?
E-mail address for this site is | [] |
Antenna - 18
Grande - 9 / 309 (HD)
Time Warner - 9 / 1221 (HD)
Direct TV - 18
Dish - 18
KLRU Create
Antenna - 18-2
AT&T U-verse - does not carry
Grande - 283
Time Warner - 1270
Direct TV - does not carry
Dish - does not carry
Antenna - 18-3
AT&T U-verse - does not carry
Grande - 284
Time Warner - 20 / 1268 (HD)
Direct TV - does not carry
Dish - does not carry
Antenna - 18-4
AT&T U-verse - 3015
Grande - 285
Time Warner - 881 / 1269 (HD)
Direct TV - 410
Dish - 846 / 9414 (HD)
KLRU Schedule | Jonathan Bird's Blue World
Sea Snakes, Symbiosis And Coral Spawning
Sea Snakes - Many people don't realize that there are snakes that live in the ocean. And believe it or not, they're actually considerably more venomous than land snakes! Jonathan travels to Australia and the Philippines to find these marine reptiles, and learns that they are completely harmless to divers. Symbiosis in the Sea - Animals in the sea have formed thousands of kinds of partnerships to survive. Some are mutualistic-good for both parties-but others are only good for one partner. In this science segment, Jonathan travels the world looking at fascinating and surprising underwater partnerships. Coral Spawning - How does an animal like coral that lives attached to the bottom (and can't move around) create new colonies far away? Jonathan spends a week in Bonaire studying coral spawning. He learns how these animals release eggs into the water at the right time of the year to create new coral colonies. But they only do it at night, and Jonathan's film expedition is a lot of work!
Visit the Website: http://www.blueworldtv.com/
Episode #306 / Length: 28 minutes | [] |
Skip main navigation
Walgreens Walgreens Logo
Logo Walgreens Logo
start main content
Mens Electric Shavers
Online, In Stores
Your search for " " returned with 0 results.
Some products we sell in stores are not available online.
You can:
Searching for products, but not getting any results?
• Check for spelling mistakes or typos
• Use different or generic keywords
Men's electric shaver
There are many features and functions to choose from when it comes to men's electric shavers. These easy-to-use electric razors are convenient and offer various features to give you a clean, close shave or keep your beard and mustache trimmed to the length you prefer. Top men's electric shaver brands such as Braun and Remington are here at
Finding the men's electric shaver for you
Select from battery-operated or cordless electric shavers with single or multiple blades. Many electric razors operate wet or dry. Features also include ergonomic designs, quick charging stations and washable shaver heads for easy upkeep. There are specific men's electric shavers such as beard and mustache trimmers that can also be used to trim sideburns and keep a neat appearance. Complete hair clipper and trimmer kits round out a comprehensive grooming toolkit. We also carry cleaners, electric razor car adaptors and shaver replacement parts such as shaver replacement heads, and electric shaver cleaner replacement cartridges. | [] |
Since its Christmas here's a gift from me to you. I own nothing twilight but I am grateful that S. Meyers allows us to play with her toys.
White Snowflakes and Blood Red Sheets
EPOV Christmas Eve
Outside the massive floor to ceiling windows that stood open, snow fell softly over the forest. A blanket of blinding white covered what was normally an emerald haven to me and my family. I could see the snowflakes as they flew past the windows. Each one a different pattern of symmetrical lines and shapes; all different, yet all the same. Individual flakes made soft wet sounds as they scattered across the ground.
It was twilight and soon the night would overtake the day but would not hinder my vision. It made no difference if there was light or not. I could still see it all. Hear it all.
The animals of the forest, large and small, were scurrying on their way to nowhere. Most of the larger breeds were alert as they moved; knowing instinctively that a larger predator also resided on this land. Tonight they need not worry. I was sated, in more ways than one.
Somewhere through the forest, miles away, I could hear children's voices singing holiday songs. There was a church also some distance away and hymns drifted in too.
There were times when the over heightened senses of this body were too much for me. Too much sound, too many thoughts that I really didn't want to hear. Tonight, it really didn't matter. He was here, my love.
It was Christmas Eve and there was nowhere I would rather be than right here beside him; his perfect body, frozen in its perfection, for all time. Lean muscles stretched and taunt, firm naked flesh and all mine.
Pale skin littered with battle scars, reflected ever brighter against the blood red sheets, we lay upon. For a moment, I looked closely at the patterns forming across his sinewy body. They reminded me of the delicate snowflakes that fell outside the window before us. My love was just as delicate as those snowflakes, too. Not structurally of course, his body was just as indestructible as mine. But despite the show of hardness and uncaring he gave off to others, I alone knew just how tender and gentle his spirit was.
Crushed by centuries of loss and the pressing emotions of the creatures human and nonhuman, around him had left his spirit in need of love and caring. It was my desire and pleasure to give those things to him.
As we lay together, I could not help the love that filled my mind for this man or the desire that flushed my body. I could hear his soft moan as he felt the emotions I was projecting.
My hands drifted over his arms, feeling the hard muscle under the smooth skin. Fingers gently tracing the random scar patterns, trying to erase the pain and shame they still inflicted on his spirit. Letting him know how beautiful he was to me, through my touch.
And he was beautiful to me. His long lean body stretched to reveal his growing need for me. As my fingers continued to strum along his limbs, playing his body; my eyes traveled to his face. Humans would say he looked angelic and though I've never seen an angel, I suppose he does. A golden halo of curls fell around his head pillowed there before me. Cheeks high on his face drew you to his jaw line where more battle scars adorned him. I lowered my lips to kiss each and every one of them, stopping to nip gently at his neck causing another low growl to escape his rosebud shaped pink lips. Golden eyes darkened by lust stared back at me as I pulled away.
"Edward," he barely breathed my name sending a flash fire of desire burning through my veins where blood used to be.
I felt the emotions rolling off him then. There was desire, lust, need but above all that there was love.
"Kiss me," he commanded and I did.
Hot wet lips crashed together, friction causing sparks of unadulterated need between us, raw and demanding. Licking his bottom lip, I tasted his essence and my own cum where he had sucked it from my body only moments earlier.
Groaning, I pressed my tongue further, demanding entrance to the place that had given me such pleasure before. Crawling across his body while we kissed, I straddled his hips. From this position I could easily feel the hardness of his engorged member nesting against my balls. A rush of lust blazed through me.
His unnecessary breaths were coming quickly as he panted through his desire. We didn't need to stop between releases. We didn't get tired and the desire never faded. What we had learned over the time that we had been together was, the moments between were sometimes sweeter. So tonight, this Christmas Eve, as the snow fell outside, we jointly agreed to cherish the moments between.
Straddled over him this way his body was displayed before me. Nimble fingers traced muscle and sinew causing his breath to come quicker. Leaning forward, I could feel our mutually hard erections rub against each other as I lick one pert rose colored nipple. Lapped at it…suckled it…bit it hard. All the while feeling him buck up harder so our cocks slid against each other more.
A vile lay beside him on the red sheets containing our new favorite lube, peppermint flavored. It seemed appropriate for the season. While my love lay totally distracted by my other ministrations to his luscious body, I popped the lid. I felt his body tense then relax as I poured a generous amount over our hardened lengths. Throwing the bottle beside us, I grabbed both our cocks in one hand, firmly pressing them together.
"Oh, fuck, baby. So good…" Jasper gritted out between his clinched teeth, bucking furiously into my hand.
Knowing I had little time before the dominant side of my lover emerged, I rubbed our cocks simultaneously together. Long slow strokes meant to stir the flames flaring in his lust laden eyes; quick heated tugs that held the promise of release.
I rose above him, stopping the action on our members. He opened his eyes to stare into mine while I hovered above him for one long moment. Then dropped my body quickly, engulfing his cock deep inside me in one swift motion. Feeling the shudder rip through him and hearing the roar bellow from his pink lips, I knew I had achieved my goal, complete surprise.
Faster than even I could imagine, I was on my knees. Now I was facing the blood red sheets. Jasper's hard cock still pressed deep within me; his trusts wild, erratic, sexual and erotic.
Two scared arms circled my waist pulling me back until our bodies touched. He gripped my chest, forcing my back to rest against his body, he held me tenderly while still fucking me hard.
I stretched my arms back to grab his waist. His cock was angled to hit exactly where he knew my pleasure spot was and with each deep thrust a wave of desire swept over me. Then he spoke, lustily in my ear, swirling his tongue around my lobe with each word.
"Can you feel what you do to me, Edward? Can you feel the overwhelming love and desire inside me?" he cooed to me.
My only response was a low hoarse moan.
"You…will…cum…for…me…NOW…Edward," his command was clear and laced with a wave of intense lust. I could do nothing else but follow his words.
My body shuddered and thick streams exploded from my cock; leaving a trail clearly visible on the red sheets below us. While my body still rode its high; Jasper reached his own climax, cursing loudly filling me with his cool fluid.
Since we didn't tire we stayed exactly as we were, even after his cock softened and slipped from my body; clinging to each other in the moment, holding on to it, watching the snow fly past our window.
"Edward," he sweet breath tickled my ear.
"Yes, Jasper," I answered.
"I love you, darlin'," he kissed the side of my neck.
I squeezed his hips lovingly, pulling him closer, feeling his now semi erect cock pressed between my ass cheeks.
"I love you too," I whispered so low only he could hear.
From somewhere in the town of Forks church bells began to ring; it was Christmas again. The sound of voices singing hymns at midnight reached my ears bringing a smile to my face.
Still locked together in each other's arms, watching the snow drifts blow; in my heart I knew I would never need anything more than this.
Just him, just us, snowflakes and blood red sheets.
"Merry Christmas, love," I told him as a smile lit of my face.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours. | [] |
Joe's Treasure - first 22 pages
User login
“That’s right. Joe and me was cell mates for a stretch, up in Terre Haute, Indiana. That’s were he come to tell me this piece of the story. “It ain’t the beginnin’, it’s just the part he told me one night after lights out. If you wanna hear the rest of it, you’re gonna have to go find Joe, git him to tell ya. But on that night, as the story was told me, if you’da come up on a kerosene lamp sittin’ on the ground, back in the woods, snug up to one of them bayous just north of Biloxi, you’da seen two men sittin’ on the ground, soakin’ wet, tied up to a tree, cussin’, pleadin’ and threatenin’ the one who tied ‘um up, who happens also to be the one this story belongs to. Anyways, it was right there in that old cypress swamp, where he took an ax to them two fellas. Chopped ‘um up. Not fast, but slow like, so they could watch. Said he wanted to make sure they stayed awake long enough to watch. He kept sayin’ that, so it musta been important. Then what he said was that he put the pieces into burlap bags, loaded the bags into the trunk of his car and carried ‘um off. Didn’t say what them two fellas had done but it musta been somethin’ bad. Didn’t say what he did after that neither. Only that wasn’t the reason he come to be there in the pokey. The both of us was servin’ time for robbery. That’s all. But Joe had a dark place in him, that’s for sure. And that’s all I know.”
Biloxi, Mississippi
It was a hot summer day. Already rained once and probably would again. Everything was wet, the air so heavy you had to work to breathe. That’s the way it is on the Gulf Coast. Clouds come in, it rains for a while, the clouds move on and the sun comes back out, heatin’ it up to where you think you’re in a hothouse.
A light breeze was moving the Spanish moss hangin’ from the trees and the marsh grass, growing in the muddy banks, on down into the brown water.
That’s me there, tuggin’ on that damn rope. If you’re wondering what a thirteen-year old white boy is doin’ on a black folk’s beach, well, in those days we whites could go just about any place we wanted. I’d found an old boat, half sunk in about two feet of water and mostly buried in the mud. So I’d strung a rope onto it and was up on the bank tuggin’ at it, but it wouldn’t give. Well, I’d be damned if I was gonna walk away from it. That boat had become part of my big plan.
Lucky for me, about that time Cole come along. Stick in one hand, burlap bag in the other, Cole, a year younger than me and black as the night, was slowly makin’ his way up the beach searching through the marsh grass for something. When he finally arrived to where I was tuggin’ on the rope, he sat down on the sand and watched me for a while, which irritated me some, since I was havin’ such bad luck with the boat.
“Whut you got on the rope?” he finally asked.
“Ain’t you got eyes? It’s a boat.”
“What's it doin' sunk in the water?”
“That's the way I found it.” I stopped tuggin’ on the rope, wiped the sweat from my brow, studyin’ the situation. Then an idea come to me.
“Help me git it out and you kin ride'n it.”
Cole set the bag and stick down, grabbed hold of the rope and together we commenced to pullin’. Slowly the little skiff started to slide free and up onto the bank. There it was. A treasure half full of mud, a couple of crabs, an eel and a hole in the bottom.
“Looks like we got us a boat,” Cole said.
‘This here's my boat!” I reminded him. “I found it so it's mine!”
“You said if I helped you git it out, I could ride in it.”
“You can ride in it...” I paused, navigating toward a better agreement. Then another great idea come to me. “But you gotta clean it out first.”
I sat down on the bank, pulled out the butt of a half smoked cigarette, and lit up. Cole reached into the boat and grabbed the eel behind the head.
“That's my eel cause it was caught in my boat,” I says to him.
“What do you want me to do with it?” asks Cole.
I took the squirmin’ eel from Cole, picked up his burlap bag and was about to drop the eel in when Cole knocked the bag out of my hand. I swung around, ready for a fight.
“Look!” says Cole, pointing down at the bag. Just about then, a dark snake slithered out and quickly disappeared into the grass.
“I catch snakes for the old Voodoo woman,” says Cole. “She pays a nickel a snake, a dime if it's poisonous. Now you owe me a dime.”
“Any more snakes in there?” I asked.
I picked up the bag, cautious like, looked inside, then dropped the eel into it.
“I’ll throw in them two crabs and we're even. But you still gotta clean out the mud.” Cole agreed, so I sat back down on the sand and watched as Cole dropped the two crabs into the bag and started in cleanin’ the mud from the boat.
“What’s your name?”
“Cole. What’s yours?”
“Joe. Know what I'm gonna do with that boat? I'm gonna fix it up, git me a net and catch me some shrimp. Then I'm gonna sell them shrimp and buy me a real shrimp boat. Then I'm gonna catch a ton a shrimp and make me a million dollars.”
While I sat, dreamin’ about what all I was gonna do with the boat, Cole went right on cleanin’ out the mud.
“This here mud is the very same stuff the Lawd used to make man,” says Cole.
“How you figure that?”
“The Good Book. Ever read the Good Book?”
“Hell yes. My Daddy's a damn preacher.”
As Cole went on scrapin’ out the mud, he started to sing.
“Well, the Lawd he thought he'd make a man.
Dem bones gonna rise agin.
So he took a little mud, and he took a little sand.”
Cole held up two hands full of muddy sand and smiled real big.
“Dem bones gonna rise agin.”
And that’s how me and Cole met, some twenty years ago. Got to where you hardly ever saw one of us without the other. Didn’t mean a hill’a beans he was colored. Just didn’t seem to matter. Not with us, it didn’t anyways. But that changed. The fifties and sixties changed a lot of things. That’s when it got bad. But I’d already left Biloxi by then. Ran away when I was eighteen.
Twenty Years Later
Out the car window, a thick, green wall of trees passed by in a blur. The radio searched for something, but only finding bits and pieces of country music and lots of preachin’. Always lots of preachin’. Joe kept twisting the knob on the radio ‘til he found something he liked. Mick Jagger! Micky! Mic and The Rollin’ Stones! Oh yea, baby!
“Please allow me to introduce myself.
I’m a man of wealth and taste.
I’ve been around for a long, long year,
Stole many a man’s soul and faith.”
Behind the wheel, Joe looked thin and road-worn. A cigarette barely clinging to his lower lip.
“And I was ‘round when Jesus Christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain.
Made damn sure that Pilate washed
His hands and sealed his fate.”
It was a hot summer day. Had already rained once and probably would again. So everything was wet, the air so heavy you had to work to breathe.
“Pleased to meet you. Hope you guess
my name.
But what’s puzzling you is the nature
of my game.”
Joe had a few more miles before he hit the coast, but he could already feel the pain in his joints from the humidity. He hadn’t been back to Biloxi since he left, twenty years ago. But he’d just got word his old man had died, so he guessed it was time.
“I watched with glee while your kings
And queens fought for ten decades for
The gods they made.
Woo woo, woo woo
Pleased to meet you.
Hope you guessed my name.”
The car was a beat-up Chrysler Plymouth Joe’d won in a card game. Not the restyled ones with the tail fins they come out with in the later 50’s. Those were nice. This junker was the one come out before that, for men who favored “solid engineering and low price” over design. Bread and butter cars, for guys working twelve to fifteen hours a day. The kind of cars you’d see lined up outside bars, after work hours, the owners inside having a cheap beer before dragging themselves home to the wife and kids.
“Just as every cop is a criminal,
And all the sinners saints,
As heads is tails, just call me Lucifer,
Cause I’m in need of some restraints.”
Joe never had any intention of returning to Biloxi. When he’d left, he was done with it. But even so, there was nights, laying in bed, sleepless nights, when he’d start in to thinking about things back home. Ghosts of the past, dried bones rattling around outside his window. Bones that didn’t wanna stay buried. He’d done good resisting it, least ‘til he got that telegram about his old man dying.
“So if you meet me, have some courtesy.
Have some sympathy, have some taste.
Use all your well-learned politesse,
Or I’ll lay your soul to waste, mmm yea”
Then the Plymouth started to slow up. Joe pumped the accelerator but it only choked and sputtered, sounding like Joe getting up in the morning, before that first cigarette.
“What’s my name, tell me baby,
What’s my name.
Tell me sweetie, what’s my name.”
Slower and slower. God damn it! Piece of shit car!
“Woo, who who, woo, who who,
Woo, who who, woo, who who,
Woo, who who, woo, who who,
Oh, yea….”
The car rolled to a stop, lurched once and died. Joe sat there, weighing his options. Sweat rolled down his face, dripping off his chin. At least when the car was moving, there was a breeze. But now, it was just fuckin’ hot! Jungle hot! He’d almost forgotten how suffocating it could get down on the coast.
Just then, a Rolling Stones song came on the radio. Perfect! One of those moments where the music seems to have come to you at just that moment in time, to rub it in your face!
“I can’t get no satisfaction.
I can’t get no satisfaction.”
Joe cranked the car several times. Then he got out, popped open the hood.
“When I’m drivin’ in my car
And a man comes on the radio.
He’s telling me more and more
About some useless information.
Supposed to fire my imagination.”
The heat under the hood made the inside of the car feel like the inside of a refrigerator. There was no way he was gonna be able to do anything with it. So he slammed the hood closed.
“I can’t get no, oh no no no,
Hey hey hey, that’s what I say…”
Joe pulled a duffel bag out through the back seat window, set it on the ground and started to push the car off the road. It rolled down the embankment and came to rest in the ditch, running along side the road. Joe pulled a pack of Chesterfields from his sweaty shirt pocket, coughed, and lit up. The music was still blaring from the radio.
“When I’m watchin’ my TV
And a man comes on to tell me
How white my shirts can be
But he can’t be a man
‘cause he doesn’t smoke
The same cigarettes as me.
I can’t get no, oh no no no,
Hey hey hey, that’s what I say.”
Joe picked up the duffle bag, swung it over his shoulder and started walking down the road, the music growing dimmer in the background.
“Cause I try, and I try,
And I try and I try.
I can’t get no, a no no no,
Hey hey hey,
That’s what I say.”
Dripping with perspiration, Joe walked down the main street of Biloxi, studying the old familiar landmarks of his youth, looking for a sign that twenty years had passed. But there wasn’t any. Seems time and progress had mercifully left the Gulf Coast just as sleepy and uninterested in the rest of the world as it had been when Joe left it. Down along the waterfront, shrimp boats still passed lazily back and forth between the beach and Deer Island, a tree-covered strip of sand, a half-mile off shore. Deer Island had once been much larger. Even had some folks living on it for a while. Before that, some Indians. But years of hurricanes had worn it down, like everything else.
As Joe made his way through the town, he stopped to watch several men with demolition equipment standing in front of the old Mason’s building. Just then, a police car pulled up and Joe started to walk on down the road. The police car followed him a short distance, then pulled up beside him and the cop sitting in the front passenger seat stuck his head out the window.
“You look familiar,” said the cop. “What's your name?”
“Delacruze. Joe Delacruze,” said Joe, as he continued walking.
“Well I'll be damned!” said the cop. “Joe Delacruze.” The car continued to follow Joe slowly down the street. “Sorry about your daddy. Too bad you couldn't make it back for the service. They was some folks there.” Joe didn't respond. “Not many. You had a sister as I remember. She didn't show up neither. I guess you're back to take care of things.”
“You been gone... what, fifteen years? Seems I heard you was servin' time up north. That true?” Joe didn’t answer, just kept walking. “That true?”
“What ever happened to that sister of yours?”
“They tearin’ that old Mason’s building down?” Joe asked, changing the subject.
“Yep. She's finally comin' down. Lot’a history.”
“Yea, lot’a history,” said Joe. “Clubhouse for cops on Tuesdays, Klan on Fridays. Same group of guys as I remember.”
“We got us a new meeting place if you're interested. Still on Fridays.”
Joe didn’t answer, just kept walking.
“Doctor says your daddy drank hisself to death.”
Joe stopped and turned to the cop car just as it sped up and passed Joe so close it nearly clipped him. Then it disappeared down the street. Joe glanced back at the demolition crew, still standing around. No one was ever in a hurry to get anything done. Why should they be? Besides you could die of heat stroke. The old Mason’s building would come down, sooner or later. That was for sure. Everything comes down, sooner or later.
Joe opened the door and walked into the small, front room of Daddy's run down, dirty, little shack of a house, the house he and his sister had grown up in. He tried the light switch but no power. He set his duffel bag down on an old couch and pulled back the curtains on the front window. There were piles everywhere, magazines, old newspapers, beer cans, wine bottles. As Joe slowly made his way through the little house, he imagined he heard the echo of children’s voices screaming and a man yelling. Not playful like, but screams of fear. Joe opened the door to the bedroom and the voices stopped. He found a baseball bat standing upright in a corner of the living room, picked it up, blew the dust off, turned it to where his name was cut into it and set it back down.
Joe walked out the front door, out onto the front yard and stood, remembering. He’d done pretty good with keeping his memories tucked away, back in that dark closet of his mind. But that’s the thing with memories. And when they come flying back at you, they can seem more real than they did in the living of them. So now, as one of those memories slipped out of the crack of Joe’s dark closet, he thought he heard a voice.
Standing out in the yard, Joe turned back to the front door of Daddy’s old house in time to see Daddy coming out onto the porch, dressed in a suit, carrying his coat and a black bible, his shirt already soaked with perspiration.
“Les go,” Daddy said to Joe, now once again a thirteen year old, dressed in his Sunday best. “Sissy, les go!” Daddy shouted back into the house. “Gonna be late!”
Sissy came out the door and they started walking down the road. Sissy was Joe’s fourteen-year old sister. She was very pretty, but it was obvious she’d gone through a recent growth spurt by the shortness of her dress, which had seen better days.
“I don't think I care much for the way you're dressed,” said Daddy.
“It's all I got that fits,” Sissy replied, with just a touch of shame in her voice.
“You could let it down.”
“I done let it down three times. There ain't nothin' left to let.”
Daddy came walking up the road, followed a good ways by Joe and Sissy.
Two policemen were standing in the shade of a tree, drinking RC Colas, their patrol car parked at the curb. As Daddy passed them, one of the policemen spoke.
“Awful hot day for preachin' hellfire.”
“Why don't you give 'um a speech about somethin' cool like the South Pole,” said the other one.
“Yea, cool, white fluffy clouds,” said the first. “Or snow!”
“You boys are always welcome to join us,” said Daddy as he started to cut across and up toward the church building. Sissy and Joe were just getting to the two cops when the first policeman stepped out from the tree blocking their way.
“Hey Sissy. That's a pretty dress you got on.”
“Little brother, you're gonna have to keep an eye on that sister of yours,” the second one piped in from beneath the tree.
“Leave her alone,” said Joe, protectively.
“And what are you gonna do if I don't, fish-bait?” said the cop, menacingly.
“You mean shrimp bait, don't ya?” said the second and they both laughed.
The first cop stepped in close to Sissy and toyed with her hair.
“If I was to come pay you a visit, would you wear that dress for me?”
“Sissy, Joe... Come on now!” Daddy shouted from the door to the church.
Sissy and Joe maneuvered around the policeman and cut across toward the little church building where Daddy was holding open the screen door. Joe entered first. Then, as Sissy passed, Daddy half whispered.
“What have you been up to?” he said, scolding.
“Nothin’ Daddy.”
There wasn’t a thing about the exterior of the church that would lead you to believe it was a church at all. No stained glass windows or steeples or crosses. Just a screened door leading into a building that could just as easily have been a grocery store or a post office. The inside was no better at setting any kind of spirit. Folding chairs were lined up facing the front, which you only knew was front ‘cause that was the direction the chairs was facing. And there wasn’t a podium. But once the congregation arrived and the spirit took hold, the modest circumstances went unnoticed. Rather, they seemed appropriate in keeping all attention on the subject at hand. It was a revivalist style meeting. That meant, among other things, that the members called and sang out, as the spirit moved them. Daddy stood down front, speaking and moving about the room, bible in hand, as he struggled to put his thoughts across, aided by the constant vocal exchange going on between he and the members of the congregation. Joe and Sissy were sitting where they usually sat, on the front row, center, where Daddy could pull them up.
“Brethren, I don't know whether I'm gonna be able to preach on. I never know them thangs. But I pray I can say a few words and touch upon Heaven and immortal glory. Pray for me now while I stands in your presence, that the Lord will look down with His great power to move upon this little weak man that you're alookin' at.”
Daddy held his bible up above his head and continued.
“The earth itself is not so filled with golden veins and precious thangs as is the word of God!” said Daddy, building some momentum. “Many have eyes but do not see. They have ears but cannot hear. They have minds but know not where the treasure is hid.” Daddy started down the isle as he continued. “A man might pass over the place where a treasure has been hid. He might sit down to rest at the foot of a tree, not knowin’ of the riches hidden at its roots. God does not hide his treasures from men. Men themselves hide the treasure from their own eyes by the lives they live, so hard are they at seekin’ for earthly treasure, their hearts filled with selfish ambitions, for riches, honor or power. From them the treasures of His word are hidden. What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Holding the bible high again, Daddy upped the volume three notches and pressed on.
“The value of this treasure is above gold or silver! The riches of earth’s mines cannot compare with it! The depth sayeth, It is not in me; And the sea sayeth, It is not with me. It can not be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.”
Joe, sat wide-eyed on the front row, caught up it the passion of Daddy’s words.
“If you desire to find the treasures of truth, you must dig for them as if you was diggin’ for a treasure hidden in the earth. Old and young alike…”
Daddy stood Joe and Sissy up and turned them toward the congregation.
“...old and young alike. Not to just read God’s word, but to study it, prayin’ and searchin’ for the truth, the same as if it was a hidden treasure. Our salvation, our eternal SOULS depend on knowin’ the truths in this book. It’s the Almighty’s will that we should have this.”
Daddy knelt down, facing Joe directly.
“When man is willin’ to be taught as a child, when he gives all up to God, he will find the truth. He will find his treasure. Are you willin’ to do that, son? Are you willin’?
Joe and Sissy were used to being involved in Daddy’s sermons. Since Mama died, Daddy had lost that “lovin’ feelin’” toward the Lord. His laying on of hands had not saved Mama’s life, which really threw Daddy for a loop, cause he was sure his faith was strong enough to accomplish just about anything. When you preach something year after year, you get to believing it, even if you didn’t to begin with. And Daddy had been preaching the power of faith healing as long as he had been in the business. So after Mama died, he took to the bottle. Meanwhile, preaching was the job that kept the family fed and so it had to go on, spiritual misgivings or not. What he lacked in faith, however, Daddy made up for in showmanship. When he first decided to use the kids, which he only did occasionally, he rehearsed them at home, so they would know what to do and when to do it. Every good performance is about timing, after all. And a good sermon was absolutely a good performance, bringing the audience along on a ride that would work them up to a spiritual frenzy, just in time for the passing of the tithe basket and the closing “amens” and “hallelujahs”.
“Are you willin’?”
“Yes sir,” said Joe.
Daddy wrapped his arms around Joe and the congregation chimed in with “hallelujahs”. Daddy gave Sissy a hug, then stood and spoke.
“Friends, how bad do ya wanna go to heaven? How bad do ya wanna please the Lord? Do you want to? Do you wanna serve the Lord? Do you wanna wholeheartedly serve him? That's the whole matter today.” Daddy handed his Bible to Joe and took both children by the hand. “As for me and my house, we'll serve the Lord, in the best manner and way that we know how. Brothers and sisters, the day will come for your redemption.”
Daddy sat Joe and Sissy back down on the front row. “There's a scripture that was on my mind a while ago... It's commin' back now... Oh little children! He that is in you is better than he that is in the world, for he that is of the world, they do speak the things of the world. Be he that is in the Lord, that is in you, oh my friends, he is speakin' the things of God! You know when things run through your mind, that it hinders you, then it's time to quit anyhow. Go ahead brethren and sing now.”
The congregation slid into an acapella song, which gave Daddy a chance to catch his breath.
“Ain't no need to beat around the bush about it. Everybody help sing now.”
Daddy looked down at Joe and Sissy. He was covered in sweat, soaked through and through, but it looked like he was crying, which didn’t hurt the performance none.
“You too, little sister. Sing away your sins. The flesh is weak, but the spirit is strong and that's the only thing lasts forever.”
“Little sister” assumed Daddy was preaching directly to her. You see, puberty was not coming easy for Sissy.
When Daddy began to notice her change, he became suspicious of her, since it was his belief, as was common, that the fall of Adam was the result of a woman. That it was the base nature of women to tempt men into evil ways. Which must have been a source of confusion to Sissy, struggling as she was to just grow up, without the burden of thinking she had something to do with the downfall of mankind.
Although Joe knew his father was battling a spiritual crisis, and a bottle crisis, he couldn’t help but think when Daddy started in preaching about how the flesh is weak, he was really talking about hisself and for that moment, he wasn’t just putting on a show. He was being as honest as any man can be, standing there in front of those people. And, for just a moment, Joe felt proud of his Daddy.
“Do you hear me? Gimme an Amen!” A few amens sounded from the congregation. “Again!” and there were a few more. “Louder now!” he shouted and sure enough, they started to really shout.
“How about you son? Let me hear you say it. The flesh is weak...”
“The flesh is weak,” said Joe and he meant it.
“But the spirit is strong...”
“But the spirit is strong.” Joe echoed back.
“And that's the only thing that lasts forever!”
“And that's the only thing that lasts forever!” Joe shouted, turning to the congregation, right on cue.
“Hallelujah!” shouted Daddy.
‘Hallelujah!” the congregation shouted back. | [] |
Aura Colors Questionnaire
Your two main aura colors reveal your: Personality, Life Purpose, Relationship Styles, Best Career, Health, Money, Family, Children … and more.
Once you know your aura colors, you can read the descriptions about your colors!
To take the questionnaire – answer the questions on each page and click “Next”
Take the FREE Questionnaire
Yes Sometimes No
I tend to express myself through my physical body and my sexuality more than through my emotions
I prefer work that is physical and has immediate, tangible results. A lot of the following careers would interest me: lifeguard, firefighter, paramedic, butcher, surgeon, dancer, actor, physical trainer, bodyguard, football player, boxer, police officer, bartender, hairdresser, barber, construction worker, repairperson, truck driver, soldier, shop foreman.
I have a fiery personality.
I enjoy lavish, physical pampering and sensuality.
I relate to people who are comfortable expressing their sexuality - like Marilyn Monroe or the singer Madonna. I would be comfortable being a sex symbol. Or I relate to the strong heroic types - knights, firefighters, boxers, and soldiers.
I often have a quick temper, but get over it quickly and do not hold grudges.
Whenever I am angry, my first impulse is to react physically - throw something, yell, hit, punch, strike out physically, or get drunk.
Yes Sometimes No
I relish dangerous, thrilling, high-risk, physical challenges - the more dangerous, the better.
Success is easily defined for me - accomplishing a daring feat (reaching the top of the mountain, winning the race, surviving the jump); and having the money to be able to do it again.
I prefer jobs that challenge my physical courage, allow me to strategize, and be mentally cunning. These jobs would interest me: Stunt double, rescue worker, racecar driver, wilderness guide, guard, police officer, firefighter, private investigator, wild animal trainer, deep sea diver, skydiver, navy seal, or undercover agent.
I am intelligent and carefully plan every safety detail of my adventures. But sometimes act without "a net" to make the experience more thrilling.
Potential for experiencing physical pain does not frighten or deter me from having adventures.
I participate in or would love to participate in extreme sports.
I would love to free-lance and get paid by sponsors to do daring feats.
Yes Sometimes No
My lifestyle tends to be flamboyant and eccentric.
My clothes, home, actions, and thoughts tend to be bizarre and shocking.
I like to shock and challenge people's beliefs so that humanity doesn't become static and boring.
I love parties and social events, however I often have trouble keeping friends because my behavior sometimes shocks or embarrasses people.
I enjoy outrageous artistic expression.
I do not usually take responsibility for friends or family.
I feel more comfortable living in a big city where I can hide out in crowds.
Yes Sometimes No
Having fun, enjoying life, and playing are strong priorities for me. I like everyone to be happy and for life to be easy and simple.
I have a great sense of humor and love to laugh.
I am usually optimistic and upbeat.
I like to be creative, artistic, work with my hands, garden, or fix things.
I love connecting with nature. Being in nature is healing for me.
I am usually a healthy person, however I often have back or knee problems (including backaches).
I am in one of these professions, or I would enjoy a career in at least one of these categories: Creative - Artist, musician, writer, comedian, designer, interior decorator, sculptor, actor or similar; or Healing - massage therapist, physical therapist, doctor, sports medicine, herbalist, acupuncturist, nutritionist, veterinarian, conservationist, or similar; or Physical - athlete, coach, life guard, surfer, gardener, park ranger, firefighter, bartender, chef, waitress/waiter, auto mechanic, plumber, electrician, house painter, construction worker, or similar.
Logical Tan
Yes Sometimes No
I am more comfortable with and prefer a secure stable job that provides a regular paycheck.
I am not an emotional person. I am usually calm and non-reactive in a crisis.
I prefer to see the proof, logic, and data behind ideas.
I tend to do well working on the details of a project.
I currently work or I have worked for the same company or organization for years.
I am a very analytical, logical, and sequential thinker. I prefer structure.
I work in the following careers or would like to: engineer, architect, accountant, bookkeeper, computer programmer, computer analyst, data processor, researcher, scientist, technician, mathematician, office worker, librarian, office clerk, factory worker, court reporter, electrician, computer or appliance repairperson, county surveyor, or similar.
Environmental Tan
Yes Sometimes No
Working with, analyzing, or measuring the environment would be interesting to me.
I am able to judge weight, distance, and volume through inner physical senses. (I can tell how much something weighs by holding it in my hand.)
I am quiet, reserved, hard working, and down-to earth, but I am also independent and strong.
I am fascinated by how things work, especially such things as airplanes, submarines, and equipment.
I prefer stable jobs and reliable paychecks.
I tend to be serious and self-controlled.
I work as or would be interested in working as: Archaeologist, geologist, environmental researcher, map maker, forest ranger, military personnel, botanist, scientist, explorer, pilot, city planner, shipping and receiving clerk, architect, computer operator, lab technician, telephone repairperson, engineer, electrician, farmer, or similar.
Sensitive Tan
Yes Sometimes No
I work in or prefer to work in a support role in which I take care of the details.
I am a calm, patient, sensitive, and rational thinker.
I tend to be a patient listener.
I tend to be quiet, reserved, and sometimes shy.
I prefer to understand the logic in a situation; however, I am also emotionally supportive of people's needs. I like to hear all the details, and take everyone's feelings into consideration before making a decision.
I feel that supporting community activities and attending functions such as PTA meetings are important.
I work as or would prefer a secure job as: Medical assistant, dentist or dental assistant, hygienist, secretary, bookkeeper, child care worker, pre-school teacher, office personnel, accountant, therapist, counselor, school advisor, homemaker, city planner, writer, career counselor, college admissions clerk, arbitrator, social worker, community service developer, public relations, school nurse.
Abstract Tan
Yes Sometimes No
I prefer jobs that allow me to work randomly with all the details of a project.
I can see all the details that need to be taken care of, but I often have difficulty deciding which ones need to be done first.
I frequently feel scattered, often forget appointments, or overbook my schedule with conflicting appointments.
I tend to theorize about emotions rather than actually express them. I tend to keep my feelings to myself.
I love humanity and am very curious about people from around the world.
I am constantly misplacing things.
I work as or would love to work as: city developer, landscaper, childcare worker, teacher, consultant, designer, interior decorator, graphic artist, gardener, health practitioner, interpreter, salesperson, computer programmer, tour guide.
Yes Sometimes No
I like things to be organized, efficient, and well planned. I frequently write lists.
My three strongest priorities are making a lot of money, accomplishing my financial and business goals, and being respected by other powerful and intelligent people. (These are more important to me than helping others or improving the quality of life on the planet.)
I can be a workaholic, have a hard time relaxing, and am often in a hurry.
I tend to be a perfectionist and am usually demanding on myself and on others. I can be blunt and often intimidate people.
I often finish people's sentences for them. I want them to get to the point. I tend to talk quickly
I often have tight neck and shoulders, or frequently experience digestive or heart problems.
I work in or would enjoy working in the following professions: corporate executive, financial and investment advisor, banker, real estate agent, entrepreneur, stockbroker, salesperson, fundraiser, producer, businessperson, manager or agent, office manager, marketing and advertising coordinator, event organizer, venture capitalist, writer, or judge.
Yes Sometimes No
People frequently turn to me with their emotional problems and I usually lovingly listen and counsel them.
Spirituality, love, people and animals are the most important elements in my life.
I am emotional and can easily be moved to tears. I cry when I'm happy, sad, angry, or sometimes for no apparent reason.
I am very intuitive and empathetic. I sometimes have experiences of knowing things that haven't happened yet.
I am a giver. Money is not my first priority.
I tend to put the needs of others first and my needs last.
I am, I have been, or I would like to be one of the following: teacher, psychologist, counselor, nurse, childcare worker, social worker, educator, volunteer or employee at a non-profit organization, homemaker, stay-at-home parent, spiritual teacher, clergy, nun or priest, church helper, secretary, waitress or waiter, astrologer, psychic, animal caretaker.
Yes Sometimes No
I have a strong desire to help improve life on the planet.
I feel that I have a powerful message to get across to people. And I often feel that I am running out of time.
I have always felt that I was going to be famous or do something big or important.
I frequently end up in leadership positions or at least at the center of attention.
If I had a lot of money, I would travel or become involved in humanitarian, environmental, educational, or political causes.
I am very affected by music. I feel music is the universal language.
I am involved in or would like to do the following activities or careers: performer, actor, musician, singer, artist, writer, designer, producer, director, photographer, teacher, therapist, educator, psychologist, social worker, activist, humanitarian, environmentalist, consultant, lecturer, motivational speaker, politician, lawyer, judge, mediator, spiritual leader, company president, business owner, developer, astronaut, futurist, quantum physicist.
Yes Sometimes No
I have a playful imagination. I enjoy fantasy and make-believe more than the real world.
I am quiet, creative, sensitive, gentle, and spiritual.
I am often forgetful and frequently spacey.
I am an imaginative and creative thinker; however, I usually have trouble following through with my ideas.
I often have pale skin or chronic health problems.
My environment has chimes, crystals, soothing aromas, and gentle music. I also have pictures of angels, fairies, mythical figures, or whimsical creatures in my home.
Although I'd prefer not to work, samples of careers that appeal to me are: storyteller, artist, writer (especially children's books), florist, mime, dancer, actor, costume designer, interior decorator, set designer, graphic designer, pre-school teacher, or teacher at a creative, alternative-thinking school.
Yes Sometimes No
I am extremely sensitive and can be overwhelmed by being around too many people.
I often feel I have quiet, inner healing powers.
I need to spend a lot of time alone in meditation to replenish myself. I prefer solitude.
I am intelligent and love to attend the theater, watch movies, or read books that inspire me to ponder the meaning of life.
My personality changes to match others around me.
I am conscientious and cautious with money. I take my responsibilities seriously.
I have worked in these areas or would like to: librarian, massage therapist, healer, doctor, dental assistant, physical therapist, herb grower, artist, florist, writer, interior decorator, secretary, nun, monk, or similar.
Yes Sometimes No
My appearance can seem androgynous or asexual - but my sexuality is not my main focus or concern.
I am highly intuitive or psychic.
I have a highly sensitive physical, emotional, and psychological system.
I have clear memories of past lives or can see beings in other dimensions.
Computers and other technologies are second nature to me.
I cannot be forced to operate against my beliefs even if it would make others happy. Guilt and punishment do not work on me.
I don't relate to the concept of working for money, and working for others seems restrictive, but I don't want the burden of starting my own business. The following careers interest me: artist, designer, writer, musician, animal caretaker, childcare worker, social worker, counselor, teacher, health practitioner, botanist, environmentalist, computer programmer, horticulturist, or similar.
Red Overlay
Yes Sometimes No
I experienced at least one of the following as a child:
a) emotional, physical, or mental abandonment or rejection (i.e., unwanted child, adopted, alcoholic parent)
b) emotional, physical, or mental abuse
c) didn't feel safe in my environment or I felt I didn't belong on the planet and the adults didn't understand me
d) life-threatening situation before birth, at birth, or at a young age
My life seems to be a constant struggle.
I consistently experience conflict and frustration regarding relationships, health, money, career.
I frequently experience intense, often uncontrollable anger or rage.
Please submit the following to get your results
We respect your privacy. Results include free subscription to the AuraColors newslettter.
Go up
Sign up for Pam’s Free Newsletter
Real Time Analytics | [] |
MENTALLY ILL Woman Raped in Hospital
A 30-year-old speech-impaired woman, who was being treated at a hospital run by Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) in Moshi, was allegedly raped inside the hospital lift by a ward boy and watchman.
Trending Videos
left arrow left arrow
more from videocafe | [] |
IRS Logo
Print - Click this link to Print this page
Applying for Exemption/Misc. Determination: Sample Questions
Bingo and Other Gaming
Applications for exemption and miscellaneous determination requests are assigned to Exempt Organizations specialists for review. If additional information is necessary to make a determination, a specialist will contact the organization for the information. Here’s a list of questions that might be asked on this topic.
1. For each gaming activity you conduct (or plan to conduct), provide the following information:
a. The name of each gaming activity.
b. Whether members of the general public will participate in your gaming activity or
whether your gaming activity will be limited to members of your organization.
c. When you began (or plan to begin) conducting the activity.
d. The percentage of your time and resources you expect to devote to each gaming activity
e. The number of hours you expect to hold the gaming activity each month.
f. A statement describing how you use your gaming proceeds, including whether you
give your gaming proceeds to other organizations.
g. If you give your gaming proceeds to other organizations, describe how do you decide
which organizations receive your proceeds.
h. Submit copies of advertisements, flyers, pamphlets, announcements, or other literature
that describe your exempt, gaming, or other activities.
2. For each of your gaming activities, state whether you will use volunteers or compensated individuals for various aspects of the gaming operation. Examples of aspects of the gaming operation would include, but are not limited to: managing bingo operations; providing bingo cards, pull-tabs, and supplies; providing concessions; providing security; and providing janitorial services.
a. If compensated individuals are used, provide the following information:
• List the compensated individuals, their job title, and a detailed duty description.
• State the number of hours each position requires per week and the number
of hours that are related to the operation of gaming activities.
• State the amount of compensation for each person or position (if it is not
currently filled).
• Explain how you determine the compensation for each position, including who
in your organization is responsible for setting the compensation amount.
• Identify any relationship that each compensated individual may have with any
of your officers, directors, trustees, or members.
b. If volunteers are used, provide the following information:
• List how many volunteers you use each game/session.
• Describe the duties the volunteers perform.
• State how many hours volunteers work each session and each week
• State whether you provide volunteers with reduced fees or tuition dependent
on the individual volunteering for the gaming activity.
• State whether the volunteers receive tips. If so, describe how you record the
tips in your books and records.
3. Have you ever, or do you plan to, contract with a third party to operate your gaming activities and from whom you will receive your gaming revenue? If so, provide the following information:
a. A description of who initiated the initial contact – you or the gaming operator.
b. An explanation of how and why you chose the gaming operator.
c. A description of your relationship with the gaming operator.
d. Identify any relationship that exists between the gaming operator and any of your
directors, officers, trustees, or members.
e. Submit all copies of contracts you have entered into with any gaming operator.
4. Is the facility where you conduct your gaming activities a commercial gaming facility?
5. Is the owner of facility where you conduct your gaming activities also one of your directors, officers, trustees, or members?
6. Submit copies of all contracts or leases you have with any individual or business, including any lessors that provide you with goods or services related to your gaming activities.
7. Are you a grantor, beneficiary or trustee of a trust or member of a partnership or other entity formed to administer charitable gaming?
8. Provide the following financial information for all gaming activities (both for your current tax year, and projected for your next two tax years):
a. Gross income from each gaming activity, broken out by game category (ex. bingo,
pull-tabs, raffles, etc.).
b. Gross income from non-gaming sources (such as concessions or sales of gaming
supplies) that occur during or are related to your gaming activity. List each source
c. Prizes paid out in each gaming category.
d. Rent, salaries, contract payments, and other expenses from gaming activities, itemizing
each expense.
e. Net income from each gaming activity.
9. Describe the records that you keep to document your gross receipts (before payouts) and disbursements (including payouts), including whether you keep separate records for each gaming activity.
10. Submit a copy of your state and/or local laws that allow you to conduct bingo or other gaming activities.
More information:
See the complete list of Applying for Exemption/Miscellaneous Determination Sample Questions by topic.
Page Last Reviewed or Updated: 16-Dec-2014 | [] |
'Innocent until proven guilty': lawyer for accused in Pitt Meadows rave rape
A 16-year-old girl was sexually assaulted during a rave at a house on Harris Road in Pitt Meadows in September 2010. - The NEWS/files
— image credit: The NEWS/files
The lawyer for a young man accused of assaulting a teenage girl at Pitt Meadows rave has characterized police statements about his clients as a witch hunt.
Although Crown stayed a charge of sexual assault against Colton McMorris on Tuesday, RCMP continued to maintain a day later there was evidence to prove otherwise.
At a press conference with the victim of the alleged assault and her father on Wednesday, Sgt. Peter Thiessen bristled at suggestions that police had blown up the alleged assault.
"I can assure you knowing the content of these photos, it was not exaggerated what happen to this girl," said Thiessen, referring to the graphic and sexually explicit photos that spread across the Internet following the rave.
"I would say if anybody heard the details of what this girl experienced, we wouldn't be having this discussion. I can assure you, you will all be shocked by these photos."
Tony Serka, who represents McMorris, stressed his client is being "put through a mill" for something he didn't do.
"This isn't the way to run a state. They are saying things like they are facts," said Serka.
"They are planting the seeds so people can hate my client. If he is innocent - as I believe he is - he is the one that should get sympathy."
Crown entered a stay of proceedings Tuesday effectively bringing criminal proceedings against McMorris to a halt, five days before he was scheduled to stand trial.
The sudden stay came after a senior prosecutor reviewed the available evidence and concluded there was no longer a likelihood of a conviction.
Serka said his client came forward on his own and spoke to police a few days after the rave - without a lawyer present.
The police interrogation generated a transcript that's 119 pages long.
He had two officers yelling at him for sometime, added Serka.
"This is the guy who has never been in trouble in his life, who is honest and he is being painted with this brush for the rest of his life."
A lawyer since the 1970s who is known for two landmark Supreme Court of Canada cases, Serka remains shocked by the conduct of RCMP and the "inflammatory language" they initially used to describe the alleged assault.
"[Sgt.] Peter Thiessen should remember that a person is innocent until proven guilty," said Serka.
"You can't say things like - make no mistake about it, this is a rape when you really don't know. That inflammatory language is for a reason, it's to inflame people."
The "code of silence" police blame for hinder their investigation, Serka completely dismisses.
"It's not a code of silence. It's just that the people who are talking are saying things that the police don't want to hear. Many people don't want to be involved with this."
Serka believes his client should pursue a defamation lawsuit.
"By telling lies - they have branded this guy, they've given him the scarlet letter.
There has got to be some consequences for that. But it's the police and it's a different kettle of fish and they have different rules."
You might like ...
Community Events, October 2015
Add an Event | [] |
Skip Nav
How to Avoid Germs at the Gym
The cold temps are moving in and it's that time of year for colds and the flu. To prevent getting the sniffles, sore throat, and achiness, you've got to avoid the germs. It's not enough to watch out for germy places in your home. You've also got to beware of places that are shared by tons of people, and for FitSugar readers, that means the gym. Yours may seem neat and clean, but that doesn't mean it's germ-free. So here are some ways to avoid the invisible creepy crawlies that can make you sick.
• Spray down all equipment before you use it with disinfectant spray. It may be a rule at your gym that you have to clean equipment after you use it, but who knows if the person before you remembered, or how thorough they were. Wipe down everything you touch including handles on weight machines and dumbbells, yoga balls, and buttons on the displays.
• Purchase your own mat for yoga, Pilates, or strength training. They're sweat on by many, and rarely get washed.
• If you're a major germaphobe, pack along other equipment like weights and resistance bands.
• Bring your own towel from home to wipe off your sweat or to use after you shower. The gym towels are supposedly clean, but you never know.
Keep reading for more tips on avoiding gym germs.
• Refrain from touching your mouth, nose or eyes while working out.
• Wash your hands often, or use hand sanitizer.
• Keep a towel between you and the seat in the sauna.
• Fill up a reusable water bottle at home, and bring it to the gym. Germs can pass easily from a person's mouth, to their water bottle, then to the fountain tap and back to another bottle, and to another person's mouth, if people hold their bottles against the tap when filling them. Gross.
• Shower immediately after working out to get rid of germs. If you can't, be sure to wash your hands and face, place your sweaty clothes in a plastic bag, and put on a clean outfit.
• Wear flip-flops in the shower to avoid picking up athlete's foot.
Image Source: Getty
Latest Fitness | [] |
American photographer Steven Kazlowski has spent the past 15 years following bears in Alaska He has captured glorious images of North America's grizzlies, black bears and polar bears
The continuing fight for life of North America's bears has been captured in spectacular style in a series of dramatic pictures.
Grizzly, polar and black bears are pictured in the wilds of Alaska scavenging in bins, stripping a whale carcass and scrapping over the best fishing spots.
Photographer Steven Kazlowski has spent the past 15 years living in bear country and capturing the most intimate, hilarious and adrenaline-fuelled moments of his furry subjects.
The series by the 43-year-old also features the more fun side of the creatures.
Cubs are seen play fighting, scrapping over food and cuddling up together.
One stunning picture shows a rare blond bear wrestling a more common brown grizzly at Katmai National Park in Katmai, Alaska.
His favourites have now been compiled into a new book called Bear Country.
He said one of the highlights was capturing the blond bear on camera.
The American said: 'A blond grizzly bear is an extremely rare occurrence.
'What we see in the pictures is an even rarer-sight of a blond coloured grizzly bear interacting with a standard brown coloured grizzly bear.
'They are actually not fighting, but are playing on a huge tidal mudflat.
'This went on for several hours until the afternoon sun eventually set.
'They then went from playing to fishing for food.'
'People find it unbelievable that I have had these experiences and captured these images.
'They often cannot imagine being in that situation, and I feel my images allow a window into my experience.'
Among the other intimate moments caught on camera are a polar bear appearing to wave at the camera and a pair of male grizzlies going head-to-head as they fight for territory.
One particularly stunning picture shows a mother black bear and her two cubs walking past a glacier.
Mr Kazlowski said: 'All of these images strike a deep chord within me as they all represent a high level of nature and wildlife photography.
'Every image has a story behind it.
'The stories are explained visually in the book - with great composition, great lighting, great behaviour and action.
The most common species is the black bear, with over a million believed to survive in the wild.
Grizzly bear numbers are thought to total 200,000 and are not at risk of extinction at this time.
Polar bears, however, are endangered.
There are currently only an estimated 25,000 polar bears left in the wild as the ice they depend for hunting continues to disappear.
Nature-lover Mr Kazlowski said he wanted to release the book to reveal the softer side of the creature that is normally hidden from view.
He said: 'My message is pretty simple - it's that these animals are not cold blooded killers.
'We can peacefully coexist with bears, and enjoy a richer world with the diversity in species they offer us.
'My goal is to create awareness and promote conservation of natural environments by making striking images that connect people to places and animals.
'Telling stories like these through book projects is a basis for educating people about animals and their environments.'
Steve's book, Bear Country: North America's Grizzly, Black and Polar Bears is available in Hardback for £12, from Amazon.
To view bears in the wild, visit Steve's website at:
Responses to "Photographer's stunning images capture beauty of America and Canada's real bear country"
1. Anonymous says:
Magnificent ,ty
2. Anonymous says:
Great pictures of these's MAGNIFICENT creatures...will be buying the book after seeing these pictures...Feed Black Bears in Pa. for years...sure brings back lots of "GREAT MEMORIES" RGM
3. Black Bears tend to be more mysterious and hide from man, but there cousins the Grizzlie or Brown Bear are terribly territorial and bow to no human......they will fight.
4. I think all the Bears fall under the living fossil genre. Wolves and Bears share a common ancestry they once were known as the Beardog then throughout time branched out in evolution. Eventually branching out to different wilds of the world. While some places remain remote and dangerous like Alaska cause if you go out there and get lost there is no telling if you can be found but the Arctic and constant weather changes can affect the polar bear. If only he was adaptable as the grizzlies and the black bears then he will have a fighting chance.
5. Anonymous says:
Again I say if we do not take care of the animals on this planet, we will end up going the way of the dinasaurs-extinct!!
Write a comment
Google Friend Followers | [] |
Birth, Love and Death
by Nick Owen
It is a well-known fact that the template for a child's psychological development is laid down in earliest infancy. But did you ever consider that the experience of being born sets up the most fundamental predispositions and life reaction patterns we have? Our journey from the unborn world, inside our mothers, out into the big wide world of normal reality is the biggest transition we will ever make. What happens then, and how we react to those events, will stay with us for life, if we are not helped to undo the patterning. Furthermore, it is now possible for adults, children and even babies to get therapeutic help with that patterning.
These curious facts are most fully documented by that great researcher of human experience, the psychiatrist Dr. Stanislav Grof. Yet surprisingly, he did not start by exploring parenting and birth issues, which is the subject of this article, but rather peoples' experiences of dying. What he found was that we tend to imagine the processes of dying in terms of experiences that happened to us at our births. The imprinting lasts for a lifetime!
Another great psychologist, Dr. Arthur Mindell, explains that we can be either the heroines or the victims of our life dramas. If we can learn to flow with our experience rather than resist and suffer from it, then fear turns into excitement, pain turns into intensity. This approach to psychology and therapy is called Process-Oriented Psychology. I have developed what I call process-oriented birthing using Mindell's principles. Learning process-oriented birthing methods enables a woman to surf down the contractions, identifying with them rather than remaining within the normal rigid western ego, which experiences them as an overwhelming threat. When the woman can do this she can actually enjoy the flow of these intense experiences. Process work methods are also very helpful in building creative and transformative relationships with other inevitable challenges that come along to disturb our lives. Birth can be an intense, alive, erotic experience both for mother and baby.
But the kind of negative birth experience that is portrayed to us all in every sort of media from the medical to the melodramatic reinforces a set of expectations of victimhood and suffering for the mother. Pushed into this mindset by mainstream Western culture, the woman is likely to turn to the National Health Service as her saviour and rescuer. Furthermore, behind the scenes, the mother's own experiences of being born and going through this stage herself give shape to her expectations of having a baby. The worse her own birth-experience, the greater her fear of giving birth. Research by Professor Zichella, et al. at a large maternity hospital in Rome showed that women are likely to have easier births when they have first learned about their own birth stories. A woman's rational ideals may tell her to have a homebirth but the medicalisation of birth in this country has reached the point where in counties such as Oxfordshire it is all but impossible to choose a professionally assisted homebirth, because there is no midwifery service available outside hospital. Thousands of new midwives are needed, but the government has preferred to spend its money on hi-tech medicine and new hospitals. The pull of a woman's own past and the cultural pull of the medical mind-set drag her toward the hospital and away from her own natural capacity.
The offer "We can anaesthetize your pain" from the medical system is very seductive to the woman who is afraid of pain. Man or woman—who of us is not afraid of pain? But this attitude, that life is painful and pain can be blocked out, is all part of a deadening of life experience in general, an encouragement not to live an erotic and embodied life. Rather than being helped to develop an intuitive feeling of the life inside you through touch, movement, song, speech and feeling, you are exposed to mechanical ultrasound, which will frighten and disturb your baby, but will give you the two-dimensional visual reality of a photograph. The dominance of disembodied tele-visuality in our culture is such that the ultrasound picture often gives more sense of the baby as a living being than does the inner experience.
The crushing in of space that the baby feels is mirrored by the mother when she is squashed into a car and rushed off to hospital in a state of fear and anxiety. Baby is stuck in the womb. Mum and dad get stuck in the traffic. Having to relocate at this crucial time is disorienting and increases a sense of vulnerability. An erotic birth experience is very hard to reach for in a hospital setting under these circumstances. Pure, clean, aseptic or antiseptic brightness, whiteness, sharp corners and harsh smells are fundamental to what hospitals are about. The dominant theme and mindset of a hospital is the avoidance of death, not the creation of life.
On the other hand, the vibrant colours, sweet smells and tastes, softness, roundness and the relative calmness and darkness of a real home are what Eros enjoys. Home is about familiarity, not strangeness or novelty. The process of having to change setting raises the stress levels enormously. But the mother is conditioned by mainstream society to be more fearful about giving birth at home.
If the mother is happy and positive about giving birth naturally at home then the birth is likely to happen easily and successfully. Naturally born babies also tend to be born at night, when the world and mother are calm and relaxed, not when doctors and nurses are readily available to run through their day routines.
Some may be surprised to hear that women can experience birth as profoundly erotic. Erotic birth is the antithesis of medicalised birth. In her book Unassisted Childbirth, Laura Shanley writes, "In these pages I hope you will discover not only a new way of birthing, but a new way of being. If we can free ourselves from fear, shame, and guilt, pregnancy and birth become emotionally, spiritually and even sexually fulfilling experiences." We now know that the emotional states of the mother are communicated to the baby through the cord. If mother is anxious about the birth the baby will catch that anxiety. Sometimes people will need really skilled technical assistance and the loving support of an experienced midwife or doula (a doula is a trained birth assistant but not a nurse as such). In our culture a split in consciousness between mind and body, which philosophers call Cartesian Dualism, has led to the ego being cut off from the biological processes of our bodily being. To support a woman in being fully open to the deep eroticism of birth, a life-partner, or very close friend with training as a doula, might be more helpful than a normal midwifery service.
The end of the second stage comes with the full opening of the cervix. There is light at the end of the tunnel! This stage is the actual journey out of the womb and down the birth canal, the woman's vagina, and out into the new world. In the positive scenario it is an erotic baby who swims or crawls its way down the birth canal with the firm but gentle support of the mother's body. Frustration and blockages are normal and may feel hellish to mum and/or babe, but successful movement down the tunnel and out into the world can be orgasmic and heavenly for both. The Web site talks about this stage as transcendental, often involving an out-of-body experience. Grof calls this the matrix of heaven and hell. The pressures on the baby are so intense that the head is molded into quite a different shape, though if the traumatizing of the baby is not too bad the head will slowly return to a normal shape.
The experience here is the major template of all later empowerment and accomplishment in life. It also patterns failure, defeat and despair. It can be the precursor of permanent hostility to the environment, nature and the feminine. Interventions to extract the baby, whether forceps, caesarian or ventouse, lead both to a tendency to withdraw from the prospect of change and life opportunities, and an expectation of having to be rescued. Professor Vivette Glover has been researching perinatal stress levels formed in response to different kinds of birth experience. Her biochemical research shows that much higher levels of stress hormone response are set up in babies who have had a forceps delivery.
Major events later in life put us back in touch with birth. In terms of spiritual experiences, that wondrous light at the end of a tunnel, which so many people report when coming out of near-death experiences, may really be a recapitulation of the ordeal of birth, which had its own bright new world at the end of that first awesome tunnel.
Grof talks about this stage as a death/rebirth experience. The truth is that only a very few babies are "blue" and need bringing back from the dead. But psychologically, the pain may be so intense that it has to be blocked out as permanently as possible, so it is as if we had died and been reborn.
At this stage the baby completes the journey into the world and begins to connect with that world. The ends of the spectrum for this stage can bring brutalizing violence, abandonment, even murder, at one extreme, and blissful uninterrupted bonding with an ecstatic and fulfilled mother on the other. It used to be normal medical practise to hang a baby by its feet and bang it on the back till it screamed. A loud cry was seen as a good sign. Thank heavens for Frederick Leboyer and his pioneering work, Birth Without Violence.
A person may react to an emotional or physical abandonment at birth, either by repeating the experience compulsively in major life relationships, or by avoiding all deep personal intimacy so as never to have to approach that abandonment feeling again. Yet hospitals still routinely separated mothers and babies for considerable amounts of time after birth.
At the other end of the spectrum the most pleasurable way of birth is undoubtedly under water. The baby swims down under the water and comes to the surface on its own initiative. Trust it. Trust nature. The baby will spontaneously seek out the mother's nipple and feed when placed on the abdomen. There is no need to cut the cord till it has spontaneously stopped pulsing. This first reception into the outer world sets a template for our level of security in our outer environment.
Dr. William Emerson, a pre-eminent American researcher into birth psychology, states that the degree of psychological trauma in birth is inversely proportional to the degree of medical intervention. Medical intervention is sometimes necessary to save life. That is not in question. However, the more we intervene to try to take over from what is natural the more the baby is traumatized. Emerson and others have identified a whole range of potential trauma points, both physical and psychological, in the birth process and the characteristic symptomatology that will follow from these trauma points in the life of the child and adult. These traumas can be therapeutically remedied. We do not have to stay stuck all our lives with the imprints of our births! However, that is the subject of another article. A very significant proportion of the clients who have come to me for psychotherapy over the last 20 years have been either premature, and therefore incubated and cut off from human support, or separated from their mother at birth for a period of time. Mothers and babies need to feel safe and secure and held to be at home in the world. Medical control tends to break into this vital process and interfere with it.
We now have far more understanding of birth both for mother and baby than we have ever had. But we can use that knowledge wisely or unwisely. The hi-tech approach favoured in America is actually increasing perinatal mortality. In Holland next May we have an International Congress on Embryology and Therapy, which hopes to set an agenda for improving our way of birth in Europe. (Please see CONGRESS2002.COM for more information.) In England, organizations such as OPPERA (the Oxford Prenatal and Perinatal Education Research and Awareness Trust) and PIPPIN (Parents in Partnership, Parent-Infant Network) also have an important contribution to make.
There are two major areas in which parents should concentrate on educating themselves. First and foremost there is preparation for parenting. Relationships with the unborn baby can be built up both for mother and father before the birth and a continuity of relatedness established into postnatal life. In the future I hope that all prenatal education for parenting will include understanding of the birth and perinatal matrices as real emotional experiences for baby. The best introduction to this is Nikki Bradford's book The Miraculous World of Your Unborn Baby.
The second area is treatment for the effects of birth patterning. Many people have already experienced cranio-sacral therapy for birth problems and know how useful it can be. This form of therapy is called Birth Re-Facilitation. It works with emotional patterns as well as somatic structures. The child's unconscious world is full of birth material. Enid Blyton's immense success as a children's writer may have had something to do with the fact that her stories are full of tunnels, dungeons, caves and other narrow places that the children must struggle through to overcome their problems. Changing birth schemas is a very liberating thing for children. They want to work on their material over and over again till they have mastery of it. It is the parents who sometimes find it difficult and emotionally demanding if they have not learned about their own patterning before helping their children.
The unborn baby is truly a sentient and intelligent human being who has much to go through at birth. We owe it to future generations to change how we tackle birth experiences in order to make birth an easier transition, a gateway to a fuller life, not a narrow and traumatized one.
Nick Owen is a psychotherapist and director of the Oxford School of Psychotherapy and Counseling. He has 20 years of experience working with birth material. He also works for The Oxford Prenatal and Perinatal Education Research and Awareness Trust.
| [] |
The Archbishop and Jesus
Sunday 6 November 2005 6:00PM
The Most Reverend Peter Jensen, Archbishop of the Sydney Anglican Church, is giving this year's Boyer Lectures, titled The Future of Jesus.
But how do you talk about Jesus to an unbelieving public? In this interview, Dr Jensen describes the challenge of speaking to an audience that has drifted away from Christianity. He also explains why he doesn't regard himself as a religious man, and why he finds it hard to like the institutional church. We also encounter one of the future directions of Christian worship, the young rock band Christian City Youth.
Rachael Kohn: Singing about Jesus in their lives, Nikki Fletcher and Daniel Korocz, are part of the new wave of Christian youth who are passionate about Jesus.
Hello, and welcome to The Future of Jesus on The Spirit of Things. I'm Rachael Kohn, and you're tuned to ABC Radio National.
The Christian City Youth Band is not just a music phenomenon, they're communicating Jesus through music to lots of young people. And they might be where the future of Jesus lies. Nikki and Daniel join me later in the program.
Jesus' future may be assured in the independent churches, but in other churches in the West it's an open question. One of the highlights of Radio National's listening year is the annual Boyer Lecture series, given by a distinguished Australian.
This year, the Archbishop of the Sydney Anglican Diocese, the Most Reverend Peter Jensen was handed the mantle. It's only the second time since its inauguration in 1959 that the Boyer Lectures will be given by a man of the church and that a specifically religious topic will be addressed.
For six weeks, beginning next Sunday at 5pm, Dr Jensen will be addressing The Future of Jesus. And unlike the young people who'll join me later, he's not as optimistic about Jesus' popularity in the West.
After reading the lectures, I went to St Andrews House to talk to him about some of the spiritual issues he raises.
Rachael Kohn: Archbishop Peter Jensen, welcome to The Spirit of Things.
Dr Peter Jensen: Thank you very much, and hello to all your listeners.
Rachael Kohn: What was your reaction when you were invited to give the Boyer Lectures?
Dr Peter Jensen: Presuming you want the truth, I was bowled over and rendered almost speechless. I think being asked to give the Boyers is as high an honour as our country can give anyone, and I was not expecting it, was, as I say, hugely honoured by it, and it will surprise my friends to hear, rendered speechless.
Rachael Kohn: Well you managed to overcome that, fortunately. But really, you must have wondered what sort of note to strike, given that the ABC has a reputation for being a secular collective, as a kind of reflection of society as a whole.
Dr Peter Jensen: Yes, and no. I don't accept that view of the ABC, because I know among other things The Religion Report exists and the Religion Department exists, and the ABC has various voices. On the other hand, yes of course it did make me think about what to talk about, and I took soundings and advice, and it was some time before I came to the view that I'd talk about Jesus.
Rachael Kohn: Well how did you settle on Jesus rather than the church or Christianity in general?
Dr Peter Jensen: In the end, I wanted to talk about the thing that really was the most important thing of all to me. The Boyer lecturer is able to talk about anything that he or she wishes, and so I could talk about gardening or fishing or something like that. However, I thought Well, the best thing to do is to talk about what I'm really, really passionate about, and it's not the church even, or Christianity, it is Jesus. And so I thought I'd better talk about him.
Now the danger is of course that talking about Jesus, he is far, far greater than we are, and therefore to talk about him really you are in great danger of making a complete fool of yourself. Well I've accepted that that is the danger, but I still think if I can get others to be interested in him, then that really will fulfil the aim.
Rachael Kohn: You've said in a few places that Jesus really is your passion, and is the most important person in your life. When and how did that happen to you?
Dr Peter Jensen: Rachael, that goes back to my teenage years. I was born in a family which was basically a churchgoing, or at least a church sending family, and went to church as a child, and then as a teenager, but it was not personal, and it may well be that like many others, I may well have drifted away from church, but in 1959, our church became strongly involved in the crusade run in that year by Mr Billy Graham, in Sydney. And in going to his meetings, the very first meeting I went to, his sermon was so arresting, the Bible spoke to me in a very powerful and strong way, I now say by the power of the holy spirit, and my faith, which was conventional, became what I'd say personal. That afternoon, I think it was April 1959, was the turning point of my life.
Rachael Kohn: Do you think a lot of people today focus a great deal on the church and have sort of missed Jesus? He's been sort of eclipsed by debating about the church?
Dr Peter Jensen: Yes that has been the difficulty right through Christian history, and particularly in the time when Christianity became very popular, and became more or less co-terminus with society.
Infant baptism didn't help here I think, people simply joined the church as one joins society, and the question of a personal faith often hardly arose. Now there may have been faith, there may have been some significant faith there, but not personal, and it was often attached to the teaching of the church. Sometimes I think the teaching of the church did that, the church itself taught more about itself than it taught about Jesus, and suggested that the route to Jesus lay through the church and its ordinances, the sacraments and so forth.
Rachael Kohn: I suppose some of your critics would say that you have been concerned with preserving a certain type of church.
Dr Peter Jensen: I'm not sure what they would mean by that since perhaps it would be ignorance on their part, that they would say it.
Rachael Kohn: Well perhaps things like changing the liturgy, perhaps not ordaining women, a certain kind of church whereas others might focus on Jesus, they might say you have been interested in preserving a certain type of church.
Dr Peter Jensen: Yes, your two illustrations are interesting. The first was changing the liturgy, which of course is not preserving a certain type of church; I am known more as a radical in many ways than a conservative in these matters, because a deeply conservative theological person can afford to be radical. And the radical nature of my sort of Christianity involves changing church.
When our diocese several years ago accepted the idea of being on a mission footing, so to speak, one of the rules we set ourselves was to change everything that needed changing, in order to reach modern Australia. And one of the key things we needed to change was the church experience. I'm happy to see church on a Wednesday night with three people meeting in the open air, still seeking to serve Jesus, that's the essential part of it, but without any clergy, I'm known rather I think as being rather radical in these areas rather than conservative.
Rachael Kohn: But certain radical steps you wouldn't take, such as ordaining women, or ordaining gays for example.
Dr Peter Jensen: I don't know, I don't regard these as radical, I regard them as innovatory in Christian history, it's true, and again I'd say yes, I'm certainly pleased to be known as someone who has a conservative theological centre, which just happens to link me in I think with 99% of the world's Christians, and virtually 100% of Christians who have ever lived.
So I'm not sure that this is something that's really as significant as some critics might make out.
Rachael Kohn: Well Jesus has certainly had to compete with a lot of things in the modern world, and one of them would be a big trend to see him as a man, as a teacher, not as the Lord.
Dr Peter Jensen: Yes, and that's a very useful trend, because the glorification of Jesus, the sort of stained-glass Jesus, has not been a very helpful picture.
One of the things that we need to say as clearly as possible is that he was indeed truly man, that he slept and that he ate and that, it's interesting in the gospels, one or two times it talks about him having a special friend, or friends, an intimate group within his disciples. It says he met a young man once and his heart went out to him.
In other words, he had a full range of ordinary human instincts and emotions, he was thoroughly human and as I always say, I guess he had nappy rash and he may well have had bad teeth, who can tell. He is a thoroughly human person because in my belief, Jesus is still of course, having been resurrected, alive and well, and he remains human.
Now the distinctive thing about him however, according to the Biblical record is that he was both human and divine, and it's finding out how we may see his divinity in his humanity, and his humanity in his divinity which is something that's extraordinarily important if we're talking about Jesus. But the move that you talk about is a great one, very helpful I'd say. Unless it's connected with 'he's only human'. That's a problem.
Rachael Kohn: Yes, well certainly Biblical scholarship has gone in that direction; there are quite a few scholars who refer to the miraculous as really mythology. That being the trend of modern Biblical teaching, how did you manage to hold on to your faith?
Dr Peter Jensen: First of all I'd say it's the trend of some modern Biblical scholarship, by no means all. Perhaps if we did an actual head count around the world we'd discover that the majority of very serious Biblical scholars were quite comfortable with the supernatural as such, the miraculous as such, and things like the resurrection. So we need to be careful there.
Yes of course there is a great number who question these things, but it's not by any means such a vast movement that we have to think that it's the winning movement. As far as I'm concerned, my greatest test of faith I think came in my second year of theological study, and I felt for some time that I might have to renounce my faith, to lose it under the impact of those critical studies to which you refer. And it was a period of some months and of testing, of going down to the foundations again, of asking questions, of trying to bring historical criticism to bear, that persuaded me on those grounds, that we were dealing with reality and not with fraud.
Questions are a very helpful way of being a Christian and from time to time, my faith, as is everyone's faith, is strongly tested, and from time to time I look again and say, Well, is the whole thing wrong? That's just natural, and it's a good thing for us, it's a helpful thing for us, and as long as we don't live in a state of suspended animation, I welcome the testing of faith.
Rachael Kohn: What do you think of the remarks of G.P. Taylor, the Anglican vicar turned bestselling children's author, who thinks the church killed off Jesus by turning him into a bearded eunuch, in fact Taylor likes to use colourful language and he says 'The lukewarm made Jesus puke'. Do you have some sympathy with that view?
Dr Peter Jensen: Sure. My particular bete noir I have to say is late 19th century stained glass windows. The pre-Raphaelite pictures of Jesus are awful, they seem to have captured the market, the idea that Jesus was a long-haired sort of hippy type person is the one that comes to people's minds. And in many ways this has come out of the church's perceptions. That's why I want people to go back and read the Gospels for themselves, to break the stereotype, and to listen carefully.
If Jesus spoke like that, well then what sort of man was he? He was an extraordinary person, and I think we need to hear his genuine, rough accent again, to break the stereotype.
Rachael Kohn: Well Jesus is not always easy to have a firm picture of. The four Gospels have slightly different versions of him. Which of the Gospels speaks to you most powerfully about Jesus?
Dr Peter Jensen: I think the answer to that is Luke, strangely. Luke's the longest. It's a difficult question because they all, the four pictures, are all needed. Yes they do speak with different voices, I don't doubt that, and John speaks with the most different voice of all, and is in a class of its own. So I couldn't possibly imagine a world without all four pictures.
But if I had to, if I was forced to choose and go to a desert island with one, I should think it would be Luke, who records on his own, some of the most extraordinary parables for example, and some of the greatest moments of the Gospel. I think Luke. If I was going to say to anyone, Read at least one Gospel, I'd say Luke.
Rachael Kohn: I guess it's the strong, almost muscular Jesus which we've seen recently in the Mel Gibson film, The Passion of the Christ, and that sort of clearly-drawn Jesus is very easy to connect to I guess, particularly for young people, because it's so clearly drawn. Did the film capture the essence of Jesus for you?
Dr Peter Jensen: I wouldn't go and see the film. Would you like me to say why?
Rachael Kohn: Yes, I would.
Dr Peter Jensen: It's rather personal. I love Jesus, and the idea of going and seeing an actor portraying him brutalised would be to my mind, something like going and seeing an actor portraying my father being shot. I couldn't quite see why I would want to do that. Secondly, I think the film was historically inaccurate at various points, it was rather catholicising, I am told, a rather catholicising view of the death of Jesus, and I don't think that's helpful. And then thirdly, it's interesting that there is no portrait of Jesus, there's no actual portrait of what he looked like, and there's not even a word portrait of what he looked like.
And I have to say I have some hesitations about us too readily portraying Jesus, whether it's the Hollywood Jesus, because of the danger of us attaching our thoughts to a picture which turns out to be only partially true. Now that's a personal attitude, and I know that many differ from me. Many of my friends went and saw the movie without any of the feelings that I've described. So I'm giving you my personal reaction and I realise there'd be others who have a quite different view of the movie.
Rachael Kohn: The Sydney Anglican Archbishop, Peter Jensen, giving some pretty sound reasons why he didn't appreciate Mel Gibson's film, The Passion of the Christ. Dr Jensen is giving this year's Boyer Lectures, beginning next Sunday at 5pm, here on ABC Radio National. And in this preview on The Spirit of Things, we're talking about The Future of Jesus.
Later on, we'll hear from a couple of singer-songwriters from one of the hottest young bands on the Christian rock scene.
Rachael Kohn: The Boyer Lectures are as you've named them on The Future of Jesus, and I wonder whether this popular culture appropriation of Jesus, is going to be his future.
Dr Peter Jensen: My first fear is that Jesus may be forgotten in some parts of the world. I don't think he will be forgotten overall, after all, his religion is still a very successful one, and in parts of the world, people are becoming Christians at an astounding rate. But I do fear that in some parts of the West, we may forget him. And there will be no popular appropriation of Jesus, because he will not be known.
It does mean of course that we will be cut off from a huge amount of our artistic and literary culture, but that's one of the prices we pay for extinguishing the knowledge of Jesus. Now where he is going to be known, you're right, I think I suspect that people will try to come to terms with him and take those bits of him which they find helpful to them in their daily lives, and for some that will be his teaching and so forth. What I am trying to do is to get them, however to - it's not just Jesus, it's the Bible, you see, the Bible has shaped Western culture, because it's delivered Jesus to us.
So I'm trying to bring Jesus and the Bible back together again, and I think when they actually have an encounter with the Jesus of the Bible, they'll discover it's not just any old human teacher from back then.
When he died (this is in Luke of course) he was crucified, an absolutely excruciating death of course, he says 'Father forgive them, they know not what they do'. And someone has said that if Socrates died like a philosopher, then Jesus died like a god. And it is in that moment of abject humiliation that we see a man who lived like God, so to speak, we see God shining out from someone being crucified. Now I think even in folk religion and popular religion, as people come to look at him, they will sense, I think, the presence of God in him.
Rachael Kohn: Dr Jensen, in the Boyer Lectures you talk about Jesus, the man of miracles, and I wonder if there can be much hope for a miracle worker in a culture that is so bent on self-help philosophies, and self-made success. Are we overly confident in ourselves?
Dr Peter Jensen: Yes, though there is something else I would like to challenge first, or observe first. It's astonishing, isn't it, that you refer to our culture rightly, but at a popular level miracles are immensely welcomed. There are huge numbers of people who actually believe in miracles, or who believe in the supernatural, at least believe in the stars. The so-called scientific world view has not won through and taken over the whole of the culture in which we are living.
People sense that there is a beyond, there is another way of looking at the world, there is a way in which the supernatural interacts with the natural world. I don't think the alleged warfare between science and Christianity is at all true, let me say that. Nonetheless, if you merely took the so-called scientific world view as a philosophy, you would be I think in our society, in a minority. So the idea of Jesus, the one who does miracles, I think is not going to be as difficult as some people imagine it will be.
Rachael Kohn: Well I actually would challenge you there. I think that perhaps supernatural is alive and well, but maybe magic, which is something you control, is more easy to accept than a miracle, which happens by the grace of God. Maybe that's much harder to sell, as it were.
Dr Peter Jensen: I agree with you entirely. See the difference between faith and superstition is not the inner feeling, superstition is faith in the untrue, or faith where you are attempting to manipulate the supernatural, what you've just called magic. Rightly so.
Magic can be defined as my will be done; Christianity is defined as thy will be done. That's the difference. But as far as the experience, the inner experience of faith, and the inner experience of superstition, exactly the same, it's the object of our faith that makes the difference. All I'm trying to say is that I think there's an awful lot of superstition and magical thinking about.
At one level it therefore leaves us open to the truth exhibited by the resurrection, that this material world in which we live is not a closed continuum, that it can be broken into by the God who has made it all, and that the world of death and destruction and decay and the grave, is actually not the true world. Those who've committed themselves to that view of the world have committed themselves to hopelessness.
What Jesus and his resurrection shows is that outside that closed world, there is a God prepared to break into our world and give us a new world. That seems like good news to me and I think magic and magical thinking is a grasping after that great truth.
Rachael Kohn: In the Boyer Lectures, you come out very critical of individualism as a threat to Christianity, on a par with Marxism. And certainly at the extremes, one can see that. But doesn't individualism owe a lot to Protestant Christianity, which wrested the individual from the collective tradition and placed him, or her, before God. Christianity depends on individual voluntary conversion, and that depends on a society of individuals, does it not?
Dr Peter Jensen: Yes, it does, I think that's a fair point, and if I'm critical of individualism, therefore, see I think that Protestantism to which you refer, to my mind rests on the Bible itself, and the infinite preciousness of the individual, and that we don't just simply make the collective, the God to be worshipped.
If I am to defend my position I would therefore have to say that it is the taking of what Protestantism and the Bible itself has delivered to us, and the distortion of that is that of which I am very critical. And I've illustrated it in the lectures by discussion in Judith Brett's book on the Liberal party in which she points out at the beginning of the 20th century the Liberal party was a philosophy of individualism, but what it meant by individualism was that the individual took responsibility for herself, or himself. And then served others, under the impact of the spirit of Jesus. Whereas in the late 20th century the philosophy hasn't changed, but the whole atmosphere of the culture has changed. So that individualism lacks the sense of service of others.
Now where individualism lacks the sense of service of others, it is, I think I'd rather live in a collective State. No, that might be exaggerating when I think of Europe under Marxism, but certainly it's a very dangerous spiritual situation for our nation. Yes, it may be a legacy of Protestantism, but if so, it's a distortion of Protestantism and it's a very ugly thing.
Rachael Kohn: There's a strong message in your lectures that the demise of Jesus in Western consciousness, is not only a matter of personal salvation alone, but of Western civilisation itself. But you also say that Western civilisation is founded on the Bible, it has its deep structure in the Bible. So is it possible to uphold the central values such as mercy and justice, without really knowing where they come from?
Dr Peter Jensen: Oh yes. All sorts of things that we do, it's interesting in a society like ours, there are all sorts of things that we are committed to which we unwittingly are committed to, but they come from the Bible.
An African friend of mine for example, said to me, we were driving somewhere down near Manly, and there was a little incident in the traffic, and someone stopped to let someone else do something. He said, 'That's Christian'. I said, 'What on earth are you talking about?' He said, 'In a society in which Christianity has not been a shaping force, you would not find people driving like that'. Now I don't know whether he was actually specifically correct, but he is generally correct.
There's a huge number of things in which all unwittingly, people in our society take Christianity for granted. Now these things are so deep, so pervasive, they can't be changed, and won't be changed in a single generation. But over 100 years or 200 years, if we suppress the knowledge of Jesus and the Bible, a new civilisation will be born, a new way of looking at the world, I believe it will be retrograde, that we will commit ourselves to what patterns and ways of life which we will find very unhelpful as human beings.
Rachael Kohn: Jesus is often invoked as the model of forgiveness, and acceptance, but he also announced that those who aren't with me are against me. Many post-Christians would say this ethic has caused unnecessary antagonism to other religions, to other peoples.
Dr Peter Jensen: Well they might. Yes, I'm glad to hear you quote that, because there's a huge number of things in the - I think reading the Gospels is like seeing a very rugged terrain. It contains many boulders and sharp rocks, many things on which we bruise ourselves. Many things to confront us and affront us, because the Bible is one of those texts which now in a sense, comes to us from outside our culture.
Yes it is foundational to our culture but in the present situation it comes in a sense outside our culture, it doesn't reflect us, it reflects something else, and the sayings of Jesus specifically do, and I think we need a good dose of that. We need to free ourselves from some of the romantic notions that people have about life in this world. We're becoming more and more romantic because we live so comfortably here in Australia, so very comfortably, we think that this is the natural way humans live. And the truth of the fact is that all around the world people do not live like this.
We are so used to religion being benign we think that religion is by definition benign. Well we used to think that. And this is not true. So what Jesus does is instead of just being a mere sort of figure who endorses all the thoughts we may have, he is a very confrontative figure, and the quotation that you've given me is typical of the way in which he confronts us.
Rachael Kohn: Well you cite the French mathematician, Blaise Pascal, who said 'Jesus is the centre of all, the object of all, whoever knows not him, knows nothing aright, either of the world or of himself'. Do you agree with him?
Dr Peter Jensen: Yes, I do.
Rachael Kohn: So that means that essentially to know the world aright and to know yourself aright, you must be a Christian?
Dr Peter Jensen: You must know Jesus and hear his strong word. Yes, I think Pascal who of course is one of the founders of modern statistics, one of the most extraordinarily able intellectuals of all time, who found God himself in an extraordinary experience. I think he has put his finger after much thought, on the truth. I think that, not because I enjoy thinking that, or think I'm right, or something like that, I think that because in the end, there is only one who is both God and man. And if it is true that he is God and man, then what Pascal says follows.
Rachael Kohn: When it comes to growth, the Anglican church lags behind some of the independent churches, churches like say Christian City Church, and Hillsong, which are hugely successful with young people. Isn't the future of Jesus with them?
Dr Peter Jensen: No, I don't believe so for a minute. Yes, they have their successes. Mind you, there's an awful lot of Pentecostal churches that are small, struggling and often disappear. We see something of the picture here in seeing those big ones, and I'm glad of their success, of course. But for every one like that, there are dozens that aren't like that, that are struggling, and then too, amongst the Anglican churches, we too have our large churches.
What we are standing for is as I said, a trust in God's word in the Bible and in Jesus, the Jesus described in the Bible, what people call conservative, but I don't know why they say that particularly, it's Biblical. And we have found as many of the Pentecostals have found, that preaching the Jesus of the Bible is attractive, even in the modern world, and we find ourselves, our churches are growing and we too have many young people. Our theological college is full to bursting, if that's what this is about.
There is a fundamental distinction that exists between Pentecostalism and Evangelicalism which is what I represent, and that is that the locus of authority in Pentecostalism is on the experience, and the locus of authority in Evangelicalism is on the Bible. Now don't get me wrong, the Pentecostals have the Bible and Evangelicals have experience. I'm talking about the basics, when you get down to the basics. And I don't believe that an experientially-based religion is going to be able to carry the Gospel, the Biblical Gospel with its intellectual demands, into the next 50 years.
I'm putting my money, if I may use that expression, on Biblically based religion. So I quite agree that many of the Pentecostals of course love the Bible, and to that extent too, they too will be blessed by God.
Rachael Kohn: Archbishop Peter Jensen, you've said in the Boyer Lectures that you don't consider yourself a religious man, an extraordinary admission; what do you mean by that?
Dr Peter Jensen: When I think of religion, I often think of people dressed up in funny gear, and going into rituals, and wearing strange things, being intensely interested in churchy matters, and being pretty good at prayer I suppose. When I think of myself, I'm thinking of a person who has a relationship with Jesus, and I think relationship rather than religion.
I find prayer pretty hard myself, I don't find living the Christian life an easy one, and I certainly don't think I want to go to church every day. When I go to conferences where they have church every day, I have to say I find it very difficult. I love going to church and being with my church family, that's different. But I'm not a natural churchgoer, if I can put it like that. So that's why I say, yes, I'm a person with relationships, I'm not sure I'm a person with a religion.
Rachael Kohn: Faith, not religion, that's the credo of Dr Peter Jensen, the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney. He's giving this year's Boyer Lectures on the Future of Jesus, and he hopes to provoke public debate. And I'm quite sure that some of his remarks will, if not with people of other faith, then certainly within the Christian camp.
The Boyer Lectures begin next Sunday after the news at 5pm, here on ABC Radio National.
The theology of the Sydney Anglican Diocese is evangelical, it's also been called Calvinist, referring back to the 16th century reformer, John Calvin. It's a complex history of ideas.
But when you front up to the Christian City Church at Oxford Falls, it's not the theology that hits you, it's the intimacy. In the words of Pastor Phil Pringle, worship is about connecting, connecting to Jesus. And what better way to do that than through music. Here's 'No Longer I' by the Christian City Youth Band, including singer-songwriters Nikki Fletcher and Daniel Korocz.
Dan Korocz: 'No Longer I' is pretty much about not living for yourself, and there's a scripture in Galatians 2:20 it says I've been crucified with Christ, no longer I live, but Christ that lives in me, and it's about living a life, about God and other people.
Rachael Kohn: The lyric also says Christ lives in me. How does Christ live in you?
Nikki Fletcher: I would consider myself a disciple of Christ, I'm one that follows Christ, Jesus Christ who came and walked on this earth 2,000 years ago and stars in the Bible. And we believe that he died for our sins, he died on a cross, and for the salvation of mankind, and so for me, I have given my life to Jesus, so that I may have salvation. But to do that, it's a daily walk with him, and I then become transformed, it's no longer I that lives, but it's Christ that lives in me.
So the Nikki Fletcher that has lived all these years, daily comes before Jesus Christ and says Jesus, I can't walk this thing called life alone, I don't get it without you. And then Jesus enters my heart and my life, and I follow the word of God, that's the other thing you know, that's how we come to know Jesus is through the word of God, the Bible, which is a big fat book full of a whole lot of little books, and we believe that that is God breathed and from heaven, and it transforms our world every day as we read it.
Dan Korocz: It's not a religion, but it's just having a relationship with Jesus and every day just having that relationship, just like you do with a boyfriend or a girlfriend, you know you have relationship with Jesus that's what it means to me, and daily I'm praying and reading my Bible.
Rachael Kohn: Does Dan ever struggle with Jesus inside him?
Dan Korocz: Oh yes, like definitely, like because Dan wants to live, but then Christ wants to live also, so you know, they're like fighting each other, you know. But that's why you've got to - it's a daily walk with Jesus because you know, you're like you're dying to yourself daily. I've got to daily like shut myself down, I'm like OK it's not about me, it's about Christ in me, and I've got to keep on telling myself that.
Rachael Kohn: How did you come to Christ first?
Dan Korocz: I've grown up in a Christian family my whole life, so I've always - I went to Christian schools, I've always been around church, around Christians, but it's funny, it's probably only up until maybe I'm 21 now and maybe when I was 15, 16, that I actually got really passionate and actually encountered Jesus for the first time.
Rachael Kohn: In what setting?
Dan Korocz: Probably pretty much as coming to church and I used to go to another church besides this church, and it was a lot smaller and it was nothing like this church today. It wasn't really relevant, very sort of old-fashioned, or laid-back, and I came here probably about 8, 9 years ago and totally blown away about all the people here, they were so relevant I could totally relate to them, and it's pretty much the people that I met here is what brought me to Jesus.
Rachael Kohn: Was the music important to you? Is that what moved you? Is that what made you think it was relevant?
Dan Korocz: Yes, definitely, like that was a huge part of it, but I think even more than that, it was the people, and seeing Jesus in other people's lives, that's what connected me to Jesus first.
Rachael Kohn: Nikki, did you always think you were going to sing your faith?
Nikki Fletcher: No, I didn't always think that I was going to sing, but I grew up in church, same sort of story as Dan, and always was surrounded by Christianity, and was aware of God and felt that I always knew God existed and was real, but I never thought that I would end up sort of doing 24/7, I thought that you know, I would have a career in music and do albums and you know, be a Delta Goodrem or something like that you know. So I didn't always think that I'd be doing it.
Rachael Kohn: How did it happen, how did a budding singer become a worship leader?
Nikki Fletcher: Well I grew up in church and then when I was probably 18, I actually made a decision for myself outside of my parents that, this was what I wanted to live for in my life.
I believed in Jesus, I believed in church, and what church was about, and so I made a decision in one of our services to follow Christ and be a disciple. After that, I think I got asked to sing in one service, and just one thing led to another until I was singing in all the services, and leading and writing worship songs and then about two years after that when I was about 20 or 21, I knew that this is what God had in store for my life, and I knew that I was meant to write songs about God, and minister to people through the church, and so I've never looked back and gone Oh well I think I might one day have a career in music, even if one day I stop singing about God, I know that my role is here in the church and in ministry. It's a different path that I've taken.
Rachael Kohn: As you say, it's 24/7. Can you tell me how do you write your songs?
Nikki Fletcher: Well the songs that we write, Dan and myself here, are for our service and for the people in our church, predominantly, that's our first reason for writing our songs.
We have what naturally comes out, so we'll sit down, we'll sing and there it is, it all kind of comes out and then we'll package it, so it works for the service. As it would be if I was writing for a record company or an artist and I wrote well here's what's in my heart, blah-blah-blah, there it all comes out and the artist said Yes, but it doesn't really fit my album, I need the songs to be shorter I need more hooks, whatever. It's the same kind of thing with church, it all comes out of my spirit and then you know we'll work it, and the pastor of the church will often listen to it and go Oh, it's not kind of the vibe that we're wanting, or whatever. So that's the kind of process.
I mean there's probably a whole team of songwriters here probably about 10, 12 songwriters that write and we write with the intention of our church in our church services. But firstly, it comes from your spirit, you know, whatever's in your heart is sort of what comes out.
Rachael Kohn: But you're something of a preacher. I mean you're communicating the word to the congregation, so do you find your lead or your hook, if I can use that term, from the Bible, from Bible passages, like 'No Longer I'?
Dan Korocz: With all my songwriting, I pretty much get all my songs, I read my Bible and pray, I can pretty much kind of do that, and whatever I read in the Bible, something stands out to me, I'll write a song out of that, and I do think worship leading is like preaching, you're up there, you're prophesying into people's lives, you know like when I sing it's no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me and prophesying into other kids' lives, other people's lives.
Nikki Fletcher: So if I was going to write a song which is probably what I spend a lot of my spare time doing because it's just something that I love to do, a lot of the time I spend reading the word of God, reading the Bible, and praying and often there'll be something that's going on in my world which comes out in song, as I sit down and write, so for example this song which I'm working on at the moment, is called My Soul Delights, and it comes from Psalm 23 which David wrote.
It's very famous, which is 'The Lord is My Shepherd, I shall not want. He restores my soul', and so I've just been meditating on that, 'He restores my soul, and he leads me, he guides me,', all that sort of stuff, and so that's sort of come out in song, but slightly, you know, my interpretation of it, so the chorus goes (SINGS).
So that's the kind of thing, and then I'll get a you know, just keep singing, get another chord progression (DEMONSTRATES) So for that section like I came up with 'My soul delights', it's another Psalm, but then so that the congregation could sing it, and it's for them, it's not just for me, 'My soul delights, of your glory we will sing, My soul delights as we worship our king', so it's as we worship, so that like, I'm picturing the congregation. 'I'll worship and sing', 'We worship', do you know what I mean, rather than me just going 'I worship you lord my king', or whatever, it's sort of for them, so that's kind of how it works for us.
Rachael Kohn: Gosh. It sounds like you've got a hit there. At least with the congregation. In fact how does the congregation respond to your songs?
Dan Korocz: There are times when they don't respond well. We've had to ditch songs, but generally I think we're getting better, it's something you learn as a songwriter and a worship leader, you're actually writing songs for a congregation, and you're not writing songs just for yourself, so at times you know, you've got to write songs that really easy and really catchy, but there have been times when people have - we've had to ditch songs and times when people have loved them straight away.
Rachael Kohn: When we're talking about the congregation here, how many people are we talking about?
Nikki Fletcher: We have a whole lot of youth services and we have a whole lot of church services on the weekend starting on Friday night.
Rachael Kohn: Well how do they differ? What's a youth service as opposed to a church service?
Nikki Fletcher: So out youth is aimed at people from the age of 11 to 25 and then our main church services are aimed at 18 year olds up to whatever.
Families and older people, and in those services different services have more specific audiences, like for example an 8am service on a Sunday morning is very family orientated, it's a bit of a shorter service, and the music's a little bit quieter, you know, we wouldn't get up with the whole rock band and get a mosh pit happening on an 8am service, but then a 6pm service on a Sunday night includes the youth aspect as well as some younger families and you know, middle-aged people or whatever, so it kind of crosses the borders.
Our Friday night services are, we have a junior high, senior high and a young adult service, and so we have three different services all running in different buildings, and they all kind of target that exact - because I think you find these days that generations are very short and small and so what's relevant to a 11 or 12 year old is completely irrelevant to an 18 year old. So to shove them all in the same room and expect to throw the same thing at them and get the same response just doesn't work any more. So we have the three different programs and they have very similar music in that area.
Rachael Kohn: But it sounds like you'd have to have a lot of different bands.
Nikki Fletcher: Yes, we do. And so we have a live worship band in every service that we do, including our prayer meetings on Tuesday nights, even our staff meeting on a Wednesday morning we have full band, and we do music and everything.
Rachael Kohn: So essentially, you're going to have a church in the future that's filled with people who can sing and play guitar and keyboard and everything.
Dan Korocz: Great. Definitely.
Nikki Fletcher: That's what we need, like in our main church services we probably have 100 people, and some of them are absolutely brilliant musicians that do sessions all over Australia and stuff, and then we have the beginners starting out in Year 7 coming in and going 'Can we learn guitar? We want to be in part of the band', and it's sort of our job to find these people, get them plugged in and have them there for the long term, because that's what our church is doing now, like we have the music in every service, so if we didn't have any worship team, if we didn't have any band, me and Dan would be learning to play everything at once.
Dan Korocz: We've got a creative arts college here as well, like any age group you can come here and you can be trained in whatever instrument, or even dance or media, you can get trained in that area, and serve the church.
Rachael Kohn: The creative artistic way of connecting to Jesus, at the Christian City Church in Oxford Falls, Sydney. Nikki Fletcher and Daniel Korocz are two of the key members of the Sydney-based band Christian City Youth. And maybe they're where at least one future of Jesus lies. Who's to say any one church has a monopoly on Jesus. the Christian City Church and its collection of rock bands are pretty busy organising a huge event in the SuperDome featuring the visiting Black American preacher, T.D. Jakes, with a special appearance by Guy Sebastian.
To find out more about the Christian City Church music and events as well as this year's Boyer Lectures by the Anglican Archbishop, Peter Jensen, just visit our website.
Production today was by me and Geoff Wood, with technical wizardry provided by John Jacobs.
Next week discover how another part of the spiritual universe lives, the Theosophists. Started 130 years ago, Theosophy still believes that spiritual truth is ever evolving and never exclusive.
That's Theosophy, next week on The Spirit of Things with me, Rachael Kohn.
And I'll leave you now with more from my guests Nikki Fletcher and Daniel Korocz.
Christian City Youth
No Longer I
CD details: Christian City Church
Further Information
Boyer Lectures
The Boyer Lectures have been delivered by prominent Australians, selected by the ABC Board, for over 40 years.
2005 Boyer Lectures: The Future of Jesus
Details of Dr Jensen's Boyer Lecture series from the website of the Sydney Anglicans.
Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney
Christian City Church, Oxford Falls
The rock band Christian City Youth performs at youth services for the Christian City Church.
Dr Rachael Kohn
Geoff Wood / Dr Rachael Kohn | [] |
Order Hotline: 1-800-527-5226
The Grasshopper Mentality
Numbers 13:26-33 & Philippians 4:12-14
Bob Biehl, in his book “Masterplanning,” tells about a conversation he had with a man who trains animals for Hollywood movies. He asked him, “How is it that you can stake down a ten-ton elephant with the same size stake that you use to restrain this baby elephant?”
“It’s easy,” said the trainer. “When they are babies, we stake them down. They try to tug away from the stake countless times before they realize that they can’t get away. At that point the elephant memory takes over and for the remainder of their lives they remain convinced that they can’t get away from the stake.”
Like elephants, humans have long memories. Often when we are young, some unthinking, insensitive person makes a negative statement about you or me, and we happen to hear it. Maybe they say about us, “He is not as smart as the other children” or “She always makes a mess of things,” or “Her personality or disposition is terrible,” or “He has very little leadership ability.” Often at those moments, a mental stake is driven into our subconscious. Years later when we are adults, those stakes are still holding us fast.
Most of our limitations are self-imposed. Often during our childhood years we pick up unrealistic fears and unreasonable insecurities. By the time we reach adulthood, we may have little self-confidence and lots of fears.
In a recent poll taken by Americans in their 20’s, this question was asked: “What is the basic feeling you have about life?” Sixty percent said, “Fear.”1 That surprising data confirms my suspicions that the level of fear and anxiety runs high in America, even in a time of great prosperity.
Most people define themselves either by their problems or their possibilities. Fearful people wake up each morning and locate themselves on a problem chart. But people of faith should wake up and consult their possibility chart. What a difference that makes!
God wants every believer to be confident, positive, and victorious! There are certain Bible verses that we Christians ought to memorize. One of them is Philippians 4:13 — “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Our scripture lesson for the morning shows us the stark difference between fearful and faithful people. Let me set the scene for you. The time is approximately 1400 years before Christ. A tribe of 600,000 Israelites has been migrating for about forty years from Egypt to Canaan. When they approached the border of the Promised Land. Moses, the leader, responding to a command from God, sent twelve spies into Canaan to reconnoiter the land and people. After forty days the spies returned. They were unanimous in reporting that the land was rich and productive. Beyond that, the spies disagreed. Ten of them reported that the people of Canaan were huge giants who lived in fortified cities. These spies concluded that the Israelites were not able to overcome them.
comments powered by Disqus | [] |
Take the 2-minute tour ×
First of all, I could not even chose the method to use, i'm reading for hours now and someone says use 'Handlers', someone says use 'Timer'. Here's what I try to achieve:
At preferences, theres a setting(checkbox) which to enable / disable the repeating job. As that checkbox is checked, the timer should start to work and the thread should be executed every x seconds. As checkbox is unchecked, timer should stop.
Here's my code:
Checking whether if checkbox is checked or not, if checked 'refreshAllServers' void will be executed which does the job with timer.
boolean CheckboxPreference = prefs.getBoolean("checkboxPref", true);
if(CheckboxPreference == true) {
Main main = new Main();
} else {
Main main = new Main();
The refreshAllServers void that does the timer job:
public void refreshAllServers(String start) {
if(start == "start") {
// Start the timer which will repeatingly execute the thread
} else {
// stop the timer
And here's how I execute my thread: (Works well without timer)
Thread myThread = new MyThread(-5);
What I tried?
I tried any example I could see from Google (handlers, timer) none of them worked, I managed to start the timer once but stoping it did not work. The simpliest & understandable code I saw in my research was this:
new java.util.Timer().schedule(
new java.util.TimerTask() {
public void run() {
// your code here
share|improve this question
See if the answer here helps. – yorkw Jul 24 '12 at 21:26
4 Answers 4
up vote 12 down vote accepted
Just simply use below snippet
private Handler handler = new Handler();
private Runnable runnable = new Runnable()
public void run()
// Do the stuff
handler.postDelayed(this, 1000);
To stop it use
Should do the trick.
share|improve this answer
Your solution worked well too, as i found some other solution. – sarkolata Jul 25 '12 at 17:52
I think this the best solution. – Code Droid Jul 25 '12 at 21:17
what if the user wants to accomplish something that uses connection to internet ? applying the above will make the handler and the runnable run on the UI thread, which prevents doing any network things. You need to implement thread there. – tony9099 Sep 23 '13 at 19:23
Than add tread or asynctask to //Do the stuff part – Tuna Karakasoglu Sep 24 '13 at 6:46
This is clever and I've used it in one part of my program and it works fine. But then I tried to use is in a service-like part of my program that does not have any UI, and that results in "java.lang.RuntimeException: Can't create handler inside thread that has not called Looper.prepare()", which is fair enough. So this is a neat way to do timer-like processing, but just not in parts of the app that don't have a UI. – RenniePet Sep 6 at 8:15
I would think to use AlarmManager http://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/AlarmManager.html
If checkbox is on call method where
AlarmManager alarmManager = (AlarmManager)SecureDocApplication.getContext()
PendingIntent myService = PendingIntent.getService(context, 0,
new Intent(context, MyService.class), 0);
long triggerAtTime = 1000;
alarmManager.setRepeating(AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP, triggerAtTime, 5000 /* 5 sec*/,
If checkbox is off cancel alarm manager
share|improve this answer
And which is the part that i will insert my code? – sarkolata Jul 25 '12 at 15:15
Have a class member variable which is instance of alarm manager. When checkbox is on call a method with that code. when off call method to shut down alarm manager. It it's going to happen when user browses through activities, then in inherited Application class. If user can exit app and that still need to be running then in the service. – Maxim Jul 25 '12 at 15:27
Use a CountDownTimer. The way it works is it will call a method on each tick of the timer, and another method when the timer ends. At which point you can restart if needed. Also I think you should probably be kicking off AsyncTask rather than threads. Please don't try to manage your own threads in Android. Try as below. Its runs like a clock.
CountDownTimer myCountdownTimer = new CountDownTimer(30000, 1000) {
public void onTick(long millisUntilFinished) {
// Kick off your AsyncTask here.
public void onFinish() {
// the 30 seconds is up now so do make any checks you need here.
share|improve this answer
This does not repeatly does the thing. It did once then stopped! – sarkolata Jul 25 '12 at 13:13
Yes it does not run indefinitely. If you want to run it indefinitely you could consider a background service. On the other hand there is nothing to prevent you from restarting the countdown timer if conditions are right, or from setting a longer duration. – Code Droid Jul 25 '12 at 21:13
Thanks to everyone, I fixed this issue with using Timer.
timer = new Timer();
new java.util.TimerTask() {
public void run() {
for(int i = 0; i < server_amount; i++) {
servers[i] = "Updating..."; handler.sendEmptyMessage(0);
new MyThread(i);
2000, 5000
share|improve this answer
Please state the advantages of this solution over the others. I'm not seeing it. – Code Droid Jul 25 '12 at 21:15
No advantages, i just found out that Coders Paradise's answer is also working after i got mine working. – sarkolata Jul 25 '12 at 21:30
Your Answer
| [] |
5 December 1996
Original: ENGLISH
Fourth session
Geneva, 16-18 December 1996
Item 6 of the provisional agenda
List of methodological issues
Note by the secretariat
1. At its third session, the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) considered the progress report prepared by the secretariat (FCCC/CP/1996/14 and Add.1) containing, in section V on a proposed work plan, some suggestions for methodological work, and requested the secretariat to prepare a list of methodological issues for consideration by the SBSTA at its fourth session (FCCC/SBSTA/1996/13, para. 38 (a)).
2. The secretariat has received inputs from Parties for the preparation of the list and has also solicited advice from experts. Drawing on these inputs, the secretariat has prepared an indicative list of issues whose investigation and resolution could help Parties in conducting the comprehensive review and in taking the conclusive decision envisaged in decision 5/CP.1, para. 3 (b) (FCCC/CP/1995/7/Add.1).
3. The following issues are proposed for the attention of the SBSTA:
(a) Additionality of environmental benefits related to the mitigation of climate change that are achieved by an activity implemented jointly (AIJ) vis à vis a reference case.
Under this issue, the following aspects could, inter alia, be given consideration: determining the reference case, assessing the additionality of benefits; ascertaining the sustainability of benefits; choice of appropriate system boundaries to take possible "leakage" into account; need for sector or technology-specific approaches, and the static or dynamic character of the reference case;
(b) Modalities for monitoring, reporting and verification of benefits resulting from AIJ.
Under this issue, the following aspects could, inter alia, be given consideration: identification of key parameters for monitoring and reporting; the respective frequencies of monitoring; reporting and verification; the role of internal and external activities in monitoring and verification. It should be noted that work with respect to reporting has already been undertaken by the SBSTA;
(c) Identifying capacity-building processes in order to help host countries participate in an AIJ regime.
Under this issue, the following aspects could, inter alia, be given consideration: identification of generic needs for capacity-building host countries, arrangements for building the required capacities, and information requirements for integrating activities implemented jointly with national development strategies;
(d) Enhancing the transfer and diffusion of environmentally-sound technologies to host countries of AIJ.
Under this issue, consideration will be given to those aspects of technology transfer and diffusion which are specific to activities implemented jointly. Consideration of this issue would be related to on-going work on transfer of technology carried out by the SBI and the SBSTA;
(e) The cost-effectiveness of a regime for activities implemented jointly.
Under this issue, consideration could be given, inter alia, to the following aspects: identification of costs, including transaction costs, related to a regime for activities implemented jointly; implications for reporting; search for least-cost arrangements; identification of host country costs and comparison of global climate change mitigation costs under an AIJ regime vis à vis no regime;
(f) Modalities for crediting emissions reductions resulting from AIJ in the event of a decision by the Parties to establish a regime in which credits can be earned.
Under this issue, the following aspects could, inter alia, be given consideration: ex-ante,
ex-post or periodical crediting, sector-specific and technology-specific arrangements for crediting, allocation of credits among Parties, impact of project failure on credits and compensation thereof;
(g) Identifying appropriate institutional arrangements to implement AIJ while minimizing transaction costs.
Under this issue, the following aspects could, inter alia, be given consideration: institutional arrangements for monitoring, reporting and verification, institutional requirements of capacity building, institutional requirements for networking and dissemination of technical information, institutional requirements for ensuring compliance or resolving disputes related to AIJ project arrangements and meeting the costs of such arrangements.
4. In preparing the above list of issues, it was found that methodologies were closely interrelated with institutional arrangements for implementing them. An important objective in this regard would be the minimization of transaction costs while ensuring a credible regime. This would be achieved through the identification of appropriate sets of methodologies and of institutional arrangements for their implementation. It would also be important to identify what rules and standards would need to be set by the Parties and what would be left for implementation by specialists. It would also be useful to envisage options for meeting unavoidable minimum costs.
5. The SBSTA may wish to:
(a) Consider the issues listed above;
(b) Determine whether they require methodological analysis and institutional design; and
(c) Request the secretariat to develop practical proposals or options with respect to the identified relevant issues and to report progress thereon, taking into account the relevant SBSTA deliberations.
- - - - - | [] |
Try out the new Click here!
Psalm 141 - Interlinear Bible
yiL h'v.Wx '$yita'r.q h'wh.y diw'd.l rw{m.zim ? .$'l -yia.r'q.B yilw{q h'nyiz]a;h
y;P;K t;a.f;m '$y,n'p.l t,r{j.q yit'Lip.T !w{KiT ? b,r'[ -t;x.nim
l;D -l;[ h'r.Cin yip.l h'r.m'v h'wh.y h'tyiv ? y't'p.f
tw{lil][ lelw{[.tih.l ['r r'b'd.l yiBil -j;T -l;a ? ~;x.l,a -l;b.W !,w'a -yel][{P ~yivyia -t,a [;v,r.B ? ~,hyeM;[.n;m.B
va{r !,m,v yinexyikw{y.w d,s,x qyiD;c -yinem.l,h,y ? ~,hyetw{['r.B yit'Lip.t.W dw{[ -yiK yiva{r yin'y -l;a
y;r'm]a .W[.m'v.w ~,hyej.p{v [;l,s -yedyib ? .Wme['n yiK
.Wnyem'c][ #,r'a'B ;[eq{b.W ;xel{p w{m.K ? lw{a.v yip.l
yityis'x h'k.B y'nye[ y'n{d]a ]hiwh.y '$y,lea yiK ? yiv.p;n r;[.T -l;a
yel][{P tw{v.q{m.W yil .Wv.q'y x;p yedyim yiner.m'v ? !,w'a
rw{b/[,a -d;[ yik{n'a d;x;y ~yi['v.r wy'r{m.k;m.b .Wl.PIy | [] |
Hydlide (NES)
Published by
Developed by
Also For
100 point score based on reviews from various critics.
5 point score based on user ratings.
User Reviews
There are no reviews for this game.
Our Users Say
Category Description MobyScore
AI How smart (or dumb) you perceive the game's artificial intelligence to be 2.1
Sound / Music The quality of the sound effects and/or music composition 1.7
Story / Presentation The main creative ideas in the game and how well they're executed 1.9
Overall MobyScore (15 votes) 2.0
The Press Says
Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM)
Hydlide is a good game with graphics that are average and music that is not too terribly annoying. 90% of the game is comprised of building up energy to play the other 10%. A good alternative to Ultima, Zelda, and other quest-oriented RPG games.
NES Archives
Trust me it is a decent game, but it isn’t great. If you are in the mood for a unique battle engine with a lot of grinding, give it a try.
Game Freaks 365
Like I said, the overworld is small, so it stands to reason that the game isn't particularly long, which is true. You also have the option to save your progress at any time. By the time you have beaten this game, however, you will likely wish you had spent the time playing something else, although it might entertain you for an hour or two if you are into this kind of game.
Hardcore Gaming 101
In the long run, Hydlide is a game you don't want to play. If you want a game that looks like Zelda, and plays like Zelda, you might be better off with Zelda. | [] |
Parov Stelar, Shine
1 / 5 stars
1 star (Etage Noir)
It's official: there are now too many DJs. It's not just that in the future, everyone will get their own 15-minute set. (You can already do that at Jamie Renton's Sound of the World Relay.) Very soon, the number of DJs will outstrip the number of clubbers, leading to a highly unstable DJ Event Horizon, beyond which they disappear into the black remix of space, never to return.
When this happens, nobody will miss Parov Stelar, the wonderfully naff nom de disque of Marcus Füreder, an Austrian DJ of no fixed style. He makes speaker-fodder you can imagine being annoyingly quiet or irritatingly loud at your local bar. Gabriella Hänninen's rasping, sub-Winehousian vocals grate on Charleston Butterfly, which aspires to Nicolas Repac without the latter's flair or humour. Love is a thin homage to Moby's blues-sampling, and several tracks are overly infatuated with Mr Scruff's Moondog-infected Get a Move On. Dire. | [] |
WSJ Blogs
Real-time commentary and analysis from The Wall Street Journal
Health Blog
WSJ's blog on health and the business of health.
In Mass., Costs Rise Again for Universal Health Coverage
The cost of subsidizing health insurance keeps going up in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts MapThat’s noteworthy because the state’s rule requiring everyone to buy insurance resembles Hillary Clinton’s proposal to mandate health insurance for all Americans, and because the Mass. plan has been cited as a possible model in several other states.
The subsidized-insurance program — aimed at those who can’t afford insurance on their own — will cost “significantly more” than the $869 million the state’s governor proposed in his 2009 budget just two months ago, Massachusetts’s top financial official told the Boston Globe.
The program’s cost is rising not only because all health-care costs are going up, but also because more people than expected have signed up. Meanwhile, a rule that charges a penalty to businesses that don’t provide insurance to their employees has raised only $6 million this year, far less than the $24 million initially budgeted, the Globe says.
The state’s looking at a number of ways to lower costs and raise revenues. A panel yesterday voted to raise premiums and copays for some people covered by the plan; starting July 1, the lowest premiums will rise by about 10%, to between $39 to $116 per month. And the panel decided to raise the state’s per-patient payment to insurers by 10%, rather than the 15% the insurers had asked for. But those changes won’t be enough to close the gap between what was originally budgeted and the new projections.
“Health-care reform is not sustainable financially and it’s also not sustainable politically if the best we can do is more taxpayer money and shifting costs to consumers,” Nancy Turnbull, an associate dean at the Harvard School of Public Health and member of a state board that oversees the program, told the Globe. “We have to find other ways [to raise money and control costs] and we have to find them very quickly.”
Map via Wikimedia Commons
Add a Comment
Comments (5 of 37)
View all Comments »
• No:
Satin's point "b" is not correct; or should I say it is terribly misleading. Employer-sponsored healthcare insurance - which is what is really being debated here - came into existence just following WWII when we had wage and price controls.
Employers were not allowed to raise wages to attract labor, so congress enacted legislation allowing favorable tax treatment of employer-sponsored healthcare and later other benefits. So, depending on the level of corporate tax (let's just use an example of 30%) this means that it costs the EER $0.70 for every $1.00 in healthcare benefits they provide.
Several other points I would like to make, but will do so briefly:
1) Spending a greater % of GDP in healthcare is the US does not, in and of itself, signal that this is a problem. Just like other consumption goods and services, it may simply be that Americans have chosen to re-allocate their budgets towards a greater share of healthcare, buying less of something else. Being an income normal good, this is naturally an effect of a rising standard of living. So citing the % of GDP spent on healthcare is meaningless unless put into a cogent context and explanation as to why this is a "bad" thing.
2) International comparisons are meaningless. US business funds a great deal of the healthcare spend; but also pays much higher corporate taxes, so they are getting squeezed; Americans are of a different mindset than those in other countries - especially closed socialist-style economies such as Sweden, with their socialized healthcare, very high taxes and homogeneous population. Americans will not accept European style rationing - just look at the repeated failure of the "Oregon Plan." They will not accept Hillary Care, which in its initial form called for jail terms for patients that went out of their "assigned area" for care and the physicians that treated them.
Of course, many polls show Americans want Universal coverage. Who wouldn't want "something for nothing?" But when the camel's nose gets under the tent and they get a taste of what this scheme really amounts to (if you are >50 or >60 and you need bypass surgery? Forget it. You can't have it. This is what rationing leads to my friends.
So, get real pollsters who know the issues and have them ask the right questions: what would you be willing to give up for "universal healthcare" in terms of choice, quality of care, innovation, freedom; and what would you be willing to pay for it? Let's see what the polls tell us then.
I could go on, but that is enough for now.
• Most hospital costs (the biggest costs in health care) are artifically inflated by unions who demand and control the salaries and staffing volumes are most of the hospitals in the U.S. Did anyone read the recent WSJ article that all the laid off factory and auto-industry workers are flocking to hospitals looking for jobs b/c they pay "much more" than they were making as lowly-skilled factory workers?? Nice. Nurses regularly pull down $85,000 per year and techs about $50,000 per year (with only a 9-month certificate!) so when I hear everyone blaming the doctors (who are the cheapest part of the care) I become ill. P.S.- When the day comes when the best physicians no longer accept insurance, we will rue the day we beat them down with all our verbal abuse. Who needs who more?
• Health insurance is the reason for skyrocketing health care costs. Hospitals can charge however much they want because they get paid by the insurance company, 99% of the time the patient doesnt even know how much a test costs.
A human gets a blood test, the charge is $900. Take your cat or dog to the vet for a blood test, which is virtualy the same (probably sent to the same lab) the charge is $160 (that's with the Vet's mark up). Why? Because veterinary hospitals don't get paid by insurance. They would not have any clients if they charged $900.
Solve the rising cost of health care? ABOLISH HEALTH INSURANCE.
• Satan's point "b" is awfully accurate.
I just don't get why make the claim that doc's income "doesn't keep up with inflation" as Anonymous does. Ever stop to think that maybe those income were too high to begin with and due for a major correction?
• Some of you people make me sick with your statements:
"The best/brightest doctors should be in front line care, not in a dermabrasion lab, or in a plastic surgery suite"
“Doctors are the public face of the healthcare system”
1. Your thinking is Socialist ie USSR Communist. No one other than the doctor should decide where he or she wants to work. Maybe based upon your credentials you should be flipping burgers at local corner burger place. It would help out the store owner and speed up the service to the labor workers on the street. SU!!
2. Doctors should not be considered a public face of health care. If a doctor is a public face to you, then you need to get a job and find a private practice and stay out of the ER or the public welfare office. If you can not obtain such a job, well then oh well, you should have paid attention in school, you should have not committed that crime, maybe move somewhere where there is incentive to obtain a decent job for a decent wage and the cost of living is cheaper. Or are you too good for a real job. Maybe you need two jobs. Oh gosh. Maybe you should have worn a condom. How about some personal responsibility on your part for where you are today.
3. STOP relying on the so called “government” to fix the problems. Name one solution that the “Government” has come up with that did not cause problems in the economy, ie tax burden on middle class workers, lack of decent service. You can not. So SU!!!
4. “Government” is as per the Constitution of the United States, you, me and everyone who is a CITIZEN of this former great nation. But to people like some of ya’ll, “Government” are the people who are going to give you money. Whose money? MY MONEY!!!! You act as if your legislative body has a big Dollar Tree behind the state house and they run out side and shake it. Then the wet backs help them pick it up and put it in baskets. They then divide it up and give it away to everyone, yippy fun in the sun. That’s because you’re a DA!!!! The government you look to, vote in and rely on sends dirty messages to business owners and hard working people who make a decent living, “give us more money” ie taxes, and when they do not the GOVERNMENT sends men with guns to collect the money. Does Lexington Concord sound familiar? Does the Shot heard Round the World ring a F’ing bell in your hollow heads? You have let the “government” do exactly what “we” ie my family line , maybe not yours, fought for and is why you have such lovely parks in and around Boston. Get your head out of your A!!! They take you guns so cant fight back, oh , I am sorry that is to protect the people, public safety. Yes with all the guns laws in MA, there are no gun crimes. Another failed policy. Next time your about to be murdered, dial 911 they are on the way to help you!
Posted by an over taxed sick of the welfare state citizen of the former great nation.
About WSJ's Health Blog
• Health Blog on Twitter
• Health Blog on Facebook
Most Popular | [] |
Today’s news:
Do away with the city’s five borough presidencies
TimesLedger Newspapers
The funds are disbursed by the borough president. In the final analysis, the office of borough president, which costs taxpayers tens of millions of dollars annually, has been nothing more than a useless patronage mill.
I take issue with former Borough President Claire Shulman’s claim that without the office, most of the important resources would go to Manhattan. Each borough has Council members who outnumber those in Manhattan, so there is no way they could be disenfranchised by Manhattan members. Shulman’s claim is political nonsense.
Equally nonsensical is the claim she made that the office is a powerful voice for the county. I doubt she can point out a dozen important changes she accomplished in all her years in office that significantly changed the lives of Queens residents for the better. Her reference to a sewer system in southeast Queens ignores the fact that she sat by and watched Willets Point property owners being charged sewer rent despite the fact that there were no sewers and she made no effort to have sewers installed and infrastructure repaired.
Her boasting about Flushing Meadows Corona Park, except for a possible playground, falls flat. She did not oppose a grand prix race track in the park or more than 40 acres of parkland given to the United States Tennis Association and its current application to expand. She never objected when her successor, Helen Marshall, urged the construction of a New York Jets football stadium in the park.
Her claim that she saw cultural institutions rise in the park demonstrates a lack of understanding about what urban parks are about. Parks are for passive use, not huge cement, brick and steel structures. In all the years from Donald Manes through Shulman and Marshall, except for structures that do not belong there to begin with, there has been no significant help for Flushing Meadows, and a walk around the park demonstrates its abysmal condition.
We have a Council. We do not need a borough president. Its budget could be spent more wisely.
Benjamin M. Haber
Pin It
Print this story Permalink
Reader Feedback
Enter your comment below
By submitting this comment, you agree to the following terms:
CNG: Community Newspaper Group | [] |
Networking 101: Understanding Spanning Tree
Page 1 of 2
Print ArticleEmail Article
• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share on LinkedIn
Updated by Paul Rubens.
STP was invented by Dr. Radia Perlman, distinguished engineer at Sun Microsystems. Dr. Perlman devised a method by which bridges can obtain Layer 2 routing utopia: redundant and loop-free operation. Think of spanning tree as a tree that the bridge keeps in memory for optimized and fault-tolerant data forwarding.
Spanning tree in a nutshell
• STP provides a means to prevent loops by blocking links in an Ethernet network. Blocked links can be brought in to service if active links fail.
• The root bridge in a spanning tree is the logical center and sees all traffic on a network.
• Spanning tree recalculations are performed automatically when the network changes but cause a temporary network outage.
• Newer protocols, such as TRILL, prevent loops while keeping links that would be blocked by STP in service.
Eliminating loops with spanning tree
If your switches are connected in a loop without STP, each switch would infinitely duplicate the first broadcast packet heard because there's nothing at Layer 2 to prevent a loop.
STP prevents loops by blocking one or more of the links. If one of the links in use goes down, then it would fail over to a previously blocked link. How spanning tree chooses which link to use depends entirely on the topology that it can see.
The idea behind a spanning tree topology is that bridges can discover a subset of the topology that is loop-free: that's the tree. STP also makes certain there is enough connectivity to reach every portion of the networkby spanning the entire LAN.
STP configuration
Bridges will perform the spanning tree algorithm when they are first connected to the network or whenever there is a topology change.
When a bridge hears a "configuration message," a special type of BPDU (bridge protocol data unit), it will begin its disruptive spanning tree algorithm. This starts with the election of a "root bridge" through which all data will flow.
Tip: Cisco hardware normally uses the device with the lowest MAC address as the root bridge. Since this is the oldest and probably slowest device, it's best to configure the root bridge manually.
The next step is for each bridge to determine the shortest path to the root bridge so that it knows how to get to the "center." A second election happens on each LAN, and it elects the designated bridge, or the bridge that's closest to the root bridge. The designated bridge will forward packets from the LAN toward the root bridge.
The final step for an individual bridge is to select a root port. This simply means "the port that I use to send data towards the root bridge."
Note: Every single port on a bridge, even ones connected to endpoints, will participate in the spanning tree unless a port is configured as "ignore."
A newly connected bridge will send a reconfiguration BPDU, and the other connected devices will comply. All traffic is stopped for 30-50 seconds while a spanning tree calculation takes place.
Continued on Page 2: Rapid STP, solving VLAN challenges with PVST, and the drawbacks and alternatives to STP
Comment and Contribute
(Maximum characters: 1200). You have
characters left.
Get the Latest Scoop with Enterprise Networking Planet Newsletter | [] |
Take the 2-minute tour ×
I just finished reading this paper, which describes the situations in which Japanese allows a dative subject and a nominative object. For example, the verb 分かる can be used like this:
"彼" is the subject but is marked with "に" instead of "が", and similarly "英語", the object, is marked irregularly with the nominative particle "が" instead of the usual "を". According to the paper, this happens in Japanese when a verb 1) licenses this case marking and 2) the verb is transitive (there is an object). There are two parts to my questions:
1)The 可能形 licences dative subjects:
but not
This is still ruled out for intransitives, so 5a in the paper shows that you cannot say 「*赤ちゃんにもう歩ける」. Does this change if we add another argument such as a location? Can I say 「人間にはその道が歩けない」 (let's say it's covered in lava or something).
2) The paper also mentions that there are exceptions to this rule, one of them being certain kinds of questions. Can anyone think of a Japanese question with a transitive verb or a verb that doesn't normally allow a dative subject, but which has a dative subject anyway?
share|improve this question
I cannot think of examples of the other exception either "not in embedded clauses(Shibatani 1977: 807, Dubinsky 1992)". I don't feel like paying 38$ for the referred paper, but it would be interesting to hear any listed examples. – dainichi Mar 14 '12 at 8:28
I've requested it through interlibrary loan, so if I get a copy I'll post them here. – Nate Glenn Mar 14 '12 at 16:46
Btw why do you say that in the sentence "彼に英語が分かる", "彼" is the subject? If the translated sentence is "English is understood, as for him.", shouldn't "英語" be the subject? – Pacerier Mar 30 '12 at 21:41
I would not translate it that way, and that is not how it is treated in the literature. – Nate Glenn Mar 30 '12 at 23:37
1 Answer 1
1. >Can I say 「人間にはその道が歩けない」
Yes I think you can say that. Maybe you can also say 人間にはその道は歩けない/人間にその道は歩けない.
2. Hmm... Would it be something like... you can say 君に(この車が)運転できるかい? but not 僕に運転できます。?? 私には耐えられない/私に耐えられるだろうか but not 私に耐えられます。?? or maybe 私にやって行けるだろうか/私にはやって行けない but not 私にやって行けます。??
share|improve this answer
Are "私には耐えられない" and "私にはやって行けない" meant as questions or statements? – Nate Glenn Mar 14 '12 at 1:25
@NateGlenn They're negative statements... That's why I wasn't sure. – Choko Mar 14 '12 at 16:29
Your Answer
| [] |
Take the 2-minute tour ×
The title is probably a bit too broad. I frequently encountered the following situation: suppose I need to select a solution to a linear equation from a compact set. Can I make this selection continuous?
Formally, let $S \subset \mathbb{R}^n$ be a compact set. Let $A$ be a $k \times n$ matrix ($k < n$), which we view as a linear function $A: \mathbb{R}^n \to \mathbb{R}^k$. Let $T = A(S)$ be the range of $A$ on $S$. Is there a continuous function $g: T \to S$, such that $A g(y) = y$?
To construct $g$, we only need to pick a value from the solution set $A^{-1}(\{y\}) \cap S$, which is compact. The question is: can we choose it in a continuous way? It is easy to see that we can choose $g$ to be Borel measurable, say, choose $g$ to be the one with the minimum Euclidean norm from the solution set.
share|improve this question
alright. I think this is impossible in general. Example: $n = 2, k =1$. $S = [-1,0] \times $ {1} $\cup$ $[0,1] \times $ {0}. Then T=[-1, 1] . There is a problem at y=0 – mr.gondolier Apr 6 '10 at 3:56
I think what is lacking here is convexity. Otherwise, one can make use of this selection theorem: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_selection_theorem – mr.gondolier Apr 6 '10 at 4:20
Your Answer
Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question. | [] |
Take the 2-minute tour ×
Is it possible to write text on HTML5 canvas?
share|improve this question
I would recommend reading through the <a href="diveintohtml5.info/">diveintohtml5</a>; site, it has its own <a href="diveintohtml5.info/canvas.html#text">chapter about text</a>. It's a very good read. – chelmertz Sep 13 '10 at 8:22
In addition to the other answers if you want to write text using excanvas (for IE support) you'll need an additional script, available here: code.google.com/p/explorercanvas/issues/detail?id=6 The default download (code.google.com/p/explorercanvas/downloads/list) doesn't include the fillText and strokeText method. – Castrohenge Sep 14 '10 at 16:17
@IvanCastellanos Did you find any relevant search results? It might be helpful to post them here, if you found any. – Anderson Green May 24 '13 at 4:34
@IvanCastellanos - this question (for me at least) now comes up top for "HTML canvas text" on Google. Is that not the purpose of Stack Overflow? – c.cam108 Jun 3 '13 at 9:40
Yes it is easy to do so on Canvas. I would add more to your post so that you can show some examples of what you have tried and what you have not tried. Just the question along is not really that beneficial to Stackoverflow.com – Doug Hauf Jun 19 at 18:33
8 Answers 8
up vote 176 down vote accepted
<canvas id="e" width="200" height="200"></canvas>
var canvas = document.getElementById("e");
var context = canvas.getContext("2d");
context.fillStyle = "blue";
context.font = "bold 16px Arial";
context.fillText("Zibri", 100, 100);
share|improve this answer
Canvas text support is actually pretty good - you can control font, size, color, horizontal alignment, vertical alignment, and you can also get text metrics to get the text width in pixels. In addition, you can also use canvas transforms to rotate, stretch and even invert text.
share|improve this answer
Depends on what you want to do with it I guess. If you just want to write some normal text you can use .fillText()
share|improve this answer
It is easy to write text to a canvas. Lets say that you canvas is declared like below.
Your Internet Browser does not support HTML5 (Get a new Browser)
This part of the code returns a variable into canvas which is a representation of your canvas in HTML.
var c = document.getElementById("YourCanvas");
The following code returns the methods for drawing lines, text, fills to your canvas.
var ctx = canvas.getContext("2d");
ctx.font="20px Times Roman";
ctx.fillText("Hello World!",50,100);
ctx.font="30px Verdana";
var g = ctx.createLinearGradient(0,0,c.width,0);
ctx.fillStyle=g; //Sets the fille of your text here. In this case it is set to the gradient that was created above. But you could set it to Red, Green, Blue or whatever.
ctx.fillText("This is some new and funny TEXT!",40,190);
There is a beginners guide out on Amazon for the kindle http://www.amazon.com/HTML5-Canvas-Guide-Beginners-ebook/dp/B00JSFVY9O/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1398113376&sr=8-4&keywords=html5+canvas+beginners that is well worth the money. I purchased it a couple of days ago and it showed me a lot of simple techniques that were very useful.
share|improve this answer
It is really easy to write text on a canvas. It was not clear if you want someone to enter text in the HTML page and then have that text appear on the canvas, or if you were going to use JavaScript to write the information to the screen.
The following code will write some text in different fonts and formats to your canvas. You can modify this as you wish to test other aspects of writing onto a canvas.
<canvas id="YourCanvasNameHere" width="500" height="500">Canvas not supported</canvas>
var c = document.getElementById('YourCanvasNameHere');
var context = c.getContext('2d'); //returns drawing functions to allow the user to draw on the canvas with graphic tools.
You can either place the canvas ID tag in the HTML and then reference the name or you can create the canvas in the JavaScript code. I think that for the most part I see the <canvas> tag in the HTML code and on occasion see it created dynamically in the JavaScript code itself.
var canvas = document.getElementById('myCanvas');
var context = canvas.getContext('2d');
context.font = 'bold 10pt Calibri';
context.fillText('Hello World!', 150, 100);
context.font = 'italic 40pt Times Roman';
context.fillStyle = 'blue';
context.fillText('Hello World!', 200, 150);
context.font = '60pt Calibri';
context.lineWidth = 4;
context.strokeStyle = 'blue';
context.strokeText('Hello World!', 70, 70);
share|improve this answer
I found a good tutorial on oreilly.com.
Example code:
<canvas id="canvas" width ='600px'></canvas><br />
Enter your Text here .The Text will get drawn on the canvas<br />
<input type="text" id="text" onKeydown="func();"></input><br />
</body><br />
function func(){
var e=document.getElementById("text"),t=document.getElementById("canvas"),n=t.getContext("2d");
n.fillStyle="#990000";n.font="30px futura";n.textBaseline="top";n.fillText(e.value,150,0);n.fillText("thank you, ",200,100);
n.fillText("Created by ashish",250,120)
courtesy: @Ashish Nautiyal
share|improve this answer
Here is how to draw text on/using Canvas:
The Markup...
<canvas id="myCanvas" width="300" height="150"></canvas>
and the script (with few different options)...
var canvas = document.getElementById('myCanvas');
var ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
ctx.font = 'italic 18px Arial';
ctx.textAlign = 'center';
ctx. textBaseline = 'middle';
ctx.fillStyle = 'red'; // a color name or by using rgb/rgba/hex values
ctx.fillText('Hello World!', 150, 50); // text and position
Checkout the MDN documentation and my JSFiddle.
share|improve this answer
Yes of course you can write a text on canvas with ease, and you can set the font name, font size and font color. There are two method to build a text on Canvas, i.e. fillText() and strokeText(). fillText() method is used to make a text that can only be filled with color, whereas strokeText() is used to make a text that can only be given an outline color. So if we want to build a text that filled with color and have outline color, we must use both of them.
here the full example, how to write text on canvas :
<canvas id="Canvas01" width="400" height="200" style="border:2px solid #bbb; margin-left:10px; margin-top:10px;"></canvas>
var canvas = document.getElementById('Canvas01');
var ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
ctx.fillStyle= "red";
ctx.font = "italic bold 35pt Tahoma";
//syntax : .fillText("text", x, y)
Here the demo for this, and you can try your self for any modification: http://okeschool.com/examples/canvas/html5-canvas-text-color
share|improve this answer
Your Answer
| [] |
6e2f 5-at-10: Worst college football coaching hires, playoff baseball, and the ponzi this and that | Local News | Times Free Press
October 2nd, 2013 by Jay Greeson in Sports - Columns
Gang, we are speeding through the week, and have arrived at hump day. (Yes, the camel in the Geico commercials is so, So, SO money. HUMP day. Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike.)
Anyway, buckle, because we're about to take a ride to several corners of differences and tangents. If we had a Les Miles appearance it would be a bonus. We don't. So it goes.
From the "Talks too much" studios, we're a thousand miles from nowhere, time don't matter to us.
Former University of Tennessee football coach Lane Kiffin
Photo by Associated Press/Times Free Press.
Worst college football coaching hires
Pat Haden ended the debacle that had become USC under Lane Kiffin, who is quickly becoming the college football version of Gen. Sherman, leaving burned trails and torched embers in his wake after every stop. (The difference as Spy will remind us, is that Gen. Sherman won all his match-ups. Yikes.)
With that news, YahooSports! Pat Forde lists his worst college coaching hire . He has Rich Rod at Michigan, Steve Kragthorpe at Louisville, Lane Kiffin at USC and Tennessee, Derek Dooley at Tennessee and Ellis Johnson at Southern Miss.
Each of those deserves special consideration - and hey, how about that Mike Hamilton making the list twice - but there are a few more awful hires. (And while he did not make the list because he landed Cam Newton and won a national title, you can certainly question Auburn's decision to hire Gene Chizik and his 5-19 career record. Mean Gene was fired after four seasons, in which he went 19-19 without Cam Newton and 14-0 with Cam Newton. Amazingly, Gene's career record was 38-38 overall and 24-28 without a certain QB whose name sounds like Tram Pootin'. Side note: Why do grown men and little kids get so tickled at certain words like pootin'? Admit it, you smiled and said, "Hey he said pootin'" didn't you?)
That said, here are a few more, head-scratchers and what-if moments.
As Spy would remind us, Brian Van Gorder being hired at Georgia Southern was a less than good experience. Bill Callahan's time at Nebraska was record-settingly bad. Mike Price's time at Alabama seemed record-settingly short.
As for really good hires, well, it's not super hard to hire Steve Spurrier or Nick Saban. But give Vince Dooley a lot of credit for plucking Mark Richt, who at the time was FSU's offensive coordinator and had zero head coaching experience.
Discuss. Who was the best or worst hires from your school? (Jomo, was Donnie or Rodney a worse hire?)
Photo by Associated Press/Times Free Press.
Baseball playoffs
The field is set in the NL now that the Pirates topped the Reds in the wildcard. It was Pittsburgh first postseason win since 1992 when Johnny Carson had his final show, John Gotti was sentenced to life in prison, Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi won Wimbledon singles titles and we learned that Al Gore invented the interweb. Thank you Al, there would be no family-oriented, interweb-based sports column such as the 5-at-10 without the interweb. War Al.
(Side note: When you go back and do a little looking at a particular year, man, a guy can get lost reading about what happened in 1992, the year Ross Perot changed the world and a rotten year for movies, at least according to the box office standings. The top-five earning movies in '92 were Aladdin, The Bodygiard, Home Alone 2, Basic Instict and Lethal Weapon 3. Side note on the Side note: In Joe Pesci's decorated career, he does not get enough credit for his turn as Leo Getz in the Lethal Weapon movies. Where were we?)
Anyhoo, the NL playoffs are set.
Here's what we see:
Cards take Pirates. Experience matters here. As does home-field advantage. But the biggest difference is the Pirates just fired ace lefty Francisco Liriano for seven tough innings to get by the Reds as the Cards rested. Hey, we like the one-game play-in because it really rewards winning your division. But that one-game, win-or-pack-the-gear setting, is a huge advantage.
Dodgers take Braves. Atlanta has to handle four games of Grienke and Kershaw. That's too much. The Dodgers lineup is fragile - and man can't you see Yaisel Puig making a really bonehead play at some point in the series - and erractic. But so is the Braves.
Michael Jordan
Photo by Associated Press/Times Free Press.
Jordan still talking junk
Michael Jordan was the greatest competitor of his generation and many argue the greatest basketball player of all time.
Dude was special and would do everything in his power to win at everything from cards to tiddlywinks to Game 7.
MJ said in an interview this week that in his prime he could beat LeBron in one-on-one but not Kobe, because as MJ joked, "Kobe steals all" of his moves.
We have some questions. (Yes, we almost always have questions, but we offer these as always as starting points.)
How exactly is 6-foot-6, 215-pound MJ going to stop the 6-foot-8, 260-pound LeBron form getting to the rim?
The interview was in fun and we like mix-and-matching the best from generations as much as anyone.
Who you got: MJ or LeBron, one-on-one?
This and that - Ponzi edition
- Former UConn guard and NBA first-rounder Tate George was convicted of running a $2 million ponzi scheme. Side question, was the guy who coined the term 'Ponzi' scheme a big "Happy Days" fan and put Potsie and Fonzi together? Guess he could have merged Ralph Malph and Richie and got a Rilph scheme. Ponzi is better.
- Second question, after Madoff and even Jim Donnan and the rest of folks who did eight-, nine- and even 10-figure ponzi scheme, doesn't a $2 million ponzi scheme feel like stealing $11.25?
- Third question, with all the press that ponzi schemes have attracted, is it not the financial equivalent of taking candy from a stranger at this point? Seriously, the whole pyramid idea of investing should send up some red flags, right?
- Non-Ponzi this and that: A-Rod is claiming that the Biogenesis folks including Tony Bosch doping him. Really, A-Rod? They slipped you a PED mickey? PUH-lease.
- Jake Locker's hip injury is not super serious. The Titans expect him to miss a month, which is way better than the season.
Today's question
OK, there are about a thousand littered throughout the 5-at-10, but here are a few more:
After watching the Pirates-Reds last night, the home crowd in Pittsburgh was outstanding. What's the best home-field advantage around?
As we said above, Jake Locker is expected to miss a month. Locker was playing better than expected. If Ryan Fitzpatrick comes in and lights it up, could be an interesting little QB debate in Nashville. (And yes, we know injuries are not supposed to cost a player his starting job. Ask Alex Smith how that worked last year in San Fran.) | [] |
Business World
Jenkins: Gun Control That Works
Cities aren't gun-free without politicians willing to take the heat to make them so.
Updated Feb. 12, 2013 7:46 p.m. ET
Gun enthusiasts tend to be well-informed about guns and gun laws, so listening might be a good idea even if you aren't a gun enthusiast.
Gun magazines are metal boxes containing springs and are easy to manufacture at a basement work bench. Regulating magazine capacity, then, may have little effect in the real world. Assault rifles are semiautomatic weapons that function like any other semiautomatic weapon, including millions of semiautomatic pistols in the hands of Americans. Yet Congress wants to ban the rifle-looking...
Available to Subscribers | [] |
Foursquare Founder's Pivotal Moment
It looks more and more like Yahoo is offering big money for Foursquare—and like Foursquare creator Dennis Crowley is taking his time deciding whether to accept. It can't help that's he's lost one potential advisor, his longtime girlfriend.
Rumors that Yahoo would pay in the neighborhood of $100 million for the mobile-phone "check in" service first surfaced nearly two weeks ago on Business Insider. They've since been reinforced by TechCrunch's reporting, and Crowley hardly batted them down in an interview with our own Doree Shafrir for New York:
When I ask Crowley about the Yahoo-acquisition rumors, he doesn't deny, them, exactly. "We're trying to figure out what the best thing is for us going forward," he says. "We're raising financing and meeting with tons of different companies. Don't read into it too much... We could make it work as a stand-alone business, or it might turn out that there are other companies that would find us valuable. The future is rosy."
The future might be rosy, but the present isn't entirely peachy; we've heard from multiple sources that Crowley has split with fashion-industry girlfriend Chelsa Skees (with Crowley in the picture up top, from his Flickr stream). It wouldn't be the first time the stresses of running a startup undermined Crowley's relationships. Apparently Crowley and Skees last split just a few weeks before the launch of Foursquare at South by Southwest.
Chalk it up as another brutal lesson of entrepreneurship: The moment you're drowning in unsolicited advice tends to come when you're least able to give proper attention to the associates you trust most to sort through said advice. | [] |
Take the 2-minute tour ×
I have 14,000 picture sorted into files by year and month but taken with multiple cameras. I want the file name to reflect the date the photo was taken.
For example, all pictures taken on October 16, 1998 are in a folder called 1998\10 October\19981016.
I want the all the pictures to be named 19981016_0001 19981016_0002 etc.
I can get to the point where it list the folder I want to change but I'm unable to actually change it. All of my pictures are .jpg.
I created a temp file of copies in case I messed it up. I started by typing:
cd "C:\Documents and Settings\Brooke LastName\Desktop\Temp"
then after successfully getting my file to load I used a formula I found on this forum.
ls *jpg | Foreach {$i=1} {Rename-Item _ -NewName ("$($.19981016){0:00000000#} .jpg" -f $i++) -whatif}
The error I got said
Unexpected token ' .19981016' in expression or statement.
At line:1 char:12 + $.19981016 <<<<
The error repeated several times
I found several formulas on the web but most created files that would number with parenthesis for example vacation (1).jpg I want a four digit counter after an underscore at the end of my date. ie 19981016_0001
share|improve this question
1 Answer 1
I think you modified formula, and made at least two mistakes:
• Rename-Item $_ -> otherwise PowerShell will attempt to rename file named "_"
• "$($_.Directory.Name)_{0:D9}.jpg" -f $i++ - you need to grab directory name of current object, and for formatting - it's easier to use D# format, easier to count how many digits you get in the end...
share|improve this answer
Your Answer
| [] |
Tourettes guy's second favorite exclamation, only exceeded by "Bob Sagget!"
* Friend hits you with a baseball bat*
ayon kay Urban Meerkat ika-27 ng Pebrero, 2011
Aussie slang for beer.
1. Someone would say "my husband's been on the piss again, he came home staggering last night."
2. An angry wife would say to her yobbo husband "you've been out last night on the piss haven't ya???"
ayon kay bread infection ika-25 ng Nobyembre, 2009
1. Alchamahol.
2. Urine.
3. used to show comedy.
1. Beer.
2. ?.
3. Im taking the piss mate!.
ayon kay louis ika-17 ng Oktubre, 2001
(noun) Urine. (verb) To urinate.
Here's an example of PISS:
~Quoted from The Tourettes Guy~
ayon kay Mr. WTF-R-U-DOIN'? ika-10 ng Nobyembre, 2009
1. urine.
2. as an expletive. (especially in rural Southern Appalachia)
3. to waste (something)
1. I'm going to piss all over myself if I can't get to a toilet.
2. Oh, piss!!!
3. That son of a bitch is pissing away his life and money at that college.
ayon kay Christopher R. Casbarro ika-13 ng Enero, 2008
a swear word! duh!!
Person 1: Your fired!
Person 2: PISSSS!
an other example:
your playing a game and you mess up you yell PISS!
ayon kay turk girl! ika-02 ng Hunyo, 2011
an acronym of a specific name you'd give after a person called Perri. Perri Insisted on Something Special.
Meet my penguin, his name is PISS
ayon kay bomgstudios94 ika-08 ng Enero, 2010
Libreng Koreo Araw- araw
| [] |
Experience Project iOS Android Apps | Download EP for your Mobile Device
How Could You Say This To Me?!
My mother said the cruelest things to me... she said I shouldn't have been born.. that she waited for someone(me) and it wasn't worth it.. that I wasn't worth it. How does anyone respond to that? She used to be my hero but now I hope I am nothing like her. Its not that shes not a good person, cause she is, but she can be cruel and mean to those who hurt her. But does the crime represent the punishment? No, with her it never has she lashes out and doesn't care who she hurts in return.. this time she hurt me. I forgave her but I still remember each word that came out of her mouth. Things I thought would never be said to me by anyone let alone my mother. I don't know her anymore.. she is a different person to me.. I will always love her ... but its not the same.. it will never be the same again..
Sweetypie728012 Sweetypie728012 18-21, F 1 Response Aug 21, 2012
Your Response
You poor thing. Hug hug, It's possible that your Mom has a mental illness that needs medication. I'm so sorry that she hurt yo like that. I too came from an abusive household. I have 2 kids whom I adore and they adore me. I would never intentionally hurt them. i even intentionally broke my wrist almost 8 yrs ago, when I spanked my daughter. I only did it not hard at all. She didn't cry and was 5 yrs old. I don't think your Mom meant to hurt you. Please try to save your money and move out. You shouldn't be in a toxic enviornment like that.
Thank you so much and I've already moved out I'm living with my father now | [] |
When blossoms flower e'er 'mid the snows,
Upon a winter night,
Was born the child, the christmas rose,
The king of love and light.
The angels sang, the shepherds sang,
The grateful earth rejoiced;
And at his blessed birth the stars
Their exultation voiced.
O come let us adore him
O come let us adore him
O come let us adore him
Christ the lord.
Again the heart with rapture glows
To greet the holy night,
That gave the world it's christmas rose,
Its king of love and light
Let ev'ry voice acclaim his name,
The grateful chorus swell
From paradise to earth he came
That we with him might dwell.
Correct | Mail | Print | Vote
Gesu Bambino Lyrics
translated from English to Korean
John Mcdermott – Gesu Bambino Lyrics
Translation in progress. Please wait... | [] |
• Thu
• Dec 25, 2014
• Updated: 12:04pm
Replumbing of university halts flow of money down the drain
PUBLISHED : Saturday, 21 November, 2009, 12:00am
UPDATED : Saturday, 21 November, 2009, 12:00am
Normally when people finish washing their hands, the water simply goes down the drain.
But at a Hong Kong university it is being collected, treated and used for irrigation by a system that the developers say could be useful in rural areas where water is scarce.
City University of Hong Kong has invested HK$2.6 million on a recycling system that can turn 70 metric tonnes of grey water - from washing and showers but not from toilet flushing - into clean water every day.
The output roughly equals the daily water consumption of 500 people, making the system the largest in the city.
The investment includes the cost of the recycling system developed by the Productivity Council and installation of pipes to separate the grey water from flushing water.
For the past six months, water from wash basins in 60 toilets and condensation from an air conditioner have been collected and recycled.
The recycled water is used to replace tap water for irrigation, the facilities manager of the Kowloon Tong university, Philip Ling Chi-ming, said. 'We used to rely on underground water for irrigation, but there's less of it since the neighbourhood was developed,' he said. Festival Walk is one of the recently developed landmarks in the area.
The cost of operation, including chemicals, electricity and consumables, is HK$1.50 per cubic metre and the university saves about HK$500 a day because it does not have to pay water and sewage charges for 70 tonnes of water.
The Productivity Council did research for two years before the system's installation at the university, the council's principal consultant of environmental management, Dr Anthony Ma Yiu-wa, said.
Like other treatment systems, the process uses micro-organisms to decompose organic matter in the waste water.
But this system uses folded boards in the tank that encourage more rapid multiplication of the tiny bugs.
Ma suggested the system could be useful for venues outside the city centre where water supply is scarce, such as camp sites and resorts.
University campuses, sports grounds and swimming pools, which have more space and a lot of shower facilities, are also possible sites for installation.
Daily savings
The operating cost of the system is about HK$1.50 per cubic metre of water
The saving to the university in not having to pay water and sewage charges on 70 tonnes a day is, in HK dollars: $500
For unlimited access to:
SCMP.com SCMP Tablet Edition SCMP Mobile Edition 10-year news archive
SCMP.com Account | [] |
Russian Tanks Enter Southeastern Ukraine
Pro-Russian rebels escorting captured Ukrainian army prisoners on central square in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2014.
Image: Sergei Grits/Associated Press
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — A column of Russian tanks and armored vehicles has crossed into southeastern Ukraine, away from where most of the intense fighting has been taking place, a top Ukrainian official said Monday.
Col. Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine's National Security Council, told reporters that the column of 10 tanks, two armored vehicles and two trucks crossed the border near Shcherbak and that the nearby city of Novoazovsk was shelled during the night from Russia. He said they were Russian military vehicles bearing the flags of the separatist Donetsk rebels.
Russian Foreogn Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks on August 25, 2014 during a news conference in Moscow.
Image: YURI KADOBNOV/AFP/Getty Images
The reported incursion and shelling could indicate an attempt to move on Mariupol, a major port on the Azov Sea, an arm of the Black Sea. Mariupol lies on the main road between Russia and Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Russia annexed in March. Capturing Mariupol could be the first step in building a slice of territory that links Russia with Crimea.
Although Mariupol is in Ukraine's separatist Donetsk region, most of the fighting between separatist rebels and Ukrainian troops has been well to the north, including around the city of Donetsk, the rebels' largest stronghold. A full offensive in the south could draw Ukrainian forces away from the fight for Donetsk.
Lysenko said Mariupol has enough defenders "to repel any attack of uninvited guests."
Ukraine and the West say that Russia is supporting and supplying the rebels and that since mid-August, Russia has fired into Ukraine from across the border and from within Ukrainian territory. Moscow denies those allegations.
Image: Sergei Grits/Associated Press
Fighting continued elsewhere in the east, notably around the town of Olenivka, 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of Donetsk. Lysenko said Monday about250 separatists had been killed in that fighting, but did not specify in what time period. On Sunday, rebel leader Alexander Zakharchenko said two-thirds of Olenivka had been wrested away from Ukrainian control.
Ukrainian forces had made significant inroads against the separatists in recent weeks, but the rebels have vowed to retake lost territory.
Russia's unilateral dispatch of over 200 trucks into Ukraine on Friday was denounced by the Ukrainian government as an invasion and condemned by the United States, the European Union and NATO. Even though the tractor-trailers returned to Russia without incident on Saturday, the announcement of another convoy was likely to raise new suspicions.
Lavrov said Monday that Russia had notified the Ukrainian government it was preparing to send a second convoy along the same route in the coming days, but Lysenko said he had no information on that plan.
Lavrov also said the food, water and other goods delivered to the hard-hit rebel city of Luhansk was being distributed Monday and that Red Cross workers were at talks on how best to distribute it. There was no immediate confirmation on that from the Red Cross.
The Ukrainian government had said the aid convoy was a ploy by Russia to get supplies to the rebels and slow down government military advances.
On Sunday, as Ukraine celebrated the anniversary of its 1991 independence from Moscow, President Peter Poroshenko announced that the government would be increasing its military spending in a bid to defeat the rebels.
In rebel-held Donetsk, captured Ukrainian soldiers were paraded Sunday through the streets, jeered by the crowd and pelted with eggs and tomatoes.
Load Comments
What's New
What's Rising
What's Hot | [] |
Help meet regulatory compliance and other actuarial modeling challenges
Algo Financial Modeler is an actuarial modeling system that provides essential risk and value information to support reliable and efficient decision. It makes facing the challenges of Solvency II and other risk-based regimes a less daunting prospect, as its advanced design specifically addresses the need for more realistic and complex modeling.
Algo Financial Modeler features include:
Flexible modeling platform
Modular structure
Advanced end-to-end actuarial modeling
Scalable modeling and production infrastructure
Algo Financial Modeler resources
Algo Financial Modeler
Contact IBM
Not in Suomi?
Helppoja tapoja saada haluamasi vastaukset.
Me voimme auttaa
Helppoja tapoja saada haluamasi vastaukset.
Algo Financial Modeler resources | [] |
Why Wasps Don't Watch the Oscars
Everybody I know watched the Oscars, except the people I know best: the collection of affluent Protestant families society typically refers to as “old money.” These dynastic clans, who have held fortunes over several generations, are traditionally anti-Hollywood, and their disapproval of celebrity and the attention paid to movie stars is never so apparent as it is during Oscar season.
Sure there are famous stories of film icons getting rejected from patrician country clubs and turned away by butlers who guard the doors at formal parties in Newport and Palm Beach, but I notice Wasps’ distaste for Hollywood most at Oscar time. An easy way to detect the hidden aversion is to ask an elderly Wasp who reads the paper every day, “what happened at the Oscars?” Almost invariably, the response is “I don’t know.”
I don’t think these people are necessarily lying, but I do find it odd that anyone glancing at a paper on the morning following the Academy Awards could be unaware of the day’s hottest news item, especially when photographs of the event are featured so prominently. The oversight suggests to me—and I’ve maintained this for years—that many old-guard Wasps consciously avoid any news that heralds the heroic status celebrities have achieved in our culture.
And the motive for ignoring information about the awards and the famous people they honor is easy to understand. The Protestant establishment perceives the continual rise of an aristocracy ordained by the media as a sign marking the diminishing authority of the former ruling class. After all, not so many generations ago entertainers were the toys of the vastly rich. Revered actresses were content to be the mistresses of married industrialists, and actors attending social affairs as “party fillers” were routinely expected to perform.
Friends of mine always like to joke about a family portrait that hangs in a prominent apartment on Fifth Avenue. In the foreground, the family stands posing together at banquet; and behind them, obscured by a debauched looking group of dancing revelers, Chopin is shown slaving away at the piano. According to family records, the legendary pianist did in fact perform as the portrait was rendered.
Similarly, when Bill Clinton was in the White House, several of the Wasps I know were irate over the favor he showed celebrities. Rare are the times when you hear a formally mannered woman in her 70s use profanities, but on occasion the term “star fucker” emerged from tightly pursed lips. Though, to the president’s credit, his affiliation with the Democratic party is surely what offended these polite ladies most. (They certainly didn’t object when Ronald Reagan, the only actor to be elected president, gave their husbands jobs in his cabinet.)
It is difficult to measure precisely the shifting balance of power at the highest levels of society. Certainly Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, and Whitneys have not ceded their prominent positions, but the new celebrity aristocracy is gaining. Ceremonies like the Academy Awards push the evolution just that little bit further and signal the changing tide, even if the old establishment tries its best to ignore it. | [] |
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Cheshirisation)
Jump to: navigation, search
Sound change and alternation
Cheshirization, or cheshirisation, is a term coined by James Matisoff to refer to a type of sound change where a trace remains of a sound that has otherwise disappeared from a word. The term is a neologism, i.e. it is not an established scientific term. It is used here to describe a process that is real but so far has no generally accepted name. The term rephonologization has sometimes been used to describe this process; see below.
Essentially, a distinction between two sets of words that was formerly expressed through one phonological feature (e.g. a particular sound) is preserved (or partly preserved) through being re-expressed using a different phonological feature. This typically occurs through two sound changes: One that introduces a modification of some sort, conditioned on the presence or absence of a particular feature, followed by another change that deletes or changes the conditioning feature.
A common example is Germanic umlaut. In many Germanic languages around 500–700 AD, a sound change fronted a back vowel when an /i/ or /j/ followed in the next syllable. Typically, the /i/ or /j/ was then lost, leading to a situation where a trace of the original /i/ or /j/ remains in the fronted quality of the preceding vowel. Alternatively, a distinction formerly expressed through the presence or absence of an /i/ or /j/ suffix was then re-expressed as a distinction between a front or back vowel.
As a specific instance of this, in prehistoric Old English, a certain class of nouns was marked by an /i/ suffix in the (nominative) plural, but had no suffix in the (nominative) singular. A word like /muːs/ "mouse", for example, had a plural /muːsi/ "mice". After umlaut, the plural became pronounced [myːsi], where the long back vowel /uː/ was fronted, producing a new subphonemic front-rounded vowel [yː], which serves as a secondary indicator of plurality. Subsequent loss of final /i/, however, made /yː/ a phoneme and the primary indicator of plurality, leading to a distinction between /muːs/ "mouse" and /myːs/ "mice". In this case, the lost sound /i/ left a trace in the presence of /yː/; or equivalently, the distinction between singular and plural, formerly expressed through a suffix /i/, has been re-expressed using a different feature, namely the front-back distinction of the main vowel. This distinction survives in the modern forms "mouse" /maʊs/ and "mice" /maɪs/, although the specifics have been modified by the Great Vowel Shift.
Before disappearing, a sound may trigger or prevent some phonetic change in its vicinity that would not otherwise have occurred, and which may remain long afterward. For example :
• In the English word night, the gh sound disappeared, but before or perhaps as it did so it lengthened the vowel i, so that the word is pronounced /ˈnt/ "nite" rather than the /ˈnɪt/ "nit" that would otherwise be expected for a closed syllable.
• In French, a final n sound disappeared, but left its trace in the nasalization of the preceding vowel, as in vin blanc [vɛ̃ blɑ̃], from historical [vin blaŋk].
Other examples:
The term cheshirization refers to the Cheshire Cat, a character in the book Alice in Wonderland, who "vanished quite slowly, beginning with the end of the tail, and ending with the grin, which remained some time after the rest of it had gone."
Other names[edit]
In a 1994 paper, Norman used the term rephonologization to refer to the same type of process, in the context of a proposed Old Chinese sound change that transferred a distinction formerly expressed through putative pharyngealization of the initial consonant of a syllable to one expressed through presence or absence of a palatal glide /j/ before the main vowel of the syllable.[1] Note that rephonologization is occasionally used with another meaning,[2] referring to changes such as the Germanic sound shift or the Slavic change from /ɡ/ to /ɦ/, where the phonological relationships among sounds change but the number of phonemes stays the same. This can be viewed as a special case of the broader process being described here.
See also[edit]
1. ^ Norman, Jerry (July–September 1994). "Pharyngealization in Early Chinese". Journal of the American Oriental Society 114: 397–408. doi:10.2307/605083. Specifically, the glide /j/ occurred whenever the initial consonant was not pharyngealized.
2. ^ Trask, R.L. (1995). A Dictionary of Phonetics and Phonology. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-11261-1. | [] |
Raspberry Pils - Grand River Brewing
Not Rated.
Raspberry PilsRaspberry Pils
Displayed for educational use only; do not reuse.
11 Ratings
no score
(send 'em beer!)
Ratings: 11
Reviews: 9
rAvg: 3.41
pDev: 14.66%
Wants: 0
Gots: 0 | FT: 0
Brewed by:
Grand River Brewing visit their website
Ontario, Canada
Style | ABV
Fruit / Vegetable Beer | 4.50% ABV
Availability: Limited (brewed once)
Notes/Commercial Description:
This beer is retired; no longer brewed.
No notes at this time.
(Beer added by: biegaman on 05-30-2010)
View: Beers (19) | Events
Beer: Ratings & Reviews
Ratings: 11 | Reviews: 9 | Display Reviews Only:
Photo of evil_liver
3/5 rDev -12%
Photo of Molson2000
3.5/5 rDev +2.6%
Photo of kwjd
3.63/5 rDev +6.5%
On tap at C'est What's 2010 Fall Festival of Craft Breweries. Pours a light pinkish-red colour without zero head. Smells of fresh raspberry with some of the typical pilsner smell. Flavour is a bit tart with the raspberry, but still a crisp grassy hop bite. Quite sweet too. Mouthfeel is surpringly good given that there wasn't any head. Nice beer.
Photo of bobsy
3.88/5 rDev +13.8%
Surely this is just the Hannenberg Pils with a hint of raspberry waved in its general direction? I'll repeat my review for that beer here, as it tasted almost identical, but I'll add the corrolary that there was the faintest taste of raspberry. Let's rewind the clock...
The beer arrives at the table proudly showing off a golden yellow body and small white cap of a head. The head hugs the side of the glass as the pils is drank, leaving a good deal of lacing. The smell is light but has a good dose of grassy floral hops and biscuit malt. The flavour is malt heavy, embodied in the taste of bread, honey and caramel. The hops come through at the edges, cloaked in grassiness, lending a light bitterness. Medium bodied and with almost perfect carbonation, this one can be consumed all day long.
Photo of JohnnyBarman
3.2/5 rDev -6.2%
Bottle picked up at the brewery. Freshness date August 9th 2010.
Poured into a pilsner glass. Slightly opaque golden with a slight orange-pink tinge, leaving a thin, but stable frothy head.
Nose is yeast, light hops, a slight fruit character I wouldn't have called raspberries if I hadn't known the name. Smells like neither a pilsner nor a fruit beer.
Hrrm. Not sure about this. Tastes a great deal like the Hannenberg Pils, of which I'm quite fond, but with a bit of a strange fruit character in the back, which again I wouldn't necessarily call raspberry. The hops and fruit almost cancel each other out, to the detriment of both - the fruit is muted by the hops, so it doesn't taste like how I feel a fruit beer should, but the fruit also softens the hops, reducing its 'pils' standing. What I get is a very bready, yeasty brew, with only a slight fruit flavor lurking in the background.
Betwixt and between, neither a pils nor a fruit beer. Didn't really do it for me. Might have worked better with a wheat ale base to allow the fruit to make more of a statement. Or at the very least a more potent raspberry flavor.
Bit of a disappointment. It certainly is quite drinkable, and I wouldn't turn it down, but it's not really worth seeking out either. Stick with the Hannenberg Pils.
Photo of TheHammer
3.28/5 rDev -3.8%
Got this on tap at the winking judge.
Appearance: A nice amber colored without any sort of red tint that I would typically expect from this type of offering, so that is nice. Decent carbonation in the body, but very little in the way of head.
Smell: A light raspberry smell dominants the nose but is closely followed by a floral hop undertone that I would expect from a pilsner. I'm also catching a bit of biscuit malt in the background. Fairly solid all around.
Taste: Sadly this beer has an identity crisis, it's still good but the meshing of the sweeter raspberry doesn't mesh very well with the pilsner elements. It seems like a cycle of one flavour trying to fight the others, with the raspberry trying to take over the malt at the start, the hops trying to take over the berries in the middle and the malt appearing at the end to take out the hops. Interesting, but the whole experience seems off.
Mouthfeel: This beer doesn't transition very smoothly. As I said earlier, it's like every part of the beer is fighting other parts of the beer. The carbonation is alright, and the aftertaste is alright as the hops seem to disappear leaving a malt raspberry aftertaste but there is room for improvement.
Drinkability: Well my pint went down quick enough, and it is refreshing and easy sitting down. Really this brew is great for those summer days when most beers don't quite cut it for refreshment, so you want something fruitier instead. That's really it though, and even the hoppier elements reign that potential back a bit.
Final Thoughts: It's alright, and worth one shot but not much more. It is as advertised, but I think you'll find you will want this beer to be either exclusively a fruitier beer or exclusively a pilsner by the time you are done.
Photo of kjyost
4.03/5 rDev +18.2%
Pours a nice light pinkish beer with a small head and no lacing. Intriguing... Aroma is an enjoyable mix of fruit and a bit of bready malt. The taste is an excellent balance between the tartness of the raspberry and a bit of bitterness in the body. Mouthfeel had a carbonation that was a touch too strong, and the bitterness was a bit too lingering... Stunningly drinkable beer. Never thought I could like a raspberry beer this much.
Photo of Derek
4/5 rDev +17.3%
A: Rose with an off-white head, some retention & lace.
S: Surprisingly, the light berry aroma actually works with the floral hopping.
T: The raspberry is fairly mild, allowing the quality malt & hops to still come through. I'm not sure if it has as much bitterness as their Pils... but it has a nice balance. I liked it, though I wonder if it may not be fruity enough for some people. No tartness at all.
M: Light to moderate body is smooth.
D: An easy drinker for a hot summer day!
Photo of pootz
3.43/5 rDev +0.6%
On tap:
Pours pale gold with no pink tint to indicate the use of real fruit, small cap, soft carbonation.
Aroma is biscuit dough with some light berry tones and twiggy hopping.
Sandy mouth feel, dry-fruity character, light bodied.
Up front biscuity malts balance with extract berry tones and leafy floral hops, tart dry finish with a nice biscuity snap at the end.
Tastes like their regular pils with some fruit extract flavoring in it.
Quenching, fruity-dry, decent summer patio brew, bur I expected more from this brewer,.
Photo of Sammy
2.17/5 rDev -36.4%
Bottle from their 3rd anniversary party. Pink appearance with crowning head. Far from real raspberry, this was some infusion and dominated the taste. Me, I would rather the pils alone. Gelatiny and astringent, not very drinkable.Synthetic aromas.Skippable.
Photo of biegaman
3.4/5 rDev -0.3%
On-tap at C'est What?, in Toronto.
Raspberry Pils' sandy-taupe colour has a smidgen of salmon to it; usually we see pink by way of a lighter toned red but in this case it seems to wash right out of the orange. As well as that light rosé tint, the berries have added a light haze too. As its soapy white lather sinks with the beer, it cleaves to the glass so tightly you'd swear it had claws.
This bouquet has the lightness of a Strauss operetta. The raspberry essence is slow to seep through and once it does the sensation of tart, luscious berries is no more than a mere pin prick. To its credit, the scent is genuine and without an ounce of sugar. The soft, bated sweetness of the pale malt is definitely the stronger hand of the two.
Whether you're in this for the raspberry or the pilsner, either way, you're likely to be underwhelmed. As expected from a brewery with the integrity of Grand River, the raspberry component is indeed genuine and not over-sweet in the least; unfortunately, it's also rather vague and, until the air could work at it, a little bit too indiscriminate.
As for the pilsner, which is obnoxiously present in the taste, it is incredibly bready, like warm corn muffins and white loaf bread, but without a trace of hop flavour. These grainy, bready malts aren't exactly a match made in heaven for the lush, lightly tart taste of the berries. A more neutral malt bill would let the fruit pass through much less abated.
Like Grand River's other fruit-beer seasonal, Bumbleberry Wheat, I can't help but feel this brewer's talents could have been invested in better projects. A beer so indiscriminately fruity isn't likely to stand-out to those who tend to drink fruity drinks nor is it likely to appeal to those who appreciate the virtues of well-crafted, lower alcohol beers. I'm glad to have enjoyed one pint of it this summer, but I doubt I'll be having another.
Raspberry Pils from Grand River Brewing
80 out of 100 based on 11 ratings. | [] |
Spreading the Gospel in Ecuador's Jungles - Christian World News - CBN News - Christian News 24-7 - CBN.com
Spreading the Gospel in Ecuador's Jungles
Ad Feedback
The sight and sound of a most unusual aircraft is turning heads in the jungles of Ecuador these days.
But it's not just the parachute-plane, it's the pilot. He's one of them. Tementa is a Waorani tribesman, and in a remarkable role reversal the passenger is the missionary.
Tementa's coach and mentor is Steve Saint, and nobody is a greater supporter of the Waorani.
"These people have the want to. They know the Gospel. They love the Lord. They've proven that they're able to face persecution, much more than we have," he said.
That's a big change from 1956 when Steve's father, Nate Saint, flew four other American missionaries to a fateful encounter with the Aucas, as the Waorani were known to outsiders. Tementa's father was one of the killers in a massacre that shocked the world.
But today, many Waorani are committed christians, with a passion for taking the message of God's love to other tribes deeper in the jungle.
Steve was determined to assist the Waronis in their quest so he and some friends got together and formed a group called the Indigenous Technology Center.
"If we would spend at least a little bit of time and some of our resources, in re-inventing these tools that we have found to make sharing the Gospel efficient so that we can pass the torch, I think that's one of the big challenges, and I think that is one of the most efficient things we can do," he said.
Steve's interests were not limited to flying. He and his friends developed a portable dental operation unit and also a video system. Both could be carried like backpacks and operated on solar charged batteries.
Then Steve came across the powered parachute, a fairly new technology which he quickly adapted to jungle conditions. He also increased the capacity to carry two passengers and cargo.
Tementa had been in training for months, developing repair and maintenance skills. Minkai learned to use the portable dental unit. together they made quite a team.
For a savage people who once delighted in deceiving and murdering the unsuspecting, the transformation couldn't be more dramatic. They're now missionaries themselves, reaching others by using a tailor-made set of technology tools.
Log in or create an account to post a comment.
Stan Jeter
Stan Jeter
Christian World News
| [] |
Paintball in Old Bridge
Select Local Merchants
Across the woodsball fields and speedball arena of Long Live Paintball, contenders dodge the colorful fire of their opponents as they leap over cable spools and post up behind a charred bus or towers of barrels. It's on these obstacle-ridden grounds that dye-slingers compete in elimination-style games or battle to complete a given mission, such as capturing the adversary's flag and using it to pick popcorn kernels out of their teeth. Admission rates range from simple entry fees for the fully equipped to all-day Gold packages that supply players with a marker, 500 paintballs, and all the other necessary provisions. Rentable chest protectors cushion trunks from crossfire, and disposable camo cuts down on the time players spend fusing their DNA with that of a tree. Although the field is generally first-come, first-serve, the staff can prepare for parties of 10 or more with an advanced reservation.
1989 Englishtown Rd.
Monroe Township, | [] |
System Administration Guide: IP Services
ProcedureHow to Plan for an IPMP Group
The following procedure includes the planning tasks and information to be gathered prior to configuring the IPMP group. The tasks do not have to be performed in sequence.
1. Decide which interfaces on the system are to be part of the IPMP group.
An IPMP group usually consists of at least two physical interfaces that are connected to the same IP link. However, you can configure a single interface IPMP group, if required. For an introduction to IPMP groups, refer to IPMP Interface Configurations. For example, you can configure the same Ethernet switch or the same IP subnet under the same IPMP group. You can configure any number of interfaces into the same IPMP group.
You cannot use the group parameter of the ifconfig command with logical interfaces. For example, you can use the group parameter with hme0, but not with hme0:1.
2. Verify that each interface in the group has a unique MAC address.
For instructions, refer to SPARC: How to Ensure That the MAC Address of an Interface Is Unique.
3. Choose a name for the IPMP group.
Any non-null name is appropriate for the group. You might want to use a name that identifies the IP link to which the interfaces are attached.
4. Ensure that the same set of STREAMS modules is pushed and configured on all interfaces in the IPMP group.
All interfaces in the same group must have the same STREAMS modules configured in the same order.
1. Check the order of STREAMS modules on all interfaces in the prospective IPMP group.
You can print out a list of STREAMS modules by using the ifconfig interface modlist command. For example, here is the ifconfig output for an hme0 interface:
# ifconfig hme0 modlist
0 arp
1 ip
2 hme
Interfaces normally exist as network drivers directly below the IP module, as shown in the output from ifconfig hme0 modlist. They should not require additional configuration.
However, certain technologies, such as NCA or IP Filter, insert themselves as STREAMS modules between the IP module and the network driver. Problems can result in the way interfaces of the same IPMP group behave.
If a STREAMS module is stateful, then unexpected behavior can occur on failover, even if you push the same module onto all of the interfaces in a group. However, you can use stateless STREAMS modules, provided that you push them in the same order on all interfaces in the IPMP group.
2. Push the modules of an interface in the standard order for the IPMP group.
ifconfig interface modinsert module-name
ifconfig hme0 modinsert ip
5. Use the same IP addressing format on all interfaces of the IPMP group.
If one interface is configured for IPv4, then all interfaces of the group must be configured for IPv4. Suppose you have an IPMP group that is composed of interfaces from several NICs. If you add IPv6 addressing to the interfaces of one NIC, then all interfaces in the IPMP group must be configured for IPv6 support.
6. Check that all interfaces in the IPMP group are connected to the same IP link.
7. Verify that the IPMP group does not contain interfaces with different network media types.
The interfaces that are grouped together should be of the same interface type, as defined in /usr/include/net/if_types.h. For example, you cannot combine Ethernet and Token ring interfaces in an IPMP group. As another example, you cannot combine a Token bus interface with asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) interfaces in the same IPMP group.
8. For IPMP with ATM interfaces, configure the ATM interfaces in LAN emulation mode.
IPMP is not supported for interfaces using Classical IP over ATM. | [] |
Take the 2-minute tour ×
Consider the field integral for the partition function of a free non-relativistic electron in a condensed matter setting, i.e.
$$ Z = ∫D\bar\psi D\psi \exp\left(-\sum_{k,ω} \bar\psi_{k,ω} (-iω + \frac{k^2}{2m} - \mu) \psi_{k,ω}\right) $$
where the action is written in Fourier representation and $\mu$ denotes the chemical potential. Now, this integral is well known to be the determinant
$$ Z = \det\left(β\left(-iω+\frac{k^2}{2m} - \mu\right)\right) $$
which is equal to the product of all eigenvalues of the quadratic form in brackets.
But here is my problem:
How to calculate a quadratic path integral if the quadratic form has some eigenvalues that are equal to zero?
If the chemical potential $\mu$ is positive, then all all momenta with $\frac{k^2}{2m} = \mu$ (the Fermi surface) will represent an eigenvalue equal to zero and would force the determinant to become zero.
Of course, I could just drop the problematic eigenvalues from the determinant and call it a day, but unfortunately, I would like to understand quantum anomalies a bit better and
zero energy eigenmodes are important for understanding the axial quantum anomaly
for example of the $1+1D$ Schwinger model. Fujikawa's book on quantum anomalies argues that the axial anomaly comes from an asymmetry of zero modes of the Dirac operator, but I am very confused because a zero mode would make the determinant of the Dirac operator and hence the path integral vanish. How to make sense of this?
share|improve this question
The $\omega$ are discrete Matsubara frequencies. In the case of fermions these can never be zero. For bosons, zero modes can indeed appear. This is related to Bose condensation. You can have anomalies in non-relativistic systems with a Fermi surface, but that's a more complicated story, see for example arxive:1203.2697. – Thomas Dec 26 '12 at 1:00
Ok, so you're saying that the $ω_n$ are always odd multiples of $2π/T$ and $ω=0$ is never among them. But then, I don't understand how zero modes of the Dirac operator can influence the path integral and be responsible for the axial quantum anomaly. (Maybe I should spell out the latter in more detail.) – Greg Graviton Dec 26 '12 at 10:50
You would first have to include chiral fermions and a coupling to gauge fields. – Thomas Dec 27 '12 at 0:18
1 Answer 1
Quillen generalized the definition of the determinant of an oparator to a form applicable to operators with zero modes, between finite or infinite dimensional Hilbert spaces:
$D: \mathrm{H_1} \rightarrow \mathrm{H_2}$
According to this generalization, the determinant is not a C-number but an element of a one dimensional vector space :
$\mathrm{Det}(D) = (\wedge^{top}( \mathrm{H_1}/\mathrm{ker}(D)))^{\dagger} \wedge^{top}\mathrm{img}(D))$
Where $\wedge^{top}$ denotes the top wedge product. This basically means that we do not include the zero modes in the eigenvalue product. For example consider a three dimensional matrix $A$ without zero modes, then its determinant according to Quillen is:
$\mathrm{Det}(A) = e_1^{\dagger} \wedge e_2^{\dagger} \wedge e_3^{\dagger} \wedge A e_1 \wedge A e_2 \wedge A e_3 = \mathrm{det}(A) e_1^{\dagger} \wedge e_2^{\dagger} \wedge e_3^{\dagger} \wedge e_1 \wedge e_2 \wedge e_3 $
Where $\mathrm{det}$ is the conventional matrix determinant. Notice that the Quillen determinant in this case is just the conventional determinant multiplied by the one dimensional unit vector $e_1^{\dagger} \wedge e_2^{\dagger} \wedge e_3^{\dagger} \wedge e_1 \wedge e_2 \wedge e_3 $.
Now, it is not difficult verify that the determinant of a diagonal matrix $ A = \mathrm{diag} [ \lambda_1, \lambda_2, , 0]$ with zero eigenvalues will be just the product of its nonvanishing eigenvalues times the unit vector composed from the top wedge product the einvectors with nonvanishing eigenvalues:
$\mathrm{Det}(A) =\lambda_1 \lambda_2,e_1^{\dagger} \wedge e_2^{\dagger} \wedge e_1 \wedge e_2 \equiv det^{'}(A) e_1^{\dagger} \wedge e_2^{\dagger} \wedge e_1 \wedge e_2$
Where $ det^{'}(A)$ is the determinant on the subspace excluding the zero modes. Please notice that now $e_3$ disappeared from the top wedge product.
Relation to anomalies:
The scalar value $\lambda_1 \lambda_2$ of the Quillen determinant is basis dependent, because if one applies a unitary transformation:
$ A \rightarrow U^{\dagger} A U$
Only the full top wedge product $e_1^{\dagger} \wedge e_2^{\dagger} \wedge e_3^{\dagger} \wedge e_1 \wedge e_2 \wedge e_3 $ is invariant but not the partial one: $e_1^{\dagger} \wedge e_2^{\dagger} \wedge e_1 \wedge e_2 $ .Thus the scalar value of the determinant changes.
Thus in this case:
$\mathrm{Det}(U^{\dagger} A U) =c(A, U) \mathrm{det^{'}}(A)e_1^{\dagger} \wedge e_2^{\dagger} \wedge e_1 \wedge e_2 $
Where $c(A, U) $ is a scalar depending on $A$ and $U$. Consequently, the Quillen determinant is not invariant under unitary transformations.
Applying two consecutive unitary transformations one observes that the additional scalar must satisfy the relation:
$ c(A, UV) = c(V^{\dagger} A V, U) c(A, V)$
This relation is called the one cocycle condition.
This phenomenon occurs when $\mathrm{D}$ is a Dirac operator in the background of a gauge field. Due to the fact that there exist zero modes, a unitary transformation on the spinors and the gauge fields gives rise to a scalar multiple to the determinant stemming from the anomaly. Basically, there is one type of function of a gauge field and a unitary operator which satisfies the one cocycle condition (up to a constant multiple).
Please see the following lecture notes and the following article by M. Blau for further reading.
share|improve this answer
Thanks for your answer! If I understand that correctly, the unitary transformation $U$ is assumed to preserve $\ker D$? Otherwise, the transformed wedge product would not be a scalar multiple of the old one, but a multiple of, say $e_1^\dagger\wedge e_3^\dagger \wedge e_1 \wedge e_3$. (I'm thinking of a permutation $Ue_1 = e_1, Ue_2 = e_3, Ue_3 = e_2$) – Greg Graviton Dec 27 '12 at 10:15
Thanks for the references as well. Unfortunately, I am unable to access the article by Blau from my university. :( – Greg Graviton Dec 27 '12 at 10:16
@Greg, 1) The unitary transformation U does not need to preserve $\mathrm{ker}(D)$, sorry for not emphasizing that one must project on the top form after performing the action, because the top form subspace is one dimensional. I'll try to add in a few days an explicit computation of the scalar multiple and the cocycle condition. 2) I'll be happy to help if you need me to send a copy of the article. – David Bar Moshe Dec 28 '12 at 5:10
1) Ah, I see. I would be very happy if you could elaborate on the projection. (For instance, I would have guessed that the top form is orthogonal to the forms with fewer unit vectors?) 2) That would be great! My email address can be found on my user profile. I would be grateful if you could find the time to send me a copy of the article. – Greg Graviton Dec 28 '12 at 16:55
@Greg I can't see your E-mail, instead I placed the copy in a file exchange server, fileconvoy.com/… where it will be abailable in the next 7 days – David Bar Moshe Dec 30 '12 at 4:34
Your Answer
| [] |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.