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Friday, January 10, 2014
Your weekly overdose of Rowan, patiently waiting for dad.
This week was rough, getting back in the swing of things seemed really hard this time. Somebody told me that the most depressing day of the year is the first Monday back after Christmas and I think I agree. I was dragging myself out of bed and generally having a bad attitude the first couple days of the week, but I think I'm getting past it. French fries seem to help.
Anyhow I'm glad the weekend is back, how about you? The most beautiful babe in the world is turning 1 so I'm heading up to Charlotte to see my best friend and get some baby snuggles in, so prepare for the overgramming that I'm sure will happen.
I've really been enjoying Victoria's natural beauty series, have you been following along? It can be so overwhelming sorting through all the tons of 'natural' beauty products out there, so Victoria's series has been a lifesaver.
I'm getting ready to start the simple 21 day detox that Natalie talked about and I'm excited to see what I think. Natalie said she was already seeing results in 5 days!
Happy Friday you made it to the weekend!
Elizabeth @ The Little Black Door said...
I can't wait to hear about the cleanse. I've been thinking about that too.
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If you travel to Mexico City this is an application that you cannot forget, it will be your guide through the various transport of México, and not only that, but using the GPS will tell you your current location and the close stations to you actual position depending on the distance you choose.
* The most important APP for public transport in México.
*Find the following transports:
México City(Metro, Metrobus, Tren Ligero, TrenSuburbano, Mexibús).
Monterrey (Metro)
Guadalajara (Tren Ligero, Macrobús)
Guanajuato (Optibús)
*Complete guide to all Metro stations, Metrobus, Light Rail and Commuter Rail Mexico City and its various transfers.
*Fast access to the network maps of the different types of transport and easy access to the location on the map.
*Metro Line 12 is now included.
*Maps Off-line included.
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LOCATEME!, The single most comprehensive tool to find your way around the city and know what stations are near to you, and never get lost because you always know your location in the city.
There are new lines that are being implemented, which you will receive completely free updates to come.
Tags: miroutes | <urn:uuid:9f41f7a1-dd56-46d5-8cd8-12c2f5ce08cf> | http://www.appszoom.com/android_applications/travel/miroute_cetdr.html?nav=related | en | 0.885602 | 0.134686 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
John Nettles: 'Telling the truth about Channel Islands cost me my friends'
FOR many people John Nettles will always be Detective Jim Bergerac. The actor played him for a decade from 1981 and during that time he made Bergerac's island setting of Jersey his home. In return he was embraced as Jersey's adopted son.
John Nettles reveals the story that still haunts the Channel Islands John Nettles reveals the story that still haunts the Channel Islands []
However, that mutual affection was disrupted two years ago when Nettles - who is also a history graduate - fronted a three-part documentary about the Nazi Occupation of the Channel Islands during the Second World War.
Drawn to the history of a place where he had spent so many years and yet where he had been "only vaguely aware of German bunkers", Nettles was unprepared for the hostility the documentary would provoke. He was sent abusive and threatening letters with one warning Nettles never to set foot on the Channel Islands again.
Nettles says that filming the documentary "was a highly interesting experience but it was also quite a traumatic one.
"The islanders didn't like the way we talked about the resistance, didn't like the way we talked about the collaboration or allegations of it and they didn't like the way we talked about the treatment of the Jews by the administration of the islands."
The islanders didn't like the way we talked about the resistance
Now Nettles, 69, is talking about these issues some more having spent the intervening years researching a book that would enable him to "tell in much more detail the true story of those extraordinary years".
That the book might once more fan the flames of controversy is likely but Nettles believes it is almost impossible to write about the occupation without upsetting someone even if you allow, as he does in his book, the words of those who witnessed those years to take prominence "There came a point when I thought, 'Either I don't tell this story and keep my friends or I tell it and lose them all,'" he said this week.
The Channel Islands - comprising Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark and Herm - were the only part of Britain ever to fall under Nazi rule after Winston Churchill thought them impossible to defend.
The islanders were left defenceless in the face of the advancing Third Reich and, fearing for their lives, almost the entire population of Alderney fled to mainland Britain in 1940, leaving behind, writes Nettles, "half-eaten meals on the tables and pet dogs and cats running in the roads".
Similarly, half the people of Guernsey conducted a hurried exodus, as did one fifth of Jersey. Those who couldn't leave or had nowhere to go braced themselves to await the enemy.
Part of Nettles's intention is to overturn a popular myth that for those who remained on the islands the ensuing five-year occupation "was a rather gentle, even benign affair".
Nettles says: "It was believed that by and large the German invaders behaved reasonably well and kept within the terms of the Geneva Convention.
"For their part the islanders responded by offering no resistance to their masters and only co-operating not collaborating with them, according to that same Convention.
"It was certainly uncomfortable but not horrendous. Unpleasant but not unendurable."
The truth, he asserts, is rather different. "It is more morally complex, ambiguous and difficult. It is the story of a sustained and wholesale attack on human values, of great suffering, venality and violence."
Curfews were imposed, identity cards were issued and food shortages threatened the islanders with starvation. Radios were forbidden so islanders were utterly isolated, only hearing about the progress of the war as it was filtered through Nazi propaganda.
How the island leaders reacted to Nazi rule is one of the highly sensitive topics surrounding these years and some details are damning.
Nettles notes how the Dame of Sark, Sybil Hathaway, invited the invading German officers round for a lobster dinner. In the immediate aftermath of the war when the British government investigated all claims of collaboration with the Nazis in the Channel Islands, they immediately pointed to this as evidence of fraternisation, of collaboration.
Similarly in Guernsey, where Victor Carey was bailiff, the British government didn't know "whether to hang him or knight him so mired in controversy was his tenure of office".
Nettles mounts a robust defence of many of the island rulers arguing that they offered "wise and resourceful leadership" in an unprecedented situation. "As one of the Guernsey politicians said, 'The Germans always had the gun. We could do nothing but obey. Otherwise we would be dead.'"
Island leaders tried to act as a buffer between the Germans and the islanders and called for little resistance towards the invaders because, defenceless as they were, they feared swingeing reprisals.
However, the fact the administrators often did the Germans' bidding - dutifully drawing up lists of the places of birth of all residents, for example - had tragically fatal consequences.
Although the island leaders did not know why the lists were required they ultimately allowed the Germans to round up thousands of people who they then sent to concentration and death camps. It also allowed the Nazis to identify Jewish residents.
"The Jewish question in the Channel Islands is one of the most difficult to address," says Nettles. "People are deeply, deeply hurt by accusations that they are anti-Semitic, or that they were too much inclined to load the Jews on to the transporters.
"Their defence is, 'We didn't know what was going to happen to them' but there seems to be a lack of awareness that the Jews were a special case in the Nazi ideology.
They were there to be killed and they were deserving, therefore, of the protection of the civil authorities."
This is something they did not receive.
Nettles makes mention of informants and of girls guilty of "collaboration horizontale", who were nicknamed Jerrybags. But he also highlights inspiring cases of resistance, countering claims that there was no "fighting spirit" on the islands.
ONE particular case involves Louisa Gould who hid an escaped Russian. The Germans brought over hundreds of Russian slave workers to build fortifications and they were regarded as "Untermenschen" - lower than animals.
Louisa took the escaped worker in without hesitation because she had lost a son in the war and was determined to do an act of kindness "for another mother's son". She lost her life for it.
After two-and-a-half years Louisa was betrayed by a neighbour and while the Russian escaped she was sent to a concentration camp along with her brother Harold Le Druillenec.
Louisa died in Ravensbruck concentration camp and Harold was the only British survivor of the horrendous Bergen-Belsen camp.
Another heroic figure was Albert Bedane who managed to hide three Russians and one Jewish woman.
The punishment for concealing a Jew was execution but despite the stress the concealment must have caused Albert he succeeded in keeping his guests undetected for the duration of the occupation, saving their lives.
It was an act of brave selflessness during a time which, says Nettles, will continue to be the subject of "heated argument and impassioned debate".
Jewels And Jackboots: Hitler's British Channel Islands by John Nettles, published by Channel Island Publishing and Jersey War Tunnels, £25. | <urn:uuid:4b1bb71e-92b3-417c-b963-10d9e1f6f855> | http://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/356209/John-Nettles-Telling-the-truth-about-Channel-Islands-cost-me-my-friends | en | 0.980873 | 0.173046 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
September 1, 2015
Homework Help: chemistry
Posted by Carter on Friday, December 15, 2006 at 5:55pm.
How do you compare and contrast a chemical equation and an ionic equation?
Is a chemical equation any equation while an ionic equation deals with the gain/loss of electrons?
A chemical equation usually consists of what I call a molecular equation whereas an ionic equation (or the net ionic equation) shows the ions that react. As an example, a molecular equation might be the one below.
AgNO3(aq) + NaCl(aq) ==> AgCl(s) + NaNO3(aq)
(aq) means aqueous solutons, (s) means solid (insoluble).
we can turn this into an ionic equation by knowing that the AgNO3 and NaCl are ionic compounds and when they go into solution, the solid crystal lattice breaks and the ions then move around in the solution.
Ag+)aq) + NO3-(aq) + Na+(aq) + Cl-(aq)==>AgNO3(s) + Na+(aq) + NO3-(aq)
The NET ionic equation is
Ag+(aq) + Cl-(aq) ==>AgCl(s)
This may be more than you ever wanted to know about molecular and ionic/net ionic equations but I shall be happy to follow up on anything you wish. Probably I should have noted that the ionic equation is turned into the net ionic equation by canceling those ions that appear on both sides of the equation.
Thank you. I think this is what the teacher was asking for.
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A Primer Primer
What the bleep we dont know about the years headiest puzzle movie
The rare movie that can claim a kinship with Mandelbrot and Heisenberg, Shane Carruth's Primer won Sundance's Grand Jury prize as well as its Alfred P. Sloan prize for science-themed movies. With questions about the film's brain-spraining narrative multiplying as rapidly as its self-cloning, time-traveling protagonists Abe and Aaron, we asked the 31-year-old Carruth to help separate science from fiction and untangle some of the movie's knottier mysteries. (Spoilers below.)
OC Weekly: How did you come up with the film's principles of time travel? Shane Carruth: Richard Feynman has some interesting ideas about time. When you look at Feynman diagrams [which map the interaction of elementary particles], there's really no difference between watching an interaction happen forward and backward in time. That's something I got interested in early on. I always knew what the story was thematically before it turned into science fiction. It would be about trust and how that's linked to what's at risk. I was reading about innovation and that's where I got the setting. Now what is this device? At that point, I'm where a lot of sci-fi writers are—just going through the list of what this thing could be. When I got to the ability to affect time, there was a lot of material to mine that I hadn't seen before—it's usually warpspace or wormholes. In almost any time travel story, people pick themselves up at one point in time and then immediately exist at another—they move from the present day to the 1950s or prehistoric times, and I never liked that because if I were to jump back a day, I'd find myself in a different space because of the orbit of the earth. Whenever you're addressing moving in time you need to talk about space. When you walk to the door you have to walk every moment between here and there, so it seems that, if you're moving through time backwards, you should have to pass through each moment back to get there. That would be the price you pay. How much real science is there in the movie?
There's almost no time travel-related science. What they're trying to do at the beginning, degrading gravity using superconductors—that was technically researched. The point where it goes from saying we're doing such an efficient job degrading gravity that we're also blocking time—that's the leap. But there are plenty of stories in the history of innovation where you're heading toward one thing and there's a side effect that turns out to be the valuable thing, like John Bardeen's accidental invention of the transistor. For a while I believed that asking to travel in time was too much, but I could almost believe that you could send information. It took a year to write the film and by the end of it—I probably shouldn't say this out loud—I have a sort of proof that it can't exist. If you buy that it exists, it means something more profound about where we live. It means we don't live where we think we live.
How comprehensible is the film supposed to be after a single viewing?
I'm always worried Q&As are going to turn into 30 minutes just talking about plot points. But people don't necessarily want to know the answer to everything, they want to know that there is an answer. I know that you could watch it and think it's some kind of random assemblage, like it's a tone poem to time travel. But to know that there's a method to it is half the battle. Two viewings seem to do it, but I can't say you have to see it twice; that's so pretentious.
Does everything add up, or did you deliberately leave a few loose ends?
It's never tidily summed up, but I've made sure the information is there. Almost every detail, from who the narrator is to how many Aarons there are in the end. But there's one piece of information that isn't, and that has to do with [potential funder] Granger coming back and how he was able to. That's purposely vague. Abe and Aaron each have a point in the film where they find themselves in someone else's past, and they both react a little differently to it. This is Abe's moment. This man has found out about the machine and he's used it to come back, but they don't know from what point in the future or who told him about it. That's what spurs Abe to reboot the whole thing, that's how he reacts—let's redo everything and then I'm the one in control. It was important that the audience be in the same place that they are—there isn't any way to know. That's the one big question that comes up, and I'm satisfied by that—that's supposed to be the big question. I stuck with the rule that we were going to be with Abe, that we were going to see his experience. Although the narration is coming from Aaron, we only know about Aaron's experience from voiceover and flashback material, mainly because there was no way to tell a story from multiple points of view dealing with multiple histories.
How many clones of each character are there by the end?
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| <urn:uuid:8e34cc87-a810-44ce-a804-6cf0a11bfb44> | http://www.ocweekly.com/2004-10-28/film/a-primer-primer/ | en | 0.982735 | 0.94806 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
The last time the Minnesota Legislature tried to honor one of the state's most famous jurists, it all ended in controversy.
The late Harry Blackmun was one of just three Minnesotans ever to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. But when the Legislature tried in 2000 to place a bust of Blackmun in the Capitol, near a similar bust of his childhood friend Chief Justice Warren Burger, the effort derailed in the face of protests from Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life.
In the end, lawmakers voted against honoring Blackmun, who authored the 1973 Roe. v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion.
Now, there's a new push to bring Blackman's bust to the Capitol. And while the MCCL is again objecting, lawmakers from both parties say they don't see why the state shouldn't bring Blackmun into the ranks of notable Minnesotans whose statues and portraits fill the State Legislature.
"I don't have a feeling one way or the other," Senate Minority Leader David Hann, R-Eden Prairie, told reporters Friday. "I didn't know there was a controversy over that. He's a Supreme Court justice. Where's the controversy?"
Asked if it was the first time he had countered the powerful anti-abortion organization, Hann said: "I don’t take my direction from the MCCL.” | <urn:uuid:b4356cde-7c2b-48aa-83fc-d6e4fbd07f8a> | http://www.startribune.com/senate-minority-leader-hann-what-blackmun-bust-controversy/188411411/ | en | 0.960988 | 0.099462 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Raoul Laporterie
During the occupation, Raoul Laporterie saved hundreds of Jews and Christians who wanted to flee the Germans by crossing into the Unoccupied Zone. On innumerable occasions, Laporterie drove his battered car, a Juva 4, from one zone to another, bearing passengers, letters, clothes, jewelry, money, and even a bride’s dowry. Laporterie was able to make these trips because he was the mayor of Bascons, in the département of Landes in the Unoccupied Zone, and owned a store in Mont-de-Marsan, the capital of Landes, in the Occupied Zone. Because he had to commute between the two zones in the course of his work, the Germans gave him a pass to cross the checkpoint at the Demarcation Line. Everyone knew Laporterie and recognized his car, and he quickly earned a reputation for trustworthiness. Many people asked him for help, and families that had been divided sought his assistance in tracing their loved ones or joining relatives who had already fled to the Unoccupied Zone. With his help, lovers who had been separated were reunited, and refugees, businesspeople, and many others passed from zone to zone. Anyone wishing to navigate the checkpoint had to show a pass. Because Laporterie had many blank passes, he glued his passengers’ photographs to the passes and instructed them to be calm and behave naturally as they approached the checkpoint. The Germans, who knew him well, did not suspect him and allowed him and his passengers to continue. Laporterie endangered himself on these trips; had he been caught misusing German documents, he would have been severely punished. Nevertheless, Laporterie never sought remuneration for his actions, asking his passengers only for their photographs, without which he could not have deceived the Germans or used their passes. Laporterie’s assistance to the refugees did not stop there. Jews who found their way to Mont-de-Marsan with his assistance, in their efforts to reach the Unoccupied Zone, were given shelter for a night or two in his home or in a hotel at his expense, until he was able to deliver them across the Demarcation Line.
In 1945, the French Government awarded Laporterie the Croix de Guerre in appreciation of all he had done during the occupation. In November 1945, to mark this distinction, several Jewish survivors whom he had helped, wrote to Laporterie extolling his courage, devotion, and patriotism during the occupation, noting that, at great personal risk, he had kept many refugees out of the Germans’ clutches and lead them to safety.
On March 18, 1976, Yad Vashem recognized Raoul Laporterie as Righteous Among the Nations.
This online story was made possible with the support of:
Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany
| <urn:uuid:3a0fb162-4e30-4598-950c-762e93e74f9b> | http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/righteous/stories/laporterie.asp | en | 0.985372 | 0.02309 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Russian Cosmonaut: Our Shuttle Was Safer (And Could Drop Nukes from Orbit!)
Russia's Buran program was very short lived. Like, only one flight short lived. But according to cosmonaut (and ISS alum) Oleg Kotov, the craft had some serious potential—outclassing its American rival at both saving lives and destroying them.
Kotov talked to New Scientist, explaining that the Buran's design superiority lay in safety:
It would have allowed all of a crew to escape at any stage of the flight; even on the launch pad there was an escape pod. The NASA shuttle crew does not have this opportunity. Buran had ejector seats for all crew members. And that includes those sitting in the mid-deck, who had seats that ejected sideways.
The Buran could have also avoided the Challenger's horrible fate by avoiding the need for (failure-prone) foam:
We had no external tank: the Buran orbiter was attached to an Energia rocket, not a tank. And that rocket needed no foam on its surface.
But what about this nuke launching business? That's not exactly a NASA mainstay!
It was originally designed as a military system for weapon delivery, maybe even nuclear weapons...A shuttle is particularly useful for this because it can change its orbit and trajectory—so an attack from it is almost impossible to protect against.
Gulp. Good thing both the Cold War and Buran bomb-flinging plan fizzled out. [New Scientist] | <urn:uuid:3666938e-1439-4a18-b200-91b50719a5ba> | http://gizmodo.com/5819166/russian-cosmonaut-our-shuttle-was-safer-and-could-drop-nukes-from-orbit | en | 0.971254 | 0.065083 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Wearing the carpet out
1. You enjoy your walkies lol, it'll keep you out of mischief on that interweb thingie :P
2. Ha ha! Too cute.
3. ha ha from me too Fen - I'm just the same. beware the specs-chain solution, because when they hang in front of you, they fall into drawers and get caught on things when you lean forward. X X
4. Why do you remove the glasses when you're in the bathroom? are you unable to see with them on? In that case why not remove them while you're at your desk and put them beside the computer? Or just push them up on top of your head.
5. Professor Branestawm had a special pair of glasses for looking for all the pairs of glasses he couldn't find.
6. I only have one pair of glasses which have three different lenses long, medium and short distance for each eye. The answer to your question what is the average age of the resident's living in my block of units, its about 35 years give or take :-).
7. Nice to have you look after my welfare Jayne.
You'll be old one day Fen!
Em Stacks, yes, not for the chain yet.
River, I can see perfectly after about one metre. It is just short distances and medium to long distance is a blur with glasses on. Yes, I should take them off when I leave the computer, but I just forget.
Might be on to something there FruitCake.
Windsmoke, I think it is actually easier if you wear glasses all the time. | <urn:uuid:62c96239-1022-495c-aa28-f46fd3757dd4> | http://highriser.blogspot.com/2011/11/wearing-carpet-out.html | en | 0.958783 | 0.988828 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Male/Female prespective and moral judgement
097/479 23 Jan 90 21:23:53
From: Kirsten Emmott
To: All
Subj: jake and amy
(from Rites for a New Age, by Michael Ingham: first of 8 paragraphs)
Is there a difference between male and female perspectives?
Women scholars say "yes." Harvard educationalist Carol Gilligan, in an
important book called "In a Different Voice", tells the story of Jake and Amy.
These two children, both 11 years old, and in the same sixth-grade
class at school, participated in a study to determine whether sex roles
influence the measuring of human moral development. Gilligan describes Jake and
Amy as bright and articulate, but not stereotypical of sex-roles since Amy
wanted to be a scientist and Jake preferred English to math. In the study, they
were each asked to respond to the folowing moral dilemma.
A man named Heinz must decide whether to steal in order to
save the life of his wife. she has been diagnosed with a seirous illness, the
cure to which is an expensive drug which Heinz cannot afford. The druggist
refuses to give the drug to Heinz without payment, so he must decide what to do
to get it. Faced with this problem, Jake and Amy responded in different ways.
Jake was clear that Heinz' moral duty was to steal the drug. With
unswerving logic, he constructed the dilemma as a conflict between two
principles; the right to property and the right to life. Where moral
principles conflict, Jake argued, there is a heirarchy of values which one
must apply. Life is a higher value than property, so Heinz must steal. He was
quite certain that, under the circumstances, Heinz
Amy, on the other hand, felt that theft was not the answer. She
was concerned that if Heinz were caught and went to jail, his wife would be
even worse off. She constructed the dilemma as one of misunderstanding. The
druggist could not have understood the situation.
If Heinz were to take his wife to meet the druggist, she was sure
the situation could be resolved. Failing that, Heinz should try to borrow the
money or promise to pay the druggist back later. Amy was certain that there
was another solution to the problem than the one posed in the initial
explanation of the dilemma.
The conclusion Gilligan draws ( in this one of many examples
in teh book) is that Jake and Amy see the situation from a different
perspective. they boy looks at the issue with a logic based on a heirarchy of
values. They girl looks at the issue with a concern for human relationships.
Both agree that the life must be saved, but he resolves the problem by applying
rights and responsibilities, while she resolves the probllem by applying
dialogue and co operation.
In another project, Gilligan sutdied sex-role differences in
children's games. She noted that boys tend to play competitive games, whereas
girls tend to play co-operative games when both are in same- gender groups.
Whenever disputes arise, she observed, boys and girls react to them
differently. boys tend to resolve disputes by appealing to the rules of the
game. Failing any general agreement, the matter is usually ended by tossing a
coin or taking the play over again. In girls' games, however, disputes more
kusually end in the termination of the game itself. This fact....has usually
been taken to mean that girls are less emotionally and morally mature than
boys. Gilligan, however, argues that for girls relationships are more
important than outcomes. who wins is secondary to who stays friends. This is
not underdevelopment, but a different perspective on values.
Gilligan's general conclusions, based on many such projects,
is that men are socialized early on in their development to consitruct the
moral universe in terms of principles and hierarchies, while women are
socialized early on to think and feel in terms of connections and
relationships..... (end of this quote)
* Origin: PSG Vancouver (Opus 1:153/4)
057/480 06 Feb 90 08:57:52
From: Elissa Schroeder
To: Barry Brenesal
I'm not familiar with Ingram, but the studies exemplified in the "Jake and Amy"
vignette posted here are derived pretty directly from the research of Carol
Gilligan, who is a respected researcher in the area of ethics and moral
development. She is not a male-basher, or a sexist, in my opinion.
Gilligan began her work at a time when Kohlberg was still the leading authority
on moral development, and when his hierarchies (based on HIS research following
college students through four years at Harvard) were accepted pretty
uncritically in the field. Using his hierarchies, later researchers were
obtaining results that appeared to support Freud's earlier work to the effect
that women have less highly developed consciences than men do. Gilligan did a
massive review of this entire literature and concluded that the Kohlberg
hierarchies were themselves skewed to favor a rights-based morality (which is
more common in males) over a responsibility-based morality (which is more
common in females).
Subsequent research building on Gilligan's hypotheses has elaborated some of
the differences between rights-oriented and responsibility-oriented
perspectives in psychology generally and in cognition particularly. The best
review of this (growing) literature in a book available in paperback now called
"Women's Way of Knowing", by four female psychologists. Unfortunately, though
I've purchased three copies of this book, I have loaned or given them all away,
and can't cite the authors or pertinent text. If anyone's interested, this
could probably be arranged ... :-)
I am aware that there is one approach to feminism which decries *ANY* emphasis
on the differences between men and women, since an overemphasis on differences
has in the past (and present!) been used to suggest that women are *SO*
different from men that we practically constitute a different species. There
is the danger, however, that this concern can lead to a suppression of data
about differences which really do exist.
If Gilligan is correct (and it looks like she is) the differences she is
exploring exist between men GENERALLY and women GENERALLY. *WHY* these
differences exist, and whether they should be deplored or celebrated, are
separate issues. I think it is understandable that we should have difference
of opinion what to do about these findings, but I would argue that the one
thing we should NOT do is suppress it in over-zealous concern that it might
"be" sexist, since it addresses gender differences. All suppression does is
keep us in the dark a few generations longer ...
--- TMail v1.13
* Origin: Secular Humanist Exchange, Lewisville NC 919-945-3847 (1:151/606)
058/480 07 Feb 90 18:31:00
From: Gary Smith
To: Elissa Schroeder
Subj: Re: RE: JAKE AND AMY
In a message to Barry Brenesal <02-06-90 08:57> Elissa Schroeder wrote:
ES> The best review
ES> of this (growing) literature in a book available in
ES> paperback now called "Women's Way of Knowing", by four
ES> female psychologists. Unfortunately, though I've purchased
ES> three copies of this book, I have loaned or given them all
ES> away, and can't cite the authors or pertinent text. If
ES> anyone's interested, this could probably be arranged ...
Since I have one of the three copies of the book that Elissa has loaned or
given away, I'll cite the authors & publisher:
Mary Field Belenky, Blythe McVicker Clinchy, Nancy Rule Goldberger,
and Jill Mattuck Tarule. Basic Books, Inc., 1986.
--- QuickBBS v2.61 [REGISTERED]
* Origin: Humanities Forum - Gray, TN - 615/477-4394 (1:116/12.0) | <urn:uuid:1553448d-10ab-4e40-96cb-8b48e3d675d7> | http://holysmoke.org/fem/fem0258.htm | en | 0.964713 | 0.03496 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Take the 2-minute tour ×
Is there a general inversion formula or procedure for an integral of the form (where f is the function being transformed and g depends on the type of transform) $\int^{a}_{b} f(x) g(x,\xi) dx $ ? Inverses are defined in the conventional ways for functionals and integral transforms, respectively.
For instance, for the fourier transform. In the equation above, $a=∞,b=-∞$, $g(x,\xi)=e^{-2πix \xi }$. I know the inverse fourier transform is simple but I am concerned with a general procedure or process.
I am most interested in the cases where $a,b=±∞$ although a simple inverse for $\int^{a}_{b} f(x) dx $ is also something I am curious about (as far as this part of the question is concerned, if the inverse of an indefinite integral is the derivative, what is the inverse of a definite integral-- I am sorry if this is too elementary).
Feel free to use complex analysis or any other branch of math if it helps to answer the question. Also, you can repost on another site if it will help.
share|improve this question
What do you mean by an "inversion formula or procedure"? The problem you pose is a natural infinite dimensional generalization of inverting a matrix. If there were an "inversion formula," that would be great, but... There is no such thing as an inverse for $\int_a^b f(x) dx$ (with fixed a and b), since a lot of functions have the same integral. – Michael Renardy Apr 9 '12 at 22:29
This is a very interesting question, but to broad to have a real answer. A suggestion is that you formulate is as big-list question, then you have to make it community-wiki. – Marc Palm Apr 11 '12 at 7:57
3 Answers 3
I think what Michael is saying in his comment is that the question is way too general: you are trying to deal with arbitrary linear operators on an infinite dimensional vector space, so invertibility (let alone a simple formula) is a subtle question that can't be answered in a simple fashion. You wonder about the inverse operation of definite integration over a fixed interval $I$; integration yields a real number (assuming the integral even exists!), so for $a\in\mathbb{R}$, "$\int_I^{-1}a = $ any function $f$ with $\int_If=a$", so to speak (sorry for the horrible notation). This is satisfied by loads of functions, so the inverse doesn't exist.
So if you have a specific operator in mind, you could try to see if it's invertible and if you can find a nice expression for the inverse. The general question doesn't make much sense.
share|improve this answer
Probably a "general procedure" would be as follows: Find appropriate Hilbert spaces $X$ and $Y$ such that the operator $Lf(\xi) \int_a^b f(x) g(x,\xi) dx$ maps boundedly from $X$ to $Y$. Often the space $X = L^2([a,b])$ and $Y= L^2([c,d])$ works (e.g. if $g\in L^2([a,b]\times [c,d])$). Then there always exists the Moore-Penrose pseudoinverse of $L$. However, if the range of $L$ is not a closed subspace of $y$, it is an unbounded operator defined on $\text{range}L\oplus \text{range}L^\bot$ which is a dense subspace of $Y$.
This works for $Lf = \int_a^b f(x)dx$ as a mapping from $L^2([a,b])$ to $\mathbb{R}$ and it is a nice exercise to work out the pseudo-inverse.
share|improve this answer
Have you got references for this nice exercise? If I'm doing this right it ought to be the linear transformation that takes $1$ to the constant function $f:x\mapsto\frac{1}{b-a}$. – Emilio Pisanty Apr 11 '12 at 11:55
Sorry, $\frac{1}{\sqrt{b-a}}$. – Emilio Pisanty Apr 11 '12 at 11:57
If we ignore the second part, I still think the first part has value. What is the procedure for inverting a general integral transform?
share|improve this answer
As previous commenters have mentioned, the question is asking for too much. But perhaps the following rephrasing of the question, which is moving the difficult part to something slightly more concrete will be of use. Given integral operators A and B with kernels a and b, i.e. (Af)(x) = int_R a(x,y)f(y)dy and (Bf)(x) = int_R b(x,y)g(y)dy, their composition is the integral operator AB with kernel c(x,y) = int_R a(x,z)b(z,y)dz. So long as c(x,y) = delta(x-y), then B is a (right) inverse of A. – Aaron Hoffman Apr 11 '12 at 1:58
Your Answer
| <urn:uuid:29be7975-d153-491f-8c54-d5217d45f854> | http://mathoverflow.net/questions/93595/general-procedure-for-inverse-of-an-integral-transform/93729 | en | 0.900602 | 0.708701 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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What to Do in an Emergency
The information below answers commonly asked questions regarding what students should do in case of an emergency at Santa Clara University.
• iconWhere to Get Updates & Information
Question: In case of an emergency, what is the University’s source of official information?
Answer: In these situations, special messages and official reports will be available online at the University website. If an emergency causes all technology to go down, a remote server will be utilized to continue providing information on this website.
• iconWho to Contact
Question: Who should students contact in an emergency?
Answer: If there is an emergency or students observe suspicious behavior, then they should contact either:
• City of Santa Clara Police Department: dial 911
• Campus Safety Services: dial 408-554-4444 (or 4444 if using a campus phone)
• iconCommunication Technology
Question: How is evolving technology being used in communicating with students?
Answer: The University has the technology to send emergency notifications to all campus community members. SCU Campus Alert allows the University to send simultaneous cell phone, text messaging, and email communications to all students, faculty, and staff in the notification database.
• iconInformation on eCampus
Question: What can students do right now to ensure they will receive official University communications that are timely and accurate?
Answer: Students should continuously update their eCampus accounts with their current contact information. It is recommended that students verify their information at the beginning of every quarter.
• iconSCU Campus Alert
Question: What is SCU Campus Alert?
Answer: SCU Campus Alert allows Campus Safety and the Campus Emergency Manager to send emergency mass notification messages to the campus comunity during critical incidents, emergencies, or in the case of a major disaster. Only those community members who are registered to receive SCU Campus Alerts will receive them. .
• iconEmergency Phones
Question: Are there emergency phones around campus?
Answer: Yes, there are over 40 public "blue light" phones around campus that provide individuals with immediate contact to Campus Safety Services during emergencies.
• iconSecurity Cameras
Question: Does the campus use cameras for security purposes?
Answer: Yes, cameras are currently located in several campus buildings and facilities including (but not limited to) parking structures, Casa Italiana and Bellarmine residence halls, Leavey Events Center, Schott Stadium, Facilities building, Learning Commons & Library, and Leavey School of Business.
• iconEmergency Assembly Points
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Answer: During certain emergencies, students should go to the nearest Emergency Assembly Point, which is a designated area on campus intended to provide a safe place for individuals to stay while emergency personnel respond to the situation.
• iconWhat Can Parents Do
Question: What should parents do to stay informed and help during an emergency?
Answer: Parents can regularly visit the University website for campus news and the most current information in an emergency.
Also, parents should encourage their students to keep their eCampus and other contact information up to date.
• Parents can get additional information from Facebook links: SCUCSS, SCU Campus Alert, and SCUOEM
• And the American Red Cross offers an online program that helps families inform one another that they are safe and well during and after an emergency.
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Take the 2-minute tour ×
I am trying to take in a filename from a user and then use execfile() to execute the file , below is my code
print "Please enter the name of the file"
filename = raw_input().split(".")[0]
module = __import__(filename)
execfile(module) <-- this is where I want to execute the file
I understand the execfile works like
I am unsure on how to do this when the filename is passed as an variable . I am using python 2.7
share|improve this question
You already import the file, you now have executable code, why the need to run the module through the execfile() function? – Martijn Pieters Dec 7 '12 at 20:51
This is being run in another program , I have no idea what the code is in the program ( whose name the user enters) , so I want to execute it and catch exceptions . Since I do not know what the main is in the undefined function , I need to execute it once – user1801279 Dec 7 '12 at 20:57
related: log syntax errors and uncaught exceptions. – J.F. Sebastian Dec 7 '12 at 21:33
1 Answer 1
up vote 4 down vote accepted
Drop the import and exec the filename. You need the .py extension with this method and it will run any if __name__ == '__main__' section:
filename = raw_input("Please enter the name of the file: ")
If you just want to import it, you need to strip the '.py' and it will not execute an if __name__ == '__main__' section:
filename = raw_input("Please enter the name of the file: ").split(".")[0]
module = __import__(filename)
share|improve this answer
Thank you , If possible could you just give me a hint on where I went wrong? – user1801279 Dec 7 '12 at 21:02
Yes , I apologise for that , I stripped it on purpose because of the fact that I do not know if the user will enter the extension .py . so just to be sure I take the input , strip it and append a .py to it – user1801279 Dec 8 '12 at 5:40
Your Answer
| <urn:uuid:6e5615e0-292e-4160-a299-a5b22fc5f440> | http://stackoverflow.com/questions/13770735/execfile-in-python-using-it-for-user-input?answertab=oldest | en | 0.824472 | 0.126171 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Your Weird Animal Questions Answered: Love in the Animal Kingdom
With spring in the air, Ask Your Weird Animal Questions turned its attention this week to animal love and all its forms.
Which insect or animal is the Don Juan of the wild kingdom?—Tristan
If there’s one animal that gets luckier more than any other, it would probably be the bonobo: They’re renowned for their vigorous mating behaviors.
A photo of a stick bug
A northern walking stick on a branch in eastern Madagascar. Photograph by Frans Lanting, Corbis
Male animals with harems, like elephant seals, are good contenders, as is the queen bee, who mates with numerous drones (and brags about it, according to the Los Angeles Times).
Marlene Zuk, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul, agreed with those choices, and added stick insects to the list.
Some stick insects mate “literally for days and days,” she says. She mentioned a 1978 paper, for instance, that cites an Indian stick insect undergoing a mating ritual for 79 days—a record in the insect kingdom.
In her book Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us About Sex, Diet, and How We LiveZuk writes that “the more extreme the differences between the sexes, the more exaggerated the mating system.”
Birds of paradise, whose males have elaborate plumage and an even more complicated mating ritual, are an example of this principle. (Read more about birds of paradise in National Geographic magazine.)
How quickly does a lion’s mane grow?—Arietta, United Kingdom
A lion’s mane grows at the same rate as human hair, according to Craig Packer, a 2012 National Geographic Waitt grantee and an ecologist at the University of Minnesota.
A photo of a lion
A male lion in Tanzania. Photograph by Ben Cherry, National Geographic Your Shot
But mane growth “depends on testosterone, and bad injuries cause the shutdown of testosterone, thus causing the mane to fall out.” The locks will grow back upon recovery, he said.
Packer and colleagues have studied those manes and found that they’re likely an advertisement for male quality—hence their place on this list. (Related: “Female Lions Prefer Dark-Maned Males, Study Finds.”)
For the anglerfish, when does the actual “intercourse” begin? If it was a perpetual pleasure down to the last cell, it wouldn’t be so bad for the male fish.—bikerpilotdanny
This question came from our inaugural Ask Your Weird Animal Questions, which described how the tiny male anglerfish bites into the much larger female, eventually fusing with her body until he becomes a sperm supply for her use when she’s ready.
So, is that intercourse and could there be pleasure in it?
A photo of an anglerfish.
This female anglerfish, Caulophryne jordani, lives deep in the Atlantic Ocean. Photograph by David Shale, Nature Picture Library/ Corbis
Jonathan Balcombe, author and department chair for animal studies with the Humane Society University in Washington, D.C., said via email that “intercourse” is not quite the right word, but didn’t disallow that fish experience pleasure.
For instance, fish that are groomed by “cleaner fish” seem to enjoy the process, which removes algae and other detritus. The cleaner fish “sometimes administer extra caresses with their fins, apparently to curry favor with clients,” he said. (Related: “Cleaner Fish Wear ‘Uniforms’ to Advertise, Avoid Danger.”)
One study found that stressed fish spent more time swimming next to and being caressed by a mechanical cleaner fish than did unstressed fish, he said.
1. Jack Coey
Carmichael, Ca.
August 9, 2014, 9:15 am
I heard that Japan’s nutlear power station was polluting. Then radiation was all over the pacific, including San Francisco. So I don’t eat fish. But now I don’t hear anything else about it. Do I eat fish or not?
2. basheer
Coimbatore,Tamil Nadu,India
April 19, 2014, 10:11 am
i want to know about animal kingdom
how does the animal kingdom started ???
3. Robert C Brooke
April 17, 2014, 4:15 pm
It is not unusual among parasitic wasps for only the females to have wings.Are there any non-hymenopterous insects with winged females and wingless males? | <urn:uuid:2b530a2a-1a13-456d-b28b-71bc18603275> | http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2014/04/16/weird-animal-questions-science-world-lions-mating/ | en | 0.919346 | 0.056405 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
U.S. Foreclosures Hit Record
By: BankingMyWay.com Staff
By Sheree Curry
The number of homes entering foreclosure is at a record high, according to data released today by the Mortgage Bankers Association.
"While subprime ARM delinquencies and foreclosures are climbing in all states, in most states the actual number of loans involved is fairly modest," says Doug Duncan, the MBA's chief economist and senior VP of research and business development.
That means the phenomenon is concentrated into a few states: The number of subprime ARM foreclosure starts in California during the third quarter equaled the starts in 35 other states combined.
Florida and California are the two largest states in terms of mortgages outstanding and are the key drivers of the increase in the national foreclosure rates. While California and Florida together have 36.4% of all of the prime ARM loans in the country, they had 42.4% of the nation's foreclosure starts for those loans. Similarly, California and Florida together have 28.1% of the subprime ARMs and 33.7% of foreclosure starts for subprime ARMs.
On a year-over-year basis, the delinquency rate increased 0.92 percentage point from 4.67% at the end of the third quarter of 2006 and is at the highest point since 1986, according to MBA data.
"The rising foreclosure and housing for-sale inventory data continues to point to a declining housing market for 2008," says Los Angeles-based Ronald Greenspan, a senior managing director at the global business advisory firm FTI Consulting. "These two factors are leading indicators of price effects -- the filing of a default or foreclosure notice precedes the house coming onto the market by three to six months, so what we are seeing here will affect prices, and in a negative way, for much of next year."
The acceleration in foreclosure and delinquency rates in the third quarter also will lead to further mortgage standard tightening. This will mean fewer potential homebuyers will be able to obtain a mortgage, keeping housing demand at low levels, say experts.
"Interestingly, mortgage applications have not fallen as much as housing sales," says Scott Anderson, a vice president and senior economist in the Minneapolis office of Wells Fargo. "We believe this is because homebuyers are filling out multiple applications in the hopes that at least one will be accepted." Wells Fargo expects further increases in mortgage foreclosures and delinquencies through 2008.
With the foreclosure issue getting worse, lots of people are looking for quick fixes. There may not be any, but some suggest that the U.S. government should take on a leadership role and sway mortgage lenders and others in a way that would help home investors avoid further crisis. But bailouts and rate freezes are not the answer, says Bob Schultz, owner of New Home Specialist, a full-service management consulting and sales company in Boca Raton, Fla.
"Homeowners with subprime mortgages should be given a tax break for reducing the loan amount and be allowed to refinance using the government's FHA loan," says Schultz. "The government could reduce the costs of this refinancing through collective buying power for lower costs with loan originators, credit bureaus and title agencies, and provide a tax break by not requiring the homeowner to pay income taxes on the 'loan forgiveness.'"
In the end, he says, the mortgage companies avoid foreclosures, people keep their homes, and there would be no bailout using taxpayer money. "Its win-win for everyone involved." (Note: Bush announced his plan today in a press conference).
Mortgage Rates in Selected Cities
City Term Rate
Boston 30-year fixed 5.95%
New York 30-year fixed 6.03%
Miami 30-year fixed 6.28%
Chicago 30-year fixed 6.05%
Minneapolis 30-year fixed 6%
Source: BankingMyWay.com
--no origination fee / 20% down payment / excludes Internet banks / excludes credit unions / loans under $417,000
The MBA's Duncan says that he believes the foreclosure rate will bottom out by third quarter 2008. These foreclosures do mean a decline in housing prices, "which lead to improved affordability and as long as interest rates remain stable."
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The Names Test | Final Test - Medium
Buy The Names Lesson Plans
Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In Chapter 10, where does James hear that Eliades is moving?
(a) London.
(b) New York.
(c) Delhi.
(d) Paris.
2. Why is James Axton in Bombay at the beginning of Chapter 11?
(a) To investigate local conditions.
(b) To open a new office.
(c) To visit Kathryn.
(d) To meet with Owen.
3. In Chapter 11, what Indian town is Owen living in?
(a) Calcutta.
(b) Delhi.
(c) Bombay.
(d) Lahore.
4. Who leads James to Owen's place in Lahore at the beginning of Chapter 12?
(a) Owen's assistant.
(b) Two young boys.
(c) Anand Das.
(d) His driver.
5. What monument figures prominently in both the beginning and the end of the novel?
(a) The Acropolis.
(b) The Eiffel Tower.
(c) Cleopatra's Needle.
(d) The Colloseum.
Short Answer Questions
1. Who is shot in Chapter 13?
3. What reason does James offer in Chapter 10 for Greece's continued buffeting by stronger powers historically?
4. At the beginning of Chapter 12, what does Owen mistake James for?
5. How many bodies are with Owen when he is discovered at the end of Chapter 12?
Short Essay Questions
1. What does James Axton learn in Bombay early in Chapter 11?
2. What does Singh say about the desert in Chapter 12?
3. Describe the political argument that James and Eliades have in Chapter 10.
4. What traumatic experience happens to Orville Benton in Chapter 14?
5. What admission does James make to Lindsay Keller in Chapter 13?
6. How does James learn the truth behind the CIA in Chapter 13?
7. What point about the murders does Andahl make in Chapter 9?
8. How is Chapter 14 connected thematically to the rest of the novel?
9. In Chapter 12, why does Owen go to Lake Rajsamand?
10. How does DeLillo illustrate James' awkward relationship with his landlord in Chapter 10?
(see the answer keys)
This section contains 837 words
(approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page)
Buy The Names Lesson Plans
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By Brad Friedman on 11/24/2010, 12:40pm PT
Via Politics Daily...
The state's canvassing board Tuesday ordered that all 2.1 million ballots cast in the gubernatorial election be counted again --- by hand.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that the board accepted a report by the Minnesota Secretary of State that found Democrat Mark Dayton leading Republican Tom Emmer by just 8,770 votes. Because the difference is less than one-half of one percentage point, it automatically triggers a recount.
The recount is slated to begin Monday in each of the state's 87 counties and should be finished by Dec. 7. Then the canvassing board will review any challenged ballots and certify a winner on Dec. 14.
Good for Minnesota! Great to see that somebody in this nation still believes in actually counting ballots in a democracy!
Short of counting them publicly, by hand, at the polling place, on election night, in front of everyone, including video cameras, with results posted at the precinct before ballots are moved anywhere, MN has previously shown itself to have one of the best, most transparent sets of procedures in the country for publicly hand counting all of their paper ballots (all of their ballots are paper ballots, thankfully.)
They do all of the above in close races which trigger hand counts. By necessity, they happen at central locations instead of at the precincts, obviously, so questions of chain of custody can still arise to introduce doubt into the process. From what I can tell, however, as based on the superb Franken/Coleman '08 U.S. Senate hand count, their chain of custody procedures are also very good and so the entire process is about as open and transparent as could be asked for in such a case.
For that, the state also owes no small debt of gratitude to Sec. of State Mark Ritchie for his expert, transparent, non-partisan work in overseeing such counts --- at least if the last big one was any indication --- in such a way that when they're over, the winner and their supporters know they've really won, and the loser and all but their most dishonestly misinformed supporters know they've lost. That's what democracy is supposed to be about it. In Minnesota, happily, it still is.
* * * | <urn:uuid:678f05ce-5448-4ec2-9983-9c52162019fd> | http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8209 | en | 0.968761 | 0.063467 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Squaring the Triangle: America, China, and Taiwan
The U.S. and China recently held their third annual Strategic Dialogue. Limited economic and security agreements were reached. Perhaps more important, Chinese military officers joined the discussions and toured American military facilities afterwards. Relations between the two nations appear to be thawing.
However, bilateral controversies remain. Washington and Beijing disagree on much, including trade, North Korea, and maritime rights in China’s “Near Seas.” But nothing causes greater discord than the status of Taiwan, which is pressing the U.S. to sell submarines and advanced fighters.
After being detached from the mainland by Japan more than a century ago, the island of Formosa was under effective Chinese authority only during the short interregnum between the end of World War II and the Chinese Revolution. In 1949 the defeated Kuomintang Party moved the Republic of China government to Taiwan.
During the Cold War the two Chinas were bitterly at odds. As the People’s Republic of China has grown economically and moderated politically, Beijing surged past Taipei on the international stage. Even the U.S. recognizes only the PRC and formally acknowledges but one China.
However, Washington retains a quasi-embassy in Taipei, enjoys a profitable trading relationship with Taiwan, and has promised to sell the latter weapons for its defense. China’s patience with both the ROC’s separate existence and America’s arms sales has been declining. Last year Beijing ended military contacts with the U.S. in retaliation for the latter’s announcement of a $6.4 billion arms package for Taiwan.
Despite the recent uptick in U.S.-China relations, acceding to Taipei’s latest weapons request could spark Chinese retaliation. Nevertheless, Washington should help its democratic friend defend itself.
The U.S.-China relationship likely will be the world’s most important bilateral connection this century. The two nations are tightly linked economically. They share many other interests: stability in East Asia, freedom of the seas, open global economy, cooperative international institutions.
Perhaps the most important objective between the existing superpower and the potential superpower is to avoid war. When faced with two rising powers in the late 19th century, Great Britain accommodated the U.S. and confronted Germany. The result was two world wars involving the latter. Similar conflicts between the U.S. and China would be catastrophic.
In fact, there is little over which Beijing and Washington might fight. The PRC has demonstrated little interest in overseas military expansion or attacking the U.S. Economic competition between the two is growing in Asia, Africa, and even South America, but Washington’s best response would be to liberalize the American economy, not deploy the U.S. Navy.
A clash is possible in East Asia, however. Today the U.S. dominates the region, even along China’s border. But the PRC is building deterrent forces, particularly missiles and submarines capable of sinking U.S. carriers.
The Pentagon’s latest assessment of Chinese military spending speaks of “anti-access” and “area denial” capabilities. Notably, the PRC poses no threat to the American homeland. But Beijing doesn’t want the U.S. to be able to threaten its homeland. One can imagine the U.S. reaction if the Chinese navy was patrolling America’s coasts, prepared to intervene in, say, Washington’s struggle with Hawaiian secessionists.
Unfortunately for the U.S., it is far cheaper to build defensive than offensive weapons. America could bankrupt itself attempting to protect its carriers and buy additional platforms in order to maintain its ability to attack the Chinese mainland.
Nevertheless, Washington should not abandon Taiwan, as tempting as that option might be to some. Even if the U.S. does not formally recognize the ROC, the Taiwanese people have made a separate identity for themselves.
Whatever the technical, juridical issues surrounding the China-Taiwan relationship, Taiwan is entitled to decide on its own destiny. Certainly Beijing is not justified in attempting to coerce the Taiwanese people.
The best solution would be a negotiated settlement when China institutes political as well as economic reforms. The two states and peoples have been drawing steadily closer. However, the PRC will make itself politically attractive only when it accepts a free society as well as a freer economy.
In the meantime, the U.S. should permit arms sales that enable Taipei to maintain a military deterrent just as China is building a deterrent to America. Taiwan is wealthy, but falling further behind the PRC in overall economic strength. Thus, Taipei should not “try to match the PRC ship for ship, plane for plane, or missile for missile,” as the Washington-based Taiwan Policy Working Group observed. Rather, Taipei should build a small but deadly force capable of exacting a high price from any attackers.
Last year’s weapons package included Harpoon and Patriot missiles, mine-detection ships, Blackhawk helicopters, and communications equipment. Washington put off any decision on advanced F-16s and diesel submarines. But Taiwan is now pressing for the fighters and subs.
The Obama administration should say yes.
China might retaliate diplomatically. But empowering Taiwan is worth risking tenser relations with the PRC. After all, arms sales do not put America and China on a path to war. Rather, they create a disincentive for Beijing to consider war as an option, irrespective of Washington’s perceived willingness to intervene.
Moreover, while U.S.-Chinese ties may be warming, Beijing remains recalcitrant on important issues like North Korea. Indeed, the North’s “Dear Leader” Kim Jong-il has made another visit to the PRC, his third in a year, presumably to beg for more aid.
Indeed, China has been expanding ties with Pyongyang even as the latter has provoked South Korea almost to war. Beijing also subsidizes other pariah regimes, such as Burma and Zimbabwe. The PRC is determined to pursue what it perceives to be its national interest. So should the U.S.
Ultimately, a reasonable accommodation between China and Taiwan is more likely if Taipei possesses the ability to defend itself. Of course, Taipei should not be purely reliant on America. Then its security will depend on the vagaries of politics in Washington as well as the state of U.S.-Chinese relations. Noted Liu Yu-jiun of Taiwan’s Fo Guang University: “If you put too much emphasis on imports and something goes sour between importer and exporter, you end up with an empty hand.”
Taiwan recently deployed its third generation of Brave Wind anti-ship missiles. Taipei also is considering production of the Hsiung Feng-2E ballistic missile. Even a small strategic deterrent would force the PRC to hesitate before threatening Taiwan.
Ultimately, Washington’s objective in helping enable Taipei to defend itself is to ensure that the latter never actually has to do so. Peace is in the interest of Taiwan, China, and the U.S. Washington should promote a good relationship with the PRC. But the U.S. should view continuing arms sales to Taipei as perhaps the best means to maintain stability and peace across the Taiwan Strait.
| <urn:uuid:bcfc3fea-756d-48b3-aec4-83efc51b4123> | http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/squaring-triangle-america-china-taiwan | en | 0.950334 | 0.026194 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
The Hard-Ass
Russell Crowe passes me a meat pie and shows me how to slather tomato sauce over its crust. These local delicacies he thoughtfully picked up before we boarded this boat, the boat he has borrowed in order to surround us with the beauty of Sydney Harbor as we talk. Occasionally, he comments on the sights a passing yacht with a revolutionary swinging keel, towering architectural abominations here and there, the amusement park he used to play in as a kid—where, he explains, everyone used to get off inside the Ghost Train's haunted house, and where some of them remained when the original structure burned down in the late '70s.Russell Crowe passes me a meat pie and shows me how to slather tomato sauce over its crust. These local delicacies he thoughtfully picked up before we boarded this boat, the boat he has borrowed in order to surround us with the beauty of Sydney Harbor as we talk. Occasionally, he comments on the sights a passing yacht with a revolutionary swinging keel, towering architectural abominations here and there, the amusement park he used to play in as a kid—where, he explains, everyone used to get off inside the Ghost Train's haunted house, and where some of them remained when the original structure burned down in the late '70s.
What's the point of acting
Communication, I think. Storytelling. Its roots are age-old and part of who we are as humans. You know, playing John Nash in a movie is the same as me telling a joke in a bar. It's just a performance. It's the same job as the bloke that used to hold the talking stick aloft and talk about when the first canoe arrived. Except that subject matters these days can be more and more complicated. But the essential, simple point is just basic communication of really complicated ideas and emotions—particularly in the cinema, when a little blink can have a gigantic resonance. pauses Or do you mean the point of it in my life
Well, I guess that's the next question—why do you do it
I'm fundamentally quite shy, so that thing of taking on another character is quite a liberating thing to do if you're a shy person, because within that character framework you can now go to all these other places. pauses And I never found another job that I was actually that good at.
That's not people's first perception of you, as shy.
No, but you're also talking about two or three decades into doing the job. I did my first acting thing in 1970. Sure, it's very easy for me now to be up-front and open with people, because I've met millions of people in my time, so you kind of get past that. But if I want to do something that is going to emotionally expose the character I'm playing, it still requires me to really understand the whole broad spectrum of varying emotions you can pullpauses; grimaces slightlyuhI don't know where the fuck I'm going with this. to himself Just simplify it. to me Because it's really hard to explain, because it's a fucking prick of a job, you know Particularly when you get successful with it. People don't understand why your life suddenly changed when, hey, to them it's fucking ten bucks at the movies, it's over in a couple of hours. They don't understand the prep, they don't understand the real physical shit that you put yourself through. I mean, the last movie's an example —shoulder surgery partway through preparation. And it's a $100 million train, man, and I'm the fucking guy that drives the train. And I've got to get back on that train and make sure that this thing is completed. And not everybody takes the same attitude towards it, not everybody takes it seriously, you know. If it's not going to be that serious, I don't want to do it. It's a personal taste. I don't like watching an actor have the same fucking hairdo from time period to time period, from character to ch'racter—I just think it's bullshit. It's a waste of money and a waste of my time as an audience member.
Do you think those actors are just not trying hard enough
I just don't think they care. They don't care.
That makes you angry
It doesn't make me angry. It's just not the way I want to do it. If you've got your memory of the last thing I was in that you saw, the next time you see me on-screen you go, "Is that him"
But that's one of the contradictions of the modern movie industry. So much is devoted to building up actors as icons, and yet the whole essence of believable cinema is that you need to not think about who the actor is when you're watching a character.
Yeah, well, I try and avoid it as much as possible. I don't use my "celebrity" to make a living. I don't do ads for suits in Spain like George Clooney, or cigarettes in Japan like Harrison Ford. And on one level, people go, "Well, more fault to you, mate, because there's free money to be handed out." But to me it's kind of sacrilegious—it's a complete contradiction of the fucking social contract you have with your audience. I mean, Robert De Niro's advertising American Express.
What do you make of that
Gee whiz, it's not the first time he's disappointed me. laughs It's been happening for a while now.
If you did all that, what do you think you would be losing
The first thing that goes out the door is your complete integrity. I'm the sort of bloke that will have stand-up arguments with producers, saying, "Look, mate, I know you're product-placing that fucking thing." If I can see it, I'm just not going to allow it to happen. You lose all of your integrity as soon as you cross over into that sort of crass commercialism.
I agree with you, but I think we live in an age when most of the audience couldn't care less.
Certainly a generation of journalists that I talk to don't understand. They actually think that I'm being stupid, you know That kind of credibility thing doesn't get me any Brownie points at all. There doesn't seem to be that understanding of why you bother to not prostitute yourself.
A lot of people seem to think, This stuff is one big selling machine, so chill out.
I absolutely have—in my mind, in my heart, in my being—the credibility required to be a serious artist, as laid down by NME in 1976. That's what I fucking believe in, and I'll never change.
What sort of stuff inspired you in that era
Individual artists Elvis Costello. The Pistols—-but the Pistols was just a laugh.
I don't think it seemed like a laugh at the time. I don't know if you're being wise after the event. It was a laugh, but it mattered, too.
nods It really mattered. It really mattered. And Sham 69, the Only Ones' "Another Girl, Another Planet," the Buzzcocks. I get a very deep sense that the generation after Generation X is a very conservative generation, and I'm not sure they understand the commitment part of what I do. I'm not sure if we'll ever be able to regain that ground. I quite often feel like I'm the youngest of the old guys, where I've got some really old-fashioned philosophies about what's credible and what's not. Suddenly, someone like me seems like a dinosaur from a different age, but I hope it's the opposite of that. I hope I'm at the forefront of thinking and it'll all come back to that at some point.
But if you are a dinosaur, you're proud to be that
In those respects—credibility, integrity for the work—absolutely. I don't think there needs to be another bloke who wants to be a superhero. I think there needs to be more people who are prepared to do the nuts and bolts of the job emotionally, and to take people on those sort of journeys. I just did a movie about a bor, and I've seen it, and I've seen its effect on people already, and this isn't a movie with tricks. There's no animated bits, no bits of cartoon, no utility belt, no laser guns. It's just one bloke, you know I mean, I'm 40 years old now, so to get in that sort of shape. Jack Aubrey was 228 pounds, Jimmy the Bor was 172. So there's all the training up to the shoot, but then during the shoot you have to keep training. But I watch the film, and I see its effect on people, and I know that every one of those miles has something to do with that depth of connection.
Every one of the miles you ran
Yep. Every one of the miles I did, they're in my eyes.
—He waited years for Cinderella Man. He tells me how he loved the script when he first read it in 1997, and details the various times when it seemed as though it wouldn't be his role—when Penny Marshall was going to direct or Billy Bob Thornton (with Ben Affleck as the lead) or Lasse Halstrom, and how, at one point, Crowe encouraged Harvey Weinstein to buy the project
"But that was just before he called me at about quarter to nine in the morning and wanted me to magically turn up for a meeting at twelve o'clock in Tribeca, but I was doing press around Central Park. I was, 'Look, mate, can't do it.' So he told me to get fucked. I rang my agent and said, 'Hey, Harvey just told me to get fucked before 9 a.m.' He goes, 'Oh, my God, what do you think that means' I said, 'I think it means we're getting somewhere.'
I presume that you're the kind of person who, when someone tells you to get fucked, that doesn't preclude your having a working relationship with them
No, because he was justifiably annoyed, because I'd been following another project for three and a half years and he had got me what he thought was what I required. But I was fucking right about that movie, too. It was a 100 percent fucking home run, except the central character of William Shakespeare was not a fucking writer—he was not smelly enough, he was not unshaven enough, and obviously hadn't had enough to drink. He was some prissy pretty boy. What the fuck That's so disrespectful.
And you had in mind a smelly, unshaven, drunk guy you thought could do it
Yeah, I wanted to see that grizzly fucker. I wanted to see him ower. I wanted to see him blossom under the fact of love. I wanted to see where the sonnets came from. They came from the same pen of despair that wrote Timon of Athens—I wanted to see that guy. I wanted to see that guy with the sensibilities of a man that could create a body of work that would last century after century. I wanted to see that.
And you wanted to be that
I wanted to play that character. I loved the script. I mean, it was an incredibly well observed script about actors. That's why I thought it was so cool.
Do you still think your version would have been better
laughs By fucking miles, mate. What are you talking about
Well, people loved it, I guess.
They did; they loved the movie. pauses I don't know—I suppose I'm still too young to say everything I want to say, though nobody'd ever give me credit for holding anything back. But I do…I just have no desire or need to slag Joe Fiennes. But I would look at that particular thing differently. I see the opportunity differently.
As well as acting, you started playing guitar and writing songs at a young age.
Yeah—7, 8, 9.
What would the 9-year-old you write a song about
Things that I didn't really have any understanding about, probably. Songs about love and all that sort of stuff.
And if you'd thought you were channeling someone, who would it have been
It's really fundamentally boring, but it was Elvis. I used to watch a lot of Elvis movies. And that time period was his big Vegas song period "Suspicious Minds" and "In the Ghetto." I remember being allowed to stay up late to watch Elvis live from Hawaii. Shit, that was disappointing. When he came on TV, I went to my brother, "Who the fuck's that That's Elvis Damn." You weren't getting breathless with him; he was just getting breathless all by himself.
You didn't do your first movie until you were 25. Most people who make anything of acting had success far earlier.
A lot of it had to do with the music, because that was my primary focus. Also, until I was 25, I had one tooth missing. When George Ogilvie cast me, he asked me about it, and I told him the story and that I thought it was very false of me to go and get a tooth cap. He was very nice about it, listened to it all, and said, "All right, well, let me put it this way, Russell. You're playing the lead character in my film, right The character of Johnny has two front teeth."
He Methoded you into it!
Yeah. See, I don't have a method. I don't follow anybody in particular. When people talk about Laurence Olivier or something, I go, "Fuck, man, once you've had De Niro with Raging Bull, that's where you begin."
It seems insane that you hadn't replaced the tooth for fifteen years….
Yeah, but at the same time, what it prevented me from doing was pretty-boy stuff. Somehow, it gave me an edge. I was sort of accepted into the rock 'n' roll thing a lot easier because I had this fucking half a tooth.
What about in your life away from acting and singing
Well, it made relationships with girls a little difficult as well. laughs Because I never used to smile.
Did you think of yourself as an attractive teenager
I don't know. That's not really important.
That's its own answer, too, isn't it
pauses Michael Mann was stunned when we were prepping The Insider, because I was taking it to a place that fundamentally was something he didn't requirebut I realized I couldn't play the guy unless I felt like I looked like the guy. On the set of Gladiator, I didn't have a very good relationship with the producers. I had a very good relationship with Ridley Scott, but the producers couldn't understand why I wouldn't just chill out. The reason I wouldn't chill out was because I knew that if I did fucking chill out, in those five minutes something stupid would now be in the movie. Like, they were trying to get me to do a love scene, and I'm saying to them, "What we're doing here is about the vengeance of a man whose wife has been killed—you cannot have him stop off for a little bit of nooky on the way." I've been told that Jeffrey Katzenberg rang Michael Mann and said, "Look, this guy is just not rolling with the punches as we want him to, so what's it all about" And Michael said, "Well, if you're having problems like that with Russell, then you've got to know that you should just follow him." Jeff said, "Is this about fucking ego and stuff" and Michael started laughing. Because vanity doesn't come into it. Is it right for the fucking character
But that's what people often think, don't they They think it's ego and vanity.
Well, that's the easiest thing for them to want to think. I'm sure at a certain point it's about self-protection and—if you want a real fucking word that smacks of ego and vanity—it's about protecting your legacy. The things that you've done previously and trying to get everything that you do to be that same standard. So yeah, I suppose there's egotism involved in that. But I don't give a fuck what I look like during a movie or between films. I couldn't care less. I don't have a certain haircut. I don't give a shit, you know But on behalf of the character, particularly if it's a real person, now, that's a huge responsibility. Every now and then I say something like this and it just sounds so self-righteous—but if there's anything I'm aiming at, it is that I want there to be a trust between me and an audience. I want them to absolutely know that if I've done it, there's some really good fucking reasons; there's something special about it. Sooner or later, the press, the magazine shit, the tabloid sort of shit, that'll all go away, because no matter how many times they say it, it's still not going to be true. What is true is what I put down in movies. Even though it's pretend, that's the truth.
Of all the chatter you mention—"the press, the tabloid sort of shit"—what's the stuff that frustrates you the most
I've always had a thing about being accused of something when I'm not guilty of it, you know That goes right back to a primary-school thing. It's the thing that scares me the most—being blamed for something that I didn't do. And there's that "If you get accused of something and you get angry, then you must be guilty."
I knew you'd had some rough things said about you, but reading all the stuff in preparation for this, my God, you really have had some rough things said.
It's really been fucking ridiculous, man. I spent time like this last year with a guy from Time magazine.
I was just about to quote to you from that. You're on the cover and yet, within two essentially laudatory pieces about you, they say you're someone who "comes off as a brute, a primitive Crowe Magnon Man," that you are "frequently perceived as one of the world's biggest jerks."
By journalists. That's the bit that's missing.
What do you take from that
Again, let's go back to Michael Mann, because he laughs at people who think that that description has any sort of accuracy. He just laughs at them. "How can you do the performances that he does if he's that guy If he's that guy, how can he be Nash How can he be Wigand How can he be the guy in The Sum of Us How can this 'lout' have that level of sensitivity"
Here's another one about you "Crowe is consistently referred to by those who have worked with him as a 'perfectionist,' which, in Hollywood, is a euphemism for 'jackass.' "
Unless they actually mean perfectionist. If they just mean, no, hold on, he wants it rightright on their behalf, too, not just for me. I say stupid things sometimes—like, I saw somebody taking the piss out of me on TV the other night, laughs talking about working for a director and how I give them "a gold mine of ideas." And I was thinking, Gosh, I suppose that does sound arrogant and fucking stupid. And maybe it is arrogant and stupid. But, you know, it's still true. laughs
I went shopping with Danielle yesterday, and we were in a bookstore. And this woman actually said, "Look, Russell Crowe reads—who'd have known" laughs
That's pretty rude.
But this is my environment. This is what I live in, day to day.
Did you think you were special growing up Did you think something special was going to happen to you
long pause Yeah, I did, actually. I used to have these very strange situations where I'd be walking down the street and I would imagine people calling out my name. I was as optimistic and as full of hope as anybody could be. And lots of things didn't turn out the way I wanted them to when I was a younger fella, but I didn't lose that thirst to understand what it is that I could do well.
When you were going to do Romper Stomper, did you realize this was going to be your chance to be noticed
nods I didn't think they were going to make another movie like that in Australia for a long time.
You had to feed yourself a pretty unpleasant diet of reading and listening, didn't you What do you remember about that
Not much. There's a sort of a filing system that you fill up and you empty. But stuff like reading Mein Kampf, it's nothing. I'm not reading it to take it in and believe in it, you know I'm just reading it out of interest, and it focuses me, and through the act of reading I'm considering other aspects of the character as well.
But you'd really sit and listen to Wagner and English soccer crowds and go to sleep listening to white noise That must have really fucked with your head.
Well, it kept me in an odd place. It kept me slightly unbalanced, and that's where I wanted to be while I was doing that role. A guy like Hando is abhorrent to me—the philosophy that governs his life is something that disgusts me completely—so that was an interesting learning experience.
The director also says that you got arrested during the shoot.
We did get arrested, but we weren't doing anything.
I heard that it was five times.
I'm not sure if it was that many. One big night, nine of us got arrested. And we're not doing anything particular, we're not hanging out in skinhead hangouts, we're just going to regular pubs. However, we don't have any hair, and we've got serious sixteen-hole fucking Doc Martens with white laces, which signify to the police "white supremacy." In an odd way, I was kind of weirdly comforted that these nine or ten blokes walking around together in Melbourne would immediately attract attention from the police.
Did you immediately say, "No, sir, I'm an actor"
Yeah, I mean, two constables came out and grabbed me and said, "Who do you think you are" and all that sort of stuff. And I said, "Mate, I'll tell you exactly who we are—we're a group of actors, and we're doing a movie where we're playing neo-Nazi skinheads." And this sergeant of police in South Melbourne says, "Is that right Right. Well, I hope you're a Method actor, son, because you're really going to enjoy this. Put him in the fucking cell!" laughs And at the time, I was really kind of angry, but over time you cannot help but laugh at that. That's funny as hell.
When the film came out, did you expect some people to misinterpret it and to assume wrong things about you
Not to the degree. In its immediacy, it wasn't accepted very well at all. I'm not going to deny the power of the film, but I believed that the piece said, quite clearly, that if you believe in this philosophy, if you partake in this type of behavior, you're either dead or arrested by the end of this story.
I think that's true, but at the same time you can't be naive enough not to know that some people will just enjoy seeing behavior and a way of life they like.
But in the full balance of what I've done as a career, one of the very next things that I did in terms of an Australian film was to play Jeff in The Sum of Us, knowing that there would be a certain amount of guys who lined up on day one because of Romper Stomper and they'll get a good surprise.
Which was the first movie role you did where you felt you were really getting somewhere
In what terms
Where you really felt, "I know what I'm doing"
From a skill factor, I knew when I was doing Virtuosity, when I was working opposite Denzel Washington, that I had the things that I needed and I could communicate the things that I had constructed intellectually and physically. But everything I've done in my career as a professional actor, it's like, I get the gig way after I've got the experience enough to do that gig. But yeah, you can follow the steps of it. Probably the biggest difference—the thing that really took my life and changed it, and made my relationship with the press a defensive one instead of one of tolerant amusement or whatever—was Meg Ryan. And, gee whiz, I'm not going to apologize for that situation in my life. It's just there. Well, actually, that's wrong—I would apologize if there are people that were directly hurt from that situation. There was never any intention like that. Quite frankly, it was in the papers before it was a reality, you know So we were already having to deal with the bullshit, and that possibly brought us close together, because we were both dealing with what it meant to be put in that situation.
He leads me back to the book-lined office of his waterfront Sydney home, disappears for a moment, and returns, his face full of fatherly delight, his 1-year-old son, Charlie, in his arms. When Charlie has taken his leave, Crowe suggests we listen to some music. He guides me through the highlights of (Last Night We Were) the Delicious Wolves, by the Canadian Hawksley Workman, a record Crowe was introduced to in Toronto by his Cinderella Man costar Renée Zellweger. Together we take sensible, mystied pleasure in the line You took your clothes off to remind me of the ocean. Then he asks whether I would like to hear his own latest song. He has been collaborating with a songwriter named Alan Doyle, from a Canadian band he likes called Great Big Sea; this new song, "Raewyn," has a different level of poise and grace than much of the records by Crowe's band, Thirty Odd Foot of Grunts, and its lyrics are both elegant and more direct. It draws on two traumatic early deaths in the Crowe family tree—his mother's sister Raewyn and his father's brother Charlie—and on his own new family, on how these are linked by name and heritage, and of what it is to be a parent and a child
"My mother's sister committed suicide when she was 21. Slashed her wrists in the bath. And my father's youngest brother died in a scuba-diving accident when he was 17. It just hadn't occurred to me what my father would have been able to say to my mother when she lost her sister, because he had had the same experience, and how close that must make them."
Growing up, were you very aware of all this history
She died while I was alive. He died just before I was born. It was one of the odd things, when Dani wanted to call the baby Charlie and I said, "I don't think that'll go down very well in my family." We've had two Charles Crowes. One died scuba diving at 17. The other, the uncle of my grandfather, died in the Battle of Britain at 21. But Dani had an Uncle Charlie who moved from York to Hollywood and lived till he was 96. So I went on two things a combination of genes and third-time lucky.
What have forty-odd years of life taught you about love
Umlong pauseI've got a really strong relationship with Dani that has a scaffolding of years underneath it, and I've started to recognize that the things that were important were the ways that we shared particular attitudes toward certain things, and the way that we could laugh about certain things. You know, I'm really young at this marriage thing, but there's some quite wonderful things that come into your life with marriage, you know, and we discuss it quite regularly, because we feel ourselves growing closer together. We can actually feel that happening. And centering what we have as a marriage around the birth of Charlie, who came along probably faster than we were expecting, but we had both been celibate for the three months prior to the wedding.
How did the idea of the three months come up
We were having a chat and we said, "Okay, let's keep some distance between each other." Because I've got a lot of mates, and it seems to be that quite a high percentage of Australian marriages don't get—what's the word
Consummated on the night. Thank you. And I didn't want to be in that category. But I think that three months meant that we werein a certain particular place. And with the excitement of the wedding and the depth of the ceremony and stuffit just made everything a little bit more magical too.
Is it true that you cried at your wedding
Not in the way that it's reported. I didn't cry at Charlie's birth, either. I've got all the footage, and Dani actually said to me the next day, "You were fucking outrageous." Whenever I sense that she's getting a little uncomfortable, my focus is on her, but I make sure I put the camera somewhere where it still gets a good two-shot. laughs And I don't stop or anything—one minute I'm shooting her, and you can see a little icker of eyelid, of pain or whateverI'm seeing her, seeing the painseeing the anglegoing to her, checking she's okayand then I'm back into it.
You were thinking about the lighting
Totally! I've got cutaways. Anything interesting that's in the corridor, I've got a cutaway, too. I've got the feet of the nurse. She was wearing purple shoes. I've got lefts and rights, covered over shoulders both ways, just in case, because I didn't know how I'd want to do it.
There are times when you can be too professional.
But, see, it was probably easier for me to deal with this huge thing that was happening by having this little thing to do, which was keep the video camera going. Plus, my wife has a record, an absolute record, of something that happened to her that she was not experiencing. And I know it sounds daggy and what have you, but, mate it's a hell of a cool thing to watch. I'm not being self-defensive or whatever—I have absolutely no problem expressing myself. This thing of confusing Bud White or Maximus with who I am is ridiculous. Like it's such a big fucking deal that Russell Crowe might cry Are you fucking kidding
We are discussing—because as Crowe points out, perfectly reasonably, over and over, how the weight of past stories and opinion, inaccurate and otherwise, might smother any fresh truth about him—a story of how he is supposed to have insulted Moby in the bathroom of an Australian club while he says he was actually in Ecuador at the time
"I think possibly there's a self-contained aspect to who I am that bothers people, because by now I should have had at least three or four visits to rehab; I should have probably been up on a domestic-abuse charge. Because I'm not really doing the fucking Russell Crowe brand-name shit. I'm not fullling that stuff. So if I don't fulll, then just write about it anyway You know, there was an article I was reading on-set somewhere, and there were eleven things on this list that made me a motherfucker, right The eleven points of motherfuckerdom of Russell Crowe. And nine of them were completely untrue, had never happened, but had been over time reprinted so much that they were now folkloric."
But you were two-elevenths a motherfucker
Yeah. drily Apparently. Yeah. looks at his watch Shit. I didn't even realize it was that late. I missed putting Charlie to bed. That's going to really bum me out all night. I'm an idiot. I didn't even look at my watch. It's just a really hard time, between bedtime and when he wakes up in the morning—it's a really long time to wait.
How much does it mean to you, having won an Oscar
Quite a lot, really. To be honest, when you're younger and cooler, you say those sort of things don't mean anything, but then on the day when they pat you on the back and they say, "Look, mate, we're noticing what you're doing—thanks very much," you think of the people who spent a life in the cinema and didn't receive that kind of accolade, and it's sort of a humbling experience. And it's very nice and all that. But it doesn't change the way I do things.
And in your mind, do you think Gladiator has been your best performance
No—not at all. Nowhere near it.
What would you put above it
This is not belittling it, because I do think it's a very emotionally and intellectually complicated physical performance, and it's the combination of those things that made it a little unusual, I suppose. But I definitely rate The Insider and A Beautiful Mind above that. I probably rate Romper Stomper above it. And there's a hell of a lot of nuance going on in L.A. Confidential as well.
In the midst of the Oscar celebrations and the success of Gladiator, there was the rather strange kidnapping subplot. What can you explain about that now
We just arrived in Los Angeles, and we got contacted by the FBI, and they arrived at the hotel we were staying at, and they went through this big elaborate speech, telling us that for the whole time we were going to be in America, they were going to be around and part of life. You know—oh, I shouldn't say things like this—I do wonder if it was some kind of PR thing to attract sympathy toward me, because it seemed very odd. Suddenly, it looks like I think I'm fucking Elvis Presley, because everywhere I go there are all these FBI guys around.
I don't think it did create sympathy for you. I think a lot of people were kind of mean about it. I think they wrote about it in a way that implied you were paranoid and self-important.
None of it was my application. I didn't pay for any of it. It wasthe FBI, bless their pressed white shirts. They picked up on something they thought was really important, and they were following it through. They were fucking serious, mate. What are you supposed to do You get this late-night call from the FBI when you arrive in Los Angeles, and they're like absolutely full-on, "We've got to talk to you now, before you do anything. We have to have a discussion with you, Mr. Crowe."
But who was supposed to be after you
pauses Umwell, that was the first conversation in my life that I'd ever heard the phrase Al Qaeda. And it was something to do with some recording picked up by a French policewoman, I think, in either Libya or Algiers. And it was a destabilization plan. I don't think that I was the only person. But it was about—and here's another little touch of irony—it was about taking iconographic Americans out of the picture as a sort of cultural-destabilization plan.
So presumably the trigger for it was that you played the iconic American movie role of that year
That seemed to be a Hollywood thing, yeah. But look, I'll tell you what, it was never resolved to any intellectual satisfaction from my point of view. I never fully understood what the fuck was going on.
But there must have been a point where they said, "Well, we're not going to be around anymore."
Oh yeah, there was a point where they said they thought the threat had probably or had possibly been overstated, and then they started to question their sources, and blah, blah, blah. But I don't know how it was resolved, you know But they were serious about it. And what can you say I mean, gee, there were a lot of man-hours spent doing that gig, so the least I can say is, "Thank you very much."
It must have messed with your head somewhat.
I think it was a bit odd. But I also thought, laughs Mate, if you want to kidnap me, you'd better bring a mouth gag. I'll be talking you out of the essential philosophies you believe in the first twenty-four hours, son. I might chew through the first one, too, so be prepared.
Chris Heath is a GQ correspondent. | <urn:uuid:16d07c52-5e2c-4d1a-a979-04c36355576b> | http://www.gq.com/story/russell-crowe?currentPage=7 | en | 0.989119 | 0.261119 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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If Your Business Uses Rails 2.3 You Need To Move To A Supported Option ASAP
Executive summary for your CTO: If your company runs Rails 2.3 apps, switch to Rails LTS, a commercially supported fork of Rails. If you do not do this, and do not take one of the more elaborate mitigation steps as described below, your Rails applications will be compromised, you will lose the servers you run on, and your business will suffer substantial losses.
Two of my businesses run on top of Rails 2.3.X, because they were started when that was the best option for writing production software on Rails. This is true of many, many commercial Rails applications (loosely defined as “ones which make money for businesses”), both ones which are used only internally and ones which are public-facing, like SaaS sold on the typical pay-for-it-monthly plan.
Rails 2.3.X is, with the release of Rails 4, currently unsupported. What does that mean? It means that the Rails Core team has washed their hands of dealing with security problems on the platform. This means that if, for example, Rails had another bug or series of bugs like the string of Severity: Apocalyptic vulnerabilities disclosed in January, individual users would be responsible for arranging for their own response rather than just waiting for a new release and bumping their gem version.
Why Is Anyone Still on Rails 2.3.X?
I know many folks in the Rails community wonder why anybody could still be using a years-old system. Suffice it to say that Rails 2.3.X remains a productive, viable way to develop applications. Some sites which are under active development daily still run on 2.3 — Github, as one prominent example, runs on an internal fork. (More on them later.) They’re one of a dozen prominent companies I could name with the main application still on 2.3. Other companies have software which is more or less done running on 2.3 — for example, many companies run internal HR, accounts receivables, CMSes, etc which were written by boutique Rails consultancies back in 2010 and haven’t been upgraded because HR hasn’t really changed all that much. Some companies even run across multiple versions of Rails, where the main app might be running on a fairly recent version but the supporting cast of web services, admin dashboards, and internal company tools are at whatever version they were at when they were created.
Much love to Rails Core for continuing to push the state of the art in web development forward, but not every app needs to be on that bus. Bingo Card Creator, for example, still has several hundred thousand dollars of commercial viability left in it, but Bingo Card Creator is done. It has achieved everything it ever wants to do in terms of bringing bingo cards into an AJAX-y web application, and doesn’t have any possible upside for moving to the new hotness. That said, it still needs to avoid losing users’ passwords/credit cards to hackers, and it can’t host a botnet within my firewall. That would be, ahem, problematic.
[An aside: Let me sketch out “problematic” a bit: Appointment Reminder — also on 2.3.X — has patient information from several large hospitals in it. Leaking this information would be, obviously, severely negative for my customers, their patients, and my business. In addition, I’d be subject to fines which scale to how many bytes of information I have control over… yeah, ouch, I know. I’m insured against that risk, but if I tell my insurance company “Health and Human Services wants $600,000 from me. I guess you just lost your bet with me that I’d be competent enough to secure my server eh?” one of the first questions they’re going to ask is “Did you actually take those security measures you promised you take, like say using all commercially reasonable means to maintain patches on your applications?”, and if I answered in the negative they’d say “Wonderful, this loss isn’t covered under the policy you bought. Hope you have $600,000 lying around. Thanks for your business.” Data security is serious business for many people.]
The Rails Core Team Is Not At Present Interested In Supporting 2.3.X Going Forward
A few people, including myself, have told Rails Core that their businesses use 2.3 apps and that continued support for 2.3 would be a major win for them. Rails Core is uninterested in supporting 2.3 going forward. To be totally clear on this point: that’s fine. Rails is an OSS project which implicitly requires a $X million budget a year in employee salaries to continue running, and those salaries are overwhelmingly paid by for-profit companies. Those companies graciously allow their employees to contribute their time and IP back to the community. If 2.3 support isn’t a priority for Rails Core and/or their employers, then obviously they’re free to take the project in directions which are.
One reason why 2.3 support is not a priority is that, as every maintenance programmer knows, supporting old software involves a lot of boring scutwork. Rails Core felt there wasn’t a manpower or monetary budget for underwriting this scutwork. Some people expressed the opinion that folks asking for 2.3 support were freeloaders who were prepared to contribute neither patches nor money towards the effort. That’s a prediction that, in many cases, I would have had a lot of sympathy for. It’s very easy to criticize people who actually do things for a living on Github/Twitter/etc. To head this off, when I made feelers about maintaining 2.3 support, I made it explicit that my company would cut a $10,000 check to make it happen. (Kalzumeus Software is, to put it mildly, not nearly where most of the money is being made in Rails 2.3 apps, but $10,000 is trivially affordable at even our microscopic scales, and I thought this would demonstrate that The Enterprise (TM) would be able to fund this effort, in much the same way that The Enterprise (TM) spends billions of dollars a year on software maintenance.)
I was told, informally, that that was a nice gesture but it wouldn’t sway minds. So I started looking at other options.
Your Options If You Are Currently On Rails 2.3.X
1) Do nothing and, with probability of 100%, get your server owned.
Have I beaten this drum enough? Thump thump thump. If any server operated by your company is on an unpatched version of 2.3, that server will be compromised by the adversary. Every Rails 2.3 application is, as of today, unpatched. (Did you backport the fixes for e.g. the translate helper method XSS bug? No? Then you’re running unpatched. That bug is actually from 2011. The ones from Q3 2013 are going to be much more interesting.) You cannot afford to remain like this. You will wake up one day wondering “Why is my web server trying to download and run a rootkit?” … well, if you’re lucky enough to detect it prior to being rooted. Since covering this subject in depth in January I have heard harrowing tales of, e.g., CTOs at well-regarded companies who will not allow engineers to upgrade from vulnerable versions of Rails because they’re afraid the patched versions will cause regressions in their applications. That will be a very interesting excuse to trot out to management or the board when asked why you lost 100,000 credit cards or why your entire network has joined a botnet.
2) Rewrite your applications for Rails 3 or Rails 4, which are currently supported.
You can upgrade an application from Rails 2.3 to Rails 3. Upgrading point releases is (aspirationally) a fairly painless experience on Rails, but the Rails 2 to Rails 3 transition is a serious engineering project for non-trivial applications. A short list of issues:
• Many of the gems/plugins which you might be using with your current application will not be compatible with Rails 3. You will either have to upgrade them, find a (hopefully compatible) fork for Rails 3/4, or fork them yourself and +1 the number of old projects you’re maintaining. Some gems/plugins which have variants which are compatible with Rails 3 have had breaking API or behavioral changes in the interim.
• Rails 3 made a really good decision to enable HTML escaping by default, for preventing XSS attacks. If you’re coming to this from an old application, you are likely going to have to dig in and either root out or mark harmless every time your views/helpers/model objects/etc return HTML when you expect them to. That can be an involved project.
• Most Rails projects of non-trivial size will play with the Rails internals, via calling private methods or monkeypatching core behavior. For example, Bingo Card Creator takes over the standard way of locating layouts to support more extensive A/B tests. Since the internal structure of Rails changed dramatically when it absorbed Merb, you’re going to have to rewrite that sort of code from scratch. (If you’re watching from the sidelines, you might think this is inherently a dangerous practice, but be that as it may it is virtually universal in the community.)
• You might decide to switch from Ruby 1.8 to Ruby 1.9, depending on how quickly you jump up the Rails version ladder. That will make it a very, very painful transition for you, because the standard library API has breaking changes and the language syntax itself has breaking changes. There are also non-breaking changes where the behavior of code will just change overnight — e.g. Date.parse(“5/6/2013″) can be May 6th or June 5th depending on what version of Ruby you are running. And the encoding issues. Oh God.
My ballpark estimate for upgrading Bingo Card Creator to Rails 3, assuming market rates for Rails contractors, is approximately $20,000. It is substantially higher for Appointment Reminder. Neither of those applications even approach the complexity of some of the commercial Rails 2 applications. It’s easy to imagine many companies spending six figures or more on the upgrade. (If this is difficult for you to imagine, consider that the fully-loaded monthly cost of a full-time intermediate Rails programmer is approximately $20,000 in some localities, so if you use more than 5 man-months, there you go. There are many, many companies for which that would be not nearly enough to complete the upgrade.)
This assumes that your application is in a happy place to begin upgrading today — for example, it has been well-maintained, has very good test coverage, and you have the original programmers on staff. Unfortunately, many applications in maintenance mode are not in this position. They might have been ordered back in 2010 for $40,000 from a boutique consultancy that no longer exists, for example. That doesn’t inhibit a company’s day-to-day use of the application in 2013, because CRUD apps don’t suddenly stop working even if the original programmer dies, but would substantially complicate a very in-depth maintenance project.
3) Support Rails 2.3 yourself
You can, of course, fork the Rails 2.3 code and improve on it yourself, including by developing and incorporating security patches. Github took it upon themselves to do this, for example. It’s viable if you have a team of very capable programmers and the bandwidth to drop everything you are doing at 3 AM in the morning and address new Rails vulnerabilities. (Again, if you don’t do that, your server gets owned.)
This option is not for the faint of heart. Some parts of the Rails framework are very ambitious engineering — take ActiveRecord, for example. As is true with most software projects, even the people who wrote it the first time don’t fully understand what it is doing. You get to start working on rebuilding their undocumented organic knowledge now, and doing security patches later. You might think that you have a helpful ally in the test suite but it is not actually deterministic, because many of the tests rely on things like e.g. the ordering of keys in a hash, and this is not guaranteed on Ruby 1.8.
If you’re Github or another large consumer of Rails, you might be able to guarantee sufficient availability of competent, security-focused programmers such that you can both proactively find vulnerabilities in Rails 2.3 and reactively patch announced vulnerabilities before your app servers join their friendly neighborhood botnet. This is not viable for all companies which use Rails 2.3 in a commercial fashion — for example, if you’re an insurance company which has a line-of-business Rails application, it is highly unlikely that you have the engineering bandwidth to do this. My company has the equivalent of 0.2 full-time intermediate programmers working for it, and if I were to keep on top of Rails security, I’d probably have no time for improving my applications or for writing code to support marketing/sales goals.
4) Pray that someone supports Rails 2.3 for you
Rails Core obviously aren’t the whole of the Rails community. It is possible that somebody else will take up the challenge of supporting Rails 2.3. For example, Github has their fork, as mentioned. It is possible that you can just sit downstream of that fork and have things work for you. I know a few people who are implicitly dependent on the Github fork, for example.
Why didn’t I go down that route?
• Github’s fork currently supports Github’s needs, but it isn’t a formal commitment to the community or anything. They could drop it at any time, without notice. (I might be outside the loop, but I don’t even remember it being announced as existing.) This makes it difficult to rely upon for consequential business decisions, like “Can I afford to commit all weeks in October 2013 to other projects or do I need to keep something in reserve for a panic-upgrade from github/rails to whatever my next best option is then?”
• As an informal project, there is no release process for Github Rails. You’ll have to build your own gems for it, on your own schedule, without guidance as to where known-good commits are on their work-in-progress branch. This could be problematic if you slurped down a security patch and got Github-specific code which, e.g., broke Ruby 1.8 compatibility (check their commit history).
• Github’s fork of Rails 2.3 is, to my cursory view, not designed to be exactly compatible with 2.3 as used by places other than Github. It is an extraction from their working system. I can’t be sure that moving my systems to Github Rails isn’t going to cause them to break in all sorts of fun and subtle ways. (For example, see this commit, which rips out the default YAML processor. That is, in isolation, a decision that I’m totally on-board with and am reasonably sure won’t break my app. One commit down, 53 more to audit.)
• I don’t think “I had no formal relationship with Github but decided to rely on them because they’re good people” is an answer that lawyers at Health and Human Services or my insurance company would tolerate as a commercially reasonable business practice, in the event that a compromise of my site eventually happens.
5) Pay for a commercial fork of Rails 2.3
So after looking through the other options, and getting turned down by Rails Core on my attempt to essentially buy support for Rails 2.3 from them, I started looking for other people to take my money. It turns out that there is a consultancy in Germany called Makandra which maintains an internal fork of Rails, because they have ongoing support obligations for 50ish applications currently in commercial use by their customers. They also have a team of a dozen Rails experts. This puts them in a pretty good position vis-a-vis new security issues: they’re already committed to fixing them quickly (since they have 50 apps depending on it), and they have sufficient engineers to be able to do that.
So I made them a proposition: If they cleaned up their fork such that it could be consumed outside their company, and contractually promised to maintain that fork against newly discovered vulnerabilities in Rails, I would be willing to pay them a substantial amount of money for that. This frees me from having to do it myself, and I have high confidence that “We engaged a firm of engineering experts to handle that aspect” will pass muster with customers, regulators, and my insurance company. This is similar to the Long Term Support option that you could buy from e.g. RedHat if you didn’t want to be on the latest version of their distribution. The name of the fork is, appropriately, Rails LTS. You can buy access to it and use it in production today.
It seemed like a bit of a waste for this relationship to only benefit our companies, given that Rails is OSS and we both continue to benefit from the community, so we hashed out a way to make it work well for everybody. Makandra has substantial ongoing engineering expenses in doing the scutwork that Rails Core correctly observed the community is unwilling to do, and it cost them even more to get it into a state where it was releasable for consumption outside the company. Accordingly, “I’ll just pay you to do that, and you OSS the code” wasn’t going to work for them.
So we split the difference: we agreed that I would be Customer Zero for Rails LTS, guaranteeing that it was commercially viable for them to do the engineering work necessary to release it. They will sell it to anybody, for very, very reasonable rates relative to the amount of money Enterprise software companies usually charge for commercial support agreements. If you buy it, you get support integrating it into your application and, more importantly, guarantees with regards to timelines for them to address new issues. This means that you can sleep soundly know that it is someone’s contractual obligation to drop everything and address any Priority: The World Is Burning vulnerabilities which get discovered in August.
Normally, when two enterprises get into a support contract with each other, the community doesn’t explicitly benefit. I wasn’t thrilled with that notion, so after some negotiation we agreed on a model which preserves Makandra’s interests but also benefits from the community: all code produced under this arrangement is OSSed under the MIT license (the Rails standard) 10 days after being produced. This means that if you need it to keep a commercial service up and running, that is something you can buy, but if you have a hobby project and are OK with a 10-day window for possible exploitation, you can just slurp down patches from their Github account as they become available. Nothing the community currently has gets taken away as a result of this arrangement: you can still choose to use the Rails Core version of 2.3 on your own recognizance (and get no security patches), or you can buy Rails LTS (and get new patches written in a guaranteed timeframe for new issues), or you can use the community version of Rails LTS (which did not exist but for me bankrolling it) and get your security patches taken care of for free.
The community patches are, naturally, available for Rails Core to backport if they would like to do so. I approached them about doing that, and they say it is a possibility if Rails LTS turns out to be a sustainable thing. That was prior to it being funded and released.
You Might Have An Objection To This. I’d Like To Preemptively Answer It.
“But Patrick, switching to a fork is hard!”
One of the core design goals of Rails LTS was making sure that you can upgrade to it without requiring that you modify your app. If your Rails app uses Bundler, it’s as simple as changing a line in your Gemfile and running “bundle update”, then redeploying. If you don’t use Bundler, you can build the gems locally and then deploy them as per these instructions. I tried doing that for Bingo Card Creator, which didn’t use Bundler, but it turned out to be faster to just migrate to Bundler. (If you have a 2.3 app that hasn’t done that yet, instructions for switching are here. This took approximately 45 minutes for me, mostly as a result of not having a clear all-in-one-place view of my app’s dependencies.)
Since Rails LTS is exactly the current version of Rails plus security patches and tests (diff them if you don’t believe me), it is highly unlikely to cause problems for your application. They’ve promised that featurewise it is frozen in amber and, unless a security issue necessitates it, the API will not change as a result of security releases. (This is a policy whose adoption would be widely beneficial in the Rails community. cough) Both of my applications worked with flying colors. There’s an optional “hardened mode” you can activate (one line in your environment file) to disable some features of Rails which are often unused and have recently been demonstrated problematic, like the “Rails can take XML requests and create objects from them then insert them directly into the params hash, including perhaps deserializing embedded YAML in the XML, which can result in arbitrary code execution” (a feature which, to put it mildly, is not required by much of the community).
“Can we trust this to actually, you know, work?”
Great question. They’re sufficiently credible to me that I cut them a check for $10,000 and have essentially delegated to them a portion of the application security burden for my business, which is a bet-the-business issue for me if I can’t get it right. They have a strong record of bringing client projects in, including ones which are technically ambitious. They have a demonstrated commitment to open source and to Rails 2.3’s ongoing viability as a platform. I think that’s the best testimonial I can give them, but feel free to spend a few hours spelunking in their code if you want to feel more secure about making the decision. (If you want to look at the Rails LTS code in particular, can I draw your attention to the now-actually-working test suite which newly includes tests for the security patches released this year?)
“Why would we pay money for OSS code?”
You’re not really paying money for OSS code which already exists, you’re buying the guarantee that new code gets written at non-deterministic times in the future before the lack of it causes an emergency for your business. It’s closer to an insurance policy than it is to source code.
You’d pay money for this for the same reason you pay engineer salaries: because the code provides business value to you. If you’re a CTO, you should understand that there is definite value in not having to bring your applications down because their servers have been rooted. You should also understand that drop-everything-hair-on-fire vulnerability resolution is not something your engineers are particularly good at and not something which you want periodically disrupting them from shipping applications to your paying customers. You can either pay your engineers to continue monitoring and patching Rails for you, or you can buy Rails LTS. Your call. Their entry-level plan costs ~$200 a month, which is approximately the cost of one or two engineer-hours. (Are you a Rails dev? If you think you’re capable of identifying and fixing Rails framework issues and you don’t charge that much, raise your rates. Are you a CTO? If you think your engineers are capable of this and they don’t charge that much, prohibit them from emailing me, so that I don’t introduce them to more rational firms.)
If you don’t have $200 in the budget, and you at a real business, you either need a) a reality check about your business or b) a heart-to-heart discussion about what will happen when your servers join a botnet. If you’re running a hobby project or are still in the first few weeks of running your business, then you should switch to the community version of Rails LTS, which is a substantial improvement to your security at no monetary cost. Or you can just wait until your server gets owned, because that reliably makes people discover budget for security. (It also could very well result in firings, so I wouldn’t rush to this option.)
“The Rails LTS plans are too expensive! I would pay for this but only if it cost, like, $5 a month!”
Horsepuckey. The hypothetical person saying this is a textbook pathological customer: they’re both deeply irrational (if the app’s security was worth $5 a month then the right answer is probably to shut it off and save the server cost) and likely to be far, far, far too much headache for professional Rails engineers to have to deal with. I’m glad their mail is not going to be in the same inbox as mine when I ask questions about new security issues.
“I could totally duplicate all that work for free! And I’m going to do that! Nyaa nyaa!”
In the immortal words of OSS passive-aggressivity, patches welcome. It would be an awesome thing for everybody if you did a lot of free work. After finishing your free dev work, you also need to be a dab hand at working the politics of a successful open source project, again for free. They won’t necessarily be actively hostile to your pull requests, but keep in mind that Rails Core does not consider 2.3 a priority and signaled strong distaste for the notion of having to do any release management for 2.3 patches even if the code were given to them on a silver platter.
(But horsepuckey, you’re not going to write free patches for Rails 2.3, or you’d have commits you could point to demonstrating your willingness to do this over the last 6 months.)
“You’re using your evil marketer wiles on me in pursuit of your selfish interests!”
I am, indeed, attempting to get you onto Rails LTS rather than unpatched 2.3. Why? Because as a fan of Rails and long-time member of the community, whose business has benefited enormously from it being available, I do not want to see other community members get rooted.
I have no direct financial interest in you deciding to buy a support contract for Rails LTS. I don’t get a commission and I’m not an investor, I’m just the anchor customer. My $10,000 is where my mouth is. Well, no, my $10,000 is presumably sitting in a German bank account, but you get the general idea.
How Do We Switch?
It’s all on their website. Switching to the community edition (free) is a one-line change in your Gemfile, and you can and should do that today if you’re already on 2.3.18. (If not, upgrade to 2.3.18 first. Then, have a frank discussion about security priorities, since you should have been on 2.3.18.) To get a support contract and your username/password to access their private git repository (which gets the patches immediately on release rather than 10 days later), get in touch with them via the website. When I did it it required a paper contract and a wire transfer to Germany, so it won’t complete as quickly as git clone will, but you’ll be on the way to getting this resolved before the next round of patches drop.
P.S. Remember, you need to have all of your Rails apps patched continuously, not just “the main one.” If you miss e.g. a staging server, a simple service which hooks into the main app, an analytics side-project knocked up by an intern, or an old installation of Redmine, then that box will be rooted, and if that box is inside your firewall you can basically assume you will lose ever box attached to it.
What The Rails Security Issue Means For Your Startup
January has been a very bad month for Ruby on Rails developers, with two high-severity security bugs permitting remote code execution found in the framework and a separate-but-related compromise on, a community resource which virtually all Ruby on Rails developers sit downstream of. Many startups use Ruby on Rails. Other startups don’t but, like the Rails community, may one day find themselves asking What Do We Do When Apocalyptically Bad Things Happen On Our Framework of Choice? I thought I’d explain that for the general community.
Nota bene: I’m not a professional security researcher. Mostly, I sell software. In the course of doing that, I (very occasionally) do original security research. I did no significant amount for these bugs, aside from mitigating them for my own applications. I am currently engaged in a Ruby on Rails security safari, and anticipate publishing the results of that in February, after responsible disclosure to the relevant security teams. If you don’t know enough to know whether I’m trustworthy with regards to generic advice, pay someone you trust to get advice on this.
Don’t skip this post because you’re not a Rails developer. If you’re reading this blog, this matters to you.
Background: What Has Been Happening in Rails-land?
Ruby on Rails recently released two sets of security patches (announcements here and here), in response to related vulnerabilities discovered in the frameworks.
How bad were those bugs? Severity: Apocalyptic. They permitted attackers to execute arbitrary code on virtually ever Ruby on Rails application, without requiring that the application do anything to enable the attack other than “be hooked up to the Internet.”
What does “execute arbitrary code” mean? Literally, it means that the attacker can choose to have your server execute any code they can dream up. In practice, it means that you lose the server that the code is executing on. Any further access to that server or applications on should be assumed to be compromised.
What went wrong? This has been covered in more detail by security researchers, in posts such as here and here. A brief description: Ruby on Rails makes extensive use of a serialization format called YAML, most commonly (you might think) for reading e.g. configuration files on the server. The core insight behind the recent spat of Rails issues is that YAML deserialization is extraordinarily dangerous. YAML has a documented and “obvious” feature to deserialize into arbitrary objects. Security researchers became aware in late December that just initializing well-crafted objects from well-chosen classes can cause arbitrary code to be executed, without requiring any particular cooperation from the victim application. Since then, the bug hunt has been on: security researchers have been actively finding lots of ways in the Ruby on Rails code base, and in related code bases, to cause the application to deserialize YAML which is in some way under the control of the attacker.
So far this has included:
• Rails, for programmer convenience, used YAML to implement JSON deserialization. JSON is designed to get into Rails quite easily indeed — just POST it at the server, wham, YAML.load(attacker_data) happened. (The actual mechanics of achieving that were more complicated, but that’s the practical upshot.)
• Rails allows XML documents to include YAML attributes. That decision has caused a bit of head scratching, since it seems like a curious choice for most programmers in the community, but be that as it may this allowed posting XML at Rails apps to be trivially exploited.
• Rubygems used YAML to hold metadata about each gem submitted to it. An attacker was able to create a malicious gem, cause the Rubygems web application to evaluate the metadata contained in it, and thereby compromise the Rubygems server infrastructure.
• February will see more compromises, with my certainty of this prediction approaching my certainty that the sun will rise tomorrow. There exist many, many other code paths in Rails to get to YAML.load(). Some of them will be found to be amenable to attackers, either (worst case) for all or substantially all Rails applications or (still bad case) to Rails applications whose application logic involuntarily cooperates with the attack. (i.e. In the worst case, attackers root every unpatched Rails app on the Internet. In the best case, attackers only root some apps and they often have to have an expert do a modicum of marginal work to do so.)
Ruby on Rails security sucks lolz amirite? No. Well, no to the nuance. Software security does, in general, suck. Virtually every production system has security bugs in it. When you bring pen testers in to audit your app, to a first approximation, your app will lose. While Ruby on Rails cherishes its Cool-Kid-Not-Lame-Enterprise-Consultingware image, software which is absolutely Big Freaking Enterprise consultingware, like say the J2EE framework or Spring, have seen similar vulnerabilities in the past. The recent bugs were, contrary to some reporting, not particularly trivial to spot. They’re being found at breakneck pace right now precisely because they required substantial new security technology to actually exploit, and that new technology has unlocked an exciting new frontier in vulnerability research. It sucks for users of Rails that Rails is currently on the bleeding edge — believe me, after having lost 3 consecutive nights to patching my own applications, I know — but it would suck much, much worse if the Bad Guys had found these first and just proceeded to remote-own every Rails app on the Internet. That is, by the way, an achievable scenario.
Was anyone actually compromised? Yes. The first reported compromise of a production system was in an industry which hit the trifecta of amateurs-at-the-helm, seedy-industry-by-nature, and under-constant-attack. It is imperative that you understand that all Rails applications will eventually be targeted by this and similar attacks, and any vulnerable applications will be owned, regardless of absence of these risk factors.
Will anyone else be compromised? Yes. Thousands upon thousands of Ruby on Rails applications will be compromised using these vulnerabilities and their spiritual descendants, and this will happen for years.
• Many Rails developers have not reacted to this news with the alacrity they should have. (See next question.) These applications may be compromised already.
• There are many Rails applications which were created years ago, which are not under active development any more, for whom no-one is responsible for applying security patches. Any of these applications which are publicly routable on the Internet will be compromised.
• There are many Rails applications which are installed by end users, some of whom do not have security expertise. For example, Redmine — an open source developer productivity tool — is commonly installed at individual companies. Every publicly accessible Redmine instance which is not patched will be compromised.
• Ruby on Rails lacks a CMS with the mindshare of, say, WordPress, which is good, because every unpatched Ruby on Rails CMS delivered to a non-technical company to serve as their website or backend to their mobile application will be compromised.
• Many companies — including ones which do not even consider themselves Ruby on Rails shops — nonetheless have a skunkworks project running somewhere. For example, they might have a developer who coded a quick one-off analytics app, which is accessible outside the firewall so that sysadmins could check server loads from home. If the app is on the public Internet, it will be compromised.
• Many Ruby on Rails shops have good development practices and no longer have the “monorail” anti-pattern, where everything their company does is in one gigantic Rails app. They have already patched most of their main apps, but they missed one. Maybe it is the customer support portal at Maybe it is a publicly accessible staging server at EC2 spun up by a developer who has since left the company and not shut down because, hey, $20 a month. Maybe it is a 20% project by a junior engineer which he has on the back burner for the moment. It doesn’t matter why this app was forgotten: if it is publicly accessible, it will be compromised.
What was the proper way to react to these patches? Patch immediately, install a workaround immediately, or pull the plug on your application. (“Pull the plug” means disconnect it from the Internet or shutdown the server while you get a mitigation plan into place.) You should have distinct memories of you or someone under your employ having at least two separate incidents in the last four weeks in which they dropped everything they were doing and immediately took action to resolve these problems. Immediately means exactly that: right now, not during the next schedule code spring, not tomorrow, not in an hour.
I was up at 3 AM Japan time applying these patches, twice. If the next patch drops at 3 AM your local time, someone should be applying it immediately. Computers can count to big numbers very quickly indeed. A six hour window between a patch dropping and the start of business the next day is more than enough for an automated scanner running on a botnet to have tried compromising substantially every Rails app on the Internet. (Do you disagree? You are overestimating how hard it would be to find your application.)
Aren’t you exaggerating? Our application isn’t particularly high risk! We aren’t high-profile, it doesn’t have obvious monetary return for exploiting it, etc etc. Good thing you aren’t really saying that, but you might be at an Internet cafe next to an engineer who has poor reading comprehension, so help me explain this to him: nobody needs to care about your application to compromise it using these vulnerabilities. They can be exploited in a totally automated manner over the open Internet, requiring zero knowledge of e.g. what version of Ruby you are running, what version of Rails you are running, what your URL structure looks like, etc. (Somebody suggested “How would you determine which servers were running Ruby on Rails?” Answer: It’s absolutely trivial to detect Rails applications in a scalable fashion, but why bother? Fire four HTTP requests at every server on the Internet: if the server is added to your botnet, it was running a vulnerable version of Ruby on Rails.)
Aren’t you exaggerating? Clearly this would take a lot of specialized expertise to exploit! Yep… the first time. Now that people know how the exploitation is done, however, you could do it by just copy/pasting one of the proof-of-concept scripts or b) running a browser bookmarklet. (I am not passing out that browser bookmarklet, because I think that would inevitably lead to mischief, but just know that you’re rootable in a click if you didn’t take action on this. And, by the way, have been for three weeks or so now.)
We’re A Startup. What Happens If We Lose A Server?
If you lose one server, you will lose every server, with very high confidence. If, for example, you are a Python-using shop which had a Redmine instance running around with no code on it, and you lose that Redmine server, you can expect a skilled attacker to then pivot from that privileged location within your network to start compromising other servers on your network. At this point, you need to have done absolutely everything right to make it impossible for that skilled attacker to prevail, and you almost certainly have not. (Compelling evidence that you’re not as good as you think you are: you already had one vulnerable application which could be compromised over the open Internet. To a certain philosophy, that isn’t your fault, but the attacker gets root regardless of whose fault it is.)
The actual steps a pen-tester would take to root your other boxes are pretty academic after they have one. (For example, you can start probing other machines on the network for vulnerable services, use credentials found on your compromised machine to suborn other machines, take over routing hardware using vulnerable administration panels and then start intercepting all network traffic, etc etc.) Just take it as a given, you will lose. Companies much larger and smarter than you lose everything when this happens, essentially every time it happens.
We’re A Startup. What Happens If We Lose Every Server?
A short preview of coming attractions:
• You will lose the next several weeks out of your schedule dealing with this issue.
• You will have to take down all of your applications and rebuild all your servers from scratch.
• You can assume the attacker now has a copy of your source code, all credentials you have, all your databases, and all information you had like e.g. log files.
• Do you take credit cards? Were you taking credit cards through an exploited application? You now have a PCI-reportable data breach.
• Your local jurisdiction may have legal requirements that you notify the people whose data just got exposed.
• You now have a public relations nightmare on your hand.
• In addition to compromising any customer data you possessed, you have made it possible for diligent attackers to compromise those customers elsewhere. The most trivial example is, if you did not implement password storage correctly, you have just handed the attackers a list of email addresses and associated passwords which they can now re-use on higher value targets like e.g. bank accounts or Gmail, because many users re-use their passwords everywhere. (You use bcrypt? Wonderful. Did the attackers turn it off when they rooted all your applications? Can you conveniently check that, knowing that you cannot trust the contents of any logs on those compromised servers? No? OK, so instead of losing all the passwords, we can upper bound exposure at only all users who logged in since the attack started. That’s an improvement… sort of.)
Basically, it’s Very Bad, but not the end of the world. You’ll probably need expert help to get through it, like you would need if e.g. you got sued. Unfortunately, lawsuits generally give you weeks of notice and progress slowly, but security vulnerabilities often give you negative several hours notice and get worse for every minute left unchecked.
We’re A Startup. We Don’t Use Ruby on Rails So We’re Totally Cool, Right?
Can you enumerate every account on the Internet where you have a password and also every service consumed by your business? Go ahead, take as long as you need: it is very important that you don’t miss one.
OK, let’s start with the obvious: Look for analytics providers and other folks on that list who have instructed you to embed JS on your website. If I do this exercise, I come up with at least three results here. Do any of them use Ruby on Rails? (Are you sure? Remember, if they have at least one Rails app on their network…) Great. If they didn’t patch in a timely manner, you should assume that Javascript you’re embedding on your website is in the hands of the enemy. It is now a cross-site scripting vulnerability against every page it is embedded on. Do you embed it on e.g. log in pages or anywhere your admins expose their own all-powerful admin cookies? Boo, now the enemy has your password / cookies / etc.
Alright, let’s move down the line: Look for anybody who implements OAuth/Facebook Connect/etc. Do any of them use Ruby on Rails? Are you sure? If they haven’t patched, you’ve handed the union of all privileges over the linked accounts to the attackers.
Alright, let’s move down the line: Consider everybody who has a copy of a password which you re-use elsewhere. (You shouldn’t be re-using passwords, or variants of passwords, but I ignored that advice for years so I’m betting a lot of you did, too. Maybe not you, specifically, but you know that chap in marketing who is great with people but thinks MSWord is complicated? Consider whether he has access to anything sensitive in your company. He does? Well, sucks to be you then, but good on your for password security.) Do any of them use Ruby on Rails? Are you sure? Did they use bcrypt/scrypt/etc to properly secure passwords at rest, and did they patch these vulnerabilities fast enough to prevent attackers from pulling them off of the wire? Are you sure? If you’re not sure of all of these things, consider every password compromised and take action appropriately.
One of my friends who is an actual security researcher has deleted all of his accounts on Internet services which he knows to use Ruby on Rails. That’s not an insane measure. (It might even be inadequate, because all the folks who are compromised are probably going to lose their database backups as well. Well, if they have database backups.)
These are just a sample of ways in which these vulnerabilities can ruin your day. They are very much not an exhaustive list. If you believe in karma or capricious supernatural agencies which have an active interest in balancing accounts, chortling about Ruby on Rails developers suffering at the moment would be about as well-advised as a classical Roman cursing the gods during a thunderstorm while tapdancing naked in the pool on top of a temple consecrated to Zeus while holding nothing but a bronze rod used for making obscene gestures towards the heavens.
Somebody Dropped A 0-Day On Rubygems. What If It Happens To Me?
Yes, that certainly sucks royally. Rubygems wasn’t even exploited using the patched Rails vulnerabilities — an attacker just learned something which worked (again, we’re on the leading, bleeding edge of security research here), applied it in a novel fashion, and compromised the Rubygems application. As of me writing this it looks like we avoided the Ruby-ecosystem-wide apocalypse that would have happened if they had started backdooring gems, but let’s just focus on the immediate fallout: their system got compromised. What if one of yours did, like that?
The first step is a preventative inoculation: If you run an application on the Internet, you should today establish a security contact page. It only needs to include two things: a working, monitored email address and a PGP key. Bonus points for giving some sort of public recognition to people who report security vulnerabilities to you in a responsible matter. This helps to co-opt some security researchers so that they e.g. get in touch with you about the problem prior to just going ahead an exploiting it. Software security has a curious system of social norms, where scalp collecting both builds both karma and pseudo-currency. It’s bizarre, but just take this on faith: having a security page with a working email gives you a certain amount of We Should Avoid #’#(ing Their #()#% Up Without Asking First street cred. (Naturally, like any social norm, that is a preventative measure rather than a panacea. However, given that it is a well-understood norm, it gives you a bit of an edge in the PR battle should someone decide to just drop a 0-day on you.)
Good security pages to pattern after: 37signals (I particularly like how this page works for responsible disclosure while, in a dual-audience fashion, also doubles as being great marketing copy), Twilio, Heroku (again, dual audience), etc.
Have a plan for responding to security incidents. I call mine the Big Red Button. Thomas, a security consultant friend of mine, accurately observed that these probably caused the first Big Red Button events that many folks in the Rails community have ever had to deal with. We should learn from our experiences here.
For example: I pushed the Big Red Button at 3 AM in the morning, twice this month, to apply critical security patches and work-arounds.
So did I do a great job of addressing this problem? No, I did a pretty effing atrocious job of addressing this problem. Specifically, I have two old-as-the-hills Rails apps running on 2.3.X at the moment. Waaaaay back in 2010, Mongrel and Rails had a bit of a compatibility issue, and I solved it via a monkeypatch. The monkeypatch relied on a hardcoded version number, which I have been hand-incrementing every time I update Rails. It’s literally on the redeploy checklist, next to a note “TODO: This is stupid and should be fixed when I get a moment.”
I did three Rails app upgrades locally, three test suite runs, and three sets of smoke tests when applying one of these patches. The one in the middle happened to be Appointment Reminder, which is an application that has to be up during the US workday. Unfortunately, because I was exhausted while following my deployment and smoke test checklists, I a) forgot to bump the version number in that monkeypatch and b) did not follow the part of the smoke test which would have clued me on to “This is going to cause log-ins to fail on some browsers.” That resulted in some breaking downtime for some customers during the US workday, and me having to send an apology to all customers. That sucked horribly.
I have now fixed my monkeypatch to not require hard-coding the Rails version, simplified some of my deploy procedures, and am working in the next several months on beefing up my testing suite. Also, lesson learned about resolving “TODO: This is stupid” when it would take 5 minutes to do rather than having it blow up in my face.
There, that’s an experience I went through. Now you know the punchline, so hopefully you don’t have to go through it as well.
Similarly, we can observe:
• We need an updated list of all applications running on our servers, so that we know when a problem with a technology stack affects them, even though this sounds like a boring Big Freaking Enterprise IT Department requirement. (And gulp their dependencies.)
• For each tech stack we support, we need at least one expert following the primary source for security news for that tech stack.
• We need whomever is responsible for product development and/or ops to, effectively, carry a pager for drop-everything-and-do-it-now resolution of security issues, just like we’d do for e.g. the server has fallen over or “our building is, physically, on fire.”
• These requirements suggest minimizing the number of tech stacks we work with, even if that means passing up the new hotness occasionally.
• Just like we have e.g. insurance on the building physically burning down, we should have some upfront investment in security. Good forms might include security training, outside consulting, or (if we’ve got a lot of money) contributing work towards securing tech stacks we rely on.
You Should Be At Defcon 2 For Most Of February
Big security vulnerabilities tend to be discovered in bunches.
Why does this happen?
• Blood in the water attracts sharks. Some of my security friends would hate this phrasing, because “researchers don’t cause vulnerabilities, they find vulnerabilities”, but as a businessman who depends on software for his livelihood, I had exactly zero days of the last six years spent sleepless because of the latent vulnerability in Rails, but two days this month due to the pressing need for immediate mitigation. There are many more eyes pouring over Rails — and related projects — more closely now than typically. Many of them are white hats (yay!). Some aren’t. In general, there is a virtually infinite need for software security expertise, just like there is an infinite need for software, and there is a crushing lack of expertise which can meet it. Some folks who are capable of finding vulnerabilities are, due to attention/topicality/renewed interest/commercial potential/etc, now looking at Rails as of today.
• Technology marches on. After you have a new exploit vector to play with, you can start applying some of the technology used to discover / develop / exploit it against other code bases, code paths, etc etc. For example, the first Rails vulnerability was parlayed within a day into a similar vulnerability in the MultiXml gem. The same underlying “YAML is very dangerous” realization enabled the Rubygems compromise. If I were working on e.g. Django, I would strongly suspect that security researchers are going to see whether they can find similar patterns on Django — it wouldn’t be the first time, since e.g. HMAC tampering vulnerability disclosures in Rails were followed up by similar findings on Django the same week.
I previously had a version of this post queued up right after the first bug dropped, but didn’t hit Publish because I got busy that weekend and thought it wouldn’t be timely anymore. That post included the lines “I will bet $1,000 at 100-to-1 odds that Rails suffers another code execution vulnerability before the end of January.” If you had hypothetically taken that bet, you would have lost.
You should expect February to be a very trying month for the Rails community and startups in general. Your security team should be at Defcon 2: be ready to respond to patches with particular alacrity, and expect there to be failures in the ecosystem outside of your ability to control them. For example, I’d make sure that you can rebuild systems without requiring access to Github / Rubygems / etc, and that’s (unfortunately) the tip of the iceberg.
This Sounds Like A #$()#%ing Disaster
That is primarily because this is a #$()#%ing disaster.
For my part, in addition to taking steps to fortify my own businesses, I’m (as time permits) doing some pro-bono security work on Rails. I do not have results which can be published yet. I strongly suspect based on early research that I will, in February, and I strongly suspect that other researchers (both white hats and the Bad Guys) are much, much better at this than I am.
Get ready. It will get worse before it gets better. | <urn:uuid:1d5d929a-1bb5-4ded-ba7c-2f6ac55d403d> | http://www.kalzumeus.com/category/security/ | en | 0.950148 | 0.109029 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Hallmark launches new line of unemployment sympathy cards
10:56 AM, Sep 26, 2011 | comments
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WTHR - In the business of selling sentiments, there's a card for everything, from traditional occasions to unique needs: cards with sound, cards for holidays, cards for losing a tooth.
But losing a job?
Yes, now there's a card for that too.
Hallmark recently rolled out a new line of layoff greeting cards.
With the unemployment rate at nine percent, the company says customers called-in the need.
One card reads "Don't think of it as losing your job. Think of it as a time out between stupid bosses."
Employees at Work One in Franklin, Indiana work with the unemployed every day. They say the layoff cards are a good idea.
"Getting a card like that and somebody caring is fabulous," said Michelle Crowthers-Lunczynski. "The crazy part to think about this is there's so many people laid off. At least someone's caring enough to you know, get a card and say, 'I'm thinking of you'."
"I think it's neat that there is a card there that can say what needs to be said in a situation like that, because sometimes it's just hard to find the words," added Work One employee Avril Fisher.
"It is sad, though. I mean, it just really...but one in ten people you could be mailing it to, absolutely," Smith said.
The messages reflecting current culture, customers say, are perhaps just a sign of the times.
Hallmark says the cards are selling well.
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noun dra·ma \ˈdrä-mə, ˈdra-\
: a piece of writing that tells a story and is performed on a stage
: the art or activity of performing a role in a play, show, etc.
Full Definition of DRAMA
a : a composition in verse or prose intended to portray life or character or to tell a story usually involving conflicts and emotions through action and dialogue and typically designed for theatrical performance : play — compare closet drama
b : a movie or television production with characteristics (as conflict) of a serious play; broadly : a play, movie, or television production with a serious tone or subject <a police drama>
: dramatic art, literature, or affairs
Examples of DRAMA
1. He is reading an ancient Greek drama.
2. I prefer drama to comedy.
3. His interest in drama began at a very young age.
4. She studied drama in college.
5. the dramas of teenage life
6. She watched the drama unfold as they began screaming at each other.
7. a competition full of drama
8. the drama of the courtroom proceedings
Origin of DRAMA
Late Latin dramat-, drama, from Greek, deed, drama, from dran to do, act
First Known Use: 1515
Other Performing Arts Terms
Rhymes with DRAMA
DRAMA Defined for Kids
noun dra·ma \ˈdrä-mə, ˈdra-\
Definition of DRAMA for Kids
: a written work that tells a story through action and speech and is acted out : a usually serious play, movie, or television production
: the art or profession of creating or putting on plays
: an exciting or emotional situation or event <Reporters told of the drama occurring in the courtroom.>
Next Word in the Dictionary: dramagePrevious Word in the Dictionary: DRAMAll Words Near: drama
Test your vocab with our fun, fast game
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To wonder is a visible tattoo will really ruin my career chances?
(51 Posts)
superstarheartbreaker Sun 06-Oct-13 23:49:52
I a tattoo on my hip and I would like to have another one. I work in education and I am applying for teaching jobs. I am thinking of getting a snow leopard on my shoulder. Ok , so not too visible but is it a risk? Do employers discriminate agains tattoos? I read in the news that they do. Not the mail btw!
BucketArse Tue 08-Oct-13 17:07:22
If you ditched the snow leopard idea (Why? Just Why?!), and went with an excerpt from the new National Curriculum, you could flash it at interview as a selling point.
Until they change it again and you have to get it lasered.
lljkk Tue 08-Oct-13 17:06:54
Our local lifeguards have as many tats as the pool customers (which is to say, quite a lot).
I don't think colleagues will care but some parents might decide it's an excuse to have no respect.
Come to think of it, NO ONE at my work place has a visible tat.
jnl0612 Tue 08-Oct-13 16:59:51
I work for a very large international company, (not in teaching) they have a no visible tattoo policy, so if you have any visible you have to cover them with plasters/bandages etc they have been known to turn people down for jobs because of neck / facial tattoos in the past
Pendeen Tue 08-Oct-13 16:49:00
Thank you, pinkyredrose
WorrySighWorrySigh Mon 07-Oct-13 21:34:35
I used to work as a lifeguard so got to see an awful lot of body graffiti. Too many people seemed to have treated their bodies like a piece of old wall. Lots of random scribbling and no coherent style.
I havent yet seen great art in a tattoo. Mostly they just look like sub A level Art sketches. After a few years mostly they look like they have been done in blue biro.
Tattoos are a fashion. Unlike hair colour, most piercings, clothes etc, you are stuck with this fashion choice.
VikingVagine Mon 07-Oct-13 21:07:19
Forgot to add that it hasn't hindered me at all, last time I was inspected I got the best possible report and promotion.
Littlestgirlguide Mon 07-Oct-13 21:03:25
My DD's reception teacher has a small tattoo on her wrist. It's not an issue as long as its discreet.
VikingVagine Mon 07-Oct-13 21:01:49
I have several visible tattoos, a nose piercing and occasionally blue or pink hair. I'm a teacher, (in France though) and no one bats an eyelid any more .
lurkerspeaks Mon 07-Oct-13 20:51:11
MY sister has lots of tattoos and is a teacher. Her work wardrobe is very carefully chosen (I didn't even know 140 denier tights existed) and I would be very surprised if any of the teenagers she teaches even know she has them.
In day to day life they are clearly visible but she hides them at work.
Wuxiapian Mon 07-Oct-13 20:35:50
As long as it's never on show, I don't see the problem.
bebopanddoowop Mon 07-Oct-13 19:51:49
Both my husband and I are tattooed and he works in an office and always wears a dark coloured long sleeve shirt to cover his which although can get hot, is smart so appropriate. I work from home so is not a problem but when I briefly worked in a school I wore my hair down, dark tights and long sleeves to cover them. I was never told I had to but I did out of respect - they are personal and not to everyone's taste. Now I have a job where it doesn't matter if I'm tattooed (in art industry) so I don't get so hot covered up in the summer!
If you are getting your shoulder done measure where your hemlines go so that it doesn't show. It will cause more hassle than it's worth otherwise.
Good luck
maddy68 Mon 07-Oct-13 19:44:25
I am slt in a secondary school. We do not allow anyone with a visible tattoo. We have a strict dress code , no piercings other one pair of stud earrings etc
You are a role model and a professional who is dealing with young people, parents and visitors
I am not anti tattoo, I have one myself but the students would never know as it's not visible
Goldenbear Mon 07-Oct-13 19:32:04
I bet it wasn't Eaton College?
deste Mon 07-Oct-13 19:27:32
My DD us also a teacher and has one on her wrist and one on her foot. She was offered every job she went for including one at a private school. She was the first one on her course to be offered a job.
Goldenbear Mon 07-Oct-13 19:18:16
The company my DP works for is both international and Is owned by probably one of the uk's most famous designers. His impression is that this man's career progression will be limited as a result.
It is not practical to cover your arms all of the time as in when it is hot. This is how they found out he has tattoos as he is sitting at his desk with sleeveless tops. Clients obviously visit the office but at the moment he is not really in contact with them. It hasn't occurred to him that they are a problem so he why would he cover them up?
McSmoke Mon 07-Oct-13 18:59:16
Lots of the teachers at my girls' school have small wrist or ankle tats. One lady even has a full sleeve tatoo, and no one has ever complained to the school(I know as I am a Governors).
quoteunquote Mon 07-Oct-13 18:58:42
The last operation I had, my surgeon had a tattoo on her hand, she did a great job of chopping bits off me, didn't seem to hold her back.
sparklekitty Mon 07-Oct-13 18:53:57
I'm a primary school teacher and have 2 visible tattoos, one on my wrist and one on my foot (only visible in the summer really). My wrist one is on show pretty much all the time.
The kids ask, I show them and tell the story behind it. I also make sure I tell them only grown ups can have them coz they don't rub off. Most of them then tell me all about their parents ones (often massive portraits of them on various appendages!)
KatyPutTheCuttleOn Mon 07-Oct-13 18:47:40
I think it'd be better to cover up to be honest, but it all depends. There is a teacher I know who has tattoos all down both arms and he always wears a long sleeved shirt.
fifi669 Mon 07-Oct-13 18:44:49
My workplace doesn't allow visible tattoos. I do however have one on my wrist and did so at interview, I pointed it out when I read the employee manual. They jokingly said I'd best collect my stuff...
I think such policies are to deter the more outrageous, in your face (or on your face) tattoos bit generally no one cares
pinkyredrose Mon 07-Oct-13 18:10:01
pendeen well good for you. Judgemental much?
aroomofherown Mon 07-Oct-13 18:08:26
I commented (positively) on a teaching colleague's tatto this afternoon. It was on her forearm.
I have two small ones - ankle and wrist. Never been a problem, even in a school that didn't permit staff to show tattoos.
Beastofburden Mon 07-Oct-13 18:05:56
Well I was trying to find a polite way to say very, very camp.....
lisad123everybodydancenow Mon 07-Oct-13 16:48:42
Message withdrawn at poster's request.
Pendeen Mon 07-Oct-13 16:36:32
I must be a very "low octane" architect then!
Such ostentatious (and tacky) displays are never going to be part of my appearance n front of clients. smile
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Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 11:17:23 +0000 (GMT) From: "[iso-8859-1] ALISHA MATHEW" Subject: BI. Indian Wedding Part 1 An Indian Wedding Part I By Rupa Note:- This is based on a story written in Hinglish by Rupa . I had rewritten the story fully taking permission from the original writer. Marriages said to be happening in heaven. But in India most of the marriages happen on Earth only. Arranged marriages are still considered safe and approved. Even hottest love pairs go for an arranged marriage for the safer side. Astrologers inspect the horoscopes and decide auspicious time for marriage, in some religion time for first penetration of brides hymen by the groom is decided by the astrologer!. Marriage is a festival in India. A lot of people will come and it used to be a meeting place to meet people, all relatives and friends are invited. It will be an occasion to rejuvenate your relations and friendships. Highly influential people use this occasion to take bribes in disguise of presents to the newly married. For a common man if he happens to be parent of bride, it will be an occasion to see all his earnings flow away in front of his eyes, and he is the least respected person on the occasion. Each marriage makes him poorer and heavily in debts. Even though the people have been attending such marriages from the day they were born, it never makes them bore. As soon as an invitation is placed, people start preparing for the event. Married people have to escape to some unknown location if they want to exchange a few words between themselves. When the telephone rang and I uncertainly lifted it as I was lost in thought about impending marriage of my cousin brother. I was not sure if would be able to attend it or not. My hubby, who is a computer engineer employed in U.S told me in the morning that due to some pressing engagements his leave has not been sanctioned and hence he could not attend the marriage. Which meant I had to travel alone to India and come back. I was feeling so desperate to attend it. My Mousi just had telephoned to remind me on the previous day and had insisted me to attend it. She was sad that her daughter who is my cousin sister named Cheenu will not be able to attend. Cheenu had migrated to Canada quite recently and it was not possible for her to come back in a short gap since a lot of money was required as air fare and due to festival seasons heavy rush was for tickets. So I had to come and pay all the customary rituals, which were necessarily performed during a marriage. These rituals had to be done only by a happily married woman and so I was selected for it. So I had no way to escape. Another reason was that I was bored with the life in States. My husband was very workaholic and he spent much time sitting in front of computer than attending me. Even if I walked nude before him he would be busy programming in his fucking laptop. I had married an IIT man who was a green card holder too, such a groom happened to be most sought after Mr.Niceguy in India. My father had to pledge even his life insurance policy to meet the dowry because of it. My elder sister was married to a government employee in India. At that time my father was not much earning and she was not much educated like me. But this time it was Cheenu's husband, I call him Jijaji in respect, which means elder sister's husband. I was expecting my mother' call but when I heard Jijaji's voice I was quite surprised. He was spending a high amount to call an international phone."Oh, Reenu is it you, Area yaar(buddy), I bought a mobile. My first call from the mobile I thought to be with you", he was so enthusiastic. "Oh Jeejaji, nice to hear that you own a mobile, I am at your service", I said. "Reenu, what type of service you can offer to your Jeejaji?" he was asking in a hilarious voice. He used to be very cheerful person and he never missed to pat on my buttocks when no one was around. Even though I was bit troubled about such display of affection, it was true that it excited me when he patted my buttocks. I remembered one time when he had pressed my buttocks and had exclaimed that I was not wearing panties inside. But that is an old story. "I am calling you first time from my mobile, Reenu. I haven't called even my wife, I am calling you from my office". He was talking. "Okay, so tell me what's the matter, how are everybody, how is Cheenu? Thanks for remembering your saali (wife's sister) ". "Cheenu is not here, yaar she has gone to her mother's house",he said. "So you are calling me when Cheenu is not there. Now only you remembered about me", I teasingly asked. "No dear, Reenu, I think about you quite often, in fact I miss you very much. How is your American life. When are you going to deliver a boy for our family?" Boy!, I was not even pregnant. And for getting pregnant, one need to be doing sex, but my husband was not getting time for anything else than computer programming. But I could not tell it to him, "Don't tease me Jeejaji, we have just been married, enjoying life for some time, boy or girl later, let me first settle here", I said. "Ok, ok then when are you coming for the wedding, everyone is expecting you, is your husband coming?", he asked. "I will come anyway, but my husband is not coming, he is not getting leave" "So your husband and my wife are not attending the marriage, that's very nice", Jeejaji commented. "Cheenu is away for past two weeks yaar, Jeejajee is now on a fast in her absence, I may take food outside if this goes on". He was always speaking in a double meaning, and ladies were fond of him for that. He always spoke like that. "Don't be naughty Jeejaji, Cheenu will come soon, homely food in not contaminated, but outside food is not like that, always there is a chance of contamination", I said. "Don't worry, yaar your Jeejaaji always wears condom to prevent contamination, don't you know?", he said. That reference made me thinking about an incident in the past. It was after Cheenu's delivery. I was helping her to look after the new born. One day I saw a balloon hanging between clothes in the string meant for drying clothes. I took it and inspected it, it was a white balloon full of some milky substance. I could not understand what that was. It had a smell of raw cut ladies finger. When I showed it and asked Cheenu what was the glue like substance filled in he balloon. She was shocked and she hurriedly took it away and flushed it down through the toilet. Then she told me about the usage of condoms and as she was not having regular periods her husband was fucking her using condoms. Then she might have told about it to your husband that he asked me "Saali, Cheenu told me that you have taken some glue from a balloon in our room. If you want glue you may just contact your Jeejaji, I am always at your service". My face became red. He went on asking when I would come and about arrangements of marriage and finished as mobile phone calls are expensive. Then I relaxed on my posh sofa and had sip of French wine. My thoughts began wandering to the past.Memories about my elder cousin Cheenu, my Jiju Ravi , time we spend together as I and Cheenu stayed in our Nainital for our studies, running joke that I being the youngest cousin will have to take both my Jija ,jokes between my mom, mausi (mothers elder sisters) and our aunty , things were just rolling past my eyes. My mother got married at an early age according to the custom prevailed at that time when women were married off as soon as they attain puberty. So she was married when just turning 16 and exactly after 9 months my sister was born and I am the second child. My mother was not much educated and she came from a village background. They used to speak in a bawdy language often full of references about sex, copulation etc. She is not only extrovert, bold but while indulging in her jokes she will not even sometimes spare me. She was youngest sister and my manjhali mausi was only a year elder to her while the eldest mausi was 4 years elder to her. And both of them like mom used to indulge in bawdiest jokes and songs. At my Nainital my mama and aunty were there. When mom will come to Nainital mami will offer water second but will welcome her with gallis ( abusive languages) first. And mom will pay her back in the same coin. When we were only ladies around they always talked about sex and local gossips like who fucked who in the neighborhood. My mother's only brother was married and she was the bawdiest of all. She used every word in a double meaning and she was freely using countryside language references like cunt, pussy etc. So I got the sexual education at an early age itself unlike the city girls who get it through some Mills and Boone novels. My mother and her sisters used the choicest abuses. They referenced each other not with their maiden name but as mother of their children. When I am around rather my name was used like Reenu's mother. They Mami(aunty) will welcome mom as `Rinu ki mummy pakki chinar (Rinu's mom is top slut) and mom will respond "Rinu ki mami badi chudavsi unki bur main ghus gaye 10-10 yaar" (Rinu's aunty is a top fucker and in her cunt she devours 10-10 lovers). It was not limited to the songs. They will hug each other and invariably mom will either squeeze mami's boobs or pinch her on her hips saying ` It seems there was a great fucking at night and see how these boobs grow in my brother's hands". My aunty will respond saying `Why not, your brother is ready to fuck me even in front of you. Last time when I went for a wedding he fucked me in the toilet while other ladies where waiting for the toilet to take a leak". We had a servant too called Champa who was a village belly and she was an encyclopedia of our countryside gossips and scandals. My uncle was also a naughty man. He used to pat my mother's ass and her elder sisters in the same way he handled his wifes. He had no reluctance to press the milky boobs of my aunty in front of others. My aunty was an always sweating woman. Her blouse and petticoat will be always socked in sweat and dirt while working in the kitchen. Her armpits would be drenched even at winter. My uncle was extremely font of her sweating and he used to sniff her wet armpits when he see her at the kitchen. He never bothered what others were thinking of him. The women in the house were also aware of his craziness about the wet armpits of my aunty. They often make jokes about it. When my mother would tease him referencing that the aunty had just did some heavy work and she was now all soaked. He will pull mom in his lap and tease her, he will sometime pinch mami on her hips innocently saying there was an ant. When elder sister will come, mom and aunty will join the fun and often they cupped her fat buttocks. So wet words were not taboo rather they were part of vocabulary of everybody around us. Sex was omnipresent in whatever form possible in my mother's house. My aunty was a carefree person and she was mostly responsible for it. She was very caring and loving. She used to tease even the children and was of habit of examining our boobs and its growth. When mom or mausi was not around she will use her colorful vocabulary with us. She will be supported by Champa the servant, who is a malish(massage) expert. When people have gone after lunch and ladies were comparatively free of workload, my aunty will go to the Tamarind tree under which a wooden cot was always left for people to relax under the tree having fresh air. My aunty will remove her blouse and will lay there like a wrestler. Champa will take a pot of gingelly oil with her and start massaging my aunty. The atmosphere will be hot and the massaging will continue for an hour. I had seen Champa massaging my aunty's enormous breasts coated with glistening gingelli oil or mustard oil depending on the climate. When I and Cheenu were only in std 8th she will tease us by singing Rinu's pussy started growing hair, Cheenu's breasts are bigger than Reenu. Cheenu is a better fuck than Reenu as Cheenu has a lot more hair in her moth. At that age we did not know what words begin from cunt,pussy,phallus etc. My aunty used to comment on our developing body even in front of my mom and mausi and everybody will join in laughter. One day I asked our servant Champa bhabhi (like my mom and mausi we too used to call her bhabhi and she used to tease her young nands). "Champa, why you are saying cunt, cunt whats is that?". She laughed and lifted my skirt indicating my vagina,"Reenu cunt means all this part of you body. Cheenu has a lot of hair there. When we become older hair starts to grow there. Don't worry you too have started becoming hairy. See your pussy triangle, its now flat no? But see my pussy, she lifted her skirt and showed her milky white pussy. It had no hair, I was amazed seeing a elder woman's pussy for the first time. It was big and was a triangle. Like the bisector which our teacher taught it had a channel which was dark between her pussy triangle. "Champa, you have no hair there, you are grown up no?" I asked. Champa laughed and told me that she used to shave her pubis to escape from the scorching heat and she hinted me that my aunty also does it occasionally. I asked her what is the meaning of `chudavathi' which they often use. Champa laughed and asked me "Do you want to become a chudavathi?" then said the meaning of the word was that chudavathi means a lady who has been fucked by a man. Fucking means putting the large penis of a man into our vagina. I felt ashamed and got myself released from her but mami joined and held me giggling and said "Reenu, don't be ashamed, there is nothing in this to be ashamed of. Champa is a chudavathi, aunti is chudavathi and your mother is also a chudavathi. Unless we all get this `chudai' (poking) how could we get such nice beautiful children like Reenu". Champa giggled and she pinched me on my budding boobs. My uncle and aunty used to indulge in sex almost at every opportunity totally oblivious to two growing teen girls in house. Our room was adjacent to their bedroom. So every night when its completely dark and silent, we heard Aunty's loud moaning and creaking of bed. We got an idea about what was happening. One day I remember it very vividly even today, I was in 10th and alone as Chinu has gone to her parents place. It was winter and evening came early. My school closed before scheduled time and I came . My aunty was busy somewhere so I went directly to my room and entered into my bed. It was very cold and weather was gloomy. When my sleep broke I heard some sound and opened the door slightly. Light has gone out and in dim light I could see aunty being held by uncle who has bend her. In this situation neither of them could see me. Mami was whispering, "Not here, the girl Reenu will come now, hey! leave me let us move to bed room". Mama quizzed, "hey Rinu must be still in school so we are all alone. So what difference does it make and I'm feeling so hot after your five days break. I knew that reference that he was impatient for normal intercourse as my aunty was in her periods. A big amount of dry clothes were tied between her legs during that time and I had seen Champa burning those red stained clothes. My aunty assumed that I was still at school and allowed my uncle to undress her and fuck during the day time. She too was horny. Normally woman are very horny on the days when their period has just over. She protested meekly that its better to move to their bedroom. However he realized that protestations were mostly symbolic and as his one hand was grabbing my aunty's boobs he lifted her Skirt , saying that he can not wait. He stripped her very fast and in no time he mounted from rear. He was fucking her from behind like the ox does it to the cows. I could see his tight buttocks muscles contrasting and was hitting my aunty's fat buttocks with a `phus, phus' sound. I was transfixed. I could see the joyous way in which mami was responding, glow on her face and when he squeezed her boobs she gave small moans. Soon pounding started in real frenzy. Mami was responding in unison. Meanwhile but she asked him " Hey what happened today? you are in great mood?!. He answered by bringing hisorgan almost fully out and shoving it full in one thrust,"I was hungry for full five days now I know you too will be hungry to have my cock into your fuddy(pussy). "If you are doing this what will we do at night?" she teased him. In reply my uncle put his hands between her thighs andapparently squeezed her clit as she gave a very loud moan , which further inflamed passion of Mamma. My uncle was telling her that as nobody was there in house at this time let him fuck her in the verandah so that they can watch if anybody approached. I was surprised to hear my aunty giving consent and they both moved to the open verandah full naked and began to fuck her from the front. Aunty was lying on the floor with her legs spread and uncle was ramming his big cock into her fuddy. They did not know that I was in the house and from my window I can see them close and clear. They were expecting someone from outside and never knew I was watching them inside. It went on and on. I was mute and I don't know when my hand went inside my skirt and I was caressing me over my panty. Only when they came and I realized what I had seen, first fucking of my life and I'm almost wet I walked inside on my toes and went back to bed. My aunty came after sometime and was almost shocked to see me, but when she realized that I'm sleeping she felt solace. She put the tea on table and woke me up gently I smiled and took the tea. I went to kitchen where she was preparing dinner. She asked me to do some help in the kitchen as she planned to sleep early. I too joined in the chores. I asked her what was the reason for going to to sleep early and she replied uncle was very hungry; I smiled impishly and dared to ask, "Why aunty, isn't his hunger satisfied with the evening fiesta?", my aunt looked at me in surprise. She realized what I meant and said "So you were here ?!" . "No aunty, I did not see anything", I pretended to be innocent. hey it means. She took the rolling pin in zest and said "If only someone put his penis inside your pussy you will understand the hunger". As light was out we took dinner in candle light and as mamma was taking dinner fast in order to retire to their bedroom. I could barely suppress my laugh knowing well that why was he in a hurry. Looking at my smile my aunty blushed and she understood I had seen them fucking in the verandah. When I went back to my room, mami came and offered two candles to me. One she lit and other a real huge and thick one she gave me winking at me and she made a whole with her thumb and index finger and pushed candle in it and moved it imitating a penis in a pussy .She said to me , "Reenu, you can watch us if you want, and have this second big candle in your pussy and it will be very exciting. But before doing it apply some Vaselene and stretch and spread your legs thoroughly. That night as lights were out they did not even close the window but I could listen not only moaning and creaking. My aunty talked a lot and gave instructions to him like "Bite my boobs", "yes fuck me like that, put your fat lund into my pussy". She was talking as if giving a radio commentary. I understood that my aunty must be knowing that I was listening and she was giving detailed description . From the next day aunty and I became closer friends. Not that there was any curtain between us as before. She taught both Cheenu and me how to measure our breasts and it was not done over our dress. We were striped stark naked and she inspected our growth almost everyday when we were alone. Cheenu resisted being naked before aunt but I also joined in disrobing her. And then both of us were taken to purchase our first teen bra. Once I entered in her room and saw a special oil, women's body oil and asked her hey what it is for and she asked giggling for most important place and then she became serious and said "Its for my breats dear, it's a herbal oil prepared by my mother. It's the secret of my big breasts and showed me her big boobs like footballs. No wonder why my uncle was crazy about her. She told me that I should realize that most important part for a girl are her boobs and that is what make a man crazy about her so she must take proper care .She offered me some of her oil so that I too get bigger boobs. And she even made me lift my kurta and massaged it on my boobs. She suggested that I was at the proper age for taking care of boobs as when they don't develop in this age girl's start worrying but the time for normal development is gone. When mom visited us both of them discussed this and mom purchased a breast massager for me and Cheenu. By this time we were in 11th. I had learned how to touch me and a friend of mine who was pro in such things told me how tocaress labia and rub clit. I even read some books kept in mami'sroom about oral sex various positions. I used to discuss this with Cheenu and as for as listening was concerned she was an avid listener but when it cam to active participation she developed coldfeet. And knowing her nature I used to tease her by lifting her frock and squeezing her over her panty. Then winter vacation started and it was time for family reunion and as we could not leave because of exams everybody came here. My parents, mother's elder sisters all came one by one to the house. Final entrant was the eldest sister of my mother. When I bowed to touch her feet she lifted me and told mami, `arre Rinu has become a woman, look see her breasts, how taut they look and well rounded too!" and she squeezed my breast in no uncertain manner. Showing it to mami, she said "Such good global tits, I think some boy had handled it. Otherwise how could they become so well rounded and the nipples taut like cherries.I was nonplussed but she giggled and said " aare I meant they make you really beautiful, don't get embarrassed". And she kept on caressing and fondling them. "No mousi, I wont allow any boy to touch me there. I am not like that", I defended myself. My eldest Mausi laughed and hugged me "Don't worry dear, I was just teasing you little devil. But there is nothing wrong in allowing someone to press your boobs at this age. If no boys then allow any girl. Its better to massage your breats at this age whch will help you to develop good breasts. Do you know your mother and I started caressing each other and that's why we got better boobs than any of other sisters?! She was then caressing my young teen boobs said it is known as choonchiya uthan and this the best age for enjoying. You can flaunt them, show it to boys and they will do what is known as chakshu chodan and so before even getting your body touched, you are giving joy to so many. And you should never hide it and even if you must, hide only partly. And then mom came and she said "Whats is happening here? Leave my daughter alone, You are at your old tricks again?" . My mother too surprised to seeing my breasts become such large and she turned her eyes away from me. But my elder mousy was still pinching m nipples and was reluctant to leave my boobs. She said to my mother that she was only comparing my breasts with her own daughters. Her daughter was Neelu who was also looking at my breasts with a special interest. Mom showed mock anger and said "Okay, don't envy about her, your black eye should not be on my pretty daughter" ,she asked me to dress my shirt up. Meanwhile Neelu didi, her daughter and our eldest cousin came and we hugged each other and I dragged her to my room. She was eldest and most mature amongst us. She had spent most of time in Punjab and used to behave like a Punjabi kudi(village belly). She had most `experience' and will tell bawdiest jokes, and methods on how to tease the boys. But as badi mausi was located far away they used to visit only 2-3 times in a year. She hugged me again and almost measured my boobs and said "ooooh Reenu your tits have become ripe for handling. How did they became such big in an year? Are you massaging it?". I laughed and said "No, No Neelu Didi". Neelu squeezed again asked my size. I replied 32 and quickly added the cup size C. Neelu exclaimed "Perfect size hai for boys to handle you. Men will die for you for having the right size, now come inside and let me have a closer look". She pushed me inside the quilt. She lifted my skirt and squeezed my cunt over my panty. "Hey do you touch yourself here", she asked me. I could not speak lie to Neelu didi so I admitted hesitatingly "Yes". She felt happy and pressed her fingers hard "Okay your have progressed somewhat, lets see how much?!",. But she did not stop there. She took my fingers and took it to her pussy region and said "Ok show me how you do it? " She lowered her panties and allowed my fingers inside her panty. I was shaking as it was broad daytime but she being Neelu didi was not to be deterred. When my fingers gripped her pussy there was no mark of hair. She opened a film magazine and asked me to look in there and let my hands to do its job. We were so engrossed in reading magazine and chatting about it but inside the quilt my fingers were caressing outside labia. I was using two fingers to gently squeeze them; I started trailing from the base of her clit and go even beyond her cunt. I was using tip of my fingers and slowly I increased the pressure and when felt wet ness suddenly I gabbed her cunt in my palm and started rubbing it hard with base of my palm grinding against the clit. Till that day I had not inserted any finger but after rubbing with palm for some time when I could feel that she is becoming hot I slowly stopped the grind and started my caressing with two fingers but this time they were teasing inner side of labia with force and authority. Neelu didi admitted yes I had learned something but meanwhile my aunty suddenly entered the room and admonished us. "Hey, what's is going on here?". Neelu didi teased her "Oh, aunty, you are an ant in our heaven, please go away and don't tell anybody". I was shocked to head Neelu being so bold to aunty. However unlike her she did not respond and was looking perturbed. Without stopping my fingers I asked my aunty if we had caused any trouble. My aunty replied that she was inspecting the rooms to arrange the sleeping arrangement for all newcomers and family members comfortably tonight. Suddenly an idea flashed in my mind and I suggested my aunty "Auntie, there is a room (Barsathi) on the roof and it is presently vacant, I, Neelu didi and Cheenu can sleep there and you can use this room for Mausa ji or whomsoever you may like". She felt relived but again quizzed saying that what could be done about absence of any cot there. Neelu didi this time came to rescue and said, "We will take a sofa from here and rest we will manage ourselves, don't worry aunty" . She was feeling happy and was back in her true colour and said ok but you will be all alone there. "Don't call for any boy friends there", she winked at us mischievously and left to the kitchen. As she turned her back I pinched at Neelu didi's cunt and with drew my fingers. Neelu didi was really happy and said yes it was good. She asked me," Reenu did you do it with Cheenu, I think she is right to fingered , Don't lie to me I bet you are doing it to each other" saying this she cupped by boobs and I was thrilled. I said "No Neelu Deedi, Cheenu is very shy. She wont undress before me. Always she keep the changing dress when she goes to bath room. Cheenu never piss in open too like all did here". Then I disclosed Neelu didi that in fact I had tried to take a look at Cheenu's privates when she was asleep. But even in her deep sleep, she closes her thighs together. Most of the nights she wears panties and bra and even when I put my hands over her boobs she removed it. Neelu didi told, "ok it means I will have to train her but you are also learning so that we may have to train her together. No girl exists in the world who doesn't take any advances from girls or boys. It's the tactic and atmosphere which decides the course. I have made so many girls do . I said "yes Guruji" to Neelu with genuine respect. She started narrating her experience of boys how she goes out to movies with them and do dating and how they kiss her on neck and fondle but she has not permitted anybody to touch under the garments. I asked innocently "Why guru ji?". She laughed " You will not understand Reenu. When a boy touches a girl the girl will be saying "No", "No" but a girl's No means Yes. Its not possible for a girl to keep control of the situation when a boy touches over your boobs directly. It is hard to maintain the control and once you loose control, very soon you lose your cherry too. She said that she had no objection to that, but as it is a once in a life time experience she wanted to do with somebody special and in such a surroundings that she will savor it most. I said "Neelu didi, but its too painful no? how can u accommodate such pain?" Neelu didi laughed and squeezed my boobs saying "Banno (pet name like girl), pain is half of the joy and that makes it memorable". Meanwhile my aunty appeared on the scene and scolded us for chatting but not moving cot etc. She asked us to act fast as elder ladies want to rest soon after dinner. But I knew she was the only one who wanted to retire to the room as she was now completed her menstrual period and thus maximum horny like her husband. "Ok girls, what are you both doing here under a quilt let me see", she lifted the quilt in a sudden pull, but much before that like good girls we were reclining properly. We shifted the cot and prepared room on the roof. It was really remote and one could close the door to roof and one has to walk some distance on the roof to approach room. It has an attached toilet and bathroom too. We shifted our things and brought Cheenu things too. When Chhenu came, Neelu didi hugged her in her inimitable style squeezing her boobs too and whisperings some dangerous things. She did laugh but was feeling apprehensive about sleeping with us. She did discus with Mausi ji if she can sleep with others but was advised against it (and slowly I realized it was not so much about space as it was to keep these growing teens away from nocturnal activity). It was early dinner and I teased my aunt saying "auntie why are you leaving earlier to your room, lets have some chit chat" and she laughed understanding my innuendo and said "I have to arrange place for everyone. Already your mother is complaining she is getting sleepy". Cheenu was wearing a slawar coveing her legs and it made me and Nelu didi giggle. When we went up I innocently asked my manjahlai Mausi and Cheenu's mom , `mausi can we close the barsathi from inside?' she nodded yes and even said ki tomorrow is holiday so everybody will get up late so we can take our time . I bolted the door from our side and stopped for a minute and listened mausi bolting door from their side too. I told Mausi," yes we have brought our clothes here only and we will come down after getting ready. She was going down the stairs and said thek hai aaram se aana. I was overjoyed not because I knew about activity down the stairs but because it will give time for me and Neelu didi to enjoy us. I was wondering how would we conquer the girl Cheenu to make her naked against her wish. Will Neelu did succeed making Cheenu surrender to us and to train Cheenu may be much against her wishes. It was hard for me to tackle her alone but with the strength of Neelu Didi she was no match. The dinner was served and after dinner everyone retired to their allotted rooms. So I, Neelu and Cheenu went to the Barsathi upper side. Cheenu pleaded to sleep with her mother but she asked her to go with Neelu and me. When I entered room Neelu didi had changed into her night dress but Cheenu was still in her sahlwar suit ( long suit with two parts upper long shervani and bottom loose pants). I too changed into night gown and whispered to Neelu didi that door to roof is closed from both sides and her face glowed. Neelu didi asked me to take initiative and she will support me at all cost. Cheenu said she will sleep at the farthest corner. But Neelu prevented it by saying that she will sleep there as her legs were long and she used to sleep on her chest. So Cheenu was placed between Neelu and me. Neelu pretended to be sleepy and was lying down on one side of Cheenu who was apprehensive about our pranks but we bid good night and switched of even night light and we went to sleep. I could feel that Cheenu is uncomfortable sleeping in middle of two girls. I suspected she knew my misadventures of feeling her nakedness and did not get courage to say openly to me that she did not like it. The closeness to Cheenu's body began to excite me in some unknown ways. I could smell her sweat from her wet armpits. The salwar suit she was wearing was so silky and not at all suitable in such congested rooms. Cheenu was trying to get sleep by changing sides and tried to move away from me. But Neelu effectively prevented it by coming towards us and she lay in a W like fashion with her folded knees hitting Cheenu's midriff. The more Cheenu tried to move from my side the close become Neelu's knees touching her belly. Neelu expertly used her kneecaps so that at every moment her knees touched Cheenu exactly around her pussy. I moved facing Cheenu and I tried to comfort her. I put my hands on her boobs as if absently , but she pulled it away. I changed my sides and pretended to be asleep when nothing happened for 10-15 minutes, Cheenu felt reassured and had a cat sleep. I turned and slowly grabbed string of her shalwar. The salwar is tied at the midriff using a chord, which has a running loop at the front to loose it easily. But Cheenu had tied it without a running loop and I could not untie it without waking her. But I tried with the knot for about ten minutes without waking her cat sleep and finally I was succeeded. The string was loosen and I silently placed my hand on her lap. Then a finger touched mine and scratched. It was Neelu didi's fingers. The moon had risen and the room was not dark. As soon as I loosened the chord of Cheenu's salwar, Neelu began to lower it from backside and unknown to Cheenu we succeeded to lower the salwar to her knee level. But in place of a pair of panties we found Cheenu worn a khaki knickers. The knickers were rough and had buttons. It was not possible to remove knickers without waking her. Neelu hugged her close from behind and nodded me to proceed. I began to unbutton her knickers and in the process Cheenu woke up. Incidentally her hand reached the buttons and she said "What is this?". She tried to resist but before she could do anything her hands were tightly held by Neelu didi. I did not show any hurry in opening her shalwar. Teasingly slowly I opened it and pulled it down. This was the turn for Neelu didi who kept on holding her hands with her one hand and she pushed her knickers down. Now Cheenu was expecting our hands to invade her thigh land but it were not to be and was firmly covering her pussy with folded hands. My hands went inside her top and grabbed her breasts. And Neelu didi had taken the lower front. She was very softly rubbing her labia with her both fingers and I was tweaking cheenu's tits . She responded slowly but there was a very strong mental resistance. I started cupping her small pert young boobs softly while now Neelu didi was applying pressure on her clit. Her body became warmer, resistance was now reducing and she has started showing some response. Neelu was licking Cheenu's back and I felt Cheenu was melting and soon we could make her willing participant. But Cheenu was not showing any signs of acceptance. I did not know what to do next. Suddenly Neelu didi rolled over Cheenu and called me and said "Reenu it seems Cheenu is not liking it. Lets play with us. Let us make love to you ! Reenu". I got out of bed and tried to remove my clothes. I looked at Cheenu and saw she was eagerly looking at me. Then Neelu stood up and embraced me showing her love signs to Cheenu, ignoring her. "Hey Reenu, why you are feeling so shy? In a year or two when you will get married, everyday you have to disrob everyday for your husband. God knows is he will make you naked in daylight too. So don't be shy. Let me see you naked, dear. Don't be shy", Neelu began helping me with the dress. She told me, "Ok if you are so shy Reenu, then you imagine you are Cheenu. I will make love to Cheenu. So you don't get much shy. Just imagine its Cheenu and not Reenu being naked, ha ha and I am Cheenu's lover". We were still clad in our nightgown. Neelu didi held me in her arms and started caressing. She was holding my head and her fingers were playing with my long lustrous black tresses and her smoldering lips were inches away from my lips. Suddenly she held my head with both her hands strongly and kissed me on my lips. I almost got singed. But I responded boldly and kissed her back. Our eyes were laughing and dancing and we were inebriated. Neelu didi's one hand opened strings of my gown and it slipped over my shoulders showing my boobs which were hardening. Her both hands were still holding my hands and her kisses have become bolder longer. Now our tongues were playing with each other. I too opened Neelu didi's nightgown and for second we parted to let the gown slip on ground and we came out of it. Cheenu was transfixed looking at us but we were taking no notice. As soon as we both became naked and stood as two mermaids in a full moon night. Both of us held each other's back and started grinding slowly. Her boobs (which were slightly heavier than mine) started crushing mine and she started moaning calling me as Cheenu and uttered "Cheenu darling your tits are so soft and firm, Ahhhhhh I am getting so excited, just rub your tits on me. Cheeeeeenuuuuu", Neelu was rubbing her breasts over mine. I too joined and said "yes yes", make love to me Neelu". Neelu didi again started kissing me but this time they were fast and small kisses like a butterfly fleeting from one flower to another. She will kiss on my eye and when I will expect next one to be on my check she will bite my ear lobes. Her one hand was holding me but other has started caressing and squeezing my firm young ass. I was almost melting under this attack. Neelu didi held me in her arms and said "Cheenu let us move to bed". I said non coherently "Yes my Sajan(lover)", and we moved to bed. I moved to the cot and lay very close to Cheenu as our bodies were rubbing each other and now she was fully drawn to our lust. Then like a cloud hovering over green pastures, Neelu didi bent over me. She came between my spread thighs but no part of her body was touching mine. She took a fleeting kiss of my eyelids and playfully when I shifted my face to avoid my lips she not only kissed around my eyelids and pulled my eyelashes. She kissed on my cheekbones and bit me hard. Now her kisses were strong and demanding. She came to nap of my neck and kissed me there. Her tongue traveled down but teasingly she left my tits and went directly to base of my now fully hard tennis ball size teen boobs. Her tongue, like flames of passion engulfed my breasts and I was moaning. With every kiss she was calling me Cheenu and I could feel that in this heat, resistance and resolve of our sis who was looking at us very intensely was melting down. Suddenly, like a kite swooping down on its prey, Neelu didi grabbed my both teen boobs and started squeezing them, but even now her palm was not touching my tits that had become fully erect now. She was cupping, squeezing and crushing with full force. Her lips had arrested my lips and her tongue was deep inside my mouth. This continued for some time and then very slowly she touched my love lips with her love lips and only they were touching our thighs were just inches apart. It put fire in my portals of love and now I could no longer resist. I raised my hips and she smilingly came down and started grinding my cunt with her cunt. Now Neelu didi had move to the main course and her nimble fingers had grabbed my one passion filed hard tit and were puling it stretching it hard and her lips captured other tit. When Iturned my face I saw Cheenu very close and her face was aglow with desire her boobs were hard and tits were fully aroused. I smiled at her and she smiled back. I held her small hard breast and squeezed it softly. Her smile become broader and as if she pushed her boobs in my hand. I cupped them more firmly and my hand started replicating what Neelu didi's hand was doing to my boobs. My long nail started journey upwards pressing hard and after reaching at tits pinched it slowly. And she moaned. In the first time my life I heard my sis Cheenu moaning. It gladdened me and I continued pulling her tit pinching it and I could here her voice yes Rinu yes please keep on ... Meanwhile Neelu Didi had put full focus on rubbing my cunt wither cunt. She was holding my slender waist with both her hands and with force she was doing a strong rubbing of my cunt with her cunt.Our thighs were entwined, my one hand was scratching Neelu didi's back and my hips were high answering every pressure of Neelu didi. When I again look at Cheenu's face while squezzing her boobs hard she was looking at my breast which were bearing marks of nails and teeth of Neelu didi. I gently held her hand and brought it to my boobs and pressed it against it. Feeling was so good and soon she learned the trick .As my hand was pressing squeezing her breast she was doing same to me. We lost our senses. Neelu didi had located my clit and now her one hand was playing with it rubbing, pressing. I was on the verge of orgasm. When Neelu didi looked at me I smiled and indicated toward Cheenu who was cupping my boobs hard while her boobs were being pressed by me. She also moved her one hand between Cheenu's thighs and cupped her mound. Now Cheenu didi came with a loud moan and started pressing her cunt in Neelu didi's hand. It further aroused her and Neelu started doing rubbing and grinding of my cunt in full frenzy and in no time I came. Neelu didi left me and went to the side of Cheenu and lied down. We were all very exhausted but soon all of sudden we started giggling. Both of us hugged Cheenu who was still holding my boobs as I was cupping hers. I kissed her on earlobes while Neelu Didi kissed her on her swell of boobs. I complained to Neelu didi "Neelu didi you are holding Cheenu so close and keeping her all for yourelf . Let me also enjoy her". Hugging Cheenu she asked "Sure why not, Cheenu will also be yours" and she nodded her head very slowly. When Neelu didi sat between thighs of Cheenu this time without even touching her choot she spread her thighs. I smiled to Neelu didi and we started our joint plan. I took care of top and she of bottom. I began fondling and caressing her now very hard young boobs but teasingly my fingers will stop short of her tit which were very erect now and began demanding attention. Neelu didi too was rubbing her labia and trying to locate her clit, and as soon she discovered and found it is already hot and responding started pressing it. Cheenu was responding, she was raising her hips but Neelu didi kept her cunt barely touching her fluttering cunt lips. Now Cheenu has no recourse lft but ask for it. "Neelu didi, please do it, do it to me, you are my Sajan" . But as if she is not listening Neelu didi pressed her thumb and started rotating it on her clit. Cheenu lost all inhibitions, and began rolling herself in the cot pelading please Neelu didi "O please do it to me like you did to Reenu please Neelu love me like you did it to Reenu". Neelu didi played ignorant and asked Cheenu, "What dear tell me again" . I grabbed her boobs and pressed hard. She said love making and I smiled and pulled her tit and said "Arre Cheenu, be more frank.Tell me exactly what do you want me to do ?". She was in flames but she said "Neelu didi I cannot tell I am ashamed". Neelu teased her "Cheenu I don't understand say it clearly what do you want me to do, then only I can help you?" When she felt there was no way out she said "ok fuck me fuck me". But Neelu didi was not to bow and she said "Fucking!! Whats is that dear.Tell me in Hindi I want to hear exactly what you want to be done?" . Neelu didi started rubbing her clit in a frenzy and now se was beyond anything and she blurted out "ohhh oohhh" moaning very loudly " please please , ohoo Neelu don't tease me more, I want you to fuck my cunt. I want to fuck me like Uncle does to our aunty. I want you to fuck me like a bull does to a cow". And that was the signal we were looking for. Now Neelu didi pressed her cunt on Cheenu's cunt and started fucking her wildly. I too started pulling her tits pinching rolling and leaving my nail marks. Cheenu was moaning wildly , her hips were moving in unison with Neelu didi and it continued for some time But Neelu didi's timing was superb . She will realize when Cheenu is on the verge of cumming she will stop suddenly and indicate me too. Cheenu will beg for release and she will make her promise that henceforth she will use only those words and she was made to say Lund Burchoot chudai (Cock, pussy, cunt) many times and only then she will start.With her expertise in 4-5 minutes she will again bring her close to brink and this will be my turn to extract promise that she will never say no to my fingers and soon she was exclaiming and demanding Rinu "please meri choonchi ko khub kas karke ragdo Neelu didi please meri choot main han yes aise hi (Reenu please rub my pussy harder harder yes like that forcely yaahh aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh) " and then we realized that her initiation has begun and Neelu didi brought her to release. However this time Neelu didi too got exhausted. For a long time all three of us kept lying down hugging each other softly. | <urn:uuid:acd02eb0-9344-4cb4-ac1d-a81bbf11ca91> | http://www.nifty.org/nifty/bisexual/incest/indian-wedding/indian-wedding-1 | en | 0.991237 | 0.020488 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
The Armchair Olympics: day six
Mitt Romney's horse guy makes an appearance, Britain slips in the bronzing stakes – and the real world packs a punch
Rafalca, ridden by Jan Ebeling of the US in the dressage grand prix on Day 6; co-owner Ann Romney, 'the horse guy', watches from the stands. Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty Images
To the first day of the dressage, to meet one of the most intriguing and divisive competitors of the Olympic Games: Ann Romney's horse, Rafalca. You are perhaps aware that Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney cannot put enough distance between himself and his wife's elitist equestrian interests – "Ann's the horse guy," he told American breakfast TV – and it's hard to imagine an outcome that would reflect well on his campaign. If Rafalca does well, he could be competing into next week, providing plenty of unwanted distraction. And if the horse loses, well, America hates losers, even horses that dance. Sorry, horse guys.
Britain's bronze campaign took the tally to four yesterday, which for a short time was a good enough joint fourth place in the bronze medal table. But since then Team GB has been overtaken by Canada, and Japan, with 11 bronzes as of this morning, is beginning to look unassailable. Come on, Britain! There's still the tennis.
Due to a rash decision made nearly 12 months ago, I am obliged to abandon my armchair for part of the day, in order to attend the actual Olympics. I've got four tickets to the boxing at the ExCel centre. I hate to abandon the wide range of sport offered by the red button to concentrate on just one discipline, but I am also conscious of how unseemly my empty seats would look on television. The boxing itself should be exciting, if only for the idiosyncratic scoring: on Wednesday night a Japanese bantamweight lost his bout despite knocking his opponent down five times, a decision which drew boos from the crowd. And the ExCel centre - I haven't been there since the arms fair. Memories.
LingoWatch: Medal (v.)
The verb form of the noun medal, meaning "to win a medal" as in, "Guess what? I medalled in the cycling yesterday!" It's not a construction much used in British English – for good reason, you might be thinking. It's also easily confused with the more common verb "meddle", although we've never had a problem with peddle and pedal. What about "to bronze" as a verb? It used to mean "to apply fake tan to oneself" but all that could be about to change: "Oh my God, I just bronzed in the pool!"
postbox in Chorley being painted gold in honour of Bradley Wiggins
Chorley's tribute to Wiggins. Photograph: Royal Mail/PA
This picture shows a post box in Chorley, painted gold in honour of local boy Bradley Wiggins. This is what's so great about the Olympics: through its prism of sporting excellence, even mindless vandalism can become a fitting tribute. Can you buy bronze paint?
Bradley Wiggins and friend on Twitter
Wiggins celebrates winning Olympic gold with friends and a "few vodka tonics" Public Domain
Bradley Wiggins posted this photo of himself on Twitter on Wednesday night, along with the tweet, "Getting wasted at StPauls". He's so normal, it's beginning to seem weird.
There were, it transpired, virtually no empty seats in South Arena 2, but it's disappointing to realise that at my age real life is no longer in HD. Still, until you see it in person, you can't believe how hard boxers punch each other. Honestly, it's like water polo without the pool.
The only British boxer of the afternoon, Anthony Ogogo, drew his bout 18-18. Then the judges went to "countback", which was also a draw. The everyone started cheering wildly, including my son.
"What just happened?" I shouted, above the roar.
"I don't know!" he shrieked. | <urn:uuid:da3793bb-53c3-4e11-af57-9c26e09ddbe9> | http://www.theguardian.com/sport/tvandradioblog/2012/aug/02/armchair-olympics-day-six | en | 0.964279 | 0.018324 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
The Preah Vihear reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004
(provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from
Preah Vihear
Spread the word about a children's charity with social media
Preah Vihear is a northern province of Cambodia. Its capital is Phnum Tbeng Meanchey.
| <urn:uuid:7e7b3c26-398b-43d1-89a5-3285f4dac271> | http://fixedreference.org/en/20040424/wikipedia/Preah_Vihear | en | 0.87499 | 0.968592 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Gears of War
Redirected from Grind Lift
1,945pages on
this wiki
Production information
Coalition of Ordered Governments
Technical specifications
Drilling into Locust tunnels
Post-Emergence Day
Coalition of Ordered Governments
"Lets go! Into the Grindlifts two-by-two!"
— Marcus Fenix
The Grindlift was a drilling capsule used to dig underground to attack Locust tunnels during Operation: Hollow Storm.
The Grindlift was a drilling capsule employed by the COG army that give Gears the ability to drill down into the Hollows beneath Sera's surface. It was fitted with a diamond tipped drill with a built-in laser beam emitter. It is possible that the Grindlift was a modification of some type of mining vehicle which has been attached to an Assault Derrick.
Diagram showing how Grindlifts are deployed from an Assault Derrick.
It is usually required for the launching rig to get in a pre-designated launch position so the Grindlift can be deployed exactly where it is required. Once in position, the rig raises a long arm and the Grindlift capsule is raised to the top. A door opens, and two Gears enter and secure themselves with a shoulder bar. The doors then close and the bottom of the capsule, which appears to be some form of drill, starts to spin. Once up to speed, an energy beam that is highly resemblant of a Hammer of Dawn beam starts to fire into the rock below.
Once the rock directly below the capsule is molten, the capsule is launched into the ground. While travelling, the laser continues to fire, seemingly assisting the drill in the displacement of the surrounding rock. Once the Grindlift capsule arrives at its location, it appears to lodge itself into the ground with tremendous force, indicating the speed the capsules can reach. Grindlifts were successfully deployed during Operation: Hollow Storm.
A Grindlift burrowing through the ground.
Operation: Hollow StormEdit
"Watch the ceiling Delta. Grindlifts could be dropping down all around you."
Anya Stroud to Delta Squad
After successfully reaching the drill zone at the Pendulum Wars Cemetery in South Landown, the Grindlifts were successfully deployed despite coming under attack by the Locust High Priest Skorge. Alpha-One, Two and Seven, Delta-One, Gamma-Three, Omega-One, and Sigma-One were some of the COG Gear units that were successfully deployed into the Locust Hollows by Grindlift.
After Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago successfully infiltrated Nexus and set the Beacon, Grindlift reinforcements, including Augustus Cole and Damon Baird, began dropping down around the Queen's Palace.
Returning to the SurfaceEdit
"This is such crap. Operation Lifeboat, my ass. More like Operation Death Wish. Damn COG, always manipulating everything...."Sign here, your wife will be taken care of. Sure, you'll see some action, but you'll always be back in Jacinto to see your wife after a patrol." Yeah, right. Didn't tell me I was gonna get a ride on an oversized drill right into the ass of the enemy, did you? You gotta be kidding me. This is a suicide mission. How the hell do we get back out of here anyway? They say the Grindlifts can go back up, but they sure as hell didn't train me how to do that... Should of deserted these fascist bastards when I had the chance."
— Pvt. Hank Bissell writing on the Grindlifts and lack of training on how to use them[1]
The Grindlift was able to dig underground, however, according to many Gears (Private Hank Bissell[2] and Sgt. Jonathan Harper[3]), none of the troops ever received training on how to return to the surface in the capsules. During the Evacuation of Jacinto, Anya Stroud told Sgt. Fenix that the COG was still pulling troops out of the Hollows, indicating a possible use of the Grindlifts.[4] However, it is never mentioned if they escaped via the Ilima sinkhole or if the Grindlifts were able to dig back up.
Grindlift NoticeEdit
Failure to keep hands, feet, and/or body inside of the Grindlift pod during use could lead to injury, bodily trauma, dismemberment, decapitation, and in extreme cases, disembowelment.[5]
Behind the scenesEdit
"Now the Locust are back and they're meaner than ever. And they've brought with them a force that can essentially sink entire cities. So humanity's back is against the wall, and we need to strike back against these guys. So the way that we do that is by taking these trucks called Derricks and we tow these devices called Grindlifts into Locust-occupied cities. The COG Guys get in the Grindlifts, they barrel down into the depths of the Underground and fight back against these bad guys."
Cliff Bleszinski
1. Gears of War 2: Act 2: Denizens: Sinking Feeling
2. Gears of War 2 Collectible
3. Gears of War: Harper's Story
4. Gears of War 2: Act 5: Aftermath
5. Gears of War 2 Collectible
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Let $(x_n)_{n\in\mathbb N}$ be a geodesic ray: $d(x_n,x_m)=\vert n-m\vert$. Is it true that, for all $y\in G$, the sequence $d(x_{n+1},y)-d(x_n,y)$ converges to 1 as $n$ goes to infinity ?
I am particularly interested in the case of $\delta$-hyperbolic spaces. A positive answer to the above quetion would imply that any geodesic ray converges to a Busemann function (or horofunction).
More generally, is anything known about Busemann functions on hyperbolic spaces ? In particular, how do the Busemann compactification relates to the visual boundary ? These two boundaries are the same for CAT(0) spaces, but need not be in general, as shown by the example $\mathbb Z\times \mathbb Z/2\mathbb Z$, with obvious generating set.
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You can find some information on Busemann functions on $\delta$-hyperbolic spaces in Ghys-de la Harpe (``Sur les groupes hyperboliques d'après M. Gromov''). If I remember correctly, they show that Gromov boundary can indeed be modeled by Busemann functions modulo globally bounded functions (at least in the proper case). I don't think that you can hope for more. – Theo Buehler Dec 9 '10 at 11:50
1 Answer 1
up vote 7 down vote accepted
Yes. Let $a_n:=d(y,x_n)-|n|$. By the triangle inequality, we see that $(a_n)_{n\ge0}$ is non-increasing and bounding. Therefore it has a finite limit $a$.
Now if $n\ge0$, $d(y,x_{n+1})-d(y,x_n)=a_{n+1}-a_n+1\rightarrow a-a+1=1$.
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Your Answer
| <urn:uuid:d821a0ec-bed1-49d1-bbdd-a46f2097bfcc> | http://mathoverflow.net/questions/48740/geodesic-rays-and-horofunctions?sort=votes | en | 0.788011 | 0.560937 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Back to list
United States
Brian Scoggin
Casting Crowns
With MEINL since:
October 26, 1982
Zodiac Sign:
Place of birth:
Riverdale, GA
Currently living in:
Jackson, GA
Favorite MEINL cymbal:
Byzance Jazz Medium Thin Ride 20"
Drumming since:
Car that you currently drive:
Not counting on drums what do you do for fun:
Hang out with my family and friends, travel with my family and spend time tinkering in my garage.
Favorite Food:
Favorite Drink:
Ice cold Cherry Pepsi (I try to stay away from it though...)
Dad and the Radio
Highlight of your career so far:
Hard to say, but taking our music into North Korea was definitely one of the most memorable moments. The fact that the music allowed us to meet real people there instead of just knowing about what you hear on the tv was really cool.
Drumming strengths:
People don't usually compliment me with words like "mind-blowing," "boundary-pushing" or "innovative"...they usually just say "solid." I guess I'm okay with that.
Drumming means to me:
A nice blend of work and pleasure.
Advice for up and coming drummers:
Copy what you hear and don't over-complicate it. Space is just as important as the stroke.
How would you describe yourself:
Pretty normal guy who hopes to never take for granted that he gets to do this music thing. I want to be thankful and faithful to the things that allow it to happen.
I was a faithful Husband, Father, Friend and Servant. | <urn:uuid:e1eece3a-e276-4f59-ab23-c7d138648475> | http://meinlcymbals.com/artists/Artist/show/brian-scoggin-607?L=cwsqcdryru | en | 0.952191 | 0.021323 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Rivkah's Age, Yet Again, And Apikorsus
This is not the first time this has made it to the Jewish Blogosphere. Rashi says Rivkah's age was 3. But there are other rabbinic positions which place her age as older - Tosafot quotes a Sifrei that she was 14.
Rabbi Avi Billet penned an article for the Jewish Star on this topic, basically talking about plausibility and how he would not accept Rashi as peshat here, but would follow other positions. And the idea behind this, I would assume, was to get people to think in general about the Biblical text, and not just stick with Rashi's peshat every time, and not grapple with it and think about it. The result is a more optimal type of learning Chumash. We learn Chumash as kids in yeshiva, but we don't approach the text as Rashi would, as Ibn Ezra would, as Abarbanel would, thinking about the text ourselves, the intertexuality, the grammar, etc. But we could, if we adopt a more sophisticated approach to the text and to the mefarshim.
There is a principle of Da Lifnei Mi Ata Omed. As used by Chazal, this means realize before Whom you are standing, which is Lifnei Melech Malchei HaMelachim, HaKadosh Baruch Hu. But we might reuse that phase to mean know your audience, and present it in a way they can accept.
And this is just what Rabbi Billet did when writing for the Jewish Star. But then it was carried over to Vos Iz Neias, which has a more chareidi audience. And this audience was perhaps not ready for this message, at least in the style it was presented. And so the comments stand right now at 168, many of them calling the author of the article an apikores for thinking he can argue with Rashi on the basis of plausibility. And a commenter, zb, left a lengthy comment addressing their points in a recent parshablog post. This also drew the attention of Streimel and of WolfishMusings.
Personally, I think that certain aspects of the story make more sense with an older Rivkah. But even so, I have written posts about the plausibility or lack thereof of Rashi's position.
For example, the Torah calls Rivkah a naarah, which in Rabbinic thought refers specifically to people of a specific age, an age much larger than 3. Here is a post demonstrating that while thus is true on the level of derash and even midrash halacha, on the level of peshat, this need not be so, as we see from the Naarah Ketana serving Naaman.
Second, Rabbenu Bachya notes the implausibility of Rivkah doing all that she did -- for she needs miraculous strength, and concludes it must have been with Divine assistance, and then notes that this is all the more so according to the position of the midrash that she was three. The implication is that one might say not like the midrash. But it is also that even as a three year old, we are already assuming miraculous Divine assistance.
In this post, I address whether Rashi's explanation is plausible, and whether it is obscene. I note that what is described is taking Rachel back for eventual nisuin, but that according to Rashi, that nisuin does not occur until 10 years later. And marrying at 13 is not unknown in ancient cultures, and was culturally acceptable. Indeed, as the author of the KallahMagazine blog pointed out, we see that Juliet was that age, and her mother says that she is an old maid -- at that age, Juliet's mother was already pregnant. And as the author of the Divrei Chaim blog points out, Tosafot writes how kiddushei katana was common in the middle ages. So it is not such a farfetched peshat as it might appear to us, living in the 21st century CE. When learning Biblical text, or when learning commentaries on the Biblical text, sometimes it pays to get past our own preconceptions, especially before judging various mefarshim's comments as ridiculous.
In that same post I also include a bunch of photos are really young children, about the age of three, getting water in buckets from water sources such as wells. And I know from my own son that he was capable of carrying gallon-sized Poland Spring waters (and large and heavy Shulchan Aruchs) across the room -- he did so on much more than one occassion.
In this post, I address what I would consider a more important issue. As I write there,
Those who take every midrash absolutely literally are missing the point. Those who try to harmonize competing midrashim are missing the point. Those who are upset at the midrash and rail against it because they think it improbable or against a literal reading are also missing the point.
If it is a midrash, what exactly is the point of the midrash? And based on the mechanism of deriving it, I suggest that an important message of the midrash is that this is a predestined marriage. Because making her three comes from the apparent fact (apparent because there are other ways of reading it, on a peshat level) that Avraham is informed of her birth right after Akeidat Yitzchak, now that Yitzchak has survived the ordeal. And then the betrothal occurs at the first available point, when betrothal could effectively work. And this bolsters the theme in the Biblical text of the Divine hand guiding Eliezer towards finding Yitzchak's soul-mate.
Finally, in this post, I continue analyzing the theme in terms of another midrash, about Rachel's age at the time of marriage.
Again, this is not to say that she was three. But one could argue that position while remaining a pashtan and plausible, or else one can dismiss it on the level of peshat while still appreciating the deeper thematic message the midrash is seeing and teaching in the Biblical text.
Anonymous said...
I guess The author of the Sefer HAyashar(RABENU TAAM?) is an Apikores too as he says she was Ten I would love to know where the Number comes from?
Rabbi Joshua Maroof said...
In discussing the midrash that Rivqah was three years old in the story, the Rambam is quoted by his son as stating that he "pushed away this interpretation with both hands".
And my great grandmother was married at age 12 in Iran, and this was par for the course then in the middle East and still is in some parts. Without this premise it is very difficult to understand a great deal of Masekhet Qiddushin, Yevamot and Ketubot, as they are all speaking in terms of this cultural reality.
zb said...
Thanks for mentioning my post Josh. Also in the middle ages people married very young, primarily because they died very young (30's and 40's). If we are going to argue that the life span of the Avot were in the mid 100's and then there wouldn't have been the catalyst of early marriage that the era of Romeo and Juliet had. Also I don't believe any rationalist would have a problem saying that a 3 year old Rivka only had kedushin with Yitzchok and nesuin only occurred by 14. However the question is does everyone teach it like this, or they just say point blank that Rivka was 3 years when she married Yitzchok? Also does the pshat in chumush seem to say that they waited 11 years till they got married, or is waiting 11 years till nesuin a result of our innate moral sensibilities that Hashem embedded into us. Obviously medrash (as you pointed out) is not to be taken historically, but when Rashi clearly states 3 years of age, and this is all what we teach our kids, its obvious why most people think that three is not drash but pshat in the posuk. Also it seemed a good many of the posts in VIN thought it was presumptuous to have an issue with Rivka getting married (both kedushin and nesuin) at three. This has everything to do with the concept of allowing ourselves to use our critical facilities when going through the chumash. This is a belief system that states that we have to accept everything, that every commentator (Rishon and Achron) wrote based on emunah peshuta, and c"v to (respectfully) have a different opinion then them (otherwise your a kofer!) This is probably a result of Chasidim with their Rebbe's and Charedim with Daas Torah. Because if we dare not disagree with anything a current gadol wrote then "kal v'chomor" who are we to argue with any previous gedolim who were 5000 times greater etc etc
joshwaxman said...
i don't know about "peshat" in chumash, but i do believe that it was more than just moral sensibilities that made them assume a 10 year gap. (indeed, I *could* read the relevant rashi as that the consummating some time in the intervening period.) There may also be textual cues to this. And also a scientific perspective, found in the gemara, that a woman cannot conceive before a certain age, and even there, initially, she would die as a result.
The motivating factor is that in perek 25, pasuk 18 says he was 40 when he "took" her, intervening psukim say that she was barren and so he prayed for her, and pasuk 26 says that he was 60 when Yaakov and Esav was born. And elsewhere, (from Sarah?) we know that one waits 10 years for a spouse. (And then, according to halacha not really in practice nowadays, one takes a different wife.) That he prayed for this after 20 years instead of after 10 years raises questions. But then, when it all combines together with an age of 3, waiting until 13 until she was able to conceive, and then waited an additional 10 years while trying to have children.
So it does have hooks into textual problems, rather than just coming up with it because of ideological difficulties. I believe the same holds true for most of midrash.
The Rashi in question, BTW, on Bereishit 25:26, is based on a Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer, ch 32.
yaak said...
I know Rabbi Avi Billet personally, and can tell you he is brilliant and not an apikoras - he just takes the rational approach, which he has a source for too. I don't totally agree with him here, but his opinion is valid. (Maybe I should post this on VIN.)
Anonymous said...
Can you give MAreh makomos for these two I am unsure if there is a nebrewbook for Shakspere thought
joshwaxman said...
The Tosafot is at the end of the linked to post (in red) -- I put up a picture of the Tosafot. We just did it in daf Yomi two days ago. Kiddushin 41a, d"h assur.
Juliet I'll have to get back to you on.
joshwaxman said...
in terms of Juliet, we have e.g. this conversation between Capulet and Paris about Juliet:
Cap. But saying o'er what I have said before:
My child is yet a stranger in the world,
She hath not seen the change of fourteen years;
Let two more summers wither in their pride
Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride.
Par. Younger than she are happy mothers made.
A bit later, Juliet's mother, referred to as Capulet's wife:
Nurse. Now, by my maidenhead at twelve year old,
I bade her come. What, lamb! what ladybird!
God forbid! Where's this girl? What, Juliet!
and finally, where she says this:
Here in Verona, ladies of esteem,
Are made already mothers. By my count,
I was your mother much upon these years
That you are now a maid. Thus then in brief:
The valiant Paris seeks you for his love.
Kol Tuv,
Wolf2191 said...
I once heard someone attempt to explain Sanhedrin 67b:
Then the magicians said unto Pharoah, This is the finger of God:21 R. Eleazar, said: This proves that a magician cannot produce a creature less than a barley corn in size. R. Papa said: By God! he cannot produce even something as large as a camel; but these [larger than a barley corn] he can [magically] collect [and so produce the illusion that he has magically created them], the others he cannot. (Soncino trans.
acc. to Rashi)
that R' Papa denied the existence of magic (as per Rambam). Rashi at any rate didn't learn that way as he interprets R' Papa as referring to what Sheidim can carry.
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According to my knowledge, heat is nothing but the result of the vibrations of atoms and molecules. I guess this mean that in heating up a gas or liquid, we are increasing the rate at which the container of this gas or liquid vibrates, thereby imparting to the molecules a certain amount of energy.
How would this work in case of a burning log in the fireplace? Is it vibrating and thus heating up the molecules in the room? Or is it releasing highly energetic photons that do the required bombarding? What exactly is happening when we light a fire?
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4 Answers 4
Mostly your skin directly is receiving radiated photons which is perceived as heat.
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There will be heat transferred from the hot contents of the fireplace to the cool room by three mechanisms of heat transfer: conduction, radiation, and convection.
I think only the first two have been mentioned so far: conduction and radiation.
The majority of heating of the room by the fire may be accomplish by warm air moving and mixing with cooler air in the room.
The best fireplaces are built with ducts that wrap around the hot sides of the firebox to take maximum advantage of this.
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The key thing to know about burning a log of wood (or indeed anything) is that it isn't the wood that is burning. The combustion occurs in gases released by the wood as they react with the atmosphere. That's why you need a fair bit of heat to get wood burning in the first place. If you watched the combustion closely you'd see gas molecules given off by the hot wood reacting with oxygen molecules in the air. The reaction produces energy and the energy is carried away as increased velocity of the reaction produces (mainly CO$_2$ and water).
So as a result of combustion we now have reaction product molecules moving in random directions at very high speed, and of course this is exactly what we mean by a hot gas. There are three things that can happen to our fast moving gas molecules:
1. they bash into the wood and excite vibrations in the surface of the wood, in other words they heat the wood by transfering their kinetic energy to the atoms/molecules in the wood. This heating is required for the wood to continue giving off gases and maintaining the flame.
2. the fast moving reaction products collide with other air molecules and transfer energy to them, so they heat up the air around the flame. This, along with a few helpful convention currents, is the main mechanism for heating the air in the room and ultimately you, the walls of the room etc.
3. the fast moving reaction products collide with particles of carbon in the flame and heat them up to the point where they glow. This is what gives the yellow colour we associate with flames. A clean flame e.g. hydrogen burning in oxygen is virtually colourless.
You might point out I haven't mentioned the radiant heat that you can feel on your hands and face as you face the fire. The radient heat isn't coming from the flame, or at least only a very small part comes directly from the flame. The heat is coming from the wood, grate, fireplace and anything solid near the flame, because those solids have been heated by the fast moving reaction product molecules. This is the black body radiation mentioned by Luboš Motl in his answer (which I can't improve on so I'm not going to try!). It might be worth adding that black body radiation arises because the particles, electrons and nuclei, in a solid are charged, so as they vibrate they emit electromagnetic radiation. This is how mechanical vibrations get converted in electromagnetic (infra-red) waves.
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Both. At temperature $T$ (absolute temperature in kelvins), every "degree of freedom" carries some amount of energy equal to $kT/2$ in average. By a degree of freedom, one means either one Cartesian coordinate of one atom – or another particle that is effective "free" – or one angular coordinate for a rotating object whose rotations can actually be distinguished from the rest.
For gases, this energy is stored mostly in the kinetic energy of the individual molecules (or atoms). The hotter the gas is, the more they move, $mv^2/2\sim kT$ in average. For liquids, it's similar except that the molecules are constantly hitting others. For solids, the energy is stored in vibrations of atoms or molecules, but they mostly vibrate in the very vicinity of prescribed positions only, like harmonic oscillators of a sort.
At the same moment, at tempeature $T$, all objects – solids, liquids, gases etc. – also radiate (a large number of) photons and any other radiation corresponding to this temperature. Well, that's true for black bodies: the emissivity may be affected by a frequency-dependent function for "colorful" or "shining" or "reflective" bodies.
Whenever the energy is stored only in one of the vibrations or radiation of the kinds listed above (or any other forms of energy that a system may have), it means that the system isn't in thermal equilibrium but it will do everything it can to achieve the equilibrium, so the energy (heat) will be drifting from the degrees of freedom that carry greater energy than others, to these others.
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Exxon Continues to Bankroll the Denial Machine
Exxon Mobil used to say that it stopped funding fringe groups and "unthinking tanks" that denied the overwhelming evidence behind global warming and pushed out thousands of non-credible, non-sourced, industry-funded and unscientific research to raise doubts about climate change.
But whoops! New evidence has appeared that Exxon is in fact dumping money into these "research institutes."
So, what say you, Exxon?
Kate Sheppard reports:
ExxonMobil's response? "We have the same concerns as people everywhere—and that is how to provide the world with the energy it needs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions," the company said in a statement to the Independent. Yes, ExxonMobil, the fossil fuel-giant, is just like "people everywhere."
Yep, I'm sure people everywhere made a $19.3 billion profit last year.
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Join Sosh to uncover thousands of DC's best experiences and places.
Everything that matters is right here.
This event ended May 7, 2012
Keep in mind: this activity is in San Francisco
The Beverage Academy
Learn Something New
Agave Spirtits: Mezcal and Tequila
Bourbon & Branch
Civic Center/Tenderloin
Mon, May 7
Agave based spirits (Mezcal and Tequila) are possibly the most mysterious and misunderstood of all the spirits on any back bar. On one hand, tequila it is the main component of what is arguably the most popular cocktail in history. On the other hand, when served neat, or as the more popular 'shot', it is often the most feared of all the popular spirits.
Pro Tip
Kaitlyn Trigger
Almost everyone has had "a bad experience" from their days in college or maybe high school and as a result many people can't even smell tequila without being flooded with a barrage of disturbing and vivid memories.
Furthermore, the rapid expansion of the Mezcal category in the American market has only fueled possible misconceptions about both types of spirit.
This class serves to clear up this sad misunderstanding. We'll explain the defining differences between the agave spirit categories. We'll also find out why that 'tequila' associated with those memories shouldn't even be called tequila, why your fear and disgust are justified, and how by drinking good distillates many people have found the truly elegant spirit that tequila and mezcal can be.
We will see the whole process of how tequila has been made for over two centuries, and talk about the Mexican government's tequila regulatory council and the strict rules they enforce.
We will discuss the subtle differences between tequilas and mezcal's from different parts of Mexico; and explore the life of tequila as it grows from piña to blanco, reposado, anejo and even an extra anejo.
Of course along the way we will be mixing cocktails, drinking, and having a good time while learning why tequila isn't just for 'shots' and 'poppers' and fraternity parties but is indeed one of the world's great spirits.
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Arm power: Furcal edges Rolen
Some people like Bach, some like Bachman Turner Overdrive. Some people like the city, some like the country. Some like chocolate, some like vanilla.
That's the way it is in deciding which major league infielder has the best arm. There's no question that it's either Rafael Furcal or Scott Rolen, but in what order?
There is no correct answer.
If you like first basemen with bruised hands, Furcal is your guy. If you like quick releases and the accuracy of laser-guided missiles, Rolen is your guy.
You can't go wrong either way. As many scouts and coaches will say Rolen as Furcal. But for the tiebreaker, we turned to a scout who loves Rolen as much as any player in baseball, who calls him the best third baseman he's ever seen -- better than Brooks Robinson even -- and he picked the guy with the loudest cannon.
So, albeit with some reluctance, will we. Give the edge to Furcal over Rolen, but by a smaller margin than Bush carried Florida in 2000.
"It is so close that it's splitting hairs,'' the scout said, "but I have seen Furcal dominate a game with his arm.''
That's hard to do when you're not pitching, but this scout swears he has seen Atlanta's shortstop take over games because of his ability to turn impossible double plays and take away infield hits.
"I've seen Furcal do things that nobody else does at shortstop,'' said the scout. "I've seen him play deep, lay back and throw out guys who can really run. He doesn't have as quick of a release as Scott does, but he's got a little more velocity. I'd give both of them the highest grades I can give but because of his velocity, Furcal is just a little better.''
While Rolen has won six Gold Gloves at third base, Furcal has never been recognized for his fielding skills. That's probably because he has averaged 27 errors the last three seasons.
"He gets careless,'' a scout said. "You have guys like (Vladimir) Guerrero who have a great arm and that becomes a problem. They make a lot of ill-advised throws, don't hit the cutoff man. Oftentimes the guys with the strongest arms don't have the most accurate arms. In that regard, Rolen is better than Furcal. He is more accurate, and he gets rid of the ball quicker than Furcal does.''
Rolen had 10 errors in 141 games last year. He hasn't had more than 14 in a season since 1997. But while he almost never makes mistakes, it is Furcal who can dominate with his arm. Consider that the tiebreaker in a two-horse race.
Alex Rodriguez is widely regarded as having the best infield arm in the American League but, according to scouts, he does not compare to Furcal or Rolen. So take your pick -- Bach or BTO, vanilla or chocolate?
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Take the 2-minute tour ×
.dproj files are essential for Delphi projects, so they have to be under version control.
These files are controlled by the IDE and also contain some information that is frequently changed, but totally irrelevant for version control.
For example: I change the start parameters of the application frequently (several times a day), but don't want to accidently commit the project file if only the part dealing with the start parameters has changed.
So how to deal with this situation?
A clean solution would be to take the file apart, but that isn't possible with the Delphi IDE AFAIK.
Can you ignore a specific part of a file?
We're using Subversion at the moment, but may migrate to Git soon.
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While you're still using SVN you can use the 'svn:needs-lock' property to keep people from accidently modifying the project file. – Kenneth Cochran Nov 18 '11 at 22:00
5 Answers 5
up vote 5 down vote accepted
SVN/git cannot "know" which bits of the file are important, and translating what is important for you to commit or not into file "bits" would be difficult (especially when you don't know exactly how the information is structured within it). The most practical solution is to check the changes that have been made to the file and decide whether to commit them or not to the repository.
You can decide which bits of the file you want to commit with git. This is not, however, the automated process you seem to be looking for.
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I guess you're right. I'm actually having an issue with pushing changes from a git working copy to svn using git-svn dcommit. That is related to a possible problem with a frontend called SmartGit which I am going to report to the developers now. – Jens Mühlenhoff Nov 18 '11 at 10:03
I'm unable to push when there are any uncommited changes which is partly the fault of git-svn and partly of SmartGit. – Jens Mühlenhoff Nov 18 '11 at 10:05
Ok, SmartGit supports git stash which is an acceptable workaround to the giv-svn limitation: stackoverflow.com/questions/39651/git-stash-vs-git-branch – Jens Mühlenhoff Nov 21 '11 at 9:17
In our case, it's rare for a developer to make a meaningful change to the .bdsproj, .dpr, .res files. So we reject the commit (pre-commit hook in subversion) unless special tags: [add project file] or [add res file] are present in the commit comment. This prevents "frivilous" changes to those files.
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For the specific case of startparameters: the DDevExtentions plugin of the well known Andreas Hausladen allow for the start parameters be stored separetely of dproj file. See more details about DDevExtensions on his site.
EDIT: If I remember correctly, this feature was created just because he had that exact problem with start parameters and version control.
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+1 I have DDevExtensions installed and didn't know that. Andreas is just amazing :). – Jens Mühlenhoff Nov 18 '11 at 16:47
I would not save the .dproj files directly in version control, but rather provide a default file which should be renamed by the user to get the flawed Delphi working.
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This has the same disadvantage as the --assume-unchanged switch, it's possible that changes get lost. – Jens Mühlenhoff Nov 19 '11 at 8:21
Use the --assume-unchanged option on git update-index <file> as described here and stackoverflow/what-is-assume-unchanged.
You could make simple aliases for the those who need it made simple.
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We're mostly GUI users and our GUI client doesn't support that (AFAICS), but other than that a good idea. – Jens Mühlenhoff Nov 19 '11 at 8:19
Has one problem though: If you really have to commit the file and you accidently forget it the changes may get lost. – Jens Mühlenhoff Nov 19 '11 at 8:20
There was something on the git list about this (extra documentation): article.gmane.org/gmane.comp.version-control.git/181816: To see which files have the "assume unchanged" bit set, use git ls-files -v. I haven't check this though. – Philip Oakley Nov 20 '11 at 20:33
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Take the 2-minute tour ×
There is a certain text editor that I would like to set as the default editor for certain file types but if I try selecting it on the “Open With…” menu, that does not work. However, it has put an explorer context menu item in, which does work. How could I make this menu item the default double-click action, for certain file types?
Thank you SSRT and Josh R. Both good answers. It's a pity I can't give you both best answer.
For what it's worth, I found the answer today (twenty-four hours after asking this question). The specific answer to my specific problem, with the specific editor, that is!
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What do you mean it doesn't work? You should see an option, "Choose default program ..." and if you click that, an option for "Other Programs", which if clicked (at the down arrow), will list every application that's installed. If that's not enough, you can click the "Browse..." button and choose anything you like. If that's not working, can you paste an screenshot of what you see instead? – Nicole Hamilton Mar 10 '13 at 15:37
Which version of Windows are you running? – Josh R Mar 10 '13 at 17:08
7 and XP, Josh R. – Eamon Moloney Mar 10 '13 at 17:12
2 Answers 2
up vote 2 down vote accepted
Run cmd as Administrator
abstract sample:
assoc .Ext=EditorSuperExtName
ftype EditorSuperExtName=EditorSuper.exe %1 %*
real sample:
assoc .pdf=AcroExch.Document
ftype AcroExch.Document="C:\App32\Adobe\Acrobat 10.0\Acrobat\Acrobat.exe" "%1"
real sample 2:
assoc .java=javafile
ftype javafile="C:\App64\NetBeans 7.2\bin\netbeans.exe" "%1" %*
start, select run
run box
assoc ftype cmd
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What if it doesn't have an assoc? newline Windows XP: newline C:\Windows\system32>assoc .java newline .java= – Eamon Moloney Mar 10 '13 at 16:57
@EamonMoloney see sample 2 – STTR Mar 10 '13 at 18:13
If in Windows 7, open up Default Programs. Press Start and type Default Programs. Click on "Associate a filetype or protocol with a program".
Once that finishes discovering filetypes, select the file type you want to change the default program for and select "Change program". Choose the program from the list and Accept.
If Windows XP, Click on the "My Computer".
Click on the "Tools" tab along the menu bar.
Click on the "Folder Options" option.
Click on the "View" tab.
Make sure the "Hide extensions for known file types" is unchecked, so you can see the full filenames in Windows XP, including file type associations.
Click "OK" and close the "Folder Options" window.
Right-click on a file you wish to change.
Click on the "Properties" option in the right-click context menu.
Click the "Open with..." button in the "Properties" window. Note that the file may already have a file type association saved for it (it will display the icon of the associated application). Be aware that the button may be captioned "Change..." instead of "Open with...," depending on the version of Windows XP you are using.
Click on an application to choose a different file type association for your selected file type. You may also click "Browse" if the application you wish to use for your new file type association is not listed.
Click "OK" once you have chosen a file type association.
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Obama Makes the Case For His Own Defeat
Steve Deace
3/31/2012 12:01:00 AM - Steve Deace
Barack Obama may have just had his “etch-a-sketch” moment.
Last week, the Romney campaign was rightfully chastised after a top advisor essentially said when they’re done pandering to conservatives to win the Republican presidential nomination, they’ll just shake things up like one would an etch-a-sketch and come up with a whole new batch of folks to pander to in the general.
That comment is sure to become very familiar to the American people if indeed Romney is the GOP nominee, sort of like when John Kerry – aka Romney’s alter ego – was branded as the guy who “was for it before he was against it” in 2004.
Not to be outdone, however, President Obama has also now stepped in it—and provided his Republican opponent plenty of ammunition in the process.
According to CNN: In a private conversation about the planned U.S.-led NATO missile defense system in Europe, President Barack Obama asked outgoing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for space on the issue. "This is my last election," Obama told Medvedev. "After my election I have more flexibility."
Translation: Obama is essentially saying as soon as he’s no longer tied down by that pesky will of the people thing, he’ll just do what he wants to do when the will of the people can’t touch him.
Obama is fortunate he committed this gaffe – defined as when a politician or one of his top aides opens his mouth and speaks the unvarnished truth for a change – at a time the GOP does not have a nominee going one-on-one with him to make use of this, as well as the fact the media is largely distracted this week by the Obamneycare hearing at the U.S. Supreme Court. Otherwise this could be just as damaging as the “etch-a-sketch” comment was to the Romney campaign.
The “etch-a-sketch” comment reinforces the very valid criticism the malleable Romney is a RINO of no real conviction, so he will say anything to anyone to get elected. Similarly, Obama’s comments about having “more flexibility” after the election reinforces a narrative of his candidacy his campaign would rather not see perpetuated.
Many Americans are correctly concerned about the hard left direction Obama has already taken the country over their objections. They are thinking that if this is what Obama is like when he faces re-election, what will he be like after he doesn’t? If he’s willing to go this far when he faces the scrutiny of the voters, how far will he go when he no longer does?
To these voters, (and there are lots of them if you were paying attention to the last midterm election), Obama’s flippant off-mic gaffe with the Russian figurehead is a chilling reminder that no matter how likeable the president seems to be, he is still the hard left ideologue they tried to send a message to in 2010. And this gaffe gives them the impression either that message wasn’t received, or was just ignored entirely.
This is the sort of comment that can really help a candidate like Romney in a general election. It takes the focus off the fact that lots of voters (including lots of Republicans) have serious misgivings about Romney, and it puts the focus back on Obama.
For example, if I were running Romney’s general election campaign (and I shudder even just typing those words), I would base my entire campaign strategy on the premise of this Obama gaffe. I would first go back to my skeptical conservative base and tell them this:
“You may not like me. You may not want me. But look how far left this guy has governed when he had to worry about re-election. Imagine what he and his minions will do when they don’t. Imagine agencies like the EPA, and appointments like Eric Holder running even more roughshod over your liberties without the fear of facing the voters ever again?”
Even for a Romney critic like me that is a potent argument.
To independents that have doubts about Obama, I would make a similar case but tether the message to their tastes:
“I’m not a right-winger. I’m a businessman who simply believes you do what works. This president, unlike Bill Clinton when he had a Republican Congress, has been unrelenting in advancing his ultra-liberal agenda, even to the point of ignoring your concerns. And he’s already making plans for how much further he’ll go if you give him another four years. Are you willing to take that chance?”
Frankly, this may be the only valid basis for a person of sincere moral conviction to justify voting for Romney that I can come up with. Furthermore, since incumbent presidents of have won 69% of the re-election campaigns in American history, this is probably Romney’s only shot to win a general election barring the United States becoming Greece in the next eight months—and the president played right into it. He’s lucky it’s only March and most of America has yet to pay attention.
Given the lack of voter enthusiasm for either Romney or Obama, and their combined resources, a battle between the two this fall could easily be the most expensive negative campaign in American history. Many media outlets have lost a lot of their advertising revenue in the recession, so a battle between two unpopular politicians with a war chest at their disposal to tear down one another is a media buyer’s dream.
With that war chest, you can trust Romney to exploit these sorts of gaffes by Obama in ways John McCain was too sanctimonious to do so four years ago. Romney doesn’t fancy himself some larger than life maverick that is above the partisan fray. Unlike McCain, he suffers from no delusions of grandeur in that department. He knows he’s a pandering, hack opportunist politician who will lie every lie and flip any flop to win—and he’s made his peace with it. He will put the boot to Obama’s throat if he has to, not man-hug him like McCain. Romney has no legacy to protect, only power to acquire.
Romney will do whatever it takes to win, as will Obama.
Boy, howdy! Won’t that be an inspiring campaign between two desperate candidates the majority of Americans don’t want, no real substantive differences between the two philosophically, and each with enough money to remind us of that in 30-and-60-second increments every commercial break. | <urn:uuid:3ddd0831-4492-47a0-b04a-94fc8986879a> | http://townhall.com/columnists/stevedeace/2012/03/31/obama_makes_the_case_for_his_own_defeat/print | en | 0.971332 | 0.02792 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Take the 2-minute tour ×
I'm buying a SSL certificate online for the first time.
I have this option...
Include your registrant information in third party Bulk Whois requests?
What does it exactly mean ? What's Buil Whois and what should I answer ?
share|improve this question
1 Answer 1
up vote 3 down vote accepted
A bulk whois request would normally be performed by SPAMers, hackers, crackers, etc who are trying to find out your details (registered owner information) in bulk (along with a lot of other peoples). At every opportunity you should try to exclude yourself.
Quite why they are asking when signing up to SSL is more interesting though, as they shouldn't be in control of limiting bulk whois requests.
share|improve this answer
Uhm so I should answer "no" ? I'm buying a SSl certificate on GoDaddy and they are asking me this.. it is not very clear why they ask me ? – Patrick Nov 3 '10 at 13:47
You can always send them an email to ask. But SSL should have nothing to do with WHOIS (although it may be on the same screen when signing up). I'd say no. – Metalshark Nov 3 '10 at 13:56
Your Answer
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Whedonesque - a community weblog about Joss Whedon
"Everybody die always."
11983 members | you are not logged in | 01 September 2015
October 06 2011
10 TV universes you would and wouldn't want to live in. Dollhouse and Firefly make it onto one of these lists. Maybe not the one you'd hope though...
I think these are legitimate concerns in both cases.
I wouldn't really want to live in the Buffyverse either - we'd all be wittier but the increased risk of being eaten by monsters more than balances that out.
I wouldn't want to live in the universe without shrimp. Or the universe that's only shrimp.
@tehipite_tom: It's not all that bad, actually.
I wouldn't want to live in a universe where those shows get cancelled. But I do *sighs*.
I would totally like to spend my life aboard Serenity (there aren't THAT many Reavers, and I'd be safe so long as Wash was the pilot), but pretty much I agree with this article (I would hate to live in BSG's world!).
Well, Wash ain't coming...
[ edited by Dana5140 on 2011-10-06 19:26 ]
The Whedonverse doesn't do utopias.
realistically, living in most of our favourite fictional universes, Whedon-related or otherwise, probably wouldn't be the safest things.
The body count on Doctor Who is kinda high, even for adventures in all of space and time. I would put that show on the "wouldn't" list, TARDIS and all. I wouldn't want to live in most of my favorite fictional worlds. Maybe Cicely, Alaska. I could hang out in the woods and wax philosophical.
The body count on Doctor Who is kinda high
You want to live in the Spooks universe :p.
Is there an Evil Headmaster Giles who eats students there, too?
No but there is an Evil Spy Giles who tries to kill the President.
Hmm that does sound fun.
In terms of Whedonverse univereses, I would probably pick doctor horrible (provided that he doesn't actually manage to take over the world...)
[ edited by wasabi17 on 2011-10-06 21:21 ]
Yeah, but Simon, Evil Spy Giles hung himself with his belt in the men's stall.
(I've missed that episode in full both times it's been rerun on PBS; that's the part I always catch. Sigh.)
I wouldn't want to live in the Midsomer Murders universe where everyone is either a murder victim, a murderer, or a detective. (Or all three.)
I don't know wasabi, it could be pretty disturbing to live in a reality where there is a superhero, but he's a giant tool...
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Japanese Language Sideboard
1999 Canadian Nationals
Day 1 Round 4 Feature Match
- Tom "Jester" Byrne
Terry Tsang vs Jeff Fung
This feature match promised to be an extremely aggressive and fast match-up, due to Tsang's deck having a huge amount of burn. His deck was designed to win, and win quickly. Fung's deck was a more conservative U/W deck designed to take control of the long game, but with Tsang's speed, the short game promised to be much more important.
Game 1
Fung starts quickly with a Veiled Sentry and Expendable Troops by 2nd turn, only to see the troops die to Tsang's Scent of Cinder. Fung kept up the pressure playing a Pegasus Charger and Serra Advocate on turns 3 and 4 while Tsang played a Ghitu Fire-Eater and a Cinder Seer, trying to keep up. On the 5th turn however, Fung proved that he had the answer by playing Disappear on Tsang's Seer and returning it to his hand. Every turn thereafter, Fung would send the Seer back to Tsang's hand with a taunting grin, stating "Capsize that!". Tsang lost shortly therafter.
Tsang 0 - Fung 1
Game 2
Tsang started this game off with a bang, playing creatures on turns 2, 3 and 4 while Fung played only an Expendable Troops and was forced to cycle his Veiled Serpent, looking for an answer to Tsang's Swine. Finding the answer in the form of a Pendrell Flux and then a Capistan Knight, he followed it up with a Pegasus Charger. Meanwhile, Tsang had played out a Cinder Seer, which had remained harmless for 2 turns. On his next turn, Fung played Disappear on the Seer, but lacked the extra blue mana to activate it. At the end of Fung's turn, Tsang activated the Seer, revealing 4 cards in his hand: Ghitu Fire Eater, Reckless Abandon, Flame Jet and Lava Axe. On his turn, Tsang cast Multani's Decree, destroying the Disappear and crushing Fung's last hope. Fung conceeded immediately.
Tsang 1 - Fung 1
Game 3
This game saw Fung mulliganing and stalling out at 1 land. Tsang played Pygmy Pyrosaur, Goblin Patrol and Cinder Seer on turns 2, 3 and 4. On his 4th turn, Fung managed to find a 2nd land and summoned a Capistan Knight only to see Tsang used his Cinder Seer on it at the end of turn. The next turn Tsang cast Scald and Fung extended his hand.
Tsang 2 - Fung 1
| <urn:uuid:6331245f-71bc-4ea9-b257-324b69f1f0dd> | http://wizards.com/sideboard/article.asp?x=CANNAT99/d1r4feature | en | 0.959279 | 0.104178 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Goverment Website Hacked
By Joy Batt
The Federal Sentencing Commission Website was hacked overnight.
The group know as "Anonymous" says it's "declaring war" on the U.S.
The group is demanding the U.S. reform its justice system.
"Anonymous" is believed to be a group of "hacktivist" who oppose attempts to limit internet freedoms.
A long threat note,YouTube video and a list of files named after supreme court justices were posted after the group took over the website.
The note expressed anger over the death of Aaron Swartz an internet activist.
Swartz was facing charges in a hacking case when he committed suicide.
Current: 88°
High: 88°
Low: 68°
Wind: 3 MPH
Pressure: 30.08
Humidity: 48 %
What's on WOLOTV Full Schedule | <urn:uuid:b69ed2ed-f217-4fea-bd07-f5a3fcd15670> | http://www.abccolumbia.com/news/local/Goverment-Website-Hacked-188508841.html?corder=reverse | en | 0.928452 | 0.091912 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
The Lounge
Moderators: nomoreexcuses, spoiled_candy, Mollybygolly, peaches0405
Silver jewelry turning copper - Help!
Quote | Reply
I know that silver jewelry that is not sterling silver can and will, after multiple wears, start revealing a copper-ish color.
Is there some stuff that I can spray/dip my silver (not sterling) jewelry to protect it and keep it from turning that copper color? I know there are sprays and finishes that protect wooden furniture, so I thought maybe there was a product or a home-made mixture that could protect silver jewelry.
Please let me know of any products or personal tricks, I have had too many pieces of nice jewelry and belt buckles brass on me. :\
6 Replies (last)
Silver cleaner? You can probably google it. There's liquid that you can dip your silver into, or paste for silverware. It will be at a hardware store or maybe your grocery store.
I would just stop in at a jeweler's with a piece of "copper" silver jewelry in hand, as an example to show them what you're talking about, and ask them what they would recommend.
edit: I did this myself once, and they gave me a polishing cloth that was pretreated with a cleaner for free.
I have a bunch of silver earrings that I cleaned with TarnX. Then I coated it with clear fingernail polish. It didn't turn a copperish color after that. This doesn't work for necklaces.
I simply dip my jewelry in Future acrylic floor polish. It will seal it--though its not permanent and needs to be re-dipped occasionally.
Clean the piece first to remove any tarnish and then dip it a couple of times--letting it dry completely between dips.
I make copper jewelry and though I like the way it looks when it oxidizes, not everyone does and, so far, this seems to work pretty well.
I have also dipped sterling silver with good results. I just don't make as much of that anymore--economics, you know?
(Stainless steel jewelry won't change color on you, by the way, and can be very pretty when polished.)
The reason why your 'silver' jewelry is turning that copper color is because it IS copper. Your jewelry is most likely just silver plated, and when the silver plating wears off, it reveals what your jewelry is really made of: copper.
I agree with ruth5285, coat your jewelry in something to seal it and protect the silver from being worn off from friction and continous wear. To bring it back to it's original silver plated condition though, you can use something like this or this.
It has nothing to do with whether it's sterling or not. Tarnishing is natural. The only reason some silver doesn't tarnish is because it has been plated with rhodium, platinum or white gold.
6 Replies
Allergy Remedies
Is It Possible to Go Natural? | <urn:uuid:2c97733e-ee1b-4fed-b609-31b151a43387> | http://www.caloriecount.com/forums/the-lounge/silver-jewelry-turning-copper-help | en | 0.965405 | 0.182452 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Free agent decision isn't a reflection upon anything or anyone -- other than LeBron James: Bud Shaw
lbj-horiz-jk.jpgFor seven years, LeBron James has built a national reputation of a star athlete who values loyalty above all else. The next two months will determine whether that was just a facade, says Bud Shaw, who suggests that if he does leave the Cavaliers, it reflects much more on James than it does on Cleveland or its fans.
Bud Shaw
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- LeBron James' free agency is not a referendum on Cleveland or the Cavaliers.
So save the "please stay, LeBron" wail, the billboard cries for help and any candlelight vigils in the works.
If this relationship ends, it's not you. It really is him.
Who is he? The guy raising his kids here and including his community and teammates in his MVP award ceremonies? The guy who should be seething over how it ended this year, for himself and for his people?
What does he need that wouldn't still be waiting for him at the end of another three-year deal with the Cavs, a deal that could be his legacy statement that he intends to take care of unfinished business?
What's really important to him?
To become part of the global discussion with Magic and Bird and Jordan and Kobe, he'll have to win titles. Being in the global discussion as one of the all-time greats isn't the same as being a global icon. Movies and shoe sales can do that for you. The other is about winning titles. James can win those titles here as easily as anywhere else.
If you can believe even half of what he says about Northeast Ohio, this is the only place where winning championships could possibly mean as much to him.
So what's the real lure to leaving?
Money? The Cavs can pay him more. His Nike deals don't include big market accelerators.
More help? No doubt it's a grind carrying a team every night in the playoffs, especially with a troublesome elbow. But James was consulted on the major acquisitions made here under Danny Ferry and Dan Gilbert, who have both showed they understand their obligation to him.
James could team up with Chris Bosh in New York or Derrick Rose in Chicago. The Knicks still wouldn't be an instant title favorite. And good luck living up to Jordan's legacy in Chicago.
He could team up with Dwyane Wade in Miami, though you'd have to show me how that's going to work. Somebody has to play second-chair fiddle. Who's it going to be?
A new coach? As Mike Brown disappears under the bus, it should be pointed out he did a lot for James. He helped make him a first-team NBA defender for one. Did Brown have major shortcomings? You bet. But his team cashed out on him in Game 5, its self-proclaimed many times over superstar included. At least Brown stayed true to his principles. They can't say the same.
Power? James will have a lot of say in any organization. Here, he knows the dynamics.
Stay and he has the opportunity to reverse the sports fortunes of a place he claims to hold dear while still getting much of what any other non-Sun Belt city could bring.
The last seven years here haven't exactly been a sentence for him. Olympic gold, two MVPs, a NBA Finals, perennial All-Star berths, a book, a documentary, a movie, lunch dates with Warren Buffett.
Market size matters little in the capped NBA. James is just as big in China as he would've been had he spent the last seven seasons anywhere else. Kobe is bigger there. But that's about titles, not market.
This is not to say James can never leave here without being painted as a betrayor. Just that if he's the guy he keeps telling everybody he is, he'll decide the Boston series wasn't any way to go out.
Not for him. Not for his team. Not for the place he calls home. | <urn:uuid:a16d625a-7816-4333-aee0-76c4376ac414> | http://www.cleveland.com/budshaw/index.ssf/2010/05/free_agent_decision_isnt_a_ref.html | en | 0.982208 | 0.035599 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
A semi truck struck a telephone wire behind the Arby's restaurant near 9 Mile Road and Harper Avenue, leaving the intersection without power.
St. Clair Shores police and fire worked to fix what police called a mess. The truck was tangled in the live wire behind the restaurant which is on the corner of Harper Avenue and Oconnor Street.
The truck driver was safely rescued from the cabin. He was trapped inside for about an hour.
DTE Energy had a crew working to shut power off so they can get the truck out of there.
No injuries have been reported.
Firefighters say the truck driver was trying to make a delivery in the back of the restaurant when he hit some lines. He stopped, stayed in the cab and called for help.
People inside the Arby's were told to get out because there was concern that a fire could start.
"There's stuff that we're concerned about the building because it's energized," said St. Clair Shores Fire Chief George Moorehouse. "We want to hopefully get this resolved quickly so we don't have a fire in the building. (Firefighters) are in holding pattern because the building technically is a giant toaster oven waiting to go." | <urn:uuid:caf10087-b74e-48de-8564-e5bc23547dba> | http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/semi-truck-hits-pole-gets-tangled-in-wire-in-st-clair-shores/24484518 | en | 0.982711 | 0.110242 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Comments Threshold
RE: speed
By omnicronx on 11/16/2009 4:18:27 PM , Rating: 2
I'm just also commenting that I have videos from youtube and other websites stall even when cache is full.
And we both tried to give you an explanation as to why this could be happening.
Do you know all there is to know about youtube and it's services, the cable companies rules and policies on bandwidth and what not, and what impact the load at various times in the day have on watching video? Trust me, you don't.
I don't need to know these things, you already gave me all the variables I needed to know. If its on your PC already, you can pretty much discount everything but the Youtube player (its only cached on your PC, so you cannot blame the service, your ISP, throttling, strange gravitation forces etc), or flash .
I'm sorry that we used our brains to try and explain what you are seeing.
RE: speed
If its on your PC already
Related Articles
| <urn:uuid:171fff6c-c8a1-4e13-a993-a8b67d7e7bb0> | http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=16830&commentid=512249&threshhold=1&red=3433 | en | 0.935528 | 0.29382 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
The Code Even the CIA Can’t Crack
May 8, 2009 by
Filed under Featured Stories, Symbolism
The sculpture named Kryptos at CIA headquarters contains a secret message — but not even the agency’s brightest can crack its code.
Photo: Adrian Gaut
The most celebrated inscription at the Central Intelligence Agency’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia, used to be the biblical phrase chiseled into marble in the main lobby: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” But in recent years, another text has been the subject of intense scrutiny inside the Company and out: 865 characters of seeming gibberish, punched out of half-inch-thick copper in a courtyard.
It’s part of a sculpture called Kryptos, created by DC artist James Sanborn. He got the commission in 1988, when the CIA was constructing a new building behind its original headquarters. The agency wanted an outdoor installation for the area between the two buildings, so a solicitation went out for a piece of public art that the general public would never see. Sanborn named his proposal after the Greek word for hidden. The work is a meditation on the nature of secrecy and the elusiveness of truth, its message written entirely in code.
Whether or not our top spooks intended it, the persistent opaqueness of Kryptos subversively embodies the nature of the CIA itself—and serves as a reminder of why secrecy and subterfuge so fascinate us. “The whole thing is about the power of secrecy,” Sanborn tells me when I visit his studio, a barnlike structure on Jimmy Island in Chesapeake Bay (population: 2). He is 6’7″, bearded, and looks a bit younger than his 63 years. Looming behind him is his latest work in progress, a 28-foot-high re-creation of the world’s first particle accelerator, surrounded by some of the original hardware from the Manhattan Project. The atomic gear fits nicely with the thrust of Sanborn’s oeuvre, which centers on what he calls invisible forces.
With Kryptos, Sanborn has made his strongest statement about what we don’t see and can’t know. “He designed a piece that would resonate with this workforce in particular,” says Toni Hiley, who curates the employees-only CIA museum. Sanborn’s ambitious work includes the 9-foot 11-inch-high main sculpture—an S-shaped wave of copper with cut-out letters, anchored by an 11-foot column ofpetrified wood—and huge pieces of granite abutting a low fountain. And although most of the installation resides in a space near the CIA cafeteria, where analysts and spies can enjoy it when they eat outside, Kryptos extends beyond the courtyard to the other side of the new building. There,copper plates near the entrance bear snippets of Morse code, and a naturally magnetized lodestonesits by a compass rose etched in granite.
“People call me an agent of Satan,” says artist Sanborn, “because I won’t tell my secret.”
Photo: Adrian Gaut
The heart of the piece, though, is the encrypted text, scrambled, Sanborn says, by “a coding system that would unravel itself slowly over a period of time.”
When he began the work, Sanborn knew very little about cryptography, so he reluctantly accepted the CIA’s offer to work with Ed Scheidt, who had just retired as head of Langley’s Cryptographic Center. Scheidt himself was serving two masters. “I was reminded of my need to preserve the agency’s secrets,” Scheidt says. “You know, don’t tell him the current way of doing business. And don’t create something that you cannot break—but at the same time, make it something that will last a while.”
Scheidt schooled Sanborn in cryptographic techniques employed from the late 19th century until World War II, when field agents had to use pencil and paper to encode and decode their messages. (These days, of course, cryptography is all about rugged computer algorithms using long mathematical keys.) After experimenting with a range of techniques, including poly-alphabetic substitution, shifting matrices, and transposition, the two arrived at a form of old-school, artisanal cryptography that they felt would hold off code breakers long enough to generate some suspense. The solutions, however, were Sanborn’s alone, and he did not share them with Scheidt. “I assumed the first three sections would be deciphered in a matter of weeks, perhaps months,” Sanborn says. Scheidt figured the whole puzzle would be solved in less than seven years.
During the two years of construction, there were moments of intrigue and paranoia, in keeping with the subject matter and the client. “We had to play a little on the clandestine side,” says Scheidt, who talks of unnamed observers outside armed with long-range cameras and high-intensity microphones. “We had people with ladders climbing up the walls of my studio trying to photograph inside,” Sanborn says. He came to believe that factions within the CIA wanted to kill the project. There were unexplained obstacles. For instance, he says, “one day a big truckload of stone for the courtyard disappeared. Never found. I saw it in the evening, went back in the morning, and it had vanished. Nobody would tell me what happened to it.”
Sanborn finished the sculpture in time for a November 1990 dedication. The agency released the enciphered text, and a frenzy erupted in the crypto world as some of the best—and wackiest—cryptanalytic talent set to work. But it took them more than seven years, not the few months Sanborn had expected, to crack sections K1, K2, and K3. The first code breaker, a CIA employee named David Stein, spent 400 hours working by hand on his own time. Stein, who described the emergence of the first passage as a religious experience, revealed his partial solution to a packed auditorium at Langley in February 1998. But not a word was leaked to the press. Sixteen months later, Jim Gillogly, an LA-area cryptanalyst used a Pentium II computer and some custom software to crack the same three sections. When news of Gillogly’s success broke, the CIA publicized Stein’s earlier crack.
James Sanborn buried his sculpture’s message so deeply that a CIA staffer took seven years to solve just the first three sections. Here’s what we know.
The first section, K1, uses a modified Vigenère cipher. It’s encrypted through substitution—each letter corresponds to another—and can be solved only with the alphabetic rows of letters on the right. The keywords, which help determine the substitutions, are KRYPTOS and PALIMPSEST. A misspelling—in this case IQLUSION—may be a clue to cracking K4.
K2, like the first section, was also encrypted using the alphabets on the right. One new trick Sanborn used, though, was to insert an X between some sentences, making it harder to crack the code by tabulating letter frequency. The keywords here are KRYPTOS and ABSCISSA. And there’s another intriguing misspelling: UNDERGRUUND.
A different cryptographic technique was used for K3: transposition. All the letters are jumbled and can be deciphered only by uncovering the complex matrices and mathematics that determined their misplacement. Of course, there is a misspelling (DESPARATLY), and the last sentence (CAN YOU SEE ANYTHING?) is strangely bracketed by an X and a Q.
Sanborn intentionally made K4 much harder to crack, hinting that the plaintext itself is not standard English and would require a second level of cryptanalysis. Misspellings and other anomalies in previous sections may help. Some suspect that clues are present in other parts of the installation: the Morse code, the compass rose, or perhaps the adjacent fountain.
But if anyone expected that solving the first three sections would lead to a quick resolution of the whole puzzle, their hopes were soon dashed. The partial solutions only deepened the confusion.
K1 is a passage written by Sanborn. “I tried to make it sound good and be inscrutable enough to be interesting,” he says. Judge for yourself how well he did: “Between subtle shading and the absence of light lies the nuance of iqlusion.” Yes, iqlusion—one of several misspellings that Sanborn says are intentional. The second section reads like a telegraph transmission. There’s a reference to a magnetic field and information transmitted to a specific latitude and longitude—geo-coordinates for a location a couple of hundred feet south of the sculpture itself (a spot where nothing of apparent interest lies).
K3 paraphrases a diary entry of anthropologist Howard Carter from his 1922 discovery of King Tut’s tomb, ending with a question: “Can you see anything?” When Gillogly turned up that passage, he says, he had “the same excitement and exultation that Carter described. In a way, it seems that the plaintext is a metaphor for the work of the code breaker, or perhaps of the CIA itself.”
Making the effort more complicated is the fact that the puzzle maker is alive and, in theory at least, a potential resource. For years, there has been a delicate pas de deux between the artist and the rabidKryptos community. Every word Sanborn utters is eagerly examined for hints. But they also have to wonder whether he’s trying to help them or throw them off track. Scheidt says that this process parallels the work of the CIA: “The intelligence picture includes mirrors and obfuscation.”
Photo: Adrian Gaut
“It’s not my intent to put out disinformation,” Sanborn says. “I’m a benevolent cryptographer.” Some think otherwise, and Sanborn occasionally receives messages from people enraged that he knows the secret and they don’t. “It’s the fact that I have some sort of power,” he says. “You get stalkers. I don’t know how they get my cell numbers and everything off the Internet, but they do. People have called me and said pretty terrible things. There are some who say I’m an agent of Satan because I have a secret I won’t tell.”
Though Sanborn’s usual practice is to stay in the background, every so often he feels obliged to comment. In 2005, he refuted author Dan Brown’s claim that the “WW” in the plaintext of K3 could be inverted to “MM,” implying Mary Magdalene. (Brown included pieces ofKryptos on the book jacket of The Da Vinci Code and has hinted that his next novel will draw on the CIA sculpture, a prospect that deeply annoys Sanborn.)
Intentional or not, Sanborn’s comments (or lack thereof) seem to generate an added layer of confusion. Even a straightforward question, like who besides him knows the solution, opens up new wormholes. The official story is that Sanborn shared the answer with only one person, the CIA director at the time, William Webster. Indeed, the decoded K3 text reads in part, “Who knows the exact location only ww.” Sanborn has confirmed that these letters refer to Webster (not Mary Magdalene). And in 1999, Webster himself told The New York Times that the solution was “philosophical and obscure.”
But Sanborn also claims that the envelope he gave Webster didn’t contain the complete answer. “Nobody has it all,” he says. “I tricked them.”
So, Webster really doesn’t know?
“No,” says Sanborn, who has taken measures to ensure that someone will be able to confirm a successful solution even after he dies. He adds that even he doesn’t know the exact solution anymore. “If somebody tried to torture me, I couldn’t tell them,” he says. “I haven’t looked at the plaintext of K4 in a long time, and I don’t have a very good memory, so I don’t really know what it says.” What does the CIA make of all this? “When it comes to the solution,” says spokesperson Marie Harf, “those who need to know, know.”
If anyone manages to solve the last cipher, that won’t end the hunt for the ultimate truth aboutKryptos. “There may be more to the puzzle than what you see,” Scheidt says. “Just because you broke it doesn’t mean you have the answer.” All of this leads one to ask: Is there a solution? Sanborn insists there is—but he would be just as happy if no one ever discovered it. “In some ways, I’d rather die knowing it wasn’t cracked,” he says. “Once an artwork loses its mystery, it’s lost a lot.”
The day I visited Kryptos, a rare snowstorm in Virginia had blanketed the courtyard in white. I circled the sculpture carefully, marveling at the way the colors and texture of the surrounding landscape affected the panels, as some character strings became highlighted in white and other phrases shimmered, reflecting the dull light bouncing off the windows. I examined all the pieces, brushing aside the snow to uncover the Morse code and the compass rose. It was like unearthing hieroglyphs in some ancient ruin. Agents and bureaucrats shuffled past, deep in thought, clutching cups of coffee from the onsite Starbucks. In their midst, Jim Sanborn’s statement in copper, wood, and granite remains, proof that even in the house of spies, some truths may never be found.
2 Responses to “The Code Even the CIA Can’t Crack”
1. mike says:
use 3-d glasses and put your back to a mirror and read it!!
2. mike says:
sorry, i forgot to mention use a black light in the mirror room, cheers
Speak Your Mind
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The Inflexion-Point Blog: Simplifying Complex Sales Challenges
B2B Sales: is your Champion Capable of Making the Case for Change?
Posted by Bob Apollo on Wed 11-Sep-2013
Every salesperson longs to find a champion within their prospect who is prepared to recommend the vendor’s solution to their colleagues. Even better if that champion appears to be the ultimate decision-maker. But finding an enthusiastic champion isn’t enough to guarantee that you’re going to win the sale.
Decision diceI’m not just thinking about people who behave like champions and position themselves as decision-makers when they really aren’t. Sales people come across those fake champions more often than they would like, and with experience there usually comes a better - but rarely perfect - ability to identify the false prophets from the true believers.
No: I’m talking about people who genuinely believe that your solution is the best available and are prepared to enthusiastically champion you to their colleagues. The problem is, all too often, that getting them onside and willing to promote your solution isn’t enough. And it’s not just about their ability to position your solution as being different from and superior to those of your competitors.
Getting their colleagues on-side
It’s about your champion’s ability to make the case for change within their own organisation. High-value purchases are increasingly team-driven, consensus-led decisions and are usually subject to lengthy and careful consideration. Senior managers have learned to their cost that imposed decisions often fail to receive the support of the people who are ultimately responsible for the project’s success.
In many environments, your real competition isn’t the companies you regard as competitors. It’s all the alternative ways that your prospect’s organisation could use the funds that are going to be required - including keeping them in the bank.
Your real competition
Your real competition is often other completely unrelated projects - maybe being promoted by a completely different department. And your real competition also almost always includes the possibility that the prospect will at the end of the day simply decide to “do nothing”.
That’s why cultivating a champion who believes that yours is the best option to solve their particular problem is often not enough to win you the business. Your champion also has to be able to sell the case for change to their colleagues, and to sell their project as being more important to their company than all the other competing projects.
Their ability to sell your solution internally won’t be enough. When their decision comes up for approval, you can count on there being discussions around the ultimate decision-making group along the lines of “tell me again why we need to do this, and why we need to do this now…” as well as the robust promotion of the alternative projects that others have been lobbying for.
Breaking away from the status quo
At this point, your champion has to be able to make a persuasive case for change to their colleagues. They will have to explain why sticking with the status quo would be a risky and potentially far more costly decision. And they will need to explain why this project is in the interests of both their colleagues and the company as a whole.
In short, they have to be able to communicate “what’s in it for you, for your department and for the company as a whole” to their colleagues. And here’s the problem: unless you have selected your champion very carefully, or have been very lucky, they are probably not as good at that process than you might hope.
Coaching your champion
You can’t afford to leave these things to chance. Many of the top-performing sales people that I’ve been able to work with attribute at least part of their success to their ability to coach their champions to make the most persuasive case for change to their colleagues. Luck should play no part in this: you have to be prepared to equip your champion to make the strongest possible case.
It’s usually helpful to role-play the potential reaction of their colleagues with your champion, and to play out some “what-if” scenarios with them - and it’s often a good idea to help them anticipate and prepare strong answers to their colleagues’ inevitable “what’s in it for me, my department and the company” questions.
As long as you apply a modest amount of emotional intelligence to this exercise, you can do it in a way that seems helpful and in no way patronising, condescending or questioning of your champion’s ability. You can present it as the shared learning from helping dozens of people in positions like theirs to successfully navigate pet projects through the approval process.
And anyway, what’s the alternative? Crossing your fingers and hoping? Rather you than me…
Topics: B2B Sales, The Challenger Sale | <urn:uuid:91a50155-a772-4063-af68-d97e207838ef> | http://www.inflexion-point.com/Blog/bid/100732/B2B-Sales-is-your-Champion-Capable-of-Making-the-Case-for-Change | en | 0.973265 | 0.049122 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Saturday, December 23, 2006
George P. Marsh, The Earth As Modified By Human Action (1864)
The apophthegm, "the world is governed too much," though unhappily too truly spoken of many countries--and perhaps, in some aspects, true of all--has done much mischief whenever it has been too unconditionally accepted as a political axiom. The popular apprehension of being over-governed, and, I am afraid, more emphatically the fear of being over-taxed, has had much to do with the general abandonment of certain governmental duties by the ruling powers of most modern states.
It is theoretically the duty of government to provide all those public facilities of intercommunication and commerce, which are essential to the prosperity of civilized commonwealths, but which individual means are inadequate to furnish, and for the due administration of which individual guarantees are insufficient. Hence public roads, canals, railroads, postal communications, the circulating medium of exchange whether metallic or representative, armies, navies, being all matters in which the nation at large has a vastly deeper interest than any private association can have, ought legitimately to be constructed and provided only by that which is the visible personification and embodiment of the nation, namely, its legislative head.
No doubt the organization and management of those insitutions by government are liable, as are all things human, to great abuses. The multiplication of public placeholders, which they imply, is a serious evil. But the corruption thus engendered, foul as it is, does not strike so deep as the rottenness of private corporations; and official rank, position, and duty have, in practice, proved better securities for fidelity and pecuniary integrity in the conduct of the interests in question, than the suretyships of private corporate agents, whose bondsmen so often fail or abscond before their principal is detected....
The example of the American States shows that private corporations--whose rule of action is the interest of the association, not the conscience of the individual--though composed of ultra-democratic elements, may become most dangerous enemies to rational liberty, to the moral interests of the commonwealth, to the purity of legislation and of judicial action, and to the sacredness of private rights.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Peig Sayers, An Old Woman’s Reflections (1936)
I am now at tight grips with the years and many a thing I saw. Everything I was interested in I didn’t let it astray. Someone else will have pastime out of my work when I’m gone on the way of truth. A person here and a person there will say, maybe, “Who was that old Peig Sayers,” but poor Peig will be the length of their shout from them. This green bench where she used to do the studying will be a domicile for the birds of the wilderness, and the little house where she used to eat and drink, it’s unlikely there’ll be a trace of it there.
These thoughts appearing in my heart today are lonely. They are not pleasant for me but I can’t help them. Here they are towards me in their thousands; they are like soldiers. As I scatter them, they come together again. It’s no good for me to be at them. They have beaten me. My blessing and the blessing of God on Youth; and my advice to everyone is to borrow from this life, because a spool is no faster turning than it.
Georg Simmel, "The Metropolis and Mental Life" (1903)
[O]ne must meet the difficulty of asserting his own personality within the dimensions of metropolitan life. Where the quantitative increase in importance and the expense of energy reach their limits, one seizes upon qualitative differentiation in order somehow to attract the attention of the social circle by playing upon its sensitivity for differences. Finally, man is tempted to adopt the most tendentious peculiarities, that is, the specifically metropolitan extravagances of mannerism, caprice, and preciousness. Now, the meaning of these extravagances does not at all lie in the contents of such behavior, but rather in its form of "being different," of standing out in a striking manner and thereby attracting attention. For many character types, ultimately the only means of saving for themselves some modicum of self-esteem and the sense of filling a position is indirect, through the awareness of others.
In the same sense a seemingly insignificant factor is operating, the cumulative effects of which are, however, still noticeable. I refer to the brevity and scarcity of the inter-human contacts granted to the metropolitan man, as compared with social intercourse in the small town. The temptation to appear "to the point," to appear concentrated and strikingly characteristic, lies much closer to the individual in brief metropolitan contacts than in an atmosphere in which frequent and prolonged association assures the personality of an unambiguous image of himself in the eyes of the other.
Elsie C. Parsons, Fear and Conventionality (1914)
Steadfast in their functions, the gods are credited too with steadfast views or convictions. They are invariably conservatives. They may be given the privilege of an occasional change of heart or of temper, but their mind they may not change. Hence comformity with their unyielding opinions is judged pleasing to them and they are expected to feel aggrieved or dishonored by non-conformity. Their habits being fixed, they are very susceptible to insult and have a very nice sense of the honor due them.
Many other human traits besides the desire to be imitated or agreed with or considered are ascribed, we know, to the gods. The more they resemble their worshippers, the more sympathetic and accessible they appear. Hence even nature or animal gods are likely to become anthropomorphized, and gods of all kinds tend to be assimilated in one way or another with their priests. But because of this very humanizing of the gods, there is always a certain amount of danger in dealing with them. They may be superhumanly conservative, but their temper is human enough to be uncertain.
Terry Eagleton, Holy Terror (2005)
Human law has both a kindly and an intimidatory face. This is not a contradiction it can escape, since it must resort to force to protect the powerless who take shelter beneath it. Even so, it is a contradiction which threatens to strip the law of the credibility and free assent it needs in order to be effective, since our minds are not easily adapted to a power which is at once daunting and benign. If the law has an angelic presence, it also has a Satanic one. This would then seem true of God as well, whom we are expected both to love and fear. Yet the parallel is deceptive, for what is most fearful about God is his love. God is a shattering, traumatic, sweetly intolerable force who breaks and remakes human subjects by offering them something of his own frighteningly unconditional friendship. Fearing God does not mean being scared witless by his implacable wrath but respecting his law, which is the law of justice and compassion.
Rainer Maria Rilke, “Worpswede” (1902)
With human beings, we are in the habit of learning much from their hands and everything from their faces, on which, as on a dial, the hours are visible that cradle and carry their souls. But landscape is without hands and has no face - or rather it is all face and has a terrible and dispiriting effect on man….
For let it be confessed: landscape is foreign to us, and we are fearfully alone amongst trees that blossom and by streams that flow. Alone with a corpse one is not nearly so defenceless as when alone with trees. For however mysterious death may be, life that is not our life is far more mysterious, life that is not concerned with us, and which, without seeing us, celebrates its festivals, as it were, at which we look on with a certain embarrassment, like chance guests who speak another language.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Henry Corbin, "Cyclical Time in Mazdaism and Ismailism" (1951)
Our author makes it clear that there can be beings who, although they have in appearance come into this world, since they are there, have in fact never come into it. Inversely - and here the analysis becomes most striking - there are men whom we can visually discern to have left this world. They are dead, they are no longer there. We say: "They have departed." No, actually they have never left this world and will never leave it. For to leave this world it does not suffice to die. One can die and remain in it forever. One must be living to leave it. Or rather, to be living is just this.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Caroline Walker Bynum, Metamorphosis and Identity (2001)
We must rear a new generation of students who will gaze in wonder at texts and artifacts, quick to puzzle over a translation, slow to project or to appropriate, quick to assume there is a significance, slow to generalize about it. Not only as scholars, then, but also as teachers, we must astonish and be astonished. For the flat, generalizing, presentist view of the past encapsulates it and makes it boring, whereas amazement yearns toward an understanding, a significance, that is always just a little beyond both our theories and our fears.
Every view of things that is not wonderful is false.
Judith Butler, The Psychic Life of Power (1997)
The insistence that a subject is passionately attached to his or her own subordination has been invoked cynically by those who seek to debunk the claims of the subordinated. If a subject can be shown to pursue or sustain his or her subordinated status, the reasoning goes, then perhaps final responsibility for that subordination resides with the subject. Over and against this view, I would maintain that the attachment to subjection is produced through the workings of power, and that part of the operation of power is made clear in this psychic effect, one of the most insidious of its productions.
Titus Burckhardt, "Contra Teilhard de Chardin" (1969)
The average modern man "believes" above all in science - the science that has produced modern surgery and modern industry - and this is almost his basic "religion." If he considers himself a Christian at the same time, the two "beliefs" stand in opposition to each other in his soul, and engender a latent crisis that calls for a solution. This solution is what Teilhard de Chardin seems to bring. He "ties the two loose ends together"; but he does so, not by making, as he should, a distinction between different planes of reality - that of empirical knowledge which is exact in its way but necessarily fragmentary and provisional, and that of faith which is bound up with timeless certainties - but by mixing them inextricably together: he endows empirical science with an absolute certainty that it does not and cannot have, and he projects the idea of indefinite progress into God Himself.
Friday, May 13, 2005
William of Ockham, In Libros Sententiarum (circa 1317)
As for the claim that there are two kinds of science, one of which proceeds from principles that are known per se by the light of a higher science, I reply that even though this is true of a subordinate science, still, no given individual ever has evident knowledge of the relevant conclusions unless he knows them either through experience or through premises that he has evident cognition of. Hence, it is absurd to claim that I have scientific knowledge with respect to this or that conclusion by reason of the fact that you know principles which I accept on faith because you tell them to me. And, in the same way, it is silly to claim that I have scientific knowledge of the conclusions of theology by reason of the fact that God knows principles which I accept on faith because he reveals them.
Georges Bernanos, The European Spirit and the World of Machines (1946)
There is no instinct in man which cannot be turned against man and be made to destroy him. The instinct for justice, on the other hand, is perhaps the most destructive of all. Passing from reason to instinct, man in his concept of justice acquires a prodigious capacity for destruction. The instinct for justice isn't really justice any more than the sexual instinct is really love; it isn't even the desire for justice, but rather a savage lust, one of the most powerful forms that man's hatred of himself takes. The instinct for justice, when equipped with all the resources of technology, is capable of laying waste to the earth itself.
Max Horkheimer, Eclipse of Reason (1946)
Deprived of its rational foundation, the democratic principle becomes exclusively dependent upon the so-called interests of the people, and these are functions of blind or all too conscious economic forces. They do not offer any guarantee against tyranny. In the period of the free market system, for instance, institutions based on the idea of human rights were accepted by many people as a good instrument for controlling the government and maintaining peace. But if the situation changes, if powerful economic groups find it useful to set up a dictatorship and abolish majority rule, no objection founded on reason can be opposed to their action. If they have a real chance of success, they would simply be foolish not to take it. The only consideration that could prevent them from doing so would be the possibility that their own interests would be endangered, and not concern over violation of a truth, of reason. Once the philosophical foundation of democracy has collapsed, the statement that dictatorship is bad is rationally valid only for those who are not its beneficiaries, and there is no theoretical obstacle to the transformation of this statement into its opposite.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Laurence Sterne, Philanthropy Recommended (circa 1768)
Look into the world - how often do you behold a sordid wretch, whose straight heart is open to no man's affliction, taking shelter behind an appearance of piety, and putting on the garb of religion, which none but the merciful and compassionate have a title to wear. Take notice with what sanctity he goes to the end of his days, in the same selfish track in which he at first set out - turning neither to the right hand nor to the left - but plods on - pores all his life long upon the ground, as if afraid to look up, lest peradventure he should see aught which might turn him one moment out of that straight line where interest is carrying him....
Lord Dunsany, The Food of Death (1917)
W.H. Hudson, Far Away and Long Ago (1918)
John Cowper Powys, The War and Culture (1914)
There is industrial immorality, and there is military immorality, just as there is industrial heroism and military heroism. Human nature remains human nature - that strange agglomeration of devotion and depravity, of animal lusts and saintly ascetism - and it seems as though it were destined to retain this paradoxical character to the end of its history. But meanwhile the conditions under which the inevitable "struggle for existence" rages are bound materially to change. Perfect human felicity is doubtless a pathetic illusion, but there is no reason why certain obvious abuses, certain obvious results of insane mismanagement, should not be removed. This is not idealism. It is common sense. War under modern conditions is such an abuse, such a piece of pure insanity; and to put an end to war were not to outrage the laws of nature by a stroke of monstrous ideality, it were simply to give a new direction to these laws by the use of common intelligence.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Edmund Gosse, Father and Son (1907)
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‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ Embodies a Forever War
[23 May 2014]
By Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters Film and TV Editor
“I don’t want a war,” asserts Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence). She stands opposite Erik (Michael Fassbender), hoping to explain what she thinks she’s doing, her determination to kill yet another human, in order to stop what she thinks is happening. Erik suggests an alternative to her perception, namely, “This is war.” Already, ongoing, and apparently forever.
Erik’s version of the world, and specifically the mutants’ place in it, is more or less in accord with the X-Men movies thus far, starting with Bryan Singer’s The X-Men (2000). Humans, perennially afraid of what they see as “different,” can’t seem to help but attack it. The mutants, in turn, must defend themselves, typically with violence to match or best that of their opponents. At the start of X-Men: Days of Future Past, these mutually destructive efforts seem to come to a logical end, as the humans have captured and rejiggered Mystique’s own particular power, shapeshifting, using her DNA to build robots that can turn any mutant’s power back against itself.
These robots are called Sentinels, somewhat ironically, and as the new film begins, they’re engaged in what appear to be ultimate acts of war against a sub-group of X-Men, who scramble and resist within a walled fortress-sort-of-space, doing their best to avoid extinction by robots that essentially use their own powers against them. Barely escaping this attack, the mutants—including Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page) and Bishop (Omar Sy)—regroup and come up with a plan to change their present dire circumstance.
As their film’s title suggests, this plan has them trying to change the past, specifically by sending Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) (or more precisely, his consciousness) back in time to 1973, when the Sentinels are conceived and then constructed by one especially fearful and ingenious human adversary, Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage). They sort out that the way to stop the Sentinels is to stop Mystique, who, in 1973 (specifically, at the Paris Peace Accords) assassinates Trask and thus horrifies and inspires the rest of the US government—headed by none other than Richard Nixon (Mark Camacho)—to proceed with Trask’s not-so-secret program.
If the mutants’ scheme sounds complicated, it’s most obviously a way to remix the franchise’s two casts, the one where Erik is friends-and-then-mortal-enemies with Charles (James McAvoy), and the earlier (but also later) one where Erik is more invested in his identity as the supervillain Magneto (Ian McKellen) and Charles is Professor X (James McAvoy). As Kitty Pryde looks anguished and holds her hands over Wolverine’s temples in the present, his past, still-mightily worked-out body is inhabited by his future consciousness, full of knowledge and experience with the older X-Men, so that he’s able to advise the younger X-Men to do right things and not set themselves on their path to war with humans—and apparently specifically, with Nixon’s humans.
“I know a guy,” he says by way of displaying his storehouse to the somewhat surprised younger Charles and Eric, a guy who turns out to be the teenaged Quicksilver, played by Evan Peters, and grants this sometimes unwieldy lot of exposition a brilliantly entertaining set-piece, as he speeds around a prison chamber to the tune of Jim Croce’s “Time in a Bottle” rearranging the weapons wielded by would-be adversaries so as to allow the X-Men’s escape.
Wolverine’s historical knowledge interlaces with yours, as the film uses Nixon in ways both clever and profound. As an historical marker, the 37th US president is perfectly disturbing, an unredeemed emblem of paranoia and fear (despite and because of China and most definitely because of Watergate and Henry Kissinger). That Nixon here is so easily persuaded to take on Trask’s fears and monsters makes him at once individual and representative, as a villain (and something of an entrepreneur) in relation to the X-Men. Like and unlike the mutants, he’ll never be a savior, much as he might try to rewrite history, in this movie and in the nation’s collective memory.
Nixon is of course best remembered for his part in what Joe Haldeman called The Forever War, in his science-fictionalization of the war in Vietnam. Here Nixon by way of Trask articulates that the interests of the military-industrial complex, the necessity and faux rationale of perpetual war-making, of identifying and creating enemies to fight.
Trask’s part in this appears to be simple and philosophical, as he declares his difficult combination of abhorrence and admiration of the mutants, but the film also offers multiple images of the manufacturing, shipping, and promotional process: the Sentinels are as much a way to sell the US (and Trask’s company, its logo everywhere) as it is to protect humans and kill mutants.
That the mutants don’t have an equally powerful idea to sell becomes the overriding lesson of this film. Mystique, being a villain, a woman (mostly and vividly, in her blue bodysuit form) and a literally mutable entity, is something of a perfect vehicle for conveying the complexities of the dilemma, both for humans and mutants, all equally emotionally unstable. As Charles worries over losing her to Erik (in First Class), Erik worries over keeping her, now, presenting her with the question, pointedly, as to whether she’s Charles’ Raven or her own (that is, Erik’s own) Mystique.
As much as she tries not to be either, Mystique is also, always, never quite only herself. She doesn’t want a war, but she embodies one.
Published at: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/182080-x-men-days-of-future-past/ | <urn:uuid:15bffaa7-b614-4922-9eda-d50540e3b7cd> | http://www.popmatters.com/tools/print/182080/ | en | 0.947049 | 0.063667 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Best printer: 16 top inkjet and laser printers
The best inkjet and laser printers around
Best printer 15 inkjet and laser printers
What's the best printer to buy? All-purpose printers are a booming market, and you're spoilt for choice, so here's our pick of the best printers on the market right now.
And don't imagine that mono laser printers are the only option - colour laser printers are now very affordable, and you can even get get multi-function laser printers, too. So we've also come up with a list of the best laser printers, and not just for office users with budgets to burn, but home users looking for value, quality, compactness and ease of use.
Best injet printers
So let's firstly look at the best inkjet printers around before looking at the best laser printers. Please remember that the prices shown here are for guidance only.
1. HP DeskJet 1010 review - £33
HP DeskJet 1010 review
The first thing you'll probably notice about HP's minimalist DeskJet 1010 printer is the price. At £33, it's almost as cheap as replacement ink cartridges. It's safe to say that the model isn't the most feature-packed on the market. It lacks scanning, wireless connectivity and occasionally spits out misaligned prints, but for occasional prints (of a casual nature), you'll struggle to find a cheaper and more compact printer than the DeskJet 1010.
Read our DeskJet 1010 review
2. Brother MFC-J4620DW - £95
Brother MFC J4620DW
The Brother MFC-J4620DW packs some features missing from similarly-priced models in the company's range. They include A4 and A3 scanning, copying and faxing, in addition to the ability to connect directly to a range of cloud-based services such as OneDrive and Dropbox.
One of its bigger plus points versus rival printers is its simple operation. It has a big, tilting 9.3cm touchscreen, a range of connection options and supports double-sided scanning. With a mixture of ivory and black, the MFC-J4620DW is less bulky than some of its peers without skimping on performance: printing goes up to 6,000 x 1,200 dpi with speeds of up to 35ppm in mono and 28ppm in colour.
Read out Brother MFC-J4620DW review
3. Brother DCP-J4120DW - £80
Brother DCP J4120DW
You might not always want to print on A3 paper, but when you do, many conventional inkjet printers aren't up to the task. Brother's DCP-J4120DW can, in addition to being able to do duplex and colour printing without breaking the bank.
Currently on sale for a fair chunk below its official £120 price tag, this printer comes with an impressive feature set. It can scan, copy, connect via Wi-Fi and print directly from SD, SDHC, SDXC, memory sticks and flash drives. Its touchscreen might not be the best, but it's a quiet, fast and consistent little performer that's well worthy of your attention.
Read our Brother DCP-J4120DW review
4. HP DeskJet 1000 – £30
HP deskjet 1000
How do they do it for the money? It's not just that this printer is cheap, because with most budget printers you get stung later on with high-priced consumables, but the black and tri-colour ink cartridges for the DeskJet 1000 are pretty reasonably priced, and you can get XL high-capacity versions too.
And for a budget printer, it's pretty fast, with a quoted maximum of 16ppm mono, 12ppm colour. There are no fancy extras - you even have to supply your own USB cable - but it does exactly what it says on the box, providing low-cost, fuss-free printing for as little money as possible.
Buy from Amazon
5. Epson Stylus SX425W - £60
Epson stylus sx425w
The SX425W gives you a a lot for your money, with built-in memory card slots, wi-fi printing and multi-function scanning and copying. It uses Epson's DURABrite inks, which means that the paper is dry as soon as it emerges from the printer, and you get exceptionally clean, bright and smudge-proof output on plain paper.
Photo output is slightly dull by comparison, though, and like a lot of low-cost printers, the SX425W does cost quite a bit to run. It's perfect though, if you want a versatile yet inexpensive document printer for light or occasional use.
Read our Epson Stylus SX425W review
6. HP Photosmart 7510 - £120
Best printer 2012
Read our HP Photosmart 7510 review
7. Lexmark Genesis S815 - £120
Lexmark genesis s815
Lexmark's Genesis S815 is full of fresh ideas. Instead of a standard flatbed scanner, this multifunction device uses an image capture system based on a digital camera. It can capture an entire page in three seconds. It boasts a range of integrated mini-applications too. Downloadable apps include a calculator, clock, Facebook and Twitter integration, graph or music paper printing and there's even an app to display news and sports feeds from Apple, ESPN and the BBC. Overall print quality is good, too.
Read our Lexmark Genesis S815 review
8. Canon Pixma MX870 - £150
Canon mx870
If you're looking for a stunning printer for your small office or home office, the Canon PIXMA MX870 is for you. Like most recent Canons, it uses a five-tank system with pigmented black for crystal-clear and waterproof text printing. It can't print directly onto optical discs, but its fax facilities and 35-sheet document feeder are probably more use for a small-office machine.
Connectivity is through USB, Ethernet and WiFi. It took almost five minutes to print our 20-page text document, which is a little slow for an office printer, but its print quality is fantastic.
Read our Canon PIXMA MX870 review
9. Kodak ESP 9250 - £160
Kodak esp 9250
Kodak's top multi-function printer has a much stronger business slant than its cheaper consumer models. Kodak's drive to reduce running costs means both documents and photos could cost you less in the long run, even though the 9250's initial asking price is quite high.
And because it uses just two separate ink cartridges, it's simple to maintain. Photo output is, actually, a tad disappointing, but if the built-in fax machine, 30-sheet automatic document feeder, wi-fi and Ethernet connectivity make up for that.
Read our Canon Kodak ESP 9250 review
10. Canon Pixma MG8150 - £193
Canon mg8150 review
You can sum up this amazing Canon printer in two words; 'no compromises'. It doesn't compromise on print quality. In fact, it has arguably the best print engine of any multiformat inkjet, with stellar photo printing and crystal-clear text. It makes no compromises on speed either. Our 20-page text document printed in just over four minutes, which is entirely acceptable for a home printer. And nor is its feature set compromised. It can do disc onbody printing, automatic Duplex and more. It's an excellent all-round printer.
Buy from Amazon
Best laser printers
1. Samsung ML-1665 - £70
Samsung ml 1665
Laser printers have a lot going for them. They're cheaper to run than inkjets, they produce sharp, dry, smudge-free printouts, they're civilized and they're quiet. They've also got a reputation for being too expensive for anything but office use, but the the ML-1665 changes all that.
You might expect a cheap laser to be crude and slow, but the Samsung is neither. It also has a really smart 'screen print' button that outputs whatever's on your computer screen at the time - perfect for grabbing a quick hard copy without all the fuss of print dialogs and page setup.
Buy from Amazon
2. Brother DCP7030 - £115
Brother dcp7030
With the Brother CCP7030 you get the advantages of a laser printer combined with the flexibility of a multifunction device. The printer might be mono, but the scanner is full-colour, which means mono prints and copies but colour scans.
You get good-quality 600dpi output and the running costs are about average for a mono laser, so the low purchase price doesn't doesn't mean more expensive consumables. It won't be as quick as a more expensive office laser, but given the price, the print quality and the multi-function capability, it's a great buy.
Buy from Amazon
3. Xerox Phaser 6125 - £133
Xerox phaser 6125
How much? For a colour laser? The Phaser 6125's low purchase price is by far its strongest selling point, though, and while the print quality and print speeds are acceptable for light and undemanding home/SOHO use, it could soon prove out of its depth in a busier environment.
And as with many other cheap printers, you face higher running costs, thanks to the cost of replacement cartridges. But if both your printing needs and your budget are modest, the Phaser 6125 is a steal.
4. HP LaserJet P2055d - £157
HP laserjet p2055d
If you want colour printouts, networking and built-in scanning and copying, you're going to have to look elsewhere, because the HP P2055d is an old-school mono laser built solely for quality, speed and efficiency.
It can churn out pages at up to 33ppm, it has an 'instant on' feature which means you don't have to wait for it to warm up, and it offers automatic duplex printing too. The 1200dpi resolution generates super-sharp text, and the 250-sheet feeder means you're not constantly having to shovel in more paper.
Buy from Amazon
5. Samsung CLX-3185FW - £290
Samsung clx 3185fw
The CLX-3185W is a multi-function printer that combines a colour laser, scanning and copying and faxing, and includes networking capability via Ethernet or wireless network - it even comes with a 15-sheet document feeder.
For a machine which does so much, it's surprisingly compact. If it has a flaw, it's the single-drum design, which means that colour documents have to go through in four passes, and this has an impact on the colour print speeds, but you have to set this against the Samsung's features and sheer value for money.
Buy from Amazon
6. Brother HL-4150CDN - £380
Brother hl 4150cdn
Colour lasers were once very expensive, but the HL-4150CDN shows just how far prices have fallen, even for well-specced business models. You get a lot for your money, here, including very good print quality (though photos aren't quite so good), decent print speeds, duplex printing and Ethernet connectivity.
This is ideal for small offices or workgroups, and the Brother also has a neat PIN protection scheme that means sensitive documents won't be printed until you go over and enter a PIN on the printer itself.
Read our Brother HL-4150CDN review | <urn:uuid:96116433-ad10-46c0-ae25-f9b37671654b> | http://www.techradar.com/au/news/computing-components/peripherals/best-printer-16-top-inkjet-and-laser-printers-934172 | en | 0.933222 | 0.031007 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Monday, March 26, 2012
Understand MS12-020
Understand User and Channel in RDP
The User and Channel words explain themselves. A client can create a user by sending "MCS Attach User Request" (see the sequence) to server. When creating a user, a server also create a channel for user. This channel is called "User Channel". The assigned user id is always the same as channel id. There is special user that created by sending "MCS Connect Initial" request with "Client Network Data". It is "Server User" that created along with "Server Channel".
Channels can be created by sending "MCS Connect Initial" request with "Client Network Data" or "MCS Channel Join Request" with channel id 0.
Now let see how a server keeps track of Users and Channels. There are global Channel list and global User list (SList) for each connection. For each channel, there is a list to keep joined users. Similar to user. For each user, there is a list to keep joined channels.
There are 2 specific advisories for this CVE, Luigi and ZDI. This bug occurs while adding channels (in NM_Connect()) specified in "Client Network Data". When a server cannot create more channel (by checking a number of channel in Channel list with MaximumChannelIds), the NMAbortConnect() is called. When look inside SM_OnConnected(), you will see NM_Disconnect() is called. Then NMDetachUserReq() is called twice. So this is use-after-free bug.
You can see Kostya's work of this bug from his blog (MS12-020 round up). Additional, the bug can be triggered even MaximumChannelIds > 32 by sending "Connect Initial" request and "Attach User" requests at once. Because userData in "Connect Initial" is dispatched to another thread for processing (my guess). The "Attach User" requests are processed first. So a number of channel is Channel list is not 0 before processing the "Client Network Data".
Now the idea to controlling EIP is doing remote memory spray on svchost process with RDP requests. The difficulty is all RDP request is handled directly in driver (kernel mode). Only some data is copied to user mode memory space. I still cannot do it. Need more free time.
There is only 1 advisory from Microsoft, this is a DoS bug. Many people guess the bug is in HandleAttachUserReq(). But I think it is in MCSChannelJoinRequest(). Here is my reason.
User Channel is supposed to be joined only by user owner. But the bug in MCSChannelJoinRequest() allow it. So the change is comparing request channel id against request user id instead of request channel id. This bug seems to have no problem at first. But when removing user (DetachUser()), the User Channel is destroyed too. If User does not join its own channel, the channel is destroyed without removing joined users.
To trigger the bug is simple. First we send 2 "Attach User" requests. So we have userA and userB with channelA and channelB. Then we send a "Channel Join" request for userA with channelB. If we manage to removing userB before userA, channelB is destroyed while joined channel list in userA still have channelB. Then removing userB will try to remove itself from destroyed channelB. Boom!!
This is also user-after-free bug. But I cannot find any interesting operation on freed channel. So I guess this is a DoS bug. Some useful for this bug is safe remote detecting the vulnerabilities on a target. Here is my code for checking.
1. I was wondering, how do you diff executables [exe/dll/lib/sys]?
2. You load it up in ida, save idb, and use any of the bin diffing tools, turbodiff, bindiff, etc. | <urn:uuid:9f0cd56e-ebaf-446a-80a5-3a38cb2e4d8f> | http://auntitled.blogspot.com/2012/03/understand-ms12-020.html | en | 0.928685 | 0.018345 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Take the 2-minute tour ×
Namecoin, Devcoin, Litecoin, Liquidcoin, Solidcoin, I0coin, Ixcoin... Which of them is the best alternative to BitCoin, especially from a fledgling miner's pov (ie. I'd like to mine some coins, but have hw with very limitied abilities to do it)?
Apart from "ease of mining" - both in regards of difficulty and the blocks/timeunit - other concerns to concider may be: -Exchange-rate (to USD or BitCoins) -Deployment (are there actually anybody using it, is it accepted for payment somewhere)
share|improve this question
closed as not a real question by D.H. Aug 28 '12 at 6:12
Please don't abbreviate too much in your questions. Moreover, I think that this question does not follow the question guidelines - it should have some time frame for analysis, otherwise the answer can change over time. – ThePiachu Aug 27 '12 at 12:31
Hi Baard! This question is way too vague. For this question to be answerable objectively you would have to clearly define "best". Are you looking for the one that would be most profitable for mining (including the hardware investment)? Even that changes a lot over a relatively short period of time so it's not a good question for StackExchange. I'll close this question if it isn't heavily improved soon. – D.H. Aug 27 '12 at 20:18
1 Answer 1
Probably the best alternative to Bitcoin would be gold. It`s fairly popular, valuable and finding some small amounts for a beginning miner should be fairly easy in some parts. It would probably require you to move closer to some rivers though...
All joking aside, you should look into using some mining pool with an option of merged mining. If mining some AltCoin would be more profitable than Bitcoin, a lot of people would switch by now and drive the price down.
You could also look into using your mining power in alternative ways. I'm assuming you have a GPU mining rig. In that case, you can look into such things as mining vanity addresses for Bitcoins (for example using my Vanity Pool).
All in all, Bitcoin is probably the main way to go nowadays, so you should concentrate on that.
share|improve this answer
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You are here:Home» Topics» Bollywood actor
Kamal Haasan returns to Bollywood as actor-director ET
Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan is all set to make a return to Hindi cinema with political drama "Amar Hai". Saif Ali Khan has been approached to play the lead role.
HC rejects intervention plea to grant stay on Bollywood actor Salman Khan's appeal ET
He contended that the matters of celebrities were heard out-of-turn whereas those of other convicts like him were kept pending endlessly.
Kannada TV actor Kiran Raj set to make his Bollywood debut ET
A romantic comedy , it is being directed by Mayur Kachhadiya. He will be romancing Sonal Chauhan in the movie.
Actor Shah Rukh completes 23 years in Bollywood, thanks fans ET
The 'Chennai Express' star pointed out 23 reasons for thanking the audience and said his journey in showbiz would not have been possible without their support.
When Bollywood celebs found soulmates in arranged marriage ET
Actor Dharmendra building a resort, partnering with a chain of restaurants ET
After politics, 1970s Bollywood actor Dharmendra is taking on a new role. He is building a resort and tying up with a chain of restaurants.
Congress defends Bollywood stars on Maggi issue ET
Congress today came out in support of Bollywood actors who have endorsed Nestle's Maggi Noodles, saying that the celebrities had no knowledge of more than permissible lead content in the popular instant food.
Bollywood celebs who rose to fame post break-up ET
Here we list down some Bollywood actors whose careers have reached new heights and they have rose to stardom after their break-ups.
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Page last updated at 11:09 GMT, Tuesday, 20 October 2009 12:09 UK
Polanski appeal for bail rejected
Roman Polanski
Polanski was arrested as he arrived in Zurich to receive a film festival award
Director Roman Polanski has lost an appeal to be released on bail from a Swiss jail ahead of his possible extradition to the US.
Switzerland's highest criminal court backed an earlier government ruling that there was a high risk of Polanski fleeing the country if he was released.
He is being held in Switzerland over his 1977 US conviction for unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl.
He fled the US in 1978 before he could be sentenced.
"According to Swiss law, detention is the rule during the entire extradition proceedings," the Federal Criminal Court of Switzerland said in a statement.
"The court considered the risk that Roman Polanski might flee if released from custody as high."
Plea bargain
Polanski's lawyer, Herve Temime, said that a further appeal would now be made to the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland - the country's highest tribunal.
We will seek to demonstrate that there is no risk in ordering Roman Polanski's release
Polanski's lawyer Herve Temime on a further appeal
"We will seek to demonstrate that there is no risk in ordering Roman Polanski's release," Mr Temime said.
He added that Polanski's legal team would "provide even stronger and more suitable guarantees" against him leaving the country.
Polanski was arrested on 26 September as he travelled from France to collect a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival.
The director, who was originally charged with six offences including rape and sodomy, pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with an under-age girl following a plea bargain in 1977.
He has not set foot in the US since taking flight, and has settled in France.
Speaking after Polanski's detention, US prosecutors disputed claims that his arrest came out of the blue, saying he had been on an Interpol "wanted list" for years.
"The idea that we have known where he is and we could have gotten him anytime, that just isn't the case," US Marshals Service chief inspector Thomas Hession said.
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Switzerland denies Polanski bail
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Last Updated: Thursday, 28 February 2008, 13:15 GMT
Helmand clash 'kills 25 Taleban'
By Sanjoy Majumder
BBC News, Kabul
British troops in Afghanistan
The mullah is reportedly fighting British troops in Helmand
Afghan police have killed 25 Taleban insurgents in the southern province of Helmand, the country's interior ministry has said.
The ministry said top rebel commander Mullah Naqibullah was among the dead but this was denied by the Taleban.
The fighting erupted late on Wednesday when the insurgents attacked a poppy eradication mission.
The violence took place as a senior US official said that the Taleban is in control of 10% of Afghanistan.
A group of Taleban fighters ambushed an Afghan poppy eradication mission on Wednesday.
An Afghan police force retaliated and after several hours of fighting, 25 Taleban insurgents were killed, the interior ministry said on Thursday.
They said one of those killed was Mullah Naqibullah, a prominent rebel commander who has twice escaped from prison.
But the Taleban has denied that the commander has died and a man claiming to be Mullah Naqibullah called up the BBC to say he was alive and had not been involved in the fighting.
Afghan and western forces in the country have been facing a resurgent Taleban over the past year.
Earlier the American Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell told a US senate committee that the Taleban had regained control of 10% of Afghanistan, six years after they were ousted from power.
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378 F3d 449 United States v. Blackthorne
378 F.3d 449
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,
Allen BLACKTHORNE, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 03-50627.
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.
July 15, 2004.
Joseph H. Gay, Jr. and Richard L. Durbin, Jr. (argued), Asst. U.S. Attys., San Antonio, TX, for U.S.
David L. Botsford (argued), Law Office of David L. Botsford, Austin, TX, for Blackthorne.
Before SMITH, WIENER and BENAVIDES, Circuit Judges.
JERRY E. SMITH, Circuit Judge:
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Allen Blackthorne appeals the denial of his second rule 33 motion seeking a new trial on the basis of newly discovered evidence. Cf. Fed.R.Civ.P. 33. Because the evidence is immaterial to Blackthorne's guilt or innocence, we affirm.
Blackthorne was convicted and sentenced to two life sentences for conspiring to commit interstate murder-for-hire, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1958, and for causing another to commit interstate domestic violence, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2261(a)(1) and 2(b). Both charges were in connection with the 1997 murder of Blackthorne's ex-wife, Sheila Bellush, at her home in Florida.1
The facts underlying Blackthorne's conviction are set forth at length in our prior opinion, so we do not repeat them here. Briefly stated, the government's theory of the case (as supported by the evidence) is that Blackthorne and Danny Rocha, a bookie and golf companion, conspired to arrange the hired murder of Bellush. Using Blackthorne's money and Rocha's criminal contacts, they were able to secure the involvement of Sammy Gonzales and Joey del Toro — the latter of whom traveled from Texas to Florida and murdered Bellush in her home. Blackthorne, in contrast, maintains that he is innocent, that the murder was part of a conspiracy to blackmail him, and that he was implicated in the murder only to reduce the conspirators' culpability once the blackmail efforts failed.
The government proved its case in partial reliance on the testimony of Gonzales and Rocha, but neither side called del Toro to testify. Blackthorne relies on that fact to argue that statements del Toro made in a recent civil deposition constitute newly discovered evidence favorable to the defense. Blackthorne raised those arguments in a rule 33 motion, which the district court denied without holding an evidentiary hearing.
We review the denial of a motion for new trial only for abuse of discretion. United States v. Gresham, 118 F.3d 258, 267 (5th Cir.1997). Such motions are not favored and are viewed with great caution. Id.; see also United States v. Jaramillo, 42 F.3d 920, 924 (5th Cir.1995).
This court applies the "Berry" rule to motions for a new trial on the basis of newly discovered evidence. United States v. Freeman, 77 F.3d 812, 816 (5th Cir.1996) (citing Berry v. Georgia, 10 Ga. 511 (1851)). To receive a new trial, Blackthorne must show
(1) that the evidence is newly discovered and was unknown to him at the time of trial; (2) that the failure to discover the evidence was not due to his lack of diligence; (3) that the evidence is not merely cumulative, but is material; and (4) that the evidence would probably produce an acquittal.
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Gresham, 118 F.3d at 267. "Unless all four elements are satisfied, the motion for new trial must be denied." Id.
The evidence Blackthorne relies on is immaterial to his guilt or innocence. It therefore cannot form the basis for a new trial.2 Id. at 267-68.
The first of two categories of evidence Blackthorne cites consists of statements in del Toro's deposition indicating that he lacked an intention to kill Bellush when he traveled to Florida. In his deposition, del Toro claimed he was convinced to join the conspiracy only after hearing allegations that Bellush abused her children, and that he resolved to confirm those allegations before deciding whether to kill her.
Blackthorne contends that this undermines the basis for his conviction of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire because it narrows the class of persons with whom he could have conspired to kill Bellush. He reasons that del Toro's state of mind at the time of travel precludes a finding that he joined the conspiracy and, as a result, forces the government to rely exclusively on a theory that Blackthorne conspired with Rocha. This weakens the government's case, Blackthorne argues, because Rocha has repudiated his trial testimony and is unlikely to implicate Blackthorne in a new trial.
The elements of conspiracy to commit federal murder-for-hire under § 1958 are "(1) an agreement by two or more persons to achieve the unlawful purpose of [interstate] murder-for-hire; (2) the defendant's knowing and voluntary participation in the agreement; and (3) an overt act committed by any one of the conspirators in furtherance of the conspiratorial object." United States v. Hernandez, 141 F.3d 1042, 1053 (11th Cir.1998).3 Thus, to carry its burden the government needed to show only that Blackthorne conspired with one other person to commit interstate murder-for-hire, and it succeeded in proving that Rocha was that other person. Proof of del Toro's involvement in the conspiracy is therefore extraneous to Blackthorne's culpability.
Neither is the government's case weakened by evidence that leaves it unable to show that Blackthorne directly conspired with del Toro, because that was never its theory to begin with. Rather, the government relied on evidence that showed Blackthorne knew only Rocha among the conspirators and was kept at arms' length from the communications with Gonzales and del Toro. So, the weaker case Blackthorne would ascribe to the government is in fact the very same one it used to convict him in the first place.
Blackthorne relies on Rocha's subsequent recantation to argue that the government would be less sure of proving his connection to Rocha at a new trial, but that same claim was already the subject of a rule 33 motion that was denied on the merits and appealed to this court on procedural grounds only. Blackthorne therefore has waived all challenges to the district court's determination that Rocha's recantation is not enough to warrant a new trial. See United States v. Thibodeaux, 211 F.3d 910, 912 (5th Cir.2000).
Although a fair assessment of whether a new trial "would probably produce an acquittal,"4 requires the court to place all the evidence in its proper context, Blackthorne cannot obtain a new trial exclusively on the basis of evidence that was already the subject of appeals.5 Those proceedings ended with the conclusion that Blackthorne was not entitled to a new trial, and that view is not the least bit diminished by new evidence that has no tendency to undermine the verdict reached at trial. Were our view otherwise, a rule 33 motion could be made on the basis of any inconsequential fact not previously known to the defendant, with the ultimate goal's being nothing more than the renewed litigation of claims previously denied.
Even assuming, arguendo, that the government had to prove del Toro's participation in a conspiracy with Blackthorne,6 it still could do so comfortably in spite of the evidence Blackthorne relies on. Whatever del Toro's state of mind at the time he entered Florida, he ultimately manifested his intention to join the conspiracy when he entered Bellush's home, killed her, and asked Gonzales for the money Rocha had promised him. It is of no consequence that del Toro might have joined the conspiracy after the point at which some overt acts occurred, because "one who joins an ongoing conspiracy is deemed to have adopted the prior acts and declarations of conspirators, made after the formation and in furtherance of the conspiracy." United States v. Barksdale-Contreras, 972 F.2d 111, 114 (5th Cir.1992) (quoting United States v. Cintolo, 818 F.2d 980 (1st Cir.1987)).
Finally, to the extent Blackthorne argues that the evidence is exculpatory because it suggests that del Toro might not have committed an interstate murder-for-hire because he traveled to Florida without the "intent that a murder be committed," § 1958, the evidence is still immaterial to Blackthorne's conviction for conspiracy. It is well established that a conspiracy and the related substantive offense are distinct crimes and that the government need not prove the successful completion of the latter to obtain a conviction for the former.7 Even where a conviction for the substantive offense of federal murder-for-hire fails for want of interstate travel, a defendant can be convicted of conspiring to commit the offense. See United States v. Hernandez, 141 F.3d 1042, 1052-53 (11th Cir.1998). As a result, this evidence is immaterial to Blackthorne's conviction of conspiracy.
The evidence concerning del Toro's state of mind is also immaterial to Blackthorne's conviction of interstate domestic violence under § 2261(a)(1) and 2(b). Section 2261(a)(1) makes it a crime for a person to (1) cross state lines or enter or leave Indian country; (2) with the intent to injure, harass, or intimidate that person's spouse or intimate partner; and (3) in the course of or as a result of that travel, intentionally commit a crime of violence and thereby cause bodily injury to such spouse or intimate partner. § 2261(a)(1).8 Additionally, § 2(b) makes Blackthorne liable as a principal for del Toro's actions if he caused them and if the same actions "directly performed by [Blackthorne] would be an offense against the United States." § 2(b).
The new evidence tends to suggest that del Toro did not "travel[] across a State line ... with the intent to injure," as § 2261(a)(1) requires, but that fact does not exculpate Blackthorne. Under § 2(b), "only the person charged need have the criminal intent, the individual whom the defendant has caused to perform the act may be entirely innocent." United States v. Levy, 969 F.2d 136, 141 (5th Cir.1992).9 Whatever del Toro's intentions, the newly discovered evidence does not cast doubt on the jury's conclusion that Blackthorne caused del Toro to travel to Florida, that he intended thereby to injure Bellush, and that he succeeded in that objective. As a result, this first category of newly discovered evidence is immaterial to Blackthorne's guilt or innocence on either count and cannot form the basis for a new trial.
The second category of newly discovered evidence consists of del Toro's statements to the effect that he and Gonzales were under the influence of cocaine throughout the period in which the crime was planned, including during a key meeting between themselves and Rocha. The evidence is not material.
Insofar as Blackthorne argues that Gonzales's substance abuse denied him the mental capacity to join the conspiracy, the evidence could not affect Blackthorne's guilt, because his participation in the conspiracy is sufficiently established by the agreement with Rocha. Even assuming, arguendo, that Gonzales was not a co-conspirator, Blackthorne and Rocha still agreed with one another to kill Bellush, and they sent del Toro to Florida to achieve that purpose. Because this evidence also does nothing to undermine the jury's conclusion that Blackthorne and Rocha conspired with one another to commit interstate murder-for-hire, it too is incapable of absolving Blackthorne of liability for the conspiracy.
Blackthorne also suggests that the evidence contradicts Gonzales's testimony at trial, where he admitted to cocaine use, but only in lesser quantities. That argument is unavailing, because the extent of Gonzales' cocaine habit does not directly relate to Blackthorne's culpability, but instead serves only to attack the veracity of Gonzales as a witness. Blackthorne's argument fails, therefore, because "evidence which merely discredits or impeaches a witnesses' testimony does not justify a new trial." United States v. Pena, 949 F.2d 751, 758 (5th Cir.1991).
Worse still, the evidence is cumulative. Though Blackthorne now thinks his lawyer did an inadequate job of cross-examining Gonzales, the jury nevertheless was exposed to evidence that Gonzales used cocaine during the relevant time period. For that reason as well, a new trial is not warranted. See United States v. Villarreal, 324 F.3d 319, 325 (5th Cir.2003).
Blackthorne contends that the district court abused its discretion in denying his motion without an evidentiary hearing. "Refusal of a hearing on a motion for new trial is [ ] reviewed for abuse of discretion." United States v. Reedy, 304 F.3d 358, 371 n. 17 (5th Cir.2002) (citing United States v. Metz, 652 F.2d 478, 481 (5th Cir. Unit A Aug.1981)).
"Generally, a motion for new trial may be decided upon affidavits without evidentiary hearing," Metz, 652 F.2d at 481, but that view is commonly justified on a ground that is inapplicable here: the trial judge's previously acquired familiarity with the evidence. See, e.g., United States v. MMR Corp., 954 F.2d 1040, 1046 (5th Cir.1992).10 Blackthorne succeeded in having the judge recused from considering his rule 33 motion, so the court lacked the personal knowledge that can ordinarily substitute for an evidentiary hearing.
Nevertheless, on the facts of this case, the court did not abuse its discretion in denying the hearing. Because the district court correctly determined that the proffered evidence was immaterial, there was no need to conduct a hearing to determine whether the evidence was reliable.11
Blackthorne appealed those convictions, along with the denial of his first rule 33 motion, and this court affirmed in an unpublished opinionSee United States v. Blackthorne, No. 00-51256, 37 Fed. Appx. 88 (5th Cir.2002), cert. denied, 537 U.S. 1104, 123 S.Ct. 867, 154 L.Ed.2d 773 (2003).
As a result, we express no opinion whether del Toro's deposition even constitutes newly discovered evidence
See also United States v. Razo-Leora, 961 F.2d 1140, 1144 (5th Cir.1992) (detailing, in a murder-for-hire case, the elements of a 18 U.S.C. § 371 conspiracy as "(1) an agreement between the defendant and one or more other persons to violate a law of the United States; (2) an overt act by one of the conspirators in furtherance of the conspiracy; and (3) the intent on the part of the defendant to further an unlawful objective of the conspiracy").
Gresham, 118 F.3d at 267.
In addition to Rocha's recantation, Blackthorne relies on evidence that this court, on direct appeal, determined should have been excluded
Del Toro and Blackthorne may be involved in a single conspiracy despite not knowing each other's identitiesUnited States v. Payne, 99 F.3d 1273, 1279 n. 6 (citing Blumenthal v. United States, 332 U.S. 539, 556-57, 68 S.Ct. 248, 92 L.Ed. 154 (1947)).
See United States v. Contreras, 950 F.2d 232, 240-41 (5th Cir.1991); United States v. Romeros, 600 F.2d 1104, 1105 (5th Cir.1979) (per curiam).
We assume, without deciding, that Bellush qualifies as a spouse or intimate partner within the meaning of the statute, because Blackthorne has not raised any arguments to the contrary in either of his appeals
See also United States v. Smith, 584 F.2d 731, 734 (5th Cir.1978) ("Section 2(b) removes all doubt that one who puts in motion or assists in an illegal enterprise or causes the commission of an indispensable element of an offense by an innocent agent or instrumentality, is guilty.... It is not necessary for the intermediary to have a criminal intent."); United States v. Shear, 962 F.2d 488, 493 n. 6 (5th Cir.1992) (same).
See also United States v. DiPaolo, 835 F.2d 46, 51 (2d Cir.1987) ("The need for a hearing is diminished when, as here, the judge observed the demeanor and weighed the credibility of the witness at trial."); Olson v. United States, 989 F.2d 229, 233 (7th Cir.1993); United States v. Provost, 969 F.2d 617, 620 (8th Cir.1992).
See United States v. Hausman, 894 F.2d 686, 688 (5th Cir.1990) (finding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying evidentiary hearing on rule 33 motion, because even if the defendant could prove his claims, they were immaterial to guilt or innocence). | <urn:uuid:cbaae5d6-6d9b-4635-8f62-32a29d167b88> | http://openjurist.org/378/f3d/449/united-states-v-blackthorne | en | 0.943679 | 0.025378 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
As we wind down on 2011, one of the fun things that we get to do is look back at all of the social technology trends. Search engines are a great source to find out what was hot in 2011.
Since pivoted to become more of a portal similar to Yahoo! Answers, they are able to provide us with interesting insight into what was on our inquisitive minds as the year went on.
On top of that, has poured over its questions and come up with some predictions for 2012. Apparently the company has a DeLorean sitting in the back yard.
Here’s what Doug Leeds, CEO of had to say about this year’s trends:
Because people come to Ask with specific questions we are uniquely able to understand what’s on consumers’ minds at any given moment, be it pop culture or politics. For the first time, we’re looking at the year’s top questions to not only reflect on 2011, but also predict the newsmakers of 2012.
Lemme ask ya this…
So here are the top questions asked on in 2011, broken down by Celebrities, News, and Politics:
Top celebrity search terms and questions included:
1. Kim Kardashian: Was Kim Kardashian’s wedding fake?
3. Lady Gaga: Are Lady Gaga’s face implants real?
4. Beyonce: Did Beyonce fake a baby bump?
5. Kate Middleton: Who made Kate Middleton’s wedding dress?
6. Ashton Kutcher: Did Ashton cheat?
7. Michael Jackson: Was Michael Jackson murdered?
8. Selena Gomez: Is Selena Gomez pregnant?
9. Lindsay Lohan: Is Lindsay Lohan going to jail?
10. Charlie Sheen: What happened to Charlie Sheen’s teeth?
Top news search terms and questions included:
2. Hurricane Irene: What caused Hurricane Irene?
3. Steve Jobs: How much was Steve Jobs worth?
5. Occupy Wall Street: Who started Occupy Wall Street?
6. iPhone: When will Apple release the iPhone 5?
7. Osama Bin Laden: Who killed Bin Laden?
8. Casey Anthony: Where is Casey Anthony hiding?
10. Amy Winehouse: How did Amy Winehouse die?
Top political searches and questions included:
1. Barack Obama: Will Obama get re-elected?
2. Mitt Romney: What is Mitt Romney’s religion?
3. Sarah Palin: Is Sarah Palin running for president?
4. Michele Bachmann: Is Michele Bachmann crazy?
6. Arnold Schwarzenegger: Who was Arnold’s mistress?
7. Gay Marriage: Which states allow gay marriage?
9. Iowa Caucus: When is the Iowa caucus?
10. Muammar Ghadafi: Who will lead Libya after Ghadafi?
So there you have it. Apparently my question, “Who still uses” didn’t make the list. According to the top trending items, the site appears to have an audience who cares more about Ashton Kutcher’s wandering hands (and pants), Lady Gaga’s boobs, and Steve Jobs’ net worth, than they did about important things like Egypt and other items that popped up on Twitter’s end of year trending list.
So what about 2012 you Ask? Here are some projected headlines based on top searches and questions asked on the site:
1. George Clooney wins his second AND third Academy Award
4. McDonald’s adds the McRib to its permanent menu
8. Facebook goes public with world’s largest IPO
9. Tiger Woods retires from golf
10. Will the world end in 2012? | <urn:uuid:4f6c1512-dc5c-45df-94dc-1bf3e576ee98> | http://thenextweb.com/media/2011/12/08/was-kim-kardashians-wedding-fake-top-trending-qs-of-2011-on-ask-com/ | en | 0.894353 | 0.231784 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
The Uniformity Clause – Another ObamaCare Challenge?
In NFIB v. Sebelius the Supreme Court upheld the individual mandate penalty as a constitutional exercise of the federal taxing power. Although little of the briefing (and even less of the oral argument) considered the question, the Court concluded the penalty did not constitute a “direct tax.” This conclusion was necessary to sustain the penalty as a tax because direct taxes must be apportioned among the states by population. But if the penalty is not a direct tax, that does not mean it is free from constitutional defect. As David Rivkin and Lee Casey write in today’s WSJ, the Uniformity Clause of Article I, Section 8 could provide the basis for another attack on the penalty. They write:
If the mandate is an indirect tax, as the Supreme Court held, then the Constitution’s “Uniformity Clause” (Article I, Section 8, Clause 1) requires the tax to “be uniform throughout the United States.” The Framers adopted this provision so that a group of dominant states could not shift the federal tax burden to the others. It was yet another constitutional device that was simultaneously designed to protect federalism and safeguard individual liberty.
I am not familiar enough with the relevant precedents to evaluate the strength of this claim, but it is certainly true that people with equivalent incomes will be subject to different penalties in different states. So if the Uniformity Clause has any real bite, the penalty would appear vulnerable. It’s also worth recalling that PPACA defenders have been a bit too quick to dismiss Rivkin and Casey in the past.
UPDATE: Insofar as a lack of uniformity is a real constitutional concern under current doctrine, the PPACA’s problems could be larger than Rivkin and Casey suggest. This is because that even without regard to state decisions to participate in Medicaid, the penalty is not uniform. This is because the affordability exemption is based upon the cost of obtaining qualifying health insurance, and this cost will vary across states. A potential counter-argument might be that this variation is due, at least in part, to state policy choices (e.g. mandated minimum coverage, etc.), nonetheless it would remain the case that two individuals with the same incomes living in different states would not necessarily both be subject to the same penalty. Note further that this would be true even if one does not assume (as Michael Cannon and I have argued) that the tax credits and subsidies for the purchase of health insurance are not available in states without state-run exchanges. | <urn:uuid:964a02da-3668-485f-8907-da56b9c62926> | http://volokh.com/2012/12/06/the-uniformity-clause-another-obamacare-challenge/ | en | 0.953305 | 0.063531 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Can Increased Demand Save the Economy?
Progressive economists have been bewailing the slowdown in demand since soon after the onset of the recession. According to these economists, low demand is what ails the American economy, and the only cure is for the federal government to spend trillions of borrowed or newly printed dollars to spur demand, which will boost employment and turn the economy around. That's the theory, anyway. It's the progressives' answer to supply-side economics, a.k.a. Reaganomics: Just get demand up and everything will be fine -- the workingman will get work, the American businessman will get business, and the progressive economists will get vindication for their theories. Economist Robert Reich writes: All this translates into a continuing crisis on the demand side. Consumers can't and won't buy more. Between January and March, sales grew just .15 percent around the country -- perilously close to no growth at all. May sales look even worse. Chain stores are reporting weaker...(Read Full Article) | <urn:uuid:4fd8e44c-e196-45a6-9ae2-d71737a5719f> | http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2011/07/can_increased_demand_save_the_economy_comments.html | en | 0.938162 | 0.020737 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Yumi’s passion for make-up artisty began in 1999.
Building on her valuable experience in korea,
In 2008 she relocated to New York City to broaden her background and work with the most established artists in fashion.
She started to work with Stephane Marais who is a legendary makeup artist in the world.
Her makeup talent and skill has been developed quickly through Stephane Marais.
After then she has started to work independently with top photographers such as Steven Klein, Annie Leibovitz, Patrick Demarchelier, Camilla Akrans, etc,
and she has worked with numerous magazines that Vogue, V magazine, CR Fashion book, Haper's Bazaar, L'officiel, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Glamour, French, L'officiel, Vs, Elle, Marie Claire, Zink, E'xpress, D magazine, Instyle, Allure, GQ, Esquire, Avenual ,Gravure, Nakedbutsafe, Futureclaw, Zoo, etc.
also numerous brands such as Louis Vuitton, Robert Geller, Macy's, Barney's, Jo no fui, Calvin Klein, Nicole Miller, L'oreal paris, Rebecca Minkoff, le silla, etc.
Yumi finds her inspiration from nature, music, art, movies....everything she can see, hear, and feel.
Her warm disposition friendly personality along with her distinguished talent and skill are the key that will continue to bring her success in beauty and fashion.
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Things To Take To NYSC Orientation Camp – Daily Needs
You surely want to know things to take to NYSC orientation camp if you have been mobilized for the NYSC orientation course. We wrote an article on NYSC Orientation Camp Requirements i.e. Things you must take to the NYSC camp for your registration and acceptance into the camp. If you haven’t read that article, click on the link cited above for full information.
NYSC Mobilization Time Table For 2014 Batch B, NYSC Batch B 2014, NYSC Redeployment, NYSC Call-up Letters Batch B 2014, NYSC Redeployment, NYSC camp requirements, Things to take to nysc camp
Today, we are talking about those things you just need to take to camp for your personal use. Nobody will question you if you don’t have them but they will make your life in NYSC Camp a good one to remember.
We have been receiving several questions regarding this. Several questions such as:
Things needed for nysc orientation camp? and things needed for nysc camp?
These are some of the questions we have been getting and we are going to address these questions today.
During your registration and verification of credentials, some forms will be handed to you to fill. Complete them correctly, attach passport photographs and photocopies where specified and submit the forms. You can make photocopies of your credentials and take them along with you to NYSC Camp because a photocopy could cost as much N10. It seems small but you can make 4 copies with that outside the camp. These are NYSC camp requiremets and you should not forget any of them.
After getting your NYSC State Code Number, you can proceed to claim your NYSC Kit and Mattress after which you can proceed to get a Room. These steps might be different in other camps, I’m only sharing the experience of how it happened at NYSC Orientation Camp, Iseyin, Oyo State during my own time.
After you have gotten your kit and secures a place in the hostels, you can settle down and you are good to go to start the Military Parades.
Personal Needs For NYSC Camp Life – Things To Take To NYSC Camp
Your NYSC kit should contain 1 NYSC Crested Vest, A pair of Khaki Trousers, Cap and Jacket, 2 White T-shirts, 2 Pairs of Knickers, 2 pairs of Stockings, A Pair of Yellow Jungle Boots and One Pair of White Converse. A “Belt” is also included.
Throughout your stay in the NYSC Camp, you will only be allowed to wear your white T-shirts and Knickers, except during ceremonies when you are to wear the crested vest and the khaki Jacket and Trousers. You are also to be in your white converse always.
You might not like the White T-shirts that will be handed to you at camp so you can get those fitted LUX, CHASE DEER, MACHO brands of T-shirts as long as they are white. You might also not like the white converse that will be given to you (always ugly), so buy a fancy one along (White). With these duly pointed out, no need to pack a lot of clothes to the Camp. You should only take a few in case you need to go to Mosque on a Friday or Church on a Sunday. You should take them to NYSC Camp if you want to appear good at Church and Mosque Services.
NOTE: Make sure you take extra white vest and shorts to Camp because (1) they are very expensive at the Camp Market called MAMI MARKET (2) you will most likely not have time not to wash during the week because you would normally be so tired to wash during weekdays after going through all the Military Parades and Man O War Drills.
You will also need a WAIST POUCH (usually top of the list on things to take to NYSC orientation camp) to keep your valuables like cash, phones, and etc. while outside your room. You don’t want to lose anything at camp, so it’s safe to get that pouch and carry your valuables everywhere.
Don’t take materials like pressing iron, knife, fork, tin cutter to the camp. They will be seized and returned to you only on the last day of camping. I was told this is a security measure. And sincerely, they don’t fall under things needed at NYSC Orientation Camp.
If you have a camera you can take it along, you are going to need it at NYSC Camp because you will want to snap a lot of scenes. If you have a Smartphone with great camera, that’s good for you because you can easily take and share photos on social networks. If you don’t have any of those, you will have to pay some guys on camp who do that as business to follow you around and snap you wherever you go. They might charge up to N2000 for the duration of the camping. They should give you all your photos and videos in CDs at the end of NYSC Camping.
You will be fed three times a day in camp but I must not lie to you, the food there is nothing to write home about. They can be nice on few occasions but most days, they are poor (that’s my own view though). If you are someone like me who loves to eat good food, make provisions for your own food. You should get some fast foods along, some breakfast cereals and beverages. They were part of my own things needed for nysc camp (Top of the list too). You should also hold extra cash to eat at the Mami market. You will get good foods there.
You should also take a MOSQUITO NET along with you- You know why! You can take things like Bucket, Sponge Case, etc. along if you can. They can be expensive there. It is a thing needed during preparation for nysc camp
Sometimes, the full regalia given to you might be too big for you, so you need to slim-fit them. This will cost you some money at the Mami market. They can charge up to N1500 to slim-fit your Khaki Top and trousers. Take some MONEY with you. Things are very expensive at the MAMI MARKET.
I hope this have been able to solve some of your questions. If you have any other one, please let me know. I will be glad to answer as best as I can. These are things I believe are needed during preparation for NYSC camp.
Please share this article with people.
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1. awonusi afolake says:
create work keep it up
2. pls my question is this: is there any need to take along with u ur birth certificate.bcos mobilization list that came out was bearing a different year while my birth certificate is bearing this a problem.
3. pls is birth certificate among the documents needed in nysc orientation camp?bcos my name was mobilized but my year of birth was different from the in the mobilization list and that of my birth my question is this:will it affect me in any way in the camp
4. ahumibe ugochukwu says:
Please I hope the camp requirements are general for all the batchs? Please am eager to know that before I make a mistake
5. Is it possible to send call up letter witout mobilization number
6. Thanks…….been asking a lot of questions frm ma sisters…this article really helped…
7. THANKS and GOD bless You
8. Odeyemi Stephen Olusesan says:
Very good with this well edited alerted article. Pls my questions are as follows:
1. Is there a private room as VIP?
2. In the camp is there a sufficient and enough water ?
3. Its needed to go along with my date of birth ?
4. Inside the camp its throughout the three (3) weeks the copper will put on the NYSC kits ?
5. How many time for military parade in a day?
6. You said spoon and folk are forbidding, if we serve us beans and rice what cutlery we want to use or its manual one (hand)?
7. Can we pardon to go out of the camp either for one genuine reason or the other? NB not for merriment party pls
8. Is the C/S church inside the prospective camp?
9. If (8) is yes, is the vigil service be welcome by the corp members without disturbance from the military and para-militaries officers in the camp because of the odd hour training?
10. And, finally how can the corp members belongings and lives will save, is there any adequate security, remember this is nigerian?
Thanks keeping xpecting your brilliant and candid response
Speak Your Mind | <urn:uuid:6da3dee1-6895-467b-bb7e-4e13ab74268d> | http://www.ngscholars.com/2013/02/things-you-need-to-take-to-nysc-orientation-camp-daily-needs/ | en | 0.958776 | 0.024817 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Thread: Military folk
View Single Post
Old 06-16-2011, 12:27 AM
Minxxa Minxxa is offline
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: California
Posts: 497
I think poly really is a very valid approach to people who must by necessity spend long times apart.
Unfortunately I've seen WAY more cheating than poly in my 20 years of experience as a Navy wife. Some people have a DADT approach, some know it's happening, hate it, but ignore it. A lot of unhealthy nonmonogamy going on and it's unfortunate because there are other ways to go.
But I think that many people spend so much time away or prepping to go away, or trying to adjust to being back that it's hard to develop the relationship skills necessary to build a strong foundation like communication and skills in dealing with stress. I think often there's a real "boys club" when it comes to the military and deployments where they egg each other on to cheat on their spouses and then all agree to keep it shut. It's kind of the "what happens in vegas" theory, but on deployments.
I really don't mean to sound negative about it, but it has just been my limited brief experience. Hubs and I have talked about it a lot and I know a LOT of what he's seen because he tells me. Stress and alcohol and distance and dealing with people and god-forbid combat. Not a good combo.
As for playing it down, most people play it down in their work environments anyway, really. And the chances that the military here is going to prosecute cheating is SLIM to none. It's not really a valid threat around here...
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MOVIE REVIEW- Unpleasant<i>: </i>Enchanting lead can't save <i>Lovely</i> <i>Bones</i>
Remember when Peter Jackson announced he was going to make "a little picture" after the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong and before tackling The Hobbit? Well, The Lovely Bones seems to have "growed like Topsy" into an overinflated, unpleasant mess.
First of all, this story of the murder of a 14-year-old girl and its aftermath should not be seen by 14-year-old girls. It may hammer home the lesson that they shouldn't talk to strangers, but it's also likely to make them paranoid, if not leave them traumatized for life.
The murder isn't actually shown, but the oblique hints of what happened are even more terrifying, and a violent scene late in the film is totally gratuitous. Jackson obviously had some nastiness to get out of his system.
Susie Salmon (Atonement's Saoirse Ronan, again enchanting) narrates from the afterlife, where she's temporarily lodged in "the blue horizon between heaven and earth"; but we learn at the end that the unfinished business keeping her there isn't what you think.
She introduces us to life in her Pennsylvania community before she died, and to her family. Jack (Mark Wahlberg) and Abigail (Rachel Weisz) also have two younger children, Lindsey (Rose McIver) and Buckley (Christian Ashdale). Hard-drinking, chain-smoking Grandma Lynn (Susan Sarandon) drops by occasionally to be a bad influence. "Just have fun, kid," she advises Susie.
Susie is about to have fun when her crush, Ray Singh (Reece Ritchie, tailor-made Tiger Beat cover material) suddenly pays attention to her. But someone else has been paying attention too: a quiet neighbor, George Harvey (Stanley Tucci, unrecognizable in a dirty blond wig and mustache).
It's not immediately apparent, half an hour into the movie, that Susie's been murdered– even though she told us to expect it on December 6, 1973– because her spirit is still active on earth. From then on, she moves easily and inconsistently between earth and a place that often resembles Jackson's native New Zealand, but we're told is not of this earth. Sometimes, people are aware of her on some level, even think they see her, but mostly Susie just observes.
She sees Jack, who had an obsessive personality to begin with, become obsessed with finding her killer. He's constantly bothering local police detective Len Fenerman (Michael Imperioli) with useless information and suggestions.
Susie also sees her siblings grow up and is moved by watching Lindsey's first kiss, an experience she was robbed of. Lindsey inherits their father's obsessiveness, leading to a suspenseful girl-in-jeopardy moment that should be the film's climax; but as Lord of the Rings fans know, Jackson can't let a movie end when it should.
Susie and her family, especially Jack, can't let each other go, even though he needs to get on with life, and she needs to get on with death. This is obvious for at least an hour before anyone does anything about it.
Except for Ronan and Tucci, the cast isn't given the opportunity to do anything significant. Most of them disappear for too long at a time. Sarandon might easily have run away with the picture but reins herself in, knowing she could throw the mood out of whack if she overplayed her role as it seems to have been intended for her to do.
I'm not saying The Lovely Bones doesn't have wonderful moments, but they're almost like needles in a haystack. Talking about hunting from a duck blind, George tells Jack, "It takes a lot of patience."
So does The Lovely Bones. The bones may be lovely, but there's too much meat on them, and too little of it is choice. | <urn:uuid:a30aba8a-0169-46b7-949c-65d8d264be52> | http://www.readthehook.com/84027/movie-review-unpleasanti-ienchanting-lead-cant-save-ilovelyi-ibonesi | en | 0.974086 | 0.15127 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Engines of Our Ingenuity
No. 515:
by John H. Lienhard
Click here for audio of Episode 515.
Today, science fiction forges a weapon of war. The University of Houston's College of Engineering presents this series about the machines that make our civilization run, and the people whose ingenuity created them.
If you think war drives technology, maybe you should look at German rocketry. The German Army ordered a study of rockets in 1929. It began building rockets the next year. That sounds like great foresight. I suppose it was, but it had nothing to do with the Nazis. Hitler didn't take over until four years later.
By 1929 the American, Goddard, and the Russians had worked with rockets. The German military didn't tumble to any of that. Something else happened. We have to go back to 1923, when Hermann Oberth published a book on rocketry.
Oberth laid out the principles of modern space flight. He said rockets could escape Earth's atmosphere. They could even escape gravity. They could carry people and they could turn a profit. He wasn't talking about war.
The book was to have been his doctoral dissertation. But the faculty at Heidelberg rejected it. Rockets won't work in the vacuum of space, a professor claimed, because they have nothing to push against.
Then a science-fiction writer named Max Valier got his hands on Oberth's book. He became Oberth's champion. Writings on space flight began flowing from his pen. Valier arrested public attention.
For a while, Valier and Oberth collaborated. But Valier didn't really understand rocketry. He tried to improve on Oberth's hard facts. Oberth had to end their collaboration.
But no matter: the spark had landed in the tinder of the 1920s imagination. By 1928 Valier's enthusiasm had caught the heir of the Opel automobile fortunes. The fellow built a series of rocket-powered cars. Then he flew a rocket-powered glider. Meanwhile, Fritz Lang stopped work on the movie Metropolis to make a film about flying to the moon.
In the midst of all this, a German officer read Oberth's book. Only then did he start the machinery of military rocketry. By 1930 we find a photo of the military rocket group. Oberth stands in front of a small rocket. On the right we see an 18-year-old lad holding a fitting. His clear, alert face gazes, transfixed -- not at Oberth, but at the rocket. The young engineer is Wernher von Braun.
Fourteen years later, V-2 rockets began falling on English civilians. They weren't the fruit of military vision at all. They were born in Oberth's science and Valier's fiction. They were born in the face of young von Braun, dreaming about flying to the moon.
(Theme music)
Neufeld, M.J., Weimar Culture and Futuristic Technology: The Rocketry and Spaceflight Fad in Germany, 1923-1933. Technology and Culture, Vol. 31, No. 4, Oct. 1990, pp. 725-752.
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News Tips
If you believe Scott Sittig, Batavia's consolidation process is getting state and even national attention.
"It would be the first city-town consolidation across the state; it would represent a significant change in the way things are done," Sittig says. He is a senior associate, facilitator and consultant with Rochester's Center for Government Research, and he's overseeing Batavia's consolidated charter task force as they work to build a new charter for the proposed 'bigger' City of Batavia.
"A lot of people are watching," says Sittig, because this is an example of less government with more efficiency. Sittig leads off
in an article at the CGR website by saying that, "if we could redraw the map, we would never create the patchwork quilt of local governments we have now." The proposed consolidation of Batavia is a first step to changing all of that in a positive, enlightened way, he says.
"A lot of 'consolidations' are starting with an existing slate of services, and trying to figure out how to share or who should control the services," he says, "essentially taking what you have, and just rearranging it."
But he says Batavia's charter task force is starting with what is basically a "blank slate," and trying to re-define how a government should work.
"In this case, (they) have the chance to re-write how the city is structured," Sittig says.
Sittig acknowledges that many of the changes won't be immediately evident if they're put in place. For example, most if not all of the services in the city will remain, and the town's will stay the same as well. The tentative plan also includes different tax tiers based on residency, so that town residents who currently pay zero property tax would continue to do so.
There is just under $1-million dollars in possible shared-cost savings. But Sittig says another great advantage comes from economic development possibilities:eliminating a level of bureacracy and tying together revitalized city industrial properties with the shovel-ready parks in the town.
"You're positioning yourself as a progressive community, which is viewed favorably by businesses looking to relocate or start anew," Sittig says.
Ultimately, CGR and Sittig have no final opinion on consolidation, preferring to remain a neutral facilitator in the charter-writing process.
The consolidated charter task force meets on selected evenings. Their next meeting will be Tuesday, December 20th.
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Take the 2-minute tour ×
I'm an experienced iOS developer, and I just bought my first Android phone, used, on eBay. The phone is carrier locked and I'm looking to swap in my iPhone SIM card. (I have an adapter.)
The phone is carrier locked. Is there a way to root or erase the firmware to unlock it, or must I use an unlock code? If so, what are my options for obtaining said code?
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4 Answers 4
up vote 1 down vote accepted
Unfortunately it appears your only option is an unlock code, I've just done a search. This XDA thread has a couple ways to get into the unlock screen so you can enter the code.
Your options for get the unlock code are to ask the carrier the phone is locked to -- they might give it to you if they're feeling nice -- or to buy it online. There are no reputable sellers of unlock codes online, of course, but you could search around and find someone whose experience seems reliable and use the same service that they did.
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I have this phone, and I have T-Mobile. I called *611 and told them I was going to be traveling in Europe and needed a SIM unlock code. They agreed and it arrived about 12 hours later.
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You can use unlock code to unlock your LG Optimus T which is the safe and easy way. You can get the unlock code from the service/network provider. But,Mostly they will provide the unlock code if your phone if off contract . In that case you can get the unlock code from online vendors like MobileUnlockSolutions.com for a price .They will give you the unlock code along with instruction on how to unlock.
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Simple solution for you. Get your LG Optimus unlocked by obtaining an unlock code so that you will be able to swap in your iPhone SIM card. Just google for cheap LG SIM/Network Unlock codes. Be careful about sites that betrays you. You can also find some code vendors on ebay too.
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University officials have spoken frankly to webinar attendees about the challenge of mass notification. Which modalities and strategies are for them-- or for you?
Now more than ever, campus safety is of paramount importance. A reliable emergency mass notification system is one way to ensure the safety of constituents, and Brandeis University (MA) recently invested in a system that does the job. During the May 20, 2008, CT webinar "Campuswide Mass Notification: Real-World Keys and Best Practices," John Turner, the school's director of networks and systems, spoke with CT Senior Contributing Editor Matt Villano about Brandeis' system. The webinar, sponsored by CDW Berbee, highlighted a number of steps to consider when building an emergency alert system. Here are some excerpts. (View the complete archived webinar on demand here.)
Alert!CT: Give us a general overview of the user base at Brandeis.
Turner: We are in Waltham, MA, just a little bit outside of Boston. We have about 100 buildings on campus. During the day, there are anywhere between 5,000 to 7,000 folks on our 235-acre campus. There are 2,700 resident students on campus. They live in the dorms here and they all have VoIP speakerphones from Cisco in their dorm rooms. That's one unique aspect about Brandeis.
What prompted you to rethink your approach to mass notification?
Like most schools [see "Another Spin"], I'd say it was the shooting incidents at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University. After those tragedies, we created a task force composed of a number of offices around campus: campus police, the president's office, campus services, human resources, IT, and more. As a group, the first thing we did was take stock of what kind of emergency mass notification systems are available today. We knew that we needed to hit all the major components. Everyone liked SMS but, surprisingly, we don't have the greatest cell phone coverage, so that was an issue that we needed to address. Another piece that stood out was a university-wide paging system or a public address system. We had an edict, really: 90 days to get a notification system up and running. The task force wanted to hit as many constituents as possible, and we put together a plan that included a number of things: SMS messaging to students, reverse 911 calls out, e-mail, giant sirens around campus, and a paging system.
Once this plan was in place, what did you do?
We conducted a survey of systems. We are a Cisco VoIP shop, and we use Cisco CallManager, so one of the mass notification tools that we knew that we could use with the system was the InformaCast system from CDW Berbee. There were other vendors out there, too: Citrix, NetSupport, and others. But we went with Berbee.
What was early implementation like?
What we needed to do with the early action system was to predefine some messages and figure out what kinds of messages we were going to send. This was probably one of the more difficult aspects of the process. The offices of Communications and Public Safety wanted to make sure that the messages were concise, that they were informative, and that they covered all situations. And I was sitting here thinking, "It's all about the technology." So we struggled back and forth, hitting our heads against the wall and trying to make them understand what they needed to do. Finally, I said, "Look, just think of it like a fire alarm." That worked. A fire alarm has a single message. A fire alarm doesn't tell you a lot about what is going on. Fire alarms say one thing: "Get out!" We needed to think of our campus emergency system in the same way. Now we obviously needed different messages, but the key here was to come up with a succinct amount of messages. And that's what we did.
Another Spin
BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY (MA) isn't the only school grappling with emergency notification; the University of Notre Dame (IN) is, too. On July 22, 2008, in the Campus Technology webinar "Text Messaging as an Emergency Communication Superstar?" Dewitt Latimer, Notre Dame's deputy CIO and chief technology officer, talked about his experiences. Following are excerpts from that discussion, sponsored by Blackboard Connect. (View the complete archived webinar on demand here.)
CT: What prompted Notre Dame to rethink its approach to emergency notification?
Latimer: Within the higher education community, it was really the Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois incidents that hit home. A lot of schools had wildfires to deal with, and hurricanes, too.
What is the benefit of multimodal communication?
It doesn't take much to look around and see all of the students with their heads bent over their cell phones-- busily tapping away at text messages and whatnot-- for the text messaging to rise to the top. SMS is a natural choice, but you should send out emergency messages across other media such as e-mail and telephone, as well.
In general, what needs to happen in order for emergency notification to work?
You need close to 100 percent enrollment and participation rates. Enrollment rate is the number of students or amount of information that you have loaded into your emergency notification system. Participation rate is the number of those enrollees who successfully negotiated the handshake to receive SMS messaging or even e-mail and voicemail.
What are some of the biggest challenges?
Things like the credibility of the message. Quite frankly, in 2005 the state of Connecticut had a little mishap with its emergency alert system. In this case, it was the traditional TV Emergency Alert System where they distributed across all state agencies, all radios, and whatnot, the following message: "Civil authorities have issued an immediate evacuation order for all of Connecticut, beginning at 2:10 and ending at 3:10." Connecticut is small, but evacuating a state in an hour is a pretty good trick. Nearly half of the people who heard the message didn't believe it.
So how do you get people to embrace emergency notification?
One way you can do it is to start building a brand around your emergency notification system. At Notre Dame, we have created ND Alert as the brand.We're also educating our user community to look for multiple forms of communications in that if you don't spot at least two of them, then question seriously what you're hearing and seeing.
What's the bottom line?
No single solution should be the centerpiece of your emergency notification plan. You must bring to bear all of the modalities that you can get your hands on. And you must teach your user communities, your students, to look, listen, recognize, and understand those modalities and what they can and can't do for you.
Did you do these messages yourselves?
We didn't have to. Berbee preloaded messages, as well as our SMS and our e-mail system. These can be used for all the major threats.
How did you decide who would operate the notification system?
That was a tough one; it took a little bit of time for our Communications office and the administration to work out who was going to pull the trigger. Traditionally on campus, all of our major communication efforts are headed up by our Communications office. But that really wasn't the right thing in this case, and it took us a little while to work out with the campus police that they needed to be the ones to take charge. Our thinking was that they are the ones who are going to get the first notification of an event on campus, so they are the ones who should pull the alarm, push the button, and send the alarm out fastest. We also wrote a single sign-on program through which campus police can log in to other associated notification systems and push emergency messages from those, too.
Technologically speaking, how does the IP system work?
It is a server-based system, connected to all of our IP phones. In the event of an emergency, we choose the precomposed message that we want to send, and the system pushes audio and text versions of the message out to every phone simultaneously. It does it as a multicast, which is a technology that essentially decreases the amount of bandwidth you need. Think of it as a streaming service; the multicast is a 128-kilobyte stream. Basically, all of the phones connect to this stream. The stream goes to broadcast points, and spiders out. That's a good thing, because we don't want to congest our network and find ourselves in a situation where if users were to pick up all 4,000 or 5,000 handsets at the same time, they wouldn't get any dial tone.
Does your IP notification system consist only of phones?
We have IP speakers, too. In areas where we don't have IP phones, we still need to broadcast our messages. These would be areas like laundry rooms, auditoriums, and atriums. For this, we worked with a company called Atlas Sound, which makes IP speakers. The speakers look like your elementary school PA system that sat on the wall: a classic speaker-in-a-box setup. The difference is that these are IP, so you literally plug an Ethernet jack into the back of it and hang it on the wall. In our case, the devices receive power over the Ethernet. Right now we have about 20 additional speakers on campus and an eye toward increasing that as we continue to identify areas where we may need better coverage.
So you've got phones and speakers. What other hardware is involved?
We need an InformaCast server and, in our case, that server is a low-end Dell. Installation on that was quick-- we downloaded the Berbee software, got a test license, and set it up. That was it.
Has this system replaced the fire alarm?
No, the fire alarm is not tied into this particular system. Local municipalities require separate fire alarms and require them to meet certain standards. Our IP notification system is separate.
Tell us more about the messages themselves. What do they say?
We took a lot of input from other institutions on this one, as well as from our own Communications office, and developed a series of short messages. The messages are things like "Shelter in place," which is a standardized message that basically says, "Stay where you are," or "Do not go outside." That message is intended for potential weather emergencies, shooters, some sort of biological release, a potential bomb threat, and things like that. Other messages tell our people to evacuate their current locations and proceed to designated evacuation zones. Prior to the incident at Virginia Tech, we had established locations on campus to evacuate folks to, if there was an emergency on campus. We divided the campus up into five zones. Every building is in a particular zone. If you are in a building and you have the evacuate notice, you go to that designated evacuation location.
That's it?
No, there are others. One says, "Campus is closed," which basically tells people, "Please do not come to campus," and that if they are en route, they should turn back. Additional messages convey things like snow emergencies, classes cancelled, test messages, and things like that.
What kind of redundancy did you build in?
InformaCast supports a redundant system online. It's easy for them to have it set up and get that going. So that was kind of a no-brainer. It just works. The phone system itself has multiple points of redundancy, as well: If we were to lose a major machine room, we have call-processing centers distributed in five locations throughout campus. The SMS and other providers all assure us, through written statements and whatever else, that they have redundant facilities and can provide a level of assuredness there.
How did you calculate return on investment and what, in your opinion, has delivered the greatest ROI?
ROI is always a difficult one to calculate; we often don't look at soft costs. Things like that can tend to be difficult to calculate. However, in this particular case, the ROI was that InformaCast was cheaper than what it would have cost us if we wanted to do a PA system. I can confidently say it would have been at least in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Wiring alone in these locations is costly: We would have had to put in messaging cable, and would have had to install somewhere near 800 speakers. It would have been very expensive. So that was pretty much immediate ROI. For us, the other ROI comes with the intangible aspects of safety. What price do you put on a notification system? What price do you put on notifying the campus of a mass emergency? For us, that is priceless.
"Traditionally, our major communication efforts are headed up by our Communications office. It took us a while to work out that the campus police needed to take charge; they are the ones to get the first notification of an event on campus."
One year into the new system, how many times have you had to use it?
We have definitely used it for weather closures. We had a pretty massive snow storm heading toward Brandeis that the weather forecasters had not predicted well. We needed to get the message out as quickly as possible: "School is closed." Traditionally, that would have been done via all-campus voicemail and e-mail. In this case, we were able to use the InformaCast system, and folks were off campus within the hour. We also test the system regularly. When you install a system like this, you need to make sure that there are no problems that crop up. We all know that our networks change; that people move offices, forget passwords, and forget where they put the operations manual. For all of these reasons, we need to make sure that things are tested regularly. The other aspect of testing is sort of a political buy-in piece to let people know that we have the system and that it works. That builds confidence. When we installed it, we initially tested it in the summer. You could hear the sirens throughout campus. We've also tested the cell-phone component and it's nice to see SMS messages going through. Our intention is to test it every semester and during the summer. The testing is a crucial piece; I can't stress enough that it is something that needs to be coordinated in order to succeed.
:: RelatedLinks ::
Developing the Right Alert Notification Strategy
NetSupport Debuts Desktop Mass Notification System
Notre Dame (IN) Speeds Launch of Crisis Notification System
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HOME > Chowhound > General Tristate Archive >
Jun 21, 2008 04:30 AM
spanish in norwalk
Does anyone know the name of the spanish place in the small office building on Wall St? Is it worth going? Thanks!!
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1. Meigas? Yes, it's very good for upscale Spanish.
But don't forget to go around the corner to LaPaella for tapas and sangria. Also excellent.
1 Reply
1. re: dolores
Yes, that is it!! Made a res for tomorrow. I'll report back.
Will try LaPaella another time.
2. The original comment has been removed
1. Just an FYI La Paella is closing soon, tp be replaced with what I assume will be a greek restaurant called Taberna.
1. re: lovesublime
I can't believe La Paella has lasted as long as it did.
1. re: lovesublime
Awwwwww. That's a shame.
Thanks for the heads up, lovesublime. I guess Larchmont will have to be my destination for tapas.
1. re: dolores
Do you like Barcelona? I havent been there in years..
1. re: lovesublime
No, lovesublime, I've never been to Barcelona. Is it the one in Greenwich?
I've only been to LaPaella, and will very much miss them. They were excellent both times I went.
There is a new place in Larchmont, and that will be it for tapas, that I can see.
1. re: dolores
Its the same as the one in Sono and yes, same menu.
Chefboy, I walked past La Paella about 2 weeks ago. They were open but there was a sign in the window saying TABERNA, COMING SOON. I too am sad, I liked La Paella. I guess I just didnt go there often enough to save this local gem :(
2. re: lovesublime
That's terrible! Where did you hear this, and what is the full story?
1. re: ChefBoyAreMe
LaPaella is not closing. I'm told (by a friend of the owner) that they are opening Taberna on the outskirts of Bridgeport. It will be more Nuevo/Pan Latino. I have not seen the sign myself, but marketing never seemed to be their strong suit; I wouldn't be surprised if it does not reference the new/different location. They sure can cook though! And, I love the wine selection too. Great Place!
1. re: Wanda_Gorgonzola
Wanda, I'm glad to hear this.
Can you advise the owner to edit the sign? Perhaps they can add:
'Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.' | <urn:uuid:28f61f67-e26a-4e11-ae4b-2175034b8c33> | http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/531218 | en | 0.958042 | 0.022143 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Enmeduranki of Sippar (or Enmeenduranna) was the seventh King of Sumeria before the Flood. According to the list of kings found at Larsa, he ruled "5 sars, 5 ners" - that is 21,000 years.
He was regarded as the 'Father of Soothsaying' (extispicy) by the Babylonians and Assyrians. It is said that the secrets of divination were shown to a king of Sippar by divine revelation. Gods make their will, intentions and answers known to the people by supernatural means: numerous omens and signs that needed explanation. The exegesis of omens was seen as a discipline ('science') to inquire the gods. It was an official institution, used by the king to collect information. No decision of any importance was taken without proper consulting. The sun god utu is in particular connected with the discipline of divination. He is in a position to oversee everything, so also the future.
His sage Utuabzu (perhaps Enmeduranki himself) was said to have "ascended to heaven" in several Sumerian incantation texts. This story is very reminiscent of the Biblical story of Enoch (Genesis 5:22-24).
{Kings of Sumeria}
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Take the 2-minute tour ×
I don't get the 3SAT problem.
Can someone explain the 3SAT problem as if I were 5 years old, ideally with examples?
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This site is not best used by saying "please explain X to me". Indeed, and to begin with, that is not really a question. But more importantly, it should not be difficult to find several explanations of what 3SAT is, some of which are surely adorned with examples (and there are textbooks and other sources, too, of course) Have you tried reading, say, Wikipedia? What in the exposition there you do not understand? Etc. – Mariano Suárez-Alvarez Nov 28 '11 at 4:55
@nubela, Please consider accepting answers that you like on your questions, as you haven't accepted a single answer in all your questions... – sxd Nov 28 '11 at 18:42
No, no one can explain 3SAT to you as if you were 5 years old. – DanielV Mar 16 at 0:07
2 Answers 2
I would start from the question, what's SAT in general. SAT is satisfiability problem - say you have Boolean expression written using only AND, OR, NOT, variables, and parentheses. The SAT problem is: given the expression, is there some assignment of TRUE and FALSE values to the variables that will make the entire expression true?
For example,
$x_{1} \wedge x_{2} \vee x_{3}$
SAT problem for this Boolean expression: is there such values of $x_{1},x_{2},x_{3}$, that given Boolean expression is TRUE. The answer to SAT problem is only YES or NO. We don't care what's the values of $x_{1},x_{2},x_{3}$, just existence of such values.
If this is OK, let's go further.
SAT3 problem is a special case of SAT problem, where Boolean expression should have very strict form. It should be divided to clauses,such that every clause contains of three literals.
For example,
$(x_{1} \vee x_{2} \vee x_{3}) \wedge (x_{4}\vee x_{5} \vee x_{6})$
This Boolean expression in 3SAT form, 2 clauses, each clause contains of 3 literals. The question is the same, is there such values of $x_{1}...x_{6}$, that given Boolean expression is TRUE.
If it wasn't helpful. I would advise to at look at application of SAT and 3SAT problem that close to your field of studying.
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Start with a bunch of variables $x_1,x_2,\dots$ that, instead of taking on real values, only take on values from the set, $\{{{\rm true,\ false}\}}$. If $a,b$ are such variables then $a\vee b$ is true unless $a$ and $b$ are both false (think, "or"); $a\wedge b$ is true only if both $a$ and $b$ are true (think "and"); $-a$ is true if and only if $a$ is false (think "not").
A clause is a disjunction of variables, that is, something of the form $x_{i_1}\vee x_{i_2}\vee\cdots\vee x_{i_n}$, where some of those variables could be negations of other variables (that is, a clause could be somehting like $x\vee-y\vee z$). It's easy to tell whether a clause is satisfiable, that is, whether there are values of the variables that make it true.
The satisfiability problem is this: given a (finite) collection of clauses, is there a way to assign values to the variables to make all the clauses true?
3SAT is the case where each clause has exactly 3 terms.
EDIT (to include some information on the point of studying 3SAT):
If someone gives you an assignment of values to the variables, it is very easy to check to see whether that assignment makes all the clauses true; in other words, you can efficiently check any alleged solution.
If someone asks you whether there is a way to assign values to the variables to make all the clauses true, then you could just try all possible assignments of values, and check each one. But since there are two possible assignments to each variable, there are $2^k$ possible assignments of values (where $k$ is the number of variables), and this grows very large very fast. The big question is whether there is a cleverer way to do things so that you can solve the problem in a number of steps polynomial in the size of the problem, as opposed to exponentially many steps in the naive approach.
No one knows. What is known is that if there is an efficient algorithm for solving 3SAT, then there is an efficient algorithm for solving EVERY problem for which alleged solutions can be tested efficiently.
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Friday, October 03, 2008
Run-DMC - Raising Hell
Run-DMC - Raising Hell
Run-DMC, "Peter Piper" (YSI link)
Run-DMC, "You Be Illin'"
(YSI link)
Run-DMC, "Lord of Lyrics (demo)"
(YSI link)
I'm feeling a little emotional today after some nice Rosh Hashanah moments. It's fitting today that I finally return to one of, if not the, most important LP of my life, Run-DMC's Raising Hell. It was the first tape I bought, my first foray out of the world of 45s and into the new technological edge. I was about 8 years old and really had no idea what I was getting into; a friend's older brother was listening to it all the time and talking about it and since I thought he was cool, I felt like it was the right call. Oh, was it ever! It put me on the path to a lifelong love of music and rap and everything. Thanks Brian Park, wherever you are!
Those opening lines of "Peter Piper" where Run and DMC trade rhymes brings tears to my eyes, takes me back to when I was 8 years old and forced my parents to take me to Sam Goody's to buy this tape. I have been listening to a lot recently and it has lot none of its power or excellence. What strikes me most is how much that early rap was creating its own world through words. Run and DMC spit so many words here and not in that awful Twista way, but in a literate way that just sounds like two guys who have so much to say. I miss that spirit today, that joy at rapping and being heard. Songs like "My Adidas" and "It's Tricky" are amazing, songs that are a part of my DNA now. There's such a swagger to each song, that King of Rock style, the adidas tracksuits, the gold chains, the poses. However, take note current rappers, these guys were as hard as fuck yet didn't need to beat the shit out of women nor kill people to get that attitude across.
The music is just as good, as this album saw Run-DMC adding so much to the rap sound and not just with "Walk This Way" with Aerosmith. Check "Is It Live" for a great congo-y beat. Or listen for all of the scratches and riffs, the introduction of rock samples like "My Sharona" on "It's Tricky," the various layers that took rap out of its minimal stage. It's not surprising that this album would take rap to the next level of popularity, as it is a huge sonic leap. Rick Rubin and Jam Master Jay were the architects on this one, changing the world and my life in 1986.
Buy your copy now, if you don't already own it. This is an essential, Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200 album. You need it in your life. You need
rachsky said...
and how could you forget "Mary-Mary"? great great post....
Paul Arrand Rodgers said...
Scoring this on vinyl at a thrift store for a buck is still one of my best finds. | <urn:uuid:e5c9cf78-3f1a-4e53-aeca-67684213c4dc> | http://poundforpound.blogspot.com/2008/10/run-dmc-raising-hell.html?showComment=1223071320000 | en | 0.979147 | 0.04193 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Thursday, February 02, 2012
Romney Hasn't Learned The First Lesson Of Vulture Capitalism
"Never Complain, Never Explain."
"Sometimes things don't come out exactly the way you'd like them to," he explained. "That's not exactly what I meant to say. My focus is on middle income Americans. We do have a safety net for the very poor, and I said if there are holes in it I want to correct that."
Opponents on the left jumped on it, saying it shows Romney is out of touch.
Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh noticed, as well. "Everyone knows what he was trying to say," Limbaugh observed, "but he didn't say it. He makes himself a target with this stuff. He comes across at the prototypical rich Republican. ... It's gonna make it harder and harder and harder to go after Obama."
For once, Rush has it right. And wrong.
See, Romney is pretty much cast in stone now as the prototypical aristocrat: wealthy, out of touch, elitist...hell, he's even spent time in France!
Sound familiar? He even flip-flops (only his flip-flops aren't as nuanced as John Kerry's.)
In the primaries, this is a feature, tho: to claim to be for the rich, in Republican jargon, means pro-tax cuts, anti-union, pro-wealth creation, anti-Big Government.
The flaw in the ointment, of course, is the implications of this posture, including a distinct lack of compassion for those whom the American dream has left by the roadside.
Since the fight will be over the two to five percent of true independents-- not those who say they are independent to throw pollsters off, or because they just can't be bothered with political junk mail or what have you-- things like an unChristian attitude towards the poor matter. These are people who aren't ideologues or dogmatic religious types, but who do believe in charity and taking care of those who can't take themselves.
They learned that taking care of the world around them is important and if they made $20 million last year after taxes, they'd do a lot more than tithe to a church. These are the folks who, when they hit the lottery, give a million to the school down the street to make the playground better or to buy computer equipment.
These are the folks who send $10 to the Red Cross the minute a tragedy strikes. They don't need a celebrity or a pastor to tell them to give, they do it, willingly.
Romney's wealth is an ideal for them, but then they assess the character of the man with the money and realize that wealth has created a mean-spirited, spiteful and angry man.
As in:
An ABC News/Washington Post survey released last week, for example, found Romney viewed unfavorably by 49 percent of voters and favorably by just 31 percent. Among independents, just 23 percent viewed Romney favorably, compared to 51 percent who felt that way about President Obama.
Which makes Obama's job that much easier. Not that it was that hard to begin with, even with all the disadvantages Obama brings to the table as incumbent (along with the advantages, to be fair.) The field the GOP put out there was ridiculously weak and thin, and partly to blame was their overeagerness to set a candidate in stone early enough to go after Obama for months, not weeks.
Hell, you could hear the fapping in 2010 if you listened closely enough.
But I give Romney credit: at least he hasn't complained. | <urn:uuid:5a58bb9f-2bc3-4411-93f9-d1e666cc6e09> | http://simplyleftbehind.blogspot.com/2012/02/romney-hasnt-learned-first-lesson-of.html | en | 0.978071 | 0.052221 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Saturday, 22 October 2011
Breakfast at Mosaic, Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Mosaic, all day dining restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental, works with just the same philosophy for breakfast as it does for dinner - focus on quality rather than quantity. While offering both local and international breakfast delights such as Chinese, Indian, Western, European and Japanese cuisine the selections are perhaps not as wide as you might find in some 5 star hotels around the city. The difference though is smaller offerings mean more focus is put into the standard of each dish. What will keep me coming back for breaky are: the egg station - eggs done to your liking - I could even get my vege egg white omelette made with just a spray of oil and pan fried mushrooms on the side; crusty wholemeal bread; crunchy chef's granola; an assortment of fresh, dried and compoted fruits; bottomless cups of coffee and a rockin' bakery section - ask the cook in the centre of the goodies to whip you up some hot French toast and top it with the mixed berry compote - yum! My dining buddy, who balances out my healthy taste buds, devoured chicken sausages filled with cheese, tender flavourful steaks off the grill, scrambled eggs, some local meat dishes (in particular the well seasoned, juicy chicken from the Indian bar), and steamy dim sum. The modest medley of dim sum is worth a mention as it was enough to whet my appetite to make a reservation for the dim sum restaurant located upstairs for next weekend. If you enjoy people watching and the green KLCC park view it's wise to reserve a window table in advance as this place quickly fills up on the weekend (so much so on my visit that the lobby area was opened up to cater for the large number of patrons).
Ground Floor
Mandarin Oriental
Kuala Lumpur
+6 03 2179 8881
1. still quite a whopping breakfast, at any rate! i'd be tempted to head home & sleep off the food after that, heh :D
2. Sean that sounds like a wonderful way to spend a Sunday :-)
3. I like the look of the honeycomb
4. I'm waiting to know if you went to the dim sum place...
5. Now I have to go back to try their breakfast too.
6. The pastry looks delicous... | <urn:uuid:a84b6a2e-80b3-46b3-8ae8-a6a44eacc269> | http://theyumlist.blogspot.com/2011/10/breakfast-at-mosaic-mandarin-oriental.html | en | 0.952412 | 0.045494 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
A Bit of Racism I Just HAD to Share
So, this happened in my Facebook feed this morning.
Sabrina was classy enough to delete the comment, no doubt not wanting her wall polluted with such hateful filth. But I like casting bright light at roaches like these when they scurry out of the shadows.
Meanwhile, when a friend from high school posted a link yesterday to some “satire” about the Democratic National Convention which was low on wit and high on racist commentary, I commented saying exactly that. Now that “friend” has vanished from my friends list and even blocked me entirely. I guess I struck a nerve.
Good riddance.
It’s all about the cookies this week…
I’d sell your heart to the junkman baby
For a buck, for a buck…
If you’re looking for someone to pull you out of that ditch
You’re out of luck, you’re out of luck…
Vote! (or “I Believe In Harvey Dent”)
If you refuse to vote because “both parties are the same” and “it makes no difference who you vote for” all you’re really saying is you’re just going to bitch until society crumbles and rebuilds in a more perfect form.
Good luck with that. I’d rather claw forward and embrace any progress we can make. Better to be a warrior for change than a sour scold watching things crumble and offering only bile.
Also, if you think both parties are the same, you’re sort of an idiot. Both parties have fundamental problems in common, but their agendas in a lot of vital areas are very different. While in many ways it’s true that they are just two sides of the same coin…
The coin is Harvey Dent’s.
Harvey Dent is the government. He started out as an idealist, but was deeply damaged and corrupted, though his more noble nature still exists in him, at war with his darker, more violent side. How he acts, good or bad, is decided by the toss of a coin, a force outside of himself, our elections.
The coin has two faces, the two parties, and Dent will choose to be “good” or “bad” according to which comes up on the toss. Now, for the most part, “good” is less a matter of taking beneficial action than it is of not taking maleficent action, though that’s not an absolute; sometimes Dent will go out of his way to do good things if the coin toss dictates he do so.
He will never do good things if the bad side of the coin comes up. For the record, in this analogy, the bad side is the Republican party. Perhaps at one time their face was noble, but they have scribbled and scratched so maniacally at it over the years that almost nothing of their original nobility remains. (And through unethical and undemocratic actions like vote suppression, they’re busily trying to scratch up the other side of the coin, too, so they’ll always win the toss).
Would it be better to not have Harvey Dent as our government? In realistic terms, with power and greed and human nature being what they are, in a representational system is it possible to not have Harvey Dent as our government?
It would be better to have someone incorruptible, someone who does not do bad things to advance his own desires, someone who will always look out for his fellow man. But I don’t see that guy anywhere, and don’t expect to. Maybe he’s still on Krypton.
We have Harvey. And the coin. And the way it falls may not make the world perfect or imperfect, but it can make the difference between whether Dent shoots us in the head or not.
Happy(?) Veterans’ Day
Hey! Stupid! (Regarding Occupy Wall Street…)
Hey! Stupid!
White Shirt Is The New Black Shirt
So the cops have started brutalizing the Wall Street protesters again today. I hope this pisses you off as much as it does me. If it doesn’t, there’s something fucking wrong with you.
As America Sinks…
The boat is sinking.
What do we do? | <urn:uuid:3a652308-4a12-4388-8ee7-b897a358dc68> | http://tim-byrd.com/tag/barack-obama/page/2/ | en | 0.952386 | 0.253059 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
In between the turkey, spiced beef and mugs of hot port, I spent some of Christmas thinking about the state. Specifically, how to make it smaller.
Milton Friedman used to say that cutting taxes would force governments to cut spending to make ends meet. The last ten years has basically proved him wrong. Why cut spending when you can spend more, tax less and let the next lot pay the bill?
The old ‘tax cuts first’ strategy is dead. For a smaller state, we need to cut spending as we cut taxes, and avoid government borrowing as much as possible.
But it’s not quite that simple. The problem is that there aren’t many places you can cut without also changing quite a few other things as well. “Cut spending” sounds good, but, without much more fundamental reforms, almost any big spending cut would leave a lot of people high and dry.
The five biggest areas of government spending are health, welfare, pensions, education, and defence. To really shrink state spending, we need to cut all of these things. But without a complete overhaul of policy in general, no real cuts can be made.
The NHS is a socialist bureaucracy, but until we liberalize the healthcare market and make health insurance a viable alternative for NHS users, cutting the NHS might very well make patients’ lives a lot worse. A simple cut to the NHS would be bad because, thanks to the state, a lot of people depend on it for their healthcare.
The same goes for all the other big areas of spending. Want to cut education spending? Fine, but without something like school vouchers or private education tax credits, things will probably get worse. Some bits of welfare can and should be cut, but without planning reform to reduce the cost of rents and employment deregulation to increase the number of jobs going, people who genuinely cannot find work will suffer. And a tax system that takes £1,500 from a minimum wage worker is utterly morally bankrupt.
Try explaining to granny why her pension is being cut after spending her life paying National Insurance (under the impression that it was something other than a tax in disguise). And defence cuts – great, but not until we’re out of Afghanistan and servicemen’s lives won’t be threatened by a shortage of bullet-proof vests.
Spending cuts are a little bit like Brussels sprouts: quite good for you, but not very appealing on their own. But as part of a bigger meal, they can be wonderful. Deeper cuts are only possible with fundamental libertarian reforms of the state. That will be a bigger task than many would like. | <urn:uuid:182e05b5-587b-4649-b5fb-5879882585fe> | http://www.adamsmith.org/blog/tax-spending/cut-spending-if-only-it-were-that-simple/ | en | 0.967892 | 0.35657 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
3. Give More Compliments
Paying someone a compliment is in itself a great action, but as a habit it's even better. Learning to pay compliments means learning to pay closer attention to people in your life and the small changes that they make. Most of us spend a great deal of time and consideration on who we are and how we look, and getting recognized for it can be a great feeling. Besides the fact that you'll feel better for paying more compliments, you'll find that people start to warm up to you a lot more when you take the time to recognize them for who they are and the things they do.
Show Comments | <urn:uuid:0c9abf92-f763-4065-883f-dce1c01068cd> | http://www.askmen.com/top_10/entertainment/10-resolutions-any-man-can-keep_3.html | en | 0.974788 | 0.031674 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
South West Wales
Men sue university claiming women were paid more
Eighteen men who claim they are being paid less than their female colleagues are suing the University of Wales Trinity Saint David for compensation.
The male caretakers and maintenance staff allege they are being sexually discriminated against.
Eight other men have had their cases stayed pending the outcome of the current tribunal in Cardiff.
The workers are seeking more than £700,000 in wages they say they should have been paid over a six-year period.
An employment tribunal will determine whether the men were discriminated against.
All were originally employed by Swansea Metropolitan University, which merged with the University of Wales Trinity Saint David in August last year.
The men's claims focus on changes to contracts which saw standard 37-hour working weeks introduced. Previously, the men had been on a 45-hour week.
The hearing was told that university officials agreed to continue offering the men an extra eight hours of overtime a week. But when the new contracts were brought in, the workmen said they found they were on a lower hourly rate of pay than women workers on the same grade.
Representing the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Peter Wallington QC told the tribunal that this was a "complex case" and he will argue the university has a defence under the Equality Act.
The hearing continues.
Related Internet links
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites | <urn:uuid:115d1210-d68d-49e2-bf4d-b76a01952987> | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-27109053 | en | 0.980705 | 0.029549 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
How it works
Distributed computing involves using the processing power of many computers to solve a large problem. The internet allows volunteers from across the globe to contribute to large-scale projects, such as, to achieve results that would take many times longer to process on an individual super-computer. runs in the background on your computer and automatically:
• receives instructions from the project scheduling server via BOINC software
• runs climate models to produce output data
• uploads the output to the data server
• notifies the scheduling server that your work is complete, and asks for another task.
If you are used to running other BOINC projects, you might be used to tasks only taking a few minutes or hours to run. With, tasks can take a lot longer to complete, possibly several weeks in some cases. This is all dependant on your computer’s processor speed and the time you devote to the task.
Credits show how much work a computer has contributed to They are awarded in small chunks, according to the type and length of time taken to run a climate model.
You can team up with friends and colleagues to pool your credits – see the user pages for more information. | <urn:uuid:af029196-f9d9-4271-bc31-7b1782a19dc1> | http://www.climateprediction.net/getting-started/how-it-works/ | en | 0.937794 | 0.738211 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Skip to main content
9 bad excuses for breaking up
By Phil Do tree, The Frisky
Sometimes a breakup happens for silly reasons.
Sometimes a breakup happens for silly reasons.
• Columnist says couples break up for silly reasons
• Women break up because guy dresses badly or because of way he eats
• Men break up she doesn't like his friends, or relationship moving too fast or slow
(The Frisky) -- Many times when a relationship ends, the reason for the split is quite simple: One or both of the people involved in the romance simply aren't into it anymore.
In a perfect world, that's all that someone would have to say. Unfortunately, humans aren't perfect, and sometimes relationships end for dumb and/or ridiculous reasons.
1. He "needs time apart." This line has been used since relationships first existed as a great way to break up without hurting the other person. The only trouble is that it's common enough that everyone knows what it means the guy's not interested anymore.
"Need time apart" never really means "we'll get back together." When two people are into each other, they don't need time apart. Some amount of alone time is always good, but no committed relationship involves staying away from one another for weeks at a time.
2. Things are getting too serious. Guys have a well-documented fear of commitment. This stems from our origins as ape-creatures, where commitment would bog down the family unit and cause everyone in a tribe to get eaten by goats (according to Winkled). The real idiocy is that women often aren't asking for commitment, but guys will still start to feel like they're limiting their potential by being in a relationship -- this is all shorthand for "men like to sleep with as many people as possible."
Commitment in and of itself isn't a reason to end a relationship; it's a spur that causes a guy to realize that he doesn't want to be in a relationship anymore. Claiming that "things are getting too serious" is a big cop-out.
The Frisky: Six money-wasting beauty products to skip
3. Things aren't moving fast enough. Some guys decide to break up when a relationship isn't moving fast enough. Usually, they mean physically -- there's not enough going on to keep them interested. In other words, these guys are jerks.
Sometimes, a guy will claim that things aren't "moving" if they don't feel affection coming from their girlfriends. They're forecasting the end of the relationship, and they want to be the one to initiate it, because guys know that women can sense the stench of defeat on guys who get dumped. They're hedging their bets.
4. You don't like his friends/They don't like you. Guys bring their friends into a breakup discussion when they've got the emotional aptitude of a 5-year-old. If the only problem is that you don't get along with his friends, he could just only hang out with one of you at a time. He's calling you bitchy, and using his friends to say it passive-aggressively.
The Frisky: Women are engaged, but not in love
5. Various minor, escalating arguments. When a guy wants to break up, and he's not able to come up with a reason he likes, he'll do the next best thing: He'll use any excuse at all to get the hell out. You'll find yourself yelling with him about ketchup, because he'll push the argument to that point.
Guys are mostly good, but this is one of our bad points; when we feel cornered, we attack everything, and we'll avoid the real reason for a breakup by surrounding ourselves with minor details that we can use to ease the decision to end things. It's neurotic, and it's awkward, yes, but hey, it beats the truth, right?
Well, it's easier anyway.
The Frisky: 5 ways to get gorgeous with olive oil
1. The way he eats. This one's remarkably common -- guys with bad table manners who eat messily can be a turn-off, understandably. That's no reason to break up with them, though. As David Byrne (that dude who kept chopping his arm in the video for the Talking Heads' "Once In A Lifetime") once said, table manners are for people with nothing better to do.
2. The way a guy dresses. Of all of the things to break up with someone for, this one might make the least sense, because it might be the single easiest thing to change about a guy. If you replace a guy's wardrobe with classier clothes, he'll wear them. If you tell him to buy new clothes, he probably will.
Guys generally don't spend a lot of time thinking about clothes, and you can use their apathy to your complete advantage. Breaking up with a guy because of his style either means that you're shallow or you're looking for an excuse to end things.
The Frisky: 10 extremely odd celebrity look-alike's
3. How a guy spends his money. Some of my female friends admit to splitting with a guy because he wasn't careful with his money, or spent it unwisely. One was quite obviously angry that the guy wasn't spending his money on her.
Regardless, it's silly to expect a guy to have wise spending habits or even to care about how his money is spent -- hey, it's his money. Whether a guy is stingy, generous, or downright dumb with money, it shouldn't get in the way of a relationship, and it's another very minor thing that some women expand and focus on until they inevitably break up with the guy.
The Frisky: How to fall out of a plane and not die
4. Ultimatums. The worst move you can make with a guy is to an issue an ultimatum. They cause incredible pressure and permanently damage the relationship. Any sort of ultimatum will do; telling a guy that you'll leave if he doesn't start doing the dishes, or that you'll leave if he doesn't start spending more time with you.
Ultimatums make guys think that a relationship is on its last legs anyway, and they'll start looking for a way out or focusing on your flaws. Relationships will end fast, and they'll end in a fiery train wreck -- not good for anybody. Plus, the act of issuing the ultimatum is often fairly self-centered.
I certainly hope that I'm not implying that all women break up with guys for one of the reasons on this list, or that all women break up with guys for silly reasons.
If you're looking for a reason to end a relationship, though, and you feel strongly about it, you simply don't need a big, grand reason. People seem to look too hard to find that giant break-up stimulus to move things along. The bottom line is: if a guy's not doing it for you, that is all the reason in the world you need things really don't need to get more complex than that.
TM & © 2010 TMV, Inc. | All Rights Reserved | <urn:uuid:56c339a9-ca23-4814-b1ff-c3dcc7c3bd3a> | http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/personal/03/04/tf.reasons.breakup.not.good/index.html?_s=PM:LIVING | en | 0.97751 | 0.84241 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Shamrock Spider Plant - Easy to Grow - Cleans the Air
Proper name: Chlorophytum comosum
Prefers bright, indirect light or artificial light
Keep evenly moist, not wet or dry
The plant you will receive is growing in a 6" Hanging Basket
Flag this deal
What's the matter? | <urn:uuid:2ffc7f49-28a2-4553-9267-b09c5d84256d> | http://www.dealsplus.com/Home-Decor_deals/p_shamrock-spider-plant-easy-to-grow-cleans-the-air | en | 0.783454 | 0.020981 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
National Geographic LIVE! Speaker Series
Kepler's and The Fox Theatre present
Fox Theatre Redwood City, 2215 Broadway St., Redwood City
Tickets are available now at Kepler's and the Fox Theatre
Paul Nicklen: Polar Obsession
Tuesday, July 16, 7:00 p.m.
As a young boy Paul Nicklen moved to Baffin Island with his family and spent his childhood among the Inuit people. From them he learned a love of nature, the understanding of icy ecosystems, and the survival skills that have helped him become one of the most successful wildlife and nature photographers of our generation.
Acting as a personal guide, Nicklen takes audiences to the vast polar regions of our planet. His unique and very personal perspective on some of Earth's most beautiful and remote environments make him an inspiring advocate for the icy corners of our planet. With his trademark humor, passion, and optimism, Nicklen shares the stories of his work capturing images of life in fragile, frozen ecosystems.
Kobie Boykins: Exploring Mars: The Next Generation
Tuesday, August 13, 7:00 p.m.
A dynamic young engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Kobie Boykins is on the front line of Mars exploration. Boykins designed the solar arrays that power the Mars exploration rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. Landing on Mars on January 25, 2004, Opportunity was designed to survive a mission lasting approximately 90 days. Remarkably, the rover continues to traverse the surface of Mars to this day, sending back valuable scientific data.
Boykins shares his passion for space exploration by recounting the design and construction of the rovers and the story of their successful missions.
Bryan Smith: The Lens of Adventure
Tuesday, September 17, 7:00 p.m.
Have you ever watched a National Geographic film about some remote and dangerous place--and then wondered what the people behind the cameras had to go through to capture the action? Bryan Smith, an award-winning filmmaker for the National Geographic Channel, shares gripping, behind-the-scenes moments from his assignments to document extreme feats and high adventure in the world's most challenging environments.
An expedition kayaker who has paddled steep rivers in India, Peru, and Russia, Smith was inspired to take up cinematography while protesting a hydroelectric dam project that threatened rivers near his home in British Columbia.
Tim Laman and Ed Scholes: Birds of Paradise
Tuesday, October 8, 7:00 p.m.
| <urn:uuid:e74e8a8c-c7f6-46d9-8ed8-37b6a9b9feb9> | http://www.keplers.com/national-geographic-live-speaker-series | en | 0.929609 | 0.020907 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Philip Seymour Hoffman identified with 'Synecdoche' role
Phillip Seymour Hoffman - "Phil" to his friends - is an artistic director of a New York stage company, and his substantial theater background mirrors that of his "Synecdoche" character, Caden Cotard. Caden starts out middle-aged and ends up very old, his career spent directing the same group of stage actors in a New York warehouse. He instructs them to live their lives within that construction much as they would outside it. Meanwhile, Caden is deteriorating, plagued by a condition that systematically shuts down his autonomic nervous system.
Hoffman, 41, doesn't know whether his experience in theater led director Charlie Kaufman to think of him for this role. But Hoffman identified with Caden in a more personal way than just his profession.
"Caden is a guy who is living his life, so I relate to him on the fact that I am living a life," he says. As for Caden being pretentious, "I think people are pretentious. Do you know what I mean? People are sometimes annoying with what they do or who they are."
Hoffman takes exception to the suggestion that "Synecdoche" is especially weird. (Pronounced "sih-NECK-da-kee," the word is a figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole or a whole stands for a part.)
"I don't know how to answer the 'weird' thing," he says. "I don't know what to say except that I think life is really strange, don't you? ... Time moves fast and you get sick and you don't know why and you have jobs you don't know what to do with and your life gets big and out of control. I mean, it is not weird to me. It makes sense to me. And it is honest, and that is why I wanted to do it, and so I did."
It would be hard to argue with Hoffman's judgment on what roles are right for him. He's favored smaller films with an independent sensibility. Hoffman spotted Paul Thomas Anderson's talent before most and signed up for the director's debut, "Hard Eight," and went on to be in "Boogie Nights" and "Magnolia."
And then there is "Capote," in which Hoffman turned himself into the fey writer Truman Capote. The role won him an Academy Award and just about every other acting prize handed out in 2006.
His Oscar has had some effect on his career and a larger effect on his life.
"If you put your finger on it, winning something like that just changes your anonymity," he says. "So that does affect the business and the fact that people who put money into your projects, it interests them how well-known you are because it is better for their films. I think it is easier for people to see me in certain movies, and more people know who I am because of the Oscar, and that is a beneficial thing." | <urn:uuid:d5e8b06f-7d74-4322-b16c-6b66bb2b1c9e> | http://www.knoxnews.com/knoxville/movies/hoffman-identified-with-synecdoche-role_20140529151642678 | en | 0.989927 | 0.124362 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
TEHRAN, Feb. 20— Rescue workers searched today through fog and storm in the mountains of Kerman Province in southeastern Iran where a military aircraft crashed on Wednesday evening, killing 302 soldiers and crew members.
About 600 experienced mountain climbers, members of the Revolutionary Guards and relief workers were enlisted early today to try to retrieve remains of victims and wreckage from the aircraft. The passengers were members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, a branch of the army responsible for defending the revolution and for safeguarding border areas.
The plane, a Russian-made Ilyushin Il-76 military transport, hit an 11,500-foot mountain at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. A witness said that from a distance all that could be seen was a large black patch on the rocky mountain.
Parts of the aircraft, including a wing, were found early this morning, but the governor of Kerman, Muhammad Ali Karimi, told the Islamic Republic News Agency that rescuers had not been able to reach the bodies of the victims because of the bad weather and strong winds.
To expedite the operation, he said, rescue workers were using bulldozers and helicopters to try to build a road to the top of the mountain, which was covered in deep snow. The operation was halted in the afternoon when the storm got worse, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
The Revolutionary Guards encircled the area and barred journalists from the crash site. Some of the victims' relatives gathered near the area.
Three days of mourning has been announced in the province of Kerman.
A senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Abdol-Muhammad Raoofinejad, told the Islamic Republic News Agency that most of the victims were from the city of Kerman and had been returning there from the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan. Television news reports said they had been returning from ''an important mission.''
Muhammad Javad Fadai, the disaster committee chief for Kerman province, told the news agency the victims included several high-ranking members of the Revolutionary Guards.
Mountaineers are still looking for the plane's flight recorder to try to determine the cause of the accident. Officials have not suggested what might have caused the crash, nor have they speculated on whether terrorism might have been involved. Bad weather is considered to be the likely cause of the crash. The pilot reported bad weather and strong winds before he lost contact with air traffic controllers at the Kerman airport.
Smugglers of both drugs and people have powerful operations in two provinces, Sistan-Baluchestan and Kerman, in southeastern Iran. Sistan-Baluchestan borders both Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The daily Keyhan reported on Wednesday that security forces in Kerman had seized three surface-to-air missiles and a launcher from a group of armed drug smugglers in the city of Kahnuj, between Kerman and Zahedan, the capital of Sistan-Baluchestan. Four tons of drugs and 204 weapons were seized and 136 smugglers were arrested in the operation.
The crash was the deadliest ever in Iran, with a toll surpassing the 290 killed in 1988, when the Vincennes, an American warship, shot down an Iran Air passenger flight by mistake. The American military said it had mistaken the Iran Air plane, an Airbus A300, for a warplane.
The crash was the latest in a series of accidents, most of them involving Russian- or Ukrainian-built planes. Iran has been forced to use aging planes because of penalties imposed by the United States that prevent American and European companies from doing business with Iran.
The country's minister of transportation and seven members of Parliament were killed when a Russian-made Yakolev Yak-40 crashed in northern Iran in May 2001.
In December, the transportation minister, Ahmad Khorram, said after the crash of a Ukraninan-built Antonov An-140 that Iran's air industry was suffering severely from the sanctions and warned of more disasters if the trade ban was not lifted. Several aging Boeing and Airbus planes have been grounded because of technical problems and lack of spare parts.
''Iran's fleet has reached a crisis point,'' Mr. Khorram said.
Photo: The relative of a victim searched for remains yesterday on the mountain where an Iranian plane crashed on Wednesday killing 302 people. (Agence France-Presse) Map of Iran highlighting Kerman: An Iranian military plane crashed into a mountain in Kerman. | <urn:uuid:d2f2c697-3f98-4010-a3d7-f6021c496218> | http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/21/world/storm-hinders-iranian-crews-sent-to-search-site-of-crash.html | en | 0.967971 | 0.041212 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
CLPeds Mobile Logo
Pediatric Concussion: Practice Pearls
Pediatric Concussion: Practice Pearls
The patient is a 14-year-old volleyball player who, 2 nights ago, collided with an opponent and struck her head. She did not lose consciousness and she has no amnesia surrounding the event, but she has “felt fuzzy” since the incident. It is hard for her to concentrate and she has had a constant headache. She does not like taking medicine and has not tried anything for her pain. She appears quite comfortable, is appropriate, and is smiling.
The examination is completely normal: there is no hemotympanum, her fundi appear normal, and her vision is baseline. Neurologically, she is normal. She has no facial asymmetry, no pronator drift, no Romberg sign. Speech, gait, and mentation are normal. Cranial nerves 2 through 12 are intact; her Glascow Coma Score is 15.
Her next volleyball game is later today and she vehemently wants to play. Her mother is nervous and thinks her daughter needs a CT scan because without it “she will be worried all the time.” She has been waking her daughter every 2 hours for the past 2 evenings “just to make sure she was ok.”
What’s the next step?
1. Refer the patient to the ED. (They see everything in the ED.)
2. Send her for CT imaging. (If you don’t, her mom will find somebody who will.)
3. Send the patient to a neurologist. (Neurologists specialize in headaches.)
4. Tell the mom that the decision about when her daughter can return to play is up to her trainer or coach.
5. Suggest that the mom ask for your partner next time.
(Click here for answer and discussion)
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| <urn:uuid:9274f76c-76d4-4217-8b26-0aab43e751b2> | http://www.pediatricsconsultantlive.com/whats-your-diagnosis/pediatric-concussion-practice-pearls | en | 0.970501 | 0.07158 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Notorious namesakes
King County isn't the only local place name with an unsavory past.
King County Council member Larry Gossett's proposal to change our county logo has rightfully seized the public imagination. Last week's packed committee meeting again related the shameful secret of how our county—then part of the Oregon Territory—was named for 1852 Vice President-elect William King, a gay Alabama senator and slave owner who died without serving a single day in office.
Granted, this is not the first time—not by a long shot—that the phrase "gay slave owner" has been read in these pages (particularly in the personals), but we decided to launch our own exclusive Seattle Weekly investigation into the matter. While we naturally endorse Gossett's idea to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as the county's official namesake, our research into the origins of other local place names has shown this nomenclature confusion to be sadly typical of our headlong pioneer rush towards territorial respectability. The surprising discoveries below may convince you that it's more than King County that needs rechristening.
Seattle: Contrary to popular opinion, this name does not refer to noble Chief Sealth, but instead to his ne'er-do-well Tacoma cousin, Billy Joe Sealth, an itinerant fishmonger and arsonist. Apparently he bribed local authorities for the honor by offering them a canoe full of "fresh" salmon, which later turned out to be canned. In a letter to his cousin, eventually sentenced to prison for mail fraud and tax evasion, Chief Sealth wrote, "You have brought disrepute to our entire family and all of Puget Sound. My only regret is that I must share this once-proud name with you."
Kent: Not named for the pastoral English countryside, but instead for one Nigel Kent, a deported English convict and seller of patent cures, snake oil, and smallpox-infected blankets. Also a part-time extortionist and usurious moneylender, he managed to obtain title to most of Kent's present-day expanse—hence the name—before being tarred and feathered by enraged settlers.
Roanoke: Not derived from any particular place or person (as commonly thought), but instead from the local Native American term we'd roughly translate as "vision quest." However, over the centuries, the actual ceremony became debased and misused by rowdy Indian youths—who essentially used the once-sacred rite of passage as an excuse for going on a bender. Disappointed village elders would shake their heads in disgust, muttering, "Those damn kids are going off to the Roey again."
Medina: This appellation apparently owes nothing to the storied Arabian city, instead honoring Madame Betty Cahill's famous lakefront Medina brothel—the largest and most notorious cathouse in the Oregon Territory. A red-light district before there were electric lights, Medina was a constant irritant to local preachers, one of whom declared, "Henceforth, when people think of sin, syphilis, and wanton fornication, they shall think of Medina and burn with shame."
Walla Walla: Folklore has it that 18th-century French-Canadian trappers exclaimed "VoilࡠVoilࡢ—literally, "There it is!"—upon glimpsing the bucolic river valley. In fact, closer linguistic analysis of surviving buckskin pioneer journals has shown that the actual utterance was, "C'est un oignon dans vos pantalons ou vous 괥s content de me voir?" which loosely translates as, "Jacques, I think I've been shot by an arrow! I thought you said these natives were friendly. . . ." followed by a nonsensical death rattle erroneously recorded as "Voil
Bellevue: The upscale Eastside community would doubtless prefer to think its name comes from the French transliteration—"good view." Alas, the dictionary definition of the term doesn't fully communicate the pioneer spirit of irony that was so prevalent during our region's settlement. In fact, in the pre-indoor plumbing era, the term "Bellevue" was commonly employed by our forefathers to refer to the open pit cesspools in back of most primitive homes. Hence, the vernacular expression of "Get a good view?" became "Take a look?" which in turn became the more polite commonplace expression "take a leak."
Denny Street: Along with the former Denny Regrade, these and numerous other Seattle landmarks are erroneously presumed to honor pioneer settler Arthur Denny. In fact, it was his bastard son Chet Denny who managed to accrue this enduring, ill-gotten legacy. The unacknowledged spawn of the illustrious Denny and a common streetwalker (rumored to be insane), Chet was given a sinecure in the city clerk's office, where he proceeded to doctor and forge documents, deeds, and zoning regulations until half of Seattle bore his name. His misdeeds were finally discovered almost 100 years later during the Royer administration—which was too embarrassed to correct them.
Vancouver: Yes, Capt. George Vancouver did in fact visit this region during his pioneering voyages of 1792, but it was to honor his own personal manservant and adopted "son" Desmond, a strapping, winsome lad of 22 years, that so many local place names were bestowed. It seemed that Capt. Vancouver, a lifelong bachelor and man of the sea, became so enamored of his "comely young deckhand that I decided to make him my first mate" according to his own logs. The historical record is ambiguous as to whether it was the captain's subsequent "ceremony of betrothal upon the Hawaiian strand" that resulted in his slaying by intolerant natives.
Mercer Island: Completely unrelated to the honorable first citizen of Seattle, Asa Mercer. In fact, the exclusive island suburb coincidentally owes its name to a completely different, unrelated Mercer—Ezra, who initially staked his claim upon the island as a bizarre nudist colony and religious commune that based its creed upon morning enemas and nature worship. "Going to Mercer Island" became a tongue-in-cheek euphemism for going loony.
Tacoma: Oddly enough, the exact etymology of Tacoma remains unclear. Some academics translate it as "mountain," while others linguists prefer "people of the mountain god." What is known is that the actual indigenous peoples of Puget Sound typically employed the term in a phrase like, "Hey, I stepped in a real pile of Tacoma here!" in reference to its majestic, conical shape.
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Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas is in fear for his job, says Fernando Torres' mentor. Antonio Sanz, Torres' former agent and the ghost writer of his autobiography, says Chelsea and Villas-Boas are to blame for the striker's struggles.
Sanz said: "Villas-Boas is not fulfilling Chelsea's expectations and he's really scared because he is really close to getting sacked.
"It's true that Fernando Torres' stats aren't that great and that's the reason he's not with Spain for the Venezuela game.
"But I don't think Torres has a problem, it's just that Chelsea aren't helping him find his form.
"According to Chelsea's players, there is a bad atmosphere in the dressing room." | <urn:uuid:271fd33b-51ec-40fb-9d54-b50402e1684c> | http://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/torres-mentor-avb-running-scared-losing-chelsea-job-2736291 | en | 0.978927 | 0.119849 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
September 1, 2015
By Alison Gillmor / Pop Culture
Slow, steady, controversial
Depending on your view, you'll get a different take on Zero Dark Thirty's depiction of torture
For a movie that's billed as an action-thriller, Zero Dark Thirty spends a lot of time looking like a slow and steady police procedural. The film's climax may be the takedown of Osama bin Laden by a crack team of Navy SEALS, but it comes only after scripter Mark Boal and director Kathryn Bigelow have chronicled a decade of paper shuffling, data crunching, false leads, dead ends and bureaucratic wrangling, all conveyed in a tight, terse style.
ZDT is an odd mix of big event and banal routine, which might be why a lot of audiences are so-so on the film, while the critics (who love an odd mix) are mostly ecstatic.
There are larger controversies, as well, particularly concerning the film's depiction of torture. Some say the film condones the use of torture, some say it denounces the use of torture, and some say it maintains a neutrality that amounts to immorality.
Since ZDT is essentially about how humans interpret data, it may be fitting that it's subject to the same processes. Everyone is looking at the same information, but somehow they all see it as supporting their own views. ("Confirmation bias," as one of ZDT's CIA operatives says.)
American Sen. John McCain, himself a victim of torture during the Vietnam War, believes that the film misleadingly and irresponsibly suggests a clear link between intelligence obtained through torture and the capture of bin Laden. According to New York Times columnist Frank Bruni, the film's basic stance is a Cheneyesque justification of what the CIA euphemistically calls "enhanced interrogation" techniques. "No waterboarding, no bin Laden: that's what Zero Dark Thirty appears to suggest," Bruni writes.
On the other side, Andrew Sullivan, writing in The Daily Beast, suggests that "the movie is not an apology for torture, as so many have said, and as I have worried about. It is an exposure of torture. It removes any doubt that war criminals ran this country for seven years and remain at large, while they scapegoated the grunts at Abu Ghraib who were, yes, merely following their superior's own orders."
Finally, for Peter Rainer of the Christian Science Monitor, the film refuses to take any stance at all: "By showing scenes of torture without taking any kind of moral (as opposed to tactical) stand on what we are seeing, Bigelow has made an amoral movie -- which is, I would argue, an unconscionable approach to this material."
ZDT remains open to these conflicting readings partly because the issue of torture is so fraught but also because the movie is so hard to read. Playing the lead CIA investigator, Jessica Chastain seems to overcompensate for her extravagant flame-haired beauty by being the toughest son-of-a-bitch on the job.
Bigelow, likewise, always seems to make "masculine" films -- lean, mean and laconic, what she calls "boots-on-the-ground" movies. In Zero Dark Thirty, there are no back stories, no chats about personal feelings, no speeches about means and ends, and only the most oblique hints of emotional costs and ethical doubts. Everyone just gets on with things.
This studied neutrality is disconcerting. But is it amoral?
I would say no (though I can't quite rule out confirmation bias). For me, the scenes of torture are graphically brutal but never gratuitous. Pared down and unsparing, they seem to suggest that torture is not only inhuman but also ineffective. ZDT shows up a haze of human error: What prisoners tell is taken as significant, and what they refuse to tell is taken as significant. Interrogators hear whatever they already believe, and prisoners say whatever they think their torturers want to hear.
When it comes to the depiction of torture, Bigelow's straight-up style might just hide complexity in plain sight. This idea seems borne out by the film's conclusion. In an extended sequence, Bigelow meticulously recreates what is now one of the most famous military missions in history without a hint of Hollywood histrionics or American triumphalism. Despite the SEALS and the helicopters and the explosions and the gunfire and the getaway, the whole thing feels a little like a letdown. The death of bin Laden is presented not as a wrapped-up stars-and-stripes ending but as one more entry in an ongoing global conflict.
For the movie's supporters -- and I'd count myself here -- this carefully constructed anticlimax feels strangely right. In the paradoxical Zero Dark Thirty, it's the tediousness that builds the tension, and the flattened-out, just-the-facts-ma'am tone that leads to troubling moral questions.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 12, 2013 G3
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A new battery that could revolutionize wearables
Imprint Energy
Picture a Nike FuelBand that’s just a small ring on your index finger, or a cell phone that’s as slim and pliable as a credit card. Those types of thin, tiny or just down right unusual shapes could be created if there were batteries that were both slim, flexible and also powerful enough to run the gadgets. It’s the batteries, it turns out, that are the main barrier to modern electronics design.
But in a small, brightly-lit lab in an office park behind the Oakland Airport in Alameda, Calif., a young startup called Imprint Energy, is using research created at the University of California, Berkeley to develop just such a battery that could free gadget makers from the constraints of the standard lithium ion battery. Well, that’s the plan anyways.
Imprint Energy
Using zinc, instead of lithium, and screen printing technology, Imprint Energy is already churning out low volumes of its ultra-thin, energy-dense, flexible, and low cost rechargeable batteries for pilot customers.
The battery barrier
Nike FuelBand batteryThe problem is, it’s hard to make standard lithium ion batteries thin and flexible, explained Imprint Energy CEO Devin MacKenzie to me in an interview in the startup’s lab last week. There’s a “lot of packaging,” required to seal off the highly reactive lithium in the battery from the environment, said MacKenzie. If you’ve ever seen YouTube videos of lithium batteries that catch on fire in the air or water, you know why those barriers are needed.
But this architecture also makes lithium ion batteries rigid and potentially bulky. Even the slimmest laptops like the Macbook Air, or tablets like the iPad, faced design limitations created by the size and weight of the batteries. The Nike FuelBand uses a curved (called conformal in battery terms) lithium polymer battery, but if you look closely at the shape of the band (photo left), the battery is the only part of the bracelet that isn’t pliable.
Upsides of zinc
Imprint Energy’s battery tackles the problem of rigidity and bulkiness by simply throwing out the lithium. The company, which now has a staff of 8, was founded in 2010 by U.C. Berkeley PHD students Christine Ho and Brooks Kincaid, and more they recently raised seed funding from Dow Chemical and CIA fund In-Q-Tel.
6877161476_54aa965721_zThe company uses zinc for the anode part of the battery, and combines that with a solid polymer electrolyte and a cathode made of a metal oxide. A battery is made up of an anode on one side and a cathode on the other, with an electrolyte in between — zinc ions (in Imprint’s case) travel from the anode to the cathode through the electrolyte, creating a chemical reaction that allows electrons to be harvested along the way.
MacKenzie tells me that while zinc has been used for years in batteries, it’s been difficult to make zinc batteries rechargeable. That’s because when zinc is combined with a liquid electrolyte it creates something called dendrites, which are tiny fibers that grow and get in the way of the charging reaction. Imprint Energy solved this hurdle by using an electrolyte made of a solid polymer combined with the zinc.
Using zinc means Imprint’s batteries can have far less “packaging” because zinc isn’t highly reactive with the environment. In other words, the batteries can be made much more thinly. They can also be made as tiny as a few hundred microns thick (the width of a couple human hairs). Batteries that small could power tiny digital smart labels, like freshness detector stickers on food.
Zinc also makes Imprint’s batteries more safe and less toxic than lithium-based batteries. The team at Imprint can work on the zinc batteries in the open air. And the zinc batteries are a safer option for creating devices that sit on — or even in — the body. Imagine a lithium battery powering a heart device inside a person’s chest cavity, and the battery leaks lithium into the person’s body. Yikes.
Printable batteries
The other innovation that Imprint Energy has developed is that it’s printing out its batteries using standard screen printing technology. Most batteries are made by coating the materials onto foils, which are then assembled into cells.
In Imprint Energy’s Alameda lab, CEO MacKenzie shows me one of two battery printing machines on site and a variety of screens that look sort of like t-shirt silk screening screens. The battery materials are printed like ink onto the screens in whatever shapes the client requires. Customers will pay a premium for batteries created to the custom shapes of their devices.
Imprint Energy
The company can churn out 100 cells a day on the machines in its lab. That’s tiny in the world of the battery giants in Asia, but it’s large enough to get samples out to potential customers. Down the road — potentially two to three years — the company will scale up manufacturing to a large commercial scale, but it won’t likely be building its own factories. More likely, it will work closely with manufacturing partners or license its technology.
An eye on wearables
While it’s still early days for Imprint Energy, the team’s end goal is the wearable electronics market, both for consumers (like Nike’s FuelBand and the FitBit line) as well as the health sector (such as implanted monitors). The wearables industry could reap the most benefits from the novel and thin shapes of the batteries, as well as the safe and less toxic materials.
Co-founder Kincaid is a wearables buff. He shows me his own Nike FuelBand on his wrist during the interview, and he says he’s eagerly awaiting the arrival of his Misfit Shine. For the wearables industry, Imprint Energy’s zinc poly batteries could enable an entirely new type of device that’s more hidden, more streamlined, or more functional. Given that wearable electronics is an emerging sector, and one that could become a lot more mainstream over the next few years, disruptive design could ultimately completely change the wearable industry.
Comments have been disabled for this post | <urn:uuid:e4c9004a-6058-4418-a2e1-443c9aed8334> | https://gigaom.com/2013/01/08/a-new-battery-that-could-revolutionize-wearables/ | en | 0.946678 | 0.032212 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Discoveries: Clyde Phillip Wachsberger
Purchase Book
Into the Garden with Charles : A Memoir
author: Clyde Phillip Wachsberger
publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
pub date: 04.10.2012
pp: 224
Susan Salter Reynolds on Into the Garden with Charles : A Memoir
Discoveries: Clyde Phillip Wachsberger
January 21st, 2012 reset - +
IT IS GOOD, MIDWINTER, to read about gardens - it keeps the imagination green and ready for spring. Serious gardeners cozy up this time of year with their catalogs and baby their cuttings. This lovely memoir, complete with the author's watercolors of his beloved home in Orient, Long Island, is reminiscent in tone and imagination of those wonderful children's books so prevalent in the 1930s and forties - set in gardens against a backdrop of one war or another, a world of hidden beings and impossible events. Wachsberger refers to these books, to magic that happens under huge leaves, and to his own childhood fascination with plants, growing up in Riverdale, New York. Middle-aged and gay, he had despaired of ever having a monogamous relationship, of finding the love of his life. He bought the 300-year-old house and devoted himself to gardening on the third of an acre in the middle of the little village. Then, answering an ad, he met Charles - tall, Southern, also a gardener. Together they plant larkspur, peonies, hollyhocks, columbine, poppies, and delphiniums (a true cottage garden). They plant Magnolia and apple, fig hazels, mimosa, and monkey puzzle trees. They edit an anthology on gardening (Of Leaf and Flower). There is something about the way they blend their lives, the way they are kind to each other, that is so very comforting. It makes a reader long for the book, for the world of the book - the long winter evenings, the summer days with visitors and friends. Wachsberger has a wide-eyed, boyish gratitude - how could this life have possibly come to him? He does not seem to realize that he created it. | <urn:uuid:c17bde89-52e9-4cd0-9f7b-5bcacc2c104f> | https://lareviewofbooks.org/review/discoveries-clyde-phillip-wachsberger | en | 0.941167 | 0.046683 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Take the 2-minute tour ×
I am running lubuntu-desktop (quantal quetzal) which I installed after having started with the standard ubuntu install. It all works fine but when I run an application from the command line I get warnings in the terminal. For example emacs gives me
** (emacs:25391): WARNING **: Invalid borders specified for theme pixmap:
borders don't fit within the image
borders don't fit within the image
Is there a way to stop this or is there another way to run emacs that works better for lubuntu-desktop?
share|improve this question
is there any effected functionality, or just the error message? You can use emacs in the terminal with emacs -nw (no window). – philshem Dec 4 '12 at 3:00
I get this message when I run smplayer from the command line (using the ppa - ppa.launchpad.net/rvm/smplayer/ubuntu ) – Menachem Feb 26 '13 at 18:41
3 Answers 3
I've been having this issue even in Lubuntu 13.04 Raring, and using apt-get to install the lubuntu-artwork packages in the other answers here did nothing for me. I did a lot of digging, running in circles, and guesswork before I found a solution.
The problem here is that the parameters used to define the scrollbar images to GTK are wrong - specifically, the border values given total up to a larger space than the image's dimensions (as the warnings state).
To fix this, you'll need to:
1. Open /usr/share/themes/Lubuntu-default/gtk-2.0/scrollbar.rc with elevated permissions (e.g. sudo emacs).
2. The first two Image definitions (containing null.png) will have a border argument defined. Change both of these to have values of {1, 1, 1, 1}.
3. The next few Image definitions are for the scrollbar itself, in its normal and prelit states.
• For the horizontal scrollbars, change the border to {6, 6, 4, 4}.
• For the vertical scrollbars, change the border to {4, 4, 6, 6}.
Technical Reasoning
I came across this tutorial on GTK2's pixmap engine which explained to me what the various arguments given in the pixmap's gtkrc arguments meant. What the border argument seems to do is define how many pixels of the image should be preserved from the respective edge of the image before the rest of them are stretched to fit the widget (though an image with larger borders than the widget containing it will be squashed anyway; making the vertical scrollbar 12px big resulted in a squashed scrollbar).
The order of the numbers are {left, right, top, bottom}. null.png is a 2x2 image, so to make the borders fit within the image, each side should be 1 pixel. A left of 1 + a right of 1 = 2. Same for the top and bottom. The vertical scrollbar image is an 8x18 image. The given border dimensions of {6, 6, 6, 6} total a width larger than 8 pixels. For the horizontal scrollbar (which is 18x8), that's a height greater than 8 pixels.
In short, a border argument where the sum of the left and right or top and bottom border values are greater than the dimensions of the image will cause that warning.
share|improve this answer
This bug report says it is an issue with the theme, not the specific program running: https://bugs.launchpad.net/qbittorrent/+bug/789905
This page says the solution is to run sudo apt-get install lubuntu-.: http://www.richelbilderbeek.nl/CppMiscErrorInvalidBordersSpecifiedForThemePixmap.htm
I ran this solution and the problem went away (I was experiencing the problem when running smplayer [from the ppa] from the command line), but it seems like a bit of an overkill. I'm not sure which specific package was needed to install, since this command installed 17 packages for me:
blubuntu-look blubuntu-session-splashes blubuntu-theme blubuntu-wallpapers chromium-codecs-ffmpeg-extra gtk2-engines-murrine human-theme ldm ldm-lubuntu-theme lubuntu-artwork-10-04 lubuntu-artwork-10-10 lubuntu-artwork-11-04 lubuntu-artwork-11-10 lubuntu-artwork-12-04 lubuntu-elementary-icon-theme lubuntu-restricted-addons lubuntu-restricted-extras
dpkg -S '/usr/share/themes/Lubuntu-default/gtk-2.0/images/null.png' tells me that null.png comes fromthe lubuntu-artwork package, so it is probably that one.
share|improve this answer
I'm running Kubuntu 12.10 and emacs package from
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:cassou/emacs
and I get
Gtk-Message: (for origin information, set GTK_DEBUG): failed to retrieve property `gtk-toolbar-style' of type `GtkToolbarStyle' from rc file value "((GString*) 0x1357640)" of type `GtkToolbarStyle'
on start-up.
Before using the package I used to build emacs myself. And I had no warnings. So I guess the warnings are due to the package. Any way I can't see any problems with emacs even with this warning.
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Your Answer
| <urn:uuid:c7a837a8-a33c-4eb7-984c-7da6124ce45f> | http://askubuntu.com/questions/225093/emacs-gives-warnings-in-lubuntu | en | 0.823361 | 0.235922 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Climate, Energy, and Cities: Learning By Doing
Arlington County Community Energy Plan Cover
By: Andrew Perlstein, Bruce Hull, Iris Picat
Cities are the solution to climate change. Cities can influence building and transportation systems, the two largest sources of global greenhouse gas emissions, with tools like land-use zoning, transportation infrastructure, and building codes. Cities are motivated to play a leading role in addressing climate change because they want to attract residents, businesses, taxes, and prestige, and can do so by developing thriving and secure, sustainable places to live and work. Moreover, city governance tends to be pragmatic and effective.
In the Executive Master of Natural Resources (XMNR) graduate program we learn by doing, and for the second year in a row we spent a month working with Arlington County, Virginia, on its award winning Community Energy Plan (CEP).
Arlington CountyArlington County, located adjacent to Washington, D.C. and within the National Capital metroplex, is one of the most ethnically diverse, densely populated, and highly educated counties in the United States. Arlington’s CEP will help it remain economically competitive, environmentally committed, and energy secure. The plan sets an ambitious target of 3.0 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per capita per year by 2050, which would place Arlington far below the per capita emissions in the U.S. and on par with the current emissions of Copenhagen, Denmark, a recognized leader in low-carbon urbanism.
The CEP has 6 broad goals, each with corresponding strategies and targets:
1. Increase energy and operational efficiency of all buildings
2. Increase local energy supply and distribution efficiency using district energy
3. Increase locally generated renewable energy
4. Refine and expand transportation infrastructure and operations enhancements
5. Integrate CEP goals into all county government activities
6. Advocate and support personal action through behavior change and effective education
Separated into teams, students played the role of environmental consultants, evaluating and formulating suggestions about which of the CEP’s many goals and strategies should be prioritized. The outcomes were varied, with team C4 focusing solely on district energy (Goal 2), viewing it as having a home-run, long-term, big-win potential, while teams BCS and Starlight recommended a more diversified approach that included building efficiency, enhanced transportation planning, low carbon local energy, and county leadership.
Teams also suggested best practices for Arlington County to remain an environmental leader, and preserve its reputation for innovation, making it a sought-after locale for businesses and residents alike. Team S3 encouraged the county to establish clear indicators and performance measures, providing other municipality examples, and focus on cross-sector collaboration. Other teams’ suggestions included demonstrating quick wins, leading by example, and maintaining openness and accessibility as a resource center for residents, builders, and businesses interested in energy issues.
After further brainstorming, teams also came up with out-of-the-box strategies that Arlington and other communities might consider as next steps. For example, team Synergy created a table of emerging technologies that the county could use for further community engagement. These included nanoleave trees, which are in the development stage but could generate energy from sunlight and heat, or solar roadways and bike paths. Team Trifecta took a different approach and advised Arlington to create a learning network focused on grooming “change agents” – people with the skills for change management and strategic innovations. This network would focus on keeping up to date with emerging technologies, sharing information, and mentoring.
Cities and municipalities are playing a major role in innovating and implementing solutions to our climate and energy challenges. As Arlington has shown with its Community Energy Plan, and corresponding Implementation Framework, being a leader on these issues is no small undertaking. It is complicated. There are goals, strategies, tools, and policies that need to be prioritized, coordinated, and communicated in order to achieve the desired collective action.
This exercise was an opportunity for students to learn about what it takes to be a recognized leader and innovator in the realm of sustainable development, while also helping the county focus and allocate effectively its finite municipal resources. The world needs professionals who can help cities like Arlington continue steering the way towards global sustainability, and we hope the XMNR program will provide just that. | <urn:uuid:fd746556-845d-45c0-989b-706bbb6ec567> | http://cligs.vt.edu/climate-energy-cities/ | en | 0.943083 | 0.044156 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Macedonian: сум-perfect
Discussion in 'Other Slavic Languages' started by cr00mz, Mar 12, 2013.
1. cr00mz Senior Member
I have some trouble with the сум perfect. How do you use it (is it usable?) when you have a object in mind.
сум дошол; имам дојдено; дојден сум
сум го видел; го имам видено; and finally виден го сум/ виден сум го. I suspect that the сум-perfect cannot be used like this.
Help would be appreciated!
2. iobyo Senior Member
Bitola, Macedonia
Those are perfectly correct.
Дојден/дојдена/дојдено/дојдени and виден/видена/видено/видени (not to be confused with виден/видна/видно/видни) are adjectives.
Bear in mind that in имам дојдено, дојдено is not actually an adjective; it's a special, invariant verbal form.
You just need to use the other persons: дојден/виден сум/си/е/сме/сте/се.
Have I maybe not understood your question properly?
3. cr00mz Senior Member
Thanks for reply I'm not sure, maybe. Is this word order correct виден го сум/ виден сум го I cannot find anything about this on google. Also what if you need the dative pronouns.
You have
сум му го дал / му го имам дадено / what about for сум-perfect (му го сум даден / даден му го сум) I don't know if these are possible, perhaps this сум-perfekt has restriction,. because these last 2 sounds very weird to me.
Also, if го видел is the same as го имал видено how does the сум-perfect handel non-witnessed things.
4. cr00mz Senior Member
Also, for the regular and има-perfects you can say
ќе сум дошол , ќе имам дојдено. How do you work in ќе in a сум-perfect sentence?
5. cr00mz Senior Member
Another question, the phrase
toj e umren, I use it as "he is dead", but this is not the literal meaning right? Because I looked it up, and dead is mrtov. Is this a sum perfect?
It follows the rule of sum perfect but the meaning is not about the past.
6. iobyo Senior Member
Bitola, Macedonia
The има-constructions always use the neuter form: го имам/имаш/има/имаме/имате/имаат видено.
The placement of the short pronoun is fairly strict. In this case only го имам видено works, and never *имам го видено or *имам видено го.
Both of these are correct.
If you mean the full dative pronouns (which would be used for emphasis), then you could either say
• нему сум му го дал or сум му го дал нему;
• нему му го имам дадено or му го имам дадено нему.
I'm not very good at explaining these things, so I'll just translate them:
• го видел ('he [apparently] saw him/it');
• го имал видено = ('he had [apparently] seen him/it').
Though the whole non-witnessed thing is not as extreme as having to translate every instance with "apparently".
You would always place it at the beginning. That being said, whether or not you should use such a construction in various contexts is an entirely different discussion! :)
Both are adjectives and mean the same thing. There is only a slight nuance because умрен is ultimately a deverbal (from-a-verb) adjective:
• тој е умрен ('he was dying and is now dead');
• тој е мртов ('he is dead, lifeless').
But the difference in meaning is nowhere near as great as it is in my English translations. Think of it like "deceased" and "dead".
Last edited: Apr 17, 2013
7. cr00mz Senior Member
Hello again, sorry for the late reply.
Thanks for the explanations iobyo.
Another question, if you say бев јаден that is the same as "I had eaten", yes? Can it also mean "I was eaten" (as in someone or something ate me up, a Lion or Crocodile for example.)
8. iobyo Senior Member
Bitola, Macedonia
Јаде → јаден and спие → спиен/спан, and probably a few others, are curious examples in that they don't behave quite like other verbs and their derivatives.
We have:
Јаден ли си? ('Have you eaten?' ~ 'have you had anything to eat [today]?');
Спиен/спан ли си? ('Have you slept?' ~ 'have you had any sleep?');
Уште не сум јаден ('I haven't eaten yet' ~ 'I haven't had anything to eat yet');
Уште не сум спиен/спан ('I haven't slept yet' ~ 'I haven't had any sleep');
Ми дадоа две порции зашто не бев јаден од вчера ('They gave me two servings because I hadn't eaten since yesterday');
Два дена не бев спиен/спан ('I hadn't slept for two days').
"Eaten [up]" is изеден from the perfective изеде.
Be careful not to mix up јаден/јадена/јадено/јадени with јаден/јадна/јадно/јадни (= кутар; о, јаден јас!, 'oh, poor me!').
9. cr00mz Senior Member
What about
Izeden li si go toa? "Have you eaten that (up)?" Is this possible too then?
Also about this (perhaps a little off topic)
го видел
го имал видено
I read somewhere, but I cannot seem to find it, will look more. But because of the macedonian IMA perfect, you have
ima videno and
imal videno
to distinguish from verified and unverified (Or reported)
Perhaps I understood it wrong, I will see if I can find it.
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For those of you getting an epidural...
nsteve posted:
I spoke with a friend of mine who is a nurse anesthetists and administers epidurals all day long, and I was complaining to her how badly it hurt when I got my epidural last time. She said next time to ask the nurse anesthetists to put bicarb in the numbing medicine and you won't feel the lidocaine. She said its not something they do standard, but if you ask for it, they will. I personally have no clue what it means, but you better believe I'm gonna ask for it. Just wanted to pass on that little nugget.
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Nykole83 responded:
Thanks so much for the info! When I got my epidural it was so painful also and I am so afraid of getting it this time around. So thanks again!
nsteve replied to Nykole83's response:
Girl, I have never said so many cuss words in my whole life!! I can just think about it and my back gets all tingly, lol! I'm hoping for a better experience this time! Good luck to you too!
MsMollyMac responded:
This is interesting, I will have to remember that for delivery. The thought of getting another epidural makes me sick to my stomach. I couldn't stand the feeling of getting it, ugh. I'm sure I will get it again though!
Me: 26, DH: 30, DD: 2, new little one due 1-3-11
Nykole83 replied to nsteve's response:
Thank you, I'm hoping for the same. I swear the epidural was the worst part of my whole delivery!!! Good luck to you also.
Emmyl replied to Nykole83's response:
Maybe it has to do with who does it too. My epidural didn't hurt at all. It just felt really weird. As a matter of fact it hurt much worse to me when they put the IV in my hand. It is nice to know that there's an option out there though to make it less painful. I fully plan on having one this time around!
Jennax907 responded:
That's good to know! Thanks for the info. I had an epidural and it failed. I ended up having to deliver without any pain management drugs. It sucked! I just want the darn thing to work this time
truewyatt responded:
That stuff is a good thing; they gave it to me before my epidural and I didn't feel a thing. tasted gross but it worked.
Me 37, DH 39, DS 1 and EDD 11/25/10
ebonyeye replied to Emmyl's response:
I agree my epidural did not hurt none what-so-ever.
ShanunC responded:
I must be one of the lucky ones... the doc put the numbing stuff on.. then he watched the monitor and right when a contraction was the worst he did his thing.. I was so blinded by the contraction that I didnt even feel what we was doing.. until he pushed the first little amount in and my legs went numb.. It was bliss... being a scheduled section this time.. Im hoping it wont be to bad.. I wont have contractions there to help me not think about it....
amb_519 responded:
Mine was done when I was already in a lot of pain. I was induced and they broke my water, had my going through those horrid contractions for about 6 hours before they gave me the epi. I had staydol before that and don't reccommend it, I felt high and drunk at the same time and never got any relief. Anyway....the dude had me sit with my legs hanging off of the bed and belly tucked into a pillow while I hunched over. He felt down my spine and pushed a little here and there to "relax me a bit" or whatever, as soon as a contraction hit he'd gotten the epi in and I felt NOTHING but the contraction. I know there is some stuff they can put on the skin as like a topical anesthetic, but I never had it and I don't know anyone else who has. If you want it, ask for it and don't hesitate -- it's about your comfort, not theirs
bcfrost816 replied to amb_519's response:
I think it might depend on how good the anisthesiologist is too, because mine didn't hurt at all. I felt the tiny it of burning but that was it.
1sttimepreggo replied to bcfrost816's response:
ughh the things ppl dont tell you!!! out of all the pregnancy i was there for with my freinds and families i am learning everything out on my own!!! i was under the impression that the epi didnt hurt AT all this is news to me know im scared all over again ;(..((i really really cant handle pain, like im known for fainting when things get bad so i can c it know me passed out on the darn labor table))
StarryGrrl replied to 1sttimepreggo's response:
When I got an epidural with my DS (now 2 yrs old), it hurt so bad I almost passed out! The anisthesiologist tried 4 times before finally getting it in the right place on the 5th try. I'm going to try to go without an epi this time around, but if I feel I really need one I will remember to ask for the bicarb.
clovertine responded:
Good to know. I was fortunate that my Epidural didn't hurt one bit and I was absolutely terrified of the pain I expected from it. I'm not sure if I'm going to get it this time or not, I still need to figure that out, but I will definitely remember this if I do! I would hate to have a bad experience this time after such a pleasant one last time.
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Lori Drew, the woman who created a fake MySpace profile to harass her daughter's friend, Megan Meier, is arguing, again, that she did nothing wrong. She's been indicted on computer fraud charges for violating MySpace's terms of service by creating a profile for the fake Josh Evans. Her lawyers are now arguing that if she can be prosecuted criminally under the laws which were originally designed to prosecute hackers, then anyone violating a website's Terms of Service agreement is a criminal. That seems bad for those of us with fake online identities, but everyone hates Lori Drew. Decisions, decisions. [Washington Post] | <urn:uuid:c947eb78-9788-4bc9-93c4-5c74b30ffd51> | http://jezebel.com/5028646/?tag=lori-drew | en | 0.972569 | 0.050726 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
The Future Of Microsoft Is Sunny With A Chance Of Thunderstorms
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The past few years haven’t been kind to Microsoft. (There’s no need to walk down memory lane. We all know what’s happened.) But somehow that’s all changed in the past few days. Surface and Windows Phone 8, along with Windows 8 and Xbox prove there’s still some fight left in the old dog. It’s a bit premature to say that the company is back and that the decades long string of mediocrity coming out of Redmond is over, but the company is clearly focused and we haven’t seen that Microsoft in a long, long time.
The shroud of mystery surrounding the Surface announcement earlier this week in LA had the press in a tizzy. We’d all been burned one too many times and the thought of something lame being announced loomed large. It is Microsoft, after all. What they managed to pull off was nothing short of spectacular, though. Microsoft employees were kept in the dark with most finding out at the same time as press. This wasn’t a case where employees were being sheepish with details either. Most simply had no idea.
Rumors surrounding the event swirled with some being sort of right and some being flat out wrong. The reason Surface was kept under wraps so tightly has a lot to do with the company’s horizontal product line. A vertically integrated one can lead to leaks due to the number of folks involved. There’s a reason Tim Cook said at D10 that Apple would be doubling down on security. Loose lips sink ships.
Like any Microsoft announcement though, the detractors came out in full force during and after the Surface announcement. Why have a Pro model? Why not announce pricing and availability? Why not let anyone try the Touch Cover? Couldn’t agree more.
Others, however, decided to scold Microsoft for “screwing” their hardware partners. First of all, Microsoft isn’t screwing the OEMs, they’re simply challenging them to do better. Fact is, both sides have been screwing each other for decades. Microsoft is simply setting the bar and the manufacturers need to put up or shut up so long as Microsoft delivers the software. And that’s still a big if. But the OEMs only have themselves to blame. A sentiment felt by others.
Analysts quoted in a Reuters report were quick to shoot down Surface saying Microsoft needed to undercut Apple’s iPad to be competitive.
“Analysts expect the slimmer Windows 8 tablet to struggle to compete with the iPad, which offers over 225,000 apps, and to a lesser extent with Google Inc’s Android-based tablets, such as the Samsung’s Galaxy Tab.”
Maybe Reuters just doesn’t know what they’re talking about? At best, this is pretty laughable. For starters, the product isn’t finished and hasn’t shipped. And to be honest, the whole app argument doesn’t apply here. The two use-case scenarios are completely different. The Surface may be similar in form to the iPad but it’s geared towards productivity and real multi-tasking. Why do you think they slammed a keyboard into the cover? Yes, Windows 8 and the entire Windows eco-system lack the sheer volume of apps found in iOS and Android but what more do you need than email, a web browser and Office on a device like the Surface?
Whereas the iPad is clearly being used to consume content. As hard as Apple has tried at every iPad unveil to convince developers that the hardware can drive amazing content creation software like Garage Band, iPhoto and Pages/Numbers/Keynote, the iPad remains an entertainment-focused device, which is perfectly fine. It’s a fun device to use. When you’re making billions of dollars off other people’s work why fight the power? Just bask in its glory and reap the rewards, I say.
I enjoyed the teaser video for Surface as much as the next guy/gal but that screamed Droid/Verizon marketing. Verizon killed it with that campaign. There’s a reason why most people assume that any Android device is simply called Droid. Whoever was in charge of that video and marketing as a whole going forward for Surface really needs to think of something distinctive and unique for the Surface brand.
The excitement drummed up on Monday trickled over to today’s public acknowledgement and developer preview of Windows Phone 8. Microsoft says Channel 9 saw more views today than past events. (To be honest, they haven’t had that much exciting news to share anyway.) Some might call that positive momentum.
Windows Phone 8 signals a massive momentum shift for the unification of Windows as a whole. A shared kernel with Windows adds enough incentive for developers to build for both without even thinking about it. But this group still has an uphill battle ahead of them. To date there hasn’t been a single “hero” or flagship device for the platform. Everywhere you look across the lineup you see a blank slate of black slabs. Aside from the Lumia 900, every other device in the lineup looks like every other device in the Android lineup.
Today Microsoft revealed the roadmap for current Windows Phone device owners to upgrade to a neutered version of the next OS, Windows Phone 7.8. It didn’t have to be that way, though. By all accounts, what we were shown today is a small portion of what Windows Phone 8 is. By announcing that 7/7.5 devices might only see a new Start Screen could be equated to suicide. Why would a potential buyer go and buy a device now knowing the next crop of devices in the fall will carry an updated and arguably better OS that will likely be future proof? Way to alienate your current customers and possibly push them towards another platform this coming fall.
They should have kept mum on the whole thing or declared that every software feature in WP8 would be applicable to existing devices. At least offer developers Native Code support. Wallet is compelling enough that you don’t really need NFC to reap the benefits of what it has to offer. Announcing that the Start Screen might be the only thing that ports over was fucking stupid. Classic Microsoft. Classic.
Still, there’s hope. Microsoft has yet to finalize Windows Phone 8 and what 7.8 could be. If enough developers jump on board and create some killer speech recognition apps like this, then Siri definitely has some competition. You also have hardware partners like Nokia building out and updating apps for current Lumia owners. Future WP8 Nokia devices will also ship with Nokia Maps, which is arguably some of the best turn-by-turn navigation software available and it’s free!
Where the Finnish handset maker fell short with the Lumia 900 was the camera. AT&T and even Nokia marketing touted the Carl Zeiss lens and folks at both Microsoft and Nokia will tell you (maybe not you but I’ve heard it from both sides) how disappointing it’s been. Nokia, however, has proven that PureView as a technology is more than capable of capturing some amazing images. You won’t see a 41-megapixel camera in the next WP8 device from Nokia but you will see the core technology coupled with Scalado (Nokia is in the process of acquiring the team and IP) in an upcoming device. HTC is also doubling down on camera enhancements so competition will hopefully drive even further innovation. I stand by my previous statement that Samsung will only dabble.
What Microsoft showcased today and earlier this week proves the company has finally come to its senses. It also highlights how vulnerable they’ve made themselves by setting such high expectations. Can they deliver? We’ll see. But for now I’m excited to see how the rest of this year plays out. | <urn:uuid:7c8aa083-cd53-4e23-919c-3abaeede20cd> | http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/20/the-future-of-microsoft-is-sunny-with-a-chance-of-thunderstorms/ | en | 0.952407 | 0.019872 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Suki Webster: Body-Part Double
Suki Webster: Body-Part Double
Show type: Edinburgh Fringe 2004
Following Best Man 2001, Suki returns as glamorous Hollywood body-part double Roxanne. Revelations, improvised wit, groovy hair. Featuring surprise star comedian guests
Starring Suki Webster
Original Review:
This bizarre show is a confusing mess of half-formed ideas that never seems entirely certain what it's trying to be.
At the start of the show Comedy Store improviser Suki Webster explains the concept: when she's in the chair stage left, she's herself, when she's stage right she's Roxanne Black, the name she uses in Hollywood as a body part double.
Fair enough, but she never leaves the 'Suki' chair. So this is her, as herself, right? Then why's she wearing a ridiculous curly wig and outrageous fluorescent, kaleidoscopically patterned hipsters? Surely this is a character? This is a sloppy set-up for any show, let alone one with a director who's supposed to notice these things. What's even more surprising is when that director is someone with the stature and talent of Paul Merton.
Webster goes on to tell us how her elegant hands have appeared in adverts for everything from washing powder to Benecol, and how that landed her work in Hollywood, encompassing some mildly amusing anecdotes from the edges of showbusiness.
Her fingers were in the Yellow Pages adverts, she provided Kate Winslet's hands in the shagging scene from Titanic and Carrie-Anne Moss's in the phone booth scene from The Matrix. When a genuinely interested punter asks why, she explains that Moss is missing part of one finger and cannot do close-ups. We're impressed at this snippet of showbusiness trivia.
But suspicion slowly falls on the veracity of her stories. Some are obvious flights of fancy, but by the midpoint it's certain that most, if not all, of the preceding tales have been a pack of lies, even those that were convincingly presented as genuine insights. The duplicity wouldn't matter one jot had the stories been in the least funny, but they just seem so pointless once you know the truth.
In fact, almost all the comedy of the show came from Andre Vincent, tonight's guest interviewer chosen from an ever-changing list of improvisers, whose bold, filthy cheek provided some quick badinage with a small child inappropriately seated in the front row.
But it's more than slightly worrying to know that Suki Webster's show would be a lot funnier without Suki Webster in it.
She does better in the improv routines, as you might expect, even though they are of the standard 'sketch in various film and theatre styles' variety that don't really stretch the talents. I know this is a collaborative game, but still it seems that Vincent was coming up with all the good lines.
To further prop up this weak hotch-potch of an hour, we get bad ventriloquism, tap-dancing and balloon modelling (as part of a skit about a magic show with only an assistant, no magician) which all smacks of desperation to throw anything vaguely entertaining into the mix in an attempt to find something that might possibly work. The bottom line is that very little of it does.
Show Dates
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iPhone thief thwarted by MobileMe sync
To say that MobileMe hasn't made everyone happy may be a bit of an understatement. We don't generally hear from the satisfied customers, but we have received a fair amount of email from dissatisfied users of Apple's "cloud computing" solution. Given the barrage of negativity, it's nice to hear a positive take now and then. TUAW reader Rob had just the thing ...
While at the dry cleaner one day, Rob's iPhone was stolen. He immediately chalked it up as gone forever, and proceeded to purchase a brand new one that same evening. It was the next day when unfamiliar contacts began to appear on the new phone. The (not-too-bright) thief was unwittingly supplying him with names and phone numbers of his or her closest friends, via the magic of MobileMe synchronization from the stolen phone to the cloud and eventually to his new phone. "It didn't take long for me to realize that MobileMe was leading me right to the thief!" wrote Rob.
Thanks to the fact that he caught on to it before he'd had time to remotely disconnect his account, MobileMe provided the groundwork for a little social engineering. Rob made quick work of wrangling a name and phone number from the provided contacts, supplying the police with everything they needed to get Rob his phone back. By the end of the night, he had his original iPhone in his possession.
There you have it, a MobileMe success story! Sure, this doesn't make up for the problems which have plagued MobileMe, but it's a great story. The recovered phone is "pretty much brand new," according to Rob, and is currently up for auction on ebay.
Thanks for sending this in, Rob!
This article was originally published on Tuaw. | <urn:uuid:e6ce0f71-2741-4851-85d2-e7e4f04e8ced> | http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/17/iphone-thief-thwarted-by-mobileme-sync/ | en | 0.983834 | 0.11056 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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[HanCinema's Film Review] "Arrow, The Ultimate Weapon"
2011/12/17 | 1942 views | | Permalink
Learn to read Korean in 90 minutes or less using visual associations
Kim Han-min's "Arrow, The Ultimate Weapon" quickly became Korea's most successful film of 2011, marching up the ranks to eventually bank 7,459,974 admissions. Since its release in September, Kim's historical action flick has been showered with local awards spanning all major categories. However once you get some of the stardust and glare out of your eyes, the film's success can be pinned down to its ability to be, quite simply, great entertainment.
The film takes place during the second Manchu invasion of Korea that occurred during the Joseon dynasty in 1636. The Manchu Qing Empire is invading Korea for the second time and within this Kim has created a local hero in Nam-Yi (Park Hae-il) to stand up against the invaders, save his sister (Ja-In played by Moon Chae-won) from her captors, and honour the memory of his slain father. He is the dark horse, the arrow in shadows, fighting against the odds with his legendary skills with the bow and his tenacious grip on duty and family honour.
There is nothing complicated here and the story's simplicity is mirrored in its structure. Act II takes a good 40 minutes to reach as the filmmakers clearly wanted to follow a more traditional path with introducing characters and events to the viewer. While watching it I had no issue with this or its pacing, but once I was submerged in Act II I began to feel that I was somehow cheated of quality action sequences. With the story being as simple as it is, Act I was a too indulgent and, in retrospect, added little to characters and the events that followed. The same backstory might have been presented through other cinematic/narrative techniques instead of eating up valuable screen time.
The most memorable scenes were when the Manchu general Jyuu Shin-Ta (Ryoo Seung-ryong) and his elite guards were perusing our hero through the woods and mountains to finally emerge in a field for the film's final showdown. Here is where the piece shines and its high entertainment value was found. The line between the hunter and the hunted is blurred as our hero demonstrates his mastery over the bow and the arrows he lets fly. I wish more screen time might have been given to moments and events such as this. These scenes are fluid and kinetic, adding suspense and excitement to the chase, as blood is shed and the conflict begins to narrow to a sharp and blood dripping point.
Normally when a hero possesses such remarkable skills there is some form of motif or montage accompanying it as a form of understanding. Here though, there is little that justifies our hero's incredible ability. He does wield the bow of his respected and valiant father, and with it the memory and honour of his family, but with such a film I felt like it needed more of hook to our hero, his quest, and mostly his skills. Instead the filmmakers focused on setting up events and motivations rather than justifying our hero's potency with the bow. This might just be a personal choice but in a film that focuses on the bow as a weapon, they might have dived more into not only how our protagonist gain such a proficiency, but also submerged us more in the whole mythology of the bow as a weapon/symbolic tool.
The film is visual pleasing, beside a certain CGI tiger, with Kim capturing the intensity and energy require to pull-off this form of action. Again, the first quarter of the film was rather flat in this regard but soon all is forgiven as the arrows begin to wiz by as the sound of notch arrows and taut bowstrings stretch your nerves and let loose. Close-ups of the bowmen are paired with long tracking shots of men running through forest and mountains, synthesising the type of combat that is being witnessed. The action is riveting and well shot, driving the film forward to its somewhat melodramatic final scenes. The costumes were also eye-catching and added a much-appreciated dimension to the characters and their roles. The menacing garb of the Manchu general and his elite warriors in particular caught my attention and empowered them with a visual prowess that raised them up as a force to be reckoned with.
"Arrow, The Ultimate Weapon" has achieved much and its success on circuit is testament to its high entertainment value. I would have preferred a different structure to the tale and a reweighting of some of the story's elements but for a cinematic spectacle it delivers where it counts.
- C.J. Wheeler (
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Dick Van Dyke's Rob Petrie: 5 little-known facts
Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke reprise Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke reprise their roles as Laura and Rob Petrie in this scene from the "Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited," a TV special that aired in 2004. Photo Credit: AP
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Dick Van Dyke and his stage, movie and TV career gets major props Sunday (at 8 on TBS and TNT) when he's honored with the Life Achievement Award at the "19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards" ceremony. (He'll be presented the award by Alec Baldwin and Carl Reiner, creator of "The Dick Van Dyke Show"). That beloved '60s sitcom, of course, featured Van Dyke's most indelible TV work. ("Diagnosis Murder" fans are free to disagree, but you'd be wrong.) So, in honor of tonight's festivities, here are five things you may not have known about Van Dyke's character, TV comedy writer Rob Petrie:
1. His middle name is Simpson.
2. Rob, wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) and son Ritchie (Larry Mathews), lived at 448 Bonnie Meadow Rd. in New Rochelle.
3. He was originally from Danville, Ill., which is where Van Dyke grew up.
4. He had served in the U.S. Army (he met Laura, a USO dancer, while in the service)
5. Before he was hired by Alan Brady (Reiner), Rob worked as a disc jockey and was known for breaking the "no-sleep" DJ record of staying awake for 100 hours on the air.
You also may be interested in: | <urn:uuid:42627d38-0713-4233-b645-59153cef36bd> | http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/dick-van-dyke-s-rob-petrie-5-little-known-facts-1.4498891 | en | 0.951442 | 0.075624 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |