That awful 3 minutes when I was robbed in Sicily

The highlights included being thrown to the ground by six young Italians who couldn’t manage to kick or punch through my grip on my bag; my wife having her camera bag, a recent Christmas / birthday / graduation / Valentine’s present, ripped off her shoulder; her screaming “Polizia! Polizia!” and her brief but courageous pursuit as our assailants fled; two futile visits to the police, where we learned that most young male delinquents in Catania have protruding ears, which may be significant but not to this story; and the ensuing period of resisting the urge to paint broad strokes of judgment all over Sicily, which would be a even larger injustice than the mugging. Aside from one chunk of ground in Catania, I highly recommend visiting the island.

I’m still puzzled by those three minutes. Aside from the first blow, I don’t remember any physical pain. The strongest memory I retain is the feeling of disbelief towards the events as they unfolded. That something could be taken from me (or, more accurately, something could be taken from my wife and from us) felt so unreal. This thought, along with muscles strengthened by years of playing guitar, may be why I simply refused to let go of my bag. But what did give way under those kicks and punches was my grip on my self-narrative.

We travel and we take. This is true for most travelers. Confession: I enjoy taking, but not as much as I used to. I still like how my thumb magically causes cars to stop, and I still enjoy those warm beds strangers offer me. (Couchsurfing? More like “Here’s the keys to my apartment,” or, “Let me show you around the city, feed you, and give you this nice bed” -surfing.) But the focus changed as I slowly realized these were opportunities to share a piece of life with others. I felt I had reached a place where responding with hospitality isn’t an obligation but a reflex and an opportunity…and then I was beaten and robbed and confused in Catania, Sicily.

I felt the change the next day when we returned to the scene of the crime. The daylight gave the nondescript street innocence. Mothers were hanging laundry and old ladies were returning from grocery shopping, plaid rolling bags in tow. But to me, everything and everyone seemed guilty. Each car that passed was for a split-second the blue getaway car our assailants piled into. I felt fear as teenagers zipped by on mopeds. Unable to shake the role of victim, accusation became a salve for helplessness, and I had to fight the urge to view everyone as a potential threat.

The store we had stumbled into the previous night was closed. The shop owners had refused to call the police or help at all. Their eyes had been full of fear and complacency. To some extent I empathize with them, but only because a few times in life that come to mind when I didn’t help those who needed it. That time I was walking to my apartment in Prague and saw a man beating his wife. Or that time in the Republic of Georgia when my co-teacher’s drunken husband kidnapped her at knifepoint in the middle of a 10th-grade English lesson.

I don’t excuse the shopkeepers — or myself.

I still feel helpless when I tell this story. Retelling it is easy, almost boring. It happened, it’s part of my life, but I still don’t understand it. I’m still waiting for the, “And the moral of the story is…” moment, if it ever comes.

I can’t think of a feeling worse than helplessness towards the past. I’ve chewed over the whole Catania business countless times, and I still don’t know how to approach its memory. But I am rebuilding trust — night is less dark, long walks are regaining their status as God’s gift to mankind, and strangers are less strange. I have to. If I don’t continue using travel as a means to live better in this world full of humans, then a lot more was taken than just a camera.

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Makes sense. We only know the altitude of the object is stable so it is moving in a plane parallel to the surface. The cos(left) assumes we know it is moving parallel to the jet but this may not be the case, though it seems to be if you look at the movement of the sea compared to the movement of the object.

Note that the jet is only flying straight and level with the ATFLIR locked for just 4-5 seconds (from 1:35-1:39 in the 'official' video). Most of the time it is banking left, which would considerably tilt the reference plane of the ATFLIR. I cannot immediately see whether you took this effect into account, just a heads-up...

Click to expand...

Thanks Kaen. I'm eager to include the left bank if someone wants to pull the roll angles for me as a function of time.

Here it the image that was broken in my previous post. Thanks @Mick West for the instructions.

The blue line is the plane flying straight and level looking down and to the left at the object.

James Thorpe on FB noted a different way of calculating the position of the target, assuming it is not moving.

Black triangle is in the horizontal plane. Distances are in meters. A to B is the movement of the plane between when the angle is 43, and when it's 57

The other angle at B is 180-57 = 123. The last angle (C) in the black triangle is hence (180-1230-43) = 14. The lengths of the other two sides can be calculated as 3610/sin(14 degrees)*sin(43 degree) = 10177 and 3610/sin(14 degrees)*sin(123 degree) = 12514

However this put the range at 13.9km = 7.5 NM, when the "RNG" is reading 4.4 NM.

The sensor is 640x480, but the video may only show a square 480x480 part of it. We've debated whether the narrow (NAR) FOV is 0.7 degrees, 1 degree, or 1.5 degrees based on several sources.

Click to expand...

Thank you for that.

I read the brochure and some of the others posted here. Mostly they're over my head.

I'm looking for the simple ATFLIR camera numbers that I can plug into a "3ds Max Camera" in order to recreate the scene in 3D:

Obviously, these elementary details are not available to the public. If they were I guess the dizzying array of math calculations here wouldn't be quite as necessary. I say that with the utmost respect.

In the meantime....fun to look at but perhaps a futile effort (someone on Reddit apparently took the obvious road and tweeted at Raytheon asking for the specs of the camera), I stabilized the better resolution WAPO version of the video:

I think I see what is going on here once I realized that the blue triangle is slanted down toward the object. Looks like they too are assuming level flight (easiest assumption). Any path connecting the 13, 923 line with the 12,275 line will represent a trajectory constant with the angular measurements. So put a point on the 13,923 line 8150 meters [4.4 nautical miles] from A and on place another 6300 meters [3.4 nautical miles] from B on the blue line labeled 12,275 and connect the two new points with a line. The red line is a path that is consistent with the angles and distances.

I think I see what is going on here once I realized that the blue triangle is slanted down toward the object. Looks like they too are assuming level flight (easiest assumption). Any path connecting the 13, 923 line with the 12,275 line will represent a trajectory constant with the angular measurements. So put a point on the 13,923 line 8150 meters [4.4 nautical miles] from A and on place another 6300 meters [3.4 nautical miles] from B on the blue line labeled 12,275 and connect the two new points with a line. The red line is a path that is consistent with the angles and distances.

I read the brochure and some of the others posted here. Mostly they're over my head.

I'm looking for the simple ATFLIR camera numbers that I can plug into a "3ds Max Camera" in order to recreate the scene in 3D:

Obviously, these elementary details are not available to the public. If they were I guess the dizzying array of math calculations here wouldn't be quite as necessary. I say that with the utmost respect.

The maximum documented speed for an Albatross I found is 104 mph, stated in this study.

measurements of one grey-headed albatross during an Antarctic storm showed that the bird travelled for 9 h at ground speeds of between 110 kph (30.5 m s−1) and 168 kph (46.7 m s−1).

Content from external source

168 kph = 104 mph

The Albatross is not native to the North American East Coast. However, the ranges of long-distance fliers are quite variable and accordingly there are dozens of sightings of Albatross along the East Coast, including at least one shot by a hunter . This study catalogues 171 observed Albatross, 13 in Florida:

While rare, I suspect Albatross are much more common than extraterrestrial aircraft.

The Albatross flies in what's called dynamic soaring, depicted here:

So the question arises if the object in the Go-Fast video could be an Albatross based on its flight path. The question would be if during a 30-second snapshot an Albatross could maintain a fairly straight flightpath. I suspect the answer is yes.

The maximum documented speed for an Albatross I found is 104 mph, stated in this study.

measurements of one grey-headed albatross during an Antarctic storm showed that the bird travelled for 9 h at ground speeds of between 110 kph (30.5 m s−1) and 168 kph (46.7 m s−1).

Content from external source

168 kph = 104 mph

The Albatross is not native to the North American East Coast. However, the ranges of long-distance fliers are quite variable and accordingly there are dozens of sightings of Albatross along the East Coast, including at least one shot by a hunter . This study catalogues 171 observed Albatross, 13 in Florida:

While rare, I suspect Albatross are much more common than extraterrestrial aircraft.

The Albatross flies in what's called dynamic soaring, depicted here:

So the question arises if the object in the Go-Fast video could be an Albatross based on its flight path. The question would be if during a 30-second snapshot an Albatross could maintain a fairly straight flightpath. I suspect the answer is yes.

Click to expand...

The dynamic soaring pattern in the graph is close to the water, not two miles high. Do albatrosses fly high? It could be another bird, though I'm not convinced that a bird would look colder than water in IR.

The dynamic soaring pattern in the graph is close to the water, not two miles high. Do albatrosses fly high? It could be another bird, though I'm not convinced that it would look cooler than water in IR.

Click to expand...

I think temperature could for sure be lower then the surface water being that the bird can fly as fast as 100 mph and would be getting air cooled then. However it would need to be able to fly for at least 30 secs in a straight line which should not be impossible for it to do. And relatively high altitude of 2 miles which seems like the only harder part to explain..

To tie this to the Nimitz video, notice how the WSO was able to manually slew the camera and acquire the target after a couple of tries. This should've been trivial to do in the Nimitz video when it broke lock at the end.

The dynamic soaring pattern in the graph is close to the water, not two miles high. Do albatrosses fly high? It could be another bird, though I'm not convinced that a bird would look colder than water in IR.

To tie this to the Nimitz video, notice how the WSO was able to manually slew the camera and acquire the target after a couple of tries. This should've been trivial to do in the Nimitz video when it broke lock at the end.

Click to expand...

In the last part of the Nimitz video a range indication pops up: 99.9 RNG 99.
I wonder what that means. Maybe the WSO tries a radar lock but the radar basically indicates 'out of range'?
In the GO FAST video the ATFLIR lock is immediately accompanied by a range and closure speed indication. This could mean the radar first locks on to the target and the ATFLIR follows the radar's directions?

The dynamic soaring pattern in the graph is close to the water, not two miles high. Do albatrosses fly high? It could be another bird, though I'm not convinced that a bird would look colder than water in IR.

Click to expand...

JFDee posted this footage as an attachment, which I've converted to a GIF animation:

The gull is cooler than land, but warmer than sky. If the ocean was reflecting the sky's temperature, you're probably right.

So, imo, the next non-extraordinary option to consider is a weather balloon recently released, and so still climbing to its upper altitude. A balloon also fits the shape of the thermal signature. Take for example:

I can confirm that the left bank will reduce the speed of the object. I cranked in a guess of 1 m/s^2 left turn and reduced the object speed to 50 kts.

Click to expand...

I also found a huge effect from adding in the left turn on the two point analysis. Here's the plane's flight in a straight line (green), and the same distance with a very slight left turn (red). The two sight lines at 43° and 57° are shown. The initial 43° is unchanged, but the the 57° changes significantly.

The blue line (F-G) shows the horizontal path of the target assuming straight line of the jet

With the slight left turn, this now becomes the very different short orange line.

This animation shows the effect of varying the turn rate on the calculated speed. The blue line is the simple two point analysis with jet traveling in a straight line. The orange line is with a variety of turn rates from the jet.

The minimum is around 270m in 19 seconds, about 28 knots, 32mph.

The bank angle of the jet varies though. So a more sophisticated analysis might reveal more.

Hi everyone. I just joined after reading up on this subject after becoming extremely skeptical of Tom DeLonge's "To The Stars" companies and their intentions, and the implication of Helene Cooper, Ralph Blumenthal and Leslie Kean (of the New York Times) in what appears to be promotion of Tom's business venture.

I don't have much to add outside of the great work already done by everyone else, just came to say I sent in a FOIA request to the Defense Intelligence Agency asking for the full videos being used by the New York Times and Tom DeLonge's companies.

As others have said, I suspect these are routine training videos where young pilots are testing target lock systems. You can take almost any video like this and splice it to seem like the pilots "don't know what they targeted" and are "extra shocked" because often they don't unless they get closer, and often are excited they achieved a target lock on something as stupid as a bird. Imagine your reaction if you, a new pilot flying a fighter jet, were able to get a multimillion dollar laser target lock device to lock onto an albatross or weather balloon.

If the objects in these videos were perceived as threats or truly unidentified objects the size of an aircraft, they wouldn't be sending young pilots out on training missions, un-armed, to intercept them. And they certainly wouldn't be de-classifying and releasing the videos. Add to that the fact that these videos allegedly came out of an agency which was nothing but a pork project for US Sen. Harry Reid to give his friend and fellow UFO enthusiast, Robert Bigelow, a boatload of cash. The whole concept is just ridiculous.

Hi everyone. I just joined after reading up on this subject after becoming extremely skeptical of Tom DeLonge's "To The Stars" companies and their intentions, and the implication of Helene Cooper, Ralph Blumenthal and Leslie Kean (of the New York Times) in what appears to be promotion of Tom's business venture.

I don't have much to add outside of the great work already done by everyone else, just came to say I sent in a FOIA request to the Defense Intelligence Agency asking for the full videos being used by the New York Times and Tom DeLonge's companies.

Click to expand...

You need not bother filing any request. As I just wrote on my Bad UFOs Blog, dozens of such requests have already been filed by UFO researchers and by reporters. Nobody has turned up anything so far, they are all coming back "no records."

A balloon seems plausible. But I would expect a weather ballon to be climbing more. Still, there's lots of different types of balloon.

Click to expand...

From a graph in this study it looks like with no wind a 1-meter radius helium weather balloon @ 10,000 ft would ascend around 383 ft over 30 seconds or if it was hydrogen filled would ascend around 433 ft over 30 seconds. The fact that the study says, "We will assume throughout this paper that there is no wind, so that the balloon velocity is vertical," implies that wind can have a considerable impact on ascent rate. I'd presume that impact would be to reduce the ascent rate. Looking at the sea surface in the Go Fast video, I'd say there's significant wind occurring.

The range relevant to our analysis is, I believe (if I follow, the Go Fast object is around 10,000 ft), at the edge of the uncontrolled-ascent phase, zone 1. The ascent during 30 seconds with high winds might be trivial or even too small to detect on the ATFLIR.

To confidently recreate the scene in 3D I really am going to need that cmos/ccd image sensor size.

Here is the first stage at setting up the 3D. For now the camera is just perpendicular to the ocean surface and I started with plugging in 1050mm for the focal length, you can see the camera settings highlighted in red.

Also, I saw the RNG in some of the math equations, can someone explain what it is? And what is the Vc?

Also, I saw the RNG in some of the math equations, can someone explain what it is? And what is the Vc?

Click to expand...

RNG is the distance to the target, presumably in nautical miles
Vc is the closing velocity, presumably in knots. i.e. the component of the relative velocity of the object parallel to the line of sight.

Here is the first stage at setting up the 3D. For now the camera is just perpendicular to the ocean surface and I started with plugging in 1050mm for the focal length, you can see the camera settings highlighted in red.

RNG is the distance to the target, presumably in nautical miles
Vc is the closing velocity, presumably in knots. i.e. the component of the relative velocity of the object parallel to the line of sight.

The fact that the study says, "We will assume throughout this paper that there is no wind, so that the balloon velocity is vertical," implies that wind can have a considerable impact on ascent rate.

Click to expand...

No I don't think that is what is implied. A typical ascent rate would be around 5 m/s although it can be adjusted by the amount of gas it is filled with. In strong winds you might want to overfill it so that it does not disappear behind a mountain, for example. The ascent rate is independent of wind speed, although its actual velocity is the vector sum of the vertical ascent rate and horizontal wind velocity.

No I don't think that is what is implied. A typical ascent rate would be around 5 m/s although it can be adjusted by the amount of gas it is filled with. In strong winds you might want to overfill it so that it does not disappear behind a mountain, for example. The ascent rate is independent of wind speed, although its actual velocity is the vector sum of the vertical ascent rate and horizontal wind velocity.

Gas released from a pressurized tank can be freezing cold. I wonder if that would cause the gas in a recently filled weather balloon to be markedly colder than the surrounding atmosphere, like Go Fast. In a quick search I didn't find such a weather balloon imaged on FLIR.


 Let h = 2647/26 + -102. Is w <= h?
False
Let u be 10*(0 + (-6)/15). Let v be -1589 - u/(6/(-3)). Let m = -6413/4 - v. Which is bigger: m or -11?
-11
Let o = 6/24617 - 1477782/3126359. Which is smaller: 0 or o?
o
Suppose b = 45 + 89. Let r = b + -124. Is 9 less than r?
True
Let i = 31755 + -32417. Which is smaller: i or -648?
i
Suppose 56*j = 53*j - 9, z - 33 = j. Is 0.039 at most as big as z?
True
Let o(h) = h**2 - 5*h + 8. Let r be o(3). Suppose 2*k - r = 3*k. Let y be ((-2559)/(-639) + -4)*k. Which is bigger: -1 or y?
y
Let x be 18/(-24) - (-25 + 15). Which is smaller: x or 4?
4
Suppose 10*u = 36*u - 12350. Let j = 492 - u. Is j greater than or equal to 125/7?
False
Let g = -26.18 - 61.73. Let j = 88 + g. Which is smaller: j or -0.18?
-0.18
Let t be ((11/33)/(9 + -8))/((-98)/78). Which is smaller: t or -1?
-1
Let n be (-58*(-1 - -2))/(486/(-6075)). Is 726 != n?
True
Let i = -31.03 + 30.9379. Is -2/3 at most i?
True
Let i(p) = -10*p**2 + 402*p - 150. Let c be i(40). Which is greater: c or 2/11?
2/11
Let k = 48510 - 84728. Is k greater than -36217?
False
Suppose -5*w - 35 = 0, -4*x - 2*w - 472 - 294 = 0. Let r be ((-566)/5)/(3/5). Which is smaller: x or r?
r
Let b = 27434/3 + -9064. Let t(m) = m**2 + 44*m + 260. Let r be t(-10). Let f = r + b. Is f < 1?
True
Let t(a) = -a**3 + 44*a**2 + 87*a + 215. Let q be t(46). Which is greater: -21 or q?
q
Let v = 87 + -87. Suppose 15*p = 8*p + 28. Let c be -10*(132/(-32) + p). Is c > v?
True
Let n = -110 + 115. Let j be (4/10)/((-8)/n). Is j less than -2/3?
False
Let m be 16/12*(3 + (-298917)/56937) + 3. Do -1 and m have the same value?
False
Let t(h) = 45*h**2 - 625*h - 27. Let o be t(12). Is o greater than -1047?
False
Let z = 65874.1 + -65874. Let f = 7333/752 + -1/752. Which is bigger: z or f?
f
Let z be (-2)/(-3)*(-206 - 37). Let g = 120 + z. Let y be (0 + 1)/(1/(-43)). Which is greater: g or y?
g
Let p(a) = -4*a + 16. Suppose 2*n - 4*i = 0, n - 1 = 3*i - 0*i. Let u = 3 - n. Let x be p(u). Is -5/2 greater than x?
True
Let r = -0.121 + -118.879. Let v = r - -118. Which is smaller: -122 or v?
-122
Let x = 2 - 2. Let f = 412794/14245 + -1072/37. Is f at least as big as x?
True
Suppose 367 = 4*a - d - 737, -5*a - 4*d = -1401. Suppose 8*s - 419 - a = 0. Are 86 and s equal?
False
Let m be 53/(-106)*11876/87138. Let d = m + 4/927. Which is smaller: 0 or d?
d
Let z be (0 - -1) + (29 - (-493)/(-17)). Is z not equal to 33/112?
True
Let l = -13.08 + -1.62. Let t = -14.6 - l. Which is greater: -55 or t?
t
Let r = -11 + 12. Let s be -21 + 2/r - (1 - 3). Suppose a + 2*a - 5*z + 71 = 0, 0 = 2*z - 8. Is s bigger than a?
False
Let p = -145 + 144. Let q = 5/21 - 4/7. Is q at least as big as p?
True
Suppose 175*m = 340356 + 432911 - 129792. Is m at least 3677?
True
Suppose -279*f = -273*f + 36. Let l(m) = -9*m - 40. Let h(y) = -8*y - 41. Let t(p) = 5*h(p) - 4*l(p). Let r be t(f). Is r smaller than 1?
True
Suppose 4*u - 4 = 4*m, 0 = -m + 3*m + 3*u - 8. Let i be 10/(m - (-2)/(-4)). Let k = 29061 - 29042. Do i and k have different values?
True
Let x be (-5)/(-1) + -1 + 753/(-188). Let y = -11 - -11. Do y and x have different values?
True
Let u(s) = 5*s + 16. Let f be u(4). Let j be (f/12)/((-2)/(-36)). Suppose -12*z + 3*z - j = 0. Which is smaller: z or -0.1?
z
Let w = -37.473 - -37.7. Let b = w - -1.773. Is 17 at least b?
True
Let l = -39.7841 - 0.1659. Let u = -40 - l. Let d = -5.009 + 0.009. Which is smaller: u or d?
d
Let a = -71.72 - -72. Let k = 0.5 - a. Which is greater: 0.2 or k?
k
Let h = -46416493/49784 + -108/6223. Let s = h - -932. Is 19 <= s?
False
Let d(x) = x**2 - 4*x - 1. Let p be (-4)/22 + (-184)/(-44). Let z be d(p). Let o be (-1 + (-2 - z))*37/185. Which is bigger: o or -3/8?
-3/8
Suppose -2*c = -238 - 410. Let x be (-108)/c + ((-860)/6)/2. Is x greater than -72?
False
Let f(l) = 33*l + 1653. Let o be f(-65). Is 2/5 <= o?
False
Let k(o) = -o**2 - 54*o - 433. Let i be k(-41). Which is smaller: i or 599/6?
599/6
Suppose -3*f = 5*l + 4188, -l - 1455 + 623 = -5*f. Which is smaller: 20 or l?
l
Suppose -5*v + 40 = 2*g, 0*v + 5*g = -2*v + 37. Let l be (18/(-8))/(v/16). Which is greater: l or -34/7?
-34/7
Let h = 221 + -74. Let y be h/70 - 9/6. Which is bigger: 66 or y?
66
Let w(s) = -3*s + 25. Let u be w(8). Let l be 1362/1092 - 4/14 - u. Let q = 50 - 49. Is q at most as big as l?
False
Let y = 321 - 314. Suppose -7 = y*d + 98. Does -2/5 = d?
False
Let x(q) = -q - 8*q + 15*q - 9. Let v be x(3). Suppose -u - 4*c + v = -12, 5*c = 3*u + 22. Is u <= 19?
True
Let k = -24.63 + 3.95. Let n = k - -22.9. Let l = 0.22 - n. Does l = -0.1?
False
Suppose -83 = 26*t - 291. Let b(z) = z**3 - 10*z**2 + 12*z - 33. Let r be b(t). Which is smaller: r or -67?
-67
Suppose x = 4*p - 2 - 6, 2*p - 4 = 3*x. Let i be ((-40)/(-140))/(14 + -307). Is i smaller than x?
True
Let o = -1743 - -1725. Which is bigger: o or -63?
o
Let o be 40/35 + 2 + (-336848)/56. Is -6009 at most as big as o?
False
Suppose -2*u - 635 = s - 583, 0 = 4*s - 5*u + 169. Which is smaller: 98 or s?
s
Suppose -n + 0*n = -4*c - 32, -8 = 2*n + c. Let h be 78/145 + (-6)/15. Which is smaller: n or h?
n
Suppose -24 = -2*x + 8. Suppose 3*h + 20 = -a + 6*a, 4*h + 4*a - x = 0. Suppose -3*i + h = 3. Is i > 1/38?
False
Suppose -25*n + 2*n = -1380. Suppose 5*b = -5*i - n, 9*b + i + 25 = 7*b. Is b greater than or equal to -1?
False
Let j be -3642*((-4)/4)/6. Let v = j - 526. Is 78 greater than v?
False
Let c = -553/1980 - -5/396. Which is bigger: -75 or c?
c
Let q(g) = 286*g**3 + g**2 + g - 1. Let o be q(-1). Let i = o + 288. Which is smaller: i or 0.088?
0.088
Let p = 4964 + -4977. Let a = -2.02 + 0.02. Let v = -1.7 - a. Does v = p?
False
Let t = 107 - 5353/50. Let s be -13 - (4 + -17)*1. Is t != s?
True
Let o(i) = 24*i**3 + 7*i**2 + 119*i - 143. Let h be o(10). Which is greater: h or 25748?
25748
Suppose l - 2 = 417*z - 416*z, z = -4*l - 7. Which is smaller: z or -1212?
-1212
Let n be 66/14 + -1 + 42/147. Suppose -3*g = -5*c - 9 + 26, -n*c + 21 = 5*g. Suppose 44 = -c*l - 64. Is -26 at most as big as l?
False
Let a = -0.13 - 7.87. Let c be (-34072)/237120*-3 - (-9)/24. Let y = 3/494 - c. Is a at least y?
False
Let w(b) = b**2 + 19*b - 202. Let i be w(-34). Let k = 290 - i. Which is bigger: -17 or k?
-17
Let c = -4041 + 4022. Let f be (-6 + 4)/(2/6). Let n(u) = -u**2 - 3*u + 1. Let t be n(f). Which is greater: t or c?
t
Let x be (-126)/1431*-7 + (-4)/12. Is x > 1?
False
Let m = 4506 - 4510. Is m bigger than -8/13?
False
Let i = 269 + -266. Suppose -i*u - 87 + 333 = 0. Is u at least 77?
True
Let n = 7/128013 - 1036137299/1408143. Which is smaller: -737 or n?
-737
Let q(m) = 4*m**3 + 221*m**2 + 107*m + 174. Let h be q(-55). Is h not equal to -2686?
False
Suppose 44 = 55*g - 51*g. Let y = -1 + 6.1. Let s = 0.1 - y. Which is greater: g or s?
g
Let l(m) = 112 - 8*m - 9*m - 163. Let x be l(-6). Is 0.3 at most x?
True
Let n = -1954235/2101344 - -2811/3304. Let b = 7/96 + n. Which is bigger: b or 1?
1
Let c = 306.02 + 82.98. Which is smaller: -7 or c?
-7
Let h = 33629/4425 + 1/4425. Which is smaller: 11 or h?
h
Suppose -5*s + 10 = 2*i + 3*i, 3*s - 16 = 2*i. Suppose -4*t + k - 1 = 0, -k + 5*k = -t + s. Let n be 3 - 0 - (-32)/(-10) - t. Which is greater: n or 1?
1
Let o(s) = s**2 + 6. Let k be o(0). Let r be k/15 - (-1089)/15 - 2. Is r bigger than 71?
False
Let t be (-1)/(525/33) + -5 + (-288)/(-56). Is 48 less than or equal to t?
False
Let k = -97 + -128. Suppose 0 = -28*r + 32*r + 2*i + 892, -4*r = 6*i + 876. Is r >= k?
True
Suppose 2*l + 16 = -78. Let b = 27692 + -27740. Is l < b?
False
Let l = -4.091 - 0.169. Let w = 5.26 + l. Is 260 >= w?
True
Let u = -737.09 - -16.09. Let o = u - -720.8. Is -72 at most as big as o?
True
Suppose -3*t + 20 = -4*i, 5*t - 13 = i + 9. Suppose 5*p - 3*m = m + 30, 3*m + 7 = -t*p. Suppose -p - 10 = 12*q. Which is smaller: q or 0.104?
q
Let d = 7.47 + -7.8. Let b = 2.1 + -3.97. Let j = b + d. Do 1 and j have the same value?
False
Suppose 484 - 199 = 19*u. Suppose 79 = u*o + 64. Let h be -1 - ((-36)/(-34))/(-1). Which is smaller: h or o?
h
Let c = -2585 + 2587. Which is greater: c or -1.802?
c
Let c(q) = q**3 - 7*q**2 - 10. Let t be c(7). Let m(s) = -s**3 - 5*s**2 + 21*s - 8. Let i be m(-8). Let o be (i/10 + -2)*t. Which is greater: 9 or o?
9
Let y be (-


Buy A Second-hand Car Without Regretting It

Are you interested in buying a second-hand motor but worried about getting a raw deal? Then read on. There are many steps you can take to reduce the chances of getting ripped off, including asking a more experienced person to guide you through the whole process. Buying from a dealer rather than a private seller is also a good move as you’ll get protection from the Sale of Goods Act and should find it easy to return the car if you later discover a fault you weren’t told about before. Finding used cars for sale in Birmingham is easier than you might think.

Seller or Dealer?

One of the first things you should do is work out how much you can afford to spend. You may well wish to draw up a list of four or five suitable models, find out how much they usually go for and then start looking around the forecourts. Don’t be swayed by the price tag alone as you’ll need to cover tax, insurance and running costs as well as the price of the car. Ask as many questions as you feel you need to. Most dealers belong to trade networks and risk being removed from them if they fail to treat you fairly, so it will always be in their best interests to co-operate with you if you find a problem.

A Full Service History

Only view a car in dry and light conditions where faults cannot be hidden. Make sure you conduct an emergency stop when taking the car for a test drive so you can see how it performs in dangerous scenarios. Look for evidence of a full service history and ensure the information printed on the paperwork matches up with what you have been told.


module pressure_mod
  use task_util_mod
  implicit none

contains

  ! Non-blocking receives before blocking sends
  subroutine pressure(ncrms)
    !       Original pressure solver based on horizontal slabs
    !       (C) 1998, 2002 Marat Khairoutdinov
    !       Works only when the number of slabs is equal to the number of processors.
    !       Therefore, the number of processors shouldn't exceed the number of levels nzm
    !       Also, used for a 2D version
    !       For more processors for the given number of levels and 3D, use pressure_big
    use vars
    use params, only: dowallx, dowally, crm_rknd
    use press_rhs_mod
    use press_grad_mod
    use fft_mod
    use openacc_utils
    implicit none
    integer, intent(in) :: ncrms
    integer, parameter :: npressureslabs = nsubdomains
    integer, parameter :: nzslab = max(1,nzm / npressureslabs)
    integer, parameter :: nx2=nx_gl+2, ny2=ny_gl+2*YES3D
    integer, parameter :: n3i=3*nx_gl/2+1,n3j=3*ny_gl/2+1
    real(crm_rknd) work(nx2,ny2)
    real(crm_rknd) ftmp(nx2,ny2)
    real(crm_rknd) ftmp_x(nx2)
    real(crm_rknd) ftmp_y(ny2)
    real(8) b,e
    real(8) xi,xj,xnx,xny,ddx2,ddy2,pii,factx,facty
    real(8) alfa(nzm-1),beta(nzm-1)
    integer i, j, k, id, jd, m, n, it, jt, ii, jj, icrm
    integer nyp22
    real(crm_rknd), allocatable :: f (:,:,:,:)       ! global rhs and array for FTP coefficeients
    real(crm_rknd), allocatable :: ff(:,:,:,:)  ! local (subdomain's) version of f
    integer       , allocatable :: iii(:)
    integer       , allocatable :: jjj(:)
    integer       , allocatable :: ifaxi(:)
    integer       , allocatable :: ifaxj(:)
    real(crm_rknd), allocatable :: trigxi(:)
    real(crm_rknd), allocatable :: trigxj(:)
    real(8)       , allocatable :: a(:,:)
    real(8)       , allocatable :: c(:,:)
    integer iwall,jwall
    integer :: numgangs  !For working aroung PGI OpenACC bug where it didn't create enough gangs
    real(8), allocatable :: eign(:,:)

    allocate( f (ncrms,nx2,ny2,nzslab)      )
    allocate( ff(ncrms,nx+1,ny+2*YES3D,nzm) )
    allocate( iii(0:nx_gl) )
    allocate( jjj(0:ny_gl) )
    allocate( ifaxi(100) )
    allocate( ifaxj(100) )
    allocate( trigxi(n3i) )
    allocate( trigxj(n3j) )
    allocate( a(ncrms,nzm) )
    allocate( c(ncrms,nzm) )

    call prefetch( f      )
    call prefetch( ff     )
    call prefetch( iii    )
    call prefetch( jjj    )
    call prefetch( ifaxi  )
    call prefetch( ifaxj  )
    call prefetch( trigxi )
    call prefetch( trigxj )
    call prefetch( a      )
    call prefetch( c      )

    it = 0
    jt = 0

    !-----------------------------------------------------------------

    if(dowallx) then
      iwall=1
    else
      iwall=0
    endif
    if(RUN2D) then
      nyp22=1
      jwall=0
    else
      nyp22=nyp2
      if(dowally) then
        jwall=2
      else
        jwall=0
      endif
    endif

    allocate(eign(nxp1-iwall,nyp22-jwall))
    call prefetch(eign)
    !-----------------------------------------------------------------
    !  Compute the r.h.s. of the Poisson equation for pressure
    call press_rhs(ncrms)

    !-----------------------------------------------------------------
    !   Form the horizontal slabs of right-hand-sides of Poisson equation
    n = 0
    !$acc parallel loop collapse(4) async(asyncid)
    do k = 1,nzslab
      do j = 1,ny
        do i = 1,nx
          do icrm = 1 , ncrms
            f(icrm,i,j,k) = p(icrm,i,j,k)
          enddo
        enddo
      enddo
    enddo

    !-------------------------------------------------
    ! Perform Fourier transformation for a slab:
    !$acc parallel loop async(asyncid)
    do icrm = 1 , 1
      call fftfax_crm(nx_gl,ifaxi,trigxi)
      if(RUN3D) call fftfax_crm(ny_gl,ifaxj,trigxj)
    enddo
    !$acc parallel loop gang vector collapse(3) private(work,ftmp_x) async(asyncid)
    do k=1,nzslab
      do j = 1 , ny_gl
        do icrm = 1 , ncrms
          !$acc cache(ftmp_x,work)
          ftmp_x = f(icrm,:,j,k)
          call fft991_crm(ftmp_x,work,trigxi,ifaxi,1,nx2,nx_gl,1,-1)
          f(icrm,:,j,k) = ftmp_x
        enddo
      enddo
    enddo
    if(RUN3D) then
      !$acc parallel loop gang vector collapse(3) private(work,ftmp_y) async(asyncid)
      do k=1,nzslab
        do i = 1 , nx_gl+1
          do icrm = 1 , ncrms
            !$acc cache(ftmp_y,work)
            ftmp_y = f(icrm,i,:,k)
            call fft991_crm(ftmp_y,work,trigxj,ifaxj,1,nx2,ny_gl,1,-1)
            f(icrm,i,:,k) = ftmp_y
          enddo
        enddo
      enddo
    endif

    !-------------------------------------------------
    !   Send Fourier coeffiecients back to subdomains:
    !$acc parallel loop collapse(4) async(asyncid)
    do k = 1,nzslab
      do j = 1,nyp22-jwall
        do i = 1,nxp1-iwall
          do icrm = 1 , ncrms
            ff(icrm,i,j,k) = f(icrm,i,j,k)
          enddo
        enddo
      enddo
    enddo

    !-------------------------------------------------
    !   Solve the tri-diagonal system for Fourier coeffiecients
    !   in the vertical for each subdomain:
    !$acc parallel loop collapse(2) async(asyncid)
    do k=1,nzm
      do icrm = 1 , ncrms
        a(icrm,k)=rhow(icrm,k)/(adz(icrm,k)*adzw(icrm,k)*dz(icrm)*dz(icrm))
        c(icrm,k)=rhow(icrm,k+1)/(adz(icrm,k)*adzw(icrm,k+1)*dz(icrm)*dz(icrm))
      enddo
    enddo

    !$acc parallel loop collapse(2) async(asyncid)
    do j=1,nyp22-jwall
      do i=1,nxp1-iwall
        ddx2=1._8/(dx*dx)
        ddy2=1._8/(dy*dy)
        pii = 3.14159265358979323846D0
        xnx=pii/nx_gl
        xny=pii/ny_gl
        if(dowally) then
          jd=j+jt-1
          facty = 1.d0
        else
          jd=(j+jt-0.1)/2.
          facty = 2.d0
        endif
        xj=jd
        if(dowallx) then
          id=i+it-1
          factx = 1.d0
        else
          id=(i+it-0.1)/2.
          factx = 2.d0
        endif
        xi=id
        eign(i,j)=(2._8*cos(factx*xnx*xi)-2._8)*ddx2+(2._8*cos(facty*xny*xj)-2._8)*ddy2
      enddo
    enddo

    !For working aroung PGI OpenACC bug where it didn't create enough gangs
    numgangs = ceiling(ncrms*(nyp22-jwall)*(nxp2-iwall)/128.)
    !$acc parallel loop gang vector collapse(3) vector_length(128) num_gangs(numgangs) private(alfa,beta) async(asyncid)
    do j=1,nyp22-jwall
      do i=1,nxp1-iwall
        do icrm = 1 , ncrms
          !$acc cache(alfa,beta)
          if(dowally) then
            jd=j+jt-1
          else
            jd=(j+jt-0.1)/2.
          endif
          if(dowallx) then
            id=i+it-1
          else
            id=(i+it-0.1)/2.
          endif
          if(id+jd.eq.0) then
            b=1._8/(eign(i,j)*rho(icrm,1)-a(icrm,1)-c(icrm,1))
            alfa(1)=-c(icrm,1)*b
            beta(1)=ff(icrm,i,j,1)*b
          else
            b=1._8/(eign(i,j)*rho(icrm,1)-c(icrm,1))
            alfa(1)=-c(icrm,1)*b
            beta(1)=ff(icrm,i,j,1)*b
          endif
          do k=2,nzm-1
            e=1._8/(eign(i,j)*rho(icrm,k)-a(icrm,k)-c(icrm,k)+a(icrm,k)*alfa(k-1))
            alfa(k)=-c(icrm,k)*e
            beta(k)=(ff(icrm,i,j,k)-a(icrm,k)*beta(k-1))*e
          enddo
          ff(icrm,i,j,nzm)=(ff(icrm,i,j,nzm)-a(icrm,nzm)*beta(nzm-1))/(eign(i,j)*rho(icrm,nzm)-a(icrm,nzm)+a(icrm,nzm)*alfa(nzm-1))
          do k=nzm-1,1,-1
            ff(icrm,i,j,k)=alfa(k)*ff(icrm,i,j,k+1)+beta(k)
          enddo
        enddo
      enddo
    enddo

    !-----------------------------------------------------------------
    n = 0
    !$acc parallel loop collapse(4) async(asyncid)
    do k = 1,nzslab
      do j = 1,nyp22-jwall
        do i = 1,nxp1-iwall
          do icrm = 1 , ncrms
            f(icrm,i,j,k) = ff(icrm,i,j,k)
          enddo
        enddo
      enddo
    enddo

    !-------------------------------------------------
    !   Perform inverse Fourier transformation:
    if(RUN3D) then
      !$acc parallel loop gang vector collapse(3) private(ftmp_y,work) async(asyncid)
      do k=1,nzslab
        do i = 1 , nx_gl+1
          do icrm = 1 , ncrms
            !$acc cache(ftmp_y,work)
            ftmp_y = f(icrm,i,:,k)
            call fft991_crm(ftmp_y,work,trigxj,ifaxj,1,nx2,ny_gl,1,+1)
            f(icrm,i,:,k) = ftmp_y
          enddo
        enddo
      enddo
    endif
    !$acc parallel loop gang vector collapse(3) private(ftmp_x,work) async(asyncid)
    do k=1,nzslab
      do j = 1 , ny_gl
        do icrm = 1 , ncrms
          !$acc cache(ftmp_x,work)
          ftmp_x = f(icrm,:,j,k)
          call fft991_crm(ftmp_x,work,trigxi,ifaxi,1,nx2,nx_gl,1,+1)
          f(icrm,:,j,k) = ftmp_x
        enddo
      enddo
    enddo

    !-----------------------------------------------------------------
    !   Fill the pressure field for each subdomain:
    !$acc parallel loop async(asyncid)
    do icrm = 1,1
      do i=1,nx_gl
        iii(i)=i
      enddo
      iii(0)=nx_gl
      do j=1,ny_gl
        jjj(j)=j
      enddo
      jjj(0)=ny_gl
    enddo

    n = 0
    !$acc parallel loop collapse(4) async(asyncid)
    do k = 1,nzslab
      do j = 1-YES3D,ny
        do i = 0,nx
          do icrm = 1 , ncrms
            jj=jjj(j)
            ii=iii(i)
            p(icrm,i,j,k) = f(icrm,ii,jj,k)
          enddo
        enddo
      enddo
    enddo

    !  Add pressure gradient term to the rhs of the momentum equation:
    call press_grad(ncrms)

    deallocate(eign)

    deallocate( f  )
    deallocate( ff )
    deallocate( iii )
    deallocate( jjj )
    deallocate( ifaxi )
    deallocate( ifaxj )
    deallocate( trigxi )
    deallocate( trigxj )
    deallocate( a )
    deallocate( c )

  end subroutine pressure

end module pressure_mod


Intercooler.js: AJAX with Attributes - mrswag
http://intercoolerjs.org/
======
carsongross
A couple of philosophical essays around intercooler:

"Rescuing REST From the API Winter" \-
[http://intercoolerjs.org/2016/01/18/rescuing-
rest.html](http://intercoolerjs.org/2016/01/18/rescuing-rest.html)

"HATEOAS is for Humans" \- [http://intercoolerjs.org/2016/05/08/hatoeas-is-
for-humans.ht...](http://intercoolerjs.org/2016/05/08/hatoeas-is-for-
humans.html)


Company

Gala Films

A group of oddball high school students find themselves trapped in detention during a zombie apocalypse. Can they put their differences aside and work together to survive the night? Fat chance! After all, this is high school.


Processes underlying young children's spatial orientation during movement.
Children between 1.5 and 4 years old were tested for their ability to relocate a hidden object after a 180 degrees self-produced movement around an array of four locations. In one task the object's location relative to the other locations could be uniquely defined within one dimension, while in another two dimensions were needed to do this. No differences emerged between conditions, and by 3 years few errors occurred, despite the fact that children were unable to view the array during movement. This indicates either that young children encounter no specific difficulty in coordinating dimensions or that they solved the task without recourse to such a system. An error analysis supports the second possibility. Children apparently tackled the task by a system directly related to body movement, since errors were frequently the result of incomplete compensation for movement around the array. In a second study in which the four containers were placed in contact, children's performance declined and the relation between direction of movement and error was replaced by some evidence for updating on the near-far dimension accompanied by failure to update the left-right dimension. Thus children appear to change strategy when the problem requires more precise specification of target location.


ASMR: The sound that massages your brain

In some, it causes a tingling sensation that starts in the scalp and travels down the body. Others claim it lowers blood pressure, eases anxiety and can even induce sleep.

The interface is YouTube where a growing number of "whisperers" softly talk the viewer through a role play situation featuring "triggers". The videos can show hands organizing a jewelry box, a virtual doctor visit or spa treatment. The voices are soft and whispery. The triggers can be the sound of the voices or other sounds like tapping, scratching, paper rustling or brush stokes on canvas.

The users of whisper videos even created a pseudo-scientific name for the phenomenon: Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response.

"I had the personal experience of getting this sensation", said Drew, an ASMRtist, or whisperer. "It's kind of like a tingling sensation that starts in your scalp. It might travel down your spine, sometimes it might travel out through your limbs. It's similar to the sensation of chills."

Drew, an undergraduate in psychology with experience in a clinical setting, says he makes the videos because he's interested in all kinds of therapy.

"A lot of people will write me personal messages and say that I've helped them get off their medication for anxiety or insomnia," he said.

While there is no scientific proof of ASMR, it is starting to get some attention in the world of academia. Yale professor of neurology, Steven Novella, recently blogged about ASMR and didn't dismiss the idea of its existence.

"Is it real? In this case, I don't think there is a definitive answer, but I am inclined to believe that it is,", wrote Novella. "There are a number of people who seem to have independently (that is always the key, but it is a recent-enough phenomenon that this appears to be true) experienced and described the same syndrome with some fairly specific details. In this way it's similar to migraine headaches - we know they exist as a syndrome primarily because many different people report the same constellation of symptoms and natural history."

Ilse is an AMSRtist from the Netherlands who boasts 43,000 subscribers to her WaterWhispers channel. She now whispers fulltime and is able to make a living through her three YouTube channels and a website dedicated to ASMR.

"It changed my life completely," said Ilse. "A lot of people use it for relaxation, just to wind down from a stressful day at work. You have different people from different countries around the globe with different professions that listen to my videos and can actually induce relaxation."

Sleep experts, though, say whisper videos may not be the best way for you to get quality sleep. Dr. Amer Khan, a sleep specialist with the Sutter Neuroscience Institute, says using ASMR videos is a lot like using a white noise machine or a softly tuned television. It can become a crutch.

"There is a problem. It's called a sleep association," said Khan. "Like a baby who has to have a pacifier in the mouth to fall asleep."

Khan prefers meditation and says for the best quality sleep, people need to learn to self-soothe and let go of the day.

"Sleep requires letting go of things," he said. "You can't sleep if you can't let go of what happened today."

The growth of the whisper videos subculture on the Internet can be tracked quite easily through Google search analytics which show a slow increase in the search for whisper videos in 2011 and a spike in 2012.

While there is no scientific research currently on ASMR, there is plenty of curiosity. A Canadian filmmaker is working on a documentary about ASMR called, "Braingasms" and the phenomenon has been profiled on NPR.

While neurologists discuss the best ways to measure the phenomenon (MRI is the most popular suggestion), those who make the videos say they will continue helping those who are relaxed by the soft whispers and sounds they upload each week.

ASMRtists like Ally say the proof comes in the comments they receive from viewers.

"One of the most moving comments I had was from a man who had just come home from a tour in Afghanistan, " said Ally. "He was struggling with PTSD and told me he couldn't get to sleep without watching one of my videos. They were getting him into a relaxed state where he could quiet his mind enough to find peace and rest".


WCW! The mouthwatering Betty Namagembe from MUBS

A reknown scholar in the early 90’s postulated that ‘people will always stare, just make it worth it’ and this could be a line our crush this week mastered by the heart.

Betty Namagembe Mwanaomu, a fresh sweet heart at Makerere University Business School where she pursues her Bachelor of International Business is perfectly aligned with beauty that will leave you with nothing but to savour at her rare awesomeness.

She is the kind that walks with the whole universe on her shoulders with an infectious smile. Her soft skin tenderness will leave you wanting. Betty throws away her beauty as though she doesn’t care or know about its effect.

You’ll stare at her face and see a touch of poetry with her smile, eyes as bright as the sun that will look directly at your soul. Her soft and plump looking lips are enough to cause a stampede.

She is out going, she is a lover of life and not your normal slay babies. What is a crush if she has no valour and self respect?

It wasn’t a contradiction and I am not even surprised that her birthday fell on a Wednesday. Today, Betty doesn’t only prove that she is God’s only sample to create humanity but also makes her surrounding better with another year of cuteness. She only gets better with age. Like that old fine wine.

Take that chance to join her long world of stalkers. Take that chance to wish her well for the future. Search for ‘mwana.omu’ via Instagram. Her mouth watering pictures and strategically taken selfies will bless your month for the better! Happy Earth Strong, Betty.


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Related:

LAWRENCE, KS (KCTV) - A Kansas man has begun an unusual search for his family. He's already found one half-brother, but doesn't know how many others might be out there.

David Brown has two dads and a mom, and that unusual family structure is something he's struggled with wrapping his head around his entire life.

"I didn't know where I came from, so there's like half of me missing," he said.

That's because, while one man raised him, his biological father was a sperm donor.

"My dad has always been my dad and he always will be," Brown said. "There are things that I wonder about, like where did that come from."

Brown was conceived from a sperm donor at the University of Kansas Medical Center, but it was his wife Lauren who got the ball rolling on Brown's journey to find his biological father.

"I was like, ‘oh my gosh, we have to find out who this person is,'" she said.

That became difficult because the fertility clinic Brown's parents used no longer exists. Instead the couple turned to the web for help where they tracked down Brown's half-brother who is also looking for his dad.

"I didn't know if I could have other siblings out there. It made me really curious," Brown said.

He said the search is not just for him, but also for his daughters.

"For my kids I feel like it's a hole because I'd like to know medical history, for me and my kids," Brown said.

Brown says he knows exactly what he would say to his biological father if he ever met the man.

"'Thank you for doing what you did for whatever reason you did' and just that ‘I appreciate that you did that,'" he said.

Brown acknowledges that he may never make that happen and says that if he never meets the man who helped give him life, his life is still complete.

"I don't feel like I'm missing the father figure or anything like that," he said.


//
//  CreditCardCondition.swift
//  FormValidatorSwift
//
//  Created by Onur Ersel on 02/11/2016.
//  Copyright © 2016 ustwo Fampany Ltd. All rights reserved.
//

import Foundation

/**
 *  The `CreditCardCondition` checks a string for a credit card number.
 */
public struct CreditCardCondition: ConfigurableCondition {

    // MARK: - Properties

    public var localizedViolationString = StringLocalization.sharedInstance.localizedString("US2KeyConditionViolationCreditCard", comment: "")

    public var regex: String {
        return configuration.cardType.regex
    }

    public var shouldAllowViolation = true

    public var configuration: CreditCardConfiguration

    // MARK: - Initializers

    public init(configuration: CreditCardConfiguration) {
        self.configuration = configuration
    }

    // MARK: - Check

    /**
     Checks if the string is a valid credit card number, after removes all whitespace.
     */
    public func check(_ text: String?) -> Bool {
        guard let sourceText = text,
            let regExp = try? NSRegularExpression(pattern: self.regex, options: .caseInsensitive) else {
            return false
        }

        let sourceTextNs = sourceText as NSString
        let trimmedText = sourceTextNs.replacingOccurrences(of: "\\D", with: "", options: .regularExpression, range: NSRange(location: 0, length: sourceTextNs.length)) as String

        return check(trimmedText, withRegex: regExp)
    }

    public func check(_ trimmedText: String, withRegex regExp: NSRegularExpression) -> Bool {
        return regExp.firstMatch(in: trimmedText, options: [], range: NSRange(location: 0, length: trimmedText.count)) != nil
    }
}


Regulation of putative fatty acid transporters and Acyl-CoA synthetase in liver and adipose tissue in ob/ob mice.
The hyperlipidemia associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes is caused by an increase in hepatic triglyceride synthesis and secretion that is secondary to an increase in de novo lipogenesis, a decrease in fatty acid (FA) oxidation, and an increase in the flux of peripherally derived FA to the liver. The uptake of FA across the plasma membrane may be mediated by three distinct proteins--FA translocase (FAT), plasma membrane FA binding protein (FABP-pm), and FA transport protein (FATP)--that have recently been characterized. Acyl-CoA synthetase (ACS) enhances the uptake of FAs by catalyzing their activation to acyl-CoA esters for subsequent use in anabolic or catabolic pathways. In this study, we examine the mRNA levels of FAT, FABP-pm, FATP, and ACS in the liver and adipose tissue of genetically obese (ob/ob) mice and their control littermates. FAT mRNA levels were 15-fold higher in liver and 60-80% higher in adipose tissue of ob/ob mice. FABP-pm mRNA levels were twofold higher in liver and 50% higher in adipose tissue of ob/ob mice. FATP mRNA levels were not increased in liver or adipose tissue. ACS mRNA levels were higher in adipose tissue but remained unchanged in liver. However, the distribution of ACS activity associated with mitochondria and microsomes in liver was altered in ob/ob mice. In control littermates, 61% of ACS activity was associated with mitochondria and 39% with microsomes, whereas in ob/ob mice 34% of ACS activity was associated with mitochondria and 66% with microsomes; this distribution would make more FA available for esterification, rather than oxidation, in ob/ob mouse liver. Taken together, our results suggest that the upregulation of FAT and FABP-pm mRNAs may increase the uptake of FA in adipose tissue and liver in ob/ob mice, which, coupled with an increase in microsomal ACS activity in liver, will enhance the esterification of FA and support the increased triglyceride synthesis and VLDL production that characterizes obesity and type 2 diabetes.


Semen cryopreservation and radical reduction capacity of seminal fluid in captive African lion (Panthera leo).
Optimizing cryopreservation protocols for nondomestic felids contributes to the successful development of assisted reproduction techniques and genetic resource banking. In this study, we describe a simple cryopreservation procedure for African lion (Panthera leo) ejaculates, which was tested with different packaging options and different sperm numbers per dose. By applying urethral catheterization and electroejaculation, 17 ejaculates with greater than 20% motile and greater than 5% progressively motile sperm were collected. A lyophilized extender (a modified egg yolk-Tes-Tris-fructose-glycerol medium) was rehydrated and added in one step at ambient temperature (∼25 °C) to semen, which was prediluted in cell culture medium M199. After slow cooling of insulated samples to 15 °C in a refrigerator (4 °C), the samples were fast frozen over the surface of liquid nitrogen or in a dry shipper. Aliquots of 300 μL containing 20 × 106 sperm were frozen in cryovials and in 0.5-mL straws. Differences were observed in the total motility after thawing between vial (31.5 ± 14.1%) and straw freezing (20.1 ± 8.6%). However, the subpopulations of vital (22.7 ± 7.8% for vial and 19.8 ± 8.5% for straw) and progressively motile (10.0 ± 7.9% for vial and 10.0 ± 6.4% for straw) sperm after washing and 1 hour incubation at 38 °C were of similar magnitude, velocity, and linearity for both packaging options. After freezing of five ejaculates with 20, 60, and 100 × 106 sperm per dose, best results were achieved at the lowest concentration. In general, post-thaw results were highly variable (2.2% and 56.5% total motility) and not correlated to motility or morphology of the fresh semen. To further characterize semen quality, we assessed the protective potential of seminal fluid against oxidative stress, which might be challenged on freeze thawing. The capacity of seminal fluid to reduce radicals was measured in 10 semen samples by electron spin resonance spectroscopy and a spin-labeled fatty acid as a radical probe. Moreover, we determined the lysophosphatidylcholines (LPC) as potential lipid oxidation products in the sperm and erythrocytes of the males. Individuals with a high radical reduction capacity in the seminal fluid and a low LPC content in their erythrocytes showed a better cryosurvival of sperm. This is a first indication that seminal fluid may affect the freezing potential of African lion ejaculates.


PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers today announced that forward Jose Valencia will join Argentina first-division side Olimpo de Bahía Blanca on a season-long loan.

“Jose is a young and talented player who needs consistent playing time in order to continue in his development,” said Timbers general manager Gavin Wilkinson. “With the addition of Gastón Fernández, we felt it was best for Jose to go on loan. Olimpo is excited to have Jose on loan and the club will provide him the opportunity to gain valuable experience in a top league and will continue to push him in his development.”

Valencia, 22, made 21 regular-season appearances (5 starts) in his first full MLS season in 2013, scoring one goal and recording three assists. He also played in three matches during Portland’s run to the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinals and made a pair of appearances in the MLS Cup Playoffs. Valencia was the leading scorer for the Timbers Reserves in the MLS Reserve League with five goals.

From Bogotá, Colombia, Valencia joined the Timbers on Dec. 15, 2011, from Colombian side Independiente Santa Fe, where he started his professional career in 2008. He missed the 2012 campaign with Portland due to preseason knee surgery.

Valencia is a former Colombia youth international and was a standout for the Colombia U-20 National Team during the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Olimpo is located in the city of Bahía Blanca in Argentina’s Buenos Aires Province. The club finished the Primera División’s Torneo Inicial with a record of 6-8-5 (23pts). The league’s Torneo Final runs February to May.


A Coast Guard officer accused of stockpiling guns and compiling a hit list of prominent Democrats and network television journalists can be released on strict supervision to one of his in-laws while he awaits trial, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

Judge Charles Day agreed to delay the release while prosecutors appeal the decision.

Christopher Hasson, 50, a Coast Guard lieutenant working in the nation's capital, was arrested Feb. 15 on drug and gun charges. Prosecutors later called Hasson a "domestic terrorist" in court filings and said he "intends to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country."

But Hasson has not been charged with any terrorism-related offenses and prosecutors have said they don't plan to file additional charges. Hasson's lawyer has been seeking his pretrial release for several months.

After initially denying the request, the judge agreed Tuesday to a strict release into the custody of Hasson's father-in-law or mother-in-law in Virginia, where he would have to be accompanied by someone else at all times.

Hasson will not be released yet. The judge has laid out a lengthy list of conditions for his release, which court officers must confirm have been met, and the government's appeal must be processed. If the appeal is rejected, Hasson may be released in about a week.

The judge had previously expressed his "grave concerns" about Hasson based on information prosecutors have presented. On Tuesday, Day said the allegations against Hasson made him "very nervous, but I don't think it justifies detention."

The stockpile of guns found by investigators owned by Christopher Hasson. U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland

Hasson, a self-described white nationalist who espoused extremist views for years, stockpiled weapons and created a hit list of prominent Democrats, two Supreme Court justices, network TV journalists and social media company executives, according to prosecutors. Investigators found 15 guns, including seven rifles, and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition at Hasson's basement apartment in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Prosecutors have said Hasson appeared to be planning attacks inspired by the manifesto of Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian right-wing extremist who killed 77 people in a 2011 bomb-and-shooting rampage.

In court, Hasson's attorney Liz Oyer said he has had a lifelong interest in firearms and likes to hunt and target practice. She said the number of guns he owned isn't unusual in North Carolina, where he lived for years before moving to Maryland.

Hasson pleaded not guilty in March to charges of illegal possession of firearm silencers, possession of firearms by a drug addict and unlawful user, and possession of a controlled substance. He faces a maximum of 31 years in prison if convicted of all four counts in his indictment.

Hasson, a former Marine, worked at the Coast Guard headquarters in Washington on a program to acquire advanced new cutters for the agency. A Coast Guard spokesman has said Hasson will remain on active duty until the case against him is resolved.


Q:

How to create comma separated words

I have a Blog System Where I'm fetching category Name From Database. Here is what I've tried->

Categories:

<?php
   $a = mysqli_query($connecDB, "SELECT * FROM vector_cat WHERE post_id='$puser'");
   while( $b = mysqli_fetch_array($a) ){
?>
<a href="https://www.twekr.com/free-vectors/<?php echo $b['post_id']; ?>"><?php echo $b['cat_name']; ?>,
<?php } ?>

This Results in ->  Fashion, Technology, PHP, Mysql,
The problem I'm Facing is How can i remove the last comma from the result

A:

You can use rtrim().

This function returns a string with whitespace stripped from the end of str.

rtrim($string, ',');

Second parameter indicates the character to be deleted.


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Chris Moyles has admitted joining a tax avoidance scheme that would have cost the UK £290million.

The former Radio 1 DJ pretended to be a used car salesman hit by losses to save up to £1million in tax payments.

He joined a scheme called Working Wheels which boasted 450 high earning members, including celebrities.

The star, who earned £500,000-a-year at the BBC, said he accepted "full responsibility" for his actions after a tribunal ruled he took part "for no purpose other than to achieve a tax saving".

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs claimed the closure of the scheme had saved the country £290million.

The NT Advisors scheme counted "450 fund managers, celebs and other high earners between 2006 and 2008" as members and involved a series of complex trades across tax havens.

Moyles told HMRC he had spent the 2007/8 tax year “engaged in self-employment as a used car trader”.

According to tribunal chief Judge Colin Bishopp the broadcaster claimed he had sold £3,800 of vehicles but had run up losses of £1million which he wanted to claim against his tax bill.

An HMRC insider said the scheme involved a series of "phantom" deals in cars that did not exist.

Lib-Dem Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander said: "Well done to HMRC for shutting this unfair scheme.

"Message to other tax dodgers: you’ll be caught."

And Margaret Hodge, Labour chairwoman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, added: "It is unacceptable when the majority of hard-working people pay their taxes that rich people go to such lengths to avoid paying theirs.

"These schemes should be outlawed."

And Tory Exchequer Secretary David Gauke said: "This is another example of why taxpayers should not fall for the promises of promoters selling schemes too good to be true.

"Not only will they waste money on the fees, they will still have to pay all the tax, interest and penalties."

Moyles, 40 today, claimed he had been "naive".

He said: "Upon advice, I signed up to a scheme which I was assured was legal.

"I'm not a tax expert and acted on advice I was given.

"This was a mistake and I accept the ruling without reservation.

"I have learnt a valuable lesson."

Moyles' involvement came to light after officials examined tax returns.

The ruling from the Tax Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal revealed he did not attend the hearing but gave "a brief and uninformative statement".

It said his accountant, Derek Smith, had "agreed the scale of Moyles' borrowing was driven by the amount of the tax loss he wanted to achieve, in his case £1million".

The DJ, who has been playing King Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar after quitting Radio 1, was one of three of the 450 appealing against the ruling that the scheme was unacceptable.

HMRC said: "Anyone using an avoidance scheme is playing with fire.

"We have a high success rate in defeating them."

Tax avoidance, described as bending the rules, and tax evasion, which is illegal, costs the UK £35billion a year.

As well as Working Wheels, the HMRC successfully shut down three other NT Advisor schemes.

Comedian Jimmy Carr admitted in 2012 he had "made a terrible error of judgment" when he joined a tax avoidance outfit that David Cameron called "morally wrong".


When it comes to body butters I'm a religious follower of Bath & Body works, Boots Pharmacy Body butter, (sadly both are not very easily available in India) & The Body shop body butters (easily available but pricey).I never even look beyond these staples of mine.I'm extremely demanding of my body butters, this is one item in my beauty routine I cannot live without .Period.

Recently while shopping online I picked Vedicline Choco body butter on a lark, half expecting it to have some over powering chemical infused chocolate flavor.But this humble looking choco vanilla body butter has simply bowled me over! It has a delicious choco vanilla flavor that's as real & natural as they come.

The packaging is very basic & functional, though I would have definitely loved a fancier packaging,possibly with some images of dripping molten chocolates...I' a total sucker for fancy-schmancy body butter, but for the price & quality I've no complaints.

The quantity at 65 grams for Rs 200/- is a bit low for a body butter.. I've been using this for almost 2 weeks and am already half way through my jar.But I guess a higher quantity might have pushed it at a higher price point.

The Ingredients- All natural & tempting as hell ;)

Thick, rich, delicious smelling body butter, feels sinful on your skin and is intensely hydrating. I slather it on in the morning and its keeps my skin soft & supple through the day.It does get a bit too heavy for this sweltering heat but I love the way my skin feel soft with this baby.

It claims to be fit for both face & body application.I'm too much of a skincare snob to actually use a body butter on my face but it smelled sooooo good I broke all my cardinal body butter rules & slathered some on my face at night time just before hitting the sack- it did make me overly sweaty (I'll blame the 44-45 degrees heat for it) yet I loved the calming & soothing effect it had. My skin which was getting dry & patchy on my cheeks and forehead didn't feel quite as parched & dryness healed really quickly.

This is a sure winner & I'm so surprised that despite being a well established brand exporting to foreign countries Vedicline is not to be seen on store shelves in India and there is zero advertising about the brand.I have so far spotted these only on e-com sites.I really wish these were more easily available in stores.

I was so impressed by Vedicline Choco vanilla face &body butter that I couldn't resist buying some more Vedicilne goodies, here's what I hauled

Banana Pulp Mask

Choco Butterscotch face mask (not in pic)

Choco strawberry lip balm

Cuticle & nail cream

I just received my goodies in mail today & I have used the choco butterscotch face pack, cuticle and nail cream and Choco- strawberry lip cream, totally loving them and will be posting a detailed review soon :)

Overall Recommendation-Seriously fabulous body butter don't wait for a moment longer- you have got to try this one out!

Will I be re-purchasing Hell Yeah!

BTWJabong.com is offering Free vouchers worth Rs 2000 which can be redeemed on a minimum shopping of Rs 1500-.You get Rs 500/- off on Rs 1500/- Order- Amazing right?!- stock up on essentials in your wishlist while the offer is on :)

this sure looks good. And God the smell of the cocoa or choco body butters really ignites the craving for chocolates.

never tried vedic line, this sounds interesting. I've only tried a fab India toner and forest essentials rose water among the indian brands,, never beyond. But since u rate it better than body shop, it sure is worth a try!!!


Gastrointestinal problems at high altitude.
Gastrointestinal (GI) problems at high altitude are commonplace. The manifestations differ considerably in short-term visitors, long-term residents and native highlanders. Ethnic food habits and social norms also play a role in causing GI dysfuntion. Symptoms like nausea and vomiting are common manifestations of acute mountain sickness and are seen in 81.4% short-term visitors like mountaineers. Anorexia is almost universal and has a mutifactorial causation including effect of hormones like leptin and cholecystokinin and also due to hypoxia itself. Dyspepsia and flatulence are other common symptoms. Diarrhoea, often related to poor hygiene and sanitation is also frequently seen especially among the short-term visitors. Peptic ulceration and upper gastro-intestinal haemorrhage are reported to be common in native highlanders in the' Peruvian Andes (9.6/10000 population per year) and also from Ladakh in India. A hig h incidence o f gastriccarcinoma is also reported, especially from Bolivia (138.2 cases per 10000 population per year). Megacolon and sigmoid volvulus are common lower GI disorders at high altitude. The latter accounted for 79% of all intestinal obstructions at a Bolivian hospital. Thrombosis of the portosystemic vascultature and splenic hematomas has been reported from India. Malnutrition is multifactorial and mainly due to hypoxia. Fat malabsorption is probably significant only at altitudes > 5000m. Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia was found to be four times more common in babies born at high altitude in Colorado than at sea level. Gall stones disease is common in Peruvian highlands. A high seroprevalence of antibodies to H pylori (95%) has been found in Ladakh but its correlation to the prevalence of upper gastro-intestinal disease has not been proven.


Westbound Highway 401 closed this morning at Bowmanville

Fatal crash will leave highway closed for hours, OPP says

A woman is dead after a fatal crash that has closed the westbound lanes of Highway 401 in Bowmanville this morning.

Original reports suggested the crash — which happened at 4:40 a.m. — was a single-vehicle collision but the OPP has since told CBC News that a tractor-trailer was also involved.

The highway has since reopened.

The OPP say all lanes of Highway 401 between Liberty Street and Waverly Road will likely be closed for several hours.

Police say traffic heading toward Toronto took a detour off the highway at Liberty Street and merged back onto the highway at Waverly Road. The detour caused long delays for westbound drivers. The eastbound lanes were not affected.


Q:

pling sound .net application

i have a .net winforms application that i want to be "soundless".
occasionally when a user opens a dialog or press enter a "pling" sound appears. how can i disable this on a global scale for my application?

A:

See this previous article:
How do I disable the c# message box beep?


Robert Archibald James Montgomerie

Rear-Admiral Robert Archibald James Montgomerie,  (11 September 1855 – 1 September 1908) was a British Royal Navy officer, who received the Albert Medal for Lifesaving.

Naval career
Montgomerie joined the Royal Navy, and served on the royal yacht HMY Victoria and Albert when he was promoted to lieutenant on 13 September 1878. He served on the Nile in Egypt 1885-86.

He was promoted to commander on 24 August 1887, and to captain on 1 January 1894, and was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 1892 Birthday Honours list on 25 May 1892. In February 1901 he was appointed senior naval officer for the protection of the Newfoundland Fisheries, with the rank of Commodore, in command of the protected cruiser HMS Charybdis based at St. John's. During his stay in North America he was in charge of a ´Particular Service Squadron´ during the Venezuelan crisis of 1902–03. As he ended his posting in Newfoundland he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1904 Birthday Honours list on 9 November 1904.

Montgomerie was promoted to rear-admiral on 19 June 1905, and appointed in command of the torpedo boat and submarine flotillas in the Royal Naval Reserve.

References

Category:1855 births
Category:1908 deaths
Category:Royal Navy admirals
Category:Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order
Category:Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath


Measuring the degree of starshape in genealogies--summary statistics and demographic inference.
The degree of starshape of a genealogy is readily detectable using summary statistics and can be taken as a surrogate for the effect of past demography and other non-neutral forces. Summary statistics such as Tajima's D and related measures are commonly used for this. However, it is well known that because of their neglect of the genealogy underlying a sample such neutrality tests are far from ideal. Here, we investigate the properties of two types of summary statistics that are derived by considering the genealogy: (i) genealogical ratios based on the number of mutations on the rootward branches, which can be inferred from sequence data using a simple algorithm and (ii) summary statistics that use properties of a perfectly star-shaped genealogy. The power of these measures to detect a history of exponential growth is compared with that of standard summary statistics and a likelihood method for the single and multi-locus case. Statistics that depend on pairwise measures such as Tajima's D have comparatively low power, being sensitive to the random topology of the underlying genealogy. When analysing multi-locus data, we find that the genealogical measures are most powerful. Provided reliable outgroup information is available they may constitute a useful alternative to full likelihood estimation and standard tests of neutrality.


One of my best friends (bones!) sent me an email asking if I'd ever heard of this thing called Hosehead (it's a control system for an electric brewery using open source software called Strangebrew Elsinore). I had never heard of it, but had been thinking on and off for some years about converting my brew setup to be all electric. I knew the efficiency was a big positive, plus the potential of being able to brew inside made the idea a lot more attractive (even if I don't have a good indoor spot to brew right now).

As could have been predicted, I started researching the concept and fell deep down that rabbit hole. A few hours later I was convinced converting my system to all electric was not just a sound idea, but the only rational choice I could make. I decided to put together a HERMS (Heat Exchanger Recirculating Mash System). By keeping the hot liquor tank at a temp just slightly above my target temp I could recirculate the mash and raise to, or hold at, any temp I wanted. Also recirculating the mash through the grain bed would lead to clearer wort and greater efficiency. Knowing all this I was sure only a fool would pass up the opportunity to build out a system like this!

I had started brewing 10 gallon all grain batches about two years ago using a large rectangular cooler for the mash and an 80qt stainless pot from Amazon. (That's an affiliate link by the way). I would heat the mash water to roughly 10 degrees over strike temp, siphon the water into the cooler, and then mash in. I had mixed results with efficiency, but the beers were generally decent. Still, the whole process was a bit of a hassle and I was eager to improve my system.

I set to work sorting out what I had and what I would need. For the controller I decided to use a RaspberryPi (first generation) that I had sitting around. The only use it got was an occasional MAME emulator so my boys could experience the joy of Super Mario World or Donkey Kong Country now and then. Making beer with it seemed like a better use, all things considered. Then I took an inventory of what I currently had so I could get my shopping list started. I already had one 20 gallon kettle I could use, and realized I could re-purpose my retired 13 gallon "keggle" as a hot liquor tank. That meant I would only need to purchase another kettle (for boil or mash), plus "a few" other odds and ends. Like a bunch of stainless valves, cam-lock connectors, hoses, 50' of 1/2" stainless steel tubing, two pumps, heating elements, wire, a project box, a 240v circuit somewhere, and a dozen other things I would come to find need for along the way.

On the controller front, there are easier ways to do it vs putting a RaspberryPi in charge, but I really loved the idea of being able to set it up to do a step-mash and know I could go do other stuff while the controller managed things for me. It will also make neat graphs of the temperature rise (and hold) through the process (even if those graphs are not really too valuable for anything). On top of that I'd always been on the lookout for something good to use the GPIO pins on the pi for and this seemed perfect.

Speaking of components, I've added links for most of the stuff I ordered, though it's not an exhaustive list. I'm trying to avoid making a complete list of every component I purchased for this project because then I'll see the whole cost in one place and I won't be able to trick myself into believing I did this on the cheap somehow.

The first thing I started working on was the box to hold all the components. Because this would all be on a rolling cart I wanted it to be relatively portable rather than permanently mounted. If I had a spot (inside a garage, utility room or basement) I would have just used a larger electrical box mounted on the wall. Instead I found a decent size waterproof project box that I expected I could shoehorn everything into. In the end it turned out to be a little bit of a tight fit but it worked out. In the bottom left corner is the pi with a breakout board for connecting the GPIO to the onewire temperature probes and the solid state relays. To keep the 240v SSRs cool I cut holes in the case and stacked copper shims with CPU cooling grease between them and heat sinks mounted on the outside of the box. It worked out well and there haven't been any cooling issues inside the box. On the cover I put two switches for 120v outlets, plus two 240v LEDs to show which heating element was energized. I used dryer plugs and outlets for all connections so it's easy to disconnect a kettle from everything. Everything worked right on the first try too (making a wiring diagram first definitely pays off).

The next phase of the project involved drilling holes in my kettles for the heating elements and the valves. This took longer than it should have due to me starting with a dull drill bit. Eventually I wised up and got a new carbide tipped bit; combined with some oil and more pressure than usual it made quick work. I drilled 1/2" pilot holes and then used a titanium step bit to widen the holes from there as needed.

For heating I purchased these 5500w stainless 240v elements from Amazon. They've been working great, and the one in the boil kettle gets a pretty violent boil going, easily as vigorous as I used to get with gas and a big banjo burner.

The mash tun was pretty easy, I would just need to find a decent false bottom. The Fermenter's Favorites Titan from Northern Brewer was a perfect fit for the kettles I had. It's really well made and nearly eliminates dead space. You'll see in the picture below that I'm recirculating the mash through a fly-sparge attachment. In theory I am at risk of introducing off flavors through hot-side aeration, but I haven't noticed anything yet.

When it came time to add the stainless coil in the HLT I thought I'd be clever and thrifty by coiling the tubing myself. I purchased 50' of 1/2" stainless tube on Amazon and got to work trying to bend it up. I eventually made a coil but it was not pretty and it took WAY more effort than I anticipated. Along the way I kinked it up too much and basically turned out something that was unusable. I still have the tubing and expect I might use it some day for fixed runs in a more permanent brew setup. (I'm too ashamed to include a photo of that disaster...)

Seeing prices around $200 for a coil like this is what initially put me off from buying one pre-made. Then I stumbled across Stainless Brewing and was shocked to find I could get a perfectly coiled 50' run of stainless for almost the same price as the raw material. It happened to be my lucky day too as there was a 20% sale going on, so I immediately placed my order. It was a beautiful piece of work and installed easily.

One other great side effect of having a setup like this is that when I'm ready to crash-cool the brew while transferring for fermentation I just pack the HLT with ice and water and keep that circulating while the brew is pumped out through the coil. This has worked awesome and I've been able to easily drop the temp to 70 at the end of the brew.

The last thing I needed were pumps, and again those are pretty expensive. I got lucky and found a Chugger SS center-inlet pump that had been returned to amazon and could be mine for $111! The second one was more expensive than that, but I knew I was going to need two pumps for this system. During mash I would need one to recirculate the wort through the stainless coil and back on top of the mash while a second pump recirculated the water in the HLT to keep that temperature steady. Then during mash out I would need one to pump the wort into the boil kettle while the other was pumping sparge water on top of the mash.

(Don't be confused by how the pumps and hoses are connected in this picture. I was moving cleaning solution from the boil kettle into the mash tun, and had been recirculating the water in the HLT. I'll include better pictures in my typical brewday post.)

For the hoses I used high temp clear silicon. I purchased the hose from the same place I got my stainless camlock fittings and the valves as well. Bargain Fittings seemed to have the best deals I could find for most of this stuff. I got bulkheads from them as well, along with a few miscellaneous fittings to get everything connected properly.

The only other thing I needed that was a little tricky to find was a compression fitting for the temperature probes. The probes were mounted in T fittings before the valve on the lowest bulkhead in both the HLT and the mash tun. As long as the liquid is flowing past the temp sensor, it's going to be accurate. I thought about adding a thermowell into the kettles as well but realized that's not going to be really useful to me based on my brewing process. Anyway, I purchased these 1/4" compression fittings from Brewers Hardware and they worked out perfectly.

I think that about covers everything I had to piece together to make this system. My next post will cover a typical brewday with this setup. Even from the first run, I was really happy with it. I've been hitting 85% to a touch over 90% efficiency with this, and the brews are ending up higher ABV than I intended. Once I get more used to this I'll be able to cut back on my grain bill a bit and still end up with good beer!

Helpful links:


Meningitis caused by Streptococcus suis: case report and review of the literature.
A case of purulent meningitis caused by Streptococcus suis type 2 (group R streptococcus) is described. It occurred in a 69-year-old farmer's wife who raised pigs on her farm. Here, as well as in nearly all other cases of S. suis meningitis reported to date, close occupational contact with pigs or pork preceded the infection; this epidemiological link can be explained by the frequent occurrence of S. suis as a commensal and opportunistic pathogen in pigs. Up until now, S. suis infection in man has been rare and has had a good prognosis. However, disturbances of the eighth cranial nerve have been found in many patients, even causing permanent deafness in some. These and other clinical, epidemiological and microbiological features of S. suis disease in man are discussed here.


What the 'sequester' means for you ... and what won't change

Social Security. The program will keep paying old-age, survivors, and disability benefits. But it might be harder to get customer service help. The White House has warned that sequester would mean “a reduction in service hours to the public, and a substantial growth in the backlog of Social Security disability claims.”


It was all too much for Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who said Warren had “impugned the motives and conduct of our colleague from Alabama.” In an extraordinary move, the Senate voted on party lines to shut her down, as The Washington Post’s Paul Kane and Ed O’Keefe reported.

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The mechanism used to silence Warren is known as Rule 19, an arcane and seldom invoked provision in the rules of the Senate. The rule states that senators may not “directly or indirectly, by any form of words impute to another Senator or to other Senators any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a Senator.”

What, exactly, does it mean for one senator to “impugn” or “impute” another? That’s a matter of perspective, as congressional Democrats and other Warren defenders made clear when they rallied behind her on Twitter, launching the hashtag #LetLizSpeak to the top of the site’s trending list.

One thing’s for sure, however: The circumstances surrounding Rule 19’s creation were quite different than Tuesday’s exchange on the Senate floor.

Since its founding, the Senate has maintained an evolving list of rules governing civility and decorum in the chamber. As vice president, Thomas Jefferson included 10 rules in his Manual of Parliamentary Practice that dictated how senators were to behave.

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“No one is to disturb another in his speech by hissing, coughing, spitting, speaking or whispering to another,” reads one passage in the manual, “nor to stand up or interrupt him; nor to pass between the Speaker and the speaking member; nor to go across the chamber, or to walk up and down it, or to take books or papers from the [clerk’s] table, or write there.”

Those rules were published in 1801. The incident that paved the way for Rule 19 came more than a century later.

It was February 1902 and a feud was escalating between the two Democratic senators from South Carolina. Benjamin Tillman, the senior senator and something of a political boss in the state, had grown angry that John McLaurin, his protege, was allowing Senate Republicans to court him on some issues, including the annexation of the Philippines.

Furious that McLaurin was colluding with the other side of the aisle, Tillman used a Feb. 22, 1902, speech on the Senate floor to harangue the younger senator. Gesturing toward McLaurin’s empty chair, Tillman accused his counterpart of treachery and corruption, saying he had succumbed to “improper influences,” according to a Senate history of the dispute.

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When McLaurin caught wind of Tillman’s remarks, he rushed into the chamber and shouted that Tillman was telling a “willful, malicious and deliberate lie.”

A fistfight erupted. As Senate historians recounted, “The 54-year-old Tillman jumped from his place and physically attacked McLaurin, who was 41, with a series of stinging blows. Efforts to separate the two combatants resulted in misdirected punches landing on other members.”

When the fight ended, the Senate voted to censure the two men. A panel found that their behavior was “an infringement of the privileges of the Senate, a violation of its rules and derogatory to its high character, tending to bring the body itself into public contempt.”

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The episode prompted the senate to tighten its rules governing decorum in floor debate. Rule 19 (sections 2 and 3, to be precise) was adopted later that year.

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In the time since, the rule has rarely come up. One instance flagged by Bloomberg’s Greg Giroux occurred in 1979, when Sen. Lowell Weicker (R-Conn.) called Sen. John Heinz (R-Pa.) “an idiot” and “devious” in a debate on the Senate floor. Heinz reportedly stormed to the front of the room with a rule book and showed him Rule 19. Majority Leader Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) defused the situation and asked them to shake hands. Other examples are hard to come by.

In Warren’s case, Senate Republicans balked at her use of the word “disgrace,” as quoted from the Kennedy letter, in reference to Sessions. But it was during her reading of the letter from King, the widow of Martin Luther King Jr., that Republicans warned her that she was violating Rule 19.

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Warren seemed taken aback.

“I’m simply reading what she wrote about what the nomination of Sessions to be a federal court judge meant and what it would mean in history for her,” Warren said. The letter said Sessions “lacks the temperament, fairness and judgment to be a federal judge,” and accused him of pursuing a “shabby” voter fraud case against African American activists when he was a prosecutor.

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“You stated that a sitting senator is a disgrace to the Department of Justice,” responded Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who was presiding during the speech.

About 25 minutes later, McConnell came in and said her quotes from King crossed the line. She was ordered to sit down.

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“Sen. Warren was giving a lengthy speech. She had appeared to violate the rule. She was warned. She was given an explanation,” McConnell said later. “Nevertheless, she persisted.”

As the exchange spread on social media, some were quick to point out that McConnell was recently the target of a personal attack on the Senate floor. In 2015, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) accused him of lying to his colleagues and the press, saying “he is willing to say things that he knows are false.” There was no Rule 19 invocation then.

The vote against Warren means she’ll be barred from speaking further in the floor debate over Sessions’s nomination. But that didn’t stop her from reading the text of King’s letter and streaming it live Tuesday night.

“I am surprised,” Warren said, “that the words of Coretta Scott King are not suitable for debate in the United States Senate.”


Q:

Spring Boot Configuration + RepositoryRestResource + Authentication

I am trying to create a Spring Boot application which stores user/password combination in a users document with MongoDB.  I was able to successfully set up a repository extending MongoRepository and all works fine.  Now, I would like to set up authentication based on the data source my repository is connecting to.  Is there a quick way to do this just using the default connection, or do I need to specifically define a DataSource to do this?
@Autowired
public void configureGlobal(AuthenticationManagerBuilder auth) throws Exception {
    auth.jdbcAuthentication().dataSource(dataSource);
}

Here we should assume a dataSource is defined, but if I already have a REST repository set up, I don't have that yet.   Do I need an intermediary step here?

A:

I think that in this case UserDetailsService interface will be your best friend
You have to implement the UserDetailsService interface and make sure that your Mongo DB Repository is injected into the UserDetailsService implementation that you create.  After that let's implement the loadUserByUsername method in order to return a org.springframework.security.core.userdetails.User object and fill it with the Mongo DB user information.
import org.springframework.security.core.userdetails.User;
@Service
public class MyUserService implements UserDetailsService {

    @Autowired
    MyMongoRepo myMongoRepo;

    @Override
    public UserDetails loadUserByUsername(String s) throws UsernameNotFoundException {
        List<SimpleGrantedAuthority> dummyAuthorityForExample = Arrays.asList(new  SimpleGrantedAuthority("ROLE_ADMIN"));
        MyMongoUser mongoUser= myMongoRepo.findByUsername(s);
        User user = new User(mongoUser.getUsername(), mongoUser.getPassword(),dummyAuthorityForExample);
        return user;
    }
}

And finally inject the UserDetailsService to your AuthenticationManagerBuilder
@Autowired
UserDetailsService userDetailsService;

@Autowired
public void configureGlobal(AuthenticationManagerBuilder auth) throws Exception {
    auth.userDetailsService(userDetailsService);
}


Peak Limiter. Digital Audio High-Quality Sound Reinforcement

Peak Limiter
processes your 16-bit sound files using a sophisticated algorithm. Single peaks exceeding
a user-defined level are softly compressed in such a way that the result cannot be
distinguished from the original by the human ear. This permits rising the main volume of
the sound file considerably without causing clipping or distortion!

Peak Limiter can be used for CD mastering to make all
the tracks equally loud. Peak Limiter enhances single sound samples, fully arranged music
recordings and digitized speech. The result sounds more direct, voluminous, and even. It
is more likely not to harm your equipment during high-volume playback and it is less
inclined to suffer from noise added later on. These are optimum conditions for both
playback and further processing. In batch mode, Peak Limiter is even able to process
several files at a time.


Hepatic fascioliasis: report of two cases.
Two cases of hepatic fascioliasis with characteristic features in US examinations and CT scans are presented. In both modalities they show tunnel-like branching and clustered areas of low echogenicity/density, which reach subcapsular regions. These cases are presented to recall the imaging features in hepatic fascioliasis especially outside endemic regions. Not only CT but also US is able to detect these characteristic lesions, which may help to make the diagnosis of hepatic fascioliasis in patients with clinical symptoms suggestive of parasitic disease.


Fuente: LA NACION - Crédito: Dante Cosenza

María Ayzaguer Comentar Me gusta Me gusta Compartir E-mail Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Guardar 10 de septiembre de 2018 • 16:35

EEl gobierno porteño y el Banco Ciudad presentaron ayer Cuenta Consorcio, un paquete totalmente gratuito al que podrán acceder las administraciones de edificios de la Capital y que les permitirá obtener una cuenta corriente, gestionar créditos para infraestructura y hasta cuentas individuales para los vecinos.

Se trata de una cuenta corriente en pesos, a nombre del consorcio, sin costos mensuales de mantenimiento y con servicios gratuitos de transferencias bancarias sin tope de monto y emisión de chequeras. Así, se busca que los vecinos puedan tener mayor control de sus fondos y ahorrar gastos de mantenimiento bancario, que pueden suponer unos $7200 al año.

Carolina Rojo vive en un departamento de tres ambientes en el barrio de Belgrano, por el que cada mes paga $4500 de expensas. De los $77.000 que pagan todos los vecinos, $849 corresponden a gastos bancarios. "Si bien no cambia mucho, me parece perfecto que permitan hacerlo gratuitamente porque todo suma. Terminan siendo $10.000 al año", dice. A unas diez cuadras de ahí, las expensas de agosto del edificio en el que vive Emilse Saldías consignaron $3332 en concepto de gastos bancarios. "Un disparate", según sus palabras.

La Cuenta Consorcio incluye una cuenta corriente con chequera para efectuar pagos a proveedores, permite al administrador habilitar servicios de recaudación como débito automático, transferencias por home banking y depósitos por terminales de autoservicio. Además, bonifica al 100% las cuentas sueldo que necesite el consorcio para el personal del edificio.

También permite acceder a los servicios de banca electrónica para empresas, mediante los que se puede realizar el pago de impuestos y servicios, así como obtener el resumen de cuenta electrónica, entre otros.

En cuanto a los integrantes del consorcio, el Banco Ciudad otorgará a cada consorcista e inquilino una caja de ahorro gratuita y una tarjeta de débito que les permitirá acceder a todos los descuentos y beneficios que la entidad bancaria ofrece en convenio con supermercados, tiendas de electrodomésticos, comercios de ropa, restaurantes, librerías y demás. Asimismo, permitirá realizar el pago de expensas de forma electrónica.

Batería de medidas

Los edificios que ya tengan cuenta corriente en el Banco Ciudad podrán solicitar la bonificación en la sucursal donde esté radicada.

Desde el gobierno porteo recuerdan que la Cuenta Consorcio es la cuarta medida de un plan de 14 para bajar los costos de las expensas, un ahorro que quisieran llevar al 20% de los valores actuales. Las anteriores acciones incluyeron permitir que los vecinos decidan la frecuencia de las fumigaciones (un ahorro que estiman puede llegar a los $20.000 anuales), derogar el certificado de "edificio seguro" que rondaba los $14.000 y la eliminación del libro de datos periódicos ($1000). Con estos cuatro cambios se estima que un edificio tipo de diez pisos y 20 unidades podría acercarse a un total de ahorro anual estimado de $40.200.

"Seguimos adelante con el plan de medidas para reducir los costos que engrosan nuestras expensas. Hemos realizado un trabajo en conjunto con el Banco Ciudad para que ofrezca una cuenta gratuita que cubra todas las necesidades de los consorcios, como el pago a proveedores, la inclusión de las cuentas sueldo para el personal y distintas líneas de créditos que permitirán mejorar la situación de los edificios", afirmó Facundo Carrillo, secretario de Atención Ciudadana.

La semana pasada la Legislatura porteña aprobó en primera lectura otras dos medidas importantes del plan para reducir expensas: ya no será obligatorio construir edificios con vivienda para encargados ni mantener las instalaciones fijas secas contra incendio. Con la eliminación de la vivienda para el encargado, todas las unidades aportarán al pago de expensas, lo que se estima puede representar un incremento en la recaudación para un edificio tipo de $57.800 al año. En cuanto a las mangueras para incendios, se trata de aquellas que se enrollan en los descansos de las escaleras, no son utilizadas por los bomberos, su mantenimiento es obligatorio y cuesta unos $21.000 por año en promedio.

"Esta iniciativa acompaña las acciones del gobierno de la ciudad para que la gestión de los consorcios sea más eficiente, económica, transparente y participativa. Con este producto, buscamos colaborar con el millón de vecinos porteños que habitan en edificios de propiedad horizontal", explicó Javier Ortiz Batalla, presidente del Banco Ciudad.

¿Cómo se puede obtener?

Completando un formulario web para ser contactado por un oficial del Banco Ciudad

En forma presencial en todas las sucursales del Banco Ciudad de la CABA y del GBA.

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