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Become a digitalPLUS subscriber. $12 for 12 weeks. 'The Host': Alien neighbors drop in, and time seems to stop ★ "The Host" is for people who couldn't handle the whirlwind pace of events in the "Twilight" trilogy and who prefer a love triangle unafraid to redefine, for a new generation, the word "lollygag." It features several shots of Diane Kruger (as a capital-S Seeker alien, middle-managing the takeover of Earth) standing around in the desert, next to her shiny alien sports car of the near future, waiting around for a stray human to show up and make her day. The film may as well be titled "Stephenie Meyer's Waiting Around." When not idling above ground, "The Host" confines itself to an underground series of caves that look like soundstage sets (and not enough of them). There's a river, too, resembling one of those lazy rivers at a Wisconsin Dells water park. William Hurt, who portrays the bearded patriarch Uncle Jeb, confides to his fellow survivors and wheat farmers in hiding: "I always liked science-fiction stories. I never thought I'd be living in one." He does so in such a way as to suggest a veteran actor mentally reminding himself about when the caterers will be bringing lunch. Speaking of talking to yourself ... "The Host" is all about voices in your head. Written by "Twilight" creator Meyer, and adapted for the screen by director Andrew Niccol, it imagines the planet we call home (though we never call often enough) shortly after an invasion by creatures from another galaxy. They are called the Souls. The Souls have rid the joint of strife, hunger, wars, even product placement. Here's how: The Seekers locate humans to serve as hosts for Souls. The bodies aren't so much snatched as gently sublet. Saoirse Ronan plays Melanie Stryder, whose body is sublet by a Soul named Wanderer. Then the darndest thing happens: Melanie and Wanderer become frenemies, and Melanie arm-twists the interplanetary visitor in her body, and head, to escape the lair of the Seekers and return to Melanie's cave-dwelling survivalist clan, including her sullen boyfriend (Max Irons) and little brother (Chandler Canterbury). Then the second-darndest thing happens: "Wanda," the newly nicknamed Wanderer subletting Melanie's body, falls in love with Ian (Jake Abel). As the old "Patty Duke Show" theme song put it: What a wild duet! Melanie is the hostest with the mostest romantic complications, that's for sure. Typical dialogue: "Wanderer!" "Yes, Seeker?" I confess to siding with the occupying forces on this one. Cooler cars, better fashion sense. What's not to like? As with "Twilight," Meyer's romantic fantasies are often very violent and only occasionally sexual, and even less often honestly so. Director Niccol made the peppy science-fiction tale "In Time," but nothing in "The Host" happens quickly. In its storytelling rhythm, it puts the "shee-ate!" in "excruciating." And while Ronan's a sharp and perceptive actress, the material defeats her. The alien invasion love quadrangle (rectangle? rhombus?) lies there the way Meyer's prose in the novel did. The best you can say about the movie, other than Ronan and Kruger giving it their all, is that you don't have to read bits like this one from the book: "He curled his arms around me, pulling me tighter against his chest. Our lips moved together, fusing as if they would never divide, as if separation was not the inevitable thing it was, and I could taste the salt of our tears." Who knows? The movie may well find its audience the way "Twilight" did at the multiplexes and thereafter. But be warned. At one point, a title card pops up on the screen: MONTHS LATER. And you think: Holy Kenosha! How many more months of "The Host" can a humanoid take? 'The Host' -- 1 star MPAA rating: PG-13 (for some sensuality and violence) Running time: 2:05 Opens: Friday Copyright © 2014, Daily Press Related Content • In theaters: New movie reviews In theaters: New movie reviews Check out reviews for all new releases and other movies in theaters now. • Top 50 superhero movies of the last 10 years Top 50 superhero movies of the last 10 years
Although today's home appliances are designed to be far more energy efficient than those made in the decades past, there's always room for improvement. Industry leaders are building energy-saving appliances because consumers demand high-performance products that do more with less energy. Fostering this trend toward innovation in energy efficiency, the Department of Energy (DOE) recently recognized the winners of a university-based student design competition to build more efficient appliances—products that can be manufactured at a lower cost and outperform comparable best-in-their-class products already on the market. The Department's first Max Tech and Beyond Appliance Design Competition aims to inspire the nation's brightest young minds to pursue energy efficiency improvements in home and commercial appliances and other equipment, helping to develop innovative ultra-efficient products. The competition also supports the Energy Department's broader efforts to train and educate a new generation of engineers and entrepreneurs who will help solve our national energy challenges and bring cutting-edge energy technologies to the global market. The winning team, from the University of Maryland, chose to simplify the design of a standard wall-mounted air conditioner by separating the systems that remove humidity and provide cooling. After the students tested a fully functional prototype, they found that the design reduced energy use by 30% compared with typical wall-mounted air conditioners already on the market. Since the largest consumer of electricity in most homes nationwide is the air-conditioning system, this innovative design has the potential to substantially decrease residential energy use and save consumers money. The runner-up team from Marquette University developed a prototype of a natural-gas-fired combination water heater and clothes dryer that can use the waste heat from the clothes dryer to heat water for the next washing load. The team demonstrated that with this approach, they could get a 10% dryer efficiency improvement compared with the best comparable products on the market. Learn more about the competition from the EERE progress alert. So why are these gifted engineering students so bent on boosting energy efficiency to the next level? Because energy efficiency sells. These students see more and more Americans paying attention to their energy use, looking to save money, and doing their part to improve our energy security and protect our air and water. Participating in a team design competition can also help students hone the skills they need to find high-level jobs in the industry or get a head start on their peers in starting a new business. The Department supports a variety of student competitions that drive innovation in energy efficiency and renewable energy—including graduate-level geothermal energy research, undergraduate clean energy entrepreneurship, and DOE's signature student challenge, the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, which will be held in Irvine, California, in the fall of 2013. The Solar Decathlon challenges student teams to design and build highly efficient homes that blend energy efficiency and renewable energy systems, and it demonstrates how attractive and comfortable efficient living spaces can be to the hundreds of thousands of people who visit the student-built homes. Not coincidentally, one of the mainstay events in which Solar Decathlon teams must excel to win the overall competition is in the performance of home appliances, underscoring the importance of high efficiency appliances in optimizing whole-home energy use. But why focus on appliances? One of the biggest chunks of most people's energy bill is the power used to run your refrigerator, dishwasher, and washer and dryer. Appliances typically account for 13% of a family's energy bill. Reducing the power you use operate appliances, not to mention heating and cooling systems (another 54% of the average bill), will save you considerably on your energy costs. One of the best ways you can tackle your high utility bills—after performing basic improvements in your home, such as sealing ducts and air leaks, improving insulation, and installing programmable thermostats—is to start replacing your older appliances with energy-saving ones. Look for the ENERGY STAR® label. Also, consider retiring that extra refrigerator in your garage that was made in the '80s. It uses a lot more power and has less room than a new model. Get the most out of your home and support America's manufacturers, innovators and entrepreneurs: next time, buy yourself an energy-saving appliance. And view more Energy Savers tips for more ways you can save money by saving energy. Eric Barendsen is a communications specialist and former Presidential Management Fellow with EERE's Communications and Outreach office in Washington, D.C.
• News/ Feud Alert! Zach Galifianakis Rips "Rude" January Jones Zach Galifianakis, January Jones Jason Merritt/Getty Images; Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic We can eliminateZach Galifianakisfrom the list of January Jones' potential baby daddies—because he won't even pretend sleep with her. The Hangover II funnyman is being brutally honest about a run-in he once had with the Mad Men beauty. Take it away, Zach... MORE: Why was Zach so grumpy at the Hangover II Galifianakis opens up about Jones in an interview with Shortlist. Asked by the interviewer about a complimentary comment Jones made to the site, calling him the most "naturally funny" man she'd ever met (sorry Jason Sudeikis), Galifianakis seemed completely baffled by her sweetness. "That's really funny because, if I remember correctly, she and I were very rude to each other. It was crazy," he explains. "I was at a party—I'd never met her—and she was like, 'Come sit down.' So I sit at her table and talk for 10 minutes, and she goes, 'I think it's time for you to leave now.' " And what did he come back with? "So, I say, 'January, you are an actress in a show and everybody's going to forget about you in a few years, so f--king be nice' and I got up and left. And she thinks that's funny?" But he wasn't finished yet. Galifianakis tops it off by adding that if a script demanded he do a sex scene with the actress, he'd wouldn't want any part of it. "I wouldn't want to. I'd hate it," he said. "I've only had to do a few of those things where you have to kiss and stuff. It's so embarrassing." Guess that means no maternity gifts from the actor. Now back to who that baby daddy is... MORE: Check out these Hangover II shots
You are here Favorite Find Friday: Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen in Oyster Glow A true testament to a product's greatness is when it elicits compliments every time you wear it. Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen in Oyster Glow is one of those rare specimens. We trace the pinky-beige gleamy pencil along our bottom lashline no matter what eye shadow, liner (or lack thereof) we're wearing-- it lends an ethereal brightness to tired eyes and distracts from dark shadows. Its eye area-awakening abilities trump all forms of caffeine and any eye cream we've ever used. People are constantly asking us what the magic liner is, and now the secret's out. Tell us: What beauty product always earns you compliments? Love it? Share now! Loading comments...
Build a real-time chat app with Node-RED in 5 minutes 08 August 2014 PDF (752 KB) Sign up for IBM Bluemix This cloud platform is stocked with free services, runtimes, and infrastructure to help you quickly build and deploy your next mobile or web application. Node-RED is a new open-source tool created by the IBM Emerging Technology team that lets you build applications by simply wiring pieces together. These pieces can be hardware devices, web APIs, or online services. We'll show you how to build a real-time chat application on Node-RED using Bluemix in just a few minutes. On IBM Bluemix it's easy to create a new Node-RED runtime. With just a few clicks you have a working environment, ready for you to create your new application. In this article, we'll show you how to build—in just a few minutes—a real-time chat application on Node-RED using Bluemix. What you'll need • A Bluemix account • Basic knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. We provide all the necessary code, but a basic understanding of these technologies will help you understand the details. Step 1. Create your Node-RED application 1. Log in to your Bluemix account and create a new Node-RED boilerplate. Click to see larger image 2. Give your application a name and click CREATE.Give your Node-RED app a name Click to see larger image 3. On the Bluemix dashboard, navigate to the URL provided for your newly created application to launch Node-RED's main page.Node-RED URL on Bluemix 4. Now click Go to your Node-RED flow editor to open the flow editor.Node-RED's main page Click to see larger image 5. You should see a blank sheet where you can start building your app. When using Node-RED we build our apps using this graphical editor interface to wire together the blocks we need. We can simply drag and drop the blocks from the left menu into the workspace in the centre of the screen and connect them to create a new flow.New empty sheet on Node-RED Click to see larger image Step 2. Import the code Every Node-RED application can be imported and exported using the JSON format. So let's import our chat app into the new sheet. 1. Access the project repository on IBM DevOps Services and open the nodechat.json file. 2. Copy the entire file's content, then go back to Node-RED in your browser. 3. Click on the menu button in the top right corner and select Import from… > Clipboard… Import menu on Node-RED 4. Paste the file's content that you copied from the repository and click Ok.Area to paste code to be imported 5. Click somewhere on the blank sheet to add the nodes that were imported. Importing an app in Node-RED Click to see larger image We will explain what each piece does later on this article, but now it's time to deploy and run your application. Step 3. Deploy and run application 1. Click the red Deploy button next to the menu button to make your application live. Deploy button on Node-RED 2. You should see a success message appear on the top, and the blue dots on the nodes will disappear. These dots indicate when a node has been changed but not yet deployed. Success message 3. Now open a new tab on your browser and go to http://[app name], changing [app name] to the name you gave your application. Running our chat app Click to see larger image 4. You now have your chat application running. Enter a username in the field on the left, write a message on the box on the right, and press Send. Sending a message using our chat Click to see larger image 5. Open the chat in a second window or send the link to some friends and have fun. You should receive the messages instantaneously. Real-time conversation with multiple users Click to see larger image Step 4. Explaining the code (optional) In this section, we explain the code behind our application in more detail. You can skip this section, but we recommend you read through it to better understand how the app is built and to learn more about how Node-RED works. 1. In the first section, we have three nodes: • WebSocket in • Function • WebSocket out First flow of the application These are the blocks responsible for creating the communication channel and processing the messages in real-time using the WebSocket protocol. The Function block is very simple. It only removes the value for _session from the msg object so that the message is broadcast to all clients connected to the WebSocket. Code to broadcast message 2. The second flow is responsible for the client-side code. It has an HTTP in node, a Template to render an HTML page, and an HTTP out node for response. Second flow in thr application The HTTP in node ([get] /chat) creates an endpoint to receive GET requests and forwards those requests to the Template. The HTTP out node creates the proper response to be sent back to the user after the template has been rendered. 3. The template can be broken into three parts: page structure, message handling, and visual. 4. The page structure is a simple HTML page that contains a div that will receive all the chat messages, and a footer that holds the fields for sending messages. HTML structure of the app 5. Message handling is done using JavaScript. First, we open a connection to the WebSocket endpoint we created using Node-RED. Openning a WebSocket connection Next, we register event handlers for the ws object to handle events such as opening and closing connections with the server and receiving new messages. Registering event handlers 6. When the user sends a message we create an object with the username and the message, which is sent to the server using the send method in our ws object. Code to send a new message 7. The visual part is done with some simple CSS rules that are not covered in this article. Node-RED simplifies code development by providing us with a set of nodes ready to be wired together and used. As shown in this article, it takes very little work to have a server set up on Bluemix to use in your projects. You can enhance this simple chat application even more by adding new nodes and creating new flows to connect to the existing ones. Add a comment Note: HTML elements are not supported within comments. 1000 characters left developerWorks: Sign in Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (). Need an IBM ID? Forgot your IBM ID? Forgot your password? Change your password All information submitted is secure. Choose your display name Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (). (Must be between 3 – 31 characters.) All information submitted is secure. Zone=Cloud computing ArticleTitle=Build a real-time chat app with Node-RED in 5 minutes
Stretched Canvas Modern Lines Contemporary White Classical Baroque Unframed print Dan Wolf, Cornwall, NY Member Since January 2009 Artist Statement I like to manipulate photos and print them big. I have been taking pictures all my life starting with Kodak Instamatic cameras. At 10 year old, I was using a Polaroid One Step camera (but still using the instamatics because the Polaroid film was about $1 per shot). My parents threatened to get me a real camera sometime in my teen but back down when they saw the prices so I got a Kodak Disc instead. In college I began taking video classes and photography was an elective. I took that course and had to get a real 35mm SLR camera. So I got a used Minolta XG-1 (still have it today and it still works). I learned black and white developing and printing and was so excited by the process, after the class I bought a complete darkroom set up for my basement and took the next level photography class. I grew tired of video because the other people in my class were constantly screwing things up (mainly being late). Video relied on too many other people and if 1 person did a bad job, the entire group suffered. Photography was completely controlled by me and so I switched my major to photography. I began experimenting with several different camera techniques and photographic processes. In my junior year I was making cyanotype t-shirts of things such as "The Good Helmskeeping" symbol and various headlines from the World Weekly News. But I also began experimenting with destroying photographic images and my teacher and I decided the destruction route was better. I began using 4x5 negatives and scratching and painting them. I was boiling a negative and nothing was happening. My roommate said I needed something that would go hotter than 212 degrees and so I used cooking oil. Boy did the house stink but I made a very interesting self portrait. I have added all kinds of different processes to destroy the image. Now that darkrooms are almost gone, I do use the computer although I still do most of the manipulation outside of the computer. I prefer to print my photos large. In college I was limited to 30 inches wide so most of my photos are around 30x40. The methods I use to destroy the photo are exaggerated by the enlargement process. And the destruction also makes my photos a little scary which is why I use the name "Big, Scary Pictures." Some of my artistic influences are Duane Michals, Roy Lichtenstein, Jan Saudek, Joel Peter Witkin, Gerald Slota, Jackson Pollack, Rene Magritte, and Edvard Munch. Product No 1762259 Subjects Abstract, Figure, Nudes, People Style Erotic Tags Dan, Wolf, art, burn, distorted, distressed, erotic, expressionist, figure, nude, portrait, scary
The Regional Impacts of Climate Change Other reports in this collection 4.3. Vulnerabilities and Potential Impacts for Key Sectors 4.3.1. Ecosystems Summary: In responding to climate change, Australasia's biota may face a greater rate of long-term change than ever before. They also must respond in a highly altered landscape fragmented by urban and agricultural development. There is ample evidence for significant potential impacts. Alterations in soil characteristics, water and nutrient cycling, plant productivity, species interactions (competition, predation, parasitism, etc.), and composition and function of ecosystems are highly likely responses to increases in atmospheric CO2 concentration and temperature and to shifts in rainfall regimes. These changes would be exacerbated by any increases in fire occurrence and insect outbreaks. Aquatic systems will be affected by the disproportionately large responses in runoff, riverflow and associated nutrients, wastes and sediments that are likely from changes in rainfall and rainfall intensity and by sea-level rise in estuaries, mangroves, and other low-lying coastal areas. Australia's Great Barrier Reef and other coral reefs are vulnerable to temperature-induced bleaching and death of corals, in addition to sea-level rise and weather changes. However, there is evidence that the growth of coral reef biota may be sufficient to adapt to sea-level rise. Our knowledge of climate change impacts on aquatic and marine ecosystems is relatively limited. Prediction of climate change effects is very difficult because of the complexity of ecosystem dynamics. Although Australasia's biota and ecosystems are adapted to the region's high climate variability (exemplified in arid and ENSO-affected areas), it is unclear whether this will provide any natural adaptation advantage. Many species will be able to adapt through altered ecosystem relationships or migration, but such possibilities may not exist in some cases, and reduction of species diversity is highly likely. Climate change will add to existing problems such as land degradation, weed infestations, and pest animals and generally will increase the difficulties and uncertainty involved in managing these problems. The primary human adaptation option is land-use management-for example, by modification of animal stocking rates in rangelands, control of pests and weeds, changed forestry practices, and plantings along waterways. Research, monitoring, and prediction, both climatic and ecological, will be necessary foundations to human adaptive responses. Active manipulation of species generally will not be feasible in the region's extensive natural or lightly managed ecosystems, except for rare and endangered species or commercially valuable species. In summary, it must be concluded that some of the region's ecosystems are very vulnerable to climate change. General Climate is a primary influence not only on the individual plant, animal, and soil components of an ecosystem but also on water and nutrient availability and cycling within the ecosystem, on fire and other disturbances, and on the dynamics of species interactions. Changes in climate therefore affect ecosystems both by directly altering an area's suitability to the physiological requirements of individual species and by altering the nature of ecosystem dynamics and species interactions (Peters and Darling, 1985). In addition, biota face an environment in which the rising atmospheric CO2 concentration also will directly affect plants and soils. The rate of climatic change may exceed any that the biota have previously experienced (IPCC 1996, WG II, Chapter A and Section 4.3.3). This rate of change poses a potentially major threat to ecosystem structure and function and possibly to the ability of evolutionary processes, such as natural selection, to keep pace (Peters and Darling, 1985). Although many of the biota and ecosystems in the region have adapted to high climate variability (exemplified in the region's arid and ENSO-affected areas), it is unclear whether this will provide any advantage in adapting to the projected changes in climate. Furthermore, in contrast to the case of climate change over geological time scales, today the region's biota must respond in a landscape that has been highly modified by agricultural and urban development and introduced species (Peters, 1992). Considerable fragmentation of habitat has occurred in Australasia's forests, temperate woodlands, and rangelands. In the short term, land-use changes such as vegetation clearance are likely to have a much greater bearing on the maintenance of conservation values than the direct effects of climate change on biodiversity (Saunders and Hobbs, 1992). In the longer term, however, climate change impacts are likely to become increasingly evident, especially where other processes have increased ecosystem vulnerability (Williams et al., 1994). Australasia's isolated evolutionary history has led to a very high level of endemism (plants and animals found only in the region). For example, 77% of mammals, 41% of birds, and 93% of plant species are endemic (see Annex D). As one of the 12 recognized "mega-diversity" countries (and the only one that is an OECD member), Australia has a particular stewardship responsibility toward an unusually large fraction of the world's biodiversity. Many of New Zealand's endemic bird species are endangered. Species confined to limited areas or habitat, such as Australia's endangered Mountain Pygmy Possum (Burramys parvus)-which is only found in the alpine and subalpine regions of southeast Australia (Dexter et al., 1995)-may be especially vulnerable to climate change. Certain ecosystems have particular importance to the region's indigenous people, both for use as traditional sources of food and materials and for their cultural and spiritual significance. Selected climate change impacts on Australian Aborigines and New Zealand Maori are considered in Sections and respectively. Other reports in this collection IPCC Homepage
HURST, Texas -- A toddler has died after being hit by a car in a Hurst apartment parking lot over the weekend. Lawrence Walker, 2, died late Sunday night at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth, the day after a driver clipped him as he rode a tricycle. The details surrounding the Saturday evening incident are bizarre, according to witnesses at The Gables of Notting Hill Apartments at 601 Brown Trail. The driver hit him; then stopped and talked with someone; and then just sped off, said Zach Carr, who lives in the apartment unit closest to where the accident occurred. Hurst police spokesman Sgt. Craig Teague confirmed the driver has not been arrested or charged, and that he left the scene before any emergency crews arrived. He obviously didn't want to talk to officers on Saturday night, so we'll be asking those questions as to why that occurred, Teague said. Teague added that the driver did have a brief conversation with one of the parents of the mortally wounded child. How or why Lawrence Walker was in the parking lot or the exact details leading up to the accident are still being investigated. Neighbors said the offender's car was playing extremely loud music in the minutes leading up to the accident, just around 9:30 p.m. Teague said investigators know who the driver is, and the vehicle he was in at the time of the incident. He said police are tracking the man down to interview him before deciding whether to press any criminal charges. When they catch this guy, they're looking at multiple felonies, said Carr, reflecting on the tragic scene he witnessed on Saturday night. Ihope they get him. Read or Share this story:
Commentary: To solve Detroit's financial problems, tax the bridge Ambassador Bridge in Detroit The existing Ambassador Bridge in Detroit is two miles upriver from the planned new crossing. ( File Photo) MLive Detroit guest opinion By MLive Detroit guest opinion on November 07, 2013 at 7:30 AM, updated November 07, 2013 at 7:57 AM By Louis A. Breskman Ever since Detroit filed for bankruptcy protection, there have been considerable discussions regarding how to extricate Detroit from its financial problems. Proposed solutions have included selling off the art collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts, collecting additional Casino revenue from Detroit's casinos, or finding a way for Detroit to increase its borrowing, even though additional debt is hardly a solution. Surprisingly, there has been a lack of discussion surrounding Detroit's valuable location as one of the busiest international border crossings in the world. Detroit is focusing on its hard assets for a solution, however, why not leverage its geographical advantage and levy a tax on the bridge? Driving through Detroit, the bridge to Canada is easily seen with a line of trucks and cars on either end, slowly grinding their way through gridlock and Customs to further international trade, with the majority of the freight and passengers passing through and headed to destinations outside of Michigan. The city of Detroit could levy a tax per car crossing the bridge, and a subsequently higher tax on each truck, passing over the bridge and through Detroit. Detroit's very history is steeped in the fact that it has always been a transportation hub, strategically located along the straight between two navigable great lakes, and bordering the United States' historically largest trading partner. From the origins of Detroit's automotive business, to the history of the Underground Railroad, to the bootlegging legacy of the Prohibition years, Detroit has constantly revitalized its economy through leveraging its strategic location as a transportation and transit mecca. Detroit is a border town. Considering the other proposed solutions to Detroit's economic woes that are currently being considered, taxing the international border crossing makes the most sense economically and strategically, as Detroit's geographical advantage is largely what makes the city unique in the country. Gambling is hardly an industry exclusive to Detroit, and with legalized gambling in Windsor, Toledo, and Battle Creek, the gambling industry is unlikely to draw in players from outside the Detroit area, and so harvesting gambling revenues is simply just another tax on the citizens of Detroit. If Detroit sells the art collection of the DIA, will anyone again donate art to the city knowing it might be sold in the future when a need for money arises again? Also, what will Detroit do next when the money from the art sale is all gone? Detroit needs a revenue stream it can count on and the funds could come from taxing the bridge. Owning a bridge is one of the oldest businesses in history, and surely one that is still lucrative. Taxing the bridge would provide Detroit with a steady stream of income that would be quantifiable, reliable, enable Detroit to make payments on its existing debt, and allow it to resume borrowing in a measurable capacity. Owning a bridge is truly an ancient and lucrative business, and levying a tax is arguably more so. MLive Detroit accepts commentaries from readers. Send submissions to:
Spec Ops: Stealth Patrol Published by Developed by MobyRank MobyScore PlayStation 3 Not an American user? Stealth Patrol is the first console adaptation of the long-running PC military Spec Ops series. Players command two rangers on a variety of missions. Instead of working with a squad like the PC versions, only two rangers can be controlled. This can be done by two human players working together. When there is only one player, the computer AI takes over the second ranger, but the player can switch between them at any time. Also different in this console adaptation is the change of gameplay perspective from first-person to third-person. Before starting a mission, players select the ranger best suited to complete objectives, based on five classes: machine gunner, grenadier, rifleman, close quarters specialist, or sniper. Each class has different abilities, and access to specific weapons or items. Each type also has a certain encumbrance, but the equipment can be further customized based on the available options. Some of the included weapons are shotguns, grenades, tripwire mines, machine guns and sniper rifles, but also more general items such as nightvision goggles. The missions are set in a forest in Siberia, snowy mountains in Bosnia, the desert in Iraq, mountains in North Korea, and the jungle in Vietnam. The radar is an important element during gameplay. When a ranger is shot at, the enemy position briefly lights up on the radar as a red dot. Killed enemies often leave behind medkits and additional item pick-ups such as ammunition. There are no screenshots for this game Part of the Following Groups User Reviews There are no reviews for this game. The Press Says NowGamer PlayStation Jan 31, 2000 8.5 out of 10 85 PSX Nation PlayStation May 10, 2000 77 out of 100 77 Daily Radar PlayStation 2000 3 Stars3 Stars3 Stars3 Stars 75 Absolute Playstation PlayStation Aug, 2000 73 out of 100 73 Game Informer Magazine PlayStation Jul, 2000 6.5 out of 10 65 Consoles Plus PlayStation Mar, 2000 45 out of 100 45 Super Play PlayStation May, 2000 4 out of 10 40 There are currently no topics for this game. There is no trivia on file for this game. Contributed to by GTramp (38560) and Sciere (270426)
Psalm 90 (Ives) Psalm 90 (Ives) Idiosyncrasies of Psalm 90 Characteristic of Ives' style, this piece is rich with tonal clusters, rhythmic complexities, and layers of dense harmonies and polyphonic material. Another outstanding characteristic of this piece is the vivid text declamation, or text painting that the music endeavors. The musical line clearly evokes the tone and message of the text. This is the text as printed in the score, taken from the King James version of the Bible, numbers indicate verses1: • 1. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place from one generation to another.1 • 3. Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, “Return, ye children of men.”1 • 5. Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep; in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.1 • 6. In the morning it flourisheth and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.1 • 7. For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.1 • 8. Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.1 • 9. For all our days are passed away in they wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.1 • 11. Who knoweth the pow’r of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.1 • 12. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.1 • 13. Return, O Lord, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.1 • 14. O satisfy us early with they mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.1 • 15. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.1 • 16. Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.1 Verse by Verse Analysis via Text Declamation and Musical Intricacies The piece begins in C, in four four time, with a five bar introduction for the organ. Beneath the several chords in the organ part is a C pedal that is consistent throughout, not only the intro, but the entire piece. This constant C pedal mimics the eternal and ubiquitous nature of God(), ever-present and unchanging, against the backdrop of the piece, immediately establishing one of the psalm’s themes. Above the measures of organ intro are printed seemingly random captions, reading in order: “The Eternities;” “Creation;” “God’s wrath against sin;” “Prayer and Humility;” and “Rejoicing in Beauty and Work.” No written directions in the score explain these phrases’ purpose and whether or not they are to spoken and/or included in the performance in some way. However, one discovers as the Psalm begins that these are the five major themes upon which the text focuses and expounds. Perhaps Ives meant to provide a tool for the singers’ and instrumentalists’ benefit, implying that an understanding (if only rudimentary) of the messages within the text would enhance the overall performance. In the second to last intro bar, three bells and a low gong trickle into the accompaniment their ethereal strains to leave a reverent impression on the audience before the chorus begins. Verse 1 The chorus enters in four parts (SATB) in measure six with the first verse and sings in unison until the last syllable of “generation,” and then split apart into complex and dissonant chords that decrescendo and become more convoluted as the phrase “to another” repeats thrice, with a final dynamic of pppp (pianissississimo, if you will). Meanwhile, a consistent pedal-like accompaniment continues in the organ, a sustained I chord (CEG) that dissolves into the ubiquitous C pedal by the end of the verse. The effect of the spreading vocal parts with the decrescendo paints the image of human beings throughout the echo of their countless generations, establishing themselves with their diversified vocal lines, but then fading into the fabric of time, represented by the fading voices. Verse 2 This verse is set more like a traditional psalm, as it appears as a component of a mass or service- with an entire phrase intoned or chant-sung freely on a single pitch, with the following phrase chanted on a second pitch, and a third phrase that follows on another single, logically proceeding note- until meter is restored in m. 19 for the final powerful statement, “Thou art God.” The freedom with which the first three phrases are sung serves as a strong contrast to the final phrase, to which Ives clearly wanted to bring emphasis. Verse 3 The full chorus sings the first half of this verse (“Thou turnest man to destruction”). Beginning in unison, as a collective address from mankind to God, the chorus sings the first three words, but then splits apart into a series of cacophonous chords, as in the first verse (a device used frequently in this piece), to align with the text, “to destruction,” which is repeated thrice (another thematic gesture), and accompanies the seeming destruction of harmonic convention. A tenor soloist takes the rest of the verse, “and sayest, ‘Return, ye children of men.’” The solo voice is most appropriate here because it delineates the voice of God as singular2 and separate from the mass and chaos of mankind. Verse 4 All four parts of the chorus sing entirely in unison for this whole verse, with the organ providing some supporting chords beneath along with the C pedal. The voices unison symbolizes the voices of humanity speaking together, in accord, acknowledging the eternity of God, as compared to the mortality of the individual.2 The lack of separate parts illustrates that, when measured against the existence of God and earth, the relatively short span of human existence seems diminutive and insignificant; therefore no individual voices seek distinction because of such implied insignificance. Verse 5 This verse sees the return of tonal clusters and complex rhythmic patterns. The phrase, “as a flood,” repeats twice, and by the second repeat, the excess of accidentals precludes any chord tones from the cadence, which indicates a key modulation (though the confusion of accidentals makes it near impossible to establish the new key). The repetition of flood with the richly textured dissonance mimics the surge and chaos of an actual flood. This piece defies the normal rules of key structure and harmonic convention continuously tempting one to say that it does not have a concrete diatonic key in which it stays, but rather a home key around which it freely revolves. After the accelerando into a mini-climactic cadence point (on “flood”), the regular tempo resumes with a pianissimo conclusion to the phrase, “they are as a sleep.” The next phrase emerges as the first polyphonic gesture in the piece. Ives has offset the SA voices and the TB voices on the phrase, “in the morning they are like grass which groweth up,” the SA voices begin half a measure before the latter. This layering effect implies the similar manner in which human generations grow and overlap as the text describes, comparing man to blades of grass, which constantly renew and reseed.2 Verse 6 The polyphonic layering from Verse 5 carries over into this verse, with the SA and TB parts set a beat off from each other to begin the verse. To match the text in the most literal way possible, all four parts leap up considerably (+7ths in all parts) on the word, “up.” The contour of the line continues to match the implications in the text as the tenors descend to the word “withereth,” and the basses echo the word on ritard in ppp. The vocal line withers, diminishes almost to nothing, just as the blades of grass, mankind in his mortality, at the hand of God. Verse 7 This verse’s violent diction (ex. “consumed,” anger,” “wrath”) is met by the equally abrasive dissonance, driving rhythm, and fortissimo in the music. The chords spread and peak on a high G# for the sopranos, the highest pitch of the piece thus far, on the third repeat of the word “wrath” to obviously convey the power and intensity of the therein. The last words of the verse, “are we troubled,” a continuation of the previous phrase, are separated from the aural assault of the word “wrath” by an 8th rest and a dynamic change to piano, a dramatic change to convey the humility instilled by God’s power (for the words are still addressing God from the voice of mankind). Verse 8 The basses have the first half of this verse to themselves, “Thou has set…our secret sins,” in a descending line that spans an octave (G3 to G2). The descent of this line coincides well with the negative self-degradation in the text and serves as a bold contrast to the ascent of the rest of the line. The ascent occurs while describing “the light of [God’s] countenance,” showing how submissive and reverential man proves in God’s presence, humbling himself and elevating any mention of God. Verse 9 Perhaps the most singular verse of the piece, Ives totally abandoned convention in verse 9. Little numbers are printed above each individual word, beginning with 9, all the way down to 1. These numbers indicate the durations of each note. Thus the phrase accelerates while it ascends in pitch and splits apart into a divisi of 22 separate notes on the word “wrath,” which is held with a fermata. As the larges, most complex chord, coupled with the ascent to tutta forza, this moment stands out as one of the climaxes of the piece. There is pleasing symmetry in the following descent, a reverse of the action that just occurred, the durations of each note lengthening from 1 to 9 as the line goes back to C (E for the tenors) where it began. The ascending line accompanies the statement that human life is forever at the mercy of God’s judgment.2 This terrifying thought is expressed by the music in the building of tension with dissonance until the climactic moment when all pitches are blurred into an eruption of cacophonous angst. The parts melt back together on the way back down to the starting point, as if erasing the previous phrase. This serves to illustrate the idea that all of the suffering and fear of God’s judgment is meaningless in its brevity and in its inability to affect our verdict. Verse 10 Like verse 2, verse 10 complies with the traditional setting and form of psalm from its origins in church service. The first half is chant-sung with whole phrases on single notes, from “The days….fourscore years.” The free chant-like quality and long phrases of these lines suits the text because it speaks of man desiring long life. But a change occurs when the chorus sings, “yet…” because here the speaker(s) realizes that a longer life means more trials and sorrows, and here the line descends and breaks after the words, “cut off” (literal text painting). The sopranos conclude the verse with the line, “we fly away,” an ascending phrase in pianissimo that seems literally tossed away, thus mimicking the flight of the soul after death. Verse 11 If there is another climax in the piece, this verse fits the description in that it ends on an A in the soprano part, the highest note in the piece, and the concept it conveys is truly fearsome. The text describes how the depth of God’s fury is inconceivable to man, and even our greatest fears cannot do justice to the actual wrath He can inflict. The words “anger,” “fear,” and “wrath” are rightfully emphasized and assigned to the highest notes in the phrase, each one successively higher than the last. Triple forte characterizes the final word and helps express the loss of composure one feels in the face of such fear and powerlessness to the will of God. Verse 12 This short verse expresses man’s submission, the consequent desire for peace with one’s mortality, and a petition for God’s help and guidance through the struggles of life.2 Verse 13 A soprano solo takes this verse, calling one’s mind back to the 3rd verse with its tenor solo. This solo strikes a similar chord with the tenor, as it begins with the word, “Return,” however, this time it is the people requesting God’s return, rather than God mandating to them.2 This voice pleads to be heard by God, therefore rises out of the mass of other voices to make the direct appeal for His mercy. Verses 14,15,16,17 These verses mark a transition into the last theme of the piece, introduced at the beginning, that of “Rejoicing in Beauty and Work.” The tone and mood of the music shifts to a more serene, peaceful chorale, almost in unison. The church bells and gong return in the accompaniment, further transforming the previous tension and explosiveness of the previous verses into a blending, consonant prayer/resolution. The new tone assists in declaiming the text, as the psalm itself asks for satisfaction, peace, and due happiness as God sees fit to bestow. The psalm here accedes to God’s power, stating the outright submission of the human soul to his will by referring to humans as “servants,” and in this submission man hopes to achieve the beauty and salvation God offers to the faithful.2 The softness of the vocal lines imitates the revered tone reserved for church, while the bells also allude to a church service. Thus as mankind resolves to submit to God, the music clearly evokes an image of church as the venue for his servitude, the setting of his penance. Lasting Impressions According to Ives' wife, Harmony, his Psalm 90 was "the only one of his works that satisfied him."3 Why this is, one could only speculate. Ives came from a devoutly Protestant background. He worked as a church organist and choirmaster for many years, throughout his youth and maturity. Perhaps he felt that this piece not only communicated to the soul, a principle by which he resolutely lived and worked, but that it also communicated from his own soul the private fears and beliefs amassed from a strong religious tradition and an afflicted artistic spirit. 1Ives, Charles. “Psalm 90.” Ed. by John Kirkpatrick and Gregg Smith. Bryn Mawr, Pa: Merion Music Inc., 1970. 2Spurgeon, Charles H. “Treasury of David: Psalm 90.” Pilgrim Publications. 1885. 12 Feb. 2008. 3Swafford, Jan. “Charles Edward Ives.” Peer Music, Ltd. 1998. 12 Feb. 2008. Search another word or see Psalm 90 (Ives)on Dictionary \| Thesaurus \|Spanish Copyright © 2014, LLC. All rights reserved. • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
President Obama says games can fuel tech innovations President Obama's State of the Union took place this week, but a far less publicized address was his first "Fireside Hangout" using Google Plus. He fielded questions from the more tech-savvy crowd, and at one point suggested that video games can help spur on technical innovations by getting kids interested in the subject. "Look at Mark Zuckerberg," Obama said (via VentureBeat). "I was sitting next to him at dinner a couple of years ago, and he said he taught himself programming primarily because he was interested in games. If we set programs in high schools that engage kids because they get it, they won’t be just sitting there slouching in back of rooms while someone is lecturing. "Given how pervasive computers and the internet is now, how integral it is in our economy, and how fascinated kids are with it, I want to make sure they actually know how to produce stuff and not simply consume stuff," he continued. The President didn't outline any specific plans for these programs. However, it does signal a receptive attitude towards the positive qualities of games at a time when video games are facing increased scrutiny for their violent content.
Obama should give us the truth about income gap: Other view Inequality is a dire concern but its causes are complex and there's no ready solution 1:21 PM, Jan. 30, 2014 \| Comments • Filed Under From World War II until the end of the 1970s, the top 1 percent of American wage earners took home roughly one-third of all U.S. income. Now they take home half. It is a poisonous trend that leaves the benefits of economic growth to a decreasing few while others are shut out from the American Dream. So it's no surprise that the issue is pushing its way onto the political stage. Two-thirds of the public now recognizes the problem in polls, and President Obama made it a key theme of Tuesday night's State of the Union Address, proposing "ladders of opportunity" to help more people climb out of an economic hole. But before the debate gets rolling - with familiar prescriptions such as job training, taxes on the wealthy, an increased minimum wage - it's worth pausing to consider what is driving these trends, how powerful those forces are, and how difficult they are to influence. Greedy bankers and their ilk are bit players. They are just the ones best able to exploit the true drivers of inequality: the rapid advance of technology, which is replacing all manner of jobs with machines, and globalization, which depresses wages. Neither trend is going away, nor should it, but both hit hardest on those with the fewest skills. Unemployment for college-educated people 25 and older is currently 3.3 percent. For those without a degree, it's 7.1 percent. The question for Obama this week is what can be done to revive opportunity for the once-contented blue-collar middle class and to give the poor the means to break from a multigenerational cycle of poverty? Everyone's favorite answer is education. Obama is the third consecutive president to make it a priority. There have been some useful results, particularly the rise of community colleges as job training centers, and the models established by the best charter schools, which have improved education in impoverished areas long seen as intractable. But still, during the 21 years those presidents have served, inequality has steadily grown. Increasing the minimum wage can help, but it is palliative, not a means of creating opportunity. And while some Robin Hood tax schemes can potentially support the poor at the expense of the rich (for instance, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio's plan to tax the rich to finance public preschool), they can't do much for the middle class, simply because that class is so big. Further complicating the problem is family breakdown. Births to single mothers constituted 28 percent of all births in 1990. By 2008, they were up to 40.6 percent, making it harder to support kids, much less instill in them a work and education ethic. Obama appropriately calls this the defining challenge of our time. He should acquaint the American people with the reasons that is true. Income inequality is fodder for all manner of ideological argument and political gamesmanship. But the truth is that no one has yet come up with a convincing plan for reversing it.
'The Orphan Master’s Son' by Adam Johnson: Review With the death of Kim Jong-il all eyes are on the bizarre North Korean regime, but the best way to understand the country is probably Adam Johnson’s remarkable new novel, “The Orphan Master’s Son.” By Taylor Antrim. Why don’t more novelists write about North Korea? The morbid fascinations are endless—a police state with an automaton citizenry, a landscape of Stalinist gulags and eerily empty superhighways, a (departed) Dear Leader fond of kidnappings and cognac who famously shot 38 under par on his first round of golf. Celebrated works of journalism on the DPRK abound, but the fiction shelf (notwithstanding a few potboiler thrillers and, ahem, my first novel—about a North Korea-obsessed boarding-school headmaster) is pretty bare. Or was. Now there’s Adam Johnson’s magnificently accomplished, slightly lunatic The Orphan Master’s Son—which arrives miraculously timed to the news cycle. With footage of Kim Jong-il’s funeral capturing national paroxysms of showy grief, with the apple-cheeked heir, Kim Jong-un, and his poker-faced uncle in a presumed power ballet with the military, our North Korea interest is at a high pitch. And Johnson, whose debut collection Emporium was one of the best books of the early aughts, gives it to us with a fiction writer’s eye for detail: the blast of “shock-work whistles” at a cannery, the clammy feel of seawater in the hold of a fishing boat, the delicate flavor of a soup made with scavenged herbs. Part thriller, part coming-of-age novel, part romance, The Orphan Master’s Son is made sturdy by research—Johnson traveled to Pyongyang in 2007—but what makes it so absorbing isn’t its documentary realism but the dark flight of the author’s imagination. Nothing here will challenge the prevailing American view of the DPRK—a human nightmare, deserving of its pariah status—but Johnson’s novel is rich with a sense of discovery nevertheless. The plot might be called picaresque if it wasn’t so deliriously grim. Our protagonist, Pak Jun Do, grows up in an orphanage, where his father, the orphan master, won’t acknowledge him, and then he’s recruited by a military DMZ tunnel squad and taught to kill in the dark. Next he’s put on a series of kidnapping missions to Japan, then tasked with collecting radio intelligence aboard a fishing boat, then brought along on a diplomatic mission to Texas. Johnson describes these hectic, frightening chapters in Jun Do’s life with extraordinary skill and economy. It’s a breathlessly exciting 175 pages that establishes North Korea as a ghastly funhouse of paranoia, violence, and absurdity. For instance, when the second mate defects from Jun Do’s boat, the captain decides the best way to throw their government minders off the scent of treachery … is to feed Jun Do’s (still attached) arm to a line-caught shark. Jun Do survives that ordeal, along with a vicious debriefing by an official whose occupation has turned his fists into mangled clubs. Heroically Jun Do retains a core of goodness through his beatings and mistreatment—he’s curious and empathetic in a world where both qualities can get you killed. Midway through, the novel abandons its linear structure. Time fractures, new characters are introduced—including a nicely drawn pair of rival torture squads—and a series of government radio bulletins cleverly interrupts the storytelling. Jun Do—spoiler alert!—has remade himself as Commander Ga, an apparatchik with a movie-star wife and a government position that puts him in routine contact with the Dear Leader himself (here a clever, ruthless manipulator who’s unambiguously villainous). It’s a long book, but only feels so when Johnson lets a strained, Casablanca-inspired romance dominate his final 100 pages. Johnson is much too inventive and daring to rely on Hollywood clichés—and yet he hammers a "love conquers all!" theme to mawkish effect in the final act. It’s a finishing-straight stumble, but the book succeeds in spite of it. The Orphan Master’s Son is potent with visions of oppression and generalized fear. Johnson is unflinching (even a bit enthusiastic) rendering torture, but his sensitivity to Jun Do’s resilient spirit makes his work as big-hearted as it is horrifying. A few images have haunted me for days—Jun Do, at sea, dazzled by a trans-Pacific cargo ship carpeted with new cars: “the moonlight flashed in rapid succession off a thousand new windshields.” And starving scavengers glimpsed in a government graveyard: “in the long shadows cast by the bronze headstones moved occasional men and women. In the growing dark, these ghostly figures, keeping low and moving quickly, were gathering all the flowers from the graves.” Nothing here will challenge the prevailing American view of the DPRK—a human nightmare, deserving of its pariah status—but Johnson’s novel is rich with a sense of discovery nevertheless. The year is young, but The Orphan Master’s Son has an early lead on novel of 2012.
MCI makes switch to Qwest MCI, the American telecommunications firm, has switched sides in the battle for its control. The company, which carries a large amount of the world's internet traffic, appears to have given its backing to a bid from Qwest after the Denver-based suitor lifted its offer to $9.7bn (£5.07bn) at the end of last week. The latest offer was the third time that Qwest has raised its bid. Until now, MCI had endorsed a rival offer from Verizon, arguing that it presented better long-term prospects even though the amount on the table, $7.5bn, was lower. In a statement, the MCI board said the latest offer from Qwest was "superior" to the Verizon offer. Verizon has five days to respond. The MCI board cannot swing its recommendation to Qwest until the five-day period elapses. Wall Street analysts are expecting Verizon to improve its offer.
Moyes charged despite apology from referee David Moyes David Moyes has until early October to decide whether to appeal. Photograph: Hamish Blair/Getty Images Hamish Blair/Getty Images/Getty David Moyes is to face a charge of improper conduct despite receiving an apology from the referee who sent him to the stands at Stoke City on Sunday. The Everton manager was charged by the Football Association yesterday having been dismissed by Alan Wiley for contesting a penalty decision. Wiley refused a spot-kick on the advice of an assistant, who adjudged that Leon Cort had handled outside his area when television replays showed the offence occurred inside. Moyes has since received a call from Wiley and though he refused to divulge details, it is understood the official has admitted his error. However, the FA charge stands and the Everton manager has until October 2 to decide whether to appeal. "The FA have to do their job and I have my job," said Moyes, who is preparing his side to face Standard Liège in the Uefa Cup first round at Goodison tonight. "I had my opinion and the referee has since contacted me. He didn't need to phone and what Alan Wiley said will remain private. We have a Respect campaign in football now which is really important. You earn respect and I would say that the referee has earned a lot more from me for what he has since said." Of more immediate concern to Moyes is guiding Everton towards the group stage at the expense of Belgium's champions, who were unfortunate to lose to Liverpool in a Champions League qualifier. The Everton manager has not asked Rafael Benítez for advice, nor Marouane Fellaini, who became the club's £15m record signing on deadline day but is ineligible tonight. "I've not asked Fellaini and I won't ask him," claimed Moyes. "He has only just left the club and I don't want to put him in an awkward position. To be honest, I feel a bit uncomfortable about taking a good young player from a team we have now drawn in Europe but that's business, and Standard were happy to do business." Everton have lost both home games this season, conceding six, and though Standard represent formidable opposition, Moyes hopes the psychological impact of failing to reach the Champions League groups will have an influence. "We were in a similar position three years ago," said the Everton manager. "Had we got into the Champions League group stage it could have changed our world, both financially and in terms of the projection of our club. It did affect us psychologically when we lost to Villarreal and then we lost heavily to Dinamo Bucharest in the Uefa Cup." Everton (4-4-1-1, probable) Howard; Neville, Yobo, Jagielka, Lescott; Arteta, Cahill, Castillo, Osman; Vaughan; Yakubu. Subs from: Nash, Baines, Anichebe, Valente, Rodwell, Baxter, Kissock, Agard, Jutkiewicz. Standard Liège (4-4-2, probable) Espinoza; Camozzato, Sarr, Onyewu, Dante; Dalmat, Nicaise, Defour, Witsel; De Camargo, Mbokani. Subs from: Jovanovic, De Vriendt, Goreux, Toama, Mikulic, Benko, Ingrao, Dembele. Referee G Gilewski (Poland). Five, kick-off 8.05pm
Syria crisis widens faultlines at divided UN As 120 world leaders make annual trip to UN headquarters, unusually bitter atmosphere has been compared to cold war UN general assembly Ther UN general assembly meets this week in New York, but seldom since the end of the cold war has the institution seemed so biitterly divided. Photograph: Shen Hong/ Shen Hong/Xinhua Press/Corbis The police barricades are up and the traffic has begun to congeal across midtown Manhattan as more than 120 world leaders make their annual pilgrimage to the UN headquarters to declaim, appeal, cajole and sometimes threaten each other. It is seldom an edifying spectacle but the mood this year is so sour it is being compared to the cold war. The root of the bitterness lies in the worsening Syrian conflict, which has divided the security council to the point of paralysis along familiar faultlines. Russia and China have vetoed three resolutions in a row aimed at curbing the slaughter, and the council has not even been able to agree on humanitarian relief. The conflict is already spilling over Syria's borders, at a time when another Middle East conflict, possibly with even darker consequences, is constantly threatening to break out between Israel and Iran. Binyamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are both in New York this week to deliver speeches more likely to stoke than soothe the gathering fear of war. The world's powers have no coherent response. France's UN ambassador, Gérard Araud, setting the scene at the UN Turtle Bay headquarters before this week's general assembly, said the security council "has never been as paralysed as it is today since the end of the cold war". The key players are distancing themselves from the unfolding debacle. Vladimir Putin and Hu Jintao are not coming at all. Barack Obama is expected to make a "drive-by" appearance, with a stern speech on Tuesday very much with UN-averse American voters in mind. He will not stick around for lunch or for the customary round of bilateral meetings with other leaders, leaving that to Hillary Clinton. Even the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, normally a byword for courtesy and euphemism, is expected to issue an impatient rebuke to the global statesmen in the chamber for their fecklessness when he opens the session. Aides are describing the address as "no more Mr Nice Guy". If there was ever a moment for speaking out, this is probably it. The security council is no stranger to impasse, but seldom has the deadlock come at such a high human cost. The death toll in Syria by UN estimates is 20,000 and climbing sharply, and 1.5 million civilians, probably far more, have fled their homes. Abeer Etefa, a World Food Programme officer who visited Homs and other areas last week, said: "People are constantly on the move. Some have moved two or three times trying to escape the violence. There are 35 people in an apartment in some places, living in places with no doors or windows. They badly need blankets and baby milk." Leila Zerrougui, the UN special representative on children in conflict, warned the security council last week that children were suffering disproportionately, saying UN agencies had "documented government attacks on schools, children denied access to hospitals, girls and boys suffering and dying in bombardments of their neighbourhoods and also being subject to torture, including sexual violence". Human Rights Watch has reported that government forces appear to be deliberately targeting bread queues, citing 10 cases of artillery bombardment or air strikes outside bakeries in Aleppo province in August alone. Reporting by human rights groups and the UN itself has consistently found that the overwhelming majority of atrocities in the Syrian conflict have been committed by forces loyal to the president, Bashar al-Assad, although abuses by the fragmented rebel groups are also on the rise as the conflict spirals. In the face of clear evidence of abuses by the Syrian regime, however, both Russia and China have adamantly refused to support any security council resolutions that pressure Assad, even when the wording excludes military action. They are also not prepared to discuss authorising an international criminal court investigation into the war crimes committed by all sides. Even after Zerrougui gave her chilling briefing last week on the killing and torture of children, the response of the Russians and Chinese, together with Pakistan and Azerbaijan, was to seek (unsuccessfully) to restrict the scope of the UN envoy's inquiries and to refuse to back an annual resolution condemning the use of child soldiers and the deaths of children in conflict. Michael Williams, who served both as UN special co-ordinator for the Middle East peace process and for Lebanon, said: "I hope that in the margins in New York there would be some possibility to engage with the Russians and Chinese, but I'm not going to hold my breath." There are many factors underpinning Moscow and Beijing's hard line. Damascus has long been a Russian ally, and a buyer of Russian arms. The Syrian port of Tartus is the only Russian military base outside the former Soviet Union and its sole foothold in the Mediterranean. Both Russia and China feel badly burned by allowing security council resolution 1973 to pass in March 2011 authorising "all necessary measures" to protect Libyan civilians, which was then used by Nato as a mandate to help topple Muammar Gaddafi. The ghosts of the 2003 Iraq invasion and the furious debates that preceded it still hang in the air. Even though it was not fought on humanitarian grounds but rather on spurious claims of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, the fiasco and subsequent US and British attempts to justify it helped reverse what was arguably one of the great moral advances of the post-cold-war era: the UN-backed principle that the international community had the "responsibility to protect" civilian populations when their own states were unable or unwilling to. "The whole concept of responsibility to protect has been forgotten and no one among the statesmen here has the courage to utter the words," Williams said. He also criticised the west for giving up on diplomacy in the face of Russian and Chinese resistance. "Even compared with the old cold war days, there doesn't seem to be much active diplomacy to engage Russia and China. And there is a complete absence of the EU as a political actor," Williams said. "The tragedy is that the security council has not given diplomacy a chance in the case of Syria," Mark Malloch Brown, a former UN deputy secretary general, said. He argued that a tentative deal between the west, Russia and China in Geneva in June – by which the specific demand for Assad to step down was omitted in favour of the backing for a new government in Damascus by "mutual consent" – could have provided the basis for a settlement. "There was a road map forward," Malloch Brown said, adding that the US, Britain and France "got caught up in the theology" of trying to pass a "chapter 7" involving sanctions, and so divided the security council once again. Western diplomats counter that the Assad regime has shown it would use any agreement not enforced by sanctions as cover to buy time and intensify its counter-insurgency. Wherever the exact balance of blame lies, it is directed at the major powers in the security council rather than the UN as an institution. UN agencies such as the high commission for refugees and the World Food Programme are widely agreed to have performed as well as could be expected in Syria, hampered by severe restrictions on access and a critical lack of emergency funding from donors. However, Richard Gowan, an expert on the UN at New York University, said the security council had been effective on other fronts. "The paradox is that while the council has been paralysed over Syria, it has worked pretty efficiently on other issues this year. It has headed off a war between Sudan and South Sudan, and has provided a lot of co-ordination of peacekeeping operations in Africa. In Libya, it has helped the creation of the post-Gaddafi state," Gowan said, adding that, notwithstanding the ominous echoes over Syria: "We are not back in the cold war." But he admitted: "Everything else is absolutely overshadowed by Syria. Let there be no doubt that for many countries the Syrian crisis is really corroding high-level trust in the security council. And what is really looming on the horizon is a crisis over Iran."
The Inquirer-Home US bill looks to close down wireless surveillance Senator Markey wants to end snooping malarky Fri Aug 10 2012, 12:31 Mobile phone mast A BILL has been proposed in the US Senate that could rein in wireless surveillance. The bill (PDF) proposed by Senator Ed Markey is up for discussion and, according to the man behind it, is an acknowledgement of how much snooping there is these days. "The startling number of requests made for the personal information of mobile phone users strongly suggests that clear, consistent rules should be established to protect the privacy of innocent people," said Markey. "With searches and seizures now happening in cyberspace, this legislation will update the 4th amendment for the 21st century. I look forward to working with my colleagues on this critical legislation." Markey is suggesting that wireless surveillance should become a lot more transparent, meaning that senators like himself would not have to go out of their way to find figures on how often it happens. So, while he has had to request the information, he sees a future where wireless snooping is reported and regulated by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC). There would also be more checks and balances on how and when it happens. For example, judges would have to give their approval in some instances and law enforcement would have to properly explain why they need it. He's also hoping to stop tower dumps that expose information on large groups of people gathering and talking in one place at a time. If all this sounds reasonable, it is because it is. Markey has the backing of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). "The Wireless Surveillance Act would bring much needed transparency to a very murky area of surveillance law," said Christopher Calabrese, ACLU legislative counsel. "We need more information and better controls for these requests - not only about whom they are targeting but how that information is being stored. We need to ensure that law enforcement no longer has carte blanche to track innocent Americans." µ Share this: blog comments powered by Disqus Subscribe to INQ newsletters INQ Poll Internet of Things at Christmas poll Which smart device are you hoping Santa brings?
Andre Watts October 24, 1999\|By Cheryl Lavin. Birthday: June 20, 1946. Birthplace: Nuremberg, Germany. Occupation: Pianist. Current home: Rockland County, N.Y. Marital status: Married to Joan Brand. Car: A Lexus. Working on: Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, which I will perform with members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 2 at Orchestra Hall in Symphony Center, to benefit the Jewish Community Centers of Chicago. The last good movie I saw: "Elizabeth." The books I've been reading: "The Undertaking" by Thomas Lynch (Norton), "The Wheel of Life" by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (Touchstone, paperback) and "The Hand" by Frank R. Wilson (Vintage, paperback). Favorite performers: Feodor Chaliapin, Josef Hofmann and Oscar Peterson. Prized possession: Hopefully I'm making enough progress in my spiritual development that I don't have an answer to that. People always think I'm: Modest and humble because I speak so often about how much luck has played a part in my career. I simply believe I'm being factual. After all, I've never said that my own talent and hard work didn't play an enormous part in my professional survival. If I could do it over: I can't do it over so I don't spend energy on hindsight. I want to focus on the past with the aim of not repeating some of my mistakes in the future. I'd give anything to meet: Franz Liszt. My fantasy is: Everyone actively living the Golden Rule. The one thing I can't stand: Cruelty. My most irrational act: Walking out on stage night after night trying to transmit the souls of composers through my soul and mind and body. Most humbling experience: I was driving on a large rural road, passing many cars and trucks. A state trooper pulled me over. As he looked at my license, he said, "So, how does it feel to be famous?" Just as I was about to respond with some "Aw shucks, I'm not really that famous" answer, he continued, "I've been hearing these truckers talk on their CBs about your speeding red car for miles." The three words that best describe me: Generous, guileless, complex.
HOME > Chowhound > General South Archive > Fig; Asheville, NC I have heard good things about this restaurant including fairly recent CHOWHOWN discussions. I have never been to this area of NC but plan a trip this week. Does this restaurant rate as one of the best in the area? Other suggestions? 1. Click to Upload a photo (10 MB limit) 1. yes...intimate dining - make a reservation. Nice weather has some outside tables in a courtyard. Use very high quality ingredients, great service....one of my favorites. 1. Fig is good but not great...I would go there if you were going to eat several places but I may go to Table downtown instead. 1 Reply 1. re: caiogirl I would disagree...but it's all a matter of taste. My "best in the area" list would include, in addition to Fig: Limones, Richmond Hill Inn and 28806. I like Salsa's and it is unique and is certainly the best in the area for that type of restaurant. Haven't been to Carmel's but have heard good things. Tupelo Honey is the best in the area for that type of restaurant as is Tomato/Cocina Latina. Haven't been to any of the restaurants on the Biltmore Estate in a while... 2. I would definitely rate fig as one of the best. hands down. 1. Fig has great food, the service is excellent, nice varied wine list my only caveat would be a small menu selection, which doesn't bother me but might put off a fussier eater, still an excellent restaurant. I'd also try Rezaz's, Richmond Hill Inn (Pricey but excellent) Limones, and Zambras (tapas and an excellent Spanish wine selection). 1. What you don't want to order at Fig is their hamburger, Greasy as hell and very salty. When I mentioned this to the server, he sang me a song about how the chef grinds up fresh sirloin for his burgers. Yeah, after they're removed from previous diners' plates. Also, the restaurant has no ambiance. You might eat there once, but probably not again. Like us. 2 Replies 1. re: markrossi wow, we REALLY like Fig and have enjoyed it on winter and summer evenings at a quiet table with a candle flickering between us. Also, never had a bad meal there - of course would never dream of ordering a burger at Fig, though I've never eaten lunch there. 1. re: leahinsc I would dream about ordering a burger there, but dream is all I can do. They refused to cook the burger rare on two different occasions. If markrossi is correct that they grind their own meat, then doesn't DHEC allow it to be cooked rare? When we have been there, about 1/2 the rest. seemed to be ordering the burger. Frankly, I think the somewhat less than apologetic refusal of this request is the main reason my husband has taken a dislike to FIG. Otherwise, I agree with you...never had a bad meal and I think the ambiance is great.
HOME > Chowhound > Manhattan > Easy/fast access to Penn Station I'm hoping someone can recommend a good spot for an early (6-6:30) weeknight dinner in a location that's either a quick cab ride or an easy subway ride to Penn Sta. Greek, Italian, French -- all good. Small and intimate with a reasonably priced menu (not more than $50 pp) even better. Any recommendations? Thanks! 1. Click to Upload a photo (10 MB limit) 1. Keen's Steakhouse and Ai Fiori are both within close walking distance. 1. This comes up often. Search for Penn or MSG or Madison Square Garden. Recent thread: 11 Replies 1. re: thegforceny I didn't actually say I wanted to be in the vicinity of Penn Station; I just want to be able to get back there relatively easily. That means a cab ride that doesn't have to go crosstown at rush hour, or a short subway ride, preferably without having to change trains. A few stops south of Penn Sta. on the A. C or E, for example, would be fine 1. re: CindyJ That covers quite a bit of area - a short ride on A/C/E will take you to Chelsea, WV, UWS... there's also 1/2/3 train at Penn Station as well. So you could probably go anywhere on the West Side of Manhattan. It would probably be helpful to be a little more specific - for instance, would you prefer Greek cuisine to others? (I'm only mentioning it because you named it first.) That would narrow it down quite a bit, for example. 1. re: uwsister I'm more interested in the quality of the food than ethnicity, and Greek would be great. And south of Penn is better than north. 1. re: CindyJ TONS of options..... Going SW into Chelsea: Grand Sichuan El Quinto Pino Red Cat Trestle on Tenth Going SE: The Breslin John Dory The restaurants in EATALY 15 East Gramercy Tavern 1. re: thegforceny Thanks!!!!! That's the kind of list I was hoping for. 2. re: CindyJ For Greek that's relatively close/easy to get to and fro, look in to Dafni Greek Taverna: http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/... 1. re: LeahBaila I'll definitely check it out. Thanks!!! 1. re: buttertart Completely absurd portions, though. Order half of what you think you want, seriously. 1. re: Pan Or go all the way and take the rest home, if it's something amenable to same and you can. They serve terrific olives, by the way. 2. When softshell season is on Tracks (IN Penn Stn) has a "festival" and features an excellent softshell crab po'boy. I'm not kidding.
Down'n'dirty Blacksmithing/Freehand bending From Wikibooks, open books for an open world Jump to: navigation, search Freehand Bending[edit] Heat the work to forging heat. Within the limitations of your forge, try to heat the area to be bent evenly, without heating up the parts you don't want to bend. This sounds difficult, but in reality, just do the best you can. The more evenly you can heat the bend, the easier it will be to get an even bend; the less you heat up the parts that you don't want to bend, the easier it'll be to avoid undesired bending. Then grab the ends on either side of the bend and bend away. With practice, you'll get a feel for how to apply the right kind of torque to put the bend where you want it. Depending on the size and shape of the work and how it gets heated up, you'll want to try different ways to grab the stock. Tongs are most common, at least for one end, but for very long pieces, where one end is cool, it may work better to hold it directly. You'll also use vises, a bending fork hardy tool, or the holes, horns, or edges in your anvil. It often helps to use the hammer to tap the bend a bit to make the bend conform to your intention. For twists (just another kind of bend), an old-fashioned monkey wrench is handy, if you find one at a garage sale. Welding a handle to the top of the wrench the same length as the handle it came with will make it easier to apply just twist, with no bending torque. You can also unbend the bend you just made and try again. Cool the part of the bend you like, so it stays put, then you can bend the part that's still hot some more. You can bend steel that's cooled below forging heat, but generally you'll only get one bend before it's work-hardened too much for another. If you push it past that point, it's apt to break on you. Bending over the round horn of an anvil: Next Chapter: Project 1: A Simple "S" Hook
A month after release, popular opinion holds firm that Deus Ex: Human Revolution was a well-made game. And yet one niggling flaw stands out, an issue that has been highlighted in countless blog posts, tweets, and video game forums. Those accursed boss battles. They were, in a word, bad. As I played the game for the first time, I was surprised at their inclusion—not because boss battles are inherently problematic (that's a topic for another day), but because they just… didn't fit. Unlike the rest of the game, there was no nuance to them—just Adam Jensen vs. one of a number of pissed-off, charging bullet-sponges. I figured out how to beat all of the first three easily enough (in order: Grenades, Wall-Vision, Wall-Vision), but still their presence lingers on in my memory of the game. Why were they in there at all? And why did they feel so totally different from the pleasurable sneaking, exploring, and conversation that made up the rest of Human Revolution? Those Horribad Deus Ex: Human Revolution Boss Battles Were Outsourced As it turns out, those boss battles weren't designed at Eidos Montreal, they were outsourced to a studio called Grip Entertainment. In the video above, Grip's head Paul Kruszewski talks about the process of crafting the boss encounters, from gun-arm Barrett to silent robo stealth-chick to the "boss conversation" at the end of the game's first level. It certainly sounds from the interview as though Kruszewski took their contribution to the game seriously, despite being a "shooter guy" without a ton of knowledge of the Deus Ex series. The boss battles really weren't a huge problem for me; they were over quickly enough that I really didn't mind. But I remain surprised that Kruszewski, for all his talk of staying true to the freedom at the heart of Deus Ex, would create such inflexible encounters. There was no way to sneak up on Barrett, or talk him out of trying to kill me, or nonlethally take him out. It was just me, him, and a bunch of explosives. Making a AAA game has never required more manpower than it does now, and it's not a surprise that Eidos would need to get some outside help to get Deus Ex: Human Revolution completed and shipped. But while Grip's boss battles are indeed a bummer, at least Eidos didn't outsource something more vital. I mean, can you imagine what would have happened if they'd had a separate studio handle the air-ducts? Yikes. Deus Ex: Human Revolution's Terrible Boss Fights Were Outsourced [Gameranx]
Take the 2-minute tour × As anyone who's been reading the forums closely can see, I've been averaging a question a day about Tannakian formalism for the past few days. It's quite an interesting concept! In any case, I wish now to relate it to yet another topic of which I have only a tenuous grasp: the Langlands program. As I understood more and more about Tannakian formalism, it seemed more and more like it has something to do with Langlands. A google search confirms this. There are several sources that group these two things together. Here is a sample: But my understanding of Langlands is weak. I'm certainly familiar with Class Field Theory, and to some limited extent with Taniyama-Shimura. I always found Langlands difficult to penetrate. But now that I know that there is a relationship between Langlands and Tannakian formalism, I am hopeful that this will give me a bird's eye view of Langlands. So the question is: Does Tannakian formalism simplify the statement of Langlands, or at least motivate it? Does it have to do with the motivic Galois group (defined to be the group predicted from Tannakian formalism on the category of numerical motives)? How precisely is Tannakian formalism used in Langlands? In light of these ideas, I ask a secondary question: is there a relationship between the standard conjectures and Langlands? (does one imply the other?) share\|improve this question You might enjoy the following page, in which several experts kindly responded to my plea to explain a tiny amount about the Langlands programme: golem.ph.utexas.edu/category/2010/08/… . I suspect that some of the conversation will be below your level, but some of it might be useful to you. – Tom Leinster Aug 1 '11 at 4:58 @Tom: the beginning of that discussion always amused me. Several people seem not to have taken "that's the sum total of my knowledge" very seriously... – Qiaochu Yuan Aug 3 '11 at 0:17 I know exactly what you mean... All the same, it shows up a good side of blogs: even if I didn't understand all the answers, probably there were other readers who did. – Tom Leinster Aug 3 '11 at 1:04 1 Answer 1 Though there are several automorphic papers discussing the Tannakian outlook (notably Ramakrishnan's article in Motives (Seattle 1991, AMS) and Arthur's A note on the Langlands group, (referred to above) there is as yet no formulation of Langlands correspondence between Galois representations and automorphic representations as an equivalence of Tannakian categories. There are (at least) two outstanding fundamental questions on the Tannakian aspects of the Langlands correspondence. 1) What is the definition of the category of automorphic representations for any number field? here one means automorphic representations for GL, any $n \ge 0$. 2) How to endow the category in 1) with a tensor structure so as to render it Tannakian? here the postulated Tannakian group is the "Langlands Group" which is much larger than the motivic Galois group (not all automorphic representations correspond to Galois representations..only algebraic ones do - see work of Clozel and more recent work of Buzzard-Gee). An interesting point: Arthur's paper postulates the Langlands group as an extension of the usual Galois group by a (pro-) locally compact group whereas the motivic Galois group is an extension of the usual Galois group by a pro-algebraic group. An illustration of the difference is provided by the case of abelian motives; the Langlands group is the abelianisation of the Weil group whereas the motivic group is the Taniyama group (see references below). But the Tannakian outlook, despite its present inaccessibility, has already made a profound impact. See Langlands paper "Ein Marchen etc" (where the Tannakian aspect was first written out with many consequences for the Taniyama group (Milne's notes)) as well as Serre's book Abelian l-adic representations for many references. Nothing seems to be known regarding the second question. However, see (page 6 of) these comments of Langlands: "Although there is little point in premature speculation about the form that the final theory connecting automorphic forms and motives will take, some anticipation of the possibilities has turned out to be useful. Motivic $L$-functions, in terms of which Hasse-Weil zeta functions are expressed, are introduced in a Tannakian context. An adequate Tannakian formulation of functoriality and of the relation between automorphic representations and motives ([Cl1, Ram]) will presumably include the Tate conjecture ( [Ta] ) as an assertion of surjectivity. The Tate conjecture itself is intimately related to the Hodge conjecture whose formulation is algebro-geometrical and topological rather than arthmetical. ..." The references here are to Clozel and Ramakrishnan's papers and then Tate's paper for the Tate conjecture. This is just a rough answer from a novice..for a precise and detailed answer, let us wait for the experts! share\|improve this answer Your Answer
Take the 2-minute tour × Can anyone highlight ways by which inter-core communication can be reduced in a NUMA multicore architecture. Case study Intel NEHALEM micro architecture. share\|improve this question 1 Answer 1 up vote 3 down vote accepted The Nehalem processor uses QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) for inter-processor/node/package communication. In a NUMA system each node has its own local memory, which is shared with other nodes in the system. When the working set of a program fits in the L1 cache and is read-only then it doesn't matter much which NUMA node owns the memory. Communication between NUMA nodes is necessary when a core gets a cache miss and the memory is owned by another node. However, this doesn't mean that it is slower to access memory owned by another node, it depends on whether the other node has it cached in the cache associated with its local memory, what Intel calls the Last Level Cache (LLC). Access by a core to a memory location that is local to that node is faster than access to memory owned by another node, but only if it misses in the LLC on both nodes. It is faster to access memory that hits in the LLC on another node than it is to go to memory on the local node, that is because memory is so much slower than the CPU and QPI is optimized for this sort of communication. Most systems don't bother trying to reduce inter-processor communication because, as you can imagine, it is not an easy problem - it requires setting affinity of threads to cores, setting affinity of the memory working set of that thread to the local memory of that node. You can read more about this in Drepper Ulrich's paper, search for NUMA. In this paper Ulrich refers to QPI as Common System Interface (CSI), which was the Intel name for QPI before announcement. share\|improve this answer Thank you so much, working on that as my project and its been giving me alot of headache. – Oyinlade Olumide Feb 3 '13 at 18:30 Your Answer
User reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive (7,578 reviews) Release Date: Sep 8, 2010 Buy Amnesia: The Dark Descent HOLIDAY SALE! Offer ends January 2 Packages that include this game Buy Amnesia Collection HOLIDAY SALE! Offer ends January 2 Recommended By Curators Read the full review here. About This Game It is getting closer. Something emerges out of the darkness. It's approaching. Fast. Do you have what it takes to survive? System Requirements Mac OS X SteamOS + Linux • OS: Windows XP/Vista/7 • Memory: 2 GB • Hard Drive: 3GB • OS: Mac OS X 10.5.8 or newer • Processor: 2.0Ghz • Memory: 1 GB RAM • Hard Drive: 2GB space free • Memory: 2 GB • Hard Drive: 3 GB Helpful customer reviews 354 of 388 people (91%) found this review helpful 9.5 hrs on record Posted: October 26 Get Amnesia they said, it will be fun they said. Was this review helpful? Yes No 256 of 285 people (90%) found this review helpful 31.2 hrs on record Posted: October 3 I was constipated all week. Then i played this game. Would recommend this game to anyone with severe bowel movement disfuctions Was this review helpful? Yes No 239 of 269 people (89%) found this review helpful 10.2 hrs on record Posted: September 30 Pros: Not scary when there's no monsters nearby. Cons: There's monsters everywhere. Was this review helpful? Yes No 261 of 303 people (86%) found this review helpful 4.1 hrs on record Posted: October 17 -Recipe for playing this game- - 1 cozy blanket (2 is also good) - 1 computer or laptop - 1 installed Amnesia game - 2 nice chairs - 1 Dark room - 1 willing boyfriend who has experience with the game - 1 pillow or stuffed animal to hug (or the arm of the boyfriend, but he might disagree about that when he got puncture wounds from your nails after the first jumpscare) 1. Start up the computer, it may take a while depending on how good your system is. Use the startup time to go on a treasure hunt for the other ingredients. Also make sure that the room is dark enough. 2. Persuade your boyfriend to play Amnesia. It could be that he declines, if so, capture him with a Pokéball. 3. Wrap yourself and the boyfriend in a blanket and sit in the chairs in front of the Computer. 4. Now it's safe to start Amnesia, make sure you keep your distance. 5. Let the boyfriend play it, specially when he is experienced with the game, just sit back and ask silly questions which he probably already gave the answer to but you were too spooked to listen. 6. Enjoy! Was this review helpful? Yes No 134 of 141 people (95%) found this review helpful 3.8 hrs on record Posted: November 5 Click for Gameplay Trailer - Review + detailed equipped rooms + right light atmosphere - simple architecture + good introduction to the game with help text + automatic notebook + objects stand out + many automatic save points + great surround effects + good english speaker + atmospheric music - not all texts has voice output + clean inventar + interface does not disturb the atmosphere - sometimes complicated + great tense situations + panic and helplessness + good switching between quiet and haunted passages Game Size: + solid playtime + many different locations + 3 endings + 1 secret ending + nice physic puzzle - not replayable Amnesia: The Dark Descent is to date, the only game that has ever scared me. Not scared as in a short burst of shock, but in a heart-pounding, sweat-inducing, I need to stop playing so I can calm down kind of scared. The player takes the role of Daniel, the main character who wakes up in a dark castle with no memory of who he is or why he's there. That's the entire setup, and the simplicity of this concept lends itself brilliantly to the sense of isolation that Amnesia conveys so well. Completely alone in the castle, Daniel must contend with all the things going bump in the night on his own, with no map and completely unarmed save for a lantern. It understands that the imagined far outweighs the known in its psychological punch, and it gives you enough audio and visual cues to imagine a very carnival of horrors. This is every part the worthy successor, with considerably higher production values, bags more atmosphere, and a deeper exploration of the parallel themes of horror and insanity. There's not a weapon in sight: it's all about the puzzles, exploiting the neat physics engine, combining items to apply to the environment, and hiding when the nasties come. Spooky, shadowy castle rooms add to the uncanny feeling that something awful is about to happen any second. Most of the rooms provide subtle chills, through the presence of ruined walls, smashed-open ceilings letting in rain, and lone candles sputtering in the middle of lonely cellar chambers. Going insane comes with interesting visual effects as well, including smearing colors, teetering camera angles, and bugs crawling across the screen. You never know what's really there. Spend too long in the gloaming, and madness beckons. As Daniel's sanity starts to stutter, imagination plays merry hell. Insects skitter across your vision, the input-lag between mouse-gesture and action goes to hell, the ground lurches sickeningly, and you'll hear things – whispers, cries and horrid noises, one of which can only be described as someone pulling crabs apart. Actually solving the puzzles shouldn't be too difficult for anyone who's played adventure games before. Despite the bizarre and often disturbing states of the sewers, morgues, and downright revolting torture chambers later on, the solutions often require you to collect a few objects and combine and apply them in simple ways. The game makes this easily manageable by confining solutions to set areas, meaning you don't need to worry about backtracking all the way to the start of the game if near the end you worry that a particular puzzle might require an overlooked item. This is one of the scariest games in recent memory. The loading screen recommends you turn the lights off and play with headphones, something I'll strongly echo. It was without a doubt one of the most difficult, draining, and stressful gaming experiences I have ever had, but it's also an absolute masterpiece. Your help is greatly appreciated :) My Curator Page:Sub My Steam Group:GameTrailers and Reviews My YouTube Channel:Steam Reviews Was this review helpful? Yes No 120 of 129 people (93%) found this review helpful 35.7 hrs on record Posted: November 12 By far, the strongest laxative ever made. Was this review helpful? Yes No 84 of 89 people (94%) found this review helpful 8.2 hrs on record Posted: October 26 Similar to the Penumbra games, Amnesia: TDD is all about atmosphere and storytelling. The biggest difference between the two series is that Amnesia does include more of the classic horror induced moments of being chased and hunted. Not that Penumbra didn't have a bit of that, but I'd say in Amnesia, there were specific moments designed to inject some action. Overall however, the game is paced similarly. I could wander about, sip some coffee, read my notes and mementos and take in my surroundings. This may sound casual but what Amnesia succeeds in doing is creating a sense of dread. Brennenburg Castle is a miserable place and rarely do you find yourself feeling too comfortable. When an enemy does discover you and then gives chase, it is probably one of the more scary moments I've experienced in a game. The music, the blurriness of your view, the sound of the monster chasing you...not to mention, when you do finally get behind a closed door and find a hiding spot, you then get to watch as the door is violently brought down into pieces. All you can do is hope you're not spotted as you stare at the wall (there is a "sanity" element if you're new to these games). IRL, I am guilty of some audible "gasping" during these moments. During one particular chase I couldn't find an adequate path to get away from my pursuer and let out a frightened yelp that I am ashamed to even admit. Though, it is important to mention that I allowed the game to get under my skin purely because it was better that way. I could have played it and completely steeled myself from letting it get to me (e.g. left the lights on, lowered the sound, casually approached the objectives), but what's fun about that? For me, nothing. As far as the story is concerned, I felt compelled to move forward to find the next clue. I could feel a bit of excitement (or perhaps it's better described as relief) every time I saw a new note to read or completed a puzzle. Naturally I won't reveal any spoilers just in case someone does read this review. I must emphasize that this is not a game full of jump scares and over the top gore. With that being said, there are some very disturbing scenes that you come across. I walk away from this game still thinking about some of what I experienced. Not just from the imagery but the story in general. Per the recommendation from the developers when you first start the game, play with the lights off, don't worry about saving and allow the story to drive you forward. Was this review helpful? Yes No 125 of 149 people (84%) found this review helpful 66.9 hrs on record Posted: October 7 All the dead people have real ding dongs, ten outa ten! Was this review helpful? Yes No 104 of 127 people (82%) found this review helpful 58.7 hrs on record Posted: October 9 The only person who is not naked in this game is you. 10/10 would stand on a pile of dead naked men again. Was this review helpful? Yes No 39 of 39 people (100%) found this review helpful 38.8 hrs on record Posted: October 6 I actually do reviews for games on Giant Bomb and PC Gamer... and one game I have trouble reviewing is Amnesia Dark Decent. It's not that I'm indecisive it's just, I can't find the proper words to ever describe this game. You couldn't possibly understand what this game means to me. You might like it and the horror genre would say it's a great game but to me it's more. This game single handedly restored my faith in horror games and got me playing them again. After Resident Evil 5/6 and after Silent Hill Homecoming and Downpour I stopped. Stopped playing, stopped reading up on, stopped caring about horror games. Resident Evil I saw coming but Silent Hill too? This mass appeal mindless action ♥♥♥♥♥♥*t needs to stop. Survival horror was the genre that got me into gaming and then I saw the genre just up and leave us fans for more sales from the Call of Duty players. Action is where it's at? As the head developer for Resi 6 said "Survival Horror games are no longer popular, we needed a new direction and new ideas" well guess what... Amnesia proved Survival Horror still has plenty of new ideas to bring to the genre and proved that the genre is not dead. Amnesia is art.... it's artwork crafted by brilliant minds. Look past all the fun scary chases and the jumpscares, just look at the game. A first person game that doesn't have weapons? Yeah imagine that. You hide and run from monsters, much like people would do in real life. But if you break down the level design, the choice of imagery, the methodically detailed environments. You will see true beauty within. If I may quote some negative reviews here "water monster wasn't all that great of an enemy, he doesn't even have a character design. It's lazy...." yes they had limited resources however this isn't lazy design choices. The fact that you cannot see the water monster is more terrifying than any other creature in the game. It plays off your imagination, the fear of the unknown. Your mind subconsciously filled the blank with your worst fear which gave this monster so much memorability. The water monster is one of the most memorable moments, everyone talks about it and that's the reason. After such a horrifying experience with the water monster, what happens? You walk into a well light room with a fountain that supplies the calming sound of running water, a hole in the ceiling with light seeping through (one of the first times you see the light of day in this game), beautiful music plays softly in the background and the room has a tint of blue in the air. This is no randomly designed room, no this is a reward. This is saying "Hey you made it through that horrible experience, breathe relax a bit. You deserve it" and that is something I haven't seen before. No stupid achievement unlocked, no legendary loot, no high score and no misspelled CONGRADURATIONS. In a game that plays on your fear and emotions, they reward with such. They made you crap your pants, now they're making you feel relaxed. And that means more than any achievement. The story is rich and it plays along with the tension in the game. The enemies aren't scary on the level of a jumpscare but rather the fear of being chased. Jumpscares are cheap thrills, true fear is much harder to achieve in a gamer and much more satisfying for the gamer. They accomplish this in many ways. Never knowing what danger lurks beyond the glow of your lamp, the dark abyss continuously hunts you down, the monsters are not just some scary looking monsters for the sake of "boo look at me I'm scary" they're people you tortured and sacrificed for your own safety against the darkness, their disfigured bodies are representations of the guilt you bare in the deepest parts of your conscious despite suffering Amnesia you still feel it, led astray by someone you thought you could trust, no escape or easy way out the only path is down and it's bathed in darkness as you descend slowly into your past with each step you lost sanity, walls are shaking, the crackling sound of your own mind is louder than your beating heart as you're chased by a horrifying disfigured creature you created, the sound of screeching can be heard when they're getting closer letting you know how close you are to death. Oh... jeez I... I can go on and on about this game. Hell I want too... but if this gets any longer it will be considered a novel. The best thing I can say about this game? Play it... please. I beg you if you're a fan of horror games, if you like being scared, if you like a good story or immersion or hell if you just want to play a damn good game; play this game! This is without a doubt my favorite game of all time. The favorite game, not one of. That's hard to say, but it's true. I never game 10 out of 10. I always made fun of other reviewers who did, saying no game is perfect. 10 out of 10 is saying it's the masterpiece of all gaming and cannot be improved in any way, shape or form. However, I've seen my mistake. You don't give it a 10 based on some score that means nothing to anyone else other than you. You're giving it a 10 based on the experience the game gave you. And based on that, Amnesia The Dark Decent was given my very first 10 out of 10. Was this review helpful? Yes No 56 of 67 people (84%) found this review helpful 11.7 hrs on record Posted: July 27 "My name name is...........Daniel" and that's the start to this dark and totally engrossing horror game that grab's you by the scruff of the neck and refuse's to let go of you until you have finished it and seen all the horror's that it has to offer. This is one game i had on my radar for a long time and one i had heard a lot about,either written or from friend's who have played it and the word's "CLASSIC" and "GENRE DEFINING" have been mentioned on more than one occasion. But i allways take this with a pinch of salt and allways make up my own mind,but trust me when i say that the two phrase's that i just mentioned dont do this game justice as it is both of these and so much more. Amnesia: The Dark Descent - Trailer - YouTube You start to play not knowing much other than your name and that for some reason you are here to do something that will affect not only your life but that of other's as well,and as the game progress'es you will come to learn not only the nature for your being here but that of the scream's that haunt the castle you find yourself stuck in. And that's all i will say on the story of the game as you should find the secret's this game hold's and the many twist's it take's on your own as nothing is more horrifying or scary as not only hearing but witnessing these thing's for yourself first hand instead of after the fact. The sound and music in game is top notch and really help's in setting that "OH MY GOD" type atmosphere that a lot of games like this seem to lack,this is down to the work of the composer Mikko Tarmia without who's music the game would (to be honest) not have the impact it does. He is currently working on Frictional Game's next project SOMA which i for one am waiting for with eager anticipation!!!! Amnesia The Dark Descent - Soundtrack - (Mikko Termia) - 04 All the spoken dialogue in game is delivered to perfection as well by the voice cast and some of it just has to be heard to be believed as to how good it actually is (and for a game like this that's all about delivering a powerfull story that's what was needed,not some half baked ham handed attempt-"HAMMER HORROR" movie's anyone). The gameplay range's from puzzle solving (finding items that are laying around in the castle) which can be quite frustrating as some puzzle's can be quite offbeat to running and hiding from the monstrositie's that pervade in this dark and forboding castle from hade's (a lot has been said lately about game's using this mechanic but here it suits the game and makes it more nerve wracking to play). Amnesia The Dark Descent: Closet Hiding! - YouTube So would you like this game and the answer is yes if you are looking for a classic and one of the best game's the horror genre of games has ever had to offer but if you are not one for this type of game and want something a little more action packed instead of full of story and an interesting and horrific tale then i would look elswhere. Was this review helpful? Yes No 47 of 54 people (87%) found this review helpful 2.8 hrs on record Posted: November 19 You go insane after looking at bald, naked men. What even. Was this review helpful? Yes No 24 of 25 people (96%) found this review helpful 7.8 hrs on record Posted: November 17 Your enjoyment of Amnesia: The Dark Descent hinges almost entirely on what you expect to get out of it. As a horror game, certainly what it’s advertised and probably considered by most to be, it shockingly comes across as rather...uninteresting. It does an amazing job setting a tense, foreboding atmosphere, layering on copious amounts of disturbing exposition and twisted imagery. And then sort of throws it away when it attempts to bring it all to boiling point and scare you out of your wits, relying on a sluggish, rather dimwitted monster which is rather less than frightening and scare tactics which all too quickly become predictable. The sense of dread I felt when I first awoke in the mysterious castle that makes up Amnesia, was lost after just a few hours, as it became dreadfully easy to guess exactly when and how the game would attempt to scare me, no matter how much I kept hoping that it would reject my expectations. Picking up key items, opening a particularly unappealing door, or finding a note; Amnesia’s list of triggers is short and used liberally, making for an experience that quite frankly left me a bit annoyed at how little it managed to get to me. I was practically begging to be scared by the end, but aside from a few very brief standout sections Amnesia almost does more to set you at ease than it does to freak you out. I say all this, and yet, Amnesia is still immensely compelling as something completely atypical of what I would have guessed: a traditional adventure game. Behind the gruesome imagery and very effective atmosphere, the excellent puzzle designs and exploration were what kept me intrigued and wanting to come back to the game. Though they’re often simple in design, there’s a rewarding logic to each puzzle that makes them unexpectedly enjoyable to solve. Frictional Games manages to make blind exploration and continual backtracking interesting and continually stimulating, with each area you visit being visually distinct and engaging, and often holding within contextual exposition that creates a great sense of place and causes the castle to feel far larger than just the areas you explore. When you’re not solving puzzles, the disorganized narrative compels you forward, leaving you vague notes that give just enough information to make you want to learn more while rarely telling you the whole story until the very end. Finding the details of this plot are often disturbing and thoroughly unpleasant, leaving me feeling rather mixed about my protagonists actions but nonetheless complacent as I couldn’t leave this story unfinished. The flashbacks/hallucinations that your character often witnesses gives a look into how the castle used to operate, horribly inhumane and driven by some mysterious supernatural element, but all the same a place I wanted to learn more about if only so I could make sense of my character’s madness. This madness is perhaps the game’s strongest achievement, distorting the world around you and causing you to see things that may very well not be there. Staying too long in the dark wears on your sanity, requiring you to ransack every room you come across so you can be sure to have enough oil for your lantern and tinderboxes to light candles and torches. I was a bit disappointed that these resources came in such large supply, as it made darkness less of a threat and more of an occasional hindrance to your view, but the mechanic was still engaging enough to cause me to pay more attention to the environment and as a result find things I may otherwise have missed. It’s a little funny to me that despite being let down by the aspect that I expected would have prevented me from even finishing the game, what I found underneath it proved more than enough to push me through the game. If you’re hoping Amnesia will leave you terrified and sleeping with the lights on, you’ll most likely be let down by the underdeveloped, somewhat lazy frights found here. But if you can appreciate the game without those prerequisites, there’s an eerie and twisted adventure game waiting to swallow you whole into its brilliantly realized darkness. Was this review helpful? Yes No 35 of 44 people (80%) found this review helpful 1.0 hrs on record Posted: July 10 get chased by a bunch of bondage enthusiasts through an abandoned disney funhouse Was this review helpful? Yes No 26 of 31 people (84%) found this review helpful 0.8 hrs on record Posted: October 12 one of the greatest mind messing games i've ever played, and that is while i played it during the day, and at night a total nightmare , the sounds and atmosphere created will have you quivering in your onesies Was this review helpful? Yes No 20 of 21 people (95%) found this review helpful 13.9 hrs on record Posted: October 4 I enjoyed this game a lot! For the right atmosphere it is utterly important that you play it with headphones on in a totally dark room. If you don't, you are missing out. Recommended for all fans of the horror genre. Was this review helpful? Yes No 24 of 30 people (80%) found this review helpful 65.2 hrs on record Posted: November 5 The best horror game ive ever played. :D Was this review helpful? Yes No 15 of 15 people (100%) found this review helpful 25.2 hrs on record Posted: October 29 Amnesia : The Dark Descent is a blend of adventure game elements such as exploration and physic based puzzles in a horror themed environment. They complement each other well, as the places you wander through get gradually more terrifying, the fairly unconvoluted riddles help you ease the tension that can become almost unbearable at times. This is where this game shines, the pace is skillfully mastered, even if you have difficulties persisting in horror games you might very well finish this one. The design is tighly knot around exploration, lightening candles and torches to ward off the darkness, finding the scattered pieces of the story and a death mechanic inconsequential to your progress. The game manages to fill you both with a sense of curiosity as you descent further into the abyss to unravel its mysteries, and a sense of dread to what awaits you in its darkest recesses. You won't be disappointed by its climax. Amnesia : The Dark Descent is a very enjoyable and rewarding experience, yet a highly unpleasant one, reaching that difficult balance each horror game aims to find. It lasts 7 to 8 hours, and there is the possibility to play custom stories, which I might review here as I go through them. Was this review helpful? Yes No 14 of 14 people (100%) found this review helpful 11.6 hrs on record Posted: October 30 Very atmospheric, very scary. Definitley play alone, in a dark room, with headphones on. If you're looking to be scared, you won't be disappointed. Was this review helpful? Yes No 47 of 75 people (63%) found this review helpful 11.3 hrs on record Posted: November 2 0/10 not enough tinderboxes. Was this review helpful? Yes No
When i found your heart frozen not beating, I wanted to die and not breathe. I saw you lying nearly lifeless, I wanted the pain to end right then and there. I found the lies that someone said, they had tried to hurt me once again. I was between,life and death. I saw both of us walking hand in hand. I wanted to spend my forever in your heart. The frost covered my brain, and I saw myself travelling down a path. I saw her who had tried to take you away, while she said that my loss was her gain. The other said she was secretly yours. The pain had deepened as the minutes had passed, I heard you telling me , "You loved me with all your heart." I believe you, dear heart and you I'd protect. Just as you told me you wanted to be with me. I also choosed to spend forever and a day, just showing you that you mean the world to this weary heart.
RSS 2.0 Feed A & S News Fabric Printer Brings Designs to life Nov. 4, 2009 In the fashion world, creating a truly unique, 100% original design is difficult to produce without the help of an extended budget and flexible time limit. While sometimes the initial concept takes a little time to grasp, sketching and choosing color pallets usually come quickly and at no cost to the designer. And, as the TV show Project Runway has shown wide-eyed and in-awe viewers, actually sewing and completing a professional-looking garment can be done in a matter of days, or even hours. What slows down the process of originality and ups the cost of production is creating a unique pattern and in turn, an original fabric design. Usually a designer must sketch out a pattern, send it off to a mill, and have his/her pattern recreated onto the desired fabric. However, for Baylor fashion design students, this process is a thing of the past. Thanks to donors Phil and Susan Parker of Odessa, Baylor was able to purchase a new digital fabric printer that allows students to create every aspect of their designs, start to finish. Senior Fashion Design major LeErin Player has been using the printer since its installation last January and has been able to see some of her designs come to life. "We designed fabrics before we had the printer, but they were just designs that couldn't be real," she said. "Now that we have the printer I can design fabrics that go with my collections and know that I can actually make a garment from them." Another aspect that any student can appreciate is the fact that producing high-quality and original fabrics on the printer is cheaper than buying pre-designed fabrics. "Fabric, no matter where you buy it, is not cheap," LeErin said. "But it is cheaper to just buy plain fabric and then print your design on it. Then no one else will have your fabric or a version of it. Printing makes your designs more exclusive, and all around cheaper." While there is a bit of a learning curve that goes along with designing fabric on the computer program that the printer uses, the printer itself works much like any other printer, except on a much larger scale with clearer pictures and eco-friendly inks. "We make our designs on the computer with a pattern program; then once we have finished and gotten it approved by our professor, the professor uploads it into the computer that is attached to the printer," LeErin said. "We put the fabric into the printer and then it prints on the design like a regular printer would to paper, but our paper is fabric. It is really sweet!" LeErin is one of the few students in the world of academia who has designed garments that are truly unique and once she graduates this experience will continue to make a difference. "I do feel like I have an advantage because students at other schools do not have the opportunity to work with the technology that I have" LeErin said. "Everyone is taught how to design patterns that are sixteen colors and how that works but designers and businesses are printing with printers like ours and designing in a way that works with the new technology." With the help of the new fabric printer, soon LeErin will be sending out applications and her portfolio to prospective employers and she will actually be able to show them her experience instead of just telling them about it.
The defense could begin its case as early as Monday, when the trial will resume. Manning's defense said at the opening of the trial that he was a young and naive, but a good-intentioned soldier whose struggle to fit in as a gay man in the military made him feel he "needed to do something to make a difference in this world." He told a military judge in February he leaked the war logs to document "the true costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," including the deaths of two Reuters employees killed in a U.S. helicopter attack. Manning said the diplomatic cables revealed secret pacts and deceit he thought should be exposed. The evidence showed Manning's training repeatedly instructed him not to give classified information to unauthorized people. As they wrapped up their case, prosecutors offered that al-Qaida leaders reveled in WikiLeaks' publication of classified U.S. documents, urging members to study them before devising ways to attack the United States. "I think it was pretty clear that WikiLeaks would have released anything and everything," he said. "Just because he did it that way, is that evidence of intent to share it with the enemy?" Manning faces eight espionage counts and a computer fraud charge, all alleging he either exceeded his authorized access to classified information or had unauthorized possession of national defense material. His top-secret clearance enabled him to look at many kinds of classified information, but an information assurance officer, Capt. Thomas Cherepko, testified that "having the ability to go there doesn't mean you have the need or authority to go there." Prosecutors requested fewer courtroom closures to discuss classified information than they projected before the trial started. Maj. Ashden Fein initially said as much as 30 percent of the government's case would require closing the courtroom, but there were only three secret sessions. "They may have felt that it was not serving public confidence in the administration of justice to run any more of it than was absolutely necessary behind closed doors," said Eugene Fidell, who teaches military justice at Yale Law School.
South Korea has a long history of pushing out wicked cool PMP / navigation / do-it-all devices, but MP navi's first effort definitely aims low. Boasting a 4.3-inch touchscreen, an ultrathin chassis and support for more formats than you'd care to count, there's not much here that sets it apart from the competition. Of course, just looking good goes a long way, so if you're interested in saving this one from imminent obscurity, you'll need to hop a flight to Seoul (mind that DMZ, though) and cough up ₩139,000 ($114).
HomeAcademics & ActivitiesMedia Matters 9 secrets to managing your child's screen time By GreatSchools Staff More studies sound the alarms What's a parent to do? Guidelines for managing your child's media consumption Additional resources Comments from readers "i still think kids should NOT have a TV in their room " "great advice!" "When I became a Mom... I decided on never letting the TV raise my kids...My kids were never left in front of the TV, while I did chores even when they were very little. My cousins and friends, with kids the same age, thought I was being paranoid. But now when I turn off the TV, I just get mild groans from my kids, a daughter (8) and a son (6). They are both good at finding activities to do together because on, no TV days, they spend hours building forts in their room, they read to each other, they play board games and fight too, blow bubbles off the balcony, they are good at pretend play. They love to be outside and instantly get ready to play in the yard, pool or parks, no trouble getting them to turn off TV. They don't have a cable connection in their room." "i am sorry but do the parents have time for their children? no. they don't. so what can a child do to keep him or her busy. i will go back to basics.The family: one man (dad) + one woman (mom) living together with children. when 30-40% parents don't fulfill this definition of a family; such article is waste of time." "I have a hard time believing that kids are watching TV/Computer Video games 6 1/2 hours a day as this article claims. I thought my child, who often will get 1 1/2 hours of media a day between computer and TV, got a lot. I just don't see where even the laziest of parents could find the time to provide 6 1/2 hours of media to their kids. There aren't enough hours in the day for this. This makes me think that this article is not very well researched, and a little bit of a scare tactic. Where does this extraordinary figure come from? I stopped reading after the first sentence to type this comment." "We as a family control media all the time and agree that too much media like anything is not healthy. I also think that children do not read as often when theres too much media." "Thank you for the artickle, also it's a great idea to have some usefull comments. Thank you folks for the Ez Internet Timer, I downloaded the program from thir website Awesome software from the first glance. If my 14 year old guru didn't break it during it 2 weeks of trial, I will buy it. Thank you again." "Nice article. Some time ago I had only one problem with my child. He spent too much time on the Internet. To my opinion, the internet is an excellent resource for children. It provides help with their homework, communication with teachers and their friends. That is why I did not want to restrict interneÑ‚ access at all. I found one that suits my needs perfectly called Ez Internet Timer. Today I can easily schedule when to stop all childrenâ€™s on-line activity. After reading the article I decided to spend some time on the Internet with the son. Thanks!" "the tips are ok but you might want to watch the movie or show before exposing it to the child to see if it's appropiate for the child to watch." "The person who wrote the comment advising to 'BACK OFF' is an illiterate....literally. Or just some youngster without a basic knowlegde of english grammar as it were. A very classic example of one who didn't limit his 'screen time' How sad! To live in America and still be that stupid while educational opportunies abound everywhere! To a large extent, almost every single commenter who disliked or disagreed with this great article could not even write their articles correctly using proper grammar and spelling! How really sad! Logan kept writing 'you're' instead of 'your', another wrote 'write' instead of 'right'.That's just to point out a few of the numerous grammatical errors, not to mention their sorry mentalities! A bunch of idiots! No wander immigrants/foreigners come and grab all the educational resources/opportunities we have left wasted and unused!" "The person who wrote the comment advising to 'BACK OFF' is an illiterate...literally. Or maybe just some 10yr old kid with very bad writing skills, no knowledge of english grammar as it were. A very classic example of one who hasn't controlled his 'screen time'. How sad! To live in America and still be that stupid, while educational opportunities abound everywhere. " "Excellent article. Every school should give a copy of this to the students' parents. In response to the BACK OFF comment. That parent doesn't realize what and important role a PARENT has to play. Having a child is a great responsibility. A parent is responsible not only for a child's physical well-being, but for the child's emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual well-being. A parent's role is not to be their FRIEND and to be LIKED. (If it happens, fine!)It is to prepare their child for life, to TEACH them right from wrong, to give advice and guidance. A parent's job isn't to let them grow up like little 'weeds' in the garden of life. One day, their child will appreciate it, when they grow up to be productive, kind-hearted, socially responsible human beings." "I recently went to the Digital Life show to do research for my company. While there I noticed a product that was intriguing. So I bought it after spending about 20 minutes talking to the owner. It's called BOB, or Bob, and it controls the power to anything. So now I have my 10 year old and my 13 year old on timed access to the TV, if I had another $200 I would buy one for each damn monitor in their rooms. My 13 year old daughter has a slow internet connection, and my 10 yr old son, has no internet. Anyway, I told the owner I would try it, and that if I thought it helped I would help spread the word. It helps me stop being the bad guy all the time. Which is often enough as it is as a mom whose husband works long hours . . ." "Don't you think it is ironic that those replies which complain that 'we' (parents or adults)either don't 'get it' or exaggerate the anti-screen time's detrimental effects on children and teens can't spell or write correctly?!! Amazing. " "hey thanks for sending me an email and introduction to your site. I love the idea now if I could just talk my 8 yr old off of my space it be great. With older siblings its difficult. thanks again Cindy" "Ok you know what...this article is so stupid it's actually funny. If parents do this to their kids than kids will hate them forever. Parents, if you really want to help your kids than stay away from articles like this. And there are tons of them, maybe some parents like this crap but i think its worng. That person is write when they said kids should make their own decisions or the one who said this stuff is trash. Please you can rely on articles like this, try letting your kids have some fun and let them do it without your help. They will like you a whole lots more if you BACK OFF!" "I wish all of our parents would read this and unplug the drug! Our son was totally addicted to the screen, which we can't help much now that he is a teenager. Very early on we had to have a 'no screen time on a school night' rule, because no matter what it was or what limit we had agreed to, he just could not turn it off when his time was up. Of course, to be fair, parents have to give up their evening TV as well, but now we wonder how folks manage to get anything accomplished! We watch select programs, and otherwise the TV is behind closed doors. Wake up parents -- did you watch the movie (of course, rather than read the book) Farenheit 451!!! That's where we're headed!" "There are many comments about this article that bring up many points of parental concern. First and foremost, our youngsters and teenagers are living in a technology age that we built for them. They are a top consumers of the internet, instant messages, internet gaming, VOIP and 'myspace' and 'Utube'. How, indeed, do we as loving, role-modeling parents deal with this? This is not a world any of us lived in as kids. We have a culture of kids that can IM, and have intimate relationships with many school friends and never leave their rooms or homes. My son asked me to move his PC from his room to the living room. Then he can use the 52' HD plasma TV as a gaming monitor. I honesty feel like we 'don't know what to do'. I analyse the games my son is playing and indeed, reluctlanty, I agree with Users comments in many regards. Still? I see my son and his friends striving for gaming time, with little regard for their high school class assignments or their grades in ! general. Locally, we have large gaming locations where young kids (mostly boys) paid a flat rate to 'game' all day. There are no parenting manuals for this. We are concerned parents, looking for direction. " "I apologize for being rude, but I do wish you would stop glorifying these mostly unfounded articles. Many people who criticize Video Games, and other such media today, are all under a common misconception: They are living in the 'Arcade Age' Welcome to the 21st century, games, for the most part are no longer the mindless 8-bit games like PAC MAN and Pong, they are in many cases (particularly in the RPG genre) exhibit much deeper thought processes and moral values than a lot of Modern Literature. They do not erode you're children's creative thinking, if anything they encourage and reinforce it. I think that much of this seemingly unfounded hostility towards videogames is fear. The older generation (which majority of these critics seem to be) is afraid of this emerging technology because it is an unknown area to them. They are afraid to watch their children type at 50 words per minute while they still hunt and peck. They are afraid of losing control over these things because they are unfamiliar. While this fear of losing control is legitimate, as children of certain ages and maturity levels should not be subjected to specific content, I believe that this issue is being handled the wrong way: I don't believe you're children should be deprived of one of the most popular and enjoyable experiences in this emerging technological era simply because parent's are afraid of losing control over it. I believe that the answer is not in limiting a child's time to be immersed in Media like videogames, but to actually learn about it for yourselves. Learn about web-nannies that can keep you're children out of questionable sites, learn about Videogames, and if you're Child asks about one you're not sure of, why not rent it first for yourself? You'd do the same with a movie, why not a game? In conclusion, I would like to say, that in my opinion the answer lies in mastering the technology yourself as a parent, and using you're own judgment on what you're child should and shouldn't do. Instead of limiting other people's enjoyment, why not indulge yourself, and in the process, improve both you, and you're child's experience. Thank you for you're consideration. ~Logan" "The guy who wrote the feedback saying you should call video games just 'games' is an idiot! You were just talking about video games which I agree when you say kids should have x amount of time to play them and they should be observed. I don't let my daughter watch a lot of tv or play a lot of video games because i don't want her sitting around getting fat. I get her outside for fresh air and excersize. I have her in sports like soccer. Like you said, some media exposure is good for children but should not be overdone, and that also goes for video games." "I'm 15 and I have spent almost my entire life watching tv, playing on the computer and listening to music. Since I can't drive yet whenever my friends and I want something we just walk there even if its 4 miles away and right next to a highway. I'm actually 10-15 pounds under the recommended wieght for my hieght, even though I spend most of my time in front of screens. I love playing violent video games and some of them make me crack up laughing like when I blow up a building for no reason but for fun. This being said, I have never once gotten a bad citizenship grade on my report card, gotten suspended/expelled, or anything like that, (not counting the period of time before my parents and doctor knew I had A.D.D., meaning I couldn't control myself.) But that was in first grade and ever since I may have gotten a few detentions and demerits for childish stuff but never anything like getting in a fight or something. I also have never gotten in trouble with the police or anythin! g. I also make good grades. I have excellent eye-hand-cordnation, and have great reflexes. I play tennis at my school and even over the summer I have played in tournaments and take private lessons twice a week. To sum it up I love seeing a pixilated car blow up and fly across the sky only to plummet through a building causing it to blow up, but I would never do something like that in real life because I have common sense." "What's wrong with video games?Absolutely nothing,I tell you.Sure,it's unhealthy if you're on most of the time,but you just can't limit them to TWO HOURS.And also,I think it's perfectly fine for kids under 18 to be in chat rooms,as long as they keep their information private.What are you trying to prove?" "to everyone saying that spending countless hours infront of a screen is unhealthy and leads to obesity, i have one word to say 'Wii'. this game system although still hard to get, but if you do it comes with a sports game for free. i played the WiiSports for hours and i was so tired out i had to just lie down. and it's for all ages, it's a great game that's extremely addictive, and above all its good excercise. plus, there are many other fun Wii games that make you move around like the new Mario Party 8. from experience i know the game board part of the game is kinda boring but then when the mini-games come up they are so fun and on the Wii they will get you moving. and if you can't get one of these, try buying healthier foods. I know that most teenagers will eat whatever they can get when they're hungry. so if carrots, and cellary are the only things in the fridge, that's what they'll eat." "listen to the song 'Teach your children well', by Crosby Stills and Nash, the biology argument is baloney, they do live by their father's (excuse me) -ell! The twins experiment was skewed, buy satellite tv, block the mouthy kids tv shows, and let them be innocent kids, they don't need the sex exposure, the mouthy talking back, or the rap music, this is where we did wrong! Let the kids be kids for as long as they can be, but be there when they want to talk, and try to get the grandparents more involved, this is why the kids are so messed up these days, make the grandparents do their part too, they are off making money, the selfish generation!!! Plz think about it!!" "Video games are very unproductive. You don't need them to survive. The majority of people with kids let them sit down all day, eating potatoe chips and soda. Most parents aren't even at home with their kids during the week! Unsupervised kids tend to start living like they are in the video game. They start getting obese then eventually it leads to drug abuse then they land themselves in jail. " "i think that kids in elementry and middle school should be spending more time with family but when you reach high school should get more freedom. but when you are in high school that freedom could be taken away if used for granited. like playing video games, watching tv, going on computer and texting is fine, but when you kids start drinking, smoking or doing drugs then you should think about interferring. also if your child has a cell phone put gps in there phones without them knowing so you can call and it will tell you where they are and you can see if they are lieing or not. but make sure your children are active because every kids needs that. teens get peer presseured into many things make sure you talk to your kids about drinking, smoking, drugs and sex, so if it comes to it they know what to do. but for one thing trust your child they appreciate it." "I think it's the time where parents need to be more cautious with TV and computers and things, because we're a media-based society now more than ever. When I was younger, TV and computers weren't as developed as they are now, so getting into sports, arts, music, etc. was more interesting than sitting around watching TV. I don't think studies need to be made on issues like TV. Any idiot knows that you can't spend too much time in front of the TV or else you'll gain weight. Duh. And it's not all media that is making teenagers into little tramps, it's their parents not caring. I'm still a teenager. I spend WAY more time than I should in front of the computer. I do very well in school, I have friends, I have a caring family, including parents. Yeah, I could use a little more exercise. I am aware of that. I'll be the first to admit it. I think kids need to be aware of all the benefits exercise gives you that media does not. " "Seems to me like the key is moderation in all things. That varies by person and situation. I would agree that in general too much time is spent on video games and tv instead of social interaction outside of MMORPGs." "Wow - I can't believe that there are people objecting to kids getting off their bottoms and actively using their brains to develop skills that don't involve games or passive watching. Parents, there is plenty of software out there that manages kids use of the computer. I have one program called Time Control that limits hours on the internet and on the computer. Otherwise my kids would never get offline. Put the TV on a timer if you must, don't buy the game consoles - we didn't, and give them access to books and art supplies, pens and paper and whatever. Kids need to learn to think, too." "The was great, I have never read something so intertaing. And I am only twelve. I believe that all that is true. My niece and our friends said that I should watch Degrassy the TV show. But when I turned it on there were people talking about sex, doing drugs and drinking beer and alcohol. Then my dad came in when I was just going to turn it off.... boy did he get md at me." "As a therapist, I can assure you that developing an imagination is essential to developing the capacity for empathy. Since video games and TV require little imagination to use and 'play with,' those skills suffer. The capacity for empathy is what enables us to treat each other with kindness and understanding. "
Huffpost Politics The Blog Howie Klein Headshot Oh, the Tangled Webs They Weave -- What's Right About Arkansas? Posted: Updated: Sure, Arkansas voters went overwhelmingly (638,017 to 422,310) for McCain over Obama, and yes, the state has two of the absolute worst and most reactionary Democratic senators, imbecile Mark Pryor and corrupt corporate pawn Blanche Lincoln. Chances are, you read about or heard the Arkansas state Senate's GOP whip and Republican Party U.S. Senate candidate, Kim Hendren last week. It was a national story. But you probably don't know much about state Rep. Kathy Webb, a Democrat representing downtown Little Rock, her party's whip, and the first ever openly gay elected official in Arkansas -- and the only one serving in the state legislature. She got some of that same ole Arkansas Republican treatment, but for some reason the national media isn't picking up on the homophobia the way they picked right up on the anti-Semitism. A good Webb (left) and a really bad one (right) Once Hendren popped the cork on GOP bigotry last week, it all started gushing out. Not only was Chuck Schumer "that Jew," suddenly Kathy Webb was "that lesbian." An editorial in the Arkansas Leader took it very seriously and urged its readers not to tolerate bigotry. Escaping its growing reputation for religious intolerance and bigotry is going to be much harder than most devoted members of the Republican Party figured. The party's two leading figures in Arkansas, the only avowed candidate for the U. S. Senate and the party's state chairman, went to local party gatherings and uttered such nonsense that it won them national attention, the kind of attention no party wants. State Sen. Kim Hendren of Gravette, who is running for the Republican nomination for the Senate and is so far unopposed, was trying to win over the Pulaski County Republican Committee, which did not like his vote for the cigarette tax increase back in March, so he attacked Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, a liberal Democrat whose unflattering mention he thought would certainly get a good response from the Republicans. He could not think of Schumer's name, so he called him "that Jew." Committee members fed the remark to a Republican blogger, a former campaign worker for Mike Huckabee, and it went on the Internet. Hendren said he was trying to make the point that he stood for traditional family values while the Jew did not. The Arkansas Young Republicans denounced the "anti-Semitic and derogatory personal attack." Other Republicans put some distance between themselves and the maverick senator. So Thursday Hendren apologized and said he never intended to derogate the senator's religion and that he had no antipathy for Jews. Ever the gentleman, Sen. Schumer said simply, "apology accepted." Hendren explained that he was prone to stick his foot in his mouth, which he has demonstrated from time to time. His candor and independence sometimes are admirable. But the loose remark about a senator who is many things-- a Democrat, usually a liberal, a decent and intelligent man-- but who happens also to be a Jew betrays something disturbing about Hendren. He assumed that his audience would know the man primarily by his religion and would share his contempt for it. He will have plenty of chances now to regain the esteem of tolerant people of all faiths in a party that actually does embrace different faiths, including Jews. He has virtually assured opposition in his own party, so there will be abundant opportunities for him to show tolerance for different religious beliefs, ethnic and social backgrounds and points of view. Doyle Webb, the state Republican chairman and a former state senator, has more to atone for. While making the circuit of Lincoln Day Republican gatherings, Webb distinguished between himself and Democrats by saying he was for the Ten Commandments and the Democratic Party was not. Webb's own career has not been a particularly good example, but Democrats against the Ten Commandments? He described the Democratic Party as the party of lesbians and people who were not as good Christians as he was. Webb went further and attacked a state representative from Little Rock, Kathy Webb, who is unrelated. In the Lincoln Day talks the Republican leader said there was a Democratic legislator who was a lesbian and, he implied, not a follower of the Ten Commandments or a devotee of family values. The day might be coming, he warned, when a lesbian would be "in charge of the state budget." He was referring to Rep. Webb, who probably will be co-chair of the Legislative Joint Budget Committee in 2011. Doyle Webb apparently did not serve in the legislature long enough to learn that the chairs of the Budget Committee are not "in charge of the state budget" but happen to have a vote the same as other committee members and other legislators. He may have merely been saying that lesbians are not good with arithmetic. Ignorance and bigotry are a bad combination. They are the weapons of the demagogue. Ms. Webb took the attack in stride. She said she would like to meet with Mr. Webb and share her own thoughts about family values. Let her describe them: "First, my parents were happily married for 68 years, and my siblings and I get along very well. My Dad is a retired United Methodist pastor. I serve on the Missions Committee at First United Methodist Church, and chair the Green Team there. Last year, I spoke from the pulpit during Lent to help raise money for hunger relief. I am privileged to serve on both the Arkansas Foodbank Network and Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance boards.... Today, I was one of 10 legislators honored by the Arkansas Kids Count Coalition as a Legislative Champion. My parents raised me to help those who are less fortunate than I, that to whom much is given, much is expected, and to love my neighbors." And Doyle Webb's values? Seven and a half years ago, the Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct rebuked and fined him for unethical conduct in his law practice. He was the attorney for an 86-year-old woman who was in the advanced stages of Parkinson's disease. He arranged for a lawyer who practiced with him to change the sick woman's will to make Webb the beneficiary of $321,000 from her estate instead of her heirs. Three judges in Saline County, who seem to have been outraged, sent the case to the ethics committee. We like Kathy Webb's family values better than Doyle's. Most Republicans do, too. They deserve leaders who share them both in word and deed. I hope The Leader is correct about most Republicans liking Kathy's family values better than Doyle's. But I have no idea what they base that on. All I read is about how Republican leaders are determined to use hatred and bigotry for political gain. You've got to admire the strength and convictions of a woman like Kathy Webb to follow a career in public service in the face of the systemic ugliness that is today's Republican Party. Let's hope that when term limits ends her service in the Arkansas House in 2012, she decides to keep right on serving. Without men and women like Kathy Webb, we would all be at the mercy of people like Doyle Webb, Kim Hendren and Rush Limbaugh.
iOS app Android app Gospel Homelessness We Were Blind: How A Homeless Couple Taught Us To See Tony Kriz \| Posted 12.15.2012 \| Religion Tony Kriz How does one heal from an addiction of selective sight? How does one stop dismissing anyone who is "other"? How can I grow to see every person as a potential friend or even my teacher?
• New Bedford council on verge of approving food truck ordinance • NEW BEDFORD — The city is on the verge of allowing food trucks to set up in public places during daytime hours. • email print Councilors Henry Bousquet of Ward 3 and James Oliveira of Ward 1 have co-sponsored a change to city bylaws that would allow operation of stationary food trucks during the day; currently, they're only allowed between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m., the result of a restrictive ordinance enacted 15 years ago. The proposed ordinance has already passed its first reading and is expected to be easily confirmed at the council's next meeting. If so, it will be the end of a two-year effort to make the food carts so popular in other American cities more prevalent in New Bedford. Under current regulations, food trucks can only operate during the day if they're moving along quickly. But it's important for the trucks to be standing still rather than constantly rolling about the city as ice cream trucks do, Bousquet said. "Food trucks can't do that, they need to be stationary to prepare and serve food," he said. Under both the proposed ordinance and the current one, food trucks could operate in public parks or in public places throughout the city. According to both ordinances they could not, however, block a public way and they could not be located on grass, only on paved areas. And they could also operate on private property with permission of the property owner. The change in the new ordinance is regarding the hours of operation. In parks, the trucks could operate between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. while before they could operate anywhere in the city but only between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. Under the proposed ordinance, the trucks could operate between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. in the working waterfront district bordered by Route 18 on the west, and south of Interstate 195 to Cove Road. In the downtown, the food trucks could only operate on Barker's Lane, a narrow street adjacent to the new Custom House Square Park. They could however operate on private property with the owner's permission in the downtown, so long as no traffic is obstructed. The times would be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. At the city's South End beaches, under the new ordinance, the trucks would be limited to the East Beach public parking lot, with only three trucks allowed at a time, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Some city restaurateurs say the new ordinance may present an obstacle for business. "I think it would definitely be unfair to me," said Elsa DeFaria, owner of the East Beach area's Clark's Point Creamery, who said her business is seasonal and depends on the weather for enticing a beach crowd to patronize the creamery. "If it's parked (at the beach), people will walk up to it," DeFaria said, adding that the creamery puts fliers on windshields parked at the beach to attract customers. "I would definitely not want to see that happen. I don't think any business here would want to see that happen." DeFaria contended that one aspect of the food trucks that would be unfair to her is that businesses pay rent, taxes and other expenses that food trucks don't have to. But Bousquet said the food vendors also pay their fair share in a different way. "A food truck permit is $600, plus they have to get a regular food service permit, so it's pretty close to $900 to get into the business just on the permit side," he said. "It's not like it's cheap. I would say we did what we thought was best for economic development and (any opponents) have had two years now to come say, 'Hey, that's a bad idea,' and no one did." The ordinance was originally proposed in 2012 and has gone through a series of meetings where the public was invited, inspiring several rewrites, Bousquet said. Bousquet, himself a former restaurateur and food services teacher, said he hasn't heard from a single restaurant owner in opposition to the ordinance, and added that the trucks would be restricted from operating within 300 feet of a brick and mortar establishment. The council's Ordinance Committee unanimously recommended a new ordinance to the formal council on April 29. The formal council has passed the first reading and it must pass a second reading to become law. Reader Reaction
Health knowledge made personal Join this community! › Share page: Search posts: Is it Time to Quit Your Current Job? Posted Sep 12 2009 6:37am You are thinking of quitting your job. But resigning from your current job should not be a decision make haphazardly though, because it may have big impact on your life. You should think carefully and take various factors into consideration before you finalize your decision and submit your resignation letter to your superior. Here are some situations that may trigger the right time for you to go for a new job: 1. Your job makes you sick You feel overwhelming stresses on your current job and it makes feel headaches and backaches. You are trying very hard to work out the problem but unfortunately you failed. You are losing your sleep and impacting your health and living norm. Under this situation, you probably want to prioritize your health first by finding a new job and change to new working environment. 2. You have been marginalized You have been taken away many of your responsibilities without any reason. Your boss does not trust you like before anymore. You are excluded from important meetings and just being assigned with unimportant works that will only contribute very little scores on your year end job evaluation for promotion or salary increment. You should talk to your boss to find out the reasons before you do anything, but be aware that your boss may be urging you to leave. If the situation seems like won't improve, then it may be the right time to take the hint and find a new job. 3. You receive a better offer elsewhere If you are given opportunities, you definitely want to move to as higher level as possible in your career which enables you to enjoy better income and lifestyle. Along our career path, there will be many opportunities opened to you and if you get an offer that attract you very much and the prospective position seems to be a good fit for you, then you should give it a serious consideration. 4. You have outgrown your job requirement You have gained a lot of experience in your current job and you find that your experience is beyond your job requirement but there is no opportunity for you to move up and no room for you to utilize your experience. Then, you probably need to find the opportunity elsewhere. 5. Your job is interfering with your family obligations Sometimes it's hard to balance between job and family, but with some scarification and tolerance, many parents still able to achieve some degree of balancing between their job and their family obligations. But, if your job requires you to spend too much of your time and cause you losing focus on your family obligations, then you might want to find other job that has fixed working schedule or consider an alternative work option like working from home. In summary, quitting job or change job is a norm for one's career life, but if you are thinking of quitting your current job due to any reason, don't make haphazardly decision until you have considered all potential impacts on your life. Post a comment Write a comment: Related Searches
Mini radiation detector to be used to find nukes December 13, 2009 12:00:00 AM PST When NASA's Messenger satellite made a flyby of the planet Mercury a few weeks ago, it used the smallest, most accurate radiation detector ever developed. That same technology will now be put to use on Earth to find smuggled nuclear material. Hand-held nuclear threat detectors are in the works. Morgan Burks recently held in his hand the future of nuclear detection:, a High-Def gamma ray identifier. Burks is a physicist at Lawrence Livermore Lab and the device's designer. "You need a high resolution device that can tell you, 'Yes, it is uranium or plutonium', or, 'No, it's a medical source.' for example. And, you need a hand-held device because you have to be able to carry it in maybe an emergency situation to a lot of locations like border crossings, shipping ports, and so on." Until now, you couldn't have both, because a gamma ray detector needs its own extreme refrigerator. You could have a lo-res handheld detector like one used at the Port of Oakland or a huge high-res one. Then, the experts at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory made a revolutionary cooler so small it fits inside a gold thermos called GeMini. It is so small that GeMini is now aboard a satellite, NASA's Messenger, which soon will become the first ever to orbit the planet Mercury. It will make a gamma ray map of the planet. It's plated in real gold, the best material to reflect infrared heat. In orbit around the planet Mercury, there's a lot of heat. Meanwhile, a different kind of portable detector is orbiting cities, ARAM. Adaptable Radiation Area Monitoring suitcases packed with detectors that are in use undercover , even aboard SUVs. ARAM is another project by the Lab to make nuclear detection, like the space program effort, smaller, lighter and better. Page Stoutland, Director of Global Security Strategy at Lawrence Livermore Lab, says it's a continuing effort. "In my view, we can make dramatic leaps in the size, form factor and performance of these devices. So, what we'd like to do is to take things that are currently as big as a suitcase and very high performing, and figure out how to get that down into a truly hand-held device without losing any performance." Load Comments
Sun Identity Manager 8.1 Resources Reference Example 3: Action that Follows the Deletion of a User This procedure shows how to include an action that will run after the deletion of a user on the Active Directory resource. ProcedureIncluding an Action that Follows the Deletion of a User 1. Enter delete after action in the Identity Manager User Attribute column of the resource’s schema map. 2. In the Attribute Type column, select string. 3. In the Resource User Attribute column, enter IGNORE_ATTR. Leave the Required, Audit, Read Only, and Write Only columns unchecked. 4. Add this to the Deprovision Form user form after the </Include> tag: <Field name= ’resourceAccounts.currentResourceAccounts[AD].attributes. delete after action’> 5. Create the following XML file and import into Identity Manager. (Change file paths according to your environment.) <?xml version=’1.0’ encoding=’UTF-8’?> <!DOCTYPE Waveset PUBLIC ’waveset.dtd’ ’waveset.dtd’> <ResourceAction name=’AfterDelete’> <ResTypeAction restype=’Windows Active Directory’ timeout=’6000’> echo delete >> C:\Temp\%WSUSER_accountId%.txt 6. Edit the XML for the Active Directory resource and add information to the “delete after action” schema mapping. Here is an example of a complete schema mapping for this resource with the new additions. (You will be adding the views-related information.) <AccountAttributeType id=’12’ name=’delete after action’ syntax=’string’ mapName=’IGNORE_ATTR’ mapType=’string’>
Microsoft To Stop Selling PC Games Through Marketplace Starting August 22nd, 2013, Microsoft will stop selling PC games through the marketplace. This move is a part of a service overhaul that'll also bring an end to the Microsoft Points currency system in preparation for Xbox One release. All prior purchases will continue to be playable through the Games for Windows Live client, and the Games for Windows Live service will continue to operate as normal. Add new comment You still can Buy them from Game-stop, Walmart, and best-buy. If there are any other stores that sell games I don't know them. Either way its not steams choice. The game company's decide not to make any physical copies. THEY'RE NOT SELLING PC GAMES ON XBOX DOT COM ANY LONGER, I hope in capitol letters you understand a little better. xbox dot com is the consoles site makes sense, games for windows live would be a different market and different website, nothing to be confused about and you can still purchase pc games from their other sites. Think you missed his point. Microsoft has been chaning things lately so much that it seems they don't know what they are doing. The only feature they have that remain the same is that the spy camera must be hooked up to the system at all times. Hell, they even just announced that in 8 countries the system won't be available. It is almost as if when sony announced launch Microsoft just started making shit up to go stay on the same page with them. Heck there wasn't even a dev box available for developers when E3 was going on, xbox one software was being run on PCs Nevermind, just read an article that states kinect requirment is no longer effective. Guess nothing has remained the same. Still I say F Xbox for selling everyone out. However I am weak and will buy the controller just so I can buy an adapter and hook up to my PS4. Unless of course there is an adapter released that lets me hook up one of my 360 controllers to the PS4. Add new comment
Take the 2-minute tour × I got the program to work, but I can't seem to figure out how to get boot events. I tried actions, but Microsoft's documentation is severely lacking. I was able to use the boot manager with the following command: xbootmgr -trace rebootCycle -noPrepReboot -traceFlags BASE+CSWITCH+DRIVERS+POWER+REGISTRY -resultPath C:\ This works, but I can't seem to find out how much time it took to boot the system. In BootVis, this was really easy and it showed you explicitly when the boot process was completed and what took up that processing time. In the new version in Microsoft Windows Performance Toolkit, it doesn't seem to be that easy but maybe I'm missing something. How do I know when the boot process is done? Update: I have been looking more and more at those graphs and charts with no luck of finding a definitive boot time (not time since last boot, but the time it took to boot up the system). Does anyone actually use this tool? It seems like no one is interested in this issue at all! Update 2: Here is a screenshot of how easy it is in BootVis: alt text Now when I run xperf –i "boot_base+cswitch+compact_cswitch_1.etl" –o boot_1.xml –a boot" I get the following error: alt text share\|improve this question 3 Answers 3 up vote 5 down vote accepted At first, I’d like to recommend the following document about the Windows boot process and performance analysis: It's quite long, but it describes almost everything you need to know. While you're at it, take a look at the Xbootmgr documentation on MSDN: The quick solution is: 1. Run Xbootmgr to capture a timing trace xbootmgr –trace boot -traceFlags base+cswitch+compact_cswitch (setting –traceFlags to this results in smaller trace file sizes and less impact on boot performance) 2. Run Xperf to process the trace file to XML where -i stands for input file and -o stands for output file 3. Open the XML file with Internet Explorer and accept the security warning, so you can collapse and open XML nodes enter image description here The boot process consists of five phases: • PreSMSS • SMSSInit • WinLogonInit • ExplorerInit • PostExplorerPeriod The end of ExplorerInit means the desktop is displayed (ExplorerDesktopReady mark in Xperfview). The user can interact with the desktop, but the system is still busy starting background services and startup applications. During the last phase, PostExplorerPeriod Xperf samples the system every 100ms and checks if it's 80% or more idle. The PostExplorerPeriod phase ends when the system accumulates 10 seconds of idle time (100 time slices). The total boot time is therefore calculated by subtracting 10 seconds from the endTime of PostExplorerPeriod (or from bootDoneViaPostBoot) That's 29386 – 10000 = 19386 = 19.386 seconds on the above picture. Based on my experiments, it seems the "boot done" mark of Bootvis equals the ExplorerStartMenuReady mark of Xperfview. enter image description here Note: the above traces were taken on a Windows XP virtual machine running in VMware. share\|improve this answer I don't see ExplorerStartMenuReady, etc ... in my CPU Sampling by CPU diagram! Any reason this might happen. Also, when I run the command to generate the XML file I got an error, see the new image in my post. – Brian T Hannan Feb 16 '10 at 22:41 BTW, you are close to getting the bounty points for this if I can just get either of the two to work properly. – Brian T Hannan Feb 16 '10 at 22:41 For the Explorer marks right click on CPU graph and choose Overlay Graph / Marks / Mark. This will only work with traces taken on XP. The proper and more flexible way is to generate the XML output. Make an empty folder (eg. C:\Traces) run Xbootmgr and Xperf from there. Use the resulting .etl file as an input parameter to Xperf. – Ryck Feb 17 '10 at 10:15 I thought this tool was only for Vista and Win7? – Brian T Hannan Feb 17 '10 at 16:15 The command you used is supposed to only trace the boot process, so basically everything you see is (in theory) part of the boot process. See this article: Speed up boot time in Windows Vista using Windows Performance Toolkit. It specifically shows how to run the xperfview program, which is the visual analyzer that allows you to visually see the entire boot process: share\|improve this answer Been there, done that! None of those charts show the definitive time when the boot process was done. If you can point me in that direction it would be great. These charts are nice, but they don't provide me with the information I need. In bootvis it used to be so simple ... it would explicitly show you the end time of the boot process. – Brian T Hannan Feb 11 '10 at 18:36 @Brian T Hannan: What do you mean by "time the boot process was done"? If this is the elapsed time, it can be seen on the time axis. – harrymc Feb 11 '10 at 19:53 @harrymc: Yes, I am talking about the elapsed time but I need a marker or indication of when the boot process finished. I don't see anything that says "Boot done" or something to that effect. Take a look at the snapshot I recently added from Bootvis to see how easy this is to do with Bootvis but not Windows Performance Toolkit. – Brian T Hannan Feb 12 '10 at 18:02 @Brian T Hannan: I'll try this on my machine and get back in touch tomorrow. – harrymc Feb 12 '10 at 19:15 @Brian T Hannan: I did it (and I now understand why nobody uses it). In any case, the time axis is in seconds. In the example included in my answer, the boot process takes 7.6 seconds. On my machine it's supposed to take 36.4 seconds, so it's only left to me to wonder what's going on during the other 4 minutes where my machine is still unusable ... – harrymc Feb 12 '10 at 23:05 These are "human" requirements and are easily handled with a fuzzy controller. You can even estimate the startup completion percent and the remaining seconds by means of it. This is a simple and free app that implements it: This application has been completely ideated, designed, developed and distributed by me. share\|improve this answer Since you're the creator, please edit your post to disclose your affiliation. You might also want to include a bit more detail, and explain that it's free to use. Also note that posting multiple answers referring to your own product will surely get you banned from using the site. – Arjan Apr 19 at 16:09 First of all, thanks for you gentle answer. I think that the main problem in the topic is that the Disk Usage is hardly "humanly" readable, and better results can be achieved just by looking at the CPUs and memory usage. This is why I suggested my own algorithm. As Brian T Hannan told at Feb 12 '10 at 23:05: "so it's only left to me to wonder what's going on during the other 4 minutes where my machine is still unusable ..." I was actually reading the disk usage in my application some months ago, when I realized that this value's range was quite unpredictable on different machines. – Alfa Vassallo Apr 24 at 13:07 Your Answer
Michael Higgins becomes first Irish head of state to make official visit to Britain Posted April 09, 2014 10:43:22 Ireland's president Michael Higgins has become his country's first head of state to make an official visit to Britain and meet the Queen. It is the latest in a long process aimed at improving the relationship between the two countries after decades of conflict. Michael Higgins was greeted by the Queen outside Windsor Castle, before joining her for a private lunch and meeting the Prince of Wales. Later, addressing both houses of Parliament, he acknowledged the painful rift between the countries over the past century, saying the two countries are friends as well as partners. "The journey then of our shared British-Irish relationship, towards that freedom, has progressed from the doubting eyes of estrangement to the trusting eyes of partnership, and in recent years to the welcoming eyes of friendship," he said. Mr Higgins also praised the Queen for her historic visit to Dublin in 2011. Fears of violence as flags fly together As British and Irish flags flew side by side on the streets outside Windsor Castle, the memories of past violence still left some visitors feeling nervous. "I know there's been lots of worry about today and about, you know, people telling us not to come today because of worries about things that might happen," one woman said. "It did feel a bit tense and also bringing the children, it was a bit of a worry as well," she said. As a further sign of change, Martin McGuinness - a former Irish Republican Army (IRA) commander who is now the deputy first minister of Northern Ireland, was a guest at the Queen's state banquet. Mr McGuiness was one of the most senior and influential men in the IRA - the organisation that murdered the Queen's cousin. For Windsor resident Laurie Lyons, this was too much, too soon. "He's an ex-terrorist and he's killed a lot of British people," he said. Mr McGuinness refused to sit in the House of Commons when he was an MP because he would have to take an oath of allegiance to the Queen. Since then he has shook the Queen's hand in what was considered a landmark in relations. Margaret Gilmore, an analyst with the Royal United Services Institute think tank, says for Mr McGuinness and his party Sinn Fein, this gesture is a balancing act between losing republican support and achieving long-term republican aims. "Sinn Fein are making a calculation that if they could get the majority in Northern Ireland and the majority in the south, where they also campaign in the Republic of Ireland, then they would be in a very strong position to start trying to work out how they could realise their dream of having a united Ireland," she said. "That's why this is political on the part of Sinn Fein and part of a much bigger picture about Anglo-Irish relations on the part of the British and the British government. "There are some people who would just hate to have to sit down next to him. And that's why, on the part of Queen Elizabeth, it is an amazing gesture." Topics: government-and-politics, unrest-conflict-and-war, england
2 Articles 1 / 1 25Chevy Express 1500, GMC Savana 1500 get the axe Fans of truck-based, light-duty vans can officially pour one out for the Chevrolet Express 1500 and GMC Savana 1500, as General Motors has officially put its long-serving big/little rigs out to pasture. Things aren't quite as sad as they sound, though. The heavier-duty 2500 and 3500 vans will soldier on, in order to duke it out with the largest members of Ram ProMaster, Ford Transit and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter families. 11GM phasing out light-duty 1500-series vans In the market for a fullsize van but don't need a heavy-duty model? You're in the minority, and you're also out of luck. That's because there are barely any more fullsize vans on the market with gross vehicle weight rating of less than 8,500 pounds, the threshold that separates light- and heavy-duty vans. 1 / 1
Mixed Thoughts On Acquittal Of Alleged NY Cop Killers -A +A I don't have to tell you that in this country, the loosest accusation or assumption of shooting one or more of those designated to enforce the law by a Black man is guilt simply by default; way before the trial begins. Usually whenever a member of the frat-like police organizations is angry, you can bet that's a good day for humanity. Recently the New York Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association (PBA) President Pat Lynch stood outside of Brooklyn Supreme Court and told the New York Daily News, as reported on December 18: "This mongrel today got away with murder." I could make an issue of his use of that all-too-familiar racial epithet, but you have to remember, the guy's last name is Lynch. And he's in-charge of the PBA. Also, the reason he's fuming is that the unthinkable just happened; a 35-year-old Black man had just been found not guilty of the murder of a police officer, Russell Timoshenko. I don't have to tell you that in this country, the loosest accusation or assumption of shooting one or more of those designated to enforce the law by a Black man is guilt simply by default; way before the trial begins. Your court appointed attorney doesn't really defend you; hell, your hired attorney really ain't bustin' no sweat for you either, and the DA is pulling all kinds of tricks to make sure the jury is filled with people as far outside of your block as humanly possible. Given these sure-fire eventualities of nature, how then does the accused, Robert Ellis, literally "get away" with murder? I know what a few of you outside of New York are thinking; maybe he really didn't do it and the jury ruled accordingly. I say to you kind sir or madam, what in the hell has truth ever had to do with any of this? When the cops want their pound of flesh, they get it. If the cops themselves are the pound of flesh, they get away with it. Reality itself rarely is allowed to enter the courtroom. Historically Lynch and his legal team make sure it stays that way; this time the case looked like a no-brainer. But a jury of seven women and five men felt otherwise. Back on July 9, 2007 Timoshenko and officer Herman Yan stopped a BMW after reportedly finding that the plates didn’t match. Both officers approached either side of the car and at some point were met with gunfire, according to some media reports. There were three men in the car; Ellis, Dexter Bostic and Lee Woods. According to the Daily News all three got away for a while but Woods was caught after 16 hours while Bostic and Ellis fled the City. Bostic was caught after 63 hours around the Poconos while dashing across Route I80; Ellis was said to have endured more time in the woods and sleeping on rocks. After 77 hours, he was found by a US Marshall and was reported to have begged for his life. Timoshenko died four days later of his wounds. Reportedly Woods told police that it was Bostic who shot the officer twice in the face and Ellis who shot Herman Yan. Don't get me wrong; neither Ellis nor his two buddies are to be mistaken as freedom fighters. They are not Mumia Abu-Jamal, H. Rap Brown, or Geronimo Pratt by any stretch of the imagination. In recent years however, there has been an increase in typical street thugs who shoot police officers based on bustamove false-ego and simple-mindedness than. As it is, some bloggers have considered the Ellis verdict to be Sean Bell in reverse, with the cops as victims this time; but it's not. As readers recall Bell is the innocent Black man who was murdered on the morning of his wedding when cops fired more than 50 bullets into his car. There wasn't nearly enough bullets coming from the shooters’ car. Still, Black shooters are trained through ghetto and pop culture to only kill other Blacks. Though Woods claims Ellis shot Yan –who is now a Detective—the jury no-doubt based their ruling on the lack of DNA and fingerprints on any fired gun. Ellis claims he was just the driver; that the three friends weren't all lumped together at the same trial is because they turned on each other. Ellis will still do time for weapons possession, unlike Bostic who was found guilty by a separate jury the next day and will surely get life without parole, as no-doubt will Woods. The only good news is that Pat Lynch and the NYPD's court of opinion vest has been compromised; but at the loss of a rookie officer. Just as the pundits said about the Bell verdict, it's just a sad unfortunate situation for all families. Chris Stevenson is a columnist for the Buffalo Challenger. Ccontact him at [email protected] Also Check Out... Politics As Usual Politics As Usual NYC Tests Mali Traveler For Ebola It Never Gets Old
Truce over - McCain, Obama throw punches in new ads Well, it was nice while it lasted. Now, they're lighting each other up. Like a couple hockey goons (perhaps the infamous Tie Domi-Bob Probert throwdowns come to mind) the campaigns have taken off their gloves today launching new campaign ads which sting. Obama playbook Recommended: Could you pass a US citizenship test? In accordance with the ads, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe released a memo discussing the campaign's strategy moving forward. "We will respond with speed and ferocity to John McCain's attacks and we will take the fight to him, but we will do it on the big issues that matter to the American people," Plouffe says. "We will not allow John McCain and his band of Karl Rove disciples to make this big election about small things." Disco inferno Their new ad "Still" (complete with a disco ball) discusses McCain's apparent disinterest of computers and the fact that he doesn't email. Could that be construed as a small thing? No, said Obama campaign spokesman Nick Shapiro. "The ad goes directly at the fundamental issue in this race: John McCain is out of touch with the American people and unable to address the challenges facing the country in the 21st century," Shapiro said. "It delivers the message in a light-hearted humorous way that Americans relate to." The ad also demonstrates how awful fashion was in 1982. Hollywood Minute Over on the McCain campaign in a new ad called "Disrespectful,"we hear the word "celebrity" again. But this time as in a David Spade "Hollywood Minute" type jab. IE: Your 15 minutes of fame is running out. "He was the world's biggest celebrity," the announcer says. "But his star is fading. So they lashed out at Sarah Palin dismissing her as good-looking." The ad goes on to say the Obama campaign "...then desperately called Sarah Palin a liar." "How disrespectful," the announcer scolds. Distortion? Not a campaign ad... itself had some harsh words for new McCain ad in their analysis stating that it, "goes down new paths of deception. It takes quotes from news organizations and uses them out of context in an effort to portray Obama and his running mate, Joe Biden, as unfairly attacking Sarah Palin and making sexist remarks." The non-partisan web site which monitors the "factual accuracy of what is said by major political players" did not review the new Obama ad yet. Stay tuned. Share this story:
Wreck a reminder of deadly explosion -A A +A By April Wright, Reporter Almost a year to the day after a tragic propane tank explosion that killed two and injured three others at a laundromat in Fries, a chillingly similar accident occurred in Galax. After a car struck the Fries tank on Dec. 10, 2007, leaking gas was ignited by spark from a clothes dryer. The result was a fireball that set a fire station ablaze and a shockwave that heavily damaged a building. This time, thankfully, no one was injured. Renew Current or Past Subscription / Register for Online Subscription Newspaper Acct. ID: Street Address: (exactly as it appears on the label) New Subscription/30 Day Free Trial Account ZIP Code: Create a limited access account.
Watch It On DVD: Now \| On Blu-ray: TBD The Beverly Hillbillies Penelope Spheeris directed this compulsively faithful film adaptation of the popular 1960s television series. The familiar story 'bout a man named Jed Clampett (Jim Varney), a poor mountaineer who barely kept his family fed, continues to follow the TV show's format. Jed discovers oil on his Arkansas property and overnight becomes a multi-millionaire. He moves his family to...more
Cover Image View/Hide Left Panel Attachment 1 Morbidity Categories 1. Moderate localized pain and/or mild systemic reaction or impairment requiring minor change in normal activities, and associated with some restriction of work activity. 2. Moderate pain and/or moderate impairment requiring moderate change in normal activities, e.g., house-bound or in bed, and associated with temporary loss of ability to work. 3. Severe pain, severe short-term impairment, or hospitalization 4. Mild chronic disability (not requiring hospitalization, institutionalization, or other major limitation of normal activity, and resulting in minor limitation of ability to work). 5. Moderate to severe chronic disability (requiring hospitalization, special care, or other major limitation of normal activity, and seriously restricting ability to work). 6. Total impairment. 7. Reproductive impairment resulting in infertility. 8. Death. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Statement
cover art White Rat Gayl Jones (Harlem Moon) As a writer, Gayl Jones is a canny recorder of verbal communication. All of the 12 stories which compose White Rat are told in the first person, and each character presents a different voice. Every bit of exposition is filtered through dialogue. As such, there’s very little attention paid in these stories to anything but people: the things they do, the things they think and the things they say to each other. To a large degree many elements of these stories, elements such as setting and even in certain instances the narrators’ identities, are left intentionally vague and unresolved. The reader is left no choice but to construct these stories themselves out of nothing but the raw materials provided by Jones, that of people’s utterly subjective narration. How the reader arranges these elements in their own mind can be a particularly revealing exercise, shining a light on unexamined prejudices, in particular in relation to the way speech is used to define—and obscure—identity. Gayl Jones is a black woman, and this fact is an absolutely inescapable element of her work. Like Zora Neale Hurston (with whom she is inevitably compared), Jones is a connoisseur of dialect. Allowing her characters to reveal themselves almost exclusively through their speech, she unpacks a potent and surprisingly dense field of subtext through the varying degrees in which these voices present an accurate or inaccurate view of reality. A lot of it has to do with subverting readers’ expectations, and doing so in such a way as to cause them to question their own assumptions about how racial identity is defined through language. From the very beginning, Jones telegraphs her preoccupation with the liminal spaces where racial identity is defined. The first story, “White Rat”, is told by a black man who, because of his pale skin, can easily pass for, and is often mistaken for white. The “white rat” defines his blackness very simply: his family is black, his parents are black, therefore he is black. Similarly, the narrators in “The Women” and “Jevata” are easily defined by their speech and their behavior—perhaps, the wary reader thinks, too easily. Jones’ mastery of black southern dialect brings the reader uncomfortably close to a tacit understanding of linguistic differences as shorthand for racial barriers. It’s such a simple metaphor that one can almost be forgiven for being lulled into a false sense of empathy based solely on the semiotic content of a person’s speech: racial identity solely identified as colorful language (“color” in this instance containing multiple meanings). And then Jones muddies the water. Later stories in the volume are told with far less extravagant diction, in what might be considered a “normal”, almost entirely deracinated dialect. Already attuned to see Jones’ stories as pure reflections of racial identity, the reader is cast adrift when Jones eschews any overt racial signifiers in stories like “The Return: A Fantasy” and “A Quiet Place For The Summer”. Are the characters in these stories black or white? Why does it matter to the reader, why does this become such a compelling question? Because Jones has already created such a definitive image of black identity through dialect, she forces the reader to question the underlying assumptions behind the way language identifies us. When we read a grammatically-neutral first person dialogue with no mention of race, under what assumptions do we assume whether or not the speaker is black or white? If we’re attuned to see everything through a prism of race, how does that distort the readers’ perceptions? Jones explicitly tackles this question in “Your Poems Have Very Little Color In Them”, an examination of the (tacit) expectations created by audiences—in this case, presumably white academic audiences—to tailor the linguistic identity of a speaker or writer. It is not a coincidence that, again, the word “color” can have two different meanings in this context. Color can, and often does, refer to vibrant, allusive language, but it also often means simply the color of a persons skin: identity reduced to cultural shorthand, a reduction that implies the dismissal and not entirely unintentional pidgeonholing of persons based on ethnic identification. In any case, linguistic definitions only serve to make it easier to regard subject persons as objects instead of sentient actors. An old definition of force holds that force is the action that results when one person defines another as merely an object; in this instance, the classifying of persons based on dialectic eccentricity (defined from grammatical “norms”, often resulting from educational deprivation and social ostracism) acts as an unconscious but irresistible force, warping and distorting the lives of those affected. If other people talk differently, they must therefore possess less of what makes us “human”, and should be treated accordingly. Although race is undoubtedly her chief preoccupation, it would be a mistake to dismiss Jones as solely a “black writer” (whatever that means). The facility with which she cleaves through the basic assumptions that underlie our racial identities points to a far more nuanced, and disturbing, picture of humanity. The other main preoccupation of these stories is mental illness. Insanity recurs in “The Return: A Fantasy” and “Asylum”, and a mentally retarded boy narrates “The Coke Factory”. More than merely the way the perception of language frames racial identity, Jones is after the way in which people define their own lives through subjective experience. In regards to race, what effect does poverty and deprivation have on an otherwise rational mind? How exactly do forces of societal disapprobation—institutionalized and socialized racism—warp and distort the lives of those effected? To further confuse the matter, Jones links several of her stories together in such a way that events and persons in one story are revealed in a decidedly different manner elsewhere. Supposedly familiar people become strangers, leading the reader to reexamine almost everything taken for granted or assumed in the course of previous overlapping sections. At its heart, there is something hard and distrustful in Jones’ work. It seeks to probe and question, intentionally overturning preconceived notions in favor of a larger, more quarrelsome but much more accurate understanding. Rather than simply portraying the miseries of poverty, racism, class division and insanity, Jones uproots traditional notions of narrative empathy in the hopes of breaking down a readers’ resistance to tragedy—obscuring the line between subject and object to achieve a greater degree of identification than that provided merely by observing suffering, a passive activity that can be seen as tacit dismissal. Like the best American literature, Jones desires nothing less than to disturb and displace a pacified readership, using the tools of a guerrilla insurgent to place harmful truths behind otherwise settled borders of authorial remove. White Rat isn’t very long but it’s the type of book to which you can look forward to returning many times, unpeeling new layers of meaning behind the facade of prickly hostility with each reading. It’s a violent book, but violence can sometime have a transformative effect. Now on PopMatters PM Picks of PopMatters Media, Inc. PopMatters is wholly independently owned and operated.
Autonomous region: The best way to feel the true cultural roots of Granada is to visit its flamenco clubs. There are numerous areas where you can see this type of live music show. At all of them you will be able to feel the excitement of the Spanish guitar, see typical flamenco costumes, learn what “taconeo” (flamenco tap dance) is all about, and enjoy the traditional flamenco festival known as “zambra”. One option is to have dinner in the old town with a live show included. You can choose from an open-air courtyard where you can have a drink and listen to the music beneath the stars, to an ancient white cave decorated with crafts, where flamenco singers and dancers in their flounced dresses will perform for you until the early hours. Many of these venues are concentrated on the Camino del Sacromonte road, at the heart of the typical flamenco neighbourhood of Sacromonte. Don't miss
A traveller's guide to Eton The playing fields of Britain's most famous public school are hosting some new guests - a group of travellers. But are they aware of the local customs? An old boy offers a few pointers An Etonian takes his sport very seriously. A huge predominance of the most successful boys there find the route of their success is, indeed, on Wellington's famed "playing fields of Eton" - as well as on the river, where Matthew Pinsent learned his stuff. The travellers may crow that they have "thrashed" some Eton boys 3-1 in an informal football match, but I suspect they have been lulled into a false sense of superiority. It can only be a matter of time before they are challenged to Eton's two peculiar versions of football, and they are not for the faint-hearted. The Field Game is not a pursuit that even the most widely travelled traveller will have encountered before, because it is played nowhere else in the world. A combination of soccer and rugby, it takes the more punishing aspects of both, and blends them into two halves of rasping lungs and vicious knocks. There is a scrum, but only one side's front row can have its heads down. There is a round ball, but you cannot pass it: you run with it until it is taken off you, or you are taken off it. And if you score, you are awarded a "ram": a hapless defendant stands in his goal mouth with the ball at his feet, buttressed by team mates who hold him and the ball in place, while the three fiercest members of the attacking team run frantically on the spot, one behind the other, until they have built up enough steam to charge at the ball, hoping to carry it and those around it over the goal line. The Wall Game famously does not produce goals. Two sides flounder in the mud for half an afternoon, hoping that today is going to be the one which will produce a score, idly grinding their opponents' skulls against the wall, or treading it into the oozing quagmire that is the playing field. Play is rarely interrupted by the referee's whistle; although calling for air does result in a brief cessation in hostilities, while lungs are emptied of mortar and mud, and refilled with the air wafting over from neighbouring Slough. If you have gained the impression that Eton likes its ball games idiosyncratic, then that is as nothing compared with its slang. Masters are "beaks", and the time that you have to be back in your boarding house is known as "lock up". This may not be reassuring to those travellers who have had run-ins with the law. Any traveller hoping to have fun with the dual interpretation of being a "fag" will be disappointed to learn that the practice of servitude by junior members of the school is long past. I was in that unfortunate generation who fagged for a year, but who found the system was abolished before being able to get someone to disrupt their day for me, polishing shoes, take smutty jokes to my friends in other houses, or any number of other chores which were rewarded with £2 per half (Eton-speak for term). In the unlikely circumstance that any of the travellers think in the language of Rat Pack musicals, it is as well to point out that the term "dame" does not generally signify a comely young good-time girl, but rather a formidable lady in her middling years, with sensible shoes, an iron will, and an understanding of how to instil terror or respect into her 50 boys. She is half-matron, and half-sergeant-major. She is unlikely to have much truck with a traveller. Indeed, I imagine that these may be the shock troops that the Eton authorities are already considering unleashing on their unwelcome guests. Their King Charles Spaniels charging before them, their house-coloured umbrellas in their hands, these are modern Boadiceas, eager to drive out the Roman(y) invader. By saying that the Etonians he had seen "look like a bunch of nancy boys in their tailcoats", one traveller has failed to see through the process that this most patriotic of schools has used over the past 182 years, to engender the martial spirit in its alumni. By insisting that the mourning clothes for the death of George III become the school uniform, Eton's authorities have instilled the sort of toughness in its old boys that the man who named his son Sue was striving for. If you can force your way into those clothes each day, then put up with the derision of outsiders for five years, the heat of battle will hold few fears. From Wellington to Colonel "H" Jones, Old Etonians have distinguished themselves on the field of battle. Recently, there were more Old Etonians in the SAS than in any other army regiment, and the present and future commanding officers of that elite outfit were contemporaries of mine at Eton (Me? I dodged the Corps, and opted for social services; but please allow me a little reflected glory). It may be that the travellers will need to be removed by legal process. However, having read this, there is a strong chance that they will quietly slip away, rather than allow themselves to be left at the mercy of an institution that is almost as old as the Romany tradition, and which is certainly as resilient. This may well be the sensible option. It is also clear that there is no shortage of sense in this roving community that has settled in Eton's fields: after all, they have camped a full 100 yards from the main school canteen, and if my memory serves me right, that is a very wise place to be. · Earl Spencer was at Eton College from 1977 to 1982.
Technology Lab / Information Technology Developers create open-source OS kernels using .NET tools Two open-source software projects aim to create operating systems with modular … Unlike Singularity, which includes a hardware abstraction layer coded in C++ and some other components written in assembly, the Cosmos and SharpOS projects seek to use standard C# pervasively throughout as much of the system as possible and also eschew the kind of specialized C# language extensions (like the DbC syntax of Spec#) that are used broadly in Singularity. Although the developers plan to use C#, it is worth noting that practically any language that conforms to the Common Language Infrastructure specification could theoretically be used for kernel development in both Cosmos and SharpOS. The Cosmos compiler, which is called IL2CPU and is written in C#, converts Intermediate Language code into assembly, which is then processed by NASM to generate native x86 code. The developers say that IL2CPU will eventually be able to generate native code code directly without needing NASM and will also support native code generation for multiple architectures. In an interview published on the Obsethryl's Lab blog, Cosmos developer Scott Balmos explains how the operating system works. "As with all VM-based operating systems, the first step after being handed boot control by the boot loader is a precompiled image—a native blob, if you will. Its purpose is to initialize the platform-specific hardware with sane defaults (e.g. load temporary ISRs, set up memory and other defaults), prepare the JIT compiler for the runtime, and do other native housekeeping tasks," Balmos said. "Afterwards, the rest of the kernel is loaded from its bytecode file, and the JIT compiler starts its job. At this point, the rest of the kernel, through normal bytecode and unsafe pointer memory access, performs the rest of the system initialization, loads device drivers, and gets things going from a userspace standpoint. It's a gross simplification, but the main idea is that, like all other VM OSs, we have a very small native code nanokernel, if you will, which initializes just enough of the system in order to load the kernel proper, which is in platform-independent VM bytecode form." Cosmos running a shell demo in QEMU Cosmos comes with a UserKit, which enables developers to create their own custom Cosmos distributions with specialized behavior. The UserKit can generate QEMU images or bootable ISOs, and there are also instructions that explain how to make a USB boot image. The UserKit will eventually supply what the developers describe as an "operating system Lego set" that will allow programmers to combine various components in order to create custom operating systems. Several demos are available, including a basic shell with Ext2 filesystem support. Although the Cosmos developers say that they have undertaken the project primarily for their own pleasure, they note that there are numerous contexts in which their operating system could have practical value. One might someday be able to use Cosmos to rapidly develop specialized operating systems for embedded devices. Cosmos also provides a rich canvas for operating system design experimentation. For instance, Balmos notes that using a TCP/IP-based remoting protocol between the AppDomains would bring transparent distributed capabilities to Cosmos similar to those of Bell Labs' Plan9 operating system. A Snake game running on SharpOS in QEMU Another prominent C#-based operating system project is SharpOS, which announced its first milestone release early last month. Unlike Cosmos, the SharpOS project doesn't depend on any proprietary tools. The kernel can be compiled using either open-source Mono or Microsoft's .NET. There are several demos on the project's web site, including a playable Snake game implemented under SharpOS. Both projects are distributed under open-source licenses. SharpOS uses the General Public License with the Classpath linking exception, and Cosmos uses the BSD license. Those of you who are interested in the concept of VM-based operating systems might also want to have a look at the JNode project, which seeks to create an open-source operating system written primarily in Java. Although SharpOS and Cosmos are still largely experimental and aren't really intended for use on regular desktop systems, they provide some insight into the kind of innovations that would be made possible if next-generation operating system kernels were designed to use managed code. The theoretical implications of these projects are very intriguing and will likely spur a lot of discussion in the operating system design community. Further reading Expand full story You must to comment.
Today on Blogcritics Home » TV » TV Review: The Walking Dead – “Pretty Much Dead Already” AMC’s The Walking Dead ends its fall run with “Pretty Much Dead Already,” the seventh episode, with six more to begin in mid-February. In this week’s entry, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) confronts Hershel (Scott Wilson) about the Walkers in the barn, whom Hershel thinks of as people. Hershel considers letting the group stay, as Rick begs, if they will respect his opinions on the undead. But before Rick can appeal to his party, Shane (Jon Bernthal) takes matters into his own hands, leading a slaughter of every zombie in Hershel’s barn. The last Walker out (SPOILER ALERT!) is the little girl the whole group has been searching for: Sophia (Madison Lintz). One interesting, nagging question: why do most zombies stay away from Hershel’s farm, and how is he able to protect it without keeping constant watch? How come only a couple of stragglers get stuck in his swamp? Where are the crowds that decimate surrounding lands? Is there more to this mystery, or is it happy coincidence that he is able to keep his family safe? The Walking Dead spends this entire batch of episode searching for Sophia, only to learn she is a zombie in a barn on the property they are staying at the entire time in “Pretty Much Dead Already.” This isn’t exactly a shocker, since comic book readers already know that Walkers are in the structure, and the barn is within the vicinity that Sophia could be in. It might be assumed, even if not confirmed, that Sophia is one of the captives before this episode. Of course, the one person who would have been able to tip off the group as to Sophia’s whereabouts is killed by Shane before he even knows that they are looking for the lost girl, and Daryl (Norman Reedus) discovers enough clues to keep some off balance. But whether Sophia’s sudden appearance in “Pretty Much Dead Already” is a shocker to you or not, there is much impact in the reveal. Hershel is watching the group kill his family, friends, and neighbors, as he still sees them as such, as Shane and the others shoot the Walkers in the head. These people mean nothing to them. But when Sophia emerges, they all stop shooting. Suddenly, both the main characters and the audience are really given a face to the tragedy of the epidemic. Sophia is not the first actress shown before and after turning zombie in the series, but it is done with such raw emotion, that one cannot help but be moved. Of course, she must die, too, and does. But now none can deny understanding Hershel’s stance on the Walkers, even if they don’t agree, Will Hershel kick the group off of his farm now, since they murder his loved ones, or is he finally seeing the Walkers for what they are? This is a debatable point that will not be answered until February. He is still insisting it’s only a sickness in “Pretty Much Dead Already,” which may someday be cured, as the zombies are released. But he gets a first hand look at a hoard of hungry flesh eaters, and it must be very scary. Also, watching Rick take down one of his own has got to mean something, and maybe Hershel will take pity on the travelers, despite what they do. The people who suffer the most over Sophia’s death are Rick, Carol (Melissa McBride), and Daryl. Carol’s grief is obvious, being Sophia’s mother. Rick takes the loss as a father himself, and the leader who cannot protect everyone. But Daryl’s connection is less obvious. He invests a lot of himself into the search for Sophia, and one cannot help but think that Daryl sees finding Sophia as a chance to really be an appreciated member of the group. Often an outsider, rescuing the missing girl would allow everyone to separate him from his also missing, good-for-nothing brother, as Carol begins to. It also gives him a chance to do something good and selfless, something his brother does not approve of. Sophia’s death is a set back for Daryl, and there is no telling how he will respond to it. Shane is going down a very, very dark path in The Walking Dead. He thinks that he can make the tough choices that Rick can’t, and only be being completely logical and ruthless, does anyone stand a chance to survive. He applies this theory when he kills Otis, and continues to bellow it throughout. He is the one who gets the guns and opens up the barn, even when others try to convince him not to. Can he recover from such bad choices? Yet, Rick is the one who must kill Sophia in “Pretty Much Dead Already.” Despite Shane’s insistence that he is a better protector, Rick saves the group from one of their own. Why doesn’t Shane act first? Might his theory falter when confronted with a living person that he cares about? If so, then maybe he isn’t too far gone to be saved. No one will convince Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn) that Shane is salvageable, though. Dale is the one who tries to hide the guns from Shane, and cautions Andrea (Laurie Holden), who shares sex with Shane, not to follow the former cop down his chosen path. Dale tries to act as father and conscience to everyone, but his biggest challenge is Shane. It isn’t likely that Dale is strong enough to help Shane, given the way that Dale backs down in “Pretty Much Dead Already.” But maybe he can help Andrea see the truth, even if she likes the way that Shane makes her feel, not being a victim anymore. Is Lori’s (Sarah Wayne Callies) baby Shane or Rick’s? Does it matter? Can she ever know for sure? In the world of The Walking Dead, a DNA test to determine paternity will be nearly impossible to come by. Lori’s resolve to raise the baby as Rick’s, no matter what the truth is, also determines that Rick will be the dad, whether he is the biological father or not. Maybe someone can use a calculator after the baby is born to give a good guess. But given Lori’s decision to cut Shane out, as well as Rick’s forgiveness towards his wife for sleeping with Shane, given the circumstances, it probably doesn’t matter anyway which genes the baby has. In the midst of all the darkness in “Pretty Much Dead Already,” love finds a way to bloom. Which is kind of a metaphor for the hope that springs in each character in The Walking Dead, no matter their conditions they endure. Of course, the couple referred to is Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Glenn (Steven Yeun). Despite Maggie’s insistence that their relationship only be physical, and her anger at Glenn for telling his friends about the barn, the two manage to forge a bond that seems strong. Especially after Glenn expresses some real care for her. Maggie may love Hershel, but she isn’t above questioning him. If the group is allowed to stay on the farm, Maggie will be a big influence in the decision. And she will be so because of how she feels about Glenn. The Walking Dead will return in February to AMC. Powered by About JeromeWetzelTV • Pedro Each episode has way to little action. Getting bored of it. • Randy I find it interesting that Herschel calls the Walkers in the Barn by name, whilst insisting on referring to Glen as “That Asian Boy”. • Boss Pedro- that means you’re probably a kid or young teenager
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search For other ancient city of the same name see Ptolemais (Cyrenaica). Not to be confused with Ptolemaiida. Aerial view of Ptolemaida Aerial view of Ptolemaida Seal of Ptolemaida Ptolemaida is located in Greece Coordinates 40°31′N 21°41′E / 40.517°N 21.683°E / 40.517; 21.683Coordinates: 40°31′N 21°41′E / 40.517°N 21.683°E / 40.517; 21.683 Country: Greece Administrative region: West Macedonia Regional unit: Kozani Municipality: Eordaia Population statistics (as of 2011)[1] Municipal unit - Population: 37,289 - Area: 217.901 km2 (84 sq mi) - Density: 171 /km2 (443 /sq mi) - Population: 32,142 Postal code: 502 00 Telephone: 24630 Auto: KZ Ptolemaida (Greek: Πτολεμαΐδα, Ptolemaïda, Katharevousa: Πτολεμαΐς, Ptolemaïs) is a town and a former municipality in Kozani regional unit, West Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Eordaia, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit.[2] It is known for its coal (lignite) mines and its power stations. During the Ottoman period, the city was named Kaylar, rendered into English as Kailar;[3] this name was retained in Greek as Kailaria (Καϊλάρια) until 1927. Kailar refers to the Kayı tribe, the tribe of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Empire. The modern name Ptolemaida was introduced by decree on January 20, 1927, honoring Ptolemy son of Lagus, a comrade-in-arms of Alexander the Great, and his daughter Ptolemaïs.[4] His statue stands in the central square of the city. According to archaeologists, the Ptolemaida region has been occupied since 6000 BC.[5] Neolithic times[edit] Prehistoric jewelry found in Ptolemaida Archaeologists, in November 2005, discovered the remains of two farming villages dating back to the Neolithic period. A press report notes that such farming villages were trading centres and had a "developed knowledge of metalworking".[5] A golden necklace dating to roughly 4500 BC was discovered on February 16, 2006.[5] Associated Press reporter Costas Kantouris describes the item as a "flat, roughly ring-shaped [which] probably had religious significance and would have been worn on a necklace by a prominent member of society."[5] Lately in the lake Zazari near Ptolemaida there were found 16 houses that belong in the Neolithic era due to archaaeologists. These houses were in the lake and were exposed because of the decreased water level of the lake. That particular small settlement gives information about the society and the people in the Neolithic era. Ancient period[edit] Ancient Greek ceramic plate from Ptolemaida Ancient Macedonian grave in Ptolemaida In the area of Ptolemaida many archeological findings have occurred in the last 30 years due to mining operations. Ceramic artifacts, dating to the 6th century BC have been found at two sites near Grevena and Ptolemaida. Archaeologists found the artifacts at two prehistoric farming settlements. Two Ancient Macedonian graves have also been found in the area of Ptolemaida, dated from the 5th century BC. Byzantine Period[edit] At various times, Ptolemaida was part of the Latin Empire, the Kingdom of Thessalonica, the Empire of Nicaea, and the Despotate of Epirus.[citation needed] The borders among the Latin Empire, the Empire of Nicaea, the Empire of Trebizond, and the Despotate of Epirus are very uncertain. Ottoman period[edit] During the Ottoman period, Ptolemaida was called Kayılar, and it had two parts: Aşağı Kayılar and Yukarı Kayılar. Aşağı Kayılar was Bektaşi[citation needed] and Yukarı Kayılar was Rufai,[citation needed] Hanefi.[citation needed] Before 1360, large numbers of nomad shepherds, or Yörüks, from the district of Konya, in Asia Minor, had settled in Macedonia; their descendants were known as Konariotes.[citation needed] Further immigration from this region took place from time to time up to the middle of the 18th century. After the establishment of the feudal system in 1397, many of the Seljuk noble families came over from Asia Minor; their descendants may be recognized among the Beys or Muslim landowners in Kayılar.[citation needed] At the beginning of the 18th century, the Turkish population was quite considerable, but since that time it has continuously decreased. A low birth rate, the exhaustion of the male population by military service, and a large mortality from epidemics have brought about a decline which has lately been hastened by emigration. The Turkish rural population around Kayılar was mainly composed of Konariot shepherds.[citation needed] In the late 19th and early 20th century, Ptolemaida was part of the Manastir Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. Ptolemaida was taken by Greek forces on October 15, 1912. The municipal library Ptolemaida's football club is called "Eordaikos" (Greek: Εορδαϊκός). Other teams include AE Ptolemaidas. Ptolemaida has schools, lyceums, gymnasia, churches, banks, a post office, a train station (Kozani - Florina), a police station, a water tower, and squares (plateies). There is the potential of a university being established by the state in the near future. The Anthropological and Folklore Museum is based in the town. Lignite mine of Ptolemaida Ptolemaida is a highly industrialized area. The four power plants in this area produce 70% of Greece's electrical power, using the large local deposits of lignite as fuel. The plants are owned by the Public Power Corporation (DEI), the major employer in the city. The plant was dedicated by the prime minister of Greece at that time, Constantine Karamanlis. The other two are in Amyntaio in Florina regional unit and in Agios Dimitrios. Askio mountain near the city The city, situated in the middle of the Eordaia plain of Western Macedonia, has a humid continental climate. Summers can be hot with thunderstorms in unsettled spells, whereas winters are among the coldest in Greece. It was here that the absolute low temperature record of Greece was recorded (−27.8 °C (−18 °F) on 27 January 1963). The current Municipality of Ptolemaida is constituted by the city of Ptolemaida and 12 small communities which all together cover an extent of 2.179 square kilometres (0.841 sq mi). At the 2001 census, the population of the city was 30,017 residents. The total population of the municipality in 2011 was 45,450 residents. Year Community Municipal unit Municipality 1940 7,719 - - 1951 8,816 - - 1961 12,747 - - 1971 16,588 - - 1981 22,109 - - 1991 25,125 32,775 - 2001 30,017 36,393 - 2011[1] 32,142 37,283 45,450 The city lies in the valley of Eordaia, between the Askio mountains to the southwest and the Vermio mountains to the northeast. It is located north of Kozani, east of Kastoria, south of Florina, and south-west of Edessa. Since the 1960s, GR-3/E65 has bypassed it to the east. It is the seat of the province of Eordia. Florina Filotas - Amyntaio Edessa Kastoria Brosen windrose.svg Veroia - Naousa Neapoli - Siatista & Grevena Kozani Velventos - Servia Ethnic groups[edit] A substantial proportion of Ptolemaida's residents are Pontic Greek from Sourmene or Sürmene, Turkey[citation needed] or their descendants. These were refugees from Asia Minor who first arrived in Macedonia during the 1920s as a result of the population exchange according to the Treaty of Lausanne. The original inhabitants of the neighbouring villages were of Slavic extraction who had settled the area in the 6th century[citation needed]. Famous people[edit] Friendship towns[edit] See also[edit] 1. ^ a b "Detailed census results 2011" (xls 2,7 MB). National Statistical Service of Greece. (Greek) 2. ^ Kallikratis law Greece Ministry of Interior (Greek) 3. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1911) 4. ^ "Ptolemaida Web Portal" (in Greek). Retrieved 2008-01-10. 5. ^ a b c d Kantouris, Costas (February 16, 2006). "Greek Hiker Finds 6,500-Year-Old Pendant". AP. External links[edit]
What is meta? × A minor gripe with the Interesting Tags display and advertising, specifically on Stack Overflow but probably more generally applicable - sometimes there is a good-sized panel ad in the top right panel, above the interesting tags list, and sometimes there isn't (when not, it might be below the list). This is when I'm logged in, so it isn't the anonymous/repped user ad level discrepancy. The result of this is that the Interesting Tags is not in the same location at all times, so grabbing one of my tags is a bit awkward (I have to hunt for the tag list). OTOH, I understand that the top of the right sidebar is prime ad space. If the wizards who work on the SO software could somehow invent a solution that keeps the tags in a consistent place without sacrificing advertising needs, I think the resulting UI would be easier to use. Any great suggestions for how this can be done? share\|improve this question More of a workaround than a solution, but if you're willing to take one more click, using the logo to reach the front page will always have your interesting tags consistently on the top of the right bar, above the advertisement. – Grace Note May 28 '10 at 13:02 1 Answer 1 It's been annoying me for a while that I have to scroll down to find the Interesting Tags. Personally, I'm all for this. The problem comes from when you are used to browse tag by tag. I would click on python, for example. When I'm done, I want to click on opengl, but the list of my interesting tags is cluttered by the "Related Tags" section. share\|improve this answer You must log in to answer this question. Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .
Meta Battle Subway PokeBase - Pokemon Q&A User MFookie Member for: 1 year (since Jun 30, 2013) Type: Registered user Extra privileges: Voting on questions Voting on answers Flagging posts Posting on user walls Gender: I'm a Dude. Yah. Country: AMURICAH!!! Favorite Pokémon: Munchlax Friend Codes: No. About me: I'm sorta popular on this game on the Playstation 3. It's called LittleBigPlanet2... I've never exactly did well in a VGC tournament, but I'm always close to the top 8 every time. In the Long Beach Regionals, I placed 9th. There's always room for improvement! :) Activity by MFookie Score: 60 points (ranked #1,037) Questions: 9 (5 with best answer chosen) Answers: 6 Comments: 18 Voted on: 0 questions, 1 answer Gave out: 1 up vote, 0 down votes Received: 4 up votes, 1 down vote Wall for MFookie Please log in or register to post on this wall.
Take the 2-minute tour × Is there a keyboard combination I can use to signal to the Windows Console that Standard Input has finished? I'm trying to use a command line app that can accept input from the stdin which may be just typing at the console but when I type at the console I can't work out how to tell the app that I've finished my input so it actually then processes it. I assume there's some key combination for this? (which may be app specific?) share\|improve this question 1 Answer 1 up vote 3 down vote accepted <Control>+<Z> followed by <Enter> ends input. share\|improve this answer Your Answer
201 reputation bio website location Orlando, FL age 33 visits member for 3 years seen Dec 1 at 19:34 I've been around computers since the Commodore 64 was still being sold. I've played around with ms-dos, windows 3.1,95,98,xp,visa,7,and 8 Windows 7 is my OS of choice I do own a Mac and it's got Mac OS Lion on it, but I usually only use it when I'm working on iPhone app development. I've played around with some flavors of Linux but still mostly a novice at it in general.
James Bradley James Bradley, detail of an oil painting after Thomas Hudson, c. 1742-47; in the National Portrait Gallery, LondonCourtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London James Bradley, (born March 1693, Sherborne, Gloucestershire, Eng.—died July 13, 1762, Chalford, Gloucestershire), English astronomer who in 1728 announced his discovery of the aberration of starlight, an apparent slight change in the positions of stars caused by the yearly motion of the Earth. That finding provided the first direct evidence for the revolution of the Earth around the Sun. Bradley was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, where he received the B.A. in 1714 and the M.A. in 1717. He was instructed in observational astronomy at Wanstead, Essex, by his uncle, the Rev. James Pound, clergyman and skilled amateur astronomer, who introduced him to the famous astronomer Edmond Halley. Bradley’s scientific acumen was stimulated by his membership in the Royal Society, to which he was elected a fellow in 1718 on the recommendation of Halley. Bradley took church orders and became vicar of Bridstow in 1719. The income from that position was augmented by a sinecure as an absentee rector in a parish in Pembrokeshire, Wales, which was procured for him by his friend and astronomical collaborator, Samuel Molyneux. Bradley resigned his church offices when he was appointed in 1721 to the Savilian chair of astronomy at Oxford and thenceforth devoted his full time to astronomy. After the publication of De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri VI (“Six Books Concerning the Revolutions of the Heavenly Orbs”) by Copernicus in 1543, it became increasingly imperative for astronomers to be able to observe and measure the parallactic displacement of a star—the change in a star’s position over a six-month period—to confirm the orbital motion of the Earth around the Sun. Such information would provide the empirical evidence needed to augment the mathematical and conceptual arguments thitherto advanced for the idea that the Sun does not revolve around the Earth. In the absence of such evidence for parallax, Tycho Brahe, the 16th-century astronomer, had not been favourably disposed to Copernican theory. Ole Rømer, a Danish astronomer, measured an apparent displacement of the stars Sirius and Vega in the 17th century, but his observations were found to be erroneous. Robert Hooke, one of the founding members of the Royal Society, measured the star Gamma Draconis in a series of observations in 1669 for a similar attempt but was forced to report failure. In 1725, using Molyneux’s house as an observatory, Bradley attempted to repeat Hooke’s measurements on Gamma Draconis with a telescope aimed so as to avoid any error resulting from the refraction of light. Although he failed to detect parallax because the star was too far away, Bradley made one of the two discoveries for which he is famous. He observed that Gamma Draconis shifted south in position by an astonishing 1″ of arc in three days—the wrong direction and by too large an amount to be accounted for by parallax. It is said that the explanation for this phenomenon came to Bradley as he sailed on the Thames, observing how the wind vane on the mast shifted position with the varying motion of the boat, even though the wind had not changed direction. He concluded that the apparent stellar shift was brought about by the aberration of light, which was a result of the finite speed of light and the forward motion of the Earth in its orbit. Bradley communicated this discovery to the Royal Society in 1728, shortly after the death of Molyneux. On the basis of his quantitative observations of aberration, Bradley confirmed the velocity of light to be 295,000 kilometres (183,000 miles) per second and gave a proof for the Copernican theory. Bradley’s star measurements in 1727–32 also revealed what he called the “annual change of declination in some of the fixed stars,” which could not be accounted for by aberration. He concluded that this was caused by the slight and uneven nodding motion of the Earth’s axis (nutation) that resulted from the changing direction of the gravitational pull of the Moon. But he withheld this announcement until he had made careful confirmatory observations during one complete set of revolutions of the Moon in its orbit. For this achievement the Royal Society of London awarded him the Copley Medal in 1748. Members of the Royal Society in their function as “visitors and directors” of the Royal Greenwich Observatory recommended Bradley in 1742 to succeed Halley in the post of astronomer royal. (Halley, the second astronomer royal, had followed John Flamsteed.) Bradley received £250 a year and the then sizable grant of £1,000 for instruments, notably an 8-foot (2.4-metre) quadrant for more precise measurements. In 1744 he married Susannah Peach, by whom he had one daughter. He held his important scientific, administrative, and consultative position at Greenwich until his death. The bulk of Bradley’s observations was published after his death in an atmosphere of acrimony. Dispute between his heirs and the British Admiralty over the ownership of his work delayed publication until 1798–1805. The German mathematician Friedrich Bessel analyzed and organized his data, correcting for the small errors in Bradley’s instruments, and then computing star positions. Bradley was one of the first post-Newtonian observational astronomers who led the quest for precision.
12th Aug 2004, 14:06 I have a 1997 Plymouth Neon that I purchased used from an auction. I was desperate for a car after my Tempo was totaled in an accident. I only wish that peeling paint was my biggest problem. My main concern is the fact that it starts when it want to. I have had two starters put on it in less than a week because the mechanics though that was the problem. I'm afraid to stop at the store on the way home from work because it may not start again. Come to think of it, that's already happened. I stopped at a clothing store to get my sister a birthday gift. I was there for about an hour or less. I went back to my car and it would not start. It took about an hour and several attempts to get it to finally start. The car leaks oil and transmission fluid and the air conditioner uses up freon like its water. I have paid more in repairs than what the car cost. I pray that I can keep it long enough to save up for a new car. 28th Aug 2004, 17:59 I have a 98 Dodge Neon and man have I had so many problems with it. 6 months after I purchased the car my head gasket blew at only 30,000 miles. I have an old leak in my manifold gasket, the bolt also broke in half. The oxygen, map, and all other sensors are always going bad for some strange reason. The air went out. I have to put motor oil in my car every 3 days because it leaks out. No matter how many times you align the wheels they still mess up. I just spent $1200 in repairs and my problems still aren't exactly fixed. The car just shakes and jerks when I stop at a light. I really do hate the fact that I bought a Neon. Oh and to make matters worse I was washing my car today and when I finished I noticed that the paint on my bumper has started peeling off. And to make matters worse I still have one year left of paying on my car. Neons are known for head gaskets that blow early and paint chipping off. So I wonder why dodge isn't repairing these things for free? 1st Sep 2004, 14:25 I owe a 1996 Dodge Neon Expresso and must admit that I have been very blessed not to have had many of the problems that I have read about in these reviews. However, my sister has a 1995 neon and as I read the reviews, I am reminded of how many problems she has had with her vehicle. Not only has her paint peeled, and water gets trapped in her back lights, she has also had to replace two transmissions. The neon might start off as an affordable car, but with all the repairs, you wind up spending what you probably thought you couldn't afford on a more expensive car. I also believe that Dodge should take some kind of responsibility for its cars defects. 5th Sep 2004, 12:20 I too own a 1996 neon that I purchased used. At the time of purchase the car only had 71,000 miles on it, this should have been a clue to me. By 71,500 I was already in the whole $800 for a head gasket. The paint is peeling, the drivers side window will block the door from closing, my interior light aggravated me so much I just took the bulb out of it, the brakes squeal like mad and my back up lights keep going out. My latest problem however, still less than 74,000 miles, is my car keeps bubbling when I shut it off and the mechanic that fixed the head gasket says its normal... can someone help me out because now I have to take it back to the shop because all my antifreeze has leaked out through the overflow tank. 19th Feb 2005, 21:16 Well guess what "people" ya'all aren't the only ones that has been a victim of the Neon. I to have a 1996 the head gasket is out, mine happens to be red, well, spotted red! the paint is literally peeling off. My speedometer reads 0 when I know I'm going at least the speed limit of 70 mph. Let me tell ya, I honestly feel some what relieved that other people also have a nasty smell coming from "who knows where"?! I thought it was me! imagine my relief! :) Stopping is an ordeal also the noisy brakes, (put it this way) I'm noticed! I'am a single mother of 3 children and I can't afford this, when I bought it I figured that it would be a nice economical dependable car, something to get the kids to school, and to and from work well needless to say I was wrong!!!i don't know what to do : ( 10th Mar 2005, 05:31 I purchased a new 1996 dodge espresso neon, I've had problem every since the first year of the purchase. when I had the car service for oil leaks I was told the oil pan had a hole in it. now in 2005 I to have to put oil in at lease twice a weak and experience overheating problems. but I thank God it has taken me this far. 27th Jun 2005, 17:37 Well at least my speedometer works. I have a 1996 Neon with a leaky trunk and back lights, and an interior light with a mind of its own. My car in now less than 50% white, the remainder a mix of bare metal and rust. Didn't blow a head gasket yet, but my full tank of gas wound up in the storm drain due to the usual neon fuel leak by the fuel filter. 12th Aug 2005, 20:42 The 1996 Dodge Neon 4 door sedan was my first car. I have had many problems that others have, but mine was a rebuilt total loss. I had no speedometer and didn't track mileage for almost 6 months. It was on and off, which I later found out WAS a factory defect and was a problem for the previous owner as well. I finally fused the wires together. My front speakers are blown, and I've had 2 starters put in. It starts with a full tank, but starts going crazy at about a half a tank of gas. I get good mileage though, which is important. It drives well once it starts and has high mileage, so considering all the components it's been a pretty good car for 500 bucks. 25th Jun 2006, 10:44 Hello Everyone, I to own a 1996 Neon. It's too bad you all have had such problems. I love my Neon! It has 55,000 original miles and have never had any problems until the summer before last. The air conditioning no longer gets cold and this is a real problem in this 100+ degree California weather. Re-charging the system corrects the problem for the summer, but needs charging by the next summer. Are the Neon's known for leaky air conditioning systems? I'd like to find out because it's such a great little car. 25th Jul 2006, 11:43 I just bought a 98 Dodge Neon because I was desperate for a car and I only had $1000 for a down payment. I just got an oil change and found out that its leaking, but I don't' know where from I don't know much about cars at all. My brakes squeal like crazy when I'm backing up I only have 6 months left to pay this car off. How much does it usually cost to fix an oil leak? I don't' have much money to spend my rent is $900 a month and I go to school at a private college which is very expensive. is it possible for me to wait a month or so to fix the oil leak? It drives fine. I had an oil leak in my 97 Mercury Tracer and it drove like crap, it was always stall and would pull to the right very much.
Gingrich pledges $2.50 gas, Obama: 'it's easy to make phony promises' • close President Barack Obama waves from Air Force One upon arrival at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. on Friday, Feb. 24. View Caption Obama sought to deflect growing Republican attacks over rising prices at the pump, blaming recent increases on a mix of factors beyond his control, including tensions with Iran, hot demand from ChinaIndia and other emerging economies, and Wall Street speculators taking advantage of the uncertainty. Recommended: World's cheapest gas: Top 10 countries In a visit to the University of Miami less than nine months before the presidential election in which he will seek a second term, Obama offered a modest series of proposals aimed at diversifying fuel supplies and increasing energy efficiency. Obama's speech was part of a broader White House strategy to try to regain the upper hand in the debate and deflect blame, but the president's arguments may fall on deaf ears if gas prices continue to rise and cause financial pain for voters. Republicans have made rising gas prices one of their main attack lines against Obama, sensing an electoral vulnerability for the president. His re-election prospects depend in part on his ability to keep a fragile economic recovery afloat and to continue reducing high unemployment. Republicans seeking to dislodge Obama from the White House are seeking to pin the higher prices on the president's tax and environmental policies they say have hindered domestic production and kept the United States at the mercy of imports. They cite his decision to block the Keystone pipeline that would transport Canadian oil to refineries in Texas as proof he is beholden to environmentalists . The Obama administration has delayed a final decision on Keystone until after the election, saying the proposed route could pose a danger to water supply in the nation's breadbasket. Obama needs to win the war of words to gain an upper hand over Republicans in Western battleground states including Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico, where people drive a lot and feel the sting of rising prices acutely. Gasoline prices have climbed alongside crude futures, the major component in determining the price of gasoline, due to concerns about a potential disruption of supplies from Iran, which is locked in a standoff with the West overTehran's disputed nuclear program. U.S. crude prices have jumped 9 percent this year, nearing $108 a barrel on Thursday, the highest level since May, 2011. As gasoline prices become an increasingly important election issue, Republicans are scrambling to prove they can offer relief. On Wednesday, Republican candidate Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, promised gasoline prices of $2.50 a gallon if he won the White House. While Obama said he had asked officials to look for opportunities to help consumers in the short term - in areas such as permitting and delivery bottlenecks - he repeated there would be no "silver bullet" for America's energy crunch, and said real change would come only in the long run. The trio of proposals announced in Miami included a $30 million competition in natural gas technologies and a $14 million program to development algae-based fuel. Obama highlighted steps already taken to expand domestic production and improve fuel efficiency. He also repeated calls to roll back tax incentives for the oil industry and urged renewal of a clean energy tax credit in Congress, where lawmakers are deeply divided and little legislative action is expected this year. His remarks were met with disdain from top Republicans. "Facing an election, the President would like everyone to forget that gas prices have doubled over the past three years while he consistently blocked and slowed the production of American-made energy," said Brendan Buck, a spokesman for John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives. While Republicans blame high oil prices on actions such as Obama's Keystone pipeline decision, an oil boom led by North Dakota is expected to push U.S. crude output this year to its highest level since 1999. Lawmakers from Obama's own party are asking him to take steps to ease the price pressure in the short term. Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday urged the White House to signal it is ready to tap the country's strategic petroleum reserve, which contains about 696 million barrels of oil. Obama made no mention of taking that step in his speech. Share this story: Make a Difference Follow Stories Like This Get the Monitor stories you care about delivered to your inbox.
IMAGINE that, shortly after his defeat by the tortoise, the hare had demanded a re-run on selected parts of the course. The tortoise protested, and the umpire, coincidentally another tortoise, backed him. The hare appealed to a court, coincidentally composed of seven hares, who let him rerun those bits. Now, groundsmen on one of the sections of the course are saying they cannot arrange a re-match after all, the tortoises on the local council are threatening to reject anything that might give the race to the hare, and both sides have hired the best alligators money can buy. That is roughly the state of America's election. On November 22nd, officials of Miami-Dade County suspended their manual recount amid scenes of intimidation in the county government building. In doing so, they turned the race upside down for the umpteenth time; they have put in doubt the practicality—even the sense—of a ruling made by Florida's Supreme Court only the day before; and they have even called into question the notion that, whereas other countries may burn tyres in the streets, America at least conducts its electoral process according to the rules of law. As if all this were not enough, Dick Cheney, George W. Bush's running mate, was hospitalised for an angioplasty on the same day. With lawsuits multiplying like crazy and mutual accusations of stealing the election spiralling out of control, almost any result now looks as if it will be a Pyrrhic victory. On the night of Tuesday November 21st, that victory seemed likely to go to Al Gore. By ruling that Florida's secretary of state, Katherine Harris, must include the results of manual recounts then underway in three Democratic-majority counties, the state's Supreme Court agreed with the Gore campaign that Florida law issues contradictory instructions about how to handle election disputes. The court then sent instructions of its own on resolving them—which promptly went awry. Florida law states both that voting results must be certified within a week and that manual recounts may also be considered. The law says nothing about what happens if those recounts take more time. In resolving that ambiguity, the court followed its own precedent by saying “the Florida election code must be construed as a whole” (ie, you must not take just one bit of it); and that “the will of the people, not a hypertechnical reliance upon statutory provision, should be our guiding principle” in construing what the code means. Applying those principles, the court ruled that Mrs Harris could reject late returns in only two circumstances—if it was too late to give time to contest the outcome after certification or if they jeopardised Florida's chances of having its votes included in the electoral college. Since neither of these applied when she tried to certify the results on November 14th, the court set that certification aside and imposed a new deadline for late returns: Sunday, November 26th. This, the court reasoned, would allow all votes to be recounted and still leave time for challenges to be cleared up before December 12th, when Florida's votes have to be included in the electoral college. But this new timetable proved too tight for the biggest of the counties involved, Miami-Dade. Before the court's ruling, the local canvassing board had said it could not get the job finished before December 1st, even if it increased the number of vote counters. When the court then cut the timetable in half, the canvassing board decided it could meet the new deadline only by counting just disputed ballots, all 10,750 of them. The board began the recount by preparing to separate out the ballots in question. This required running all the ballot papers through the counting machines again, and setting aside the rejects. That was when the upheavals began. The process took place not in the main counting room, which is full of observers, but in a small room one floor above, without space for cameras. Observing the goings-on through the glass walls was a group of young Republicans, whom mysteriously no one involved in the recount had seen before. They said they had spotted a Democratic observer in the room stuffing a ballot paper in his pocket. This later turned out to be a specimen ballot of the kind distributed to observers and the media, and which he had asked for officially. But the damage had been done. The scene quickly turned ugly, with Republicans banging on the walls and chasing the hapless Democrat out of the building. The intimidation made it impossible to separate out the suspect ballots. Even if it had not, the canvassing board thought it might not finish the recount in time anyway. The upshot was that Miami suspended its manual count, and said it would stick with its original results, made on November 8th. Mr Gore's lawyers filed an emergency appeal to reverse the board's decision (which seemed to make a mockery of the ruling by their state's Supreme Court). The political question now is where this leaves the search for votes. Without help from Miami, Mr Gore's task will be tougher. But the Florida Supreme Court's ruling was still a victory for him, because the other two counties are also Democratic strongholds. If their recounts are finished by the deadline, Mrs Harris must certify them. If they then show enough additional Gore votes to overturn Mr Bush's lead, she must give Florida's 25 electoral votes to Mr Gore—and with it the presidency. But will they? It seemed unlikely in the days before the Supreme Court's ruling, even if you included Miami. When the postal votes from Florida residents overseas were tallied up, Mr Bush had done better than expected, winning them by about two to one. That stretched his lead from 300 to 930—tiny enough by most measures (the turnout in Florida was over 6m) but larger than Democrats had thought likely and, more to the point, larger than they thought could be overcome by their manual recounts. With about a fifth of the precincts in Palm Beach recounted, the vice-president had picked up the princely total of two extra votes—and this in the county where the Gore campaign had invested most hopes. At the same time, a number of overseas military ballots had been excluded because they lacked a postmark (the exact number depends on whom you talk to: Republicans say around 1,000; Democrats say 200). Either way, they would presumably go largely to Mr Bush. On this basis, many people concluded that Mr Gore could not catch up. And that was before Miami stopped recounting. But it may be premature to write off Mr Gore. As The Economist went to press, the two remaining counties had produced an additional 139 votes for him, with around three-quarters of the precincts in Palm Beach still to be tallied. Back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest they could generate an extra 400-500 Gore votes. This could cut Mr Bush's lead to just 200—or perhaps 700 if you add in a reasonable guess for the overseas ballots. But all these totals exclude so-called “dimpled” or “pregnant” chads (these are the same thing: it depends which side of the ballot paper you are staring at). So far, most of them—2,000 in Broward County, 10,000 in Palm Beach—have simply been set aside, their fate to be determined when the rest of the recounting is over and when the local canvassing boards have decided on the standards for counting them. After much to-ing and fro-ing, including a court hearing in Palm Beach, they have now done so. Broward County will count dimpled chads and flaps of confetti attached by three corners. Palm Beach will do the same provided that there is some other indication of an intention to vote (such as evidence from other votes on the ballot paper). Indentation and intention are both in the eye of the beholder. The counties have settled on relatively “permissive” counting of dimples. It is hard to know what effect this will have. But in Palm Beach, an exploratory count of 1% of the vote last week produced 19 additional Gore votes. If that were repeated throughout, Palm Beach alone might produce enough votes to offset the current Bush margin, plus likely gains from disputed military ballots. In other words, the counting standards adopted still make a Gore victory possible. But it would be a narrow one. And it would depend entirely on those dimples. That possibility gives additional sharpness to the Republican belief that Mr Gore is trying to steal the election. To fight back, the Republicans have three options. They are using two already and might yet be forced to try the third, the most dangerous of all. First, they are using a sort of scorched-earth policy of retreating through the thickets of chads to prevent Democratic rule-bending and to delay the recounts long enough that they cannot be completed by the new deadline. The intimidation in Miami-Dade was a version of this policy, and it worked. Something less violent is happening in Broward County, where every one of the additional votes picked up by Mr Gore (and approved unanimously by the Democratic canvassing board) has been challenged by Republican observers. Even if this fails to slow the count, it could help legal challenges after the recounts have been certified. Second, Mr Bush is challenging not merely the validity of particular votes but the legality of the whole recounting process. The day after Florida's Supreme Court ruling, he sent two appeals to the United States Supreme Court, the court of last resort. The first appeal argues that in requiring the secretary of state to accept late returns, Florida's Supreme Court breached the principle of the separation of powers by trespassing into areas properly belonging to the legislature (for example, when it set deadlines for accepting votes). The second claims that by permitting recounts to go ahead in just a few counties, the Florida court was treating some voters differently from others. That, Mr Bush claims, violated the first and 14th amendments, which provide for equal protection under the law. On top of that, Mr Bush has a separate case before a lower federal court, the 11th circuit court of appeals in Atlanta, making some of the same points. This court rejected Mr Bush's arguments last week but said he could resubmit his case. This too, could end up before the land's highest court. It could go to the Senate The US Supreme Court does not have to take up any of these maters, and the legal precedents suggest it may be reluctant to do so this time. In general, the court has preferred not to involve itself in election disputes, because they are governed by state, not federal law. Where broader constitutional concerns are at stake, federal courts have usually ruled that state courts are sufficient to protect federal interests (that is what the Atlanta court said). Moreover, Florida's justices have given themselves a measure of protection from charges of unfairly prejudicing voters in selected counties by inquiring, as they put it in a footnote, “as to whether the presidential candidates were interested in our consideration of a reopening of the opportunity to request recounts in any additional counties. Neither candidate requested such an opportunity.” Translation: Mr Bush, you only have yourself to blame. But if the case fails to be heard by the US Supreme Court—or if the court rules against Mr Bush—he still has one more option. This is the political equivalent of pressing the red button. Under federal law and Florida law, if the state's 25 electoral-college votes have not been chosen in the ordinary way, or if there is a dispute over them, the state legislature has the power to step in and appoint its own slate of electors. James Baker, the former secretary of state in charge of Mr Bush's legal team in Florida, raised this possibility after the state Supreme Court's ruling. The Republican leaders of both houses of Florida's state legislature have suggested that they might convene a special session to discuss the electoral crisis, and the state senate has been taking legal advice about the constitutional implications of appointing the electors. These are dynamite. Quite apart from the anti-democratic implications of having the legislature usurp the role of the voters, and setting aside the embarrassing fact that Mr Bush's own brother would get embroiled in the process as governor, if the legislature really were to appoint its own electors, then the chances are that a Gore slate might also emerge from the electoral nastiness. Two Florida delegations would then be competing for a place in the electoral college and it would be up to Congress in Washington to choose between them. As Senator John Breaux of Louisiana said, that would make impeachment look like a piece of cake. Republicans have a narrow majority in the House of Representatives. But the Senate will end up tied if a Democrat win in Washington state survives a recount. If so, the vice-president would have the tie-breaking vote, and since no new president would have been chosen, the vote would be wielded by none other than Mr Gore himself (with Joe Lieberman voting in his role of senator from Connecticut). The implications for the legitimacy of the next president hardly bear thinking about. Yet it is this possibility that Tom DeLay, the Republicans' combative chief whip, was contemplating when he sent a memo to members of Congress outlining ways in which they could challenge a Gore slate of electors from Florida. Running out of options That is the brink towards which American politics is now drawing. It is not there yet and, with luck, never will be. Democrats are anxious about Mr Gore's tactics as it is; they would surely not stomach a legitimacy fight in Congress. The Republicans might not either, though they are so angry with Mr Gore that they seem prepared to encourage most other legal challenges. But up to that point, further disputes may be unavoidable. Neither Mr Bush nor Mr Gore is able to pull so far ahead that the other is likely to give up the opportunity of one more legal challenge that might make all the difference. Indeed, the only clean result now possible seems to be for Mr Bush to come out ahead after all the votes have been recounted. With the Democrats having had their day in court, the Texas governor could then claim victory and, Miami aside, Mr Gore might find it hard to argue that votes had been excluded improperly. The “permissive” standard for counting ballots in Palm Beach makes this “soft landing” little more than an even chance. In short, the wrangling is likely to go on, beyond the patience of some members of their own parties and far past the quickly-waning tolerance of American voters. This Thanksgiving Day weekend, they have little to thank their politicians for. Aesop would not doubt have a moral ready.
To want to my daughter to not be constantly doing gymnastics -light hearted (21 Posts) GraduallyGoingInsane Fri 03-May-13 21:12:52 I have gymnastic and ballet going DDs...4 of them! I bought a trampoline to keep them outside but they still crash about wherever we are! Supermarkets are a favourite spot, as are any patio area and the school playing fields (fine, but for the fact that they wear skirts! DD2 showed me a photo of her mid flick, which I had to say 'that's lovely darling, but the way down probably wasn't very flattering in your school skirt) Mine do Allstar cheer too (much like acro, aka BGT's Spellbound, no Pom Pom shaking in sight). The 'cool' thing is to throw stunts everywhere they go. I'm just waiting the call from A&E when one of them hits concrete after stunting 8ft in the air in a carpark. Give me strength. Oh, and eldest is 16. They don't grow out of it. loopyluna Fri 03-May-13 21:07:00 AND, when one of my gymnasts broke her arm doing a handspring, she spent 2 months in a cast... watching gymnastics clips on youtube! Gaaah! loopyluna Fri 03-May-13 21:05:06 Gymnastics is an addiction. My DDs made handprints rather than footprints in the snow this winter, walking up and down the garden on their hands! If she's already got the bug, be warned, it will get worse grin boxershorts Fri 03-May-13 13:57:02 Please hope she does not get too obsessed with gymnastics. Obsession is a dark tunnel. Even if it may win races. Fyouimfabulous Fri 03-May-13 13:52:52 Dancing and gymnastic daughters here too! Have to remind them gymnastics is only on the grass and even then stop them with more dangerous stuff that belongs on the sprung floor at the gym! They also just recently did their annual dance exams and for two months, all we saw wherever we were was them both practising "shuffle, ball, change, tap step, ball, change" over and over and over again!!! Thankfully it don't now and they're in dance show practice mode! ReallyTired Fri 03-May-13 13:38:11 This thread gives me an idea of what I am in for in a few years time. Dd only does 1 hour a week of gym class. I can't imagine that me as a parent would have the dedication to take her to nine hours fo gym. BackforGood I naively thought that a gym class would give her an outlet for her bouncing around. Infact it has made it worse as she is desperate to show Nikki that she can do a head stand. I am relieved that dd can't read this thread or meet your children otherwise it would give her ideas grin I am 26 and still sometimes do pirouettes and jetes in supermarkets..... Only if it is an empty aisle, but people have this annoying habit of entering the aisle when you're in mid air. Mind you, my mum is 68 and she still slides down the aisle on the trolley! musicposy Fri 03-May-13 00:37:26 Certainly for ballet, and I imagine this is true for gym, out in public unfortunately provides a nice big space for practice compared to home. Hence the supermarket attraction. Backflips down the aisles would be fun to watch, mind you! MacaYoniAndCheese Fri 03-May-13 00:33:13 My daughter does 9 hours a week (officially) and spends most of her time at home upside down; I have been kicked in the head many times angry. We now have a new house rule, 'no gymnasticking (sic) on the furniture'. We got a trampoline instead and now she stays out until dark doing layovers, or whatever they're called... musicposy Fri 03-May-13 00:32:25 Haha, I'm another one whose children pirouette in the supermarket - and they are teens, and old enough to know better! The ballet moves just get more dangerous to other shoppers. I'm constantly telling them to stand still. It will get worse grin Startail Fri 03-May-13 00:25:09 Help, I thought cartwheels in the garden, house and trampoline were bad enough. I do not want them in the supermarket. NotSuchASmugMarriedNow Fri 03-May-13 00:22:51 lovely thread LadyLech Fri 03-May-13 00:09:34 I'm with the pposter after a while, you stop noticing. My daughter is 9 and trains 18 hours a week. She has zero ability to walk anywhere, but I can reliably inform you that it is 140 cartwheels from the car park to the gym door. I think the most annoying thing is that she doesn't even know she does it. We'll be in the supermarket, and she'll just do a front walkover down the aisle. I'll tell her off and she doesn't even know what she's done. That said, half the time I don't notice anymore and when someone comments about her cartwheeling or doing walk overs down the street I sometimes wonder what they're on about. Gymnastics takes over your life so much, that I think you lose sight of what normality is sometimes! BackforGood Fri 03-May-13 00:01:30 My dd doesn't go to gymnastics, but she boings and bounces and forward rolls all around the place too - I think it's the ants in their pants rather than the fact they go to gym. indeed, by learning how to land safely, roll safely, etc., it might potentially make her safer - think of it that way grin Preferthedogtothekids Thu 02-May-13 23:44:24 My daughter was the same when she was a young gymnast. She's too tall to do a handstand in the lounge now. If your daughter goes on to she promise in the sport she'll end up doing so many hours in a gymnastics club that she'll be desperate to do other stuff at home! WinterWinds Thu 02-May-13 23:41:43 DS2 (14) went through a stage like this about a year ago. He has a very keen interest in base jumping, I couldn't take him anywhere without him launching himself over walls/benches/bike racks/bins or swinging from a lamp post. Trying to walk through the town centre was a friggin nightmare as he'd just take off! He's calmed down somewhat but still gets ant's in his pants every now and again. bellybuttonfairy Thu 02-May-13 21:38:10 My DD1 was like this, she's now 6 and does 9 hours of gym training a week and does backflips off the sofa. She doesnt walk anywhere, just cartwheels down the street. I dont seem to notice anymore... specialsubject Thu 02-May-13 20:49:01 house rules - no gymnastics except on a patch of grass. Don't let her start dancing or swimming then, my DD does all 3 (trying to tire the little sod out so she finally sleeps!) and loves to show off her 'skills'. She told a woman off in the supermarket this week for having 'naughty feet' - feet together instead of in a ballet stance. she also swims in the bath and tries to cartwheel down the street. Salmotrutta Thu 02-May-13 20:43:11 But she might be the next Beth Tweddle... grin ReallyTired Thu 02-May-13 20:41:55 dd has been going to a pre school gym class for a year and loves it. The only frustrating thing is that she constantly wants to do forward rolls, hand stands and nearly hurt herself by doing a cartwheel in the lounge. She is a liablity to herself at the moment. Am I unreasonable to ask dd to some colouring or play with lego instead of practicing head stands. Join the discussion Join the discussion Register now
Newletters and Alerts Buy now from Random House • Cooking for Harry • Written by Kay-Marie James • Format: Trade Paperback \| ISBN: 9780345453716 • Our Price: $12.95 • Quantity: See more online stores - Cooking for Harry Buy now from Random House • Cooking for Harry • Written by Kay-Marie James • Format: eBook \| ISBN: 9781400080731 • Our Price: $9.99 • Quantity: See more online stores - Cooking for Harry Cooking for Harry Select a Format: • Book • eBook A Novel Written by Kay-Marie JamesAuthor Alerts: Random House will alert you to new works by Kay-Marie James List Price: $9.99 On Sale: February 17, 2004 Pages: 208 \| ISBN: 978-1-4000-8073-1 Published by : Ballantine Books Ballantine Group Cooking for Harry Cover Share & Shelve: • Add This - Cooking for Harry • Email this page - Cooking for Harry • Print this page - Cooking for Harry This book has no tags. You can add some at Library Thing. Harry became a fabulous cook. It began with a simple indulgence: secret bowls of buttery popcorn that he and his wife, Francie, would share after the children were tucked into bed. The aroma of melting butter, the hot kernels on their tongues, the salt crystals sticking to their lips—it was their own private romantic feast, imbuing their marriage with a new kind of passion. Soon, Harry began to dazzle Francie with luscious bisques and brioches, delectable soufflés, rich risottos, and classic versions of coq au vin that left her breathless. Their family life came to revolve around the dinner table, where each night Harry’s cooking brought Francie and their four children together for an awe-inspiring and mouthwatering meal. But inevitably the years slip by, and when all but one child has left the house, Harry wins a digital scale in his company’s Holiday Raffle and their happy bubble bursts in a single instant. Harry’s cooking has finally caught up with him. His doctor confirms it: He desperately needs to lose weight. From the Hardcover edition. I did not attend Harry's company's annual Holiday Raffle. Spouses and partners were never invited. Harry's company believed that restricting company-sanctioned gatherings to employees encouraged collegial bonding. This always seemed to me like a euphemism for extramarital affairs, though Harry assured me it wasn't. "It's just dot-com nonsense, Francie," he said, pulling on his coat and patting the pockets for his keys. "Some business psychologist told them to do it, so they do." He stood by the door, shifting from foot to foot, jingling his change. He always got nervous before he had to go to a party. "Too many adults walking around unattended," was how he explained it. But everybody in the company had to participate in the Holiday Raffle. You had to sign in with the office manager to prove that you'd been there. Harry's company was so uptight I wasn't even allowed so say what it was he did, other than "computers." There was more and more talk of the company stock going public, but I wasn't supposed to say that, either. The company was an Internet spin-off of the staid and stodgy company where Harry had worked for nearly twenty years. At forty-three, he'd been the oldest employee to make the leap. Now, at forty-seven, he was the one the twenty-something dot-cowboys were referring to when they whispered, "It wouldn't hurt to have some white hair in on the deal." Enter Harry, familiar as a slice of Wonder Bread in his conservative tie, his wandering hairline, his solid mass of reassurance. The clients signed on the dot-com line. The cowboys high-fived one another over the tops of their cubicles. "That's the only time they listen to me," Harry complained now, the change in his pockets jingling like sleigh bells. "When they think something might fall through. As soon as things are back on track, they hustle me out of the picture." "Why? You've got more experience than any of them." "That's the problem." More sleigh bells. "To them, anybody over thirty is ancient. They call me Father Time. And that's what they call me to my face." "Say something," I urged him, even though I knew he wouldn't. Harry wasn't big on confronting people. Sure enough, even the possibility was making him uncomfortable. He turned to open the door. "Ah, well. They're only kids." He winced at the blast of cold air. "Deep down, they love me, right?" "They love your cookies, anyway." "Cookies." The thought seemed to cheer him. "I'll be back as soon as I can." I, for one, was talking about the actual, edible kind of cookie--known in company parlance as literal cookies--as opposed to the cyberspace cookies that they were all busily coding and decoding. On hump days--that is, Wednesdays--Harry always brought in four or five dozen literals and reheated them in batches in the office microwave. Many were his own inspired recipes: Helplessly Chocolate, Peppermint Power, Coconut Monkey Faces. The Peanutbetter Butterbursts, however, remained everybody's favorite, and the aroma never failed to lure the cowboys in from the flat-screened fields. They elbowed one another out of the way like the children they still were. They chewed with their mouths open. They tried to sneak handfuls back to their workstations, which had been forbidden ever since crumbs had gotten into a keyboard and made it go berserk. Harry liked to describe the scene in the voice-over tones of a nature documentary, even though he'd signed a confidentiality statement promising not to discuss anything that happened at work. I tell you these things as a way of saying that it was no sacrifice to stay home from the Holiday Raffle, which always began with upbeat group exercises in cooperative thinking and mutual trust. Last year, the employees had to build some kind of scaffolding and help one another climb over it. Fortunately, Harry hadn't been quite to the top when the thing collapsed. Everybody had been very, very nice, he'd told me later, on the way to the emergency room. This year, rumor had it that employees were supposed to take turns standing on chairs and falling backward into one another's arms. Harry's waist was now a tight forty-two. I just didn't want to think about it. So as soon as his car pulled out of the driveway, I got to work decorating the house for the holidays. It was the first year we'd be relatively on our own. Tina and Trish were volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. Amber had flown to Jamaica with Malvin, declaring that December in Pittsburgh and suicide were synonymous. My mother, who had retired to Florida, begged off with the promise of attending Jason's high-school graduation in June, when the weather was civilized. At least Jason was still around, studying upstairs in his room, but who could say where he'd be next year? He was graduating at the top of his class, one year ahead of schedule. College recruiters had been calling nonstop; Cornell and Stanford had already offered scholarships. At seventeen, he'd be gone. It would be just Harry and me. There'd be time for hobbies. Weekend getaways. Maybe even those gym memberships. And on the horizon? Retirement. Travel. A couple of grandkids. An RV with one of those waving yellow signs in the window: caution: i'm spending my children's inheritance. Frankly, it didn't sound half bad. I polished the menorah from my daddy's side of the family and set it on the dining room table. I scattered foil-wrapped chocolate coins across the mantel for gelt, even though I knew that Harry would just eat them. Then I hauled the artificial Christmas tree down from the attic in honor of my mother's Baptist kin. I vacuumed away the cobwebs, untangled the various strings of lights, and fitted them with multicolored fish of no particular denomination. Finally, I dug out the enormous Christmas clock that Harry's parents had given Amber when she was just a year old. It's face was--what else?--Santa Claus's face, and every time the hour struck, an awful mechanized voice chortled, "Ho-Ho-Ho!" It overwhelmed my daddy's lovely old menorah like a condominium complex beside a turn-of-the-century Victorian. I hated the thing, but the kids had always adored it. To them, it was part of the holiday season, like spinning the dreidel, like eggnog and fruitcake. I was studying the Christmas tree, debating the tinsel issue, when Jason came down the stairs. "You put up the tree," he said reproachfully. "I would have helped, you know." "I knew you were studying." "I could have taken a break." "Sorry, Pop-Tart." Harry's old nickname for Jason had stuck, but Jason didn't seem to mind. Regardless of test scores, he would always be Pop-Tart to his family. The Santa Claus clock chimed ten p.m. "Ho-Ho-Ho! Ho-Ho-Ho! Ho-Ho-Ho! Ho!" I watched Jason's head snap around. His mouth opened into a little round Ho! of his own beneath the wispy mustache he'd been trying to grow for a year. "Aw, the Santa Claus clock!" he said, forgiving me everything. "I love that clock." "I know." "The tree needs tinsel, don't you think?" "I was actually thinking of stringing popcorn instead." "I'll make it," he said, heading for the kitchen. "Dad still out?" "Isn't he late?" "A little." "Think he got hurt again?" "I hope not." Jason shook the heavy pan as the kernels rattled and popped. He had his father's way with popcorn; the smell was heavenly. "Let's put butter on that batch," I said, digging through the junk drawer for the sewing kit. "We can always make more for stringing." "Don't worry, I made plenty." Jason threw a whole stick of butter in a bowl and stuck it in the microwave. To look at him, you'd never have guessed that he came from a family that did not believe in margarine. He was so thin that it made me want to apologize. I suspected his accelerated brain was leeching necessary minerals from his body. "I wonder if Dad'll win anything this year," he mused. I'll say this for Harry's company: Their raffle prizes were extraordinary. Many were prototypes for things you still couldn't buy on the market. "I could go for the flat-screened portable TV," I said. Jason made a face. "I hope he wins the robo-dog." "I hope he does not win the robo-dog!" "Aw, Mom, you'd love it. I'd program it to get your slippers." "I don't wear slippers." "I'd program it to follow you around and keep you company." Jason saved a small dish of popcorn for stringing, then shook the rest into the same bowl Harry and I had shared for so many years. He dumped the butter in with a splash and carried everything to the table. I handed him a needle, already threaded. "The last thing I need," I said, stabbing a hot kernel, "is some little mechanical thing following me around. I spent too many years with little human things following me around." Jason was more interested in eating popcorn than in stringing it. He filled his mouth with an impossibly large handful, then studied me, crunching. Since his babyhood, he'd looked somber, thoughtful, even when he was smiling, and he wasn't smiling now. "What?" I said. "You're going to be lonely," he said. "After I'm gone. So will Dad." "You won't be gone, you'll be in college," I protested, though it was exactly what I'd been thinking earlier. Jason had a way of listening in on people's thoughts. You'd think to yourself, I'm kind of thirsty, and he'd appear with a glass of water. It was unnerving. "You may experience mild to moderate depression," Jason said, adopting a formal tone. "You might start to question fundamental assumptions. Basic values could appear subjective." "In other words, I'll be reaching for the Prozac?" "Don't laugh," he said, shaking his head disapprovingly. "While it's true that professionals often dismiss the plight of the empty nester, the syndrome is a genuine phase-of-life transition with genuine consequences. It's best to be prepared." I stared at my mathematically brilliant, hopelessly earnest son. In many ways, he seemed younger than seventeen. He was planning a career in quantitative psychology, which I gathered had something to do with creating statistical programs on computers to map the impulses of the human brain--after getting his M.D., of course. I imagined him in his high-school cafeteria with the athletes and the potheads, immune to their curiosity and scorn, quantum physics and pop psychology dancing like sugarplum fairies in his head. At six, seeing me unplug the vacuum with a yank of the cord, he explained why it was safer to grasp the plug, elaborating on the conductive nature of electricity. I could see that same six-year-old in him now, and I wanted to embrace him, but you don't do that to a teenage boy--even a boy like Jason, who prided himself on being free of what he called Oedipal angst. "Around that same time," he continued soberly, "it is likely Dad will have a midlife crisis. Mom, don't laugh. It's hormonal. His testosterone levels will drop. There's nothing funny about it." "I'm sure there isn't," I said, stringing popcorn madly. "It may be happening already," Jason continued. "Have you noticed he's looking kind of, you know, puffy?" Jason nodded. "That can be one of the signs. Hormones affect metabolism. Any idea how much he weighs these days?" I shook my head. I thought I'd been the only one who'd noticed that, after years of slow creepage, Harry's weight had been rising exponentially. I'd been planning to say something to him about it, too, as soon as the holidays were out of the way. He always ate more around the holidays. He also ate more whenever he was bored, or unhappy, or nervous about something, or--especially--working long hours. Lately, since the dot-coms had been strafed by reality, he'd been putting in ten-hour days--all the surviving dot-cowboys did the same. But they were twenty years younger than Harry. Perhaps he was simply feeling his age. On weekends, he seemed to be sleeping more and more. Napping in the afternoon. Falling asleep on the couch after dinner. He was oddly . . . sluggish. Puffy, too. But it had been a particularly dark and dreary Fall. Everyone in Pittsburgh was sluggish and puffy. "Maybe he's just been eating too much." I was still trying to keep things light. "But the question is why?" Jason said. "For physiological reasons? Is he craving some vital fatty oil to regulate his amino acids? Or perhaps . . ." "Perhaps what?" "Perhaps he's been seeking emotional solace in food." "Or perhaps he's just been eating too much," I repeated. "People don't 'just eat too much.' " Jason fixed me with a paternal stare. "Are you and Dad, you know, okay?" "Jason!" I didn't know whether to laugh or be offended. After twenty-four years, Harry and I weren't exactly honeymooners, but still. We enjoyed each other's company. We never fought. Sometimes we even held hands at the mall. "Of course we're okay." "What about his job?" They call me Father Time. "Jason, please, everything's fine." "Maybe this involves latent childhood issues. In my opinion, Gramma Kligler was awfully overprotective, and Grampa--" With relief, I heard Harry's car pull into the drive. "Hey, I think I hear the Hormonally Imbalanced One now." Jason looked at me sympathetically. "Mom," he said. "Just remember I'm always here for you. I mean, if you ever want to talk." "Thank you," I said, as soberly as I could. "Don't mention it." "Hello?" Harry shouted from the entryway, and not a moment too soon. "What did we win?" I called back. "Just a minute and I'll show you." We could hear him taking off his coat. "The robo-dog?" Jason said, his voice cracking with excitement. But when Harry padded into the room, he was carrying a flat, square box. Thankfully, he didn't look like a man who'd spent the past few hours falling backward off a chair. "What's that?" Jason asked. Harry handed it over. "Not the dog. Sorry, Pop-Tart." "Can I open it?" he asked. "Sure." Harry observed the tree. "Needs tinsel, don't you think?" Jason was already inside the box. " 'The New You Digital Scale with Select Vocalizations,' " he read out loud. "Hey, a new scale! Just what we need around here." He gave me a thumbs-up behind his father's back. "It was the prize next to the TV," Harry said. "Can you believe it?" "You were robbed," I consoled him, ignoring Jason. "I tried to trade it for a sonic foot massager." "You did the best you could." "No, wait, Dad, this is really cool," Jason said, flipping the box to read the back. "It's got one of those learning chips. You have to program it." His eyes glittered the way they did whenever something needed to be programmed. "Be my guest," Harry told him. He sat down with an oomph and started in on the popcorn. "What an evening." "How can a bathroom scale learn?" I asked Jason. "It remembers your profile. You know, how much you weighed the last time, what your ideal weight should be, that kind of thing. And then it responds accordingly." Already he had the thing out of the box and was pushing buttons. "Hey, Dad?" His voice was innocent. "When you weigh yourself, do you want to hear a male or female voice?" From the Hardcover edition. Kay-Marie James\|Author Q&A About Kay-Marie James Kay-Marie James - Cooking for Harry KAY-MARIE JAMES is the pseudonym of a New York Times–bestselling author. She wrote Cooking for Harry as a way to help her best friend, who was struggling financially. She hopes that you enjoy reading it as much as she enjoyed writing it. From the Hardcover edition. Author Q&A Q: A note in your biography says that you wrote Cooking for Harry for your best friend, who was struggling financially. Which came first, the specific idea for Cooking for Harry, or helping your friend? How did the two ideas merge? A: The two ideas occurred pretty much simultaneously, though it’s hard to re-create, exactly, how it all came about. Basically, I had a book on the New York Times list, and my first big check had just come in. My friend had recently given birth to her first child—my first and only godchild—and she was trying to figure out how she could afford to be a full-time mom. We were having one of those late night, best friend phone conversations, with lots of long pauses in which no one says anything and yet, somehow, everything gets said. My friend didn’t want to simply take money from me, and I wanted to do something for her and the baby. Finally, we agreed that I’d write a book, something easy and breezy and quick, using elements from her life, and in return, she’d accept 50 percent of all royalties. We hatched the plot together over the next few days, and I wrote the book in three months. Why the anonymity? A writer’s greatest challenge is finding a balance between actually writing—the clean, quiet space one needs to create art—and all the resulting promotional obligations: interviews, book tours, questionnaires like this one. Some people are good at maintaining this balance. I am not. The thought of having to do yet another book tour was simply overwhelming. And my friend, who really is a physical therapist in Pittsburgh, was concerned that everybody would think she, too, had run off with a handsome doctor. (She has not. Nor have I, alas. In fact, I haven’t even been on a Q: Cooking for Harry is a lot of fun to read. Did writing it pseudonymously allow you to have more fun with the writing process than you normally do? Was it easier to write under the cover of a fictional name? Did it make you want to write more books pseudonymously? Was there an ease or freedom in this process that might find its way in your other writing? A: As I said, I wrote this book in three months. Typically, the socalled literary novels I write take anywhere from two to four years to complete. This is because they are considerably more complex, both in terms of the language they use and the multilayered stories they tell. Cooking for Harry is a straightforward romp, narrated by a person who wouldn’t blush if someone pointed out that the story of her husband’s diet, and its effects on their marriage, isn’t exactly on par with the woes of Anna Karenina. This, rather than anonymity, was what made the book fun to write. Everything was plot, plot, plot, with lots of little curlicues of humor woven in. At the same time, perhaps because of my background as a literary writer, I came to care deeply about Francie—who is, after all, patterned somewhat on my friend—and I wanted to present her as a fully-rounded character, a living, breathing person, instead of merely a frazzled mother, a frustrated wife. Q: However light-hearted, Cooking for Harry is an accurate portrait of a family that has slowly veered off into dysfunction. There’s an “elephant in the living room,” a problem that has been gingerly stepped around and cannot be stated. That is, until a talking appliance comes into the home. The scale is one of my favorite characters in the book. How did you ever think “her” up? A: I’m married to a computer geek, whose definition of “light reading” is an algorithm textbook. He’s particularly interested in “AI”—if you’re a geek, you know better than to actually articulate the words “artificial intelligence”—and though I myself am not particularly interested in AI, Bots, Worms, and other technological horrors, I apparently picked up enough over the years to invent the New You Digital Scale. Q: All families are, of course, at least a little dysfunctional. But Harry and Francie’s family, which still seems very loving, does seem to be approaching a crisis, along with Harry’s weight. Amber’s intimate relationship keeps blowing up and her empathy is faulty; Jason has become a real rescuer and caretaker; and Francie herself is an enabler. How much of the kids’ traits do you think can be related to their father’s unspoken problem? And to their parents’ relationship dynamics? A: As you mention earlier, there is an elephant in the Kligler living room, and it’s inevitable that, after years spent walking on tiptoe, members of the family will move through the world in a way that is slightly off-balance. I think the kids’ traits are like the traits of people in general; it’s hard to separate nature from nurture, though, clearly each influences the other. Except in the case of Amber. Amber, I think, would be Amber even if she’d been raised in the desert by a convent of nuns. Q: Francie, as the narrator, is very engaging and funny, but she’s also part of the problem, and at times a little self-justifying, even borderline unreliable. Was she difficult to write, or did she write herself? Did you, as the author, like her every step of the way? A: I didn’t find Francie difficult to write because I knew that her love for Harry was sincere, a quality I can respect. And since I was writing a romantic novel, I knew that her sincerity would have to be rewarded, in order to create a satisfying closure. I don’t think I like or dislike any of my characters. It’s more that I feel I understand them better, at times, than I do at other times. In a well-written book of any genre, the writer understands his or her characters even when the characters don’t understand Q: Harry is a man who, when he starts to become self-aware, turns away from his wife and toward another woman. How did you feel about how Harry conducted his diet and himself? A: Again, thinking about understanding—as opposed to judging— a character, I guess I thought about how his relationship with his weight, his body, his manhood, must have been arrested somewhere in adolescence. It isn’t a grown man who responds to Krys Palcek’s advances; it’s the boy who was never picked for the team, the kid who stayed home on prom night to watch TV with his parents, the guy who sat in the college cafeteria, laughing and nodding as the other guys talked about their weekend, all the while shoving doughnuts into his mouth. So it’s not surprising that Harry finds himself tempted when, for the first time, women start looking at him not for who he is, as a person, but for what he looks like, as a man. It’s also not surprising that, ultimately, he returns to Francie—and she to him—because, underlying everything, the two of them are best friends, have been best friends, for a long, long time. You can find sexual attraction just about anywhere, but an enduring, sustaining friendship—that is, a strong marriage—is precious, a gift. Q: I laughed out loud at the way Harry’s family and friends all feel free to add their own two cents about dieting—“Diets don’t work,” they tell Harry, and “live large,” and “doctors don’t know squat.” What is this impulse that people have to undercut our efforts? How do we humans ever survive our friends’ advice? A: Isn’t it the truth? And especially when it comes to comments about emotionally-charged issues like eating habits and body image. Everybody who loves us—parents, children, spouses, friends—feels, at some level, that their love gives them a particular claim upon our physical selves. Therefore, if we attempt to alter that physical self in any way, say, by getting a haircut, buying new clothes, or going on a diet, everyone who loves us leaps forward with a comment that has more to do with their relationship to us, their sense of entitlement to the bodies we inhabit, than to any exterior reality. You lose ten pounds, put on a terrific dress, and your mother says, “Are you okay? You’re looking so gaunt. You’re working too hard.” You paint your toenails, and your husband says, “That color reminds me of kumquats. I don’t like kumquats. Are you trying to tell me I mean, Yeesh. Q: This book is filled with facts and expertise about dieting and gourmet cooking. Which was more amusing and/or compelling to research: dieting, or gourmet cooking? Which was more fun to describe: diets, or food? Did you find out anything about dieting that particularly surprised or enlightened you? A: I hate to cook. My friend hates to cook. Fortunately, we married men who love to cook, men who kindly but firmly removed the whisks from our hands as soon as we were married. Men who, loving to cook, have battled the bulge, so to speak, all their lives, and with varying degrees of success and failure. Five years ago, when my husband went on the Atkins Diet, he lost forty pounds. When my friend told her husband—let’s call him “Joe”—about my husband, what Joe heard was that my husband had lost forty pounds eating bacon, and so Joe promptly began to fry up a pound of bacon for breakfast every morning. When I told my husband about Joe and his bacon, he (my husband) began to fry up a daily pound of bacon of his own. Of course, he began to gain weight again; Joe, who was eating bagels with his bacon, was putting on weight by the stone. My friend and I were putting on weight because who can resist the smell of frying bacon? Eventually, however, we all got sick of bacon, and everybody’s weight went back to normal— for better or worse. What is the point of this seemingly pointless tale? The point is that there was very little research required for this book because, between my husband and my friend’s husband, there is always a man in our lives who is trying to lose weight. Flannery O’Connor once said that anyone with a childhood has enough material to write fiction. Kay-Marie James says that anyone with a dieting husband has enough material to write just about Q: Changing one’s diet really is changing one’s entire life. Did you know when you started writing this book how each of the characters would change? Did any of them surprise you in any A: My friend and I mapped out the general arc of the novel together, so I knew, from the start, the general trajectory of Harry and Francie’s fallout and reconciliation. I also knew that, this being a romantic comedy, any relationships that cropped up in the course of writing Cooking for Harry would have to be resolved pleasantly, in order for the reader to be satisfied. This is quite different from the writing I’ve done before, which has been more “literary” in nature and, therefore, tends to reflect more accurately the casual brutalities and unanswered questions of real life. I guess my biggest surprise was how well Francie’s neighbors came together as a neighborhood, and also, how large a role Francie’s mother came to play during the worst day of Francie’s life. Originally, I’d conceived the mother merely as a voice on the phone. It was my friend’s suggestion to have her arrive for Jason’s graduation, where everybody got to know her better, much better—in some cases, in fact, a little too well! Q: It seemed very chancy for Harry and Francine’s marriage for Francie to take a cruise with Tommy Choi. Did you know the fate of her marriage when you sent her on that cruise? Do you think that calm seas might have yielded a different ending for Harry and Francie? A: As far as Francie is concerned, her marriage is already over by the time she boards the Czarina with Tommy Choi. But I knew I’d have to find a way to foil any significant romantic attempts between them, and since I myself get queasy floating on a raft in a swimming pool, the solution wasn’t difficult to find. Q: Cooking for Harry is just the book to give to people on a diet: It’s amusing, it’s chockful of facts, it lightly but intelligently maps the emotional territory of dieting. Have you invented a new form—the self-help novel? A: I love it! Academics claim Henry James as the father of the modern novel; I find a satisfying synchronicity in naming Kay- Marie James the mother of the self-help novel. And if you like reading well-written stories about the relationship between life and food, Ruth Reichl’s memoirs are wonderful. Also the opening chapter of Carol Shield’s terrific novel, The Stone Diaries, will make your mouth water even as it breaks your heart. Q: Will Kay-Marie James be writing any other novels? Do you have any other alter egos clambering for pseudonymous page space? Do you recommend the pseudonymous experience to other writers? A: I have actually begun a second Kay-Marie James novel, though it is on the back burner right now, as I focus on finishing something of my own. I have many alter egos as, I suspect, most writers do, but the issue, of course, is time. I’m married, I’m a mother of a young child, I live close to my extended family, I try to maintain some semblance of an intellectual relationship with the publishing world through reviewing and promoting the works of upcoming writers. Every day, there’s another small fire to put out: somebody is sick, the car needs an oil change, I have to feed my mom’s cats while she’s out of town. These things all take a toll on alter egos, on egos in general. Maybe when I’m in my eighties, I’ll have time for that Stephen King–style horror novel I’ve always wanted to write. Okay, maybe not. Cooking for Harry is a warm and tender read, brimming with love. Readers will certainly want to welcome Kay-Marie James into their lives with open arms and a big bowl of buttered popcorn.”—Jeanne Ray, author of Eat Cake, Step-Ball-Change, and Julie and Romeo Cooking for Harry is a fine and funny novel written with plenty of snap. It reads like the zany collaboration of Elizabeth McCracken and Julia Child, with an added dash of Dr. Atkins and Jane Austen.—Anne D. LeClaire, author of Leaving Eden and Entering Normal Cooking for Harry is an absolute treat. This book is for your mom, your sister, and your friends, and a must-read for anyone who has ever been on a diet! Hilarious, moving, it’s all there.”—Jo-Ann Mapson, author of Bad Girl Creek and Along Came Mary Cooking for Harry is as delectable as a four-course feast. Can food really offer such a potent combination of nourishment, sensuality, and compassion? This wonderful book proves that it can! Kay-Marie James is a wise and winsome writer with a champagne pen who will leave you hungry for more.” —Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean and Christmas Present From the Hardcover edition. Discussion Questions Discussion Guides 1. What do you think about Harry’s cooking—and eating? What role does it play in his life? In his marriage? When did it become an issue? 2. Why doesn’t Francie really notice or object to Harry’s slow, constant weight gain? What does she have to gain by ignoring it? What does she stand to lose by addressing the ever-growing problem? 3. How is Harry’s cooking and eating a family concern? What roles do the various family members play in his weight gain and weight loss (consider the children’s nicknames)? How does the family contribute to the problem and its solution? Do you think this family is dysfunctional? 4. Why does it take a talking scale to tell Harry the truth? 5. How does Harry’s community—his neighbors and associates— react to his diet? If you have ever dieted, do you find their responses to his dieting typical? Why are friends not always the most supportive people when it comes to dieting and other significant habit changes? 6. Eating is one of life’s great pleasures. When does it go from being a pleasure to being a problem? When, if ever, is some kind of intervention appropriate? In your own experience, does intervention 7. Harry’s diet, with its gym regimen and support groups, takes up a lot of his time and, it seems, starts making him into a new, improved person. Why doesn’t this lead straight to happiness? When and how does this start to be a problem for 8. What does Francie’s high school relationship with Lisa tell us about Francie? What emotions and assumptions from this old relationship have lingered in Francie and affect how she looks at life in middle age? 9. “People change,” Francie says, then admits that she hasn’t. How has dieting changed Harry in unexpected ways? How does Francie have to change? 10. Discuss Kay-Marie James’s use of images and symbols: the scale, a storebought cake, a borrowed handkerchief, a white sofa. What stories do these objects tell? 11. How is adultery handled in this book? Lightly? Forgivingly? Believably? Can adultery ever be good for a marriage? 12. What do you think of Francie going on her anniversary cruise with Tommy Choi? Was it fair play? Too risky? In what way was the storm “perfect”? 13. Malva, the neighbor, says, “There are two hundred sides to every story. . . . But all of them end the same. Somebody has to apologize.” Who should apologize for what in this novel? 14. What factors ultimately save Francie and Harry’s marriage? 15. Why do you suppose the author wrote Cooking for Harry under a pseudonym? Do you have any idea which bestselling New York Times author wrote this book? How can you support your hunch? 16. How dietetic is this novel? Did it inspire you to go on or stay on a diet—or did it make you hungry for a big, beautiful bowl of buttered, salty popcorn? Your E-Mail Address send me a copy Recipient's E-Mail Address (multiple addresses may be separated by commas) A personal message:
What the best way to deal with date and time?? I design a small article program and I need to store date and time for article in DB. I need my script be accurate in calculate date and time and able to change time zone correctly. My question is: - I know there is a lot of way to do this: There functions in PHP to deal with date and time and there is functions in MySql to deal with date and time. Also we can use PHP timestamp or MySql timestamp. So what is the best way to do this? What is the best timestamp? In MySql im Column Types there is: numeric types and date and time types, and a lot of program use numeric types, why? Is there function or class to perform change between time zone. That's and other make big confuse to me with date and time That's all.
Good bosses improve good employees With so much focus on finding or keeping jobs in this economy, one significant employment factor seems to get moved down the pros-and-cons chart: What kind of boss will my next supervisor be? Interviewing with a human-relations specialist; meeting folks up and down the line; putting your best foot forward while they are all doing the same -- the process may not present a completely accurate picture of the day-to-day environment. Bosses know the importance of a good hire. Assuming the best candidate has accepted the offer, and has shown up on time for a few weeks, does the boss realize how critical retaining that new employee is? Does the boss know how to be a good boss? In short, will the boss be a buddy or a bully? The late, great basketball coach John Wooden shared his coaching philosophy that works just as well in business when it comes to mentoring employees: "A coach's primary function should not be to make better players but to make better people. Lift others even with your critical analysis. This is still the best method to get the best out of someone because pride is a better motivator than fear. I never wanted to teach through fear, punishment, or intimidation." Bosses have tremendous power over those they supervise. Employees understand that the person they report to -- whether it's the owner of the company or a middle manager -- can be their biggest cheerleader or their worst nightmare. I prefer to think that the people I have hired put me in the first category. Having made a significant investment of time in hiring them in the first place, I must have recognized the sort of talent, personality and energy that would improve our company. I want the folks I hire to love their jobs enough to come back raring to go after a lousy day, because everyone has a lousy day once in a while. I want them to look to me for inspiration. I want them to respect my work ethic. I want them to want to get better at what they do. I want them to know that I will help them get better. I want them to learn from my example, even when I am not directly mentoring them. Of course, none of that happens unless I know how to come back revved up after a miserable day, demonstrate a stellar work ethic, and keep improving myself. What goes around comes around. Study after study has concluded that the most important factor in job satisfaction is a positive work environment. Praise is vital, and salary is important, but nothing ranks as high as loving what you do. Location matters, but people are willing to go great distances for a job that makes them happy. Titles aren't even near the top of the list. The determining factor is often closely related to the boss. A truly great boss will engender loyalty before any of those other factors will. A committed boss works hardest at positive leadership and a professional environment. A perceptive boss remembers her own early challenges and draws on those experiences. A responsible boss understands that mentoring his staff and helping them develop skills reflects positively on him. Some months back, I wrote a column about the TV program "Undercover Boss." I admire the bosses who concealed their identities and went to work on the front lines for some "real world" lessons about their companies. They were quite courageous to expose their own weaknesses on national television. But the exercise resulted in enhanced awareness of the importance of every single employee. If you dare, try that experiment in your organization. You likely cannot be anonymous, but working side-by-side with staff, reinforcing that you won't ask them to do anything that you wouldn't ask of yourself, demonstrates your understanding of their challenges. If all this sounds too overwhelming, step back and examine your motives. Are you ready to let someone else have a share in the glory? Are you willing to listen to options? Are you threatened by others' successes? Can you take responsibility for failure? Many bosses get promoted without any formal leadership training. A good boss learns quickly from employees that Wooden's advice will serve them better than a superior attitude. Now here's the most important piece of boss advice I will ever give you: Your employees don't really work for you. They work for your customers. Customers are their real bosses. And yours, too. Mackay's Moral: Be a mentor, not a tormentor. • get related content delivered to your inbox • manage my email subscriptions
Michael Holden's All ears Man "Do you want to see some thing really depressing?" Woman "What, off the internet?" Man "No. They don't have that here. This is something on the computer. I look at it from time to time and I just... well, it blows me away." Woman "Will I like it?" Man "You're not meant to like it." Woman "I mean will it upset me." Man "Well, I dunno. I suppose it's more poignant than upsetting. It's just the calendar." Woman "The calendar?" Man "Yeah, check it out." He began pawing extensively at the device's touchpad. Man "Look, it goes backwards, it's like you're going back in time." Woman "Why would you ever need that?" Man "I don't know, but look, there goes the year I was born. This is normally when I start feeling sad." Woman "I see what you mean. It's a bit weird watching all the years roll by." Man "I did it for ages once. You can scroll back to 1900. Well, actually it shows New Year's Eve 1899, but that's just because of the way the week's laid out." Woman "What about looking at the future?" Man "Eh?" Woman "How far can you see into the future?" Man "I've never tried." Woman (excited) "Let's do it!" Man (turning off laptop) "No, no. The battery might run out."
Real Estate Matters: Ask the Lawyer March 11, 2012\|Ilyce Glink & Samuel Tamkin \| Real Estate Matters, Tribune Media Services Q: How do I report a fraudulent bankruptcy after suing our seller? The seller gave all his assets to his kids then filed for bankruptcy so we couldn't get any money awarded and have left us in the hole. A: The bankruptcy code has provisions to protect creditors from debtors that decide to give all of their assets away, file for bankruptcy and avoid paying money to those they owe money to. What you are describing are fraudulent transfers of assets to avoid paying creditors. When a person files for bankruptcy, an estate in bankruptcy is created. All of the assets of the person that filed are included as part of the bankruptcy estate. A trustee is appointed to handle the estate and to oversee those assets, pay creditors and take care of the estate while the case is in bankruptcy. If a debtor hides assets, gives assets away, or takes other actions to avoid paying creditors, the trustee in the case is empowered to take action and recover those assets for the benefit of the creditors. To take any action, you must be a creditor with a claim against the person who filed for bankruptcy. Just because you have a claim against the person in bankruptcy doesn't mean that you'll end up recovering anything. In fact, you may have to spend money in the bankruptcy case to force the trustee to go after those assets that have disappeared. Depending on the amount of money you are owed, it may or may not be worth your time and money to go after the seller. Talk to an attorney who has experience in bankruptcy cases to determine if the cost of pursuing the seller will be worth it. If the seller owes you $50,000 or $100,000, you might want to spend a bit of money to get what you are entitled to. However, if the seller is hiding $5,000 worth of assets, you may find that you will spend much more than that trying to recover what you are owed. If you take matters into your own hands and navigate the complexities of the bankruptcy proceedings, you might be able to convince the trustee in the bankruptcy case to take some action. You can file an action for fraud as well in the case and attempt to avoid having your claim discharged in bankruptcy. Frequently, fraud claims that are successful in bankruptcy will survive the case, and you can continue to pursue your claim against the seller well after his or her bankruptcy case is terminated. However, trying to do this on your own might not achieve the success you hope for.
3:26 pm ET Aug 26, 2009 On Immigration, Kennedy’s Death Leaves Leadership Gap • The 1965 Immigration reform bill DID NOT eliminate discriminatory national origin quoatas : they were just changed to a quote of 20000 per nation of origin (regardless of the relative size of nations). The goal continued to be reduced Asian immigration: The previous laws based on favoring nations that already had the most immigrants in USA, was producing out of control immigration from the Philipines as Europeans were chosing not to take advantage of their far larger immigration quotas. The new laws favored both family connections and education. Unexpectedly, the 1965 Immigration quota's were badly framed. The quotas are in effect only in alternate years since the quota only applies to countries that had 20000 immigrants the previous year. It is easy to figure out why this turns into an alternate year quota for countires like Philippines, India etc so in the long run the national origin quotas have no effect and hence are not very effective in achieving the unstated goal of reducing Asian immigration. Instead of fixing the problem, they added Immigration lotteries available only to immigrants from European and African countries regardless of their educational level. Given that most Africans are too poor to take advantage of the lottery, this is just a sneaky way to increase white immigration by prefering "white trash" from Europe over more qualified immigrants from elsewhere. • The weak Immigration reform lost the center pole now, Schumer will have to carry the weight it rerally hurt a lot of us to see Ted gone not witness the health care reform.We are confident he will be smiling from heaven when health care and immigration reform come to life. We love and miss you Ted "the legislator legend" • An ominous pattern is slowly emerging towards an inevitable power play on pushing another amnesty through Congress. We need to take the many consequences into consideration: 1 We already had an enforceable 1986 law to stop the illegal immigrant invasion of our country, but it has been intentionally ignored? So--WHY--are they adamant in passing another immigration law? 2. Most enforcement legislation has been crushed or weakened by many of the politicians we voted into office. 3. That many of our own government members have pandered to the special interest lobbyists and not voters. 4 For decades American taxpayers have been supporting, business welfare, who have never contributed to foreign national workers. That emergency hospitals, must attend any foreign person who enters its doors, illegal or legal? ICE should be on standby and demand who that individual is working for and subsequently make the employer pay instead of the taxpayers. 5. That Democrats are downplaying that the 20 plus illegal immigrant families living here, will not have access to the health care reform package? But are not saying that if a new path to citizenship is enacted, they can automatically get health care? 6. Should a new immigration reform package is passed, what's stopping millions more poor, uneducated people storming the border. 7. Why did Sen. Harry Reid, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of the party try to dismantle E-Verify and under fund the border fence, so it was only a single layer instead of two tiers? 8 That E-Verification is working and working well, so no wonder the US Chamber of Commerce, ACLU, Cato Institute and a large majority of anti-sovereignty groups have been involved in lawsuits, and questionable appeasement by politicians to kill the any enforcement laws. 9. Why are we still inviting around a million new immigrants a year, when their are about 15 million jobless Americans? My health care experience was mainly in England, Germany and 15 months in Australia and prior to the mass European immigration invasion was positively first class. FIRST CLASS AND EXEMPLARY! THERE WAS NO SUCH THING AS RATIONING? Of all the states that--SHOULD--be using E-Verify, is the illegal immigrant sanctuary state of California. Illegal immigration attributed to the near bankruptcy of California and is a prime example of intentionally ignoring immigration laws. The U.S. Census Bureau projections issued in the year 2000, that the United States is precisely on track to have a population of 1.182--BILLION--in the year 2100. So much for future American population is OVERPOPULATION. PS: Least we forget that Ted Kennedy RIP--NEVER TOLD THE TRUTH--when he promised their would be no more AMNESTIES, after the 1986 immigration reform act? • This leadership gap is being filled by Sen. Schumer and Sen. Graham. It shows bipartisan support for immigration reform. Working together Sen. Schumer and Sen. Graham have a very good chance at passing immigration reform. Visit http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/08/26/immigration-reform-kennedy/ to get a more complete article about the loss of a great leader and the impact on immigration reform. By the way, you'll see a similar comment by the online troll "Brittancus." Deporting all illegals can never work; it would require immense amounts of money and will hurt the economy because of the loss of spending power of illegals. • I ask anyone interested in immigration reform to consider the followin harsh realities. From the end of th Second World War to sometime in the 1970s the bottom 20% of our economy made substantial gains and then this group not only stopped making gains but began to lose ground. Today this segment of our population is worse off than it was 30 to 40 years ago. In addition, the vast middle class of this country has not enjoyed the prosperity of the last thirty or forty years. Furthermore, if one adds the number of unemployed to the number of under employed to the number of people who no longer are looking for employment, one will arrive at a number somewhere north of 20% and probably closer to 25%. These realities raises the question of who in this society do we want to help and who do we want to harm. If we legalize illegal immigrants it will certainly damage the worse off in our society. On the other hand, if Adam Smith and the laws of supply and demand work, the removal of millions of illegal immigrants will almost certainly benefit the worse off in our economy. Therefore, before anyone advocates legalization of millions - and one does not know how many - they should consider its impact on the less fortunate in our society. There is after all no such thing as a free lunch. • The above statement from Brittanicus was copied verbatim on The Wonk Room -- in response to quite a different article -- 14 minutes later. Does the WSJ have any interest in copyright protection? • Kennedy is well known in Chile for his “Kennedy Amendment” in 1974, a law which froze the US sale of arms to Chile during Gen. Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship. The arms sale ban was lifted in 1990 when Chile transitioned back to democracy. The late senator visited Santiago in 1986 and was egged by Pinochet supporters. In 1990 Kennedy again visited Chile, but this time to attend the country’s transition to democracy. For his participation in Chile’s fight for democracy, Chile is “eternally grateful” said a statement from the government on Wednesday. Bachelet awarded Kennedy with the Order of the Merit, one of the nation’s highest honours, last September in the senator’s Massachusetts home. Thank you Senator Kennedy, Chile honours your memory and legacy. • Mostly because of Ted Kennedy's push to drastically change our immigration policy, the U.S. population went from less than 200 million people to now over 307 million! In the 1960's, the U.S. was the most prosperous nation on Earth and now the greatest debtor country on this planet. Does the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board and other immigration advocates still believe that population growth or immigration is needed to boost the U.S. economy? The Chinese leaders already realized 3 decades ago that population growth and immigration would seriously impeded its economic success! When will Americans learn from China? Americans must wake up and realize that we are no longer the prosperous nation we once were. Even many hosts and guests on CNBC are saying that it is China, and not the United States, which will lead the world out of the recession! Although some immigrants are great assets, President Obama and Congress must immediately adopt some sort of immigration moratorium if they are serious about reduce unemployment, health care costs and our budget deficits. Yeh Ling-Ling Alliance for a Sustainable USA • If one researches the history and true motives behind Kennedy's efforts as they pertain to immigrants/immigration it is easy to detect that this man, and subsequently both political parties, were/are more interested in recruiting and securing serfs for their big business donors and expanding their base via future voters. Current stats estimate that there are 30+million illegals in this country, costing taxpayers billions of dollars annually and, according to a Bear Sterns report, accounting for trillions of dollars in unpaid taxes as the result of employers paying illegal aliens "off the books." Ted Kennedy consistently violated our Constitution, his sworn oath of office, and our laws in his quest to ingratiate himself to illegal aliens who would expand his voter base while simultaneously betraying, taxing, and putting in harm's way citizens of the U.S. Just as the government's attempt to take over health care has "awakened a sleeping giant" so, too, will the majority of Americans reject Obama, Schumer, Graham, LaRaza's, unions, religious organizations, and other special interest groups attempts to bestow amnesty on people who have no right to be in this country - the same people whose first act upon arriving in this country was to break our immigration laws and who, the longer they have stayed the more guilt they accrue. Most offensive are those who blatantly violated our laws and then further insult our country by marching through our tax paid streets demanding "rights" in a foreign language to which they are not entitled and certainly do not deserve. My hope is that the end of Ted Kennedy's life will also represent the end of immigration - both legal and illegal - until such time as Congress is replaced with law-abiding, moral, and ethical public servants who work in the best interest of their constituents and our country. • Why not watch what Sen. Hatch and Sen. McCain said about Ted Kennedy? I was impressed by their testimonies about the man and how he had changed over the years and how much these two conservative men loved Sen. Kennedy. The people who write such vicious comments would benefit from a little humility and the moving witnessing of the wonderful humanity and greatness of Mr. Kennedy. (Kathleen @ 12:03 you have issues you have to confront, do it soon before your soul dies completely) • 7:34 you go back to china ok? • I hope other legislators will follow Kennedy's example of a guy who tries to get things done. I hope they realize his dream of an immigration bill passed into law. Pass CIR now! • Mass immigration is the single, preventable cause of urban spraw, natural habitat and farmland loss, as well as stress on the developed world's freshwater supply. Add to this a host of social ills: gang violence, terrorism, 'honour killings', doda and khat use. 'Liberals' (the Democrats, Canadian and Australian Liberals, British Labour) favour mass immigration, because of their links to the construction, real estate and banking lobbies. These industries need a constant warm body influx in order to keep the real estate bubble inflated. Population growth is needed to justify housing construction, as well as associated infrastructure, like housing and schools. Endangering our food and freshwater supply and destroying natural areas isn't their concern. Essentially, the construction, real estate and banking sectors are traitors--willing to trade our futures to foreigners, for their own profits. Canada, the United States, Australia and Britain must get their countries back, by imposing hard population caps, deporting non-citizens and halting mass immigration, as well as prohibiting greenfied development. The Bush-era bans on third world family planing also have to be reversed: politically incorrect but true, people in developing countries have unsustainably-high birthrates. • Who cares about the spending power of illegals? It is part of the false economy. The citizens are not buying that load of bull crap!. Illegal aliens are called undocumented worker , but they are not undocumented workers, they are illegal aliens taking jobs that millions of Americans want.. Congress had a responsibility to secure our borders. Infact that is still their duty. Tax Payers have paid for that. Where did the money go to secure the borders in the first place????? A huge investigation must happen. Fraud??? The race card does not work anymore it has been used up. Who ever is responsible for the huge invasion of illegals did not do their duty to protect our beloved United States Of America. No one who enters this country illegally is intitled to any form of amisty. To give amisty to 30million illegal aliens is a total disrespect to those who followed the law and proper proceedure to come here and become a citizen.. It is wrong to have the citizens accept this lawlessness when the American people have stated no to amisty. Mass deportation can be done. But we all no the hidden agenda. We have so many police and intelligence agencies as well as a huge population that is un employed. Many of the unemployed will be honored to serve this county by helping to deport all the illegals. What an opprounity to put millions of our beloved citizens to work. They could round up and deport illegals. The unemployed could also be used to secure our borders. Massive deportation can be done and be done in a humaine way. This country was built on immigration and that is the beauty of this country. But to have 30 million illegals enter unlawfully and lieing about Americans will not do the job is just over the top. Americans have always worked hard and always do any job! Always!! No fine, No amount of I am sorry can ever make up for the illegal invasion. No touch back, No nothing. As for congress they should be held for treasion for allowing 30million illegals to enter our country. If they were a private company they would be fired. As for the illegals themselves, I feel for them. They come because they want a better life----and who can blame them? It seems as if Nafty has screwed everyone over. I think if the illegals went back, esp those from Mexico, they just might have the clout and power to fix their country. Can you imagine the fear in the Mexican's government if all the illegals were sent back? Maybe the curruption would stop! Also, look at the curruption that is involed with illegal aliens? Not the illegals themselves but with outr language. We call them immigrants, They are not, they are illegal aliens, We call them undocumented workers, they are not, they are illegal aliens. Our own language is now all lies. Don't you dare say the truth because it is offensive. To me lieing is more offensive! And as far as political correctness goes, screw it, if it means not telling the truth.Freedom of thought, expression and of speech will always be the law of the land, anything short of that is not of America and the United States. May God belss you and keep you Everyone. whataboutthelaw? • Yeh Ling- Ling thanks for your comments. As for Ted Kennedy he may have started off well meaning focusing on Irish immigrants but soon lost his way on immigration and became a Clownish Tool and Useful Fool for Illegal Immigration Open Borders anti-American advocates financed by International Socialists,Marxists and Anarchists as well as the Far left radical wing of the Democratic Party looking to tear down the USA. He was blind to the fact that Mexico is doing everything it can to continue to create an Illegal Insurgent Mexican Nation loyal to Mexico First composed of 20 million plus foot soldiers within the borders of the USA! Los Angeles...Bankrupt • 2:39 and you go back to the slimy fascist hole you crawled out from • Ted Kenney did a service to the U.S. in 1965, but not it's 2009 and it has become counterproductive to try to sort our Mexican neighbors into legals and illegals when so many of them are in the U.S., as it is to keep trying to pretend that Mexico is a separate country. Instead, why not finally accept their existence and work to share the New World with them in peace by incorporating Mexico's 760K sq. mi. of territory into the U.S. as 10+ new states sans the corrupt Mexican federal govt., allowing it to finally be developed as a sector of the U.S. to alleviate poverty? Read my nonpartisan Megamerge Dissolution Solution proposal at http://go.to/megamerge showing how the Obama admin. can take the lead as early as 2010. Add a Comment About Washington Wire Sign up for Capital Journal Daybreak • Washington Wire on Twitter • Washington Wire on Facebook Top Groups In Politics • Election Day • The Treasury Department
Take the 2-minute tour × For a collection of points in $\mathbb{R}^n$, is there a statistic that I can compute which will estimate the number of clusters with some level of confidence? share\|improve this question 5 Answers 5 up vote 4 down vote accepted This is an age-old question, which actually does not have (I think even cannot have) a definite answer, because first you need to define what you mean by a cluster and so on. A famous saying in this regard is that "cluster is in the eye of a beholder". It is easy to construct examples where somebody could see one cluster, but somebody else more than one. This being said, the MDL (minimum description length) principle would lead you to devise (IMHO) a clustering cost function in a most principled way, which by optimizing you could the find the cluster assignments and number of clusters simultaneously. For multinomial data you can see following: P.Kontkanen, P.Myllymäki, W.Buntine, J.Rissanen, H.Tirri, An MDL Framework for Data Clustering. In Advances in Minimum Description Length: Theory and Applications, edited by P. Grünwald, I.J. Myung and M. Pitt. The MIT Press, 2005. The intuitively-appealing idea behind MDL clustering is that by clustering you create a model of the data. So the assumption is that a very good model is one that lets you compress the data well. Anyway MDL might not be easy to apply, if you are looking for a practical way to detect the number of clusters. BIC (Bayesian information criteria) and the F-ratio have proven to work OK in practice. share\|improve this answer Barcodes: the persistent topology of data share\|improve this answer I don't think persistent homology actually would help with this. The question doesn't seem to be about data analysis, but clustering of data. – jd.r Oct 21 '09 at 11:37 Isn't persistent 0th homology pretty relevant to the OP's problem? – Darsh Ranjan Oct 21 '09 at 16:06 Yes, that's true. – jd.r Oct 21 '09 at 17:48 share\|improve this answer share\|improve this answer There is a whole research field on this, and the answers so far have only highlighted a few of the specific algorithms developed. Check out this Wikipedia article on cluster analysis for an overview and some references. share\|improve this answer See also Determining the number of clusters in a data set on Wikipedia and Chapter 8 (especially Section 8.5) of Introduction to Data Mining by Tan, Steinbach & Kumar. (Chapter 8 has kindly been made available on Kumar's website.) – J W Oct 18 at 21:57 Your Answer
Export (0) Print Expand All Expand Minimize Remote Authentication in SharePoint Online Using Claims-Based Authentication SharePoint 2010 Summary: Learn how to authenticate against Microsoft SharePoint Online in client applications using the SharePoint client-side object models. The decision to rely on cloud-based services, such as Microsoft SharePoint Online, is not made lightly and is often hampered by the concern about access to the organization's data for internal needs. In this article, I will address this key concern by providing a framework and sample code for building client applications that can remotely authenticate users against SharePoint Online by using the SharePoint 2010 client-side object model. Note Note Although this article focuses on SharePoint Online, the techniques discussed can be applied to any environment where the remote SharePoint 2010 server uses claims-based authentication. I will review the SharePoint 2010 authentication methods, provide details for some of the operation of SharePoint 2010 with claims-mode authentication, and describe an approach for developing a set of tools to enable remote authentication to the server for use with the client-side object model. In Office SharePoint Server 2007, there were two authentication types: Windows authentication, which relied upon authentication information being transmitted via HTTP headers, and forms-based authentication. Forms-based authentication used the Microsoft ASP.NET membership and roles engines for managing users and roles (or groups). This was a great improvement in authentication over the 2003 version of the SharePoint technologies, which relied exclusively on Windows authentication. However, it still made it difficult to accomplish many scenarios, such as federated sign-on and single sign-on. To demonstrate the shortcomings of relying solely on Windows authentication, consider an environment that uses only Windows authentication. In this environment, users whose computers are not joined to the domain, or whose configurations are not set to automatically transmit credentials, are prompted for credentials for each web application they access, and in each program they access it from. So, for example, if there is a SharePoint-based intranet on intranet.contoso.com, and My Sites are located on my.contoso.com, users are prompted twice for credentials. If they open a Microsoft Word document from each site, they are prompted two more times, and two more times for Microsoft Excel. Obviously, this is not the best user experience. However, if the same network uses forms-based authentication, after users log in to SharePoint, they are not prompted for authentication in other applications such as Word and Excel. But they are prompted for authentication on each of the two web applications. Federated login systems, such as Windows Live ID, existed, but integrating them into Office SharePoint Server 2007 was difficult. Fundamentally, the forms-based mechanism was designed to authenticate against local users, that is, it was not designed to authenticate identity based on a federated system. SharePoint 2010 addressed this by adding direct support for claims-based authentication. This enables SharePoint 2010 to rely on a third party to authenticate the user, and to provide information about the roles that the user has. Because computers are designed to accommodate multiple users, authorization has always been a challenge. At first, the operating system validated the user. Then, the operating system told the application who the user was. This was the very first claim, made by the operating system to the application. The essence of this claim was the identity of the user. The operating system had determined who the user was, probably through a password that the user provided. The application did not have to ascertain who the user was; it simply trusted the operating system. This authentication process worked well until it became necessary for a user to use applications on systems that they were not logged in to. At this point, the application had to perform its own authentication. Applications started with the same approach that operating systems had used—requiring the user's name and password. Authentication works well this way, but it requires that every application validate the user name and password. Maintaining multiple separate authentication databases became problematic, because users would want to use their same user names and passwords across applications. Creating accounts with the same user name and password is a manageable problem. However, as the concern for security grew, the requirement for users to periodically change their passwords created an unmanageable situation, where the users would find it difficult to keep their passwords synchronized between different applications. Shared authentication mechanisms were developed to solve this problem. Once again, an application could rely upon a third party for authentication of the user. The most popular approach for a shared authentication database is one that uses the Kerberos protocol. The Kerberos protocol provides mechanisms that enable a user to authenticate against a centralized server and then convey his or her identity through a ticket signed by that server. The advantage of this approach is that the centralized server is the only one that must know the user's password or other identifying information. This works well for providing authentication information, but it relies on a single store for user identities. Today, some of the users of your application are using identities that you do not control. Consider an organization that provides payroll or retirement plan services for other companies. These organizations may need to accept users who belong to many other companies, and have no requirement to authenticate them individually. They have to know only that the organization that they have a contract with can identify the user. In these cases, the centralized server for authentication does not exist; there is no centralized entity that can validate every user. Similarly, if you have an extranet website that is designed to work with multiple partners, you may not want to manage user accounts for all of your partners' employees, or even let the partners manage them. Instead, you just want to take the remote server's claim of the user's identity. This is one of the great features of a claims-based login. Another system, which your system trusts, provides a claim of the user's identity. There are many standards, such as WS-Federation, WS-Security, and WS-Trust that define how this sort of arrangement should work. WS-Federation is the most relevant because it describes a specific approach for the exchange of federated authentication. SharePoint 2010 implements the WS-Federation standard, as do many other Microsoft and non-Microsoft products. This means that the SharePoint claims implementation can talk to many other systems. In addition to the authentication information described previously, there is the capability for the infrastructure to make other claims about the user, including profile properties such as name and email address. The claim can also contain the roles, or groups, that a user belongs to. This opens the door for applications, including SharePoint 2010, to use what the claims provider (known as an issuing party) trusts about the user. Then, applications can set authorization to do something to the roles that are conveyed in the claims token. The ability for a claim to convey more than just simple identity necessitates the requirement to enforce rules about what types of claims an application will accept from a third party. The WS-Trust standard supports the idea that one party may rely on another party, as described previously. In addition, it also allows for a chain of trust, where the application, such as SharePoint 2010, trusts an internal provider such as Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) 2.0, which in turn trusts another party or even multiple other parties. AD FS 2.0 creates its own claims token for SharePoint, based on the information that it received from the issuing party that it trusts. This is particularly useful because AD FS 2.0 is a claims transformation engine. That is, it can change one claim, such as a property, into another claim, such as role membership. AD FS 2.0 can also filter the claims made by a third party, so that the third party cannot pass a claim to the application that a user is an administrator for. Now that you have learned about the advantages of claims-based authentication, we can examine what actually happens when you work with claims-based security in SharePoint. When using classic authentication, you expect that SharePoint will issue an HTTP status code of 401 at the client, indicating the types of HTTP authentication the server supports. However, in claims mode a more complex interaction occurs. The following is a detailed account of the sequence that SharePoint performs when it is configured for both Windows authentication and Windows Live ID through claims. 1. The user selects a link on the secured site, and the client transmits the request. 2. The server responds with an HTTP status code of 302, indicating a temporary redirect. The target page is /_layouts/authenticate.aspx, with a query string parameter of Source that contains the server relative source URL that the user initially requested. 3. The client requests /_layouts/authenticate.aspx. 4. The server responds with a 302 temporary redirect to /_login/default.aspx with a query string parameter of ReturnUrl that includes the authentication page and its query string. 5. The client requests the /_login/default.aspx page. 6. The server responds with a page that prompts the user to select the authentication method. This happens because the server is configured to accept claims from multiple security token services (STSs), including the built-in SharePoint STS and the Windows Live ID STS. 7. The user selects the appropriate login provider from the drop-down list, and the client posts the response on /_login/default.aspx. 8. The server responds with a 302 temporary redirect to /_trust/default.aspx with a query string parameter of trust with the trust provider that the user selected, a ReturnUrl parameter that includes the authenticate.aspx page, and an additional query string parameter with the source again. Source is still a part of the ReturnUrl parameter. 9. The client follows the redirect and gets /_trust/default.aspx. 10. The server responds with a 302 temporary redirect to the URL of the identity provider. In the case of Windows Live ID, the URL is https://login.live.com/login.srf with a series of parameters that identify the site to Windows Live ID and a wctx parameter that matches the ReturnUrl query string provided previously. 11. The client and server iterate an exchange of information, based on the operation of Windows Live ID and then the user, eventually ending in a post to /_trust/default.aspx, which was configured in Windows Live ID. This post includes a Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) token that includes the user's identity and Windows Live ID signature that specifies that the ID is correct. 12. The server responds with a redirect to /_layouts/authenticate.aspx, as was provided initially as the redirect URL in the ReturnUrl query string parameter. This value comes back from the claims provider as wctx in the form of a form post variable. During the redirect, the /_trust/default.aspx page writes two or more encrypted and encoded authentication cookies that are retransmitted on every request to the website. These cookies consist of one or more FedAuth cookies, and an rtFA cookie. The FedAuth cookies enable federated authorization, and the rtFA cookie enables signing out the user from all SharePoint sites, even if the sign-out process starts from a non-SharePoint site. Note Note If there is only one authentication mechanism for the zone on which the user is accessing the web application, the user is not prompted for which authentication to use (see step 6). Instead, /_login/default.aspx immediately redirects the user to the appropriate authentication provider—in this case, Windows Live ID. SharePoint Online Authentication Cookies Note Note For SharePoint Online, the FedAuth cookies are written with an HTTPOnly flag. However, for on-premises SharePoint 2010 installations, an administrator could modify the web.config file to render normal cookies without this flag. The starting point for using the SharePoint client-side object model for remote authentication is getting a ClientContext object. It is this client context object that ties the other operations in the object model to the server and specified site. In a Windows-based HTTP authentication scenario, the client context behaves as Internet Explorer behaves; it automatically transmits credentials to the server if the server is in the Intranet zone. In most cases, this works just fine. The server processes the credentials and automatically authenticates the user. In a forms-based authentication environment, it is also possible to use the FormsAuthenticationLoginInfo object to provide forms-based authentication to the server. However, this works only for forms-based authentication. It does not work for federated-based claims scenarios because SharePoint does not own the actual authentication process. Creating an authenticated ClientContext object is a multistep process. First, the user must be able to sign into the remote system interactively. First, the user signs into SharePoint through the federated authentication provider, and SharePoint must issue its authentication cookies. Second, the code must retrieve the authentication cookies. Third, those cookies must be added to the ClientContext object. Enabling User Login for Remote Authentication The .NET Framework includes a System.Windows.Forms.WebBrowser object that is designed to enable the use of a web browser inside of an application. To enable the user to log in to the federated authentication provider, this object must be created and displayed. The goal, however, is to retrieve the authentication cookies issued by SharePoint Online. To determine when the login process is completed, you must register a handler on the Navigated event. This event fires after the browser has completed navigation. This event handler watches for the user to be returned to the URL that they started navigating from. When this occurs, the code knows that the user has completed the login sequence. Fetching the SharePoint Authentication Cookies Because the FedAuth cookies are written with an HTTPOnly flag, they cannot be accessed from the .NET Framework. To retrieve the cookies, a call must be made to the WININET.dll. The .NET Framework can call COM-based DLL methods through PInvoke (platform invoke). In this case, the method to be called is InternetGetCookieEx. This can return regular cookies and those with the HTTPOnly flag. However, this method works only by starting with Internet Explorer 8. After the cookie is retrieved, it must be added to the client context. For more information about PInvoke, see Calling Native Functions from Managed Code. Adding the SharePoint Authentication Cookies to the ClientContext object The final step is to retrieve the authentication cookies from the user's login and to attach them to the client context. Unfortunately, there is no direct way to add the cookies to the request. However, there is an event, ExecutingWebRequest, which is called before the ClientContext object makes a request to the server. By adding an event handler to this event, you can add a new request header with the authentication cookies. After this is complete, the ClientContext object can be used normally, and the rest of the code is completely unaware that the authentication is based on a federated authentication. The code sample that accompanies this article demonstrates this technique of adding the SharePoint authentication cookies to the ClientContext object. It provides a set of classes that you can use to perform federated user authentication. You can start with the sample program to see what changes you must make when using this code compared to using an HTTP authenticated web server. The Sp_Ctx SharePoint Authentication Sample Client Application The Sp_Ctx project is a command-line program that uses a SharePoint ClientContext object to retrieve information about the web that the context is pointed to. Note Note When using the Sp_Ctx sample, you must specify the web URL as an https request. Specifying the web URL as an http request will result in an exception. The project refers to the ClaimsAuth library but is otherwise the same. In fact, the main code looks almost identical to the code that you would find in a standard client application. 01: static void Main(string[] args) 02: { 03: if (args.Length < 1) { Console.WriteLine("SP_Ctx <url>"); return; } 04: string targetSite = args[0]; 05: using (ClientContext ctx = ClaimClientContext.GetAuthenticatedContext(targetSite)) 06: { 07: if (ctx != null) 08: { 09: ctx.Load(ctx.Web); // Query for Web 10: ctx.ExecuteQuery(); // Execute 11: Console.WriteLine(ctx.Web.Title); 12: } 13: } 14: Console.ReadLine(); 15: } In this code, the only difference from code you would find in a standard client application is in line 05. Instead of creating a new ClientContext, we call ClaimClientContext.GetAuthenticatedContext. The big difference is that calling ClaimClientContext.GetAuthenticatedContext displays a form to enable the user to supply his or her credentials to the remote system, captures the authentication cookies needed to authenticate requests, and adds that header to the client context. ClaimClientContext in the SharePoint Online Authentication Sample Examining the next layer of the code, notice the ClaimClientContext object that was being called. It exposes two methods, the one used in the sample, GetAuthenticatedContext and GetAuthenticatedCookie. GetAuthenticatedCookie is called by GetAuthenticatedContext. In fact, GetAuthenticatedContext calls GetAuthenticatedCookie to get the cookies and wraps those in a context. GetAuthenticatedCookie opens the dialog box that displays the website, and watches for the authentication request to complete so that the authentication cookies can be retrieved. ClaimsWebAuth in the SharePoint Online Authentication Sample The ClaimsWebAuth class gets the authentication cookies. It encapsulates a form and a WebBrowser object. The first step, which is performed during object construction, is to gather the login and end navigation pages. This is done through the GetClaimParams method, which makes a web request with an HTTP OPTIONS method. When the Show method is called, the WebBrowser object is created, and an event handler is added for the Navigated event. This event is called every time the WebBrowser object is finished navigating. The event handler detects when the web browser has reached the navigation end URL. The event receiver makes the call to CookieReader, which in turn reads from WinINET to get the HTTPOnly FedAuth cookie. With the event receiver in place, the WebBrowser is navigated to the login URL and the authentication process occurs. When it is finished, the authentication cookies are returned to the caller. CookieReader in the SharePoint Online Authentication Sample The final piece of the sample code is the CookieReader class, which contains the call to WinINET.dll and a helper function to get the cookie. The helper function, named GetFedAuthCookie, returns a string that represents the cookie in the form of "Name=Value." GetFedAuthCookie calls the WinINET.dll method InternetGetCookieEx to fetch the cookie. InternetGetCookieEx returns false if the size of the string buffer that is passed in is not large enough. It also sets the size parameter to the size of buffer it needs. As a result, GetFedAuthCookie may have to call InternetGetCookieEx twice to get the value of the cookie, if the initial buffer is too small. This article describes how to perform claims-based authentication for Microsoft SharePoint Online in client applications by using the SharePoint 2010 client-side object models. SharePoint Online provides a compelling and flexible option for companies that want the powerful collaborative platform of SharePoint, without the operational costs that are associated with hosting software on-premises. And, with the techniques discussed in this article, developers can use the SharePoint client-side object models to create client applications that are capable of remotely authenticating against SharePoint Online. Robert Bogue has been a part of the Microsoft MVP program for 8 years. Robert’s latest book is The SharePoint Shepherd’s Guide for End Users. You can find out more about the book at http://www.SharePointShepherd.com. Robert blogs at http://www.thorprojects.com/blog. You can reach Robert at [email protected]. © 2014 Microsoft
[an error occurred while processing this directive] BBC News Launch consoleBBC News in video and audio Last Updated: Sunday, 25 March 2007, 09:34 GMT 10:34 UK Welsh links to slavery abolition Iolo Morganwg Poet Iolo Morganwg was an anti-slavery campaigner First Minister Rhodri Morgan has called for Wales to remember its contribution to the anti-slavery movement. He said the abolitionist cause was taken up by working class people and eminent figures like poet Iolo Morganwg and preacher John Elias. Mr Morgan also highlighted the links between the industrial revolution in Wales and profits from the slave trade. Events are being held across Wales on Sunday to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in Britain. Mr Morgan warned against pointing the finger of blame for slavery at others. "What we must guard against is smug self-satisfaction," he said. "While the slave trade is mainly associated with the ports of Bristol, London and Liverpool, it must be remembered that the Welsh industrial revolution and profits from the slave trade went hand in hand." It is an opportunity to demand to know why slavery still exists in some parts of the world today Rhodri Morgan Cyfarthfa Ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil, south Wales were founded by slave trader Anthony Bacon and historians believe its success was built on the profits of the slave trade. The fortune gained from slave plantations in Jamaica by their owner Richard Pennant was crucial to his development of the slate industry and Penrhyn Castle in north Wales, it has also been claimed. He was also an anti-abolitionist MP. "Welsh planters, agents and sea captains were directly involved, and ships used in the trade were built at Cardiff, Newport and Swansea," Mr Morgan added. "Many ordinary working-class people were also indirectly connected - the seamen on the ships and the workers employed by the slave owners and industrialists." But he also had praise for the people who took up the abolitionist cause in the last quarter of the 18th century, including preacher John Elias from Anglesey, who spoke out against slavery in Britain's biggest slave port, Liverpool. And poet Iolo Morganwg, founder of the Gorsedd of Bards, who was an anti-slavery campaigner. Moral conviction Mr Morgan also highlighted the work of Robert Everett from Flintshire, north Wales, who encouraged the Welsh in America to join the abolition campaign. The Abolition of Slave Trade Act, which made it illegal to trade slaves throughout the British Empire and banned British ships from involvement in the trade, was passed by British Parliament on 25 March 1807. Mr Morgan said the bicentenary was an important opportunity to reflect on the struggles of the past and to pay tribute to the courage and moral conviction of all those - black and white - who campaigned for its abolition. "It is an opportunity to demand to know why slavery still exists in some parts of the world today," he said. An event in St David's Hall, Cardiff entitled 'Valuing Freedom', will be one of a number of bicentenary events in Wales and the rest of the UK. Slavery: The Welsh Connections is on BBC Radio Wales, 25 March and 1 April at 1330 GMT and both are repeated the following Monday at 1800 GMT. Slave painting goes on view again 24 Mar 07 \| North East Wales Brutality of Picton past examined 20 Mar 07 \| South West Wales Has China's housing bubble burst? How the world's oldest clove tree defied an empire Why Royal Ballet principal Sergei Polunin quit Americas Africa Europe Middle East South Asia Asia Pacific
Hire electrician to find switch-outlet connections 2013-06-30T00:00:00Z Hire electrician to find switch-outlet connectionsRosie Romero Special To The Arizona Daily Star Arizona Daily Star QUESTION: We recently bought a house constructed by a builder who was foreclosed on by the bank. So we have no architectural plans available to refer to. Now we find we have several electrical switches that don't seem connected to any outlets, and we don't know what these switches can turn on and off. We also have a junction box on the ceiling for a light or fan but don't know where to turn it on and off. With some outlets in the walls only half the outlet is hot. Could I find where the wires end up in the walls by using a stud-finder that also has an electrical wire finder that helps you put in nails without electrocuting yourself? ANSWER: You probably need an electrician to trace the wiring with a sounding device. At any rate, using a stud-finder wouldn't help you find electrical problems. You can buy your own sounding device for about $100. These tools generate a sound to tell you where the wires in your walls end up. But using a device like this requires a considerable amount of experience in order to ascertain what the signals sent back by the device actually mean. Q: A year ago, I bought a new water heater for my vacation home in the mountains. When I leave that house periodically, I am usually away about four or five months, so I turn off the water heater. But when I return and restart the water heater, the hot water that comes out smells just awful. It keeps on smelling for a few days; after that the smell dissipates. The house uses well water. What is going on and how can I prevent this from happening? A: Sometimes that smell can be caused by chemical reactions in water heaters. It's also possible that your well has sulfur bacteria in it, and that is producing hydrogen sulfide gas. A water treatment company can usually resolve a problem with your well. In general, the rotten egg smell does not mean something is unhealthy with the water, but sometimes the sulfur gas may be the result of contamination by sewage or other pollution. So it is a good idea to have the well tested and fixed. If hydrogen sulfide gas is being emitted from the well, it can be hazardous as well. You may need to remove the gas permanently from the water or vent the gas somehow. Q: I recently bought a 60-year-old brick house with a plaster wall interior. Now there is cracking in the interior walls of the house with cracks that are about as wide as a pencil. There is also evidence of cracks on the outside. I've been filling the cracks, but I can't find anything that will work successfully. Can you recommend some product? A: Before you finish filling those cracks, you'd better investigate whether your house is "settling" due to movement in the footings of the house or whether your slab is "heaving" due to excessive moisture in the soil that it stands on. A foundation company can do tests to investigate what is going on and then repair the situation. You probably should stop doing cosmetic repairs like filling cracks until you have fixed the bigger issue. After that, when you begin to fill cracks, it's best to use flexible acrylic products to fill the cracks in walls rather than a more rigid agent. Q: Most drains in our 30-year-old house run very slowly. Our low-flush toilet is actually a flush-twice toilet; our kitchen garbage disposal at times has a foul odor. We have even had scorpions climb up out of our drains. So recently, we contacted a plumbing company for a camera inspection of our sewers. We have three-inch sewer lines that show a tremendous amount of calcium build-up. Surprisingly, there are no breaks in the lines. The plumbing company recommended whole-house hydro-power jetting and scrubbing for our sewer lines. What is your opinion of this service? A: Hydro-jetting is a very common plumbing solution. It is a bit like cleaning out your computer keyboard with cans of compressed air. I know you mentioned that your home is 30 years old, but we can't be sure of the condition of your plumbing. So ensure that the plumbing company you select has the ability to quickly repair any piping that may be damaged in the hydro-jetting process. For more do-it-yourself tips, go to An Arizona home building and remodeling industry expert for 25 years, Rosie Romero is the host of the syndicated Saturday morning Rosie on the House radio program, heard locally from8 to 11 a.m. on KNST-AM (790) and -FM (97.1) in Tucson and KGVY-AM (1080) and -FM (100.7) in Green Valley. Call Rosie on the House at 1-888-767-4348. Home improvement video Deals, offers & events View more... Community Workshop @ The Drop The Drop Dance Studio is proud to present....
Businessweek Archives One World, One Cell Phone Standard Readers Report As an international traveler, I feel little sympathy for Qualcomm Inc., Motorola Inc., and the other U.S. manufacturers of cell phones ("Cell phones: Europe made the right call," Science & Technology, Sept. 7). I have long envied the European move to the global system for mobile communications (GSM) standard. Every time I travel to Europe or Asia, I lament the fact that I cannot take my cell phone. Yes, technically better solutions were born from the competition fostered by the Federal Communications Commission, but true value to me is being able to use my phone anywhere. Have we forgotten Beta vs. VHS so soon? If third-generation code division multiple access (CDMA) is the wave of the future, then let's get on with it. The big money is made through volume, not bickering and turf wars. John J. MacDonald San Ramon, Calif.Return to top In "Korea Inc. Wimps Out Again" (International Business, Sept. 7), Moon Ihlwan makes observations typical of an outsider armchair economist's analysis. Moon asserts that the auto workers' strike at Hyundai Motor Co.'s Ulsan plant shows that the Korean people are massively resistant to change and that the government intervention in the potentially "bloody confrontation" sends a signal to the chaebol that mass layoffs are off-limits. Moon seems to advocate that Korea's blue-collar workers should take the brunt of the economic crisis and assume all responsibility--for the good of the country, of course. What he does not seem to understand is that Korea does not have the social support systems that the U.S. and Sweden have. In Korea, once workers are laid off, they have no income. There is no social net, no Social Security, no unemployment insurance. Additionally, as typical Korean families are structured, the male head of household is the only source of income. Laying off 1,500 workers, therefore, marks the end of subsistence for 1,500 families with wives and children. Why is it wrong for these workers to protect their means to survive? I believe that the expression of anger and protesting against what is deemed injustice is healthy for a country like Korea. In the 50 years of the republic, Korean workers were exploited beyond imagination by the chaebol and the government. It is only in the last decade that the government allowed them limited free expression. For the government to thwart the people-led protest, using police and military force, would be a giant step back for Korea. Hyunshuck Oh Brooklyn, N.Y.Return to top Robert Kuttner places the blame for Britain's prices on the wrong party ("Globalization's dirty little secret," Economic Viewpoint, Sept. 7). The answer to his question "Why, then, do Levi's jeans cost double in London what they cost in New York?" is simple: It's the government, stupid! The fact that Britons pay nearly double for some goods has nothing to do with "monopoly pricing" or U.S. multinational greed. Only when governments intervene (through regulation, tariffs, favoritism, etc.) does the law of price break down. The exorbitant prices in Britain are the result of British government collusion with foreign corporations. If governments let corporations compete without intervening via regulations or by playing favorites, competition will ensue and lower prices will prevail. The solution is less government, not more. Lance M. McInerney Bronxville, N.Y.Return to top The Good Business Issue blog comments powered by Disqus
Edition: U.S. / Global After a Stray Shot: A Girl's Family Seeks Meaning in a Random Loss Published: August 26, 1990 Daisy L. Rasberry lives as if suspended in time. She has not been to work for two months. Nor has she slept a full night since the evening of June 23, when a Saturday shopping trip with two of her daughters ended with her 10-year-old ''baby,'' Shaniqua, bleeding in her arms from a fatal gunshot wound to the chest. The bullet was not meant for Shaniqua. She was killed when an argument between two men and three clerks at a jewelry store in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn spilled onto the sidewalk where she stood browsing for summer shoes with her mother, her 13-year-old sister, two of her mother's friends and their three children. Another child, an 8-year-old girl, was also shot but survived. ''I do accept it,'' Mrs. Rasberry, 30, said, ''but I can't believe it.'' Since the death of Shaniqua Brown, a third-grader from Far Rockaway, Queens, who was known for her warmth, good grades and funny faces, stray bullets have killed at least five more New York City children under the age of 16 and wounded at least another five. The shootings have led to plans to hire more than 1,000 police officers by next spring and calls for tougher gun-control laws. But while such random violence appears to have become commonplace, its lingering impact on the victims' families, friends and communities is not. Within Shaniqua's family - her mother, her stepfather, Larry Rasberry, two sisters, Carmalei, 13, and Shayisha, 12, and grandparents - there is anger at the police for not being there when the quarrel outside the jewelry store on Flatbush Avenue erupted into shots, and at the store employees for somehow letting the argument turn deadly. Mrs. Rasberry said she was considering a lawsuit against both the Police Department and the jewelry store. It is not rage, though, but numbness, that seems to envelop Shaniqua's family. During interviews, they hardly mention the fact that two men have been arrested in the case. ''It's a lot to deal with,'' Mr. Rasberry, 27, a truck driver and former air cargo specialist with the Air Force, said last week. Mrs. Rasberry says she finds solace in talking to her minister, Charles Jones, at the Bethel Temple Church of God in Christ in Far Rockaway and in a Bible study group. But she still gropes for a meaning to her daughter's death. ''It's like paying for somebody else's sins.'' Shaniqua's sister Shayisha remembers her as ''the only one in the house that made us laugh.'' ''She'd make funny faces.'' Mr. Rasberry said his stepdaughter was also the only one who could make him ''move'' - go out for pizza, for example - after a hard day of work. ''I was always too tired but she had a way of getting me to do things,'' he said. 'Jarring Reality' for Students At Public School 197 in Far Rockaway, where Shaniqua would have started fourth grade this September, a psychologist, a social worker and an educational evaluator were on hand the Monday after the shooting to help her classmates and other students deal with the news, the principal, George Giberti, said. Most students, he said, had heard about the shooting by the time they arrived for classes and many were visibly upset. ''There was a jarring reality,'' he said. ''Children sometimes feel that they are immortal. They were now faced with a loss and there was an outpouring of emotion.'' Emotions ran strong too, in the neighborhood where the shooting took place, a bustling strip of stores and markets that is always crowded on Saturday afternoon. Neighbors Cooperated With Police The police said they were able to arrest the first of two men charged in Shaniqua's killing within 48 hours because the level of cooperation among residents and shopkeepers was unusually high. They provided leads and identified the first suspect, Jamal K. Coley, in a police lineup. ''Normally in a case like this nobody saw nothing,'' said Ed Boyar, the assistant district attorney prosecuting the case. In a statement to the police, Mr. Coley, 22, who lives in Flatbush, said he had gone to the Taj Mahal Jewelry store to return a gold chain he had bought for several hundred dollars but which another jeweler told him was worth half what he had paid. Mr. Coley told the police that when he confronted the Taj Mahal's clerks, they denied having sold him the chain. He left the store, kicking the door on his way out, and returned a short while later with a neighbor, Brian Reid, 22. Just as Mr. Coley and Mr. Reid went back to the Taj Mahal, Mrs. Rasberry and her friends, their children in tow, decided to shop for shoes. Feeling June's growing heat, they had gone to Flatbush Avenue to shop for cool clothes and sandals. Mrs. Rasberry often shopped in Brooklyn, somewhat of a trek from her Queens home, because ''it's so cheap out there for the kids.'' 'It Was So Quick' She recalled that the stores that evening ''were packed with kids.'' About 7:15 P.M. she, her daughters and her friends stopped by the window of Your Foot, next door to the Taj Mahal. Shaniqua fell for a pair of sandals in black, red and yellow. The next thing she remembers is hearing someone yell ''Run!'' ''It was so quick,'' she said. ''I didn't hear an argument.'' ''All we did was bend down for one second and someone said, 'Run!' I went to grab my baby girl and the bullet hit her at the same time. I remember when she said 'Ow.' I said, 'Run, Shaniqua!' '' Mrs. Rasberry said that she and her daughter ran inside the shoe store for safety, but that Shaniqua, grabbing her stomach, said, ''Mommy, I've already been shot.'' Fired a Single Bullet Shaniqua died later that night at Kings County Hospital Center. Mr. Coley has told the police that he fired a single shot into the air after he and Mr. Reid argued with a shoe store clerk they believed ''was with'' the jewelry store workers. The police say that is the shot that killed Shaniqua. Mr. Coley, arrested two days later at his girlfriend's apartment, has been indicted on charges of second-degree murder, attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon. He has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail. Mr. Reid, who turned himself in to the police Aug. 6 and is also being held without bail, has been indicted and is scheduled for arraignment on the same charges tomorrow in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn. Both men are unemployed and single, and both lived with their families in Flatbush. Suspect Has a Son, 4 Mr. Coley, who dropped out of school after the 10th grade, is the father of a 4-year-old boy. ''He's very concerned about the charges against him, but he and I agree that whatever happened was certainly very tragic,'' Mr. Coley's lawyer, Michael F. Baum, said. Because killings like that of Shaniqua are so random and unexpected, psychiatrists say, they provoke more shock and fear than other types of violence, and are more difficult to accept. And because the frequency of such killings has reached new levels, -they are extremely disorienting, said Lawrence W. Sherman, a professor of criminology at the University of Maryland who has researched bystander shootings and reactions to them. 'Completely Terrorizing Event' ''It's not something your parents have told you about,'' he said. ''It's not something your friends have experienced. To have a stray bullet come out of nowhere for reasons that have nothing to do with the kind of life you've led, it's a completely terrorizing event.'' Since Shaniqua's shooting, Toufik Kassab, owner of both the Taj Mahal and Your Foot, has hired security guards at both stores. The owner, who was not present during the shooting, said that his employees had called the police at least twice about the argument but that there was no response. Come September, Mrs. Rasberry said, she may be ready to return to her job as a part-time office clerk in the highway permits division of the city's Department of Transportation, ''just to keep my mind occupied.'' Also in September, when classes resume at P.S. 197, the school plans a food drive, Mr. Giberti said. Donations will be sent to Bethel Temple Church of God in Christ in Shaniqua's name. Photos: Ten-year-old Shaniqua Brown was killed by a stray bullet during a shooting on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn on June 23; Daisy L. Rasberry, Shaniqua's mother, says she is still groping for a meaning in her daughter's death. ''I do accept it,'' she said, ''but I can't believe it.'' At right was another daughter, Shayisha. (Jim Estrin for The New York Times) (pg. 42)
Electric vehicles tough choice for consumers 2012-12-06 09:38:40 I've had a series of discussions with some bright and successful people in Orange County who have looked seriously at electric cars. Some own them. Some want them. Some are skeptical about them. Electric vehicles will play a key role in the nation's quest for reduced dependency on imported oil and, indeed, oil in general, and they hold out the promise that we can dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But they are not yet ready for prime time. Here are some issues that prevent widespread use. 1. The costs Pro: Electric cars have come a long way. Electricity is less expensive than gasoline and is more efficient. While the costs of operations and the amortization of the costs of EVs don't balance for Orange County consumers now, prices are coming down and EVs soon will be attractive to more households. Con: EVs are not accessible to most Americans. They are too expensive, even with present federal subsidies, for middle-class households in O.C. and elsewhere, and they are not accessible at all to lower-income households. The new cars cannot go beyond 250 miles on a fully charged battery. While the number of charging stations is increasing, it's still difficult to find one. It's scary when you're low on power. 2. The emissions Pro: EVs are essential to reduce GHG emissions. They are close to zero emitters of carbon. They would really help the environment. The nation should move rapidly to expand their use. Con: About a third of the power in the nation comes from coal, which emits large amounts of carbon. Therefore, many EVs, at least indirectly, are responsible for GHG emissions. Even if power plants use natural gas, the carbon that is generated by the plant, while less than what is emitted by coal, is still significant. Before we crown EVs as zero or low-emission vehicles, GHG emissions must be fairly allocated to electric vehicles based on the power received from the power plant. 3. The market Pro: GM just announced it is aiming to sell 500,000 electric vehicles by 2017. Its leaders, as well as the leadership of the other major car companies, say that electric cars are here to stay and will begin to attract larger markets. Con: The auto companies have made promises before and have pulled back when the market was not ready for their products. One of the more visible electric-car makers – Fisker – has real financial problems based on supply-chain issues, battery problems, financing and production difficulties. Right now, the market for electric vehicles is uncertain, except, perhaps, among the more affluent. To reach a broad market, prices for a four- or five-seater vehicles must approximate $30,000 or less without a subsidy. Fewer than 50,000 EVs were sold last year. Auto companies are considering larger investments in hybrids. 4. The technology Pro: Innovative technology will extend the life of lithium batteries and reduce their cost, size and weight. Innovations now on the drawing board may provide cheaper, better, more cost-effective alternatives to lithium batteries. Con: Innovation is occurring with respect to batteries that will make electric cars more marketable. But change will come more slowly than most advocates think and will not significantly affect market demand for some time. Several battery makers have or will soon go out of business because of low demand. Progress has been made in making electric vehicles more accessible to a wider band of consumers. It remains, however, a relatively narrow band. Between 2015 and 2017, electric vehicles are expected to reach nearly 10 to 13 percent of the new-car market in the nation and a bit higher in Orange County. That's nothing to sneeze at. Yet it's nothing to rest easy about, if the nation's goals are to reduce oil dependency and GHG emissions. Further, conversion of the more than 300 million vehicles in the nation to electric vehicles, while technically possible, will be expensive. It's an option available to only a limited number of businesses, families and individuals. The nation needs alternative transition fuels to reduce oil dependency and GHG emissions. Reducing the economic, environmental and security problems related to imported oil and its derivative gasoline will not wait until EVs are able to reach larger numbers of Americans. Opening up the very restricted gasoline market to competition from alternative transitional or bridge fuels, such as ethanol, methanol, natural gas and, when ready, biofuels, would be in the public interest. The cost of gas would likely stabilize and go down over time. Alternative fuels would emit less GHGs and reduce imports of oil. The coming of age of electric vehicles within the next decade would add a strategic necessary dimension to the mix of fuel choices. EVs will become a real choice for many Americans. © Copyright 2010 Freedom Communications. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy \| User Agreement \| Site Map
Take the 2-minute tour × After very long time using Ubuntu old LTS version I have re-installed to new LTS 12.10, but I can't get rid of ipv6 ! I have did: in /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf: blacklist ipv6 blacklist ip6table_filter blacklist ip6_tables in /etc/sysctl.conf net.ipv6.conf.all.disable_ipv6 = 1 net.ipv6.conf.default.disable_ipv6 = 1 net.ipv6.conf.lo.disable_ipv6 = 1 But ufw happily use v6 protocol, and in dmesg: ip6_tables: (C) 2000-2006 Netfilter Core Team . . IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): em1: link becomes ready What is going to take to get rid of IPv6 ? I swear Terminator didn't put so much fight. share\|improve this question 2 Answers 2 If you really want to disable IPv6, which I think is a bad idea, you need to tell all programs that use the net not to use IPv6. In UFW you have to edit /etc/defaults/ufw and check that IPv6 are not enabled there. But really, I think that's a bad idea. share\|improve this answer Why would it be bad idea ? I do not use IPv6 at all, so why bother kernel and OS with it.. :) but thanks for /etc/defaultufw I have disabled ipv6 there now – VladoPortos Oct 26 '12 at 8:58 Because all modern OS will have support for it. All programs that connect to net will have it activated. So it would be better to close all connections through IPv6 with ufw then to try to fight all comming upgrades/installations. Because IPv6 has come to stay, and not need to fight NAT is a bliss. If you don't have an IPv6 address that starts with an 2, you don't have a global address and can't connect and be connected to Internet. Lastly, it's not a bother to the kernel. Not compared to a desktop. – Anders Oct 26 '12 at 9:18 Well maybe, I just don't like things to be on server that are not in use... – VladoPortos Oct 26 '12 at 10:22 PS: watch out if you disable IPv6 support in ufw. If the ipv6 module is loaded in some other way it will result in a system with IPv6 enabled but without an IPv6 firewall. It's better to leave IPv6 enabled and secure. More and more applications and protocols are using IPv6 these days, even if just on the local link (the addresses that start with fe80: are always available on every interface). – Sander Steffann Oct 26 '12 at 15:17 And if my solution was good and worked, it would be nice if you marked the answer as a solution. ;-) – Anders Oct 29 '12 at 7:57 To disable ipv6 just add "ipv6.disable=1" to Your kernel line in Grub... share\|improve this answer Your Answer
HOME > Chowhound > General Topics > how do you eat whole pig's feet? I was recently confronted with this problem at my regular vietnamese spot. It was in my soup bowl, perched on top, clearly the "special" part of the otherwise delicious special: a whole pig's foot. I think it was pig. I considered the possibility that it was just another collagen-rich soup bone that had accidentally slipped into my bowl, but every bowl of that special I have ordered (and there have been many, because it's freaking addictively delicious) has contained a foot, sitting proudly atop a little hillock of melty brisket and fat noodles. I'm not averse. Just virginal. So please help: - How do you eat a whole pig's foot? Do you just pick it up and gnaw on it? The thick rubbery skin resisted my efforts, and the rest seemed like just fat barely cushioning trotter bones. I poked into the severed end for marrow with my chopstick without much luck. What part should I eat and what toss aside? - How do you eat a whole pig's foot with chopsticks? 1. Click to Upload a photo (10 MB limit) 1. "How do you eat a whole pig's foot with chopsticks?" quite possibly the best, and funniest mental image i've had all day. :) and i have NO idea. 1. When I have encountered it in pozole and menudo, its usually been tender enough to tear in the soup to pieces for the outer meat. The leftover collagen or marrow you pick up and eat or I put it into a tortilla with salsa. The city of Guadalajara is famous for tostadas de pata or pigs feet tostadas. Usually the meat is chopped into dice for you but at this restaurant near the Refugio this past summer I was given the whole thing! http://flickr.com/photos/xguadalajara... 1. Go primordial. Bring a bib if you prefer, or use a makes-shift one with napkins if you must, but whatever you do don't be shy. Attack it like a steaklover would a prime ribeye after a month on a a vegetarian fast, er, I mean, uh, vegetarian diet. 1. I eat congealed pigs foot from time to time and I don't eat it with chopsticks (even though it is korean). I just pull it apart with my hands and eat the toes one by one and then eat the rest. Tasty stuff 1. I've never had one like this, but used to eat pickled pigs feet all the time as a kid. Just pick it up and start eating it.
System Administration Guide: Security Services ProcedureHow to Restrict Access to KDC Servers Both master KDC servers and slave KDC servers have copies of the KDC database stored locally. Restricting access to these servers so that the databases are secure is important to the overall security of the Kerberos installation. 1. Disable remote services, as needed. To provide a secure KDC server, all nonessential network services should be disabled . Depending on your configuration, some of these services may already be disabled. Check the service status with the svcs command. In most circumstances, the only services that would need to run would be krb5kdc and kadmin if the KDC is a master. In addition, any services that use loopback tli (ticlts, ticotsord, and ticots) can be left enabled. # svcadm disable network/comsat # svcadm disable network/dtspc/tcp # svcadm disable network/finger # svcadm disable network/login:rlogin # svcadm disable network/rexec # svcadm disable network/shell # svcadm disable network/talk # svcadm disable network/tname # svcadm disable network/uucp # svcadm disable network/rpc_100068_2-5/rpc_udp 2. Restrict access to the hardware that supports the KDC. To restrict physical access, make sure that the KDC server and its monitor are located in a secure facility. Users should not be able to access this server in any way. 3. Store KDC database backups on local disks or on the KDC slaves. Make tape backups of your KDC only if the tapes are stored securely. Follow the same practice for copies of keytab files. It would be best to store these files on a local file system that is not shared with other systems. The storage file system can be on either the master KDC server or any of the slave KDCs.
Said bin Sultan, Sultan of Muscat and Oman From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Said bin Sultan) Jump to: navigation, search Said Bin Sultan Said Bin Sultan.jpg H.E. Said bin Sultan Sultans of Oman Reign 1807–1856 Predecessor Sultan bin Ahmad Successor Turki bin Said Dynasty Al Said Born (1790-06-05)5 June 1790[1] Died 19 October 1856(1856-10-19) (aged 59) Religion Ibadi Islam Said bin Sultan Al-Said (Arabic: سعيد بن سلطان‎, Sa‘id bin Sulṭān) (5 June 1790 – 19 October 1856) was Sultan of Muscat and Oman from March 1807 to 4 June 1856. Early years[edit] Said bin Sultan was son of Sultan bin Ahmad, who ruled Oman from 1792 to 1804. Sultan bin Ahmad died in 1804 on an expedition to Basra. He appointed Mohammed bin Nasir bin Mohammed al-Jabry as the Regent and guardian of his two sons, Salim bin Sultan and Said bin Sultan.[2] Sultan's brother Qais bin Ahmad, ruler of Sohar, decided to attempt to seize power. Early in 1805 Qais and his brother Mohammed marched south along the coast to Muttrah, which he easily captured. Qais then started to besiege Muscat. Mohammed bin Nasir tried to bribe Qais to leave, but did not succeed.[2] Mohammed bin Nasir called on Badr bin Saif for help.[2] After a series of engagements, Qais was forced to retire to Sohar. Badr bin Saif became the effective ruler.[3] Allied with the Wahhabis, Badr bin Saif became increasingly unpopular.[4] To get his wards out of the way, Badr bin Saif made Salim bin Sultan governor of Al Maşna‘ah, on the Batinah coast and Said bin Sultan governor of Barka.[5] In March 1807 Said bin Sultan lured Badr bin Saif to Barka and murdered him nearby. Said was proclaimed ruler of Oman.[6][1] There are different accounts of what happened, but it seems clear that Said struck the first blow and his supporters finished the job. Said was acclaimed by the people as a liberator from the Wahhabis, who left the country. Qais bin Ahmad at once gave his support to Said. Nervous of the Wahhabi reaction, Said blamed Mohammed bin Nasir for the murder.[1] Said bin Sultan became the sole ruler of Oman, apparently with the consent of his brother. Their aunt, the daughter of the Imam Ahmad bin Said al-Busaidi, seems to have influenced this decision.[7] In 1835, he ratified a treaty with the United States on very favorable terms, that had been negotiated by Edmund Roberts at Muscat on September 21, 1833,[8] and returned by USS Peacock.[9] In 1837, he conquered Mombasa, Kenya. In 1840, Said moved his capital from Muscat, Oman, to Stone Town, Zanzibar where Richard Waters was American Consul,[10] and sent a ship to the United States to try to further a trading relationship.[11] Upon Said's death in 1856, his realm was divided. His third son, Thuwaini bin Said, became the Sultan of Muscat and Oman, and his sixth son, Sayyid Majid bin Said, became the Sultan of Zanzibar. The National Museum of Oman in Muscat houses numerous items of silverware and other possessions that belonged to Said. Said had 36 children 1 michael.omeke bin Said al-Said (ca. 1815–1851): an alcoholic, according to Ruete (Ch. 15), he left three sons, Suud, Fesal, and Mhammed 1. Sayyid Khalid bin Said al-Said (c.1819–1854) 2. Sayyid Thuwaini bin Said al-Said (also called Tueni) (−1866): Sultan of Muscat and Oman, 1856–1866 3. Sayyid Muhammad bin Said al-Said (1826–1863): he "...was considered the most pious of our entire family.... cared little for the world and wordly goods.... possessed by... antipathy against Zanzibar" (Ch. 14, Ruete); he lived most of his life in Oman 4. Sayyid Turki bin Said (1832–1888): Sultan of Muscat and Oman, 1871–1888 5. Sayyid Majid bin Said Al-Busaid, 1st Sultan of Zanzibar (1834/5-1870): Sultan of Zanzibar, 1856–1870 6. Sayyid Ali bin Said al-Said (?-1893) 7. Sayyid Barghash bin Said Al-Busaid, 2nd Sultan of Zanzibar (1837–1888): Sultan of Zanzibar, 1870–1888 8. Sayyid Abdu'l-Wahhab bin Said al-Said (1840–1866) 9. Sayyid Jamshid bin Said al-Said (1842–1870) 10. Sayyid Hamdan bin Said al-Said (1843–1858) 11. Sayyid Ghalib bin Said al-Said 12. Sayyid Sawedan bin Said al-Said (1845–?) 13. Sayyid Abdu'l-Aziz bin Said al-Said (1850–1907) 14. Sayyid Khalifah bin Said Al-Busaid, 3rd Sultan of Zanzibar (1852–1890): Sultan of Zanzibar, 1888–1890 15. Sayyid Hamad bin Said al-Said 16. Sayyid Shuwaid bin Said al-Said 17. Sayyid Abbas bin Said al-Said 18. Sayyid Manin bin Said al-Said 19. Sayyid Ali bin Said Al-Busaid, 4th Sultan of Zanzibar (1854–1893): Sultan of Zanzibar, 1890–1893 20. Sayyid Badran bin Said al-Said (?-1887) 21. Sayyid Nasir bin Said al-Said (also called Nasor) (?-1887) went to Mecca with his older sister Chadudj: died in his twenties 22. Sayyid Abdu'l-Rab bin Said al-Said (?-1888) 23. Sayyid Ahmad bin Said al-Said 24. Sayyid Talib bin Said al-Said 25. Sayyid Abdullah bin Said al-Said 26. Sayyida Sharîfe of Zanzibar and Oman: the daughter of a Circassian woman, she was "a dazzling beauty with the complexion of a German blonde. Besides, she possessed a sharp intellect, which made her into a faithful advisor of my father's" (described in Ruete, Ch. 15) 27. Sayyida Chole (or Khwala) of Zanzibar and Oman (died 1875): the daughter of a Mesopotamian woman, she "was particularly close to our father; her enchanting personality, her cheerfulness and charm won him over completely" (Ruete, Ch. 15) 28. Sayyida Aashe of Zanzibar and Oman: full sister of Chole; after the death of their brother Hilal (1851), she "took motherly care of his eldest son Suud" (Ruete) 29. Sayyida Chadudj of Zanzibar and Oman: full sister of Majid; after his death (1870), she went with her younger brother Nasir to Mecca and died not long afterward (Ruete) 30. Sayyida Shewâne of Zanzibar and Oman: the daughter of an Abyssinian woman; "a classical beauty ... endowed with a keen mind", she died early (Ruete) 31. Sayyida Mettle of Zanzibar and Oman: the daughter of an Abyssinian woman, she married a "distant cousin" in Stonetown and had "two charming twin boys" (Ruete) 32. Sayyida Zeyâne of Zanzibar and Oman: the daughter of an Abyssinian woman (Ruete) 33. Sayyida Semsem of Zanzibar and Oman: full sister of Zeyâne, she was married "rather late in life [to] our distant cousin Humud" (Ruete) 34. Sayyida Nunu of Zanzibar and Oman: the daughter of a Circassian woman, she was born blind; after the deaths of her parents, she lived with her sister Aashe (Ruete) 35. Sayyida Salme of Zanzibar and Oman (1844–1924): she became known as Emily Ruete[12] Said bin Sultan honors that included:[13] Further reading[edit] • Memoirs of an Arabian Princess from Zanzibar, Emily Ruete, 1888. (Many reprints). Author (1844–1924) was born Princess Salme of Zanzibar and Oman and was a daughter of Sayyid Said. In the fifteenth chapter of her book, she describes her sisters and two of her brothers (Hilal and Thuweini). External links[edit]
Take the 2-minute tour × Which comes first in a sentence? I know some word pairs such as bacon and eggs, where bacon always comes first. E.g: Make me bacon and eggs for dinner, honey. Cats and dogs are the two most common pets I know of. What is the preferred order? 1. Dogs are superior. Don't put dogs and cats together, they might fight! 2. Cats are superior. Don't put cats and dogs together, they might fight! share\|improve this question I think you'll find that there really aren't any hard-and-fast rules; "cats and dogs" and "dogs and cats" are equally valid, except in specific phrases: it never "rains dogs and cats", for example. Even your example isn't as clear-cut as you might think: here's an NGram contrasting "eggs and bacon" with "bacon and eggs"; "bacon and eggs" is more common now, but "eggs and bacon" is definitely valid - and used to be the more common form. – MT_Head Jul 5 '11 at 0:33 And as this NGram shows, even with the prevalence of "it's raining cats and dogs", "dogs and cats" comes out ahead. But seriously: nobody says "it's raining dogs and cats". – MT_Head Jul 5 '11 at 0:37 "c" comes before "d"... so cats come first :) – user10621 Jul 5 '11 at 1:08 Shirley Valentine (in the eponymous play by Willy Russell) repeatedly says "chips and egg". I take it this is a Liverpool expression, because this is the only place I have ever heard that order, as opposed to "egg and chips". All going to make the point that there is usually no preferred order. – Colin Fine Jul 5 '11 at 14:39 @Colin Fine: Willy Russell would be quite capable of using that order for several other reasons besides the possibility of actual authenticity, though I honestly don't know. But surely in most common A and B parings there is a preferred order? Most important first, usually, IMHO. – FumbleFingers Jul 7 '11 at 20:47 3 Answers 3 up vote 6 down vote accepted Given the phrase it's raining cats and dogs, you might be led to believe that this is the usual ordering. However, COCA gives the following frequencies: cats and dogs 272 dogs and cats 359 So it seems there isn't really a preferred ordering. share\|improve this answer What is the COCA? – Thursagen Jul 5 '11 at 0:39 I googled "dogs and cats", and it came up with three citations of dogs and cats, and the rest were cats and dogs. – Thursagen Jul 5 '11 at 0:40 @Ham It's a corpus of the English language that has been tagged with parts of speech. – z7sg Ѫ Jul 5 '11 at 0:42 @Ham Google search results don't mean all that much but here's the googlefight: googlefight.com/… – z7sg Ѫ Jul 5 '11 at 0:43 @Ham: You need to google the phrases with quotes: "dogs and cats" then "cats and dogs". I just did, 14.8 and 14.7 million respectively. I was suprised that "dogs and cats" was that popular. – Lee Kowalkowski Jul 5 '11 at 8:53 While "cats and dogs" is common, especially in popular idioms noted by others ("raining cats and dogs", "fighting like cats and dogs"), it would not surprise me in the least if the "dogs and cats" order received a significant boost from people quoting Bill Murray's character, Dr. Peter Venkman, in the 1987 movie Ghostbusters: Very handy when you want to humorously indicate the potential for great catastrophe, or perhaps more commonly, sardonically when you think the dangers are being exaggerated. share\|improve this answer +1 What do you mean, "biblical"? – Ben Jackson Jul 5 '11 at 3:40 "would not surprise"? - I'd be astonished if people quoting from Ghostbusters had any measurable effect on relative usage figures. – FumbleFingers Jul 5 '11 at 23:07 @FumbleFingers I guess it's a matter of experience, age, and social circles. My experience was that people quoted the movie and the line a lot in the few years following its release, enough that "dogs and cats" certainly didn't sound strange, despite the fact that it's used the other way in the common idioms. Doesn't mean I'm saying it did have a huge effect, just that I wouldn't be surprised. – Matthew Frederick Jul 7 '11 at 20:36 @FumbleFingers I'm curious, though: what is your theory of the origin of common phrasings, of how one thing "sounds right" and another "sounds wrong", even though there's no grammatical rule? Something besides popular culture? – Matthew Frederick Jul 8 '11 at 19:27 @Matthew Frederick: My theory, as embodied by my answer, is that ordinarily the more important of a pair is named first. I do not think that "cats and dogs" is a general-purpose pairing form for those two animals - it just rains them in that order. If you were rounding up strays of both types I bet you'd put the dogs top of the 'wanted' list. There is no 'standard' order for them, as proved by usage analysis. – FumbleFingers Jul 8 '11 at 21:27 Regarding any pair of nouns in general, if you're married, just ask yourself how your parents refer to you and your partner. Compare that to how your partner's parents refer to the two of you. In a bygone age it might have been standard practice for both sets of parents to name the man first, but today each parent names their own child first. And usually no-one even notices both naming systems being used concurrently at family gatherings and the like. The basic point is people usually name the more important of any such pair first. Regarding cats and dogs, apart from the common idiom that it might be raining them in that order, there's no significant preference either way for other contexts. As the chart shows, 'twas ever thus. Some people are cat people, some prefer dogs. They tend to name their preferred pet type first. share\|improve this answer "I think this is a silly question"... ? – Thursagen Jul 5 '11 at 2:28 Well other answerers haven't found it "obvious". – Colin Fine Jul 5 '11 at 14:42 @Colin Fine: Perhaps it's just me then. I thought the "more important" noun normally came first in any pairing, and that most people have a marked preference for either cats or dogs. I just assumed that if pressed, that would be their preferred word order. So many individuals would be clear about their order, but collectively there'd be no meaningful concensus. To be honest, I still think the answers here confirm that view. Maybe "silly question" was a bit ott, but I'm still not convinced it's about English language and usage. – FumbleFingers Jul 5 '11 at 16:58 I've knocked out the 'silly question' bit, since it obviously annoys folk. And added a picture to prove what I thought was obvious. – FumbleFingers Jul 5 '11 at 23:16 Your Answer
Teen Asks Friend to Attack His Mom with a Sword So They Can Eat Her Talk about a bad influence: A Washington teen is accused of convincing his friend to attack his own mother with a sword, and may have tried to convince him to eat her liver as well. Spokane County Sheriff's deputies arrived at the victim's Spokane Valley home to find her lying in a blood-soaked bed near two knives "and a sword with a bent handle." A manhunt was then launched for the woman's 13-year-old son and his 14-year-old friend, both of whom were later found by a police dog hiding near a home they had allegedly broken into after crashing the older teen's dad's SUV into the side of another home. Deputy Craig Chamberlin said the teens blamed the crime spree on a "blue pill" they had both taken. The younger teen reportedly confessed to asking his friend to kill his mother so they could eat her liver, but insisted "he would never do anything like that sober." The two were booked into a juvenile detention center on multiple charges including second-degree assault, burglary, and malicious mischief. Meanwhile, the mother remains hospitalized in stable condition. "It doesn't sound like she remembered the attack," said Chamberlin. [photo via Shutterstock]
Take the 2-minute tour × What is the source for the custom that Yemenite Jews people count Sefira in Aramaic? and why do they do it? share\|improve this question 2 Answers 2 up vote 11 down vote accepted Otzar Ta'amei Haminhagim (cf.) explains that it is a remnant of a time when the spoken language was Aramaic. Since the primary purpose of s'fira is the keeping track of days it is preferable to count in a language that enables the counter to keep track - i.e. a language the counter understands. share\|improve this answer Which leaves the question why we do not – SimchasTorah Apr 29 '11 at 2:54 @SimchasTorah - Because the spoken language for (most of) us is not Aramaic. I have a friend (who is neither a Yemenite nor is Aramaic his mother tongue) who counts Sefirah in English. – Adam Mosheh Jun 10 '12 at 21:36 @SimchasTorah My rule has always been, if you have to read the night's count inside because you can't in your head smoothly figure out what to say in Hebrew, you should just be counting in English. – Double AA Mar 6 '13 at 6:59 They preserve the Babylonian custom, where the native tongue of most people was Aramaic. The earliest attestation of saying the sefira in Aramaic of which I am aware is in the siddur of R. Saadia Gaon (see here, bottom of the page). share\|improve this answer Your Answer
Take the 2-minute tour × I posed the question here, but get no answers yet. Let $R$ be a PID, $M$ be an $R$-module. If $M$ is isomorphic to $r$ copies of cyclic primary module $R/\langle p^s\rangle$ where $p$ is a prime element of $R$, then does $M$ possess the following property? Given any submodule $N$ of $M$ isomorphic to $R/\langle p^{s_1}\rangle\oplus\cdots\oplus R/\langle p^{s_r}\rangle$, $M/N$ is isomorphic to $R/\langle p^{s-s_1}\rangle\oplus\cdots\oplus R/\langle p^{s-s_r}\rangle$. share\|improve this question This is better suited for MSE. You could start with $r=1$, with $M=R/p^sR$, $N=R/p^{s_1}R$. – Dietrich Burde Jun 26 '13 at 8:23 1 Answer 1 up vote 3 down vote accepted Choose generators $n_1,\dotsc,n_r$ for $N$ with $p^{s_i}n_i=0$. It is not hard to see that the annihilator of $p^{s_i}$ on $M$ is $p^{s-s_i}M$, so we can choose $m_i$ with $p^{s-s_i}m_i=n_i$. If we can prove that the elements $m_i$ form a basis for $M$ over the ring $R/p^s$, then everything else is clear. The given assumptions on $N$ imply that the elements $p^{s-1}m_i=p^{s_i-1}n_i$ are linearly independent over $R/p$ in the space $M[p]=\{m\in M:pm=0\}$, and by counting dimensions they must form a basis. Multiplication by $p^{s-1}$ gives an isomorphism $M/pM\to M[p]$, so the elements $m_i$ form a basis for $M/pM$ over $R/p$. We can certainly write $m_i=\sum_ja_{ij}e_j$ for some matrix $A=(a_{ij})$ over $R$, where $e_1,\dotsc,e_r$ is the standard basis for $M$. The above shows that $\det(A)$ is invertible mod $p$. It follows easily that it is invertible mod $p^s$ as well, which proves the claim. My argument refers to $p^{s_i-1}$ and so does not immediately work if $s_i=0$ for some $i$, but that can be cured with a few more steps. share\|improve this answer Following is the way I can think of to work for the case when some $s_i=0$. Get $m_i$'s in your argument for nonzero $s_i$'s, and prove that they are $R$-linearly independent by showing a correspinding minor of $A$ is invertible mod $p^s$. Then extend these $m_i$'s to an $R$-basis of $M$ as $M$ is homocyclic. Is there any simpler way? – Binzhou Xia Jul 13 '13 at 13:17 Your Answer
It's official: light travels exactly 299,762,458 meters per second By , Robert C. Cowen is the Monitor's natural science editor. It's official now. The speed of light is exactly 299,762,458 meters per second. There's no ambiguity about it, none of those ''error bars'' with which scientists indicate the uncertainties inherent in every measurement. The value of this fundamental natural constant has been arbitrarily set by international fiat. Yet in adopting a fixed value for the speed of light, the General Conference on Weights and Measures is not trying to preempt nature. Instead, on Oct. 20, it gave the world a more accurate standard of length, in which the meter now is derived from the color of a laser beam with the help of the agreed-upon light speed. In doing this, the conference has taken a giant step toward simplifying our system of weights and measures so that at least some of the basic units are based directly on time. Recommended: Could you pass a US citizenship test? The meter now is officially defined as the distance light travels, in vacuum, in the incredibly short time span of one second divided by 299,762,458. Thus the units of length used to describe the height of a mountain or the reach of your forearm are tied directly to the second. Someday the kilogram, for example, may also be based on time. Astronomers have long been accustomed to using time to define a unit of length with the help of the speed of light. The light-year, by which they specify the distance to a star, is the distance light travels in a year. But that has not hitherto been the case for the standard basic units (such as meter, kilogram, second, or ampere) which, by international agreement, underlie all other systems of measurement. Even the light-year is referenced ultimately to the standard meter. Up to now, that standard has basically been a length. It once was literally the distance between two marks on a platinum-iridium bar kept by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in Paris. By 1960, however, this had become much too crude for the precision measurements of physicists and astronomers. So the meter was redefined to be 1,650,763.73 wavelengths of the orange-red light emitted by a krypton-86 lamp (krypton-86 being one of several forms of that element). Now this standard has also become too imprecise for the needs of science. This search for ever-greater precision is what has driven metro-logists to base the unit of length on the second rather than on an actual physical distance. ''The main reason for doing this is that the second is the most accurate of all the base units,'' explains Kenneth W. Evenson of the US National Bureau of Standards (NBS). It can be measured to better than one part in 10,000 billion. The krypton meter was accurate to about 4 parts in a billion. The key tool in tying the meter to the second is the laser. The wavelength of light is related mathematically to its frequency - wavelength is just the speed of light divided by frequency. And frequency, Evenson says, can be measured 1, 000 to 10,000 times as accurately as can wavelength. A laser provides the kind of pure, stable light source needed for this precision work. Then, with the use of a mirror, this light can be made to interact with itself to produce a characteristic pattern of bright and dark lines called fringes. The spacing of these fringes is directly related to the wavelength of the light. And since wavelength is accurately calculated from the light's frequency, a metrologist has only to count the appropriate number of fringes - that is, the appropriate number of wavelengths - to lay out a standard meter, Evenson explains. Since the measurement of frequency is directly linked to the measurement of time, the accuracy of frequency measurements, and hence the precision of the standard meter, now is tied directly to the precision of the atomic clock, the most precise of all present standards for weights and measures. The work of Evenson and his colleagues at the NBS laboratory in Boulder, Colo., helped encourage the General Conference on Weights and Measures to adopt the new definition of the meter. Already, he says, the standard meter is 10 times as accurate as when it was based on the wavelength of krypton light. He adds that there should be little difficulty in gaining another tenfold improvement in accuracy. But what of other units? Is it realistic to try to base the kilogram on time measurements, for example, now that this has been done for the meter? Evenson says he can't imagine how to do this for degrees of temperature or amperes of electric current. But he says it may be possible to do it for the kilogram by measuring the distance between atoms in crystals of silicon. If the number of atoms in a standard volume of such a crystal could be accurately measured, this could be a way of defining mass (that is the kilogram) in terms of length. Thus, Evenson says, with the meter and kilogram tied to the second, ''you could do a fairly good job of reducing the number of base units in terms of the second.'' Share this story:
Explosive Exhibition Wilhite drops The Bomb on us With all that we know from history books, photojournalistic images and survivor accounts, is it possible to consider a bomb as a thing of beauty? Is it likely that one could feast their eyes upon a weapon of mass destruction and find a feeling of warmth? A carry over of fond memories from life during the Cold War? Perhaps, it's even possible to assign a sort of cartoon BAM! POW! quality to threatening and intimidating symbols. Or, when faced with the bomb do we reflect on grief and mayhem past and possible? Find out for yourself at Barry Whistler Gallery, 2909-B Canton St. Artist Robert Wilhite presents a "full-scale interpretation" of Fat Man, the nuclear bomb that wreaked havoc on Nagasaki, Japan in 1945. The Bomb is a skeleton of sorts, with no outer covering to protect its innards. Ironic. In tandem, Kirsten Macy exhibits her New Paintings and works on paper that also employ a sort of explosive, skyward theme peppered with safety orange. Bring back time spent playing in Grandaddy's backyard bomb shelter or think upon what might happen. It's your call. Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays. Call 214-939-0242 or visit barrywhistlergallery.com. Wednesdays-Saturdays, 12-5 p.m. Starts: June 26. Continues through July 26, 2008 My Voice Nation Help
Found 308 related files. Current in page 1 contoh surat pengadaan barang dan jasa Painless delivery (Epidural anesthesia) Rupal Hospital How to Conceive Fast Blocked Fallopian Tube Treatment Surat Infertility and Damaged Fallopian Tubes Fertility Specialist in Surat Country Club Organizes DJ Night for All Music Lovers Gear up for the Chess Competition at Country Club Country Club Surat Celebrates Janamashtami perjanjian kerja sama antara badan penanggulangan bencana ... Pada hari ini SENiN tanggal ENAMBELAS bulan JULI tahun DUARIBU DUABELAS, yang bertandatangan di bawah ini: Drs. Tarminta, MM : Kepala Pelaksana Badan Penanggulangan Bencana Daerah Kabupaten Kepulauan Mentawai, dalam ha! ini bertindak untuk dan atas nama Pemerintah Daerah Kabupaten Kepulauan Mentawai di Jalan Raya Tuapeijat Km. 8, Tuapeijat - Sipora Mentawai, seianjutnya disebut PIHAK KESATU. Dr. Wiwin Ambarwulan : Kepala Pusat Pelayanan Jasa dan Informasi, dalam hal ini bertindak untuk dan atas nama Badan Koordinasi Survei dan Pemetaan Nasional, di Jalan Raya Jakarta - Bogor Km. 46 Cibinong, Jawa Barat, seianjutnya disebut PIHAK KEDUA. PIHAK KESATU dan PIHAK KEDUA yang seianjutnya disebut PARA PIHAK terlebih dahulu mengingat: 1. Undang-Unciang Nomor 20 Tahun 1997 tentang Penerimaan Negara Bukan Pajak (Lembaran Negara Republik Indonesia Tahun 1997 Nomor 43, Tambahan Lembaran Negara Republik Indonesia Nomor 3693); 1 dari 6 2. Undang-Untiang Nomor49 Tahun 1999, tanggal 4 Oktober 1999 tentang Pembentukan Kabupaten Kepulauan Mentawai; 3. Undang-Undang Nomor 4 Tahun 2011 tentang Informasi Geospasial (Lembar Negara Republik Indonesia Tahun 2011 Nomor 49, Tambahan Lembaran Negara Republik Indonesia Nomor 5214); 4. Undang-Undang Nomor 24 Tahun 2007 tentang Penanggulangan Bencana; 5. Peraturan Pernerintah Nomor 57 Tahun 2007 sebagai pengganti Peraturan Pemerintah Nomor 42 Tahun 2001, tentang Jenis dan Tarif atas Jenis Penerimaan Negara Bukan Pajak yang berlaku pada Badan Koordinasi Survei dan Pemetaan Nasional; 6. Peraturan Presiden Nomor 54 Tahun 2010 tentang Pedoman Pelaksanaan Pengadaan Barang/Jasa Pemerintah; 7. Peraturan Menteri Keuangan Nomor: 84/PMK.02/2011 tentang Standar Biaya Tahun Anggaran2012; « previous 123456789
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC80 review Started Feb 5, 2005 \| User reviews New MemberPosts: 5 Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC80 review Feb 5, 2005 I have a 2MP digital camera but was getting tired of having little leeway in cropping pictures before printing them and still retaining acceptable image quality. I therefore was looking for a 4MP or above camera. Looking at the point-and-shoot type (I'm not in to messing with F-stops and shutter speeds) I narrowed the list down to three that had been highly recommended by 'What Digital Camera' magazine. The 5MP Panasonic LC80 was one of these, and is a camera that has evolved over a few facelifts. The other two were the Canon W1 and the Nikon 5200. The Panasonic stood out because it is easily obtainable for under £200, it uses AA batteries rather then Li-ion (one of these can set you back £30 for a decent brand), and Panasonic were also bundling a free 128MB SD card as well as the usual 16MB card. More savings. This made the total cost of ownership at under £200, whereas the other cameras would be at least 20% more expensive. The camera is light, and it's size fits into a pocket (about the length and height of 1 cigarette packet, and the width 1.5 cig packets). Too small a camera might be too fiddly for big fingers! Panasonic are well known for their electronics, but not well known for optics, so they got Leica to design the lens. Magazine reviews rate the optics quite highly, and the Panasonic digital processing of the 'image' also appears pretty good. The camera has various resolutions/compressions for images, though you are best keeping it to the maximum 2560x1920 pixel size, minimum compression...the 128MB card will hold about 58 of these. There are various preset shooting modes such as portrait, landscape, nightshot which vary the F-stop/shutter speed, though in general usage you use just the one general mode which also allows exposure compensation and white balance. There is a viewfinder and a bright LCD screen. The LCD screen can display lots of info, including the F-stop and shutter speed determined, and a useful histogram that shows how well exposed the picture will be. The bundled manual is fairly thick, but the camera is fairly easy to learn. There aren't many menus you need to navigate once your major initial setup preferences have stored. The camera is recognised on my WinXP system as an extra drive, and photos easily uploaded. I didn't use the bundled software. Overall the camera delivers good quality pictures that can be printed up to A2 size with good quality. Image quality declines rapidly if the camera selects ISO400, but that is true of most digital cameras. Red-eye is still a problem when using flash (even using the red-eye reducing preflash, so get used to doing a bit of image processing. At this price level don't let the name Panasonic put you off. Panasonic have bought in the optical quality, and certainly know their onions about digital imaging. This is an excellent little point-and-shoot camera that delivers quality results, though does have drawbacks of red-eye and limited user control....if you want user control then spend £100 more. I guess a lot of people will be swayed by major brand names like Canon and Nikon, but this little Panasonic certainly is worth shortlisting. red-eye still a problem, just like with most other compact digital cameras cootuk's score Average community score Keyboard shortcuts: FForum MMy threads
FOX Business: Capitalism Lives Here Stock futures drifted higher on Tuesday as traders paid close attention to the tightly-contested U.S. elections. A round of economic data from Europe was also in focus. Today's Markets As of 7:56 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 30 points to 13083, S&P 500 futures gained 3.5 points to 1416 and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 9.8 points to 2672. Trading desks across the world were fixated on the American presidential election, the results of which are likely to play a big role in shaping the world's leading economy in years to come. Last-minute polling showed President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney locked in a very tight race. A significant concern among market participants was also the uncertainty that could be caused by the election dragging out over several days or weeks. "Election results will come down to voter turnout and, with the polls as close as they are, there is a non-negligible risk of a vote count dragging on beyond tonight," analysts at Nomura warned clients. "Any doubt over the validity of election results ... could worsen tensions ahead of the fiscal cliff debates." Analysts at Barclays echoed that sentiment, saying: "The importance of economic policymaking, the significant differences between the two candidates, the closeness of the polls and the result’s possible effect on bond yields make this a particularly important election in terms of potential short-run effects." Indeed, the U.S. is barreling toward the so-called fiscal cliff, a painful combination of federal spending cuts and tax hikes that could weigh heavily on economic growth. Political analysts have said that avoiding that outcome, while likely, will require careful stewardship by the White House and in Congress. On the economic front, U.K. industrial output slid 1.7% in September from the month before, which was more than double the drop economists expected. Meanwhile, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that the European Union expects Spain's economy to shrink 1.6% this year compared to Madrid's estimate of 1.5%. In corporate news, AOL (AOL) and CVS Caremark (CVS) both posted quarterly earnings that topped expectations on the top and bottom lines. Oil prices climbed modestly. The benchmark contract traded in New York gained 46 cents, or 0.54%, to $86.11 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline jumped 0.98% to $2.646 a gallon. Gold edged up $8.70, or 0.51%, to $1,692 a troy ounce. Foreign Markets The Euro Stoxx 50 gained 0.65% to 2534, the English FTSE 100 rose 0.64% to 5876 and the German DAX climbed 0.63% to 7373. In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 fell 0.36% to 8975 and the Chinese Hang Seng dipped 0.28% to 21944. Follow Adam Samson on Twitter @adamsamson.
Yesterday was my half birthday, meaning I turn the big 3-0 in a mere six months. Let the crisis begin. Actually, my friends baked me a lovely cake for the occasion. They also made a batch of very strong margaritas and indulged me by agreeing to watch The Bachelorette. Then we topped the night off with a midnight swim in the ocean. At the beach, it was really dark out and we could see a ton of stars...they were beautiful, I kept thinking, and so romantic that it seemed wrong that a handsome male companion wasn't gazing at them alongside me. Then I remembered that people (like me) think stars are romantic because of the movies. Originally they were for, like, guiding sailors across the ocean. Anyway, what is really on my mind right now is why did Bachelorette DeAnna choose Jesse, who seems too young for a commitment? She was so gung-ho on marriage and finding a guy who knows for sure and Jason was ready. And hot. He charged right into that ring store like a man on a mission. Meanwhile, Jesse was sweating balls. I was bummed, and not just because I lost a $10 bet on it. What do you think of her decision? Have you ever turned down the sure thing guy for the wild card? And, I have to ask, does anyone else celebrate their half-birthday?? P.S. Tonight I have a date with a fisherman. Random. I'm not quite sure how or why I said yes, but details tomorrow.
Home > Aichi > Nagoya City Science Museum Nagoya City Science Museum Observation of a star-sprinkled sky in a planetarium with the largest dome in the world, an experience nurturing interest in astronomy Nagoya City Science Museum is on the grounds of Shirakawa Park, Nagoya City. It is well known for the planetarium with a dome registered as the world's largest in the Guinness Book of Records. The museum has three buildings: Science and Technology Building, with an observatory on the 7th floor, Astronomy Building, with the planetarium, and Life Science Building, with exhibits on life, living, and earth. The museum holds a permanent exhibition, temporary exhibitions, and participatory practices and experiments that are all useful for the study of science and physics. The planetarium uses UNIVERSARIUM Model IX, which reproduces the real starlit sky almost as is. The program includes spectacular images and sounds (guidance is given only in Japanese). There is a separate program called Family Hour for small children. There are also participatory events, such as experience of manufacturing and lessons on weekends and national holidays. Visitors can make and play with toys based on astronomic and scientific knowledge under the instruction of experts (a fee for some programs is charged separately, and a reservation on the same day is necessary). Among exhibits and experiment programs, experiencing the extremely cold air of - 30 degree as well as the laboratory to observe phenomena such as large tornadoes and lightning discharges are popular among visitors. Why don't you stimulate your kids' interest in science through dynamic experiments? Address: 2-17-1 Sakae, Naka-ku, Nagoya City, Aichi Hours open to visitors: 9:30 to 17:00 (admission until 16:30) Admission Fee: 800 yen (adults), 500 yen (university and high school students), free (junior high school students and younger) Closed: Mondays (the following day when Monday is a national holiday), every third Friday (the following Friday when the third Friday is a national holiday), from December 29 to January 3 Directions: About a 5 minute-walk from Fushimi Station on the Subway Higashiyama line or Tsurumai line (about 3 minutes from Nagoya Station) (Car) About 10 minutes from Fukiage-Nishi Exit on the Nagoya Expressway (a fee is charged for parking) Area Map Related Information Official Sites
HOME > Chowhound > Los Angeles Area > Need to find a great place for a girls night out dinner in the Hollywood area Taking the bride and 8 gals out for a "girls night out" and I need recs for a fun, good, not too pricey place to have dinner in the Hollywood/ the Grove area. Needs to have a fun atmosphere, good food and a full bar. Some of the gals are foodies and we were orginally going to go to AOC but they are a wine bar only... Any ideas? 1. Click to Upload a photo (10 MB limit) 1. re: designjb AOC only serves wine is what I meant... 2. The new Loteria on Hollywood The Hungry Cat 7 Replies 1. re: Ciao Bob 2nd Bazaar...Mozza also good, but I dont think there is a full bar at the pizzaria, and the osteria is probably out of budget range. Also, the accoustics kind of suck, and ten girls....:) Also Katsuya, since everyone can share, you could keep the bill down. 1. re: schrutefarms If the full bar is a priority, the drink bill would quickly get out of hand at the Bazaar. I remember the drinks generally around $14-$16 each. Maybe someplace like Beso or Citrus? 1. re: TracyS You're right. The drinks are pricey. 1. re: TracyS Citrus is closing at the end of March, and is only open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. 2. re: Ciao Bob i think the Hungry Cat is an excellent option. Good food, good prices, GREAT drinks and walking distance from lots of fun bars in Hollywood. 1. re: lotta_cox i third hungry cat. i'd also suggest Tasca where you can share small plates as well. another idea is a hotel like Chateau Marmont, or even L'Ermitage (was just here for a cocktail party on the rooftop, and it's so darn gorgeous at sunset). 1. re: Emme I had a horrific meal at L'Hermitage. I second Tasca. I adore Tasca. 3. Cafe W as. Went there with some girlfriends a few weeks ago and it was alot of fun. 4 Replies 1. re: irishzoe Cafe Was. It's Ivan Kanes new place, on Sunset and Vine, same complex as Hungry Cat. 1. Try this again... Lola's isn't going to blow you away with the food but the full bar is there, the atmosphere is lively and young (25-30ish) and you can dance after dinner. Same with the Abbey, except the food is a bit more expensive and parking is a pain in the butt (use the valet down the street)... but the drinks are great, the music is fantastic and you can reserve a "lounge" in the back with big squooshy cushions. And for the most part you don't have to worry about the bride getting in trouble with the guys there. 4 Replies 1. re: Das Ubergeek Thanks for the help...Where is the Abbey? 1. re: Das Ubergeek They use Rose's lime juice in their mojitos, which I dislike. For the price they charge I want fresh limes. Their drinks are not that great, IMHO. 1. re: mmontgomery I don't drink mojitos so I have no idea. I prefer dry drinks. 2. I highly recommend Bar Marmont for this outing (not to be confused with the Chateau up the hill.) Great food at just above moderate prices, great bar areas, and a fun party crowd. One stop shop. Another option might be the Foundry on Melrose. N.B. Regarding an earlier rec, I don't think Tasca has a full bar, unless that's a recent addition.
Take the 2-minute tour × Sometimes I need to run dolphin in console to see the current directory in a GUI (because of some features I've implemented over it). So I try to do (dolphin > /dev/null) & in order not to have many output but I get messages like QPixmap::scaled: Pixmap is a null pixmap in the console even doing > /dev/null So what's the problem with my command in order not to show output ? share\|improve this question 1 Answer 1 up vote 7 down vote accepted You need to redirect both standard out and standard error to /dev/null. Try the following. ( dolphin > /dev/null 2>&1 )& share\|improve this answer Thank you, it works perfectly :) – Skydreamer Dec 28 '11 at 15:20 Your Answer
Take the 2-minute tour × I wrote this function (used later to select elite species in the genetic algorithm) to select k best values out of n, where not all n values are unique. First of all, I'd massively appreciate any comments to the code, but I'm primarily concerned with the fact that for some reason values in second vector (var2) are also set to 0. If instead of array I use list, this doesn't happen, but of course I want to use arrays rather than lists! So any comments are very welcome import numpy import tkMessageBox 'v1 is the vector of values from which k best must be selected for maximization problems' class kbest(): def val_report(self,k,v1): if k>n: while (l<k): 'v1=numpy.delete(v1, best_now)' 'print l,v2;' return v2 def trigger1(self): tkMessageBox.showwarning('Wrong value','Select the correct value') elite=kbest().val_report(3, var1); print elite print var2 share\|improve this question Format your code. – Emil Lundberg Dec 16 '11 at 0:13 There's a lot of unnecessary stuff in here. I hope someone else will answer your question, but many people (such as myself) aren't going to read something that has unnecessary complexity such as GUI code that has nothing to do with your question or commented out lines. Coding according to regular Python standards would also make this more useful. See PEP 8. – Michael Hoffman Dec 16 '11 at 0:18 sorted(v1)[-k:] – yurib Dec 16 '11 at 0:28 Much of val_report (the second through fourth lines and everything in the else block) can be replaced with v2 = numpy.argsort(v1)[-k:][::-1]. – David Alber Dec 16 '11 at 0:40 1 Answer 1 up vote 4 down vote accepted You are just giving var1 the alias var2. They both point to the same content. You must copy the content over to a new object. In [1]: x = numpy.arange(5) In [2]: x Out[2]: array([0, 1, 2, 3, 4]) In [3]: y = x.copy() In [4]: x[:] = 0 In [5]: x Out[5]: array([0, 0, 0, 0, 0]) In [6]: y Out[6]: array([0, 1, 2, 3, 4]) share\|improve this answer The terminology here is a bit wonky, but this is exactly the issue. – Karl Knechtel Dec 16 '11 at 2:29 Your Answer
Take the 2-minute tour × My email storage requirements are outgrowing anything reasonable with respect to local mail storage. As we speak 99% of my home partition is filled with personal mail in Thunderbirds mail dirs. Needless to say, this is just painful, badly searchable and as history has proven me that backups work, but Thunderbird is capable of loosing a lot of mail very easily. Currently I have an remote IMAPS server (Dovecot) running for my daily mail, accessible from anywhere, which from my own practice works efficiently up to about 1000 emails. Then some archive directories should be used to move mail around. I have been looking into DBMail, but I wonder if I make my case worse or better which such solution. None of the supported database employ string deduplication or string compression out of the box, so is this going to help me with 20GB+ mail? What about falling back to a plain old IMAP server? A filesystem like ZFS would support stuff like GZIP transparently, which could help. Could someone share their thoughts? The 20GB mostly consists of mailinglists, and normal mail. Not things like attachments. To add some clarifications; • As we speak, my mail is not server side indexed at all - only my new mail arrives at a remote IMAP server. It is all local storage from former POP3 accounts, local mirrored Gmail and IMAP accounts. In my perspective it is not Thunderbird that sucks, its fileformat that sucks. • Regarding the 1000 mails. On the road I am using Alpine and MobileMail, quite happy with both of them, but some management is required to actually manage the mail. Sieve helps a lot with that, but browing through 10.000 e-mails is not fun, especially not on a mobile client. • I am quite happy with Dovecot, never had any issues with it. I just wonder if this is the way to go. Or if there are any other better solutions. • What my question is: what is the best practice solution that allows 20GB+ mails and is -on demand remotely accessible, easy to backup and archive worthy. It doesn't need to be available 24x7. The final approach I took was installing a local IMAP server (Dovecot), configured it for being my archive, using the following guide: http://en.gentoo-wiki.com/wiki/Dovecot/InstallThunderbird share\|improve this question migrated from serverfault.com May 6 '12 at 2:56 This question came from our site for system and network administrators. If 99% of your maildir is mail, expand your homedir and store more other stuff in there. 20GB of mail, with server-side indexing, shouldn't really pose any problems. Are you actually having specific problems (other than "Thunderbird sucks", for which my answer is "so don't use Thunderbird"), or merely posing rhetorical questions? – womble May 6 '12 at 2:17 Can you clarify what is your question? – poige May 6 '12 at 3:15 I have had a dovecot server holding my email for the last 6 years or so to the tune of about 100,000+ messages from a dozen or two high traffic mailing lists and it seems to work fine. Please clarify your question. – psusi May 6 '12 at 5:03 2 Answers 2 up vote 3 down vote accepted IMAP, unlike its predecessor POP, is designed so that the "master" home of the email is on the server. Anything that may be stored by the IMAP client (whether it's Thunderbird or a webmail client or anything else) is treated as a cache for what's on the server. As such, it is completely discardable and non-valuable. If Thunderbird doesn't manage it well and corrupts it or loses it, it is of little concern. It will be rebuilt from the information on the server. At worst if it's really corrupt it may need to be deleted. Don't back it up, and don't worry too much about it. A good well-managed Dovecot server will NOT lose or corrupt your email in any way. (But I can't guarantee that, of course... bugs and disasters are always possible.) I've built several very large email servers using Dovecot. Your claim that a Dovecot IMAP server "works efficiently up to about 1000 emails" sounds wrong. My personal email is stored on a Docevot IMAP server. I have over 100000 individual emails there, excluding mailing lists. This is using regular Maildir storage on a regular ext3 filesystem. I could upgrade to dbox but there hasn't been a need. It works fine. 20GB is not an enormous amount of storage these days. I don't even think I'd be worrying at all about data deduplication and compression for that amount of data. share\|improve this answer I would suggest you to make a backup of your email messages in the maildir format, (a single individual file for each message). You could save them as either EML or PDF. For security you could compress and encrypt them using the ZIP format, one ZIP file for each message because of the following: Why single files. • They are easy to move around, copy and synchronize • The chances that the files get corrupted are minimal as oposed to storing them in a big monolithic file (mbox, pst , db, dbx ) • You can manage them using only windows explorer You could save your exported files to a portable hard drive or burn them to DVDs to have an offsite copy. The Dovecot server supports both the mbox and maildir formats and using the rsnapshoot you can backup the /var/mail folder. The problem of this approach is the time that is needed to download as oposed to only downloading new email messages. MsgExtract can export messages from IMAP and from Thunderbird and save them as single files with optional ZIP compression. If needed you can export those saved files back to an IMAP server, Thunderbird or Outlook. (Disclaimer, I am the author of MsgExtract) share\|improve this answer Your Answer
Star goes out with a whimper, not a bang, captured by Hubble telescope \| July 12, 2013 at 5:50 PM GREENBELT, Md., July 12 (UPI) -- Not all stars go out with a bang, and NASA has released an image from the Hubble telescope of one going out with more of a cosmic whimper. The image shows the planetary nebula IC 289, located in the northern constellation of Cassiopeia. Formerly a star like the sun, it is now just a thin cloud of ionized gas being pushed out into space by the remnants of the star's core, visible as a small bright dot in the middle of the cloud, NASA said Friday. Planetary nebulae have nothing to do with planets -- the term is a relic from a time when early observers with small telescopes could only see undefined, hazy objects they thought looked like gaseous planets. Stars are powered by nuclear fusion reactions in their cores that convert hydrogen to helium. The star remains stable in a process that balances the inward squeeze caused by its gravity with the outward thrust from the inner fusion reaction in its core. When all the hydrogen is consumed, as in IC 289, the equilibrium is broken. The gravitational forces become more powerful and crush the star's core into a helium-burning phase that is highly unstable, and eventually blows the whole star's atmosphere away, resulting in the state captured in the Hubble image.
This page has been archived and commenting is disabled. Obamacare: Now Appearing On Your Restaurant Bill Tyler Durden's picture Presenting Exhibit A. From CNN: Several restaurants in a Florida chain are asking customers to help foot the bill for Obamacare. Diners at eight Gator's Dockside casual eateries are finding a 1% Affordable Care Act surcharge on their tabs, which comes to 15 cents on a typical $15 lunch tab. Signs on the door and at tables alert diners to the fee, which is also listed separately on the bill. So more surcharges coming then. The bottom line decision for businesses: fire your workers, or pass through the costs to other consumers. Many have done the fomer, or converted full-time workers to part-time status. Increasingly more are opting for the latter. How long until the popular outcry that this latest "freebie" by the government was anything but. - advertisements - Comment viewing options Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:10 \| 4485088 Quinvarius Quinvarius's picture Look at what that dude is eating. His ACA charge should be higher. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:12 \| 4485103 Divided States ... Divided States of America's picture Another loser out of all this is the waiter/waitress.....I am sure they will get less tips because of that extra surcharge. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:15 \| 4485116 gmrpeabody gmrpeabody's picture It'll come out of the tips, you can be sure..., especially the tips left by the left, if you follow my meaning. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:20 \| 4485163 onewayticket2 onewayticket2's picture Good. the entire cost structure should be itemized....maybe the sheeple would wake up Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:23 \| 4485183 dryam dryam's picture Means you eat at another restaurant or stay in to eat. Unfortunately, this results in restaurants not doing well and worker layoffs. Only when people hit bottom can they wake up and vote/protest/uprise to make the corrective changes. Unfortunately, this requires short term pain for long term gain. It's not unlike an alcoholic that has to hit absolute bottom before he can wise up and stop drinking. Bring on the pain so we can get this shit over with. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:26 \| 4485213 Four chan Four chan's picture should be labled obama charge Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:28 \| 4485228 lordylord lordylord's picture Should be labled ignorant voter charge. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:37 \| 4485276 outamyeffinway outamyeffinway's picture "Ok, time now for sayonara. Go on Yankee break my heart." Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:40 \| 4485297 Pladizow Pladizow's picture That's the Obummer fuck you in the ass with no vasaline surcharge! Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:52 \| 4485364 johnQpublic johnQpublic's picture the charge is 3 dollars at NTB where i got the wifes oil changed too damn cold outside to do it myself Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:11 \| 4485474 SmackDaddy SmackDaddy's picture People are so fucking dumb. I remember a year or two back Ohio changed our sales tax laws to now include certain types of personal services. I saw one business owner who put up a sign to notify customers of a 10% price increase to cover the tax (which was 7%). The sign specifically blamed Obama, But it was a Republican governor here. I'm not an Obama fan, but to transfer the cost of the tax and then some to your customers makes you an asshole. And your explanation for it makes you retarded. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:17 \| 4485497 Manthong Manthong's picture Camel’s nose under tent for a national sales tax? Way to go, Barry... all you got left for GDP are service industries and you are killing that, too. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:44 \| 4485638 0b1knob 0b1knob's picture Charged twice for iced tea? No free refills? Over $5 for a chili dog? This restaurant sucks on so many levels. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 15:18 \| 4485819 johnQpublic johnQpublic's picture obviously two people ate on this tab a sandwich, a dog and 2 teas 2 people Thu, 02/27/2014 - 15:24 \| 4485848 Handful of Dust Handful of Dust's picture Airlines will be next to charge an "ACA Surcharge." They charge for everything else! Thu, 02/27/2014 - 15:57 \| 4485969 SafelyGraze SafelyGraze's picture by this executive order I am putting an end to the unpatriotic practice adopted by certain eating establishments; namely, itemizing a so-called "ACA" fee on their bills. anyone who engages in commerce and who in any way indicates that they are charging based on real or imagined mandates can be assured that they will face fines of up to 10,000 per infraction and jail time of up to 10 years per infraction. now let's all get back to work, and let's do so with the positive and grateful attitude that made this country great. ps - you might qualify for a loan to go back to school! Thu, 02/27/2014 - 16:28 \| 4486079 Boris Alatovkrap Boris Alatovkrap's picture Nothing is wake up befuddle masses like when is hit pocket book. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 16:36 \| 4486111 Panem et Circus Panem et Circus's picture I love it when people say something to the effect of "They haven't felt enough pain to wake up yet." DETROIT is still ASLEEP!!! Thu, 02/27/2014 - 17:15 \| 4486271 zaphod zaphod's picture Imagine if they line itemed everything else that hits a small business. The receipt would be 10 feet long. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 17:37 \| 4486368 ejmoosa ejmoosa's picture Just imagine if they did it at the gas pump to show you how much for for the gas and how many other embedded taxes were there. When you buy a gallon of gas, the government nets more than the oil company. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 21:27 \| 4487170 chumbawamba chumbawamba's picture Well, when you buy that gallon of gas, at least you can say you've paid your fair share for the maintenance of the highways, because you have. None of your state or federal taxes goes to any of that. As far as sales tax, it's a privilege tax on the vendor or retailer, and they aren't supposed to be passing it on to you, the customer. The privilege to sell retail is the taxabale event, not the sale of your goods. I am Chumbawamba. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 23:05 \| 4487492 Balanced Integer Balanced Integer's picture Not sure if serious... Fri, 02/28/2014 - 06:39 \| 4487996 StandardDeviant StandardDeviant's picture A number of gas stations in Canada used to do just that, putting signs on the pumps explaining that about half of what you were paying went to various levels of gov't, in what I assume was an attempt to redirect customers' anger at price hikes. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 16:37 \| 4486118 TheMeatTrapper TheMeatTrapper's picture Yeah, but they said it would be FREE. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 16:12 \| 4486024 0b1knob 0b1knob's picture It says "party of 1" on the check. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 16:36 \| 4486113 johnQpublic johnQpublic's picture read the goddamn bill its obviously for two people now, google the menu...easily done mon-fri its .99 for the damn bottomless ice tea from 11am-4pm it says bottomless on the menu, but does vary by location and everything is huge there, just like at every chain no one is eating two meals there and they'd prolly opt for dessert instead buncha children here today did everyone go batshit stupid since yesterday? Thu, 02/27/2014 - 16:48 \| 4486159 Skateboarder Skateboarder's picture You gotta be retarded to look at that receipt and not understand it is a meal for two people. $2.50 for Iced Tea at 'regular' price is stupid expensive, but on the same page as everywhere else. Doesn't a soda cost you two bucks these days anyway? ( I wouldn't know - I don't buy fountain soda ). Alls I know is that 5 bucks (including $1 tip) for a pint of beer is the most I'll pay without being pissed off. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 18:21 \| 4486522 John_Coltrane John_Coltrane's picture Drinking beer always makes me pissed off. Ha Ha Thu, 02/27/2014 - 16:52 \| 4486174 IrritableBowels IrritableBowels's picture He should've used the force. or logic... Thu, 02/27/2014 - 17:43 \| 4486339 Things that go bump Things that go bump's picture I can't believe people actually pay over $20 for a sandwich, a dog and 2 teas without even chips or fries. I can feed 4 people 2 meals for that. The Obamacare surcharge is a pittance. I feed 4 people for around $500 a month. We eat well and have a good homemade dinner every night. We have steak or roast once a week. I'm a good cook. I make my own bread for around 50 cents a loaf. I make my own noodles, which are far superior to store bought. I make homemade pizza and spaghetti sauce from scratch. I buy flour and sugar by the 25 lb sack and yeast by the pound and freeze it (its quite expensive in those little packets). I buy all my meat in bulk and cook enough to freeze for another meal or have hot lunches the next day. I made us all copycat Chipotle burritos for about $10 total the other night and had enough left over for lunches the next day. They were quite authentic though I'm afraid we failed the rolling up process and had to eat them with forks, but it was fun and we laughed. Monday I made a pan of lasagna for around $15 and had enough to freeze for another meal. Homemade is cheaper, better tasting and I know exactly what goes into it - no preservatives and no chemicals that aren't food. I understand some restaurants don't even cook their own meals, but have them shipped to them frozen. Yuck. I buy 3 boxes of saltines, 3 boxes of graham crackers and popcoran for those inclined to snack. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 17:49 \| 4486403 lostintheflood lostintheflood's picture things that go bump...everything that you say is true, has always been true, and will always be true...if you want it done right, you should do it yourself, and that includes preparing food....most especially it includes food. we stopped eating out this past year. we've saved a ton of money, and we eat better, but most importantly, we know what we are eating. in the grocery stores i see 2 kinds of raw chicken. one is locally produced and one is shipped from arkansas. we live in the puget sound. the local chicken costs more, but i wouldn't buy or eat the chicken shipped from arkansas. i don't want that factory food. but i guarantee you that if we ate out, the restaurant would serve the cheaper, factory chicken...and how would we know the difference? in fact, i don't trust any factory or pre-prepared food. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 17:53 \| 4486418 Things that go bump Things that go bump's picture I do spend the extra to buy the organic chicken. I don't like the look of those monsterous, unnatural factory chickens. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 18:39 \| 4486632 johnQpublic johnQpublic's picture i want to throttle you google the menu for gods sake everythng is a platter and comes with fries i have eaten there its fantastic you can not finish your meal unless you are begging for heartburn doesnt anyone google anything before they comment on it? this is how we end up with idiots running the show nobody does their due diligence we have to order the food to see whats in it Thu, 02/27/2014 - 20:51 \| 4486970 Things that go bump Things that go bump's picture My bad, but I think I can go make myself a chicken sandwich, fries and an iced tea for about a buck right now, probably less, and it wouldn't be more than I could eat, it would be just enough. All that more than you can eat crap is just a waste of food and not a selling point to me. It encourages the sort of over-indulgence that leads to obesity. Iced tea is practically free and what does a potato cost? Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:40 \| 4485612 greyghost greyghost's picture exactly smackdaddy, $5.00 for two iced teas that cost maybe 20 cents to make. this company is just cheap to the power of ten. what's the game behind the 1% surcharge? this is an insult to any thinking person. do they expect me to believe that 1% is going to cover their health care costs? perhaps this is just another ploy to extract an extra 1% from their customers to add to their bottom line. i call bullshit!!!!! Thu, 02/27/2014 - 15:26 \| 4485859 johnQpublic johnQpublic's picture a good vodka martini is going to set you back twelve bucks must be a democrat to want his beverage at cost bring your own glass and get it your self and drink it in the alley Thu, 02/27/2014 - 15:27 \| 4485864 jsgibson jsgibson's picture The blame for outrageous prices falls squarely on the feral reserve and politicians that enable reckless spending. The problem is our fiat, paper, conjured out of thin air, MONEY - not "greedy" mid to small size businesses. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 15:13 \| 4485797 SmackDaddy SmackDaddy's picture My point being, if youre going to start itemizing costs like this, you might as well just hand out your cost sheet for everythign you sell. Cuz I'd really like to know what your margin are on everything I buy. And dont make the ACA surcharge (which you will pocket) look like a sales-tax type item (whcich you will remit) Thu, 02/27/2014 - 15:40 \| 4485917 SgtShaftoe SgtShaftoe's picture Do you think taxes on businesses would not be passed to consumers? It's kind of an economic law. Do you think businesses are just going to eat the cost whether it be levied by the state or feds? Thu, 02/27/2014 - 15:48 \| 4485942 Zymurguy Zymurguy's picture Ummmm, just about all taxes are passed through to the customer from every business offering a product or service to the public. Read your phone bill lately? Shit dog there's as much taxes as there are services. Don't think the govt. doesn't know that? The govt. does a good job of spreading small bits of taxation all over the place so it doesn't seem so severe. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 16:11 \| 4486022 SmackDaddy SmackDaddy's picture I know exactly what you mean. I review the phone bills for the company I work for. We have several items that they try to pass off as tax remitances, but are just more money that they keep. They just dont want to show certain thing in the base price. Which is fine I guess, but these taxes are niether precise nor allocable, so it does not make sense to present them as such. So not only do I have to pay the tax, but you know the companies set an amount that is slightly higher than what they will responsible for, so I'm paying their profit on it too. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 16:21 \| 4486045 Zymurguy Zymurguy's picture That could be very true - and also terribly difficult to prove one way or another. However, I think the more we see exactly what we're paying for, what portion of our goods and services are going to the govt. the better off we're going to be. It will allow people to make educated decisions regarding theri personal economys. Being able to make better decisions about your discretionary income will help everyone. Think of how wonderful it would be if we didn't have the taxes deducted automatically from our pay checks and each quarter we had to write the govt. a check. I can guarantee there'd be some major changes in how much tax we pay and how big the govt. would be. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 16:22 \| 4486050 Zymurguy Zymurguy's picture Oh and BTW... I approve of that avatar!!! Thu, 02/27/2014 - 16:18 \| 4485995 ejmoosa ejmoosa's picture The end consumer pays every tax. Always has. Always will. That politicians try to hide these taxes is criminal. That you do not get it and are blaming the business is the problem in and of itself. Wake up. To pay ANY tax, the business must get money from where? That's right-you. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 17:41 \| 4486380 effendi effendi's picture The tax itself may be 7% but there are other costs associated with the tax, Did his accountant charge a fee for advice on the implementation? Did changing the price labels on the shelves cost money? Does ongoing administration cost money?The guy might have to spend another night each week working on paperwork for another stupid tax so getting 3% to cover the costs, headaches and hassles is not unreasonable. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 20:15 \| 4486971 DYS DYS's picture May I suggest you hop on over to for news you can understand? Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:15 \| 4485493 Joe Davola Joe Davola's picture Let me pull out ol' Roget and see if surcharge is synonymous with raised prices when in the end it still costs me more. Or have we gone total 1984 and changed the meaning of synonymous. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:30 \| 4485565 superflex superflex's picture $6.50 for a chili cheese dog and $2.50 for an iced tea is what they should be complaining about. Looks like the owner of Gator's is a greedy fuck. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:45 \| 4485615 Skateboarder Skateboarder's picture Better be real good iced tea for two fiddy. Damn, those bigass 25c cookies in middle school are probably a buck fifty and tiny now. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:55 \| 4485702 LFMayor LFMayor's picture No no. Good things like that are not on First Lady Chewbacca's approved school menu list. Pay your 1.50 for those whirled peas and dig in. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 15:29 \| 4485873 Miffed Microbio... Miffed Microbiologist's picture You aren't kidding. A parent from our local public high school complained to me they were tossing huge amounts of food since this mandate. I told her to please bring it to me and I'll feed it to my chickens. She gave me a garbage can full of just jicama sticks! Even my birds couldn't eat all that. Absolute insanity. Fri, 02/28/2014 - 01:22 \| 4487800 Casey Stengel Casey Stengel's picture You sound just like Mrs. Stengel. She is always saying, oh my chickens would love to eat that. She was very fond of her gold comets. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:43 \| 4485630 greyghost greyghost's picture my point exactly superflex.......just pure greed! Thu, 02/27/2014 - 16:40 \| 4486127 Panem et Circus Panem et Circus's picture With a comment like that... I wonder... Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:52 \| 4485687 I Drink Your Mi... I Drink Your Milkshake's picture My thoughts exactly. I can buy a half kilo of fine black tip Assam a for $7 and probably make 120 liters of iced tea. And that chili cheese dog is probably nutria, gator and breadcrumbs with a polymer casing. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 15:23 \| 4485842 johnQpublic johnQpublic's picture you might almost believe no one commenting on this had any idea what you have to charge to run a 'for profit' business the beverage is always a high margin item, like a mixed drink as opposed to a draft beer theres rent on th building, book keeping, payroll tax, gas , electric, phone, advertising you fuck morons Thu, 02/27/2014 - 15:47 \| 4485938 superflex superflex's picture Beverages are the highest profit margin sector at any resturaunt. Bar none. Funny how McCalister's Deli (famous for Iced Tea) can sell you a 32 oz cup for $1.49 with free refills, but it's OK for this greedy fuck to charge $2.49 a glass with no free refills. (or did you miss the part at the top of the check where it says this was for one customer)? Troll on little johnny. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 16:20 \| 4486043 johnQpublic johnQpublic's picture i'm sure that was a misprint have you ever seen the size of the sandwiches at that place? no way you could choke down one of their giants ass chili dogs and a sandwich Thu, 02/27/2014 - 16:41 \| 4486135 johnQpublic johnQpublic's picture by the way mon-fri its 99 cents for the tea from 11am to 4pm and it says bottomless on the damn menu get a computer load 'google' it is a search engine look for porn first unti you refine your search engine skills Thu, 02/27/2014 - 16:51 \| 4486166 IrritableBowels IrritableBowels's picture Thu, 02/27/2014 - 15:51 \| 4485953 Zymurguy Zymurguy's picture At least you have a choice in the matter when it comes to this restaurant - don't like it, don't fucking go and you don't have to pay it. He was very transparent about the increased taxation. Can't say so much for the Obamacare. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 19:12 \| 4486769 Bytor325 Bytor325's picture what are you going to pay your employees? where does the money for your business permits come from? what magic pixie flies in after dark to pay for employee benefits? who pays your accountant to make sure you've paid the proper taxes? how much do you pay ADP or another payroll admin service? who cuts your grass and maintains your grounds for free? do you work in the dark or do you actually use electricity? Air is in FLA. or do you have a sherpa with a box of ice and a big fan? yeah, you keep making your 5 cent tea.......... Thu, 02/27/2014 - 18:09 \| 4486472 Bokkenrijder Bokkenrijder's picture Sjeesh! People here get exited about 20 cents? And that in a country where people expect (!) you to pay at leats 15% extra for some dude/chick serving you a burger, because the true cost of labour is not written on the restaurant bill? Hmmm, although I'm far from a socialist, a few things don't make sense. What's the true cost of money? Many here would say that interest rates are too low. What's the true cost of gold? Again, many here would say it's too low. Now what's the true cost of labour? Thu, 02/27/2014 - 18:37 \| 4486613 John_Coltrane John_Coltrane's picture Answer to all your questions about price: The law of supply and demand sets the price. That's why you need markets. If the price is too high there aren't enough buyers so they have to lower their price, or other suppliers will step up and offer a lower price. And vice-versa. See how wonderful and efficient markets are (as opposed to cartels like the government and banks and insurance companies) And what is "fair"-that illogical progressive phrase used to replace reason and thought in any economic argument? Answer: Fair is set by the law of supply and demand. Don't like my prices, don't like my offered wages, go fuck yourself or find a better offer! Its freedom, get used to it. And meanwhile you control freak central planners need to leave us liberatarians alone. We don't need your advice or assistance. We have ability, competence and personal responsibility. We are superior to you in every way. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:29 \| 4485236 Skateboarder Skateboarder's picture Or KMMMBP Charge, for Kenyan Marxist Muslim Man-Boy-Prezidentshall Charge. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:51 \| 4485681 rubiconsolutions rubiconsolutions's picture Why don't they itemize what that $2.50 soda costs them? Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:27 \| 4485216 Skateboarder Skateboarder's picture Wake me up when 1% becomes 10% out of necessity. Then you're looking at some serious taxflation. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:56 \| 4485389 fockewulf190 Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:27 \| 4485220 seek seek's picture The other restaurant has the same charge, they're just not documenting it on the bill. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:54 \| 4485374 ebworthen ebworthen's picture Local bling sheep herding corporate salt trough (Texas Roadhouse) used to advertise an early dinner special with a banner. In 2009 it was $6.99 In 2011 it was $7.99 In 2013 it was $8.99 Yesterday I noticed they just changed it to $9.99. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:11 \| 4485470 Mentaliusanything Mentaliusanything's picture Was that inflation " Seasonally Adjusted" or are you getting less on your plate and more on your card. just asking. Ok $3 in four years..10% per year.. rule 72.. in 3 years time its $13.99. Hows that minimum wage thing working out. Im punched out Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:26 \| 4485540 _ConanTheLibert... _ConanTheLibertarian_'s picture It was seasoned Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:32 \| 4485559 DanDaley DanDaley's picture Learn to cook at home better than a restarurant, it's not that hard. The drinks are a lot less expensive and higher quality at home, too. Lookat that dude's bill...2 stupid iced teas for 25% of the total bill. Hahahaha! Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:41 \| 4485608 CaptainObvious CaptainObvious's picture On those rare occasions that I eat out, I always have plain old water with my meal. Drinks are where restaurants make their money. You ever look at the price of a fucking mixed drink at a chain restaurant? We're talking upwards of $8 for a goddamn cocktail that is half sugar syrup made from GMO corn, three eighths water, and one eighth alcohol. They give 'em cutesy names to justify the outrageous prices, but I'm not falling for that shit. $2.49 for one glass of iced tea is fucking insane. Fill a pitcher with water and set it out in the sun with a tea bag dangling in it. It ain't rocket science, folks. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 15:03 \| 4485749 Skateboarder Skateboarder's picture Don't forget to pick up a nice sixpack on the way home for 10 bucks and get six drinks instead of one. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 15:33 \| 4485821 Sweet Chicken Sweet Chicken's picture The question is Leffe blonde or dark? Or perhaps a pint of Lu Fin Dumonde? Thu, 02/27/2014 - 16:56 \| 4486187 Skateboarder Skateboarder's picture Strong ales or German Hefeweizens for me. :) Thu, 02/27/2014 - 15:32 \| 4485881 Sweet Chicken Sweet Chicken's picture Thu, 02/27/2014 - 15:45 \| 4485933 Miffed Microbio... Miffed Microbiologist's picture I'm a bit naive about drink pricing because we rarely go out, we make all our own cocktails with homemade mixers and drink our friend's wine which we get for free for helping at harvest. This week at South Beach I damn near flipped to see a standard martini listed for $17 and a bottle of Silver Oak Cabernet for $250 a bottle ( had the exact same wine at home we bought for $50) People didn't seem to give a damn. I thought it obscene. There are many other things I'd rather spend my money that are a bit more lasting in pleasure and hold their value over time. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 16:31 \| 4486092 SmackDaddy SmackDaddy's picture I'm with you. I wont pay those kind of prices out of principal. Getting gouged upsets me most at family events and at ball games. I'm always thinking, if everyone just refused to pay these prices we could have this fixed tomorrow. I can never figure out how these people can afford it but I cant (household income 93%tile) But, I've become really good at packing my own stuff when I can and stashing water bottles of Jim Beam in my pants..... Thu, 02/27/2014 - 17:22 \| 4486312 beercandad beercandad's picture Why don't you go and try to own & operate a restaurant --you sound like a real libfuck !! Thu, 02/27/2014 - 21:36 \| 4487194 vulcanraven vulcanraven's picture Yeah, it's easy for someone to talk shit when they have zero skin in the game. Put your own money on the table then see how fast your attitude changes. Profit is the reward derived from putting your capital at risk. If you can't stay profitable, your business goes belly up and you eat the loss. Unless of course you are part of "the club", in which case you have an endless punchbowl—courtesy of John Q. Public. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 16:23 \| 4486055 SmackDaddy SmackDaddy's picture I dont care what anybody says. Texas Roadhouse is by far the best value around here. I've had better sirloins there than filets at outback. Dont get me wrong, there nothing like a 12 oz rare cut of prime beef off of Ruth Chris' sizzling plate. But for $50-60 out the door I can get 22 oz of sirloin (cooked to perfection), 2 salads, a loaded baked potato, loaded sweet potato, margarita and beer. That and the rolls & cinnabutter and the peanuts, my family of four (two rugrats) leaves stuffed. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 16:58 \| 4486198 IrritableBowels IrritableBowels's picture Do they "sing" happy birthday to patrons and play ridiculous toby keith/country twang-shit at Outback? Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:03 \| 4485428 ParkAveFlasher ParkAveFlasher's picture I wonder if the suppliers to the restaurant have also buried the charge, which means $.20 is "just the tip" of the iceberg, given markup and so forth. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 15:16 \| 4485808 BeansMcGreens BeansMcGreens's picture With all the ignorant comments about this particular restaurant I can see most people do not understand the fact that any additional cost to do business is paid by the consumer. People need to understand that there is inflation, that delivery (fuel,tires, employees, insursances, fees) and other energy expenses are eventually passed right on down the line to the customer. You are correct, this is the tip of the iceberg. Greedy? I believe the article says that the restaurant wants to stay in business and keep its employees. And please note there were two ice teas because there were two different meals. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 15:32 \| 4485888 RafterManFMJ RafterManFMJ's picture We keep for costs low by only eating US export chicken Chinese re-imported chicken. Shipped 40 thousand miles around the world and then to our (card)table. I warn the family to chew thoroughly, and beware of choking on dog collars. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 15:52 \| 4485956 Miffed Microbio... Miffed Microbiologist's picture The scary part is that is cheaper than domestically raised animals. Pure insanity. I've got 15 meat birds coming in March. They will dress out less per pound than " natural" but I usually can't beat CAFO crap. But I don't pay the insane cost of USDA ,my labor isn't taxed,I trade butchering help for meat and my " approved entrail disposal" is local coyotes. Nothing says reality like pulling warm guts out of chickens. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 18:11 \| 4486484 Overfed Overfed's picture It's just scary enough that chicken from Arkansas can be shipped up here (FEMA region X) and sold cheaper than locally-sourced Foster Farms chicken. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:06 \| 4485443 Greenskeeper_Carl Greenskeeper_Carl's picture exactly. i applaud this guy for doing it. Plenty of people saw this coming, warned about it, and won't be the least bit surprised. But hopefully this wakes a few people up. Nothing is ever 'free'. It always costs someone, and in this case it is everyone who pays taxes in this country, but mainly employers Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:29 \| 4485227 Divided States ... Divided States of America's picture Gator's Dockside will be seeing a lot less customers starting today. but maybe this actually makes American less fat because they have one less greasy food restaurant to go to. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:31 \| 4485578 TBT or not TBT TBT or not TBT's picture Wrong, mostly. Rising food prices wil drive people to eat cheaper food. Cheaper food is made of carbohyrates, and carbohydrates dont provide the long lasting satiation that proteins and fats do. Part of the reason Americana are fatter now than in 1960 is "low fat" foods. Those had to be doctored up with more carbs and sweeteners that do not help at all with appetite, but do generate worse insulin spikes. Atop that, between the adoption of cheap vegetable oils loaded with pro-infammatory precursors, and adoption of feedlot feeding of our protein and dairy animals with grains loaded with the same omega-6 fatty acids, the composition of human fat has changed radically as a result. Greasy spoon places fry in oils humans shouldn't eat. Humans should stick to monounsaturated olive oil, avacado oil and the loke, butter Fat from grass fed dairy, coconut oil, or lard from grass fed animals. We did not evolve eating the sugar bomb carbs and surfeit of omega6 fatty acids that are abundant in grass seeds, which is what grains are. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 17:53 \| 4486420 effendi effendi's picture The only reason that they might see less customers is that a portion of Obummer fanbois will be miffed that the chain is publicly embarrasing Obumercare and will boycott the place. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 16:19 \| 4486037 ghengiskhan ghengiskhan's picture But bringing on the pain would be reasonable and we don't do that here. We gloss it over and then cover it up. The longer we follow this manipulative path more and more jobs disconnect from real value. If we looked at the workforce from the perspective of real value I bet we would see at best 30% of the jobs are connected to real productivity. The rest are just part of the rube goldberg machine. Picture the most ridiculous rube goldberg machine supplemented by people that have no understanding of the rest of the machine constantly modifying and expanding their section and you have the US financial system. Every day the machine grows in scope and more and more productive people are drawn in to work on it. This great dwindling of productivity will go on for a long time until everything of value is gone. Famine will come. Unrest will come. Collapse will come but I doubt that very many of the people are worth saving when it is done. Perhaps the earth will cull at that time. I think we are lined up for ecological, biological and catclysmic natural disaster quite well. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:05 \| 4485439 Translational Lift Translational Lift's picture You mean like gasoline........50% for the gasoline and 50% for state and Fed taxes. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:49 \| 4485667 Almost Solvent Almost Solvent's picture Here in NY it's closer to 35% for the gas and 65% for the taxes. And I love the $3.699 trick. I'm surprised Walfart hasn't started that racket - raise the price of every item in their chain instantly by one cent. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 18:36 \| 4486609 Shitonya Serfs Shitonya Serfs's picture Yep. This is a perfect real-world example of how socialist economics works. It’s as clear as day that this person (micro version of those with means) is contributing payment for server’s healthcare. This should be on every newscast tonight and every paper tomorrow. I say FUCKYO, pay for it yourself. Can’t afford insurance? Too bad. Don’t fuck Pablo the dishwasher and have to go to doctor. Brush and floss your gritty toofs. Stop smoking. Don’t get so many tattoos that you can’t get an office job (it’s not them being an asshole, it’s you being an idiot). Don’t go to University of Phoenix. Live in a shithole you can afford. Take public transit. Save your fucking money. Live within your means. Learn a skill that is worth something to someone or create your own business, while working as server. Do this, then tell us all how fair it is for someone to take your money. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:22 \| 4485179 lordylord lordylord's picture Are you implying that people of the left are not generous with their own money? They are sure as shit generous with mine. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:40 \| 4485235 gmrpeabody gmrpeabody's picture I guess you followed my meaning, Lordy. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:33 \| 4485582 TBT or not TBT TBT or not TBT's picture Oh, the racism! Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:28 \| 4485233 El Oregonian El Oregonian's picture Shut it down! You do not reward criminal laws and unconstitutional laws with illegal taxation. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:31 \| 4485250 gmrpeabody gmrpeabody's picture But El..., outside of D.C. and maybe San Francisco, you live in the belly of the beast. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:53 \| 4485370 HyBrasilian HyBrasilian's picture pork bellies... I KNEW IT! Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:34 \| 4485259 monad monad's picture The left don't tip. They are entitled to your best service. That's not tipping baby, that's returning to you a fraction of your stolen property. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:25 \| 4485200 Stoploss Stoploss's picture 1 ACA surcharge coming up. Oooh, i shall consult the book of numerical recipes for this one... Thanks Gators.. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 22:31 \| 4487387 TheReplacement TheReplacement's picture Since it is more likely that they voted for Obama, yeah, less tips. It's the same concept when the police or firemen's unions call with their constant charity drive. "Sorry but since you union types worked so effectively to elect the tyrant my taxes have gone up too much for me to be able to contribute like I have in the past. Voting has consequences." Sure the tip thing is just a reasoned guess but a note explaining it, like above, should at least educate them on why even if they didn't vote for the guy. This is not an endorsement of Romney. In my opinion he was the less of two evils. Sometimes less is better. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:16 \| 4485140 TeamDepends TeamDepends's picture That's Michelle O's brunch order. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:39 \| 4485606 Bonapartist Bonapartist's picture "light" snack- before the main course of taxpayer funded lobster and crab legs Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:21 \| 4485171 LibertyBear LibertyBear's picture Yum, GMO's and Growth Hormones. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:56 \| 4485391 ILLILLILLI ILLILLILLI's picture I'll have mine with a side of glysophate...! Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:55 \| 4485178 astoriajoe astoriajoe's picture "Look at what that dude is eating. His ACA charge should be higher. " That's phase 2. don't worry, its coming. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:23 \| 4485184 oklaboy oklaboy's picture it's funny now, but wait till they implenet the "fat tax". it is closer than you think. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:43 \| 4485632 TBT or not TBT TBT or not TBT's picture There is one fat tax I might celebrate If they'd tax the shit out of cheap vegetable oils that are loaded with inhuman levels of inflammation stoking omega6 fatty acids, that would drop our nations medical costs and extend the productivity of most people you see. The packaged food industry and the Dept of Agriculture and their overlords would prevent such a thing even exiting committee. It's also a windfall for hospitals, drug companies, heart and diabetes specialists. Fills up the elderly care facilities with older people who would not otherwise need such services. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 22:34 \| 4487393 TheReplacement TheReplacement's picture What is a realistic alternative? People like food fried in oil. You complain about the cost to the rest of us as a reason to justify policing what people eat by means of taxes. Well mein fuhrer, how about we just stop paying for their failures? We'd all be better off in the long run and your types won't have your fingers in every facet of our lives. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:41 \| 4485291 ebworthen ebworthen's picture Chili cheese dog and fried food speakeasy's in the future; dens of greasy salty deliciousness. No nutritional information posted, beer and liquor available. They'll have lighters without safety devices, real tobacco you can smoke inside, and Women with pubic hair. Occasional fist fights with bare knuckles and no helmets, and no T.V.'s (people will talk). Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:56 \| 4485392 More_sellers_th... More_sellers_than_buyers's picture Count me in Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:36 \| 4485596 DadzMad DadzMad's picture "and Women with pubic hair" Whew! Good to know I'm not the only one. I thought I was weird or something..... Thu, 02/27/2014 - 19:48 \| 4486885 SmackDaddy SmackDaddy's picture well it looks weird bald, so i prefer the landing strip Thu, 02/27/2014 - 16:00 \| 4485988 swmnguy swmnguy's picture Hey, the guy had them hold the bun on the chili cheese dog. That's healthy, right? Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:49 \| 4485352 Republi-Ken Republi-Ken's picture COMRADE TYLER. A whole 20 Cents. It will destroy us all. LOL. And you got it wrong COMRADE TYLER, 4 Million canceled were mostly Junk Insurance policies. Obamacare bans any sale of "junk insurance" with "swiss cheese coverage". And 75% of these folks bought a full coverage policy and paid less. And paid less. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:57 \| 4485396 max2205 max2205's picture And those who have to pay 2,000 per month to get ACA won't be happy Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:01 \| 4485416 More_sellers_th... More_sellers_than_buyers's picture Can you hear yourself type? Idiot! US Restaurant sales last year....683.4 billion. so 6.834 billion out of our pockets for what? Its because of Assholes like you that cant do math we are in this shit ass economy. You should run for senate. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 15:41 \| 4485923 saints51 saints51's picture Please, Do not inspire this mother fucker!!!!! Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:11 \| 4485472 RSloane RSloane's picture Yeah, because its vitallly important that aging nuns have prenatal care coverage and men without families should pay for post-natal care. The rest of your post reads like a thoughtless propaganda burst from HuffPo. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 19:56 \| 4486916 SmackDaddy SmackDaddy's picture the fucking nuns? when the catholic chuch starts paying income taxes and stops using our bankruptcy laws to avoid settling child-fucking lawsuits, this argument might have a shred of merit. And to all the single guys who havent raised children who will help them in old age and dont want to contribute anything into the system: that's fine, but dont expect me to give a fuck when you inevitably come asking for help Thu, 02/27/2014 - 21:10 \| 4487123 John_Coltrane John_Coltrane's picture But I bet he really likes and needs the newly mandated mental health coverage. Libtards are very big on this aspect as they may sense, at least subliminally, that they are completely nuts and should definately be committed (to the deep ocean that is). Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:20 \| 4485511 Mentaliusanything Mentaliusanything's picture And the smaller upfront hides the huge co pay.. did you never play shell games. keep your eye on the target pea ..... hint its you. Fuck me you have the brains of a Smashed Crab Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:34 \| 4485588 Parabox Parabox's picture Didnt you get the memo? Obama specifically ordered those "Junk" policies be reinstated. That the insurance companies wouldnt is even more telling. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:43 \| 4485633 Strom Strom's picture Obama can't just tell a company or organization to ignore a law that is in-force. The insurance companies are following the law. Does not apply to government agencies. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 15:46 \| 4485937 Parabox Parabox's picture Agreed. But it didnt stop him from doing it anyways. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:52 \| 4485679 CaptainObvious CaptainObvious's picture Fuck you with a jagged metal dildo, you cocksucking government-paid troll. My wife had perfectly good insurance that didn't have any so-called "swiss cheese holes" and it got cancelled because her employer couldn't keep his doors open and pay for the new, improved, twice as costly insurance for his employees. My wife was upset to lose her insurance, but didn't blame her employer because she'd rather have a job and no insurance than suck on the gubmint teat like anybody else would for "free" health insurance and unemployment benefits. She's funny like that...all into personal responsibility and suchlike. We're going to pay the penalty, which is a pittance next to how much insurance costs through da gubmint exchange, and save the difference to pay for any health care expenses she might incur. I can't post this link often enough: If my wife needs any surgery, these are the guys who will get her business. Not some bloated institution that charges 100K for a hernia operation because the insurance will pay for it. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 15:00 \| 4485723 LFMayor LFMayor's picture I think we have found the "up is go" button for you, my friend. We need to get this "republi ken" asshole some nationwide exposure. Couple days of that idiocy crammed down peoples maws and we'll show those beaners in Venezuela what a real fucking riot looks like. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 18:34 \| 4486598 kareninca kareninca's picture Captain Obvious, please read my long post at the end of this thread, and make sure that you don't get "put" onto Medicaid without your consent. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 20:10 \| 4486958 CaptainObvious CaptainObvious's picture I read it, and it won't ever apply to me because I won't ever apply for gubmint insurance. Nor will my wife. I know all about gubmint clawbacks, because I watched as my parents struggled with their state taking my grandmother's entire estate to pay for an eighteen month stay in a nursing home. I have told my wife to not ever put me in a nursing home. I'd sooner eat a bullet and leave her and the kids something to live on. I recommend everyone else avoid nursing homes at all costs, and to make sure to put it in writing in your living will. Nursing homes, and elder care in general, is the biggest scam going. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 21:29 \| 4487179 HyBrasilian HyBrasilian's picture Just so I kno... are you, basically, the same kareninca that I knew once upon a time? [from the 'oh so cool' daily threads when we all thought 'MARKETS' meant something]?... I'm CV... of 'Lynn' fame, or Andy T, B22, & most important, AmenRa, etc... ~ [if your CORTEX is unable to reference the idea]... Just curious... That way ~ It's still between US... Fri, 02/28/2014 - 03:15 \| 4487915 kareninca kareninca's picture Nope, different karen. I am flattered to have brought up such fond memories. End of post, so I don't freak out my husband, haha. Fri, 02/28/2014 - 03:12 \| 4487914 kareninca kareninca's picture CaptainObvious, I know that I am being repetitive, but be sure that you read it well enough to see that you can be PUT on Medicaid, even if you explicitly refuse. You can be put on Medicaid against your will. Read the WSJ article that I linked. It doesn't matter if you "won't ever apply for government insurance," if they simply put you on it. I agree with you about nursing homes. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 15:11 \| 4485786 Hopeless for Change Hopeless for Change's picture "And 75% of these folks..." Barry, is that you? Or just one of your mindless followers using the word "folks" like you love to. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 18:31 \| 4486576 kareninca kareninca's picture Obamacare banned the sale of junk insurance????!!!! You asshole. I guess you mean that a costly Humana policy that doesn't cover basic cancer meds, isn't "junk insurance:" from the article: read the whole thing, you evil creep: Oh, I forgot. Harry Reid is saying that these stories are "all made up." Guess the WSJ doesn't do fact checking. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 22:36 \| 4487411 TheReplacement TheReplacement's picture Why do men need better maternity coverage and things like that? You be da comrade you NSA prick. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:49 \| 4485353 Republi-Ken Republi-Ken's picture And you got it wrong COMRADE TYLER, 4 Million canceled were mostly Junk Insurance policies. And paid less. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:15 \| 4485492 krispkritter krispkritter's picture You just proved you are twice as stupid as we thought...congrats. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:27 \| 4485542 Overfed Overfed's picture Fuck you, Republi-Ken. I only want catastrophic coverage. It used to be cheaper for me to just pay for office visits, tests, and prescriptions out of pocket. I don't need birth control, maternity care or a minimum number of "wellness checks". Take this O'bomb-a-care bullshit and shove it, Valerie Jarret, Cass Sunstein, and the wookie, up your ass! Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:54 \| 4485695 CaptainObvious CaptainObvious's picture It's not often that I get to red someone twice for the same chronically stupid words. Thanks to the double posting gremlin for this! ;) Thu, 02/27/2014 - 13:58 \| 4485405 thamnosma thamnosma's picture C'mon now, he ordered the chili cheese dog without bread... Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:16 \| 4485480 1fortheroad 1fortheroad's picture Yea but $6.95 for a Chile cheese dog, that's outrageous. And $2.49 for ice tea? Are these normal prices in the States? Thu, 02/27/2014 - 14:29 \| 4485562 Cacete de Ouro Cacete de Ouro's picture And the correct spelling is 'cheque' not 'check' Just sayin' Thu, 02/27/2014 - 15:05 \| 4485758 Ness. Ness.'s picture You better cheque your attitude at the door, a-me-go. This here is Murica... we eat chilli dogs and whiskey for breakfast, and when we're done, we pay the CHECK with a credit card. Thu, 02/27/2014 - 18:34 \| 4486599 Cacete de Ouro Cacete de Ouro's picture Thu, 02/27/2014 - 19:01 \| 4486625 Cacete de Ouro Cacete de Ouro's picture Talk about touchy ..
8:43 am ET Jul 16, 2013 For the Fed, Europe Represents the Road Not Taken • Why are there still 12 Federal Reserve banks? Why does each have at least a couple of branches? What do they do, now that the bulk of payments are processed privately? Does their "search for meaning" have anything to do with the Fed lobbying Congress to become financial regulator-in-chief? Why has the Fed created $2 trillion in excess reserves, many of which are held by branches of European banks that along with U.S. banks earn interest from sitting on them instead of lending them to anyone? Why is Fed using those reserves to "play banker"? Why don't WSJ reporters seek answers to such questions, inquiring (and paying) subscribers would like to know... • Its easy to look good when comparing with Europe. Compare with other downturns and the Fed and Congress look horrible. Add a Comment The MoneyBeat Team Erik Holm Erik Holm Deputy Editor David Benoit Maureen Farrell New York Paul Vigna Paul Vigna New York David Cottle David Cottle MoneyBeat Columnists
HOME > Chowhound > Austin > "Unpretentious" must have some other local meaning that I'm unaware of; Or, what's with the service at Chez Nous? Almost every print review of, and casual comment on, Chez Nous alludes to its unpretentious nature. Is this supposed to mean "no one cares if you wear flip flops," or "they don't make you pronounce anything in French"? I went by the restaurant for dinner one recent night, at which time our party was treated to so many rookie mistakes on the part of the incompetent, young serving team, pre-order, that we walked out. Management did not care—in a French accent. This counts as pretentious in my book. I must say, I'm disinclined to hurry back just to try steak frites that may or may not be good; pâté that could be popular more for its relative rarity on local menus than for its quality; and a salad Lyonnaise that the kitchen has to be persuaded to top with lardons. So, I ask you 'hounds who often dine there and regularly recommend this place (like sambamaster and tom in austin, among others): What's going on over there? Will the chow itself make up for this much attitude? Or has this never happened to you? FYI: I'm going to treat as mere damage control any and all one-off posts by "new chowhounds” who assure me—and everyone reading—that they are always treated like royalty by the kind, attentive, professional staff. 1. Click to Upload a photo (10 MB limit) 1. Ouch! Several of my good friends work there. I'll be showing them this post in the next few days -- they actually do take comments like this quite seriously and I am sure they will be distressed to hear you had such a bad experience. 1. Based on my limited visits to Chez Nous the service is actually the highlight of the restaurant.I like to go in the early afternoon with a friend,we're scarcely seated before warm bread and a small ramekin of cow's butter is placed before us...when the bread and butter are near depletion they are immediately replaced.The pate' is good,a bit rough in texture but tasty,we split a bottle of wine[that we have the server recommend]the steak is invariably perfectly cooked and the potatoes are nice,not too starchy and dusted with good salt.Two servers attend our needs and appear to be professionals,the ambience is nice...sun breaks through the windows and the room has a nice glow to it.I haven't ventured to other parts of the menu[I get the same thing everytime]but I enjoy a visit a couple times a year.It's nice to be attended to by the [seeming]pros that work the day shift.I'd give them another shot MPH,the food is good[not great]but the service has always been rock solid. 2 Replies 1. re: scrumptiouschef it is, however, the only place in Austin that actually reminds me of France (maybe second only to McDonald's). I realize that's a broad statement, and I don't want to get into any regional BS debates, but that's how it is. 1. re: scrumptiouschef Scrumptious, your experiences with Chez Nous match mine. MPH, I'm extremely sorry that Chez Nous didn't work out for you; the worst service I've ever received there could be termed "indifferent". I've never had pretentious or rude service. However, when I refer to Chez Nous as unpretentious, I don't just mean the service. I mostly mean the food: affordable and simple takes on French cuisine. The other local French restaurants seem more like they're staffed by CI grads. 2. I've not had the experience you describe, MPH. I've not had the converse experience either (extraordinary service), but it's that casual/professional service that I've really enjoyed, in addition to some very good food. When I first moved down here, I was living out of the Hilton across the street for 3 weeks, and Chez Nous was my saviour when I wanted some good, comforting food (in a nice setting), without all that other downtown kitsch. Eating there made me feel like I wasn't even downtown anymore. Give it another shot, with of course the understanding that the food isn't going to blow you away, but I'm confident you will enjoy it. 1. My two cents - My one dinner there was fine food-wise - not great, and the service was so poor that they gave us a ten-dollar-off coupon for our next dinner there. A little snobby, but mostly it seemed understaffed. That was our first anniversary... coming up on our 5th...havenæt been back, no plans to do so, coupon has been in my wallet for years. Not studiously avoiding it, but nights out are so rare now...I am going to try the Backstage for my next big night out! 1. Sorry to hear that. I was just there Thursday night, party of three. We were met instantly at the door, and seated quickly. And the restaurant was full. The service was perfect; that is, unnoticeable. Drinks arrived, food served, water glasses filled all on time and without a fuss. To cap it all, the waitress did NOT introduce herself. 1 Reply 1. re: thebodytx I am a huge fan of Chez Nous and have easily dined there over 100 times (no joke.) But that said, I can easily see how the service can at times seem just as the original poster described. I never take any of it amiss, but that does not mean it does not exist- and not too many months ago I hosted a wine luncheon there where a fellow regular diner got into it a bit with our waiter who is 99% of the time quite a nice fellow. Foodwise this may be my favorite restaurant of all time. Simple and delicious fare that matches perfectly with my own sensibilities and with the wines I bring when I come. And I know and love everyone who works there. But I will be the first to admit things can get contentious at times- and I have often not brought out of town guests there for that very reason. It is rare that there is an issue- but I certainly keep it in mind when considering whether to bring people there who are unfamiliar with the place.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Metoposcopy is a form of divination in which the diviner predicts personality, character, and destiny, based on the pattern of lines on the subject's forehead. It was developed by the 16th century astrologer and physician Jerome Cardan. The 16th century astrologer Giovanni Antonio Magini also concerned himself with this subject. Metoposcopy is prominently featured in the Zohar.[1] Criticism Metoposcopy is described as a form of divination, in which the expert obtains their information from other-worldly or supernatural sources. This alone makes it clear that the practice of Metoposcopy is not supported by science, but is pseudoscience. The regular combination of this practice with astrology and it’s comparisons to palm reading further establishes metoposcopy within the realm of pseudoscience. These techniques rely on methods that cannot be disproven and lack any scientific merit. With confirmation bias, a rare correct prediction is used as confirmation of their abilities. However, the numerous incorrect predictions are minimized through assertions that every prediction can’t be 100% accurate, or as an inability to tap into one’s gifts at that moment. This increases the believability of the expert and their predictions, since no-one is perfect. Also making it difficult, or impossible, to disconfirm or falsify these claims, as the only ‘evidence’ is confirmatory. The idea that one can ascertain a person’s character and temperament as well as predict a person’s destiny simply by reading the lines on their forehead is incredible. Furthermore, the association of these wrinkles with astrological points is even more unbelievable. The lines and wrinkles on a person’s forehead are the result of a combination of genetics, diet, habits (i.e. sun exposure), past experiences and overall lifestyle (i.e. stress level). These factors change over a person’s lifetime as does an individual’s appearance. Taking all these aspects into account, an individual’s predicted personality and future would be in a state of constant change. Predictions made at one point in time would no longer be valid after any significant period of time had passed. Metoposcopy’s lack of reliability, falsifiability and testable proof draws attention to the need for scientific value. In addition, as with other pseudoscientific practices, the lack of scientific methodology forces the individual to trust in the expert’s divine gifts, in lieu of actual evidence. 1. ^ Matt, Daniel, "Zohar, Vol.4" External links[edit]
What is meta? × Question: How to generate permutations where a[i] != i? This was just closed as "not a real question", but I have no idea why: It's easy to tell what is being asked here. This question is not ambiguous, nor vague, nor incomplete, nor overly broad, nor rhetorical and can be reasonably answered in its current form. So it fails every test for "not a real question". And yet a moderator came by and closed it up. Can someone please enlighten me as to why? share\|improve this question It's reopened now. My two cents: the way the question was asked (Now I need to generate all permutations...) might have resulted in some users flagging it, and the mod acting on these flags. – Frédéric Hamidi Dec 5 '11 at 7:20 It did in fact get a VLQ flag, and a moderator did act on it. – Robert Harvey Dec 5 '11 at 7:38 2 Answers 2 up vote 18 down vote accepted The original edit was more or less a statement... Not a question. After someone came along and edited it, it became a gimme da codez question. Personally, I thought the "question" was OK, but the community likes to see people do some of their own research first. (see http://tinyurl.com/so-hints). Question was reopened by the community, and has some good answers on it now. Conclusion: the system works. share\|improve this answer When I came across the question, it was open and in its current form. I added my answer to the already long list of good answers. The question was closed after that, when it was well stated and had 5 answers. The question was only re-opened after this post to Meta. My conclusion: either moderators should read the time stamps on edits and flags to see if a flag still applied or if it is SO policy to close questions based on "gimme da codez", then that should be in the FAQ and should be the close reason. – PengOne Dec 5 '11 at 15:57 If we put into the FAQ every possible way a user could screw up a question, the FAQ would be longer than the Gideon Bible. Having an exhaustive list of close reasons does not scale; the most the average user can cognitively process (I include myself in that group) is about six distinct close reasons. – Robert Harvey Dec 5 '11 at 16:29 Just verifying, as I'm the mod who closed the question as not a real question. As Robert said in the comments, it was a "very low quality" flag. This is essentially a "give me the code question". This falls under the "not a real question" category. Questions of this sort are frowned upon on SO. Some advice: • If you are going to ask questions of this nature, show some code of what you did and if you have a specific problem point, target that point in the question. • If you have code that works but want to get suggestions on how to make it better, post your question on Code Review (as it would be OT for SO). • If you want discussion about how to best approach this (without really asking for code), ask it on Programmers. While Robert believes it is a good question, there are those in the community that believe that it is not (and obviously those that do, it was flagged for closing and for reopening). The best piece of advice that I can give you is to update your question so that it doesn't come across as a "give me the code" type of question. As it stands now, it's possible that someone will flag your question again and another moderator might agree that the question should be closed (depends on who gets to it in the mod queue, if it gets brought there). If you adjust your question in this way (and not in a way that makes it sound like it should belong on one of the other two sites) then the chances of it being flagged again will probably drastically decrease. share\|improve this answer This is a "give me an algorithm" question which I argue is somewhat different from a "give me the code" question, and if that falls in the category of "not a real question" then perhaps someone should update the FAQ to reflect that. – PengOne Dec 5 '11 at 15:58 Also, I think you were hasty in your closing and did not read the question just as you did not read the details now. I did not post the question. Please, as a moderator, take the time to read something before acting on it. – PengOne Dec 5 '11 at 16:00 @PengOne: As per the third bullet point, if you want "give me the algorithm", then the question is OT; as per the first point of the Programmers FAQ: algorithm and data structure concepts (your question is tagged algorithm and you are asking for one). See Robert's comment about adding it to the FAQ. To your point about how long I took to read the question, you are conjecturing which is not constructive and does not enforce your point. – casperOne Dec 5 '11 at 16:41 READ This is not my question. It was asked by someone else. Herein lies the problem. You fail to read things. As a moderator, I would expect you to at least READ. – PengOne Dec 5 '11 at 16:51 @PengOne: Point taken about reading. However, the points regarding how appropriate the question is for the site, as well as my point about your conjecture still stand. – casperOne Dec 5 '11 at 17:05 You must log in to answer this question. Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .
Cyclists' GPS system uses music to guide you +VIDEO It's called 'Oh Music Where Art Thou' and the designers claim it makes navigation fun by nick_rearden September 12, 2011 Oh Music Where Art Thou.jpg A group of students from the Netherlands is working on a development that combines existing GPS data and the music on a mobile device to steer you towards your destination without onscreen arrows or voice commands. The four User System Interaction trainees from Eindhoven University of Technology have designed their variation of a GPS navigation system in combination with a small portable computer, in this case an Android-based smart phone, along with a pair of headphones to help cyclists navigate without distraction from the road ahead. The system named 'Oh Music Where Art Thou?' relies on the human brain's ability to detect tiny differences in audio balance between the left and right ears and the students have worked on artificially altering the perceived direction of this stereo image audio to guide the user to a predefined location. "At the moment the prototype only works for predetermined locations," the team's Daniel Tetteroo told the technology website Gizmag. "However, we are busy developing it into a full application that supports navigation to basically any place in the world. The finished application will be available soon through the Android market. Some of us have already used the limited application in real life and we're very enthusiastic about the concept. It's not just that it is an intuitive and easy way to navigate; it also has a certain fun-factor to it. More adventurous than just following direct instructions which turns to take, as you can just choose directions yourself, and still end up at your final destination." At we're aware that the cycling world is strongly divided on the issue of music-on-the-move, many arguing with some justification that environmental sound is not only a large part of the pleasure of cycling but also a potential life-saver amongst the hurly burly of city traffic or even (especially!) out in the lanes. We've been carrying out our own experiments with an app called Awareness! which uses, in our case, an iPhone's microphone to detect sounds above a predetermined level to mix in the potentially useful sound of an approching car, say, while reducing the music level. It seems to us the combination of the two apps might eventually be interesting, not least when they work on the same platform. 1 user comments Oldest firstNewest firstBest rated Nice idea but gives absolutely no consideration to hearing impaired riders. I have tinnitus in my left ear that reduces my hearing at higher frequencies by 30dB SPL (5 times quieter than my right ear). I cannot wear headphones for any length of time. A friend of mine has an issue with the bones in his ears that they are disintegrating. (he has had surgery to replace the ones in his right ear) and his hearing is greatly impaired in his left. Also, this encourages people to wear headphones when riding which reduces their awareness of their surroundings. zanf's picture posted by zanf [603 posts] 13th September 2011 - 10:52

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