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DDR/DDR Dir. Amie Siegel
[Anthology Film Archives; 2008]
Styles: “cine-constellations”
Others: Countdown
One of my earliest childhood memories was watching the Berlin Wall fall on the news. While I didn’t know it at the time, the footage of the concrete crumbling reflected both the physical and political dismantling of a system as well as the reunification of a country. This history was locked in the images and in the moment. With its repercussions and implications, this event became referred to as die Wende in Germany. Literally meaning change, Amie Siegel’s film DDR/DDR explores all the possible meanings of die Wende and how it relates to the cinematic legacy left in repose in the former East Germany.
Siegel’s visual essay forms a composite portrait of the DDR (East Germany) through interviews, architecture, experience, and most prominently film. She incorporates clips from East German cowboy movies, Stasi surveillance videos, documentation of targeted harassment plans, and training footage, as well as explanation of the equipment used to enable this system of influence and monitoring. These instruments, analyzed in regards to their literal and symbolic importance, become the focus of much of DDR/DDR. Here, the camera is given psychological significance, which Siegel formally explores through its positioning within the framed image and its ability to expose film and the actions and events of those it records.
But her approach is not without precedent. The tradition of psychoanalytic film theory in Germany begins most notably with the literature of Siegfried Kracauer and Lotte Eisner, who regard German Expressionist film as a precursor to and possible explanation for the advent of Nazism. This desire to allot significance to film is understandable given Germany’s history of art and propaganda. With DDR/DDR, Siegel makes similar claims about film’s power, but primarily in regards to the camera itself, using film-language to implicate every object and instant as meaningful. In fact, her analysis of both film and the properties of camera-as-instrument is at times more penetrating than the larger, more abstract claims related to die Wende.
Thankfully, Siegel resists the impulse to write a grand, totalizing history and instead produces small intimate stories of experience. These personal portraits reflect some of the more contemporary efforts in historiography and let the audience feel that the suppositions and conclusions at which Siegel arrives are either plausible or at least flexible enough to accommodate further interpretation. Sure, Siegel’s voiceover narration and analysis can feel overdetermined, contrived, and awkward when not serving a formal or performative purpose, but the visual and aural remnants of a dissolved nation are filmed in such patient, stoic detail that it can also be quite compelling at times. These observations, both cinematic and intellectual, make DDR/DDR a continually self-reflexive exploration of East Germany’s storied legacy. | <urn:uuid:bea561d3-a719-47a7-b193-bc521b1cd116> | http://www.tinymixtapes.com/film/ddrddr | en | 0.925321 | 0.129382 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 6.djvu/15
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Before entering upon an intelligent study of the Qurʼân it is necessary to make oneself acquainted with the circumstances of the people in whose midst it was revealed, with the political and religious aspects of the period, and with the personal history of the prophet himself.
Arabia or Gazîrat el ʿArab, ‘ the Arabian Peninsula,’ as it is called by native writers, is bounded on the west by the Red Sea; on the east by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman; on the south by the Indian Ocean; and on the north it extends to the confines of Babylonia and Syria.
The Arabs were divided into those of the desert and those of the towns.
The first were settled in the sterile country of the Higâz, and the no less barren highlands of Negd.
The principalities bordering on Syria and Persia were vassals of the Roman and Persian empires; the kingdom of Himyar in Yemen, to the south of the Peninsula, was in free communication with the rest of the world; but the Higâz, ‘ the barrier,’ had effectually resisted alike the curiosity and the attacks of the nations who fought around it for the empire of the world. Persia, Egypt, Rome, Byzantium had each unsuccessfully essayed to penetrate the country and conquer its hardy inhabitants.
The Higâz consists of the barren ranges of hills which lead up from the lowlands on the Eastern coast of the Red Sea to the highlands of Negd. In its valleys lie the holy cities of Mecca and Medinah, and here was the birthplace of el Islâm.
The Arabs of the desert preserved almost intact the manners, customs, and primeval simplicity of the early patriarchs.
They lived in tents made of hair or woollen cloth, and | <urn:uuid:07d54f1c-a6ef-427e-a399-50f967afe5ca> | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Sacred_Books_of_the_East_-_Volume_6.djvu/15 | en | 0.964871 | 0.054087 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Require all MLTS/PBX Phones Dial 911 Easily: Help Enact Kari's Law
On December 1, 2013 Kari Rene Hunt was murdered by her estranged husband whom she was intending to divorce. She agreed to meet him at a local motel to leave their children with him for a short visitation while he was in town.
Her estranged husband ambushed her in the motel room and cornered her in the restroom. During the struggle and resulting death of Kari, her oldest daughter, age 9, (name with held for privacy) attempted to dial 911 from the motel room phone. She followed instructions as taught by her mother on the way to call for help but she was never instructed that in some hotels and motels you must first dial a "9" and then 911.
We are attempting to ensure that any person needing police, EMS or the Fire Department at any hotel or motel location or from any MLTS/PBX system be able to dial the numbers 911 and receive emergency response. In a panic, any under age child, or for that matter anyone in an emergency situation should be able to depend on dialing 911 from any phone in the United States and receiving assistance.
We pray the lawmakers in our Congress and Senate hear the cries of Kari and her children and enact a law requiring all hotel and motel chains, including all "Mom & Pop" locations have all phone systems updated to E911 systems. These systems allow the 911 call to automatically connect to a 911 operator without having to dial a "9" in order to get an outside line. Total E911 fees/funds collected from the use of telephones in the United States was $2,322,983,616.36 in 2012. Total amount spent for E911 or 911 enhancements in the United States was $97,367,543.46 leaving $2,225,616,072.90 un spent. Where is this money? Some states such as Illinois, has diverted monies from the collection of E911 fees to it's general fund therefore being spent on who knows what. The money is there, it's being collected by who? THE GOVERNMENT! It's being spent on very little E911 functionality or just sitting there. Why?
WE ask that Wyndham Hotels, which is the parent company of Baymont Inns and Suites where this incident occured, lead the way in the industry by updating the antiquated phone systems still used in some of their hotels. Sadly though, 9 months later we have heard nothing from the Wyndham Corporation, however, the Marriott International Corporation has mandated to all franchise hotels under the Marriott brand to update their systems to be direct dial 911. Can you you guess what hotel we will be using from now on will be? That's right , MARRIOTT!
Seconds count and when a 9 year old little girl is mature enough and brave enough to attempt to dial for help, she should be answered. When that child dialed 911 she should have heard, "911, what is your emergency?" Instead she heard static. We understand the cost implications (which in most cases is very minimal or free) and know that E911 has been a requirement for a few years, but only a handful of states require it. Why? Money is collected from every citizen that uses a phone but it's the citizen that is NOT benefiting from the collection of these funds.
We ask the United States Congress to make it a requirement for all hotel and motels operating the United States and offer conversion assistance where needed. We also ask that such law(s) prohibit excessive charges for doing this update, in most cases it is simply a series of buttons from a keyboard that will solve the problem.
Please help make this "Kari's Law".
This petition will be delivered to:
Hank Hunt started this petition with a single signature, and now has 551,001 supporters. Start a petition today to change something you care about. | <urn:uuid:9f361412-9b1d-4f32-b86c-2c7015ecaaf6> | https://www.change.org/p/require-all-mlts-pbx-phones-dial-911-easily-help-enact-kari-s-law?share_id=dJAWiynpDe | en | 0.968124 | 0.035085 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
EFA Etsy for Animals Discussions
Who can join?
EFA Etsy for Animals is a moderated team with the following requirements:
WE ARE NOT PROCESSING NEW APPLICATIONS AT THIS TIME (pls wait for this notice to be removed b4 applying. ty)
Report this team to Etsy
Unfollow username?
Are you sure you want to stop following this person? | <urn:uuid:1bbc10b5-08f1-4c5c-969a-2b970b39e445> | https://www.etsy.com/teams/6354/efa-etsy-for-animals/discuss/ | en | 0.890291 | 0.021489 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
No Compromise
She was luckier than some. She made her mistake early, she learned from it, and filed it away never to be made again. Hermione would thank Ron for her lesson for a long time, and he didn't even know what he'd taught her.
She was so certain for such a long time that Ron was the one, the only one for her. They just fit together perfectly in her mind, and when it finally came together, it felt wonderful. Nothing really changed, but everything felt different. Every touch had a different meaning, every word could be spun and make her feel ten feet tall. Being together made everything better, the sun was a bit brighter, the days longer, and every moment together was worth savouring forever.
That was only the things that changed, there was still the things that didn't change. They still fought like they always had, but now the consequences seemed so much more higher. There fights had more ammunition, they had more invested in their friendship now, so they knew just how to hit below the belt, and they did, repeatedly. Till it got to much, and they decided enough was enough, and they'd left with some of their friendship intact. Ron's words in their last fight still rang through her ears, 'you'll never change'.
She never understood what he meant, till she saw him with his next girlfriend. She fussed over him, catering to his every whim, agreed with every inane thing he said, laughed at his jokes. Then she saw it. He didn't want a girlfriend, he wanted someone who thought he was God. Hermione knew him too well to give him that, and she wouldn't even if she could. She just wasn't that kind of girl.
She was proud of who she was, what she had become. There was nothing she would change, and she certainly wasn't going to change for a relationship. Watching her parents together, she had saw what she wanted. An equal, a partner, someone who would challenge her, and not hold her back from her true self; and she wouldn't settle for anything less. | <urn:uuid:13347d87-872e-45f6-9b17-0571631780dd> | https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3525222/1/No-Compromise | en | 0.996109 | 0.869719 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
A loan of $3,350 helped a member to purchase more sacks of charcoal.
Tiro Group's story
Malizia, who is in her early 30’s, is married and lives with her husband. She is the mother of three children (two boys and a girl) who are in school. For a period of three years now, she has operated two businesses, selling food and charcoal. She is doing fine with her businesses and her family as well. She works from 6 AM to 8 PM daily and is able to generate a fair profit each month.
This is Malizia's fourth loan request from Tujijenge Tanzania. She repaid her previous loans successfully and used them to restock items in both her food and charcoal businesses. With the profit she earned, she bought a cupboard, covered home expenses and paid school fees. She will use this loan to increase her stock of sacks of charcoal. Her dream is to one day be able to build a nice family house and provide her children with a better education.
She will share this loan with her loan group "TIRO," which has a total of 10 members. The members of TIRO will hold each other accountable for paying back the loan.
In this group: Malizia, Banali, Tofiri, Nasra, Halima, Tausi, Shuruti, Alice, Mkejina, Naima
*not pictured
Loan details
Lenders and lending teams
Loan details | <urn:uuid:2b5eda23-2fac-4c04-b4e3-44e3d86be9f8> | https://www.kiva.org/lend/534799 | en | 0.984409 | 0.033897 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Bill Lyon: Iverson on the rocks
Allen Iverson's financial prospects seem to be spiraling downward.
Allen Iverson's financial prospects seem to be spiraling downward. (PATRICK SCHNEIDER / Charlotte Observer)
Posted: February 12, 2012
He always did have a craving for ice and rarely hesitated to indulge it.
That ice is melting now. So diamonds, it turns out, really are not forever.
A Georgia judge has ordered Allen Ezail Iverson to pay a jeweler about $860,000. But apparently he can't, so his bank account has been commandeered, and his earnings, whatever of them may be left, are to be garnisheed.
The man who is the best small scorer in the history of the NBA, who lit up Philadelphia nights with his pyrotechnic play, is said to have worked his way through the better part of - big inhale here - $150 million.
He's 36 years old.
According to the website, his income from his rookie year with the 76ers to date is - another big inhale - $154,494,445.
A man has got to really do some serious shopping to blow through a buck-fifty mil. You'd think.
Worse, it looks as if he has run out of potential employers. No one is interested in the services of the man who once dazzled his sport with his freaky speed and captivated the city with his grit and fearlessness.
Even worse, how galling it must be to see his old team with a new coach turning the city back on, and doing so by playing exactly the opposite of A.I. ball, sharing the ball, getting everyone involved, giving everyone a touch.
In 1996, Allen Iverson arrived in Philadelphia, which is precisely what Philadelphia wanted.
"Everywhere I went before the draft," Pat Croce said, "people were yelling at me, 'Iverson, Pat, take Iverson.' "
He did as requested, and that skinny little assassin in baggy pantaloons proceeded to win us over. He was made for Philly. This was his explanation for how he played: "Well, basically I just throw my heart out on the floor."
Problem was, it was A.I. and "who that?" Almost every night, single-handedly, he would win or lose a game. That's not the way basketball is intended to be played, even if Larry Brown said it was so, too, the right way. Forty points are impressive. Taking 30 shots to get them is not.
The current 76ers routinely have five players in double figures. They play manic defense. They switch. They set screens. They are the anti-A.I.
The current A.I. is struggling with life, still puzzling out how to get by without the ball. His family is shattered and scattered, a churning, domestic whirlpool.
He went, humiliatingly, from Philadelphia to Denver to Detroit to Memphis to Turkey to purgatory, and always there trailed after him, like a kite's tail, the baggage: the arguments with coaches and rap albums and tattoos and braids, the domestic turmoil and those rants against practicing.
"He redefined high maintenance," Croce said.
He was hardly the poster child for working on conditioning. He was always half a step ahead, and they warned him the day would come when the half step would go away, never to return. They should have saved their breath; they were whistling into the wind. And now, now that bill has come due.
Croce, calling him by his nickname, said: "Bubba Chuck is who he is, and he will not change."
And he wouldn't, even if he could.
Moderation was not in vogue.
There were excursions to see the Ice Man, whose handiwork included a platinum pendant made in the shape of a '3' as a tribute to A.I.'s jersey number, with 63 diamonds embedded on it. You could land airplanes on it. It was worn on a gold chain, by A.I.'s mother, Ann.
Told that she was "a real trip," Ann Iverson said: "Honey, I'm the whole package."
A.I. said: "They made me." He meant they had protected him from all of the casual violence, especially in the early days, allowing him to get where he was. Literally, they kept him alive.
And he owed them.
It may take a village to raise a child, but in A.I.'s case it has been the other way around.
comments powered by Disqus | <urn:uuid:4a965abd-0373-4dc6-8526-eddd70e55d47> | http://articles.philly.com/2012-02-12/sports/31052452_1_pat-croce-poster-child-76ers | en | 0.988168 | 0.043834 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
The Yhat Blog
machine learning, data science, engineering
Customer Churn
"Churn Rate" is a business term describing the rate at which customers leave or cease paying for a product or service. It's a critical figure in many businesses, as it's often the case that acquiring new customers is a lot more costly than retaining existing ones (in some cases, 5 to 20 times more expensive).
Understanding what keeps customers engaged, therefore, is incredibly valuable, as it is a logical foundation from which to develop retention strategies and roll out operational practices aimed to keep customers from walking out the door. Consequently, there's growing interest among companies to develop better churn-detection techniques, leading many to look to data mining and machine learning for new and creative approaches.
Predicting churn is particularly important for businesses w/ subscription models such as cell phone, cable, or merchant credit card processing plans. But modeling churn has wide reaching applications in many domains. For example, casinos have used predictive models to predict ideal room conditions for keeping patrons at the blackjack table and when to reward unlucky gamblers with front row seats to Celine Dion. Similarly, airlines may offer first class upgrades to complaining customers. The list goes on.
This is a post about modeling customer churn using Python.
Wait, don't go!
So what are some of ops strategies that companies employ to prevent churn? Well, reducing churn, it turns out, often requires non-trivial resources. Specialized retention teams are common in many industries and exist expressly to call down lists of at-risk customers to plead for their continued business.
Organizing and running such teams is tough. From an ops perspective, cross-geographic teams must be well organized and trained to respond to a huge spectrum of customer complaints. Customers must be accurately targeted based on churn-risk, and retention treatments must be well-conceived and correspond reasonably to match expected customer value to ensure the economics make sense. Spending \$1,000 on someone who wasn't about to leave can get expensive pretty quickly.
The good news is that we live in the data age and have some pretty great tools at our disposal to help answer these questions. John Forman of MailChimp summarizes this well:
"I work in the e-mail marketing industry for a website called We help customers send e-mail newsletters to their audience, and every time someone uses the term 'e-mail blast,' a little part of me dies.
"Why? Because e-mail addresses are no longer black boxes that you lob 'blasts' at like flash grenades. No, in e-mail marketing (as with many other forms of online engagement, including tweets, Facebook posts, and Pinterest campaigns), a business receives feedback on how their audience is engaging at the individual level through click tracking, online purchases, social sharing, and so on. This data is not noise. It characterizes your audience. But to the uninitiated, it might as well be Greek. Or Esperanto."
- John Foreman, DataSmart
Within this frame of mind, efficiently dealing with turnover is an exercise of distinguishing who is likely to churn from who is not using the data at our disposal. The remainder of this post will explore a simple case study to show how Python and its scientific libraries can be used to predict churn and how you might deploy such a solution within operations to guide a retention team.
The Dataset
The data set I'll be using is a longstanding telecom customer data set which you can download here.
The data is straightforward. Each row represents a subscribing telephone customer. Each column contains customer attributes such as phone number, call minutes used during different times of day, charges incurred for services, lifetime account duration, and whether or not the customer is still a customer.
In [2]:
from __future__ import division
import pandas as pd
import numpy as np
churn_df = pd.read_csv('churn.csv')
col_names = churn_df.columns.tolist()
print "Column names:"
print col_names
to_show = col_names[:6] + col_names[-6:]
print "\nSample data:"
Column names:
['State', 'Account Length', 'Area Code', 'Phone', "Int'l Plan", 'VMail Plan', 'VMail Message', 'Day Mins', 'Day Calls', 'Day Charge', 'Eve Mins', 'Eve Calls', 'Eve Charge', 'Night Mins', 'Night Calls', 'Night Charge', 'Intl Mins', 'Intl Calls', 'Intl Charge', 'CustServ Calls', 'Churn?']
Sample data:
State Account Length Area Code Phone Int'l Plan VMail Plan Night Charge Intl Mins Intl Calls Intl Charge CustServ Calls Churn?
0 KS 128 415 382-4657 no yes 11.01 10.0 3 2.70 1 False.
1 OH 107 415 371-7191 no yes 11.45 13.7 3 3.70 1 False.
2 NJ 137 415 358-1921 no no 7.32 12.2 5 3.29 0 False.
3 OH 84 408 375-9999 yes no 8.86 6.6 7 1.78 2 False.
4 OK 75 415 330-6626 yes no 8.41 10.1 3 2.73 3 False.
5 AL 118 510 391-8027 yes no 9.18 6.3 6 1.70 0 False.
6 rows × 12 columns
I'll be keeping the statistical model pretty simple for this blog so the feature space is almost unchanged from what you see above. The following code simply drops irrelevant columns and converts strings to boolean values (since models don't handle "yes" and "no" very well). The rest of the numeric columns are left untouched.
In [3]:
# Isolate target data
churn_result = churn_df['Churn?']
y = np.where(churn_result == 'True.',1,0)
# We don't need these columns
to_drop = ['State','Area Code','Phone','Churn?']
churn_feat_space = churn_df.drop(to_drop,axis=1)
# 'yes'/'no' has to be converted to boolean values
# NumPy converts these from boolean to 1. and 0. later
yes_no_cols = ["Int'l Plan","VMail Plan"]
churn_feat_space[yes_no_cols] = churn_feat_space[yes_no_cols] == 'yes'
# Pull out features for future use
features = churn_feat_space.columns
X = churn_feat_space.as_matrix().astype(np.float)
# This is important
from sklearn.preprocessing import StandardScaler
scaler = StandardScaler()
X = scaler.fit_transform(X)
print "Feature space holds %d observations and %d features" % X.shape
print "Unique target labels:", np.unique(y)
Feature space holds 3333 observations and 17 features
Unique target labels: [0 1]
One slight side note. Many predictors care about the relative size of different features even though those scales might be arbitrary. For instance: the number of points a basketball team scores per game will naturally be a couple orders of magnitude larger than their win percentage. But this doesn't mean that the latter is 100 times less significant. StandardScaler fixes this by normalizing each feature to a range of around 1.0 to -1.0 thereby preventing models from misbehaving. Well, at least for that reason.
Great, I now have a feature space 'X' and a set of target values 'y'. On to the predictions!
How good is your model?
Express, test, cycle. A machine learning pipeline should be anything but static. There are always new features to design, new data to use, new classifiers to consider each with unique parameters to tune. And for every change it's critical to be able to ask, "Is the new version better than the last?" So how do I do that?
As a good start, cross validation will be used throughout this blog. Cross validation attempts to avoid overfitting (training on and predicting the same datapoint) while still producing a prediction for each observation dataset. This is accomplished by systematically hiding different subsets of the data while training a set of models. After training, each model predicts on the subset that had been hidden to it, emulating multiple train-test splits. When done correctly, every observation will have a 'fair' corresponding prediction.
Here's what that looks like using scikit-learn libraries.
In [4]:
from sklearn.cross_validation import KFold
def run_cv(X,y,clf_class,**kwargs):
# Construct a kfolds object
kf = KFold(len(y),n_folds=5,shuffle=True)
y_pred = y.copy()
# Iterate through folds
for train_index, test_index in kf:
X_train, X_test = X[train_index], X[test_index]
y_train = y[train_index]
# Initialize a classifier with key word arguments
clf = clf_class(**kwargs),y_train)
y_pred[test_index] = clf.predict(X_test)
return y_pred
I've decided to compare three fairly unique algorithms support vector machines, random forest, and k-nearest-neighbors. Nothing fancy here, just passing each to cross validation and determining how often the classifier predicted the correct class.
In [5]:
from sklearn.svm import SVC
from sklearn.ensemble import RandomForestClassifier as RF
from sklearn.neighbors import KNeighborsClassifier as KNN
def accuracy(y_true,y_pred):
# NumPy interprets True and False as 1. and 0.
return np.mean(y_true == y_pred)
print "Support vector machines:"
print "%.3f" % accuracy(y, run_cv(X,y,SVC))
print "Random forest:"
print "%.3f" % accuracy(y, run_cv(X,y,RF))
print "K-nearest-neighbors:"
print "%.3f" % accuracy(y, run_cv(X,y,KNN))
Support vector machines:
Random forest:
Random forest won, right?
Precision and recall
Measurements aren't golden formulas which always spit out high numbers for good models and low numbers for bad ones. Inherently they convey something sentiment about a model's performance, and it's the job of the human designer to determine each number's validity. The problem with accuracy is that outcomes aren't necessarily equal. If my classifier predicted a customer would churn and they didn't, that's not the best but it's forgivable. However, if my classifier predicted a customer would return, I didn't act, and then they churned... that's really bad.
I'll be using another built in scikit-learn function to construction a confusion matrix. A confusion matrix is a way of visualizing predictions made by a classifier and is just a table showing the distribution of predictions for a specific class. The x-axis indicates the true class of each observation (if a customer churned or not) while the y-axis corresponds to the class predicted by the model (if my classifier said a customer would churned or not).
In [6]:
from sklearn.metrics import confusion_matrix
y = np.array(y)
class_names = np.unique(y)
confusion_matrices = [
( "Support Vector Machines", confusion_matrix(y,run_cv(X,y,SVC)) ),
( "Random Forest", confusion_matrix(y,run_cv(X,y,RF)) ),
( "K-Nearest-Neighbors", confusion_matrix(y,run_cv(X,y,KNN)) ),
# Pyplot code not included to reduce clutter
from churn_display import draw_confusion_matrices
%matplotlib inline
An important question to ask might be, When an individual churns, how often does my classifier predict that correctly? This measurement is called "recall" and a quick look at these diagrams can demonstrate that random forest is clearly best for this criteria. Out of all the churn cases (outcome "1") random forest correctly retrieved 330 out of 482. This translates to a churn "recall" of about \(68\%\) (\(330 / 482 \approx 2/3\)), far better than support vector machines (\(\approx 50\%\)) or k-nearest-neighbors (\(\approx 35\%\)).
Another question of importance is "precision" or, When a classifier predicts an individual will churn, how often does that individual actually churn? The differences in semantic are small from the previous question, but it makes quite a different. Random forest again out preforms the other two at about \(93\%\) precision (330 out of 356) with support vector machines a little behind at about \(87\%\) (235 out of 269). K-nearest-neighbors lags at about \(80\%\).
While, just like accuracy, precision and recall still rank random forest above SVC and KNN, this won't always be true. When different measurements do return a different pecking order, understanding the values and trade-offs of each rating should effect how you proceed.
Thinking in Probabilities
Decision making often favors probability over simple classifications. There's plainly more information in statements like "there's a 20% chance of rain tomorrow" and "about 55% of test takers pass the California bar exam" than just saying "it shouldn't rain tomorrow" or "you'll probably pass." Probability predictions for churn also allow us to gauge a customers expected value, and their expected loss. Who do you want to reach out to first, the client with a 80% churn risk who pays \$20,000 annually, or the client who's worth \$100,000 a year with a 40% risk? How much should you spend on each client?
While I'm moving a bit away from my expertise, being able to ask that question requires producing predictions a little differently. However, scikit-learn makes moving to probabilities easy; my three models have predict_proba() built right into their class objects. This is the same cross validation code with only a few lines changed.
In [7]:
def run_prob_cv(X, y, clf_class, **kwargs):
y_prob = np.zeros((len(y),2))
for train_index, test_index in kf:
y_train = y[train_index]
clf = clf_class(**kwargs),y_train)
# Predict probabilities, not classes
y_prob[test_index] = clf.predict_proba(X_test)
return y_prob
How good is good?
Determining how good a predictor which gives probabilities rather than classes is a bit more difficult. If I predict there's a 20% likelihood of rain tomorrow I don't get to live out all the possible outcomes of the universe. It either rains or it doesn't.
What helps is that the predictors aren't making one prediction, they're making 3000+. So for every time I predict an event to occur 20% of the time I can see how often those events actually happen. Here's I use pandas to help me compare the predictions made by random forest against the actual outcomes.
In [8]:
import warnings
# Use 10 estimators so predictions are all multiples of 0.1
pred_prob = run_prob_cv(X, y, RF, n_estimators=10)
pred_churn = pred_prob[:,1]
is_churn = y == 1
# Number of times a predicted probability is assigned to an observation
counts = pd.value_counts(pred_churn)
# calculate true probabilities
true_prob = {}
for prob in counts.index:
true_prob[prob] = np.mean(is_churn[pred_churn == prob])
true_prob = pd.Series(true_prob)
# pandas-fu
counts = pd.concat([counts,true_prob], axis=1).reset_index()
counts.columns = ['pred_prob', 'count', 'true_prob']
pred_prob count true_prob
0 0.0 1765 0.028329
1 0.1 693 0.025974
2 0.2 269 0.070632
3 0.3 123 0.138211
4 0.4 77 0.350649
5 0.5 54 0.518519
6 0.6 73 0.835616
7 0.7 76 0.855263
8 0.8 70 0.957143
9 0.9 75 0.973333
10 1.0 58 1.000000
11 rows × 3 columns
We can see that random forests predicted that 75 individuals would have a 0.9 probability of churn and in actuality that group had a ~0.97 rate.
Calibration and Discrimination
Using the DataFrame above I can draw a pretty simple graph to help visualize probability measurements. The x axis represents the churn probabilities which random forest assigned to a group of individuals. The y axis is the actual rate of churn within that group, and each point is scaled relative to the size of the group.
In [9]:
from ggplot import *
%matplotlib inline
baseline = np.mean(is_churn)
ggplot(counts,aes(x='pred_prob',y='true_prob',size='count')) + \
geom_point(color='blue') + \
stat_function(fun = lambda x: x, color='red') + \
stat_function(fun = lambda x: baseline, color='green') + \
xlim(-0.05, 1.05) + ylim(-0.05,1.05) + \
ggtitle("Random Forest") + \
xlab("Predicted probability") + ylab("Relative frequency of outcome")
You may have also noticed the two lines I drew with stat_function().
The red line represents a perfect prediction for a given group, or when the churn probability forecasted equals the outcome frequency. The green line shows the baseline probability of churn. For this dataset it's about 0.15.
Calibration is a relatively simple measurement and can be summed up as so: Events predicted to happen 60% of the time should happen 60% of the time. For all individuals I predict to have a churn risk of between 30 and 40%, the true churn rate for that group should be about 35%. For the graph above think of it as, How close are my predictions to the red line?
Discrimination measures How far are my predictions away from the green line? Why is that important?
Well, if I assign a churn probability of 15% to every individual I'll have near perfect calibration due to averages, but I'll be lacking any real insight. Discrimination gives a model a better score if it's able to isolate groups which are further from the base set.
Scikit-learn doesn't come with these measurements, meaning I've had to implement them myself. For everyone's sake I've kept the math and source code out of this blog. Equations are replicated from Yang, Yates, and Smith (1991) and the code I wrote in the churn_measurements import below can be found on GitHub here.
In [10]:
from churn_measurements import calibration, discrimination
Let's see how my three models fair on these measurements.
In [11]:
def print_measurements(pred_prob):
churn_prob, is_churn = pred_prob[:,1], y == 1
print " %-20s %.4f" % ("Calibration Error", calibration(churn_prob, is_churn))
print " %-20s %.4f" % ("Discrimination", discrimination(churn_prob,is_churn))
print "Note -- Lower calibration is better, higher discrimination is better"
print "Support vector machines:"
print "Random forests:"
print "K-nearest-neighbors:"
Note -- Lower calibration is better, higher discrimination is better
Support vector machines:
Calibration Error 0.0017
Discrimination 0.0667
Random forests:
Calibration Error 0.0079
Discrimination 0.0830
Calibration Error 0.0022
Discrimination 0.0449
Unlike the classification comparisons earlier, random forest isn't as clearly the front-runner here. While it's good at differentiating between high and low probability churn events, it has trouble assigning an accurate probability estimate to those events. For example the group which random forest predicts to have a 30% churn rate actually had a true churn rate of 14%. Clearly there's more work to be done, but I leave that to you as a challenge.
Putting the model to use with Yhat
Time to upload a model to the cloud! In order to show some cool functionality, I'm going to go ahead and create a test set from the original churn data using test_train_split() from sklearn. From there, I fit a support vector classifier for my deployment.
In [12]:
from sklearn.cross_validation import train_test_split
train_index,test_index = train_test_split(churn_df.index)
clf = SVC(probability=True)[train_index],y[train_index])
test_churn_df = churn_df.ix[test_index]
The model I'm going to deploy using yhat replicates the pipeline of this blog with a few modifications. Because I already defined variables within my global scope such as yes_no_cols, features, and scaler I can just use them without having to specify them further.
On the methodological side I've added a few calculations. First the customer worth has been added (the sum of the total charges to that individual). Combining this value with probability of churn creates a very important measurement: the expected loss of revenue from that customer. This is where an accurate prediction model plays an important role as it's impossible to produce these values with only classifications.
In [13]:
from yhat import Yhat,YhatModel,preprocess
class ChurnModel(YhatModel):
# Type casts incoming data as a dataframe
def execute(self,data):
# Collect customer meta data
response = data[['Area Code','Phone']]
charges = ['Day Charge','Eve Charge','Night Charge','Intl Charge']
response['customer_worth'] = data[charges].sum(axis=1)
# Convert yes no columns to bool
data[yes_no_cols] = data[yes_no_cols] == 'yes'
# Create feature space
X = data[features].as_matrix().astype(float)
X = scaler.transform(X)
# Make prediction
churn_prob = clf.predict_proba(X)
response['churn_prob'] = churn_prob[:,1]
# Calculate expected loss by churn
response['expected_loss'] = response['churn_prob'] * response['customer_worth']
response = response.sort('expected_loss', ascending=False)
# Return response DataFrame
return response
yh = Yhat(
"MY API KEY",
response = yh.deploy("PythonChurnModel",ChurnModel,globals())
Are you sure you want to deploy? (y/N): y
Yhat batch mode
There comes a point when data science tools need to stop being scripts on an EC2 instance and start solving problems. In this case, empowering a retention team by warning them about customers likely to churn.
Our M.O. here at Yhat is finding ways to make data science applicable and practical as quickly as possible. Because my execute() function takes and returns a DataFrame, Yhat allows me to invoke my routine through a batch-scoring mode. The concept is simple. Upload a csv file from anywhere, the model pipeline is executed and the user gets a csv file back. This means that my method for scoring customers for churn-risk can be utilized by anyone else at my company regardless of their technical know-how, understanding of machine learning, or technical dependencies like Python or R.
Logging into and selecting my model gives me the following screen. The csv file I uploaded was the training data I created in the last section--in practice, this would be a new file exported from our CRM or customer database in the same format as the one I used to train the model.
Wait a second, download the resulting file at the bottom of the page when it's ready, and open it in Excel.
And there you go. Over 800 customers ranked and analyzed via drag and drop.
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Yhat (pronounced Y-hat) provides data science and decision management solutions that let data scientists create, deploy and integrate insights into any business application without IT or custom coding.
With Yhat, data scientists can use their preferred scientific tools (e.g. R and Python) to develop analytical projects in the cloud collaboratively and then deploy them as highly scalable real-time decision making APIs for use in customer- or employee-facing apps. | <urn:uuid:138c85f2-b978-4785-96c2-8fd30438ae49> | http://blog.yhat.com/posts/predicting-customer-churn-with-sklearn.html | en | 0.869537 | 0.590705 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Speaking Event: Who Tells The Story?
When & Where
Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club
2900 Sand Hill Road
Menlo Park, CA 94025
October 1, 2013 - 6:00pm - 10:30pm
Internews Dinner and Conversation
How can journalism prepare communities for extreme climate change? Why are radios as critical as shelter in a natural disaster? And why is internet governance the freedom of speech issue of our time? Join leading journalists and international development experts in a conversation and dinner about the changing role of information in the digital age.
Speakers include: Ed Wasserman, Randy Newcomb, James Fahn, Kathleen Reen, Jacobo Quintanilla, and more to be announced. Moderated by Internews President, Jeanne Bourgault.
The dinner supports Internews, the leading international non-profit organization engaged in securing the free flow of information in some of the world's most challenging environments. Proceeds from this event support our core mission to give people the information they need, the ability to connect and the means to make their voices heard. | <urn:uuid:86f8fd63-91fa-4f0a-8ca6-7983f01dd849> | http://globalexchange.org/events/speaking-event-who-tells-story | en | 0.896079 | 0.154725 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
HP OpenVMS Systems
ask the wizard
Content starts here
Fibre Channel, Switches, and Booting?
» close window
The Question is:
Booting VMS from a fibre channel MA8000 box that's behind a cascated fibre
channel switch.
We have two MA8000 fibre channel stroge boxes installed. Both at a different
building, the connection between the two MA8000 is through FC switches which
are in cascate. The VMS machine is only connected onto one of those FC
swicthes. We want to use shado
wing to mirror the boot disk. Now my question is: is it possible to boot from
the other box ? From the Alpha SRM concole I can see de volumes in the box
that's directly connected to the FC switch as the VMS machine is connected to,
but I can't see the vol
umes from the box connected to the other switch.
The Answer is :
Please see the current Fibre Channel documentation available at the
OpenVMS Website for details on configuring Fibre Channel on OpenVMS.
answer written or last revised on ( 6-FEB-2001 )
» close window | <urn:uuid:c676b2d9-3e00-4584-bdfe-e2520fc7e35d> | http://h41379.www4.hpe.com/wizard/wiz_5740.html | en | 0.908037 | 0.138184 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
RE: Issue 16: methods with void return type and no out params
From: Henrik Frystyk Nielsen <henrikn@microsoft.com>
Date: Sun, 27 May 2001 10:52:04 -0700
Message-ID: <79107D208BA38C45A4E45F62673A434D0297CC9C@red-msg-07.redmond.corp.microsoft.com>
To: "Frank DeRose" <frankd@tibco.com>, <xml-dist-app@w3.org>
Thanks Frank for starting this,
Before diving into the details, here are a few of what I consider
(subtle) distinctions in SOAP:
* Because SOAP is a wire protocol, it doesn't really say anything about
what a method call is or how method calls are invoked (whether they
block etc.) within a particular implementation. All it really says (I
believe) is that *if* one has such a thing as a method call or a
response then this is how they can be encoded using the SOAP data model.
* The SOAP RPC convention (how to encode method calls and results) is
independent of the HTTP binding (request and response). It *may* be used
in combination with HTTP in which case HTTP provides the correlation
between requests and responses etc. but HTTP is of course also a wire
protocol that knows nothing about method invocations. I have sometimes
referred to RPC and HTTP as nested protocol bindings.
* SOAP says nothing about which guarantees the caller has for the
request to reach the other end or a response to make it all the way back
to the caller. If used in combination with HTTP then HTTP gives certain
guarantees and we know that we have a HTTP response that is either a
success or a failure.
* The RPC convention doesn't require that a RPC convention request MUST
be followed by an RPC convention response. In fact it is perfectly valid
for a caller to use the RPC convention for the request and then get back
a plain HTTP response with a GIF image, for example. Also, the current
text does not disallow not sending any SOAP response at all but simply
an empty HTTP response.
* When using HTTP, the HTTP status code determines the outcome of an
HTTP request. For example, one can imagine sending a SOAP HTTP request
that uses the RPC convention but HTTP requires authentication and sends
back a 401 Access Denied response without a SOAP response. In other
words, the caller has to be able to deal with HTTP only responses when
using the HTTP binding. A 200 Ok response code without a SOAP message
doesn't seem to be special in this regard.
* While the body element must be present in all SOAP messages, it can
indeed be empty
That is, I think there are several things we have to keep separate:
a) The implementation semantics of method invocations vs. the wire
b) The RPC convention vs. the HTTP binding
c) The delivery guarantees of messages vs. request/response message
d) The encoding of requests and responses from saying that a request
must be followed by a response using the same encoding.
>Although I can't say for sure what the "original intent" of
>the SOAP authors was (perhaps they would be so kind as to tell
>us), my own understanding of Section 7.1 is that they intended
>behavior 4. This would also be the behavior I would recommend
>for reasons expressed below.
My opinion is that if there is nothing to send back then we should not
require anything to be sent back simply because the RPC convention is
not a real protocol by itself. This is similar to the MIME
multipart/related binding which is also not a real protocol. Because one
sends a SOAP message in a MIME multipart/related in one direction
doesn't require that one has to receive a MIME multipart/related
When the RPC convention is used in combination with HTTP then HTTP
provides a certain delivery service but that is a property of HTTP and
not of the RPC convention. If the RPC convention is used in combination
with other protocols then the desired level of service may be achieved
in other ways.
If we require a response to be returned then do we also have to say
whether it is synchronous or asynchronous? What if I use UDP as the
underlying protocol - do we also define the level of guarantee for the
response to reach the caller along with retry algorithms?
>The last sentence of Section 7.1 reads:
>"Because a result indicates success and a fault indicates
>failure, it is an error for the method response to contain
>both a result and a fault."
>I suggest replacing this sentence with the following sentences:
>"A SOAP RPC reply message MUST contain either a response or a
>fault in the body. A SOAP RPC reply message MUST NOT contain
>both a response and a fault in the body. In the case of a
>method with a void return type and no [out] or [in,out]
>parameters, the response MUST be empty."
>[2] http://www.w3.org/TR/SOAP/#_Toc478383533
>[3] http://www.w3.org/TR/SOAP/#_Toc478383494
Received on Sunday, 27 May 2001 13:56:02 UTC
| <urn:uuid:95c346af-3d34-4c5c-8835-8f06671d64b1> | http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/xml-dist-app/2001May/0340.html | en | 0.885809 | 0.159911 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
RESOLVCONF(8) NetBSD System Manager's Manual RESOLVCONF(8)
resolvconf -- a framework for managing multiple DNS configurations
resolvconf -I
resolvconf [-m metric] [-p] [-x] -a interface[.protocol] <file
resolvconf [-f] -d interface[.protocol]
resolvconf [-x] -il pattern
resolvconf -u
resolvconf manages resolv.conf(5) files from multiple sources, such as
that updates /etc/resolv.conf. More modern systems frequently have wired
many things now contend for the contents of /etc/resolv.conf.
resolvconf solves this by letting the daemon send their resolv.conf(5)
file to resolvconf via stdin(4) with the argument -a interface[.protocol]
instead of the filesystem. resolvconf then updates /etc/resolv.conf as
as dnsmasq(8) or named(8), then resolvconf will supply files that the
resolver should be configured to include.
resolvconf assumes it has a job to do. In some situations resolvconf
needs to act as a deterrent to writing to /etc/resolv.conf. Where this
file cannot be made immutable or you just need to toggle this behaviour,
resolvconf can be disabled by adding resolvconf=NO to resolvconf.conf(5).
resolvconf can mark an interfaces resolv.conf as private. This means
that the name servers listed in that resolv.conf are only used for
works when a local resolver other than libc is installed. See
resolvconf.conf(5) for how to configure resolvconf to use a local name
resolvconf can mark an interfaces resolv.conf as exclusive. Only the
latest exclusive interface is used for processing, otherwise all are.
When an interface goes down, it should then call resolvconf with -d
interface.* arguments to delete the resolv.conf file(s) for all the
protocols on the interface.
Here are some options for the above commands:-
-f Ignore non existant interfaces. Only really useful for deleting
-m metric
Lower metrics take precedence. This affects the default order of
interfaces when listed.
-p Marks the interface resolv.conf as private.
-x Mark the interface resolv.conf as exclusive when adding, other-
wise only use the latest exclusive interface.
resolvconf has some more commands for general usage:-
-i pattern
List the interfaces and protocols, optionally matching pattern,
we have resolv.conf files for.
-l pattern
List the resolv.conf files we have. If pattern is specified then
we list the files for the interfaces and protocols that match it.
-u Force resolvconf to update all its subscribers. resolvconf does
not update the subscribers when adding a resolv.conf that matches
what it already has for that interface.
resolvconf also has some commands designed to be used by it's subscribers
and system startup:-
-I Initialise the state directory /var/run/resolvconf. This only
needs to be called if the initial system boot sequence does not
automatically clean it out; for example the state directory is
moved somewhere other than /var/run. If used, it should only be
called once as early in the system boot sequence as possible and
before resolvconf is used to add interfaces.
-R Echo the command used to restart a service.
-r service
If the service is running then restart it. If the service does
not exist or is not running then zero is returned, otherwise the
result of restarting the service.
-v Echo variables DOMAINS, SEARCH and NAMESERVERS so that the sub-
scriber can configure the resolver easily.
-V Same as -v except that only the information configured in
resolvconf.conf(5) is set.
For resolvconf to work effectively, it has to process the resolv.confs
for the interfaces in the correct order. resolvconf first processes
interfaces from the interface_order list, then interfaces without a metic
and that match the dynamic_order list, then interfaces with a metric in
order and finally the rest in the operating systems lexical order. See
resolvconf.conf(5) for details on these lists.
Here are some suggested protocol tags to use for each resolv.conf file
registered on an interface:-
dhcp Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. Initial versions of
resolvconf did not recommend a protocol tag be appended to the
interface name. When the protocol is absent, it is assumed to be
the DHCP protocol.
ppp Point-to-Point Protocol.
ra IPv6 Router Advertisement.
dhcp6 Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, version 6.
If a subscriber has the executable bit then it is executed otherwise it
is assumed to be a shell script and sourced into the current environment
in a subshell. This is done so that subscribers can remain fast, but are
also not limited to the shell language.
Portable subscribers should not use anything outside of /bin and /sbin
because /usr and others may not be available when booting. Also, it
would be unwise to assume any shell specific features.
If the -m option is not present then we use IF_METRIC for the metric.
Marks the interface resolv.conf as private.
Marks the interface resolv.conf as exclusive.
Backup file of the original resolv.conf.
Configuration file for resolvconf.
Directory of subscribers which are run every time resolvconf adds,
deletes or updates.
Directory of subscribers which are run after the libc subscriber is run.
State directory for resolvconf.
resolver(3), stdin(4), resolv.conf(5), resolvconf.conf(5)
This implementation of resolvconf is called openresolv and is fully com-
mand line compatible with Debian's resolvconf, as written by Thomas Hood.
Roy Marples <>
Please report them to
resolvconf does not validate any of the files given to it.
it to include files that resolvconf will generate. You should consult
resolvconf.conf(5) for instructions on how to configure your resolver.
NetBSD 7.0 February 23, 2016 NetBSD 7.0
©1994 Man-cgi 1.15, Panagiotis Christias <>
©1996-2016 Modified for NetBSD by Kimmo Suominen | <urn:uuid:47883e97-0c22-4e06-97de-f151e63d7524> | http://netbsd.gw.com/cgi-bin/man-cgi?resolvconf+8+NetBSD-current | en | 0.895192 | 0.085056 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Timeline: Final days of Benedict XVI’s papacy and the conclave to elect a new pope
Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation will become official on Feb. 28, and the conclave of cardinals to elect a new pope will begin soon after. Here’s a timeline to browse significant events planned before Benedict’s resignation and what happens afterwards. We’ll update this timeline when the Vatican announces a date for the start of the conclave. Feb. | <urn:uuid:29936846-b102-47e4-bc2e-c4aea8908e65> | http://religionnews.com/author/danielburke/page/2/ | en | 0.824628 | 0.143737 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Friday, August 31, 2012
How Much is Too Much?
At the moment we are all having fun playing with our new buttons. Click them or bind them it doesn't make a difference, new is new and we all want to use them to see what they can do.
The thing is, unlike some new buttons, these ones in nearly all cases are not just something you will play with for a short time and forget about, they are becoming a part of your rotation. In some cases they will become a huge part of your rotation.
They are not replacing anything in most cases, they are being added. The priest choosing to buff up their shadow fiend might not have an additional button, but that is the exception, not the rule.
So it leaves me to ask, how much is too much?
I wrote a long time ago explaining how three is a magic number. The human mind has an amazing way of dealing with things in groups of three. We can remember it easily, perhaps without even trying. So if the game wanted to make things easy they would group things in threes.
For damage dealers it would be three standard buttons for a rotation, three utility buttons, three cooldowns. Max, that would be it. For tanks it would be three damage dealing abilities, three high aggro abilities and three defensive cooldowns. For healers it would be three main heals, three situational heals and/or utilities and three big cooldowns.
It would make it easiest for people to learn if it were simple like that. Now to people like me, you and the people that read the forums these new buttons might not serve as much of a problem. In most cases it is only adding three things at the moment. While we get more later, we have three things to learn to use now. That is good design, that is what our brains are wired to understand.
But what about anyone not playing right now? What about those players that were having problems with all the buttons they already had? What about people that have not even started playing yet?
I'll learn to use my three new hunter cooldowns because it is three for me. For someone that has never played a hunter it is a lot more than three. Now they get to look at the future and see what could have already been a 7 button priority is now a 10 or 12 or even 15 button one.
The more buttons, the more intimidating it becomes. The more buttons, the more chances there are for mistakes. The more buttons the more likely people will not be able to play their role well.
Take shaman healing for an example. It was always the simplest healer to teach people with in my opinion. Yes, there are some complexities involved that would set the good and great ones apart but anyone could be a good shaman healer because it was simple.
One thing for every situation. One HoT, one small heal, one large heal, one multi heal and one quick expensive heal. They added one ground effect heal and a totem cooldown this expansion. Now they add more stuff to clutter up the bars.
The more they add the more choices the new shaman healer has and the more chance they will make the wrong choice. When it was just the basics you could have turned any person that never healed into a healer easily. The good ones would move on to learn the finer points and become great healers and the not so good ones were still capable of healing randoms and normal raids. All because there were fewer buttons. Now, shaman healing can be quite imposing to someone that never healed before because there are more buttons and while to the experienced player they are nice new abilities to anyone new to the role they just add a whole mess of confusion.
Now with all these buttons people, no matter the role, that are not already at end game and only learning a few new things, will have a mountain to climb in the learning process.
Just take Beastmastery for a hunter as an example. The spec that was always supposed to be the easy spec for players, that was the intention, has now become something that would scare a new player away. Just look at it.
Warning: This might not be the actually best rotation at 90 as that is still being worked on.
Beast Mastery Rotation:
1) Hunters Mark before pull
2) Serpent Sting
3) Dire Beast
4) Stampede
5) Bestial Wrath
6) Rapid Fire
7) Kill Command
8) Glaive Toss
8) Readiness
10) Kill Command
11) Glaive Toss
12) Cobra Shot (to refresh sting that should be close to falling off)
Now we can start our priority rotation
1) Serpent Sting (if it fell off)
2) Rapid Fire
3) Readiness (but only if RF and BW are on cooldown, maybe DB, GT and KC if it lines up)
4) Stampede
5) Kill Shot (if under 20%)
6) Focus Fire (but not if BW is active, hit as soon as BW ends)
7) Bestial Wrath
8) Kill Command
9) Dire Beast (but only if a beast is not already up)
10) Lynx Rush (delay if BW will be activated in less than 10 seconds)
11) Glaive Toss
12) Arcane Shot (if needed to bleed focus)
13) Cobra Shot (to keep sting up, move up if sting is about to fall off)
If this is supposed to be the easy rotation I think blizzard and I have a different definition of easy. But compared to survival and marksman, this is easy. A 13 shot priority that follows a 12 shot set up just to lead you to using it. That is not a priority, that is a list.
Lets not forget all the little conditionals for many of those abilities. Like never hitting focus fire while your pet is under the effects of bestial wrath, never calling dire beast even if readiness resets it if there is a dire beast already out, making sure to squeeze in that cobra shot so serpent sting does not fall off, delaying lynx rush if you are going to be entering bestial wrath soon. It is a lot more that just a priority, it is a priority jam packed with conditionals.
Don't forget your situational abilities either.
1) Aspects.
2) Silencing, binding or wyvern depending on which you took.
3) Traps
4) Widow Venom
5) Misdirection
6) Tranquilizing Shot
7) Distracting Shot
8) Concussive Shot
9) Intimidation
Note: And you have defensive abilities too.
1) Disengage
2) Deterence
3) Feign Death
And lets not even get into pets because I am going to make that a post of its own but you can bring a whole slew of buffs and as BM you can bring even more than the other hunters. Not to mention your pets have cooldowns that could be used for utility or DPS that you need to micro manage to get the most of them adding even more abilities to your plate. Also, now that growl is a true taunt there will surely be times were your pet taunting will be a useful raid tool and yet another thing you will need to micro manage.
Yeap, BM is the easy hunter spec. With all that, and more I did not list, at their disposal you have to wonder, why would anyone want to start playing a class if this is the easy rotation.
Sometimes you really have to think, how much is too much?
Perhaps it is just me but I think a total of 17 key binds for DPS should be the absolute maximum. That should include all situationals, all cooldowns and all trinkets or proc based things. The basic rotation to get good DPS should be 5 keys, no more. Ever.
I wish I only had 17 now and to think more are coming, it is just too much. In my opinion at least.
How much do you think is too much?
1. It's hard to put a number on, it depends on what those buttons 'do'.
I like having abilities that actually do something significantly different from another one (ie pre-Cata Blast Wave, easily one of my Mage's favorite spells), as then their existence has 'a point' beyond mere damage/damage enhancement;
I like utility/situational spells (ranging from Dispells and things like Undying Breath), as they are 'the right tool for the right moment' and tickle me for knowing when to use it etc.
I am not a fan of buttons that seemingly have no function beyond increasing a rotation, I like knowing when to use an ability on the spur much more than being a CD virtuoso etc.
So for example, pre-MoP Patch I liked the 'salad bar' of Death Knights more than those of Protadins (let alone Holydins), as ''this CD increaes dmg by 20%'' this CD increases protection by 50%'' etc. are more annoying than entertianing to me.
Come to think of it, perhaps 'I don't like CD abilities that have no other function than to enhance other abilities' would be a nice summary. Instead of gutting the Talent system, they should have IMO have done away with a lot of those instead, those are what i would call useless clutter.
Though I'm probabably not the target audience for rotations in the first place.
1. Clutter, that is the perfect word for what it is now. All just clutter. So there are a dozen abilities that all are "press and do X damage to target". Nearly none of them interact with each other. So it ends up just being a rotation like this.
1) Hit this to do 10 damage.
2) Hit this to do 40 damage.
3) Hit this to do 15 damage.
4) Hit this to do 55 damage.
As four different spells when it would just be easier to make one spell that just hits for 30 each shot and press that 4 times.
As it is, this is a hunter rotation for the most part. Clutter. 4 shots do to one thing, damage and nothing but. It could easily be one shot that does 30 instead of 4 different ones that do 10, 40, 15 and 55.
Don't know why but I love that word clutter. It never came to my mind while writing this but it fits so perfectly.
I could have just said that everyone toolbars look a bit cluttered right now.
2. Anon, Grumpy's GL:
Actually I have found it to be the other way for my priests and paladins, less clutter all around. I put everything into a hotkey slot: all my spells, trinkets, mounts that are in use (usually 3 for land, air and sea), potions and flasks, bandages, gear sets, etc.
My paladins, being ret, have fewer things to work with now, most of the heals not being available and so on. Surprisingly, I find this to be far more effective and convenient than I thought it would be as I was setting it up. The work on rebuilding the retribution paladin looks good to me so far.
With regards to my priests, I still have the hugest toolbox possible of heals for Holy, but things still feel less cluttered than before. Pretty much the same for Discipline and Shadow, with a less cluttered feel to it.
Can't really speak to the other classes yet as I have not done more than a cursory setup on any of them.
1. I can't really speak from a ret standpoint as I dread melee with a passion, so while I might play with it just to learn it so I can help others I would never get to the level of actually knowing their entire toolbox first hand. But with that said, I find my priest actually fared well, like I noted in the post, there were a lot of replacement spells and the loss of a few, most painfully divine hymn which leaves me to wonder what the hell am I going to have as a big heal now in disc, but over all my skills still ended up with a net gain. Although smaller than my tanks and DPS and other healers.
As far as additions go, from what I have seen so far, priests have the least and if you spec into passive instead of active (like I did) you can have even less added buttons.
3. And you don't even have Ravens in that rotation! I agree, it seems a little complex now. But then again, BM has always been the simple spec, so if it's now more complex, but SV is simpler, that's okay I feel. As long as one of the specs is simple, the other one or two can be more complicated. (I don't know if SV or MM are simpler, I am just saying, if they are.)
1. That is the easy rotation. MM and SV are harder. Actually I read somewhere that MM is now the hardest rotation in the game to do correctly and not be focus capped.
And if you look at the sims for heroic T14, and I know it will be fixed, right now top is 138K (fury warrior 2 handed) and bottom is 95K (MM hunter).
Nice, give hunters the hardest rotation in the game and then make sure they are dead last if they can master it.
Sure, there always needs to be a first and a last but a 43K difference between first and last is a little out of hand if you ask me.
4. I've been trying to get a handle on the new toolset for both BM and SV. I've hit the dummies, I've done LFR, I've done Heroic DS (got our first H spine and H madness kills last night).
My DPS went up across the board but generally so did everyone elses. However, instead of following a rotation or even a priority system, I feel like I'm just playing whack-a-mole with my action bars especially since there are too many buttons to handle easily with keybinds.
I can't keep Serpent Sting up in BM and barely manage it in SV (this should change as we level since we won't have so much focus but still). I can't figure out when to use Readiness. It's supposed to be used when things are on CD but nothing is ever on CD. It's always... oh, that's off CD now, hit it, oh, now this is off CD, hit that, oh, now... I've mostly gotten a handle on Dire Beast and Lynx Rush (used on BM) but Murder of Crows is a pain because it costs so much focus. When it's off CD, I don't have 60 focus to cast so I have to smash cobra a couple times so I can use it which tends to cause an explosive shot or black arrow to get delayed. And I'm sure that key abilities are getting delayed anyway because I'm using so many extra GCDs for the new abilities and I know I get focus capped way too often.
For BM and SV, I just feel that the addition of Readiness would have been enough of a change and MM was complicated enough already.
The new Talent abilities are "cool" but after trying to use them in a raiding scenario, they're just a pain in the ass. The 4.3 rotations for MM, BM, and SV already had enough going on in them... We really did not need more buttons to press. And they can't even be macro'd to something else because they're all on the GCD... On my alts, I'm just going with the passive abilities as much as possible, I really don't care if the cast abilities are supposedly better or not; I probably lose more dps than I gain by complicating the rotations.
Oh, and the Kill Command bug is %&*(#($&^ annoying. I wanted to go full BM except for maybe Blackhorn. Instead I had to go SV for the last 4 bosses and I'm not as good at SV, especially with all the new stuff.
1. You basically nailed it there. It is just too much going on. There was enough to deal with already and they added more. So much so it went into whack a mole mentality and you can never whack everything.
I have not been able to grasp it as quick as you have, my DPS has seen a significant drop in survial to the tune of 6K and have seen myself drop so badly in MM I have now dropped the spec completely for now and will go back to it later. When I can only manage 60% of my potential I feel it is a failure.
BM seems like too much going on as well. Like you said, keeping your sting up becomes a huge problem because there is always some pet ability or another to use I never, or rarely, have a chance to do damage myself. I have however gotten some decent numbers out of BM, without even reforging for it, so that seems to be a little more user friendly even if a lot harder than it was like the others. I've seen myself burst up to 85K with it, which is quite impressive compared to what I am used to. In the end however, it seems to settle down. The bugs on many fights make it non-viable at the moment sadly because it seems to be the best spec for hunters right now.
5. To me it's a matter of how much movement I have to do with my hand.
Our new DK was power leveling so he'd get to 85 and geared for hc raiding in less than a week so I joined him on my lock through half a day of randoms from lvl 82 to 84. By the end of it, my hand hurt. That's when it's too much.
On my paladin tank atm I have about the same amount of buttons as I used to have. But now I have to move my fingers more. I have a small hand and I haven't been able to find a mouse with more than the default 2 buttons + wheel that isn't the size of China, so I have to put everything on my keyboard. Which leads to a lot of pain when there are too many buttons to constantly press...
What I want to say, I don't really care of how many cooldown buttons I have (and I'm looking at stuff with 1+ minute CD). I do care about buttons I have to constantly press into my rotation every few seconds though. Atm for my tank it's 7 buttons for a boss. I can comfortably press exactly 5 buttons without moving my hand (just moving fingers slightly to the left and right). Maybe 6. So too much for me is when I have to lift my hand every 3-5 seconds.
I remember Blizz talking about the number of core abilities they think a class should have. They said 4, iirc. Wonder what happened to that design.
1. I just set up my paladin yesterday and was looking over things and rebinding stuff and crying at the loss of righteous defense. I said the same thing you did, looks like I have about the same buttons that I had before. Same with my shaman really, just a totem change for the most part. So for me, playing all 10 classes, shaman healers and paladins tanks got the least abuse this patch as I see it.
I have yet to try tanking on my paladin but it seems like it will be not as bad as I thought it would be. I am still at 74% of the CtC which is pretty impressive being we are supposed to be moving to active mitigation and I have not played my paladin since early firelands, so it only has mostly 378 gear with a sprinkle of 397 and 359 gear. Over my four tanks this one seems like it will be the easiest, maybe tied with DKs, to learn again. Already tanked heroic DS on my bear and did not have any issues, but that was a big change. I can't wait to get into the fray with my paladin, looks like it will be fun.
2. I have one of each tanks as well. DK seems the easiest atm, since nothing really changed. Bear also feels about the same to me.Haven't tried my warrior yet since myOT is warr and I don't really feel compelled to bring it up to date. Paladin is more frantic and we have no real hard hitter anymore, which kind of bothers me. Censure is almost my top damaging ability and that speaks tomes. Also a little distracted by the fact that I have 3 things to follow now when I used to be able to just focus on my raid - that is weakened blows that I have to aplly on single target with an aoe move of all things, HP resources for 5 stacks and sacred shield buff. Atm can't seem to not look at the HP bar but I'm sure I'll get used to it. But I had some real fun with BL yesterday, since we scale with haste now. Was pushing my buttons like crazy. I love my Sacred Shield once more. Pity no more HS. Paladin will be awesome for self sustaining and for group help, I can feel it. Paladin tanking is being a tank and half a raid healer all in one, you have some other responsibilities when you can loh, wog, hand of sacrificem, protect etc people.
Anyway. I also mourn the loss of RD, it was one of the things that separated paladins form other tanks.
Block is on two rolls so we don't add numbers as CTC like we used to anymore. there's no such thing as 74% CTC anymore. I felt the masive merf to our block and the passive mitigation loss right away.
3. Did not realize they changed the way block works in that respect.
I love the shield, it is something you can use on yourself or the other raid tank when he is tanking. It makes you a healer and a tank in a way. A quality paladin tank can now bring a lot more to the table than just tanking.
They have also boosted the DPS of warrior and paladin tanks a great deal with again makes it feel as if you are contributing more to the group than just being mr meat shield.
I like all the changes to tanking personally and think they should have come a long time ago.
I am one, of the probably few, that thought aggro was a dated idea. Aggro should never be anything a tank ever needs to think about. They should be worried more about survivability, and helping the raid in other areas, like the shield or with DPS. That makes the role a lot more exciting and might remove it from its "most boring role in the game in a raid setting by a long shot" where I have held it in my opinion of it since the first time I ever tanked a raid and nearly fell asleep doing it. | <urn:uuid:59db5bd8-8472-4aae-8a76-e01fc8d0f8b0> | http://thegrumpyelf.blogspot.com/2012/08/how-much-is-too-much.html | en | 0.973882 | 0.101327 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
: Q. for anyone who knows re: FWD N* - Why Transverse?
07-20-04, 02:33 PM
Well, the title kinda says it all..just wondered why it was decided to turn the N* sideways. Is it because a transverse V8 is easier to adopt to FWD?
That's the only reason I can think of, it just seems that you lose a fair amount of energy when you turn that driveshaft this way 'n' that to get power to the wheels...
I suppose in the new RWD models it's twisted back the right way???
07-20-04, 03:13 PM
Fits in better that way--more room for passenger compartment on shorter wheelbase...having always opposed FWD cars on principle I have to say my Eldorado is excellent in snow and ice. I still prefer being pushed by my car rather than pulled plus the serviceability of RWD is superior but it's like saying you like fins on cars...
07-21-04, 10:10 AM
:coolgleam Transverse mounting in a FWD car takes up less space. Also the transmission design may be simpler then but I couldn't say for sure. The old-school Toronados and Eldorados were FWD with a front-to-rear mounted engine, but that was back in the bigger-is-better days when nobody cared about weight or fuel efficiency.
07-21-04, 05:18 PM
The definitely do increase interior space..... They can really cram a LOT in the enigne bay (mechanics nightmare), and there are less parts... Instead of having a rearend, the final drive is in the tranny (making it a transaxle)...
07-21-04, 08:24 PM
On the contrary--the transaxle is MUCH more complex than the transmission/differential setup of yesteryear. But the advantage is in manufacturing cuz they can set that engine/transaxle up and drop it in in one fell swoop and be done. A nightmare ESPECIALLY for DIYers...
07-29-04, 06:24 PM
Intrepids and LHSs and other front wheel drive Chryslers like that all have their engines mounted the normal way. Just thought I'd throw that in :)
07-29-04, 06:55 PM
Interesting, cuz I assumed ALL the FWD cars had the transversely mounted engines...
07-30-04, 03:03 PM
If there's no need for a driveshaft back to rear wheels, why does my Deville still have that hump running down the middle of the passenger compartment? Is it just there for the console box and rear seat ventilation vent to sit on?
I guess if you think about it, you can come up with all sorts of interesting observations. I've had several 4 cylinder FWD cars, and they were, to the best of my recollection, all transverse mounted - a 76 Honda Accord, an 81 Chrysler Laser (Turbo), and an 85 Isuzu Impulse, also turbo. The last two had their engines cocked way off kilter as well, to keep the t/charger mechanisms lower. I may be wrong about the Accord engine, can't really remember.
I assume the N* in the new RWD configurations is bolted in the "regular" way?
07-30-04, 07:23 PM
that hump in your FWD deville is to house the Exhaust pipe..cat etc...i asked the same question a few years back...and finally found out when i put my car on a lift ... ;)
07-30-04, 07:27 PM
The concept of 'unibody' or monocoque frame construction goes hand in hand w/ the FWD: the body IS the frame (unlike the traditional 'body on frame' construction, with a ladder-like frame). So that hump down the middle is there to add strength to the body, which is the frame. My 94 Eldo was apart recently for HGs (head gaskets) and it was amazing to see the cradle in which the engine lives dropped completely out, leaving only the painted body (no frame rails) and rear suspension...kind of ironic that we lost the drive shaft but still have to have that hump robbing the interior of legroom. I will add that in the dinosaur days of FWD (early Eldo, Toronado) the hump was pretty minimal.
08-03-04, 11:53 AM
Yep - confirms my thoughts, esp. w/regard to the unibody - adding a nice "bend" in the floorpan probably adds strength and reduces diagonal twisting. Thx guys....
Anthony Cipriano
08-03-04, 03:12 PM
You could write a book on the advantages/disadvantages of transverse vs. longitundinal engine mounting, FWD vs. RWD, transaxles vs. rear axles and driveshafts, etcetera.
About the only statement one can positively make concerning the various arrangements is that there is no single "best" powertrain arrangement for all applications. There are so many factors that must be taken into account for the vehicles in question that there's just no single one way of doing it that fits all applications.
Generally speaking, with passenger cars, front wheel drive is nice because it concentrates all the powertrain in the front of the vehicle. This provides pluses for packaging, driveability (traction) in inclement weather, assembly, cost, mass, etcetera. Since the structure of the vehicle that is supporting the heavy bits (the engine, transmission, driveline) with the FWD arrangement is all at the front the rear of the car doesn't have to have the heavy structure and mounting assemblies associated with the loads of RWD. This allows the vehicle to be made lighter - and lighter equals fuel economy. Mounting the engine sideways parrallel to the transmission and driveshafts eliminates the right angle gear drive necessitating a hypoid style gear set that has high frictional losses - more fuel economy gain.
To the vast majority of drivers any "handling" advantage of RWD in a passenger car is mostly in their heads. The FWD cars are unquestionably better in rain, snow and ice and are inherently more stable in slippery conditions as wheel spin manifests itself as relatively benign understeer rather than sudden oversteer as with RWD. Otherwise, on dry pavement 90% of drivers in 90% of driving conditions cannot tell the difference between FWD and RWD. Admittedly you will never see a FWD F1 car but that's not a passenger car on real roads in the real world.
Since trucks have frames out of necessity to carry heavy loads (on occasion) the issue of the structural savings with FWD is negated. Similarily, when trucks are loaded or have trailers attached, the traction advantages of FWD dissappear quickly and become a detriment - unless you get the rear wheels on the algae on a boat ramp. Then the FWD car is still pretty competitive at pulling the boat out of the lake. Not likely that you will see many FWD utility vehicles with transverse engines because of this.
There are many other examples but the point is that there's no single "best" way of mounting the powertrain. Each specific vehicle has use and performance requirements that dictate which drive train arrangement to utilize for best utility. Regardless, there are compromises in each way so each vehicle just has the compromises biased in it's favor to do the best job.
One minor point that does apply to transverse and longitundinal mounting of the engine for FWD. As mentioned there are FWD cars with both setups. Since the transverse arrangement does take up considerable space between the front wheels it has the net impact of limiting the turn angle of the front wheels which will eventually dictate the slow speed maneuverability of the vehicle ie. the turning radius. This is important to city drivers and for parking and maneuvering in tight places. Transverse FWD cars typically cannot turn as sharp as longitundinal FWD or RWD cars - all other things being equal. This feature also eventually limits how wide a tire can be mounted on the front wheels, too. For a good comparison, a GMC Envoy will turn much sharper than a Deville due to the different driveline arrangements even though both take up about the same space in the garage. With the inline 6 engine (narrow) and RWD the Envoy has a much tighter turning radius even though it is perceived to be more "truck like" than the car.
None of these things are absolute positives are negatives making one "best" or "worst". Just different characteristics illustrating different ends of the compromise that is built into every vehicle. | <urn:uuid:675f08bf-8509-487b-ad1a-04ce3fbb3e75> | http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/cadillac-forum/t-17423.html | en | 0.951194 | 0.186895 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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About KainsAveZoo
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1. Hi Everyone, Been lurking for a while reading up and figured it was time to make an introduction. A quick bit about me: 43, male, Finnish heritage. If you didn't know me I don't think you'd suspect health problems. Good diet, physically active, my annual physicals usually go fine. So how did I get here? Let's start with how I started waking up about six weeks ago with stiff, swollen fingers. At first when this started happening, I kind of brushed it off thinking I must be getting older and it's been cold and wet and oh well. But after a while I started to wonder what was going on and started to suspect rheumatoid arthritis perhaps (both hands, some family history) and so maybe I should have my doctor take a look. I tend to avoid going to the doctor. I'm not sure why. I suppose it's partly out of denial and partly out of frustration with the overall experience I've had with doctors in my life. I know they mean well, but it seems like if you don't show up with a gunshot wound or something really obviously wrong, they just don't seem to really have the time to stop and think about what might be going on. But I digress... Anyway, the doctor looked at my fingers and asked if I had a rash too, and sure enough if you looked closely enough there was a bit on both of my ring fingers. He said some kind of autoimmune reaction, might clear up, might warrant further investigation. Let's see what happens and if it's still bothering you in a couple of weeks come back in. I also mention that my hands often seem abnormally cold as well, which he says is Raynaud's Phenomena, gives a brief description and tells me to read more about it on the internet, and that it may be somehow related to the finger swelling and stiffness. He's definitely downplaying the RA possibility, which sort of eases my mind, but I'm not really sure what to make of it all yet. My doctor is definitely not the reactionary type that is ready to order up a bunch of tests right off. For the most part I like that about him. Anyway, after this visit I decide to start reading about the Raynaud's, and how it can be a primary thing on its own or a secondary manifestation of something else. I'm leaning more towards the latter which will make more sense as my story unfolds. So then I start digging into autoimmune diseases, wondering about the possibility of RA or what else might be going on with the fingers. I came across some site that had a long list of autoimmune conditions, explaining how they often ran together, and then I came to Celiac Disease and light bulb went off. Going back now two years almost exactly, I went to the doctor with some chest pain. It really kind of freaked me out because for one, it definitely felt like it was coming from inside my chest right where my heart is and two, it didn't really fit the classic symptom of angina, not to mention that angina made absolutely no sense at all. Nobody in my family has died young from a heart attack. So I was about to get a costochondritis diagnosis and refer me to a cardiologist just to be on the same side when she decided to go ahead and do an EKG, I suppose just to be safe. It comes back with Wolf Parkinson White, which is a type of congenital arrhythmia. I get more heart tests done, the Holter, the stress echo and it all looks fine. So now the question is, do I bother to get the WPW ablated? I decided to do it because even though everything I've learned about it given my age and history suggests that WPW is not going to be a problem for me, I know there's something going on and hope the ablation will clear it up. So that brings us to November of 2009. During the ablation my EP discovers not only WPW, but also Left Bundle Branch Block, another type of arrhythmia where the electrical current in the heart doesn't flow through properly causing my left ventricle to be just a bit slower than the right. OK. My EP isn't too concerned. He just wants to monitor it. I still don't feel right, and so I get a second and third opinion, and neither of those doctors seem to be concerned either. OK, fine. In the meantime, I am reading a cardiologist who recommends avoiding wheat as part of a heart-healthy diet, and so I try that. And this is where in the story I kind of feel stupid, or at least ignorant. First, at that point I was already suspecting I was "gluten sensitive" so deciding to avoid wheat seemed like a good idea anyway. I didn't go totally gluten-free, but I did cut back. My stomach thanked me. My sinuses thanked me. Yet I didn't stop to consider that I might actually have Celiac. I think my impression of Celiac was that those that had it were so sensitive to gluten that they just couldn't even eat it without horrible immediate consequences. I guess that's the "Classic Case." That wasn't me. As long as I can remember, my digestion has been an issue, but for the longest time I had no idea what was triggering it, nor was it so persistent that I thought it was a serious problem. I just really couldn't put my finger on it and then only when I started noticing a pattern with pasta and instant oatmeal maybe five years ago did I start to suspect gluten. But again, I just didn't take the possibility of me having Celiac seriously. Now I've been on a two week Celiac crash course, and after reading a lot of the posts here as well as some other stuff on the web and a book I bought, I'm pretty sure I'm part of the club. Nobody in my family has been diagnosed, but I could list of all of the ailments and complaints and I'm sure they would sound familiar. As for myself, I've already touched on the digestion and the sinus issues clearing up with reducing my gluten intake. I also started to get sick a lot less. Unfortunately I didn't stop right there, and since my heart diagnosis I've had the finger and Raynaud's things going on, but I also have had a lot of peripheral neuropathy symptoms that I've kind of been blowing off. I either didn't really think they were significant (e.g. the involuntary muscle twitching) or wrote them off to anxiety (cold hands, or random tingling in an arm or leg) or just didn't quite reach a threshold of mental disturbance that warranted a visit to the doctor. But after learning more, the pieces are coming together and making a LOT of sense. For all of you who have shared your experiences here, I owe you a big thanks. I've spent the last two years feeling not myself and to be quite frank, fearful that something serious is wrong with me that could kill me any day. Unfortunately that isn't going to change overnight because now I'm pretty sure that my fears were right! I think I do have something seriously wrong with me. Did I mention that I've got the most precious four year old daughter in the world? The last two years have been difficult to be honest because I haven't really been myself. I've been full of confusion, anxiety and depression and little nagging thoughts in the back of my mind and it's really difficult to just go and live and enjoy my life. My wife has commented that something has changed with me and that I don't seem happy anymore. I totally understand her position, but I haven't been able to snap out of it. The world doesn't really stop to wait up for someone trying to figure their health issues out. I suppose I've been putting my head down, going about the motions of living, and hoping psychologically I'll somehow adjust to this new lack of confidence in my health. I mean that's true regardless anyway, right? There's always that hypothetical bus out there that could run you over. I think we all know that kind of rationalization doesn't work. When you don't feel right deep down, but have so much to live for, it just doesn't work. At least it hasn't for me. So you can probably tell I'm in kind of a raw emotional state here over this. It hasn't been the best week to be honest as my wife's mother was diagnosed with cancer on Wednesday, which only complicates things as I try to get my own health issues sorted out with my wife trying her best to manage it all. But now I think I know the source of my pain, which is a good feeling, and I've ready so many of the stories here about how the GFD changed their lives dramatically and it certainly makes me hopeful. I've actually been gluten-free, aside from a couple of accidental ingestions (still getting the hang of it) for two weeks today. After I found this site I poured over it, and read enough to convince me that I needed to stop eating it immediately. And you know what? The Raynaud's pretty much cleared up in three days. The finger stiffness has improved, but hasn't gone away entirely, but I think that's pretty cool. I know I'm not out of the woods here and am worried about how much damage I've done, though. For all I know I've had this since I was a kid. And FWIW, I wouldn't be surprised at all if my chest pain and LBBB was a result of Celiac, though I doubt that could be proven. It's just a hunch based on all I've learned in the ways that Celiac can mess you up. So now what? I'm going to go back to see my doctor this week if possible and explain all that I know and suspect now. I'm really not sure how he's going to react to be honest. I know I've done this completely "wrong" according to the book of Celiac diagnosis, but I really don't care so much about getting the formal diagnosis at this point. Mostly I want to try to assess the damage and try to address that. Any advice on how I should prepare for the doctor visit would be so very much appreciated. | <urn:uuid:0428b6aa-a229-432d-85be-ba516bb1350c> | http://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/profile/41754-kainsavezoo/ | en | 0.988292 | 0.018348 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Breaking News Bar
updated: 4/29/2013 2:01 PM
Syrian premier escapes bomb attack in Damascus
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• Syrian firefighters extinguish burning cars after a car bomb exploded in the capital's western neighborhood of Mazzeh, in Damascus, Syria, Monday. State-run Syrian TV says the country's Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi has escaped an assassination attempt when a bomb went off near his convoy.
Associated Press/SANA
Associated Press
DAMASCUS, Syria -- Syria's prime minister escaped an assassination attempt Monday when a bomb exploded near his convoy in Damascus, state media reported, in the latest attack to target a top government official.
Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi was not hurt in the explosion in the capital's western neighborhood of Mazzeh, state TV said. The TV showed video of heavily damaged cars and debris in the area as firefighters fought to extinguish a large blaze set off by the blast.
A government official said two people were killed and 11 wounded, while the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights activist group said the explosion killed at least five, including two of al-Halqi's bodyguards and one of the drivers in his convoy.
The government official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give official statements to reporters.
As evidence that the prime minister was unhurt, the state-run Al-Ikhbariya station said al-Halqi went into a regular weekly meeting with an economic committee just after the bombing. The station broadcast video of the prime minister sitting around a table in a room with several other officials.
But in the recorded comments after the meeting, al-Halqi made no reference to the bombing, nor was he asked about it by reporters, leaving doubt as to whether the video was shot before or after the bombing.
The state news agency quoted al-Halqi as saying that the assassination attempt exposed how armed groups "are bankrupt" after the latest advances made by Syrian troops around the country.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Monday's suicide attack. Such bombings have been a trademark of Islamic extremists fighting in the rebel ranks, raising concerns about their role in Syria's civil war.
State TV quoted Syria's Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi as saying that targeting al-Halqi, who is in charge of carrying out the political program to end Syria's crisis, shows that some in the opposition "reject a political solution."
In January, al-Halqi formed a ministerial committee for dialogue with opposition groups. The dialogue is part of a peace plan, including a national reconciliation conference, that Assad outlined in a speech that month.
The opposition insists it will not accept anything less than Assad's departure, and no progress has been reported from the dialogue since it was announced.
A Syrian government official told The Associated Press that an improvised explosive device was placed under a car that was parked in the area and was detonated as al-Halqi's convoy passed. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.
The attack in the highly secure Mazzeh neighborhood took place only about 100 meters (yards) from the Swiss ambassador's residence. The posh area also is home to a major military air base. Security forces sealed off the area, allowing only pedestrians to get near the scene of the bombing.
Damaged cars, their seats soaked with blood, were surrounded by debris. A blackened shell of a school bus was left standing. A man told state TV that none of the students on board were hurt because the explosion went off shortly after they had left the bus and entered the school.
Later Monday, the Observatory reported that nine people, including four fighters and three civilians, were killed in government airstrikes on al-Halqi's home village of Jassem in the southern province of Daraa.
The attack was just the latest targeting a senior official in the Syrian capital during the past year.
On July 18, a blast at Syria's national security building in Damascus during a meeting of Cabinet ministers killed top four officials, including the defense minister and his deputy, who was Assad's brother-in-law. That attack also wounded the interior minister.
In December, a car bomb targeted the Interior Ministry in Damascus, killing several people and wounding more than 20, including Interior Minister Mohammed al-Shaar. Initially, Syrian state media said al-Shaar was not hurt in the Dec. 12 blast. News of his wounds emerged a week later, after he was taken to neighboring Lebanon to be treated for a serious back injury.
This month, Ali Ballan, head of public relations at the Ministry of Social Affairs and a member of Syria's relief agency, was shot dead while dining in a restaurant in Mazzeh.
Elsewhere in Syria, the Observatory reported fighting Monday near the Damascus International Airport south of the capital. The group said there were also clashes in the northern neighborhood of Barzeh and shelling of the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, south of Damascus.
The Observatory and another activist group, the Local Coordination Committees, reported clashes and air raids around the military helicopter base of Mannagh near the border with Turkey in the northern province of Aleppo.
Also Monday, a new jihadi group calling itself the "Ahrar al-Bekaa Brigades" announced its establishment and warned the pro-Syrian Lebanese militant Hezbollah group to stop intervening in the Syrian civil war or face attacks in Lebanon.
According to the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks Islamist extremist messages, the statement was distributed on pro-Syrian revolution Facebook pages Sunday.
In the statement, the previously unheard of group claimed that Hezbollah is acting on Iran's orders to "slaughter" the Syrian people. It pledged to prevent Hezbollah's intervention "with all means and ways, even if we have to move the fight to the inside of the Lebanese territory."
The Shiite Muslim Hezbollah is known to be backing regime fighters in Shiite villages near the Lebanon border against the mostly Sunni rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad. The Syrian opposition accuses Hezbollah of taking part in the Syrian military crackdown.
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Harvey, Sir John (1778-1852)
Governor, 1841-1846
Sir John Harvey
Harvey was born in England on April 23, 1778. He entered the British army in 1794 and rose slowly through the ranks because he did not have the private wealth which would have enabled him to purchase promotions. He served in the Netherlands, France, Ceylon, and Egypt. From 1803 to 1807 he was in India. In 1813, Harvey, now a lieutenant-colonel, came to Upper Canada and saw action in the War of 1812.
His future became uncertain after 1815, but in 1828 he managed to obtain the appointment of inspector-general of police in the Irish province of Leinster. In 1836 he became lieutenant-governor of Prince Edward Island, moving on to New Brunswick the following year. He was recalled from New Brunswick because of his handling of the Maine boundary dispute, but was appointed governor of Newfoundland in 1841.
The political situation in Newfoundland was troubled and volatile. Harvey was in part responsible for the revised constitution introduced in 1842, which amalgamated the two houses of the legislature, and he deliberately implemented a policy of conciliation and fairness. He ensured that Roman Catholics received government patronage and were represented on the council, and persuaded Bishop Fleming to withdraw from politics. At the same time he managed to maintain the support of conservatives, helping the Chamber of Commerce in its efforts to obtain better postal and steamship services, reforming the police force, and actively promoting the development of agriculture. In short, Harvey gave the colony a political respite between the storms of the 1830s and the bitter divisions surrounding the campaign for responsible government that was just beginning as he left.
In August 1846 Harvey became lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia. He died in Halifax on March 22, 1852.
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Indian Baby Names
Baby Boy Names:
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Baby Girl Names:
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Modern Indian Baby Names
Giving a name to the baby is the first and most important task that would-be parents usually do. A name is forever. The name stays with the baby through the rest of his/her life. Many believe that names have a significant effect on the child's development and personality. Some people believe that speaking negative creates negative energy and speaking positive creates a positive energy around the person. Since every name has a meaning , by taking the name of a child for years it will develop their personality traits according to the meaning for that name.
So inorder to help the parents we have provided a list of modern Indian baby names with their meaning. These names are modern as well as unique. These baby name lists are organised alphabetically and contain hindu baby names, sikh baby names, muslim and christian baby names.
Suggest & discuss baby names & their meanings at Infants & Baby Care Forum
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Olivia Newton-John had a Catholic priest exorcise her home after death of contractor
"Grease" star Olivia Newton-John
The 'Grease' star was rocked by the death of 41-year-old contractor Christopher Pariseletti on her property in August, so hired a Catholic priest to perform the ritual and cleanse it of bad spirits.
Olivia, 64, was joined by her husband, John Easterling, and a pair of friends during the ritual, where prayers were recited and holy water distributed around the home.
Christopher had worked on the property at the Jupiter Inlet Colony, Florida, and had a key. He is thought to have been in financial difficulty with his business facing closure, and had asked for a loan from Olivia to keep his company going. He killed himself with a shotgun by the pool while the property was empty and was found by another builder.
Olivia has been hoping to sell the house, and has had to slash $200,000 from the asking price after the incident.
A real estate agent told the Daily Express newspaper: "Unfortunately there is a grim notoriety to the house and people are put off by that.
"Whoever buys the home will always know that someone blew their brains out in there. It is not the nicest housewarming present."
Rosie O'Donnell had been ready to buy the property, but withdrew her offer in the wake of Christopher's death.
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Season 5: Episode 3: Meet the Reunion
Brown is asked to perform at the class reunion until famous classmate Teddy Trevel shows up. Meanwhile, Joaquin is picking winning teams and Renee begins consulting him for future bets.
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Thread: Will the world ever have the Digital Equivalent of the Analog LF Camera??
1. #1
Join Date
Mar 2007
Thumbs up Will the world ever have the Digital Equivalent of the Analog LF Camera??
I dunno if this is the right place for this post, and maybe it has been answered already, but I'm curious on this one:
Will the digital world ever have the analog equivalent for a large format system? In other words, take the Toho camera or any lightweight type of camera...even a weighty monorail or a weighty Wisner 8X10, etc. etc...Will the digital world "ever" have an "all-in-one" camera that is the equivalent of an analog system? I know there are "backs" and "laptop requirements", but what about an all digital 4X5 camera that weighs 4lbs and requires only CF cards that can store the large files? Not only this, but the system also produces an equally good and or better image than the analog equivalent. I'm not really concerned with a digital vs. analog comparison, but rather if time will produce an all digital 4X5 or larger cam with the same exact weight and "ease" of functionality...even easier by functionality, as a possibility?
If long will it take for companies to develop such a camera, are physics "against" such camera types, meaning, the best one can ever expect to see are "backs" and "laptops" and this type of camera that I describe above is not "physically" possible to "invent"?
Furthermore...would this type of camera, if it ever did exist, become something that sells for 20K even 10-20 years from now due to it being a larger cam and not your typical Canon type thing? In other words, will the digital world "always" be similar to say, the audio world in that in the audio world, you have what are the masses with their very cheap stereos, call them the point and shoot tribe. Then the low-mid fi people that are into DSLRs=Anything in the DSLR world period. Then the higher end people like the ones using backs on Rolleis and Hasselblads...and finally, the "esoteric" group that are using backs on LF cameras.
Curious what people think will happen in the evolution or de-evolution of the digital world of things.
2. #2
Join Date
Apr 2007
Manchester, UK
Re: Will the world ever have the Digital Equivalent of the Analog LF Camera??
To be honest I can't see them bothering. The commercial world is pretty happy with their 39 megapixel backs and there are plenty of ways to attach them to LF solutions, a field that the manufacturers seem to be concentrating on. The people left shooting film LF are no where near a large enough market, and probably no where near rich enough for the camera you are talking about. To put it into persepective the medium format back manufacturers are playing with a tiny market that is dwindling due to the lack of bodies to put them on. The LF specific market that needs and could afford a one shot back of that size is far smaller and lets be honest, a sensor that big will need a lot of battery and memory, it ain't going to be as small as a film insert, maybe as small as all the film darkslides in your bag put together..
3. #3
grumpy & miserable Joseph O'Neil's Avatar
Join Date
Feb 2004
London, Ontario
Yes and no. Yes in that technically such a thing can and will be possible, or at least affordable down the road. Who knows, ten years from now you might be able to buy LF scanning backs for less than a 25 pack of HP5.
No in that - well IMO, LF photography has moved into the same sort of area as wood carving, oil painting, etc. Or for example, if you asked somebody why they practiced Karate or Judo instead of just buying a gun, then you obviously would not get what martial arts are really all about.
To me, LF photography is moving or has moved into these realms. It's the process of taking the photo to begin with. I would even hazard to guess that down the road as digital becomes more and more prevalent in our daily lives, you will see even more people who will take on LF photography move into alternate processing, such as platinum/palladium, etc.
This may lead to a sort of which came first - chicken or the egg question. Did the person get into LF so they can do alternate processing or did they start with LF and move into alternate processing?
IN any event, the way I see things, in about ten years you'll be able to buy a do-all digital device. We are already heading that way with items such as the i-phone, but I can see where you have one device that is cell phone, 100 gig MP3 and video player, web and wifi surfing, GPS, 10 megapixel camera - heck, maybe even a built in tazer. Who knows.
My point is, they day is coming when you'll be able to buy such a device while standing in line at the checkout in Wal-Mart for $10, then interest in a digital back or an all digital LF camera will be very low, as the average person will see no use and/or difference. But traditional or older processes, IMO, will be alive and well because you will have something that the average person cannot reproduce. That's important. Give you an example - when I was growing up in the 1960's, thousands of homes had B&W darkrooms - hobby darkrooms, but the "big thing" was how colour was just starting to become affordable to the average middle class person, so everybody wanted colour.
B&W was too common, in fact, I started shooting only B&W because at the time the cost of having B&W film commercially processed and printed - even at the corner drug store - was about half that of colour film. Now today, as I see it, the home computer and colour printer is the new "hobby darkroom" that is very common and "everybody has one" just like the old B&W darkroom of the 1960s. When something becomes common, it looses it's value in our society.
LF is no longer common, and is becoming less so every day. Down the road, the things that keep LF from ever being seen as common are what will help keep it's intrinsic value up, amoung other things I think.
eta gosha maaba, aaniish gaa zhiwebiziyin ?
4. #4
Join Date
May 2006
Westminster, MD
I'd love an 8x10 digital back, but I'm not holding out that I'll be alive when it happens.
When I grow up, I want to be a photographer.
5. #5
Join Date
Jul 2006
With film, maybe keep in mind that the format started rather large (plates weren't small!) and as emulsion and camera gear became more advanced, the formats shrank. For this reason there will always been a desire for larger format with a larger negative size.
Digital has kinda taken the opposite route, starting with the smallest sensor. It is being developed in a world of compact cameras, so I doubt the formats will get larger, the chips will just get better resolution.
6. #6
Join Date
Mar 2007
Here is the problem I see with chips getting better resolution:
Just how many MP's can one put onto a full framed sensor? I have read many places where 20ish MP's is about the limit which is a far cry from what backs for Rollei and 4X5 cameras have. But stick with sensor and its limitations. One wants a professional tool that isn't "too big". So lets take the Canon 1DSMKII as the primary example since it has the most MP's of any camera still today, in spite it is going on 4 years old. It's also a pretty large camera. How much larger would a "pro" DSLR shooter want the camera to be in order to gain more MP's?
Looking at the digital world today:
1) Consumer market has the same sized sensors and getting loaded with more MP's. We have nearly 13MP cameras out now...basically the same amount of pixels as a Canon 5D!!! But the output of these sensors is quite good at ISO 100, and quite horrendous after that. In spite all the MP's tossed onto these digicams, a print from a 5 year old 5MP Sony and one from today's heap of best cameras is going to be, in many cases, better with the older camera, though better with the newer camera...a toss up from what I have seen and read.
2) Given more and more MP's leads to disaster OR to a "minute" increase in cleanliness/ in, 10X blowups of a scene can show "discrete" differences" I really question one can see in a photo...what will and what can the DSLR makers do about loading on a ton of MP's to the full frame sensor, or maybe even getting a larger sensor into the camera without making the camera too large? Where will this threshold be that no more MP's can make a difference, etc.?
Speaking of digicams, the very best shots I have seen come from the second session art of photography, post-processing. I have actually seen, web only obviously, "way better" photos from tiny digicams than DSLRs because these people are so much better with photoshop. Leaves me with the question of what is a photo...Is it 99 percent post-processing work or is it the actual photo that was taken? I see people post-process and they take these photos that look like garbage and turn them into amazing photos in a snap!...well...their printed versions look aweful at larger sizes (8X10ish), but on the screen, it's amazing that the majority of these photos I see from shooters are cropped out, blown up, placed over here, there, adjusted for color, adjusted for this and is like taking a Yugo and Making it look like a Bugatti...
DSLR users will photoshop and most will do so with the experience of having used extensive photoshop with their point and shoot days. "Most" DSLR users/photos use straight output with some photoshop to at least make the photo look like what the user intended it to look like, meaning, what you shoot is what you end up with.
7. #7
Join Date
Dec 2005
Southern California
Not again! Didn't we have enough of digital vs. film crap?
Sigh. Why didn't you put it into The Lounge, at the very least?
8. #8
Join Date
Sep 2007
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
The answer to the question of the Op is: yes and not in the future, but now.
There is no field of photography left that cannot be done with digital equipment. There are large format scanning backs, 39 mP medium format backs, of 22 mP full frame bodies. They can be combined at will with a bellows/lens combination that offers any movement or use you like. In fact Cambo (and probably other brands as well) survives by selling these modern equivalents of the LF camera. Maybe what is missing is a 60 mP or even a 100 mP back, maybe with a larger sensor size, but that's not a principal omission and may very well be available in the near future.
Only a few reasons not to go digital have left. For the commercial photographer it may be the lack of money for the huge investments or the lack of digital craftsmanship. The artist may need the "feel" of analogue processing or the kind of thinking the slow work with a LF may involve. And of course to the real amateur the most important reason of them all: FUN.
9. #9
Abuser of God's Sunlight
Join Date
Aug 2004
brooklyn, nyc
My understanding is that the resistance to large sensors is mostly because of cost, but also because of technical issues with light hitting the sensor at shallow angles, or something like that.
These are both the kinds of technical issues that can be resolved over time, but the result has been a goal is to pack as many pixels into as small a sensor as possible (and to squeeze as much optical quality out of a low-coverage lens as possible). So it seems that most of the r&d energy is going in the opposite direction of LF. This is primarily an issue for LF photographers because we've gotten used to looking at the projected image on ground glass.
My dream digital camera would be a big digital back, with a bright, sharp LCD on the back of it for focussing and framing, maybe with some tools like a virtual loupe built in. And magically the thing would run for days on a single charge, would weigh no more than my current setup, and be controllable with a couple of knobs that are so intuitive I could use them when I'm drunk. AND--i could afford it. Ha ha ha ha ha.
I don't think view cameras are going away. They predate photography, and will likely be around after this new incarnation of photography has been buried by something else. It's the largeness of large format that remains in question.
10. #10
Join Date
Dec 2005
Seattle, WA
Quote Originally Posted by paulr View Post
Mainly, it's cost. Several companies have found ways to deal with the oblique angle problem using offset microlenses, which increases the cost as well.
One of the reasons for the spectacular costs for the medium format digital backs is that the sensors for them are so big. A sensor for an 8x10 is quite likely never going to be feasible, because you'd only be able to get one from a 300mm wafer.
I think that in order to get bigger sensors in the future, we'll start seeing companies actually making smaller sensors in larger volumes, and moving the interface circuitry behind the sensor (which requires more layers, and therefore costs more). There are some new manufacturing techniques that would make this possible, but being new, they aren't yet being used in volume manufacturing.
Doing that would allow manufacturers to construct an array of sensors to make a large sensor.
One can hope
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Chris Evans in 'Snowpiercer'
In "Snowpiercer," scientists' attempts to stop global warming have backfired and caused another ice age, which has destroyed society as we know it. The catastrophe's survivors ride the eponymous train -- a train segregated by class -- around the world again and again.
Tilda Swinton puts on some fancy clothes and funky makeup to play Mason, the representative of the Richie Riches of what's left of the world. She'll be going head to head with Chris Evans, who plays a guy named Curtis who's planning to fight his way to the front of the train and help out his fellow humans. Let's be real; things are looking bleak for Mason and her cohorts.
This is director Bong Joon-ho's first English-language film, and it's adapted from the graphic novel "Le Transperceneige," by Jacques Lob and Jean-Marc Rochette. Fans of Joon-ho's films like "Thirst" and "The Host" will spot Song Kang-ho as a mysterious dude whom Curtis turns to for help. Kang-ho also appeared in "The Good, the Bad, the Weird," "Secret Sunshine," and "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance."
The rest of the cast includes Alison Pill, Jamie Bell, John Hurt, and Octavia Spencer. "Snowpiercer" is one of the more exciting sci-fi films coming out in the near future, especially given Joon-ho's genre credentials and unique vision.
There isn't a U.S. release date for "Snowpiercer" yet, but it will open in Bong Joon-ho's native South Korea this summer.
[via THR]
Chris Evans First Look in 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' | <urn:uuid:69bd6a34-a0cc-46f8-8c2f-50c74c53f74d> | http://www.moviefone.com/2013/07/08/snowpiercer-trailer-chris-evans-sci-fi-thriller/ | en | 0.962457 | 0.065759 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Thousands Attend Vigil for Isla Vista Shooting Victims | NBC 7 San Diego
National & International News
The day’s top national and international news
Thousands Attend Vigil for Isla Vista Shooting Victims
Thousands of people marched in silence to a candlelight vigil being held for the victims of a killing spree that left seven people dead, including three UC Santa Barbara students. Kate Larsen reports from Isla Vista for the NBC4 News at 11 on Saturday, March 24, 2014. (Published Sunday, May 25, 2014)
Thousands of UC Santa Barbara students and community members marched in silence Saturday night from the campus to a park in Isla Vista, where a candlelight vigil was being held for the victims of a mass shooting that rocked the seaside town.
At least three innocent UCSB students lost their lives in the killing spree that stretched for several blocks, including 20-year-old Christopher Ross Michaels-Martinez, who was at a deli when gunfire sprayed the crowd.
"You always think, ‘Oh, that doesn't happen to me, that doesn't happen in my town. That's always just something on the news.' But that did happen and it’s just, like, very overwhelming,” said Jeff Dolphin, Michaels-Martinez’s roommate. “A lot of shock hasn't even settled. This morning was like a complete haze. Not a lot of sleep last night for anybody.”
Dolphin remembered Michaels-Martinez as a great writer who always helped him edit essays.
"He helped me out a lot, and he was just a great guy," Dolphin said.
Away from the vigil, a group of fraternity brothers wept as they dropped off flowers outside the Alpha Phi sorority house, where two other UCSB students - Katherine Cooper, 22, and Veronika Weiss, 19 - were shot to death.
“Isla Vista has experienced a tragic loss and the community is shaken,” organizers posted on Facebook. “This is a time to reflect on, honor, and celebrate the lives of those we have lost.”
The vigil featured speakers, an open mic and performers.
Elliot Rodger is suspected of stabbing three people to death at his apartment before killing three other people in shootings across Isla Vista on Friday. Rodger was later involved in a shootout with sheriff's deputies and died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. | <urn:uuid:3f6b880c-313d-4d33-a813-780e77d8c5cc> | http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/national-international/Thousands-Attend-Vigil-for-Victims-of-Isla-Vista-Killings-260568511.html | en | 0.971393 | 0.030859 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Tourists Ignore Park Points Red Flags
By KBJR News 1
July 4, 2012 Updated Jul 4, 2012 at 6:08 PM CDT
Duluth, MN (Northlands NewsCenter)
-- No swimming is advised for all of the beaches lining Park Point until further notice. Dangerous weather conditions and rip currents have the Duluth Fire Department issuing Red Flag warnings for the point, which means swimming is not recommended.
That didn't stop people from taking a dip in the big lake on the Fourth of July.
Like the Woehler family from St. Paul; rough seas didn't detour them from swimming in Lake Superior.
"It's cold at first but you get used to it. The waves are really big and fun to swim out there," said ten-year-old Monica Woehler.
"It was really nice, it was kind of cold but the waves were good and you got used to it," her older brother Jack said.
For tourists visiting the northland, it is nice and fun to brave big waves on the big lake, and it's easy to overlook the red flags on Park Point. They warn swimmers that the water is not safe and swimming is not advised.
"Its dangerous because you can't always tell when a rip current is present and if you happen to get caught in a rip current it can very easily take you away from shore a long ways," Duluth Assistant Fire Chief Erik Simonson.
It's happened multiple times this week.
"Our last shift we had two calls on Park Point. People were caught in rip currents and being pulled away from the shore," said Simonson.
Those people were lucky; if you don't know how to escape a rip current, the consequences can be deadly.
"There generally not very wide so if you swim parallel to the shore, it only takes a minute or two to get out of the current."
The undertow is strong and difficult to spot and on a day where the beaches are packed and the water is rough, it's better to be safe than sorry.
"There were really big waves but it's still really fun, you just kind of go out there and the waves just carry you back," said Jack Woehler.
Because sometimes the waves don't carry you back.
The Red Flag's mean that swimming is not advised but not illegal. Park Point now has a website where you can see the current risk of swimming at http://www.parkpointbeach.org/
Zach Vavricka
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You Cancelled What??
by Billy Weaver
High school football teams in the state of North Carolina should be ashamed to postpone games because of a little rain!
WITN covers teams in 29 counties across eastern North Carolina and nearly every team in our viewing area postponed their games on Friday night because of the weather. Are you kidding me? I was born and raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia and granted high school football isn't the end all be all in the Tidewater area but come hell or high water we were playing football on Friday night.
I could understand if there was a lightning storm in the area or if a hurricane was bearing down on the east, but come on!!! Eastern North Carolina got a few inches of rain from a minimal tropical system that developed off the coast of Florida. On Friday I called WTLV, the NBC affiliate in Jacksonville, Florida and NO games were cancelled, postponed or even had game times pushed back. Gee, I wonder why so many great football players come from the state of Florida!
The excuses I've been given for postponing games in the east have ranged everywhere from "The field conditions are terrible" to "We don't want to jeopardize the safety of our players."
That's a bunch of bull !!!
The bottom line is that high schools in North Carolina lose gate and concession money if they play on a rainy night. As a result they're doing their players a serious injustice.
Think back to when you were a kid. Some of my fondest memories as a child were lacing 'em up and sliding head first down a football field covered in mud. Ask anyone who's ever played the game and rest assured one if not all of their best moments on the field were under adverse conditions.
If we're not going to play football in the rain, let's just call the sport what it really is.... baseball.
Billy Weaver | <urn:uuid:c8a7d64d-7dae-4ba6-865d-8b6e0d9af9a6> | http://www.pirateradio1250.com/articles/bw100705.htm | en | 0.979369 | 0.138742 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Constitutional Amendments: From Freedom of Speech to Flag Burning, 2nd ed.
Provides the history and social context of the amendment process, covering each of the 27 amendments. Significant issues, events, figures, movements and judicial/legislative actions in the history of each amendment are also covered chronologically.
Start Now | <urn:uuid:db67bdb0-d20c-4c3b-92fa-8f6c9d628206> | http://www.richlandlibrary.com/research-it/resources/constitutional-amendments-freedom-speech-to-flag-burning-2nd-ed | en | 0.916876 | 0.026997 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Monday November 19th, 2012
The University of Maryland's Board of Directors voted Monday to defect from the ACC to the Big Ten. With Maryland deciding to bolt, Rutgers will likely join the Terps as their dance partner.
When news first surfaced Saturday that Maryland was considering leaving a nearly six-decade relationship with the ACC to join the Big Ten, many wondered why. The answer is simple: television and money, the two biggest drivers behind the realignment chaos that's indelibly altered the collegiate landscape the past three years.
According to a television executive familiar with the Northeast corridor, the move could ultimately be worth as much as $200 million annually for the Big Ten in cable subscription fees. This is a Pollyannaish figure that's unlikely to ever materialize, but it shows the scope of the potential value. The interesting part, considering the current cable climate, is that the move also comes with considerable risk.
There are an estimated 15 million available households in the New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington D.C. markets. If the Big Ten Network got on basic cable in all those places, which is an enormous long shot, the per-household figure by the time Rutgers and Maryland joined the league would project in the neighborhood of $1.25 per month. That would equate to about $200 million per year.
The risk comes because none of that money is guaranteed. Considering the struggles the Pac-12 has had with DirecTV and the distribution issues surrounding the Longhorn Network, it's clear cable subscribers automatically handing over distribution is far from a given. (The Lakers have struggled to obtain distribution in Los Angeles this season, yet another sign of a new era in cable TV.)
"It's a long fight," the television executive, who has no connection to the move, said of the Big Ten cashing in on Maryland and Rutgers. "That's the potential. There's a lot of negotiating to happen before that."
While getting all 15 million homes is unlikely, this could potentially be a $100 million annual television windfall for the Big Ten. (That figure doesn't include the additional money that will come from the added markets and games when the Big Ten negotiates its next television contract in 2017.) It's estimated that the Big Ten's annual payout could increase to between $30-35 million per year, nearly double the ACC's $17 million payout.
There's optimism about the possibility for significant cable pickup in the Maryland and Washington areas, where the Terps have a strong presence. The same can't be said for Rutgers, which has little recent history of local relevancy in football or basketball.
"Rutgers is the wild card here," said the executive. "Rutgers in New Jersey and New York City isn't Ohio State in Ohio. Is it possible that the interest in Rutgers in the corridor is so marginal that no one is willing to carry it in that corridor? Is it possible that Rutgers doesn't resonate enough to justify 1.25 across any of the subscribers?"
One potential piece of leverage the Big Ten will have is FOX and News Corp's reported attempt to purchase the YES Network, which could help strong-arm the Big Ten into the New York market.
But with big potential comes big risk. This move will not come without some drama.
"Hey, it could be big money," said the executive. "But it's a lot of risk. Rutgers isn't the Yankees. It will be interesting to tell."
SI Apps
We've Got Apps Too | <urn:uuid:fcfd97ff-0c16-48e5-81eb-46645b60ea47> | http://www.si.com/more-sports/2012/11/18/big-ten-expansion-tv-money | en | 0.964656 | 0.079469 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Grand DUNE
by Alan Arvold
(from The General vol.32 no.1)
As one of the nine players who joined Mr. Arvold several years ago at GenCon to play this appealing variant, I can attest to its superiority over playing with the various expansions and variant article rules as they were written. Although many "purists" will defend the elegance and balance of a six-player game, the politicking in a nine-player game is truly enriching and, in my opinion, more representative of the turbulent and dangerous galaxy portrayed in Herbert's novels. As in that construct, nobody can win the nine-player game without allies. Efforts to get DUNE reprinted (perhaps the new collectible card game will spark consumer interest in this elegant boardgame) are not likely to produce an all-in-one package, so the expansion modules and this variant will remain vital accessories to our cult. If you do not have the modules, snap them up.-SKT
One of the longest-surviving cult games (remaining popular despite the fact that it has been out of print for some years) is the game DUNE. Based on the science fiction novel by the late Frank Herbert, this game can still be seen in tournaments at various wargame conventions around the country every year. At the height of its popularity in the mid-1980s, the game spawned two expansions, SPICE HARVEST and THE DUEL. These expansions greatly enriched the main game but for various reasons did not catch the interest of players who like the parent game. One reason was that they increased the playing time of the average game (making tournament use difficult). Another reason is that the variant powers which were introduced in magazine articles (the Lansraad, the Bene Tleilaxu and the Ixians -- see The GENERAL, volume 26, number 1, and volume 18, number 5, and Heroes, volume 1, number 1) were not integrated into these expansions. Finally, THE DUEL has rules that effectively inhibit its use, causing players to discard the expansion from the game. Often, however, you will find players adding to their game the new treachery cards that were included in the expansion modules.
This article brings into one grand system the three variant powers and the two expansions in a more playable format.
Extra cards and leaders are provided on the insert of this magazine. However, when a War of Assassins is declared in a game with more than six players, you will need to add a second deck of Dueling cards from THE DUEL. Alternatively, you must limit each player to holding no more than three Dueling cards.
In Section VII of THE DUEL, it states that if the main leader of the owning players faction is killed in battle whether on Dune, in a Kanly Duel, or in a War of Assassins, the owning player and his faction are out of the game. Such a rule leads a player to keep from using his main leader in anything but a last ditch battle at which point he is probably losing the game anyway. Also, this rule is not literarily accurate, as far as the Dune novels are concerned, where factions carried on despite the death of their main leaders. Liet Kynes, the leader of the Fremen, was left to die in the desert by the Harkonnens halfway through the first novel. His death did not cause the Fremen to break up or dissolve. On the contrary, the Fremen went on to do bigger things under the leadership of Paul Muad'Dib. When the Baron Harkonnen was killed in the battle of Arrakeen towards the end of the first novel, his nephew Feyd-Rautha assumed leadership of what was left of the Harkonnen faction. (He lost it to Muad'Dib in a Kanly Duel a few pages later.) When the Reverend Mother Mohiam was executed at the end of the second novel, the Bene Gesserit order did not dissolve or lose their influence. When the Emperor Shaddam IV died in exile on the planet Salusa Secundus, his daughter Wensicia Corrino carried on the fight throughout the third novel using espionage, occasional Sardaukar uprisings and an assassination attempt on the children of Muad'Dib (which failed), in hopes of getting her son Farad'n on the throne to restore the Corrino dynasty. The point of the matter is that when the main leader dies, the faction continues on.
Alter Section VII of the rules for THE DUEL. If your Main Character Leader is killed in battle on Dune, in a Kanly Duel, or in a War of Assassins, your faction is not out of the game. You still maintain your holdings and all spice in your possession. However, your faction will lose certain advantages and/or have certain limitations laid upon it (see below). These advantages will be restored and the limitations will be removed only when the Main Character Leader is revived from the "tanks." A player may revive (for the usual cost) his Main Character Leader on any turn in which he has at least one Leader alive. If a player has only his Main Character Leader left alive, then he may start reviving his other Leaders at the rate of one per turn.
When all of the Leaders, including the Main Character Leader, of a faction are in the tanks at the same time, that faction is out of the game. All of that faction's tokens are removed from the board and all treachery cards are discarded. The Harkonnen retain captured Leaders.
Organizations such as the Bene Gesserit, the Lansraad and the House Corrino each have many contenders for the top leadership position when it becomes vacant. Thus each faction will have an internal succession war to fill the seat. In DUNE, this means that the player's faction has many smaller factions within the main one which are not acting as a unified whole. This in turn brings on restrictions and causes advantages to be lost. Edric is a third stage Guild Navigator who is the manager of Guild operations on Dune and in the surrounding space. In the event of his death, local Guild operations suffer disruption but not at a catastrophic level. The smugglers and lower level navigators take more than their share of the spice, using the disruption as a cover for their embezzlements. Baron Harkonnen holds all secrets to himself. While some of his lieutenants, such as Feyd-Rautha and Piter De Vries, may know some of those secrets, they are usually the same few secrets that the Baron will share. When the Baron dies, knowledge of traitors in his pay and of how to get extra weapons (treachery cards) is lost and can not be regained until the Baron is brought back to life. Paul Muad'Dib is the gifted individual who gives the Atreides faction its advantages. When he dies, all of those powers go with him and will not come back until he is brought back to life. Liet Kynes is a leader who brought all of the Fremen sietches together as a united whole. When he dies, various Fremen groups go back to their sietches. Only when Liet Kynes is brought back to life will the Fremen again have a fanatical leader to whip them up into a religious frenzy and transform the war into a Jihad. The Ixian Inquisitor coordinates the operations of all Ixian military forces. When she dies, the various military units act in an uncoordinated fashion and various Ixian functionaries embezzle spice into their own private fortunes.
Each faction's advantages are reduced whenever lacking its Main Character Leader in the following ways.
Fremen. If Liet Kynes is dead:
• Token revival isn't free, but instead costs two spice per token (to the spice bank).
• Fedaykin counters on the board are treated as regular troops. Fedaykin in reserve are placed in the tanks.
Atreides. If Paul Muad'Dib is dead:
• The Kwisatz Haderach may not be used. Note: Paul Muad'Dib is also killed when the Kwisatz Haderach is blown up in a lasegun-shield explosion.
• Treachery cards can not be previewed.
• The top card of the Spice deck cannot be previewed.
• You may not force your opponent to show you any element of his battle plan nor allow your allies the same privilege.
Harkonnen. If Baron Harkonnen is dead:
• Only one of the four traitors picked at the beginning of the game may be used. The Harkonnen player must record which traitor is the active one at the time the Baron is killed. That active traitor must be a revealed one if any have been revealed. The others are inactive.
• You may not pick up the extra treachery card when you buy one.
• You may not randomly select one leader from a loser of a battle for any purpose.
Guild. If Edric is dead:
• You must take your move when it occurs in sequence.
• Your allies must pay one spice for each token shipped to a stronghold and two for shipment to a non-stronghold.
• All spice paid for shipment of tokens of your allies are paid to the spice bank.
Emperor. If Emperor Shaddam IV is dead:
• All spice paid for treachery cards goes to the spice bank.
• Sardaukar counters on the board are treated as regular troops. Sardaukar in reserve are placed in the tanks.
Bene Gesserit. If Reverend Mother Mohiam is dead:
• Your faction loses the power to coexist with other factions in the same territory. All tokens on the board are treated as normal tokens.
• You may not ship one token free with another faction's shipments.
• You may not "voice" an ally's opponent.
Lansraad. If the Speaker of the Lansraad (see insert) is dead:
• You lose the power to influence the other major powers during the revival/movement and battle rounds.
• You lose the power to restrict non-sietch territories to other major powers.
Ixians. If the Inquisitor of the Ixian Confederacy (see insert) is dead:
• Your tokens may only move one territory per turn.
• You may not receive your automatic ten spice per turn. They are considered to be lost.
• The Inquisitor cannot be revived for free.
Bene Tleilaxu. This power does not get a Main Character Leader. The only change to the Bene Tleilaxu rules is that they may not make traitors of Main Character Leaders who are revived from the tanks. Having no leaders, the Bene Tleilaxu may not participate in Kanly duels and Wars of Assassins nor may they threaten any player with Kanly. They do not get dueling cards.
When using the Bene Tleilaxu variant, only the Fremen, Harkonnen, and the Atreides players have to pay the Bene Tleilaxu to bring their Main Character Leader back from the tanks. The other factions pay their spice to the spice bank to bring their Main Character Leaders back from the tanks.
The following rules apply THE SPICE HARVEST expansion rules to the Ixians, the Lansraad and the Bene Tleilaxu.
Ixians. If the Ixians are the Manager, all Harvest card values that the Ixians draw are increased by 50 per cent (fractions rounded down). For the record, the home planet for the Ixians is the planet Komos, better known as Ix.
Lansraad. If a Dune Manager is relieved of his duties, the Lansraad may block the appointment of the new Manager. In this case, then it is the second player to the right of the old Manager who becomes the new Manager. The Lansraad may not block the automatic appointment of the Fremen to the Dune Manager position brought on by the appearance of a Worm in the Harvest Deck. For the record, the Lansraad has no home planet, but their main headquarters is on the planet Kaitan which is also the seat of the Imperial Court.
Bene Tleilaxu. The Bene Tleilaxu may get their ten spice like everybody else does in the module. They may give spice to one or more other players before the players determine who will be the first Manager in return for future considerations during the normal game. Any spice left over at the end of the Spice Harvest "section" of the game does not have to be turned in; instead, it is the spice with which the Bene Tleilaxu start the normal game. The Bene Tleilaxu do not receive any spice during harvest distribution nor do they bid for any Access cards. For the record, the home planet for the Bene Tleilaxu is the planet Tleilax.
Semuta Drug - used as a poison weapon. This weapon is played in a battle normally and can be blocked by a snooper. If not blocked, it does not immediately kill the opposing leader. Instead, it reduces the fighting strength of the leader by one. The Semuta card remains with the leader after the battle, unless the leader is killed. At the beginning of each following game turn, that leader's fighting strength is further reduced by one until the turn reaches zero, in which case the leader is sent to the tanks and the Semuta card is discarded. Such a leader is revived normally and at full strength. Leaders who have a Semuta card on them lead battle and duel at their reduced strength. When the drugged leader is killed, the winner of the battle collects only the amount of spice equal to their current reduced strength at the time of death.
Semuta is a powerful narcotic derived from the Ellaca Drug. One dose causes permanent addiction. The drug causes the addict to slowly lose his or her abilities as the addict spends more and more time in drug-induced euphoria. Addicts do not die from the drug itself but from deprivation of food, sleep and other necessities that the addict denies himself.
Stone Burner - used as a special weapon. This weapon, played normally in battle, automatically kills an opponent's leader and all of his tokens in the territory, plus the friendly leader. Both players may use shields to protect their leaders against a stone burner, but all of the opponent's tokens are still removed to the tanks. A player who uses a stone burner in battle still loses the number of tokens he dials for the battle. If a lasegun/shield explosion occurs in the same battle, the lasegun/ shield explosion takes precedence, destroying all leaders, tokens and spice in the territory. Optional rule: Unless a Karama card has been used in the same battle to prevent Atreides prescience, Paul Muad'Dib is not affected by the blast of the stone burner.
A stone burner is a small nuclear device which is used to bore through solid rock. While not a very powerful explosive device, it emits a particular radiation over a wide radius, which permanently blinds any unshielded person, thus neutralizing any force in the vicinity of the blast. In Dune Messiah, Paul was so blinded, but used prescience and the eyes of his children to function.
All but the Ixians, Guild and Tleilaxu are assigned dots. These three take permanent seats at the table to fix the treachery card bidding order. The Guild fights in the same order in which it moved. The Guild can not move before the Ixians, who always move and fight first.
When the Atreides are in the game, the Atreides player may either use the Kwisatz Haderach counter or the Main Character Leader disc once during the battle round of each game turn. He may not use both during the same battle round. The Kwisatz Haderach counter may not be used in a Kanly Duel. Exception: The Main Character Leader and the Kwisatz Haderach counter could be used in multiple battles in the same territory during a battle round, but only one or the other could be used in a particular battle.
In the situation in which both the Bene Tleilaxu and another player declare the same leader a traitor at the same moment, the Bene Tleilaxu claim takes precedence. Leaders can not be declared as traitors when they are in a Kanly Duel or a War of Assassins as fighters or supporters.
| <urn:uuid:0b16710a-3f94-47da-91c9-edc7c0cc7f94> | http://www.sorvan.com/games/dune/Rules/GrandDUNE.html | en | 0.951779 | 0.01886 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Fire it up Lyrics by Da Brat
Fire it up by Da Brat
Verse 1:
My day starts out light, but it is very heavy as the night approach
When I take flow from all dat smoke dat I smoke, no joke
As I commence to take flight its gotta be first class cuz this ass
Could give a f**k about coach....b**ch
(How high do you fly when you fly back?)
From da bottom to top- top to bottom and back
Now as I lay me in da cup gettin f**ked up
Puffin on blunts and comin up with some mo of dat funky stuff
Rough and tough is not enough to keep my focus
No its dat hocus pocus abracadabra smokeyas
Fills up da room as I breathe again
One smoke from da ghetto its dem braids and
When flossing in my benz with my friends it begins
Smell the aroma puttin you in a coma
Its dat super sanky dank that'll make ya faint go blank
Hey when I its da door all my niggas say,
Chorus: Adi adi adi adi ah... (its probably all dat chronic that I smoke)
Oh How we love it when ya fire it up
Adi adi adi adi ah...layin in da cut gettin real f**ked up (say 2x)
Verse 2:
Its a new day new day truly ain't nathin changed
Fall up out my bed to the same ol' thangs
Your averaged, everyday black surrounded, bar-b-que, a little weed
Its some niggas with some bass pounding
One o'clock is da time to raise
take a shower brush my teeth and correct my braids
Now listen up to what I say because this typa sh*t, it happens everyday and
(I gotta place where I soak some so) In da summer its a coolin
In da winter its a smoke ho
20 feet away from da house in da back
Surrounded by a gate draked in all black its
(Its where me and my homies go smokin on that thang till it aint no mo)
How we smoke? (we smoke till I blast some mo)
Doin my thang kickin back relax and then
Chrous: say (2x)
We like to smoke, we like to smoke, we like to smoke baaaby (say 4x) | <urn:uuid:94316690-b644-4bd0-897a-cd9b1d1ddde3> | http://www.stlyrics.com/songs/d/dabrat975/fireitup45079.html | en | 0.833466 | 0.204869 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Top Definition
A gay or homosexual man. batty being your butt, if your a bayyt boy, it means you are a boy who likes it up the but
Ali G: Your a batty boy, you like it up the batty
by Piemanthe3rd December 29, 2003
Used in West Indies to refer to someone who is either a homosexual, or is suspected of being a homosexual. Usually is an insult. This is of course a very dangerous situation. See also batti boy and chi chi man. There are many more names. If you are still confused, listen to an Elephant Man CD.
Batty boy get kicked in de face~Elephant Man
by Titty25 June 11, 2004
Batty boy or Battyman is a derogatory term used in Jamaica, Belize and the rest of the Anglophone Caribbean to describe a gay man.
Zika is a Batty boy but he denies it...
by geckonium June 09, 2006
A term that can be commonly heard being used by Chavs and Rude Boys on London's streets as a plain insult or as a derogatory term for a gay person, often directed at members of the public because they won't surrender their mobile phone.
The term is believed to have been brought by Jamaican migrants to Britain, which along with the term Chi Chi man is designed to denegrate homosexuals.
Chav or misled youngster: Gimme your phone posh boiii. Walk Awayy batty boy (t is often not pronouced, instead replaced by a glottle stop)
by Winston_fist June 10, 2005
Gay person. This is the word used in jamaica. Where gays are murdered and not welcome.
"Gway battyboy, mi no want u ya! bomboclaate!"
by Ken Bailey July 25, 2008
Free Daily Email
Emails are sent from We'll never spam you. | <urn:uuid:640f963c-9b9a-489a-8000-6d86da52c95e> | http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=batty%20boy&defid=416678 | en | 0.953911 | 0.020662 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Homeowners battle building company over deteriorating wall
by: Jeff Smith Updated:
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - This week's nasty forecast is making nearly two dozen North Charlotte homeowners nervous.
They said with each rainstorm the wall that's holding up their backyards keeps lurching outward, and they're worried about safety.
Homeowners in the Sonoma Village community have been battling for months with building company DR Horton to fix the retaining wall that keeps their backyards from falling into a marsh.
"Every rain you just pray you still have a house when you come home," said homeowner Layla McCall.
McCall showed Eyewitness News the 6-foot wall that keeps her backyard from slipping into the undeveloped marsh.
"Our issue is it's eroding here, and eventually this wall is going to fall," McCall said. "You just worry if the wall is falling today. You worry if this the day you come home and your house is in this natural wetland."
Nearly two-dozen residents said for the last few months bricks along the wall are moving and sliding, and cracks have started to develop -- small at first, then bigger with every rainstorm.
"This is definitely a safety risk because if this wall goes, eventually it'll cause all of this ground to go, because this is a slope. Our houses will potentially fall off the foundation," McCall said.
McCall said homebuilder DR Horton added cement two years ago to fix the problem, but now they're refusing to do more.
Other residents said they've called the county, and were told there was never a permit issued for that wall, meaning that county code enforcement has no record of its construction.
"I don't think any of the workmanship that I've seen done has been quality," said homeowner Rita Krebs. "Eventually we could lose half our backyards, at least."
Somona Village residents are now emailing and calling county code enforcement and asking for a meeting with inspectors this week.
"We're going to ask them to come out and inspect it and see if it's something the county can fix," McCall said.
McCall said she hopes inspectors will intervene before the problem gets worse.
Eyewitness News emailed DR Horton, asking why they aren't reinforcing the wall with cement. They didn't respond to the message Sunday evening. | <urn:uuid:7b1774e9-412b-4ee6-8ff3-91fbc0653145> | http://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/homeowners-battle-building-company-over-deteriorat/223265024 | en | 0.972517 | 0.02508 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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For the films, see Chakram (2003 film) and Chakram (2005 film). For the former currency and coin, see Travancore chakram.
Sikhs with chakrams.jpg
Sikhs with chakrams, inscribed "Nihang Abchal Nagar" (Nihang from Hazur Sahib), 1844
Type Circle
Place of origin India
The chakram (Devanāgarī: चक्रं; Punjabi: chakkar; Malay: cakeram) is a throwing weapon from India. It is circular in shape with a sharpened outer edge and ranges in size from approximately 12–30 centimetres (4.7–11.8 in) in diameter. It is also known as chalikar[1] meaning "circle", and was sometimes referred to in English writings as a "war-quoit". The chakram is primarily a throwing weapon but can also be used hand-to-hand. A smaller variant called chakri was worn on the wrist. A related weapon is the chakri dang, a bamboo staff with a chakri attached at one end.
Earliest references to the chakram come from the Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana where the Sudarshana Chakra is the weapon of the god Vishnu and from the contemporaneous early Tamil poems (2nd century BCE-2nd century CE) or it is an actual weapon called the Thikiri (Tamil திகிரி) in the hands of kings and chieftains. Chakradhaari ("chakram-wielder," or simply "circle-man") is a name for Krishna. The chakram was later used extensively by the Sikhs as recently as the days of Ranjit Singh. It came to be associated with Sikhs because of the Nihang practice of wearing chakram on their arms, around the neck and even tied in tiers on high turbans. The Portuguese chronicler Duarte Barbosa writes (c. 1516) of the chakram being used in the Delhi Sultanate.[2]
The people of the kingdom ... are very good fighting men and good knights, armed with many kinds of weapons; they are great bowmen, and very strong men; they have very good lances, swords, daggers, steel maces, and battle-axes, with which they fight; and they have some steel wheels,which they call chakarani, two fingers broad, sharp outside like knives, and without edge inside; and the surface of these is of the size of a small plate. And they carry seven or eight of these each, put on the left arm; and they take one and put it on the finger of the right hand, and make it spin round many times, and so they hurl it at their enemies, and if they hit anyone on the arm or leg or neck, it cuts through all. And with these they carry on much fighting, and are very dexterous with them.
From its native India, variations of the chakram spread to other Asian countries. In Tibet, Malaysia, and Indonesia, the chakram was not flat but torus-like. The Mongol cavalry used a similar throwing weapon with spiked edges.[citation needed]
Mid-19th century Nihang turban from Lahore. Cotton over a wicker frame and steel overlaid with gold. "A tall conical turban provided convenient transportation for a number of sharp steel quoits - edged weapons hurled to lethal effect by the practised hand of the Akalis."
Chakram are traditionally made from steel or brass which is beaten into a circular shape against an anvil with an indentation for the curvature. Two ends are connected with a piece of brass and then heated, forming a complete circle before the brass is removed. Some chakram, even those used in combat, were ornately engraved, or inlaid with brass, silver or gold.[3]
The chakram is half an inch to one inch wide and is typically between 5-12 inches in diameter. The smaller variations are known as chakri while the larger ones are called vada chakra which were as large as a shield.
The chakram's combat application is largely dependent on its size. Regular-sized (15+ cm dia.) steel chakram could be thrown 40–60 meters, while brass chakram, due to their better airfoil design, could be thrown in excess of 100 metres (330 ft).[4] If properly constructed, it should be a perfect circle. Warriors trained by throwing chakram at lengths of green bamboo. In single combat, the chakram could be thrown underarm like a modern Aerobie. In battle, it was usually thrown vertically so as to avoid accidentally hitting an ally on the left or right side. A stack of chakram could be quickly thrown one at a time like shuriken. On elephant or horseback, chakram could be more easily thrown than spears or arrows. Because of its aerodynamic circular shape it is not easily deflected by wind.
The most iconic method of throwing a chakram is tajani, wherein the weapon is twirled on the index finger of an upraised hand and thrown with a timed flick of the wrist. The spin is meant to add power and range to the throw, while also avoiding the risk of cutting oneself on the sharp outer edge. An adept user can twirl the chakram while using another weapon with the other hand. The use of tajani in battle was perfected by the Nihang who employed a particular formation to protect the chakram-wielder from harm. Although variants of the chakram would make their way to neighbouring parts of the region, the tajani technique appears to have remained unique to Indian martial arts.
The smaller chakri could also be worn on the arms or wrists and used like knuckledusters. When worn on the arms the chakri could be used to break or cut the opponent's arms while grappling. The larger vada chakra were worn around the neck and thrown or dropped down on the opponent vertically. In the turban, it could be raked across an enemy's face or eyes while fighting.
Modern inventions and applications[edit]
In the 1970s, the American inventor Alan Adler began attempting to improve upon a flying toy disc by considering its design characteristics. He tried streamlining the shape of the disc to reduce drag, but this resulted in a disc that was more unstable in flight. Eventually, inspired by British accounts of deadly Indian weaponry and martial arts, he turned his attention to the ring shape of the chakram. This led to the development of the predecessor of the Aerobie, which was called the "Skyro".[5]
Popular culture[edit]
Xena, armed with a chakram.
• Throughout the Xena: Warrior Princess franchise, the series protagonist, Xena, often utilized a chakram, for a ricochet attack, rebounding-off of surfaces to strike at targets from different angles.
Anime and manga
• In the Japanese RPG Tales of Symphonia and its sequels, animation, and related content, the heroine Colette Brunel used a set of chakram as her primary weapons. Her abilities like "Ray Satellite" rely on combinational use of the chakram with magic abilities.
• The Japanese manga series One Piece features minor antagonist Jango using a chakram in conjunction with his hypnotic powers. Additionally, the former main character Nefertari Vivi uses small, chakram-like blades called Peacock String Slashers in battle.
• The Japanese manga series Puella Magi Suzune Magica features the main antagonist, Kagari Hinata, using chakrams with four blades on them in battle, in conjunction with a sword and mind-manipulation magic.
Video games
• In World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor, the arakkoa have been featured using chakrams as their weapons.
• In Kingdom Hearts, Axel, the 8th member of Organization XIII, uses chakrams in battle in conjunction with fire magic.
• In Drakengard 3, Octa and the main character Zero use an overly-large chakram in combat.
• In Rakion:Chaos Force, an advanced ninja may use a pair of chakrams as their main weapon.
• In Assassin's Creed Chronicles India the title character Arbaaz Mir is able to use a number of chakrams to cut ropes or sound alarm bells in difficult to reach areas as they could bounce of the walls and floor.
• In Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, chakrams are a hybrid melee and magic mid-range weapon, using arcing focused attacks as well as circular area-of-effect attacks.
See also[edit]
2. ^ Duarte Barbosa (1970). A Description of the Coasts of East Africa and Malabar. London: Johnson Reprint Corporation.
3. ^ "Internet Archive Wayback Machine". 2010-09-21. Archived from the original on September 21, 2010. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
4. ^ "the chakra or chackrum steel flying rings used by the sikh of india". 2011-01-02. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
5. ^ Cassidy, John (1989). The Aerobie Book: An investigation into the Ultimate flying mini-machine. Klutz Press. ISBN 0-932592-30-9.
External links[edit] | <urn:uuid:89657c81-0c07-4e2a-963d-3676579a4e46> | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakram | en | 0.941755 | 0.049809 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Re: Reducing the board size
Jeff Waugh wrote:
No, it has been hard for the board to come to and execute a decision.
If you check the archives you should be able to find a message in which
David said that the board was unable to decide on having this referendum.
So why are you saying "No"?
I'm saying no because in the general case, it's not basic agreement that is
the problem, it's the finality and commitment of execution that is. Even on
this particular issue, there was broad agreement among board members (in the
past) that a smaller board would be more capable of making quick decisions,
but no change was made (there is no need for a referendum - but I think we
would have done one anyway, as a matter of community consultation). Now that
I have a different perspective on the problem, I'm glad we were unable to
execute it previously. Oh, the irony.
To illustrate the point that Jeff is making (which I agree with, mostly), what happens often with the board is that someone will contact the board looking for a decision or some direction (like permission to sell GNOME merchandise, or permission to reproduce the logo), or someone will have a proposal for some expenditure (like the events box this year), and one person, or two, reply on the list saying "I think we should..." And then nothing happens. It never makes it onto a board meeting agenda, and the majority of the board just don't say anything about it.
What then happens is either (1) the person who said "I think we should..." does a little red hen on it, and just replies to the person, giving the "official" board position. Or (2) the person is happy to have expressed themselves on the issue, and unless someone replies a couple of weeks later saying "so what did we tell this person?", the original request gets forgotten.
This is what Jeff means by going from concensus to execution.
David Neary
bolsh gimp org
| <urn:uuid:e554e1eb-f0ae-4a59-b6bd-370af34734ef> | https://mail.gnome.org/archives/foundation-list/2005-October/msg00111.html | en | 0.971489 | 0.453129 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
AYSO Region 213
Injury Process
The game of soccer involves a lot of movement and contact among its participants - and at times players may be injured and require medical attention. The Safe Haven program ensures that coaches are prepared to assist players with minor injuries. However, should a player be injured in such a way that they need to stop their participation, and possibly be taken for evaluation or to an emergency room, then the following should be taken care of.
Note - this is only for instances where a player is injured during an AYSO activity (like a practice or a game).
1. Coach Fills out an Injury Report -
The coach should write an email with the information listed below and send it to rc@aysosoccer.org:
- name of coach
- division the player plays in
- full name of player
- full name of parent
- contact information for coach
- contact information for player's family
- date and time of incident
- designation of whether this was practice or game
- a description of what happened leading up to accident. , including trips to hospital (note, this will be a repeat of what they said below)
- what is the outcome of the events after the accident - resulting diagnosis, any administered care, etc.
- expectation for how long the player will be out
2. Return to activity
Should a player have to miss practices or games due to the injury then the player and parents must provide a doctor's signed release form to the coach allowing them to participate in full and without restrictions. The coach should make a copy of this release and submit to his commissioner.
Please note that rules governing casts, braces, etc., must be followed even though it may appear that a player can "return".
3.Supplemental Insurance
Notify the parents that, should they need it, AYSO offers supplemental Accident Insurance. This is offered through the AYSO National Office. | <urn:uuid:2c045c7e-a49e-4806-9cc8-e03f52148b18> | https://sites.google.com/a/irvineayso.org/ayso-region-213-test/region/injury-process | en | 0.957672 | 0.023551 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Amazon Reportedly Looking To Expand Grocery Business, Roll Out AmazonFresh Beyond Seattle
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Berlin’s Network Effect Will Make It A Global Startup Center
Amazon has had an ongoing experiment for the past half decade called AmazonFresh, which offers grocery service and delivery of fresh produce to customers in its home base of Seattle. That program is on the verge of a significant expansion, according to a new report from Reuters today. Amazon is looking to offer AmazonFresh-type services in markets outside of Seattle later this year, including L.A. and San Francisco, with 20 other new markets on the roadmap for 2014, including some beyond U.S. shores.
The continued expansion will depend on how well things go in the first two non-Seattle markets, Reuters reports, according to two sources familiar with Amazon’s plans. Grocery represents a massive potential untapped market, as grocery retail sales totaled $568 billion just last year alone, according to the report. That’s a big chunk of change, and one that Amazon might be more interested in as it moves into a more dominant position in terms of the sale of non-grocery goods and electronics. For Amazon, continued growth is a key metric. It experienced growth last quarter that would have been impressive for any company, for instance, but it was off its previous feverish pace, which resulted in some analysts flagging it as a stock to watch cautiously.
Grocery would indeed be a massive market that Amazon still has the power to disrupt, as existing providers like Wal-Mart, Whole Foods and others still generally use the tried-and-true brick-and-mortar means of selling to customers. There’s a reason for that: as the Reuters report notes, grocery has proven relatively impervious to attempts to turn it into an online business thus far, mostly because of immense costs of keeping inventory on hand, factors like spoilage that don’t affect other goods, and delivery complications (refrigerated trucks, for instance).
Amazon has a lot more resources to throw at the problem than your average startup, including well-funded ones like cautionary tale Webvan, however, and it also has five years experience providing these services on a limited scale in the Seattle market. Bezos has had good things to say about AmazonFresh as recently as 2011, though he did say that there was still room to “tinker” when it came to establishing economics that were “acceptable” for the company.
“We like the idea of it, but we have a high bar on what we expect in terms of the business economics for something like Amazon Fresh in terms of profitability and return on investment capital,” he said during a shareholder meeting in June, 2011 (via GeekWire). “We continue to think about that.”
It looks like Bezos and company may have done a lot of thinking over the past two years and are ready to apply the fruits of that labor to a broader service area. Don’t expect too speedy a rollout even if this report is correct, however, as there’s still a lot of moving parts, and this, more than other endeavors, is likely highly subject to differences in each local market. | <urn:uuid:dcbb0121-6331-47ad-89a3-6a7adbb85247> | https://techcrunch.com/2013/06/04/amazon-reportedly-looking-to-expand-grocery-business-roll-out-amazonfresh-beyond-seattle/ | en | 0.966418 | 0.024291 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
How to Copy or Move the Existing Versions of the Database Files You Are Restoring
Topic Last Modified: 2005-05-09
This topic explains how to copy or move a database file that you are trying to restore.
Before you perform the procedure in this topic, consider the following:
Moving database files from their original location to a different folder on the same logical disk is almost instantaneous, as the only data that must be written to disk is an update to the NTFS Master File Table (MFT). Moving the files to a different logical disk (even if both drives share the same physical disk) or making a copy of them in any location takes much longer because each database file must be rewritten to the new location. Moving or copying the database files to a different location over the network takes even more time, and can use a lot of your network bandwidth. This is just one reason why making full use of the 4 storage group and 20 database capabilities of Exchange Server 2003 (more databases of smaller sizes) is actually more manageable and can decrease the time that you spend on backup and restore-related tasks.
1. Make sure that the databases that you are moving or making a copy of are dismounted. For more information about how to dismount databases, see "Dismounting the Exchange Databases That You Are Restoring" in Recovering an Exchange Database.
2. Make sure the databases you are copying have been shut down in a clean state. Use Eseutil /mh to dump the header information for the database. Look for State: Clean Shutdown in the dumped information.
If the database is in a dirty state, try to restore the database to a clean state before you repair it. This task entails playing any required transaction logs into the database. The Log Required field in the dump file from Eseutil /mh will show you the logs that are required to restore the database to a clean state. The logs shown in this field are shown in decimal, you must convert these values to hexadecimal to find the appropriate transaction log files.
In many cases, remounting the database causes soft recovery to start so that the database can be shut down in a clean state.
3. Create a folder to store the database files that you want to move or copy. You can create the folder either on a local hard disk or on your network. Make sure the destination location has sufficient room before you start the copy process. Remember that moving the file to another location on the same logical drive is the fastest way to preserve the damaged database.
Copying database files before the restore process
For more information about restoring Exchange Server 2003, see Restoring Exchange Server 2003.
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Sit Up Straight: Tips to Ditch Desk Ailments in Your Clients
Sit Up Straight: Tips to Ditch Desk Ailments in Your Clients | American Council on Exercise | Expert Articles | 5/1/2012
“Many people have desk set ups that aren’t conducive to good posture,” said ACE Director of Credentialing Todd Galati. “Because of that, a few things start to happen when they get tired. Their head drops forward as they stare at the screen, the upper part of their back hunches over and their shoulders move forward because they’re continually reaching their arms up and out.”
Prevent Long-Term Damage
Poor posture at work can lead to exaggerated lordosis (curvature of the lower back) or kyphosis (also known as “hunchback”).
“Eventually our bodies become accustomed to those deficiencies, and we’ll adopt that incorrect posture even after we leave our desk,” Galati said. “With exaggerated kyphosis (curvature in our upper spine) our muscles between our shoulder blades will become longer and weaker to their counterparts, the chest muscles. This causes an imbalance causing the scapulae to be pulled forward (protracted), adding to the “hunchback” posture and issues that go with it.”
If you don’t complete those deficiencies in your clients at the onset of training, it will most likely get worse or increase their chance of injury.
“When your clients aren’t moving efficiently, it makes their activities of daily living more difficult and inhibits movement when they’re working out,” Galati said. “If their weight is distributed evenly and their spine is neutral, they’ll feel more in control of their bodies and be able to move more freely.”
Solve It with Movement
Correcting postural deviations in your desk-bound clients should be the first obstacle you tackle in a training regimen. Get started with these 4 movements:
1. Prisoner RotationsStart in a kneeling position and interlock hands behind the head without pulling head forward. Engage core muscles to stabilize lumbar spine. Exhale and rotate arms to the right until a point of resistance is reached (no bouncing or rotating the hips). Hold for 15 seconds and then laterally flex the trunk, pointing the right elbow toward the floor. Hold for 5 seconds, and then return to upright position. Laterally flex in the opposite direction before returning to upright position and allowing the trunk to rotate further into the movement. Perform 2-4 repetitions on each side to promote thoracic spine mobility in the transverse plane.
2. Bird DogStart in a hands and knees position on a mat, with knees underneath hips and the crease of wrists underneath shoulders, fingers pointing forward. Engage core, keep spine in a neutral position and avoid sagging hips. Lengthen left leg, engage quadricep, and lift your left leg off the floor until parallel with the mat. Do not lift above hip height. Slowly raise and straighten right arm so that it’s parallel with the floor and head is aligned with spine. Do not allow shoulders to tilt upward. Shoulders and hips should stay square or parallel to the mat throughout exercise. Hold for no more than 7 seconds, then slowly lower back to starting position.
3. Table-Top Kneeling Lat StretchKneel facing a low table, couch or chair, bending forward to place both extended arms on the object (rest forearms). Engage core to stabilize spine and prevent lordosis. Start with arms internally rotated, thumbs pointing inward. Exhale and gently collapse trunk and head toward the floor, maintaining a neutral spine while externally rotating the arms. Hold for 15 seconds, and then perform a series of slow anterior and posterior pelvic tilts. Relax and repeat 2-4 times.
4. Shoulder Packing – Start lying on the back with knees bent 90 degrees and feet flat on floor, aligning the anterior superior iliac spine with knee and second toe. Position arms at sides of trunk with palms facing upward. Engage core to stabilize lumbar spine. Exhale and perform 2-4 repetitions of scapular depression and scapular retraction, holding each for 5-10 seconds. Using passive assistance from the opposite arm, gently push down on the shoulder without losing lumbar stability. Hold for 15-60 seconds. Relax and repeat 2-4 times on each shoulder.
Check out our related ACE courses on posture including Conducting Postural Assessments (0.2 CECs) and Your Clients’ Framework (0.7 CECs). | <urn:uuid:6789a39a-c1f0-46f7-a2f8-7417cfabd4a3> | https://www.acefitness.org/blogs/postdetail.aspx?page=123&postid=2587 | en | 0.901307 | 0.024636 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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Could a biological father sign his rights over and stop paying Child Support?
Trenton, GA |
My 8 year old's biological father is behind in child support. He agreed to pay it, however the courts are going to take his DL and now he wants to sign his rights over. If he does this will it clear him from paying support for her? Also, does my current spouse need to adopt her in order for this to happen?
+ Read More
Attorney answers 3
"Also, does my current spouse need to adopt her in order for this to happen? "
The dad can't just "sign his rights over" but he can consent to termnaiton of his parent/child relationship AND adoption by your spouse.
Adoption will not affect past due support.
A biological parent can voluntarily surrender their parental rights only as long as they are being surrendered to someone else. In your situation, if your husband is intending to adopt your child, the father can voluntarily surrender his rights in the adoption proceedings. (The father cannot sign over his rights unless your husband is adopting.)
Once a parent's rights are terminated, that parent is no longer obligated to support the child. The parent is also no longer entitled to visitation or inheritance rights. If your husband adopts your child, and the father surrenders his rights to allow the adoption, the biological father will no longer be responsible for paying new child support assessments. However, this ONLY applies to new payments. He will continue to be liable for all past due arrears (all support that was owed up to the effective date of the adoption).
If you and your husband decide to proceed with a step-parent adoption, you should hire an attorney to assist you. While the process is not overly complicated, it is extremely specific. It is not advisable to attempt it on your own.
There are 2 issues here: Child support and Parental rights. The Court is always going to ask: What is in the best interest of the child? Therefore, the biological father will always be responsible for Court-ordered child support. Yes, his license will be suspended if he is far enough in arrears. Further, he will be responsible for all of the child support he owes. He cannot simply pay you off and then abandon his rights.
The prior responses cover the signing over of parental rights. It is advisable to consult an attorney because there may be other relevant issues which may change the outcome. | <urn:uuid:f86351f7-3ba9-4258-8479-ecfa69f8bc08> | https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/could-a-biological-father-sign-his-rights-over-and-565202.html | en | 0.97368 | 0.027554 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Historic Newport, RI
Historic Places
With four centuries of history under our belt, this corner of America is rich with authentic attractions. From 17th century churches and clapboard homes to a Colonial-era tavern, library and state homes, to Gilded Age mansions, historic lighthouses, streetscapes and more, a piece of the past lurks around every corner. | <urn:uuid:6da399a5-4470-4974-a992-94698ff4e825> | https://www.discovernewport.org/things-to-do/historic-places/ | en | 0.910425 | 0.08629 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
How Space Science Is Helping Fight Against Cancer
Charles Q. Choi
How Space Science Is Helping Fight Against Cancer
Sunlight glints off the International Space Station with the blue limb of Earth providing a dramatic backdrop in this photo taken by an astronaut on the shuttle Endeavour just before it docked after midnight on Feb. 10, 2010 during the STS-130
Advanced strategies to fight cancer are taking inspiration from experiments in the final frontier of outer space, researchers say.
The gravity experienced in low-Earth orbit, which is 10,000 to 1 million times less powerful than that felt on Earth's surface, allows researchers to study cell behavior that's normally masked by responses to gravity. Learning more about these processes is shedding light on how cells usually work, and how they can malfunction in the case of cancer.
"When you take away the force of gravity, you can unmask some things you can't readily see on Earth," said cell biologist Jeanne Becker of Nano3D Biosciences in Houston. "When gravitational force is reduced, cell shape changes, the way they grow changes, the genes they activate change, the proteins they make change." [6 Cool Space Shuttle Experiments]
Scientists have been taking note of such effects for decades. For instance, experiments in the 1970s on Skylab, the first U.S. space station, discovered that red blood cells develop bumpy surfaces in space, a change that disappeared within hours once astronauts returned to Earth.
More recently, research investigating 10,000 genes found that the behavior of 1,632 of them — including genes linked with cell death and tumor suppression — was altered in microgravity.
Although microgravity can distort normal biology, conventional procedures for studying cells on Earth can introduce their own problems. For instance, experiments on Earth often grow cells as flat layers in dishes, obscuring how they behave in real life when they can interact with each other in three dimensions in complex ways.
"When you grow cancers in three dimensions as opposed to flat layers, their response to drugs is vastly different — they become more resistant to drugs," Becker told
These discoveries spurred the creation of devices that could mimic the effects of microgravity on Earth so researchers could see how cells behave in three dimensions. For example, so-called rotating wall vessel bioreactors constantly spin cells, keeping them as close to the free fall seen in space as possible.
Other devices use magnetic fields to levitate cells and counteract the pull of gravity.
Such machines have supported analyses of a wide variety of cancers, such as those of the breast, cervix, kidney, colon, liver, skin, lung, bone, ovaries and prostate.
"The work we do can help address how cancer grows, reveal new ways of tackling drug resistance," Becker said.
Although devices that seek to mimic or induce microgravity are valuable to science, they cannot fully replace the effects seen in orbit. For instance, the crew of the final doomed flight of the space shuttle Columbia in 2003 found that prostate cancer cells grown in space developed into golf-ball-size structures, while clumps grown in rotating wall vessel bioreactors only reached 3 to 5 millimeters (0.1 to 0.2 inches) in size.
"With the International Space Station, we have a lab that doesn't exist anywhere else," Becker said. "It's an exciting platform for discovery."
Space-based science has also improved microencapsulation technology that envelops molecules in capsules, helping develop new delivery systems for cancer drugs. In addition, research exploring how plants respond to light has also shown new ways to reduce pain associated with cancer treatments.
Although NASA's space shuttle program retired in 2011, "we have commercial access to the space station coming up the pipeline, and we still have access to it through vehicles like the Russians' Progress spacecraft," Becker said. "So the opportunities are really limitless."
Becker and her colleague Glauco Souza detailed this research online April 12 in the journal Nature Reviews Cancer.
Follow us @SpacedotcomFacebook or Google+. Originally published on
| <urn:uuid:527e0835-996a-4d63-bc1f-edc48fa8278d> | https://www.yahoo.com/news/space-science-helping-fight-against-cancer-140120062.html?.tsrc=lgwnimages/banners/130x130scrapconference.vacatu/inL-LTRGTB.TTF-&ref=gs | en | 0.931024 | 0.043063 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Baseball Predictions: Thaaaa Yankees Win!
We are peering through the haze, peering ahead to October.
We see confetti floating. We see champagne spouting. We see another of baseball's interminable World Series droughts fading into the past tense.
The Cubs, you ask? The Indians? The Giants?
Nope. Sorry. We can see it now. From the same sport that wiped out 86 years of unbearable Red Sox doom and then obliterated 88 years of unceasing White Sox gloom, perhaps the most painful drought of them all is about to cease. Finally.
We are talking about the anguish, the suffering of ...
The New York Yankees ... a team that hasn't won the World Series in nearly five-and-a-half long years.
Well, they're back, friends. This is their year.
Some teams dream about winning the World Series. The Yankees are required to win the World Series. Every stinking year. Or else.
So you don't think five-and-a-half trophyless years for the Yankees are the equivalent of 86 years of droughts and curses in a place like New England? Guess again.
"Oh, yeah, it may be," Derek Jeter laughs. "I don't know about the other side, obviously. But here, it definitely seems like it's been a long time."
For five consecutive Octobers they've had to watch some other team celebrate. And almost all those teams got to celebrate, by the way, because, somewhere along the line, they'd vanquished the mighty Yankees.
That is not the Yankees' idea of fun. It is more like the Yankees' idea of torture.
Asked if he even watches the World Series when his team isn't in it, Jeter gets a look on his mug that is the kind of look the rest of us might get if we were asked if we'd like to pass a kidney stone the size of a bowling ball.
"Noooo," Jeter says. "I ain't watching that. No interest. I get sick to my stomach watching that stuff.
"I'm not a good loser," Jeter reminds us, as if anybody suspected otherwise.
And his boss, his owner -- that Steinbrenner character -- he's an even worse loser. Which is why, since the last time the Yankees won a World Series (way, way back in the year 2000), Steinbrenner's team has:
Signed 12 major free agents (i.e., players making more than $5 million a year): Jason Giambi, Mike Mussina, Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui (twice), Gary Sheffield, Carl Pavano, Jaret Wright, Kyle Farnsworth, Jose Contreras, Sterling Hitchcock, Robin Ventura and Steve Karsay. Total price tag: more than half a billion dollars ($529.45 million).
Traded for Randy Johnson, Alex Rodriguez, Kevin Brown, Raul Mondesi and David Justice -- all of whom made slightly more than, say, Bubba Crosby.
Lost postseason series five times to teams -- the Diamondbacks, Angels, Marlins, Red Sox and Angels again -- that spent a combined 362.7 million fewer payroll dollars than the Yankees did.
Cashman in Control
After every one of those lost series, Steinbrenner has stewed, fumed and done an excellent job of pulling out his checkbook.
But if you haven't paid attention lately, maybe you haven't noticed some very significant Yankees events -- events that indicate a shifting of Yankees philosophies.
Two winters ago, they actually passed on a chance to sign Carlos Beltran, because they didn't see tying up another $100 million (plus a potential $40 million more in luxury tax) as a real brilliant idea.
And this past winter, while the big headlines revolved around the signings of Damon and Farnsworth, the most important Yankees news really had nothing to do with players -- whether they were new, old or engraved on a monument in left field.
No, the biggest story was Steinbrenner's decision to make peace with manager Joe Torre and to give GM Brian Cashman not just a new contract but more control over the direction of the operation.
There is monstrous significance to those developments for many reasons. But one of them is that Cashman is trying hard to steer the Yankees away from the mind-set that clubs should be put together like a giant fantasy team.
So Cashman, realist that he is, is not a man who is particularly thrilled with those suggestions that five straight parade-free years in the Bronx is a crime that ought to result in everyone responsible being deported to Chechnya.
"I get a little insulted when people say, 'It's been five years,'" Cashman says. "You know, it's not easy to win a World Series. It's impossible [to win it every year]. The odds of that aren't good.
"I hear people talk about our payroll and that's why we should win. Well, if that was true, then we would have had 100 world championships already, because we've probably led in payroll for 100 straight years. So that's why I get insulted by that talk, because we respect the game way too much to have that attitude."
There aren't many people left anymore, you realize, who were part of all four recent Yankees title teams, oh those many years ago (1996, '98, '99 and 2000).
The GM was there in '96 (although as an assistant GM). The manager hasn't changed. But Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Bernie Williams are the only players who have been around for the last decade. And now, with the exit of pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre, even the coaching staff has been 100 percent turned over.
So this year's coaches include four former big league managers (Larry Bowa, Tony Pena, Lee Mazzilli, Joe Kerrigan), plus two living Yankees legends (Don Mattingly and Ron Guidry). That staff has spent this spring refocusing this group's attention on the little things (execution, base running, preparation, etc.). What a concept.
"Maybe we took a little of that stuff for granted here -- but not this spring," Cashman says.
"To win, you have to be able to do the little things," Jeter says. "One thing that bothers me a lot about baseball and how it's gone today is ... you turn on the TV every night to watch the highlights, and all you get is home runs. But when you get to the postseason, there are not too many home run hitting contests."
Of course, the 1996-2000 Yankees didn't just practice the little things. They worshiped the little things. It remains to be seen how much this star-studded roster can ever resemble that one. But we still didn't see one team this spring any better than these Yankees. Not one.
So why do we think they'll win it all? Here's why:
1. More sanity
Last year this time, the Bronx Zoo was in full don't-feed-the-animals frenzy. The Bombers were coming off their most embarrassing postseason el foldo in history. Jason Giambi was trying to dodge getting his contract voided. It was Johnson's first spring as a Yankee. Matsui's contract negotiations weren't going well, etc., etc. But even worse, Cashman was in the final year of his contract and dropping hints that he wouldn't mind bolting for saner pastures. And Torre and Steinbrenner weren't even on speaking terms.
Now Cashman's deal is done through 2008. Steinbrenner was seen several times this spring literally plopping himself on the couch in Torre's office to banter with the manager. And the clubhouse vibe was amazingly serene, upbeat and downright jovial. So for a month and a half, these Yankees actually seemed normal. Who knew?
"It seems like everyone in here gets along great," Damon says. "You never heard that before."
2. Everybody loves Damon
How many ways will the Yankees feel the impact of Damon? Let's count them. On offense? Yeah, good place to start. Damon has scored 100 runs eight years in a row. No other leadoff hitter in the last seven decades can make that claim.
On defense? You bet. Damon may not be Ichiro out there when it comes time to throw the ball, but he can sure catch it. He reached so many more balls in the outfield last year than Bernie Williams that, over 150 games, Damon would have turned 101 more fly balls into outs than his beloved predecessor, Bernie. That's a lot of doubles.
In the standings? No doubt. You can't just add Damon to the Yankees. You have to subtract him from the Red Sox. Coco Crisp is a terrific player. But he isn't anywhere near as patient, as savvy or as charismatic as the guy he's replacing.
In the clubhouse? Sure looks that way. We we're as dubious as everyone else that Damon's fun-loving attitude would fit into the Yankees' more serious, more structured way of life. But so far, so good.
"I know we're accused of being corporate," Cashman says. "But we have a lot of guys who have fun. I think they go corporate in front of the press, only because there are more people watching. But Joe Torre runs a pretty loose ship. He lets guys be themselves. So we're not looking for guys to come here and change."
3. The deep blue pitching staff
If everybody stays healthy ...
But that'll happen when your two best starting pitchers -- Johnson and Mussina -- will be a combined 80 years old by the end of the season. And when your No. 3 starter, Chien-Ming Wang, was told he needed shoulder surgery last July (but never had it). And when your fourth and fifth starters -- Pavano and Wright -- spent more than 200 days on the disabled list last summer.
It's hard to find anyone who doesn't believe that the pitching staff is this team's biggest potential black hole. But here's why this year isn't going to be a rerun of last year -- when the Yankees had to rip through 14 starting pitchers and 28 pitchers altogether. This year, they've backed themselves up with depth they didn't have last season.
There should be no Darrell May or Tim Redding one-and-done debacles this season. Beside the five starters we mentioned above, this team also has last year's two miracle saviors, Shawn Chacon and Aaron Small. Beyond them, Scott Proctor this spring looked like a guy who could step in and start and not embarrass anybody. And waiting in Triple-A is rising prospect Matt DeSalvo, who opened eyes with his 1.13 spring ERA.
That's nine potential starters. "And as you know," Cashman chuckles, "we'll need them all to do what we want to do."
The bullpen has also been retooled, with Farnsworth, Mike Myers, Ron Villone and Octavio Dotel moving in to build a new bridge to the great Rivera, who is obviously really slipping. He faced 27 hitters this spring -- and gave up one hit.
But there is one more major difference between this year's staff and last year's: The 6-foot-10 ace looked like an ace all spring. Johnson got his mechanics locked in early, bonded with new pitching coach Guidry, and says: "I feel really good."
4. Bombs away
Is there a better lineup in baseball than this one? We can't find one. True, there's only one addition: Damon. But here's the difference he can make: The Yankees finished just 14 shy of 900 runs last year, even though they finished last in the league in on-base percentage and slugging percentage by their center fielders.
So guess which team's center fielders finished first in the league in batting average and slugging (and second in OBP)? That, of course, would be the Red Sox, whose primary center fielder was a fellow named Damon.
5. They're the Yankees
As a friend of ours told us last week, you can never go wrong picking the team with the most talent to win the World Series. Let alone the team with the most money.
And that's the Yankees. The Yankees' payroll is down $10 to $13 million, depending on how you calculate it. But the team still writes the biggest checks around. It still starts an all-star at every position except second base. And even though its pitching staff may not be a win-the-World Series kind of staff, it's certainly a make-the-playoffs kind of staff.
So even in an American League with so many good teams that Cashman calls it "a nightmare," the Yankees are the safest bet to reach the playoffs. And after that, says Jeter, "you don't have to be the best team. You just have to be the hottest team."
Only nine players on this roster, though, have ever won a World Series. And the men who won elsewhere often wonder what it would be like to win in New York.
Take Randy Johnson. The team he won the World Series with -- the 2001 Diamondbacks -- played in a city that had never won any title in any pro sport. So winning here, he says, can't possibly be as exhilarating as winning was there.
"When something is actually expected of you," the Unit says, "it's not quite as exciting."
But Damon -- whose title in Boston was literally a life-altering experience for millions -- isn't conceding that.
"I think it would be just as fun," Damon says. "It all depends on the players you have. If winning the World Series is not a big deal, that wouldn't be right. And if you look around this clubhouse, there are a number of guys in here who have never won. So to me, it's not an issue. You've got to enjoy every single opportunity, because they don't happen that often -- not even here."
Damon recalls well how the Red Sox "became America's Team" when it won. And he's even predicting the same thing could happen if these Yankees win, now that they're actually (gulp) "slight underdogs."
OK, so they're not underdogs in the way, say, George Mason is an underdog. But it has been five and a half years. And the White Sox, A's and Indians have seemed like trendier picks this spring. And there sure has been lots of Red Sox and Blue Jays talk.
But come on. Could the Yankees actually make themselves, um, lovable? Hey, why not? If Donald Trump could pull it off, why couldn't this team?
"This is the greatest franchise on this planet," Damon says. "Everyone knows what the New York Yankees are. You either love 'em or you hate 'em. And it's my turn to love 'em."
So now can he charm about 75 million other Americans into loving 'em right along with him? Get back to us in seven months. Just as soon as the 2006 Yankees finish their 27th parade down the Canyon of Heroes.
Jayson Stark is a senior writer for | <urn:uuid:75247ffd-07ec-402d-a760-8558c05b4584> | http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/story?id=1801176&page=2 | en | 0.975445 | 0.02979 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Report: Chicago Bulls Front Office Trying to Influence Tom Thibodeau's Rotation
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Report: Chicago Bulls Front Office Trying to Influence Tom Thibodeau's Rotation
Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports
The rift between Tom Thibodeau and the Chicago Bulls front office has been the subject of whispers for quite a while, but now that executives are reportedly meddling with Thibs' rotation, those whispers are in danger of turning into shouts.
According to Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News:
Tom Thibodeau is one of the NBA’s top coaches, but when it comes to managing minutes of his top players, he is going to get some help. Even if he doesn’t want it. The Bulls’ front office has been taking an active role in telling Thibodeau how he’ll dispense minutes to Joakim Noah, among others. And these are two parties that have had their differences in the past.
There's no question that Thibodeau has made a habit of demanding huge minutes from his best players. Last year, Luol Deng led the league in minutes and Joakim Noah ranked 16th, per And as the year wore on, Jimmy Butler began to see iron-man minute allotments as well.
There's a perception out there that the Bulls' continued issues with physical breakdowns are somehow related to Thibs' excessive demands. There may or may not be something to that theory, but there's no doubt that the hard-nosed head coach won't take kindly to being told how to manage his team.
General manager Gar Forman canned Thibodeau's top assistant, Ron Adams, over the summer. So, this latest report isn't the first overt instance of the front office reaching down from the executive suite in a way that could ruffle some feathers.
For what it's worth, Chicago's best players aren't playing excessive minutes this year. Noah is at 29.3 minutes per game, while Butler leads the team with "just" 36.7 minutes per contest. It's too early to know whether those reductions are the result of a front-office decree, but they're interesting nonetheless.
Per Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, Bulls vice president John Paxson did his best to squash rumors of the divide between Thibodeau and Forman earlier this month:
Perhaps Thibodeau and his superiors really are making decisions democratically. Maybe they're calmly discussing playing time issues over tea. But that's not how Lawrence's report makes it sound.
The Bulls have the talent to go a long way this year, so a potential power struggle would have the potential to create a distraction at a highly inopportune time. This is a situation worth monitoring, as Thibodeau isn't the kind of coach to stand idly by while Forman—or anyone—gradually bleeds him of his authority.
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Chaos Theory
August 6, 2010 by Julio Fontán Jr. Comments (5)
There has been always a question that burned in people's minds:
Is there something controlling the world?
The question could -should- be modified to 'Is there an all-mighty force that controls the world?'. The answer, of course, is YES.
The force that rules the world and mankind's lives is chaos. Chaos reigns in nature. Not just in trees, flowers and "animals", but in the very essence of men.
But, What is chaos? Why the hell does it control everything?
Chaos is not evil. Clear example: A room. Maybe your room. If your room is like a lion's den (something common), it's not because you took every book on your shelves and threw it down to the floor victim of an outrageous fury. The books are on the floor because you took one, read it, took another, read it, once and again, once and again... and every time you finish a book, you left it on the floor. It's not leaving the books on the floor because your an evil genius; it's leaving them on the floor because you were lazy at the moment, and being lazy is something natural. Natural, keep that word on your mind.
Another example: A tree. You throw a cigar to a dry, old tree. The tree won't burn for revenge, to get the bastard that burnt it's skin; the tree will burn because it's a natural thing.
Things go wrong, things get chaotic... because of the natural flows of life.
And it's something we can find everywhere on earth... Maybe it's part of the sourcecode.
yes - very nice post - trhis is what we are here for - discussion this kind of topics - perfect :)
KenoNitro 2215 days ago
i guess Einstein once said this "only the genuis rules the CHAOS" :)
KenoNitro 2215 days ago
Maybe Einstein was right, but, if that phrase excludes any other possibility for being considered a genius, Einstein wasn't a genius. He didn't rule the chaos, but he did show us a part of the chaos. Chaos as the existence itself, I mean.
Thanks four your comments, BTW.
Julio Fontán Jr. 2215 days ago
so what i think describing chaos best in the sense of a sourcecode or kind of consciouss sourcecode is the random factor within and the part of trial and error. I believe in the existence of a sourcecode running behind and i think this code is transforming all the time - its learning like we humans do like every beeing is doing. It learns by random like us and by trial and error. So Darvinism would fit into the theory too. This might be the kind of chaos that is really behind. The learnig-part of a organism - you never know where it ends up :)
KenoNitro 2215 days ago
Thanks for your interesting post Julio!
I have to admit that I have difficulties to follow or understand your examples to the full extent. I think that has one reason and that is the differentiation between coincidence (or chance) and chaos. I would understand your examples to be more of coincidence-examples. But that might just be my own difficulty.
However Wikipedia give a small insight into the "Distinguishing random from chaotic data" problem:
All methods for distinguishing deterministic and stochastic processes rely on the fact that a deterministic system always evolves in the same way from a given starting point.[59][61] Thus, given a time series to test for determinism, one can:
1. pick a test state;
3. compare their respective time evolutions.
When a non-linear deterministic system is attended by external fluctuations, its trajectories present serious and permanent distortions. Furthermore, the noise is amplified due to the inherent non-linearity and reveals totally new dynamical properties. Statistical tests attempting to separate noise from the deterministic skeleton or inversely isolate the deterministic part risk failure. Things become worse when the deterministic component is a non-linear feedback system.[64] In presence of interactions between nonlinear deterministic components and noise, the resulting nonlinear series can display dynamics that traditional tests for nonlinearity are sometimes not able to capture.[65]
Cheers so far!
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• Johan Lindgren,
• Michael J. Everhart,
• Michael W. Caldwell
Mosasaurs are a group of marine reptiles that occupied a wide array of predatory niches in epicontinental seas and shallow oceans worldwide during the latter half of the Cretaceous [1]. Considered to be allied with snakes and lizards [2], [3], mosasaurs have traditionally been portrayed as serpentine animals with slender bodies and elongate, laterally flattened tails [4][6]. However, in recent years this view has been challenged in favor of hypotheses suggesting a convergence in body form and caudal fluke morphology with fast, sustained swimmers, such as ichthyosaurs and cetaceans [7][11]. Crucial to our understanding of mosasaur evolution, and the degree of aquatic adaptations they achieved, are the preservation of soft-tissue structures, which for a long time were limited to small patches of scales in a few forms [4], [9], [12][15]. However, the recognition of fossilized soft-tissues in an exceptionally preserved specimen of Platecarpus (LACM 128319; Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County) from the Niobrara Formation of Kansas, USA, provided insights into anatomical features (e.g., anteriorly migrated viscera and downturned tail) that presumably facilitated streamlining and high efficiency swimming [10]. Here we report on another extraordinarily preserved specimen (FHSM VP-401; Sternberg Museum of Natural History) that, for the first time in a mosasaur, allows characterization of not only the epidermal scales but also the underlying dermis and its fiber bundle morphology. Hence, FHSM VP-401 provides information on the deeper structure and mechanical properties of the mosasaur integument. These new data are central to expand our understanding of the degree of aquatic specializations convergently achieved by multiple organ systems in distantly related mosasaurs, in what we now know was a short period of geological time (i.e., less than 10 million years [10]).
Systematic Paleontology
Squamata Oppel 1811
Mosasauroidea Camp 1923
Mosasauridae Gervais 1852
Russellosaurina Polcyn & Bell 2005
Ectenosaurus Russell 1967
Ectenosaurus clidastoides (Merriam 1894)
Description of Integumentary Structures
FHSM VP-401 was collected in 1953 from the Santonian (Upper Cretaceous) part of the Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Formation ‘on Garrett Ranch, seven or eight miles northwest of Wakeeney, Trego County, Kansas,’ USA, by George F. Sternberg ([1] p. 158). The specimen is comprised of a complete skull and articulated anterior half of a skeleton (Figure 1A) belonging to an unusual, long-snouted russellosaurine mosasaur, denominated Ectenosaurus (from Ectenes, Gr., drawn-out; sauros, Gr., lizard) by Russell [1]. Associated with the skeletal and cartilaginous remains are 23 small slabs preserving fossilized integument (Figures 1B, 2, 3). Although Russell ([1] p. 70) reported ‘rhomboid scales’ and Everhart ([16] p. 167) mentioned ‘skin impressions’, these soft-tissue structures have hitherto remained unstudied. Because the skeletal anatomy of Ectenosaurus is reasonably well known (see [1] for description), the exceptionally preserved dermal covering of FHSM VP-401 is the focus of this report.
Figure 1. Ectenosaurus clidastoides FHSM VP-401.
Figure 2. Ectenosaurus clidastoides FHSM VP-401.
Squamation. (A) External view of imbricating and obliquely arrayed scales (FHSM VP-401-01). Note underlying phosphatized dermal fiber bundles oriented parallel to the long axis of the animal. Black and white arrow indicates anterior. (B) External view of a flattened, rhomboidal scale (FHSM VP-401-01). Note presence of a distinct central keel. (C) External view of a three-dimensional, ovoid scale (FHSM VP-401-01). The parallel furrows adjacent to the central keel probably represent artifacts of preservation. (D) Medial surface of a rhomboid scale (FHSM VP-401-08) showing the interior ridged support of the ß-layer of the epidermis (arrows). Note medially inclined scale hinge (arrowheads). (E) Medial surface of an ovoid scale (FHSM VP-401-08) showing the supportive sculpturing of the ß-layer of the epidermis (arrows). Note folded scale hinge (arrowheads). Inset, inside of a Varanus gouldi body scale (MZLU L867/3039) showing supportive sculpturing (arrows) similar to that seen in Ectenosaurus. Scale bars, (A) 2 mm and (B–E) 0.5 mm.
Figure 3. Ectenosaurus clidastoides FHSM VP-401.
Dermal fiber bundle architecture. (A) FHSM VP-401-01 showing partially degraded, longitudinal fiber bundles underlying epidermal scales. Black and white arrow indicates anterior. (B) Close-up of FHSM VP-401-04 showing superficial layers of fiber bundles with a predominantly longitudinal orientation. Note that the fiber bundles located somewhat deeper in the dermis (at the right hand side of the picture) appear to be somewhat thicker than are those immediately below the epidermal scales (at the center and left hand side of the image). (C) Longitudinally oriented and partly degraded fiber bundles located immediately below the epidermis (FHSM VP-401-04). Inset, longitudinal (arrow) dermal fiber bundles from the neck region of Eunectes sp. (LO 11215). (D) Transverse and tangential sections through helically arranged fiber bundles (FHSM VP-401-05). Arrowheads show fiber bundles that appear to be cross-weaved with those of adjacent layers, whereas arrows indicate the principal fiber bundle directions. (E) Layers with fiber bundles that extend in opposing directions (arrows) from deep within the dermis in tangential view (FHSM VP-401-04). Despite being heavily encrusted with phosphate, the fiber bundles are still readily visible. Inset (also in tangential view), a better preserved fiber bundle from the base of the section. (F) Backscatter image of an isolated fiber bundle comprised of multiple apatite aggregates (FHSM VP-401-01). Scale bars, (A, C–E) 2 mm, (B) 1 mm and (F) 30 µm.
A total of 23 chalk slabs (FHSM VP-401-01–FHSM VP-401-23) ranging in size from about 25×40 to 105×125 mm display portions of integument. The squamation is preserved as articulated sections of phosphatized matter and as a dark, reticulated pigmentation on the calcareous matrix that surrounded FHSM VP-401 (Figures 1B, 2 and 3A, C, D). The scales are roughly uniform in size (measuring about 2.7 mm in length and 2.0 mm in width) and obliquely arrayed into an alternating pattern where neighboring scales overlap one another (Figure 2A). Most scales are flattened, with a symmetrical, distinctly rhomboidal outline (Figure 2B); however, the latter is presumably an artifact of preservation because all scales that retain relief have a more or less ovoid shape (Figure 2C). From the three-dimensionally preserved scales it is further established that each scale was originally gently vaulted. A central, longitudinal keel divides the external surface of each scale into two halves of equal size (Figure 2A–C). The inner scale surface exhibits two parallel and longitudinal ridges that presumably represent supportive sculpturing of the ß-layer (i.e., outer layer) of the epidermis (Figure 2D, E—arrows). In medial view, each scale is surrounded by a thin, smoothly-surfaced wall, i.e., the scale hinge, which is either acutely bent medially (Figure 2D—arrowheads) or folded inwards (Figure 2E—arrowheads); the latter condition is presumably a result of compression from the weight of overlying sediments.
Subjacent to the scales are layers of pale, strand-like structures exposed in both transverse (i.e., at right angles to the skin surface) and tangential (i.e., parallel to the skin surface) views (Figures 1B, 2A and 3). Some of the strands are flattened (Figure 3A); others retain much of their presumed original three-dimensional form (Figure 3B). By reference to extant vertebrates [17][19], it is here assumed that the strands represent the fossilized remains of structural fiber bundles from the dermis. The thickest fiber bundles are located deepest in the skin (i.e., approximately 2 mm below the skin surface in its present, somewhat compressed state) and the thinnest are the outermost; however, this may be a taphonomic artifact because the outer layers generally are better preserved than are the deeper ones (cf. Figure 3B, E). Well-preserved fiber bundles measure about 90 µm in diameter, and occasionally show signs of decay, such as folding (due to loss of tension) and branching patterns (Figure 3A, C). The fiber bundles are either straight, densely spaced and oriented at acute angles (i.e., almost parallel) to the long axis (determined from the shape and arrangement of the scales) of the animal (Figures 2A, 3A–C), or are arranged in tightly stacked layers with alternating left- and right-handed orientations (a crossed-helical architecture; Figure 3D, E). A minimum of eight layers with helically arranged fiber bundles are preserved, and the fiber angles are in the range of 20–70° to the long axis of the animal (the predominant fiber angles are in the 40–55° range). Additionally, some fiber bundles appear to cross-weave with those of adjacent layers (Figure 3D—arrowheads).
Under SEM it was observed that the fiber bundles are comprised of micrometer-sized bodies with morphologies similar to those of apatite crystallites (Figure 3F; cf. [20]). This finding was corroborated with EDX point sum spectrum analysis, which revealed distinct peaks in C, Ca and P, to suggest a primary composition of calcium phosphate.
The vertebrate integument serves a number of important biological and mechanical roles, including e.g., protection against predation and parasites, support of the enclosed body contents and control of water loss [21][23]. Additionally, it provides a strong yet flexible covering that allows changes in body shape occurring during locomotion, or as a means of resisting changes to body shape resulting from muscular activity and movement [18], [19], [21]. These dynamic functions are largely determined by structural characteristics of the dermis, which in turn are dependent on a complex meshwork of collagen and elastin fibers [24]. The mechanical properties of skin and associated fibrous tissues have been examined in an array of extant vertebrate taxa, including bony fish [21], sharks [17][19], reptiles [17], cetaceans [25], [26], and birds [17]; however, given sparse preservation of soft-tissue structures (other than scales, hairs and feathers) our knowledge of the integumental fiber architecture in fossil vertebrates is hitherto limited to ichthyosaurs (e.g., [17], [27], [28]), pterosaurs (e.g., [29]) and dinosaurs (e.g., [22]). Hence, the discovery of an elaborate system of multiple-layered fiber bundles in FHSM VP-401 constitutes a significant development in so far as it represents the first unambiguous record of deeper soft-tissue structures in the skin of an extinct squamate (but see also [9]).
The epidermal scales of FHSM VP-401 show relief and, for the first time in a mosasaur, can be examined in both lateral and medial view. Although the precise locations of the scales (and subjacent integumental structures) are unknown, their uniform shape and diminutive proportions suggest that they originate from the neck and/or trunk of the animal (cf. [10]); this is also in accordance with an unsigned note in pencil, possibly George F. Sternberg's handwriting, indicating that the scale slabs came from the neck region of FHSM VP-401. Whereas hydrodynamic aspects of keeled body scales have been dealt with elsewhere ([9] and references therein), the supportive sculpturing on the underside of the scales has previously not been reported in mosasaurs [although the proposed ‘multiple keels’ on the body scales of Plotosaurus (see [9]) may in fact be supportive sculpturing]. Supportive structures are present on the inside of osteoderms and scales in certain nonavian dinosaurs [30] and in many extant lizards [31]; notably, two parallel, longitudinal crests occur on larger body scales of some monitor lizards (Figure 2E, inset). Assuming that the longitudinal ridges act as attachment sites for underlying ligaments or connective tissue, they may serve a function as anchors, thereby providing strength to the skin [30].
The scales of FHSM VP-401 are considerably smaller in size (2.7×2.0 mm) than are those of LACM 128319 (Platecarpus; average scale size is 3.8×4.4 mm), despite a comparable estimated total body length of the two animals (5.9 m versus 5.7 m [10]). Additionally, in a specimen of Tylosaurus (KUVP 1075; Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center) the scales are 3.3×2.5 mm, hence placing it firmly between FHSM VP-401 and LACM 128319. Snow ([12] p. 57) described the tylosaur as a ‘small-sized individual of its species’ but gave no measurements to substantiate that description other than the length of the humerus (12.2 cm). Based on a comparison with a 9 m specimen of Tylosaurus proriger (FHSM VP-3) where the humerus is approximately 22 cm in length, we estimate that KUVP 1075 originally measured about 5 m in overall body length. Given that extant lizards generally hatch with a fixed number of scales which then grow in size with each molt (resulting in larger scales in older individuals [32]), the discrepancy in scale size that we have recorded may be the result of age differences between the three individuals represented by FHSM VP-401, KUVP 1075 and LACM 128319. However, such a scenario would imply that FHSM VP-401 represents a younger individual than does LACM 128319, and that Ectenosaurus could reach body lengths well beyond those of Platecarpus, something that has yet to be proven (a few large-sized but otherwise enigmatic specimens from the Smoky Hill Chalk, such as KUVP 1024, may in fact belong to Ectenosaurus). Another possibility is that the scales come from different parts of the body on, at least, FHSM VP-401 and KUVP 1075. It is also possible that the two plioplatecarpine genera discussed here (i.e., Ectenosaurus and Platecarpus), considering their distant relationship to each other [33], [34], may have had different-sized scales to begin with.
Given its narrow, elongate skull and slender teeth, we may assume that Ectenosaurus was primarily piscivorous, and thus benefited from possessing a squamation comprised of small-sized, firmly anchored and keeled body scales that presumably contributed to an anterior-posterior channeling of the water flow (cf. [9]), thereby reducing frictional drag when trying to overtake smaller, more streamlined prey. Surface deformation (and thereby frictional drag), may have been further reduced by the cross-woven helical fiber bundles in the subjacent dermis. A similar fiber arrangement has been observed in some extant sharks [35] and the Burmese python [17], in regions of the body that are likely to face considerable stress. In large aquatic vertebrates, such as ichthyosaurs [27], [28], [36], [37], sharks [18], [19], [35] and dolphins [25], [26], [38], straight (i.e., high tensile) fiber bundles are often organized into multiple-layered helical networks. Presumably, this arrangement minimizes creasing of the skin, thereby counteracting fluid drag by retaining a smooth body surface. Assuming that the majority of the measured fiber angles are primary (rather than the result of taphonomic changes from e.g., microbial and/or chemical degradation), then those representing the crossed-helical fiber bundles are, on average, somewhat smaller than are fiber angles from the anterior trunk of tunas [21] and ichthyosaurs [27], [37], but equal to those of the subdermal connective tissue sheath of dolphins [25]. Given that the mechanical function of skin varies over different parts of an animal's body, the generally low fiber angles recorded for Ectenosaurus could indicate that a large amount of the preserved integument originates from the ventral face of the neck and/or trunk, as this part normally experiences lower strain than does the back (cf. [22]). Again, this conclusion is corroborated by George F. Sternberg's notes, which state that the integument probably derives from the area between the mandible and chest/limb; i.e., on the lower half of the animal.
Of particular interest are those fiber bundles that are oriented sub-parallel to the long axis of FHSM VP-401 (Figures 1B, 2A and 3A–C). Laterally, these layers seem to alternate with layers showing a crossed-helical fiber bundle architecture (Figure 1B), although this may be an artifact of preservation. Parallel-oriented, longitudinal fiber bundles have previously been reported in the skin of macrostomatan snakes, such as Eunectes (Figure 3C, inset), and in ichthyosaurs. Whereas the skin of macrostomatan snakes shows features facilitating the consumption of large prey items [39], longitudinally arranged fiber bundles presumably provided stiffness in the lateral plane and counteracted torsional stresses in the integument of ichthyosaurs [28], [37]. A similar reinforcing function is likely the case in Ectenosaurus, given that both mosasaurs and ichthyosaurs inhabited the marine realm and thus faced comparable hydrodynamic constraints imposed by the surrounding water.
The combination of small-sized, firmly anchored body scales and a complex meshwork of alternating crossed-helical and longitudinal fiber bundles suggests a stiffening of the anterior torso in Ectenosaurus. Thus, it is reasonable to assume that this part of the body was held somewhat rigid during locomotion, whereas the lateral thrust-producing flexure was restricted to the posterior trunk and tail. Accordingly, Ectenosaurus probably utilized a sub-carangiform rather than an anguilliform mode of swimming (see e.g., [40] for categories of swimming styles).
Materials and Methods
The fossilized integument of FHSM VP-401 and skin samples from a number of extant squamates, including e.g., Varanus gouldi (MZLU L867/3039; Museum of Zoology, Lund University; Figure 2E, inset) and Eunectes sp. (LO 11215; Department of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, Lund University; Figure 3C, inset), were examined and photodocumented using a Nikon Coolpix 990 camera attached to a Nikon SMZ1000 binocular microscope. Dermal fiber bundles illustrated in Figure 3A–C were brushed with water to increase contrast prior to being photographed. Samples selected for scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis were mounted on glass slides using double-sided carbon tape and examined uncoated under low vacuum using a Hitachi S-3400N scanning electron microscope. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) was used to establish the elemental composition of both isolated scales and fiber bundles. The terminology is based on that of [17], [31], and the systematics follow that of [33].
The authors are grateful to Richard J. Zakrzewski (Sternberg Museum of Natural History) for making FHSM VP-401 available for study. We also thank Lars Lundqvist (Zoological Museum, Lund University), Michael J. Polcyn (Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, Southern Methodist University) and Frank Madsen (Malmoe Reptile Center) for comparative material of extant squamates. Two anonymous reviewers critically read the typescript and made useful suggestions from which we benefited.
Author Contributions
Analyzed the data: JL MJE MWC. Wrote the paper: JL.
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Ain't It Cool News (
Movie News
Here Comes CLEOPATRA (Again, Again)!!
Merrick here...
Producer Scott Rudin (THE QUEEN, THE TRUMAN SHOW, THE VILLAGE, and many others ) has plugged into the movie adaptation of a yet-to-be-published book about Cleopatra by Pulitzer Prizer Stacy Schiff. The book’s rights were recently secured by Columbia Pictures, even though publication likely won’t come about until at least 2009. I’m humbled by such farsighted planning; perhaps I need to start thinking ahead. In 2009…I’ll definitely go to Taco Bell.
Book will present her as a firm ruler and military tactician who embarked on a ruthless rise to power. Cleopatra twce married brothers, killing each of them as well as a sister. Romantic alliances with the much-older Roman honchos Julius Caesar and Marc Antony helped her solidify power, but her dalliance with Antony undid both of them.
Wikipedia says there have been, like, 800 trillion CLEOPATRA projects thus far: notably in 1912, 1917, 1920, 1934, 1963, and 1999. She’s also appeared as a character in many other productions. It’ll be interesting to see how “fresh” the idea/character will actually feel, despite their best intentions. I once had a brief...encounter...with a smolderin’ half Latin/half Egyptian babe who dressed as Cleopatra for Halloween; don’t know where she is now. As a result, this film may be frustratingly fetishistic for me.
At the risk of sounding far too Geeky (is that possible on this site?), it's too bad Captain Kirk never took on Cleopatra -- that woulda been cool. Guess they came close with Elan of Troyus…
Readers Talkback
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• Dec. 1, 2006, 9:01 a.m. CST
As long as Angelina Jolie's not Cleopatra...
by Ribbons
...well... I admire Scott Rudin's work ethic, but yeah, not terribly interested. Still... no Jolie as Cleopatra. Surprise me Hollywood.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 9:12 a.m. CST
"It’ll be interesting to ssee"
by knightrider
Was that a deliberate Cleopatra-based typo, asphole?
• Dec. 1, 2006, 9:15 a.m. CST
by testicleez
This movie will be a snore fest of epic proportions.
Come on
by Pandas
Everyone knows that there is a version of Cleopatra that just can't be topped, so it's not even worth trying. That version is of course, Carry on Cleo.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 9:16 a.m. CST
Hottest Cleopatra...
by Abin Sur
In recent memory, was the girl who played her in the "Rome" series...can't remember her name, but she was a DISH.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 9:20 a.m. CST
Infamy, infamy, they've all got it in for me
by mulberry
I propose the rest of this talkback is dedicated to quotes from Carry on Cleo. Cleopatra, comin' at ya'.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 9:24 a.m. CST
Does Cleopatra 2525 count?
by veritasses
Just asking.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 9:29 a.m. CST
Comin' atcha
by Franklin T Marmoset
Ever since I saw the opening segment of The Mummy I've been waiting to see a full scale ancient Egyptian story told with all the benefits of modern CGI jiggery pokery, and this pretty much fits the bill. It's definitely a good story, with a great central character. I just hope it doesn't go the way of Alexander and Kingdom Of Heaven and some of the other historical epics that haven't lived up to expectations.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 9:28 a.m. CST
who does evryone think should be cleo?
by visitor_q
id go for jessica alba or salma "booooooooooooobies!" hayek,
• Dec. 1, 2006, 9:30 a.m. CST
How come the guys never sleep their way to power
by StovetopStuffin'
women have it so easy. :) all kidding aside, I hope they cast someone who actually at least looks a little like what cleopatra would have looked. Not some white chick with too much eye makeup.
Captain Kirk would have SO tapped that Egyptian ass
by TheAFLACDuck
... and you just know there was a planet out there that was exactly like Egypt (like on Futurama!!).
by QuinnTheEskimo
I'm not sure about those casting pics - don't historians think Cleopatra was actually not attractive? I seem to remember hearing that. Not that I am opposed to hot Egyptian ladies, mind you. Or, Greek, I suppose, since that's what she actually was.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 9:35 a.m. CST
Cleopatra was FAT in real life...
by Abin Sur
Who the hell wants to watch that? I guess you could cast the girl that plays "Ugly Betty..."
• Dec. 1, 2006, 9:41 a.m. CST
by Abin Sur
Mo'nique? Better choice.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 9:42 a.m. CST
What about Cleo from 5 to 7?
by Spandau Belly
France is kinda Egypt.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 9:45 a.m. CST
kirstie allie as cleopatra?
by Jubba
i don't know about that....
• Dec. 1, 2006, 9:49 a.m. CST
Walk like an Egyptian.
by Uncapie
• Dec. 1, 2006, 9:54 a.m. CST
Rosario Dawson?
by Abin Sur
Not bad. But how about Miss Clio? Does she count?
• Dec. 1, 2006, 9:59 a.m. CST
Well I once had an ..."Encounter"
by beefywhore
with a chick who looked lik ME with a wig on...honesty does tequila
• Dec. 1, 2006, 10:02 a.m. CST
by DrManhattansUnit
We're saying Greek isn't white now? Don't tell the Greeks, many of them are a little sensitive about that kind of thing!
• Dec. 1, 2006, 10:03 a.m. CST
by Purgatori
was actually not a svelt vixen like Rosario. She was curvy and short. Alley is more her build, but she's too tall if you want to get technical. Salma Hayek would be good.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 10:09 a.m. CST
by Merrick
I'm *so* tempted to say I was her slave/servant, but that wouldn't be right & I'd never live it down. I didn't have a costume when I met her. I mean...I was wearing clothes (when I met her)...but not a costume (yet. JUST KIDDING!)
• Dec. 1, 2006, 10:10 a.m. CST
Someone just film Shakespeare's Anthony and Cleopatra
by Sepulchrave
Man, that is one fantastic play. And the Cleo in that is a fucking force of nature. 'Let him be whipped with wires and STEWED IN BRINE!!' Madwoman.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 10:12 a.m. CST
Aishwarya Rai
by Mr. Winston
No one is history was more directly geared to play Cleopatra. Sign her up and I'll see this one in a second.
Actually, Cleopatra Was Neither Latin Nor Egyptian
by MarkWhittington
Cleopatra was likely Macedonian and Greek in her ancestory without a drop of Egyptian and certainly no Latin blood in her.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 10:23 a.m. CST
Mr. Winston is a genuis!
by TheAFLACDuck
Aishwarya Rai would be aces. Also, you were great in Ghostbusters, sir.
My pick is...
by Driver8
Selma Hayek 'nuff said.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 10:43 a.m. CST
Aya Sumika
by Shermdawg
From the shortlived, yet entertaining, Hawaii.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 10:44 a.m. CST
The chick with the blue eyes from Gimore Girls...
by torontoxic
...and Sin City. Alexis Blesomething. That's my pick. She's a little young now but by the time this comes out she'll be right. <P> Can't wait for all the dumbass "she was dark skinned!" racist jackasses to run around crying. In advance to all thsoe people SUCK MY NUTS. Nobody gives a fuck about your culture or racial bias so STFU. Aishwarya Rai is WAY too dark. Think Elizabeth Taylor. <P> Hope this movie has nudity and/or violence.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 10:49 a.m. CST
Every thread should be Carry On related...
by dr_buggerlugs fact, has there ever been any Carry On related topics/threads on here? When are we gonna get Moriarty eaxing lyrical about our beloved saucy comedy series? Viva la Vic Flange!
• Dec. 1, 2006, 10:48 a.m. CST
Call me back when it's a remake of Cleopatra Jones!
by Kid Z
... Maybe then I'll be interested!
• Dec. 1, 2006, 10:54 a.m. CST
Will Richard Burton appear via CGI?
by Doctor_Sin
I predict a crappy soundtrack featuring a lame "inspired by" rap song making much use of the word "asp." Word.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 10:57 a.m. CST
She was Greek
by torontoxic
The only inconsistency in the records of her bloodline is a lack of documentation on her grandmother. Desperate 'academics' of various races cling to that as meaning that <i>maybe</i> she was mixed race. Then they get shit on by everyone so they go overboard and shout "no we're really sure she was black" just to be dicks. <P> My fav is when people say Jesus was black. Could you imagine how awesome he would have looked up on the cross with a 3 foot pimpin afro? No one debates the man had long hair right?
Can't wait to see her shag her brothers
by aestheticity
Wonder if she ever did them both at the same time
• Dec. 1, 2006, 10:59 a.m. CST
by Doctor_Sin
A blaxploitation Jesus is the funniest image I have ever imagined. Thank you.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 11:06 a.m. CST
Jesus Christ
by Mr. Winston
This hasn't even been up for five minutes and there's already some ranting, raving lunatic who thinks he's the historical liaison to the film. <br> <br> I don't give a hopping fuck if she was Greek or Macedonian or Chinese or if she smelt of myrrh and Triscuts. I want Aishwarya Rai because in all my dozing states where I wondered what Cleopatra might look like - which haven't been many - that's what she looked like. <br> <br> I hope you end up in jail for something, supermarch. You're instantly annoying enough to make me wish that.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 11:07 a.m. CST
by Napolean Solo
The Bible says Jesus had hair the texture of wool, and skin the color of burnt brass... If that means 'Pimpin' to Kramers such as yourself then so be it. With that beign THE ONLY description of Jesus in the bible, 'my fav' is when people such as yourself, imply Jesus was anything other than black. Now go and watch some Seinfeld.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 11:13 a.m. CST
Anyone else remember the shitty movie...
by Doctor_Sin
"A Man Called Sarge"? It was a BAD Airplane! style film set in WWII. I mean, awful puns and everything. Only saving grace was a musical number where the Christian missionary is singing to some kids a song called "Jesus Was a Black Dude." Otherwise, horrible. Oh yeah, back to Cleopatra. Make it a hard-R/Unrated softcore sexploitationer and film it on location like those Laura Gemser Black Emmanuelle movies. Then, I'll go see it.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 11:24 a.m. CST
Napoleon Solo
by Almost_Human
Ever been on a sheep farm? Sheep have a thick coat that when not matted from being to long is more like the small curls and wavy hair you might see on someone from the Mediterranean. Sorry, but the curl just isn't tight enough for that to be a valid analysis. If it was, after a rain or a good washing, sheep would look like walking afros, not some white kid trying to be a rasta. It was a funny image and perhaps you are being a tad thin skinned. Michael Richards is dipshit though. No questioning that, racist hack without the skills to deal with hecklers -- And we need another Cleopatra movie like we need another Donald Rumsfeld.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 11:25 a.m. CST
I would like to apologize
by torontoxic
For making the stick rub up against the pickle up Mr Winston's ass. I don't give a fuck what you hope for. You're instantly annoying enough to dismiss as another person not worth acknowledging any further you irritable penisbutt. <P> Napoleon, the bible says a lot of things. Crazy things. People who take everything at face value are just trying to manipulate it to adhere to their own agenda. You sir are the blatant racist. I don't give a fuck about Jesus. I was making a joke you monumental moron. Maybe I'll go watch Seinfeld? Maybe I'll go stick a cross up my butt and bang a black chick in the face? Whatever I end up doing I'd bet good money that my day will be more exciting and rewarding that the culmination of your entire life's experiences. <P> Malcolm X was Swedish.
Cleopatra my great grandma, grandma was a slut
by greekopa
grannies gotta do what shes gotta do
• Dec. 1, 2006, 11:29 a.m. CST
by Merrick
You're just jealous.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 11:33 a.m. CST
Anyone who watches Rome knows who should
by modlight
play Cleo. Aiaiaiai, one of the greatest episodes of television ever.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 11:49 a.m. CST
As long as they NEVER consider Lindsey Lohan
by IndustryKiller!
Who, contrary to popular belief, is not all that attractive. More like a cute girl at a college party who you wouldn't say no to than tabloid queen. Ditto goes for her talent level.
"Not Out of Africa"...
by McCroskey Mary Lefkowitz is an excellent book that addresses the question of Cleopatra's race. The bottom line is that she was either completely Macedonian/Greek, or mostly so, as the identity of one of her grandmothers (her father's mother)is not known. Modern claims that she was black are mostly unfounded nonsense. As to this new project; its understandable if they want to present a more positive picture of the last Pharaoh than was given by the Romans, but I just hope it doesn't go too far in some sort of feminist screed, that props her up at the expense of her conqueror, Octavian. Cleopatra was a formidable and effective queen, but Octavian and his general Agrippa proved superior to both her and Mark Antony. That's why she lost, and Octavian won.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 1:09 p.m. CST
She sounds like a nice choice! Doesn't hurt she has some decent acting chops and she's easy on the eyes...
• Dec. 1, 2006, 1:33 p.m. CST
There will only be one Cleopatra in my book...
by Vim Fuego
... Amanda Holden in "Carry on Cleo". It must be crazy English sense of humour, but it's one of my favourite films of all time. "Infamy, Infamy; They've all got it Infamy!"
• Dec. 1, 2006, 1:49 p.m. CST
I'm watching Rome right now.
by Quin the Eskimo
and so far I gotta say my fovorite part is when Julias Ceaser and Cleopatra come out with that baby, and Titus Pullo is rejoicing then panic reaches his eyes.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 2:17 p.m. CST
I prefer the Steven Soderbergh musical version
by Poacher
that he was talking about doing with Catherine Zeta Jones and songs/music by Robert Pollard of Guided by Voices around the time of "Bubble". I'm sure he was joking but it sounded damn cool to me, and would've probably been one of the biggest bombs/cult classics ever.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 2:52 p.m. CST
I'll second the Aishwarya Rai nomination.
by Imagikafan
She'd be perfect for the role.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 3:18 p.m. CST
Eva Green
by DaleTremont
Eva Green or nothing.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 4:23 p.m. CST
when you said more, i expected pics of the chick
by s0nicdeathmonkey
i was disappointed to only find scrawl written is pseduo-english.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 4:52 p.m. CST
Angelina IS Cleo
by heywood jablomie
There's really no one else.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 5:10 p.m. CST
Nefertiti was the hot one.
by superninja
Asia Argento would make a good Cleopatra. In all likelyhood they're going to overly romanticize her again anyway.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 5:13 p.m. CST
Angelina in a period
by DaleTremont
Angelina in a period piece...wait, yes, i think i see it! Oh fuck. Nope that's just her in Alexander. *shiver* Please let's not repeat that travesty again.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 6:44 p.m. CST
I wanna see Rosario Dawson
by godoffireinhell
get bitten in her glorious boobs by a snake. I spank it until it bleeds.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 6:48 p.m. CST
Rating? PG-13 or Rated R?
by godoffireinhell
Because I hate bloodless and family friendly historical epics.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 6:47 p.m. CST
They are still making Historical Epics?
by godoffireinhell
It is nice that they are still making historical epics at all - or at least planning to! I'd have thought this genre was dead after both KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (the butchered Rothman Cut) and ALEXANDER bombed hardcore.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 8:37 p.m. CST
by torontoxic
Alexander <P> budget - $155 million worldwide gross - $167,298,192 <P> Profit - 12,296,192 <P> Over 12 million in profit. Not bad at the end of the day <P> Kingdom of Heaven <P> Budget - 155 million <P> worldwide gross - $211,643,158 <P> profit - 56,431,158 <P> Neither were bombs ("hardcare" or otherwise). Sure there are marketing budgets to consider but those get more than covered in TV rights sales and DVD releases which usually equal or out number gross anymore anyway. <P> Historical epics are not only profitable but some of the best movies in history were said epics.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 10:04 p.m. CST
Joe D'Amato should direct this
by godoffireinhell
He made some great historical porno movies.
• Dec. 1, 2006, 11:43 p.m. CST
Do they have the guts to make her Greek and hook-nosed?
by Drath
The real Cleopatra was not a "babe," images of her on coins show her with a nose that would put Margret Hamilton's witch to shame. And she was of Greek descent, the Greeks had conquered Egypt during Alexander the Great's day and one of his generals was Cleopatra's ancestor, so she was not black or latino or whatever the current popular idea is for her on here. But will they dare to try to make her more like she was, or will they shoot for the modern myth of her? I'm not against fantasy, but I'd kinda like to see them do something different. Hats off to HBO's Rome, even though they didn't make her as homely as she probably was and even though she was not the focus of the series at all.
• Dec. 2, 2006, 12:24 a.m. CST
Big nose, hawklike features.
by superninja
As I said, Asia Argento.
• Dec. 2, 2006, 12:25 a.m. CST
Cleopatra's Looks
by Almost_Human
True. She's not a looker on the coins. Maybe she performed . . . special services. On top of being a first class political operator and general smart person.
• Dec. 2, 2006, 12:43 a.m. CST
Ahhhh...Asia Argento as Cleopatra
by Red Ned Lynch
IT won't happen. Let's face it, it SHOULDN'T happen. But I just saw the whole movie inside my head and it was wonderful. From among those top 12 or so Hollywood stars that the movie probably will be cast from? It probably would have to be Angelina Jolie, if only because she would be a better fit than Roberts, Diaz, Barrymore, Witherspoon, Dunst, Kidman or any of those others currently at the top of the ladder. Person I'd most like to see it who probably won't? Rosario Dawson, of course. Unless someone decides they will risk the movie on making her that kind of star. Person who might be positioning herself to have a good chance by the time the movie is cast, and one that seems to me an possibly cool choice? Eva Mendes.
• Dec. 2, 2006, 4:05 a.m. CST
short, ugly, greek....
by Trader Groucho 2
Tom Cruise in drag???
• Dec. 2, 2006, 4:28 a.m. CST
Catherine Zeta Jones
by Shermdawg
There ya go.
• Dec. 2, 2006, 10:11 a.m. CST
Actually, Cleo wasn't a slut.
by glodene
Caesar & Mark Anthony was attracted to her intelligence. They found her unique as oppose to all of their concubines (baby mommas), who were nothing more than brain-dead bimbos. Supposedly, their post-coital pillow-talk consisted of debating/discussing philosophies, politics, war strategies & such. Ceasar & Mark Anthony found that shit intoxicating and refreshing.
• Dec. 2, 2006, 10:56 a.m. CST
supermarch and box office grosses
by McCroskey
That's not how it goes. Studios do not collect all of the box office revenue. In the US, it generally works out to where they collect a little over half of the box office gross. I don't know what their typical split of the foreign box office is. So while you're right that Alexander and Kingdom of Heaven weren't bombs, they also did not turn a profit from box office alone.
• Dec. 2, 2006, 12:31 p.m. CST
by torontoxic
Yeah I know but it's a pretty good indication of how they performed. There is no typical split but there's about 1000 headaches worth of accounting to consider if we're going to get precise. Bottom line is people shouldn't gauge quality by what they heard from their friends. Plus since when is the box office take the single indication of how good a movie is?
• Dec. 2, 2006, 1:09 p.m. CST
Cleopatra Coin Likenesses
by Anino
Come on--how accurate were coin likenesses? How detailed can you be on a tiny piece of metal? Compare the busts of Caesar to Caesar on the coins and there is a big difference. His busts make him look human, the coins make him look like bird. So--use the coin as a starting point, use history to show her ancestry is Macedonian--then infer from the fact that discriminating AND legendary womanizers like Caesar and Antony both went nuts over her...maybe she wasn't gorgeous at the get go--but maybe you need to cast someone that mesmerizes, someone whose looks grow on you. Now THERE's a casting challenge. And yeah, it's a very very interesting story--I don't care if it's been done a bajillion times--I still don't think it's been done right. It's epic, it will definitely involve HUGE ASS battles, and enough romance to attract the chick flick crowd (but not overly chick-flick). There's incest, there's intrigue, snakes...what else do you need?
• Dec. 2, 2006, 4:40 p.m. CST
by torontoxic
The coins and the busts reflect the movements in art of their respective origin. Hence the discrepancy between Egyptian depictions and Macedonian of just about everyone around at that time. Most of the stuff with her likeness was ordered destroyed by Octavian.
• Dec. 2, 2006, 5:11 p.m. CST
Soderbergh, Zeta-Jones
by Thunderbolt Ross
I read some thing last year that Steven Soderbergh was gonna make a Cleopatra musical with Catherine Zeta-Jones. I smell money!
• Dec. 2, 2006, 8:46 p.m. CST
Wow, supermarch
by Mr. Winston
Your lack of knowledge on the business side of the film industry is staggering. <br> <br> First of all, as someone pointed out, studios recoup only about 50% of the total domestic box office receipts...meaning that a film has to make double its budget just to break even. Those figures are even lower for foreign markets, though often they can range based on how and by whom the film is released overseas. <br> <br> In that regard, both ALEXANDER and KINGDOM OF HEAVEN were colossal box office bombs, and there's absolutely no other way to say it. Alexander especially performed disgracefully but the studios took a huge hit on both. Even if we assume a 50% take from the foreign box office returns (which they wouldn't get), ALEXANDER lost over $71 million and KoH lost over $49 million. But let's throw out, for a moment, all industry-related economics and pretend the "profit" you claim had actually been "profit". Ponying up $150+ million to make only $56 million would be merely a decent result; putting up $150+ million to make only $12 million is almost a total waste of time. You don't spend $100+ million on ANY movie unless you're expecting (reasonably) to almost double the original investment. It just doesn't make any sense. <br> <br> At the end of the day DVD sales and TV deals can help bring back some of the cash lost, but in the case of these two almost nothing can happen to make them profitable - especially considering that KoH DVD sales were lukewarm at best and no one bought ALEXANDER. Just because you liked them and because the historical epic genre has produced some good (and occasionally profitable) films doesn't change the facts.
• Dec. 2, 2006, 9:04 p.m. CST
woweewawa Mr. Winston
by torontoxic
I'm amazed that you're able to talk out of your ass with your head so far up there. <P> It's a split. Not 50/50 you dolt. You're knowledge in general is saddening. Putting up 150 mill to make 12 is a waste of time? Are you high? 12 million is a lot of money. Sure to the casual and uninformed observer like you who reads about movie budgets from the comfort of the tub thinks its now cause you hear about 200 mill budgets and 200 mill profits but at the end of the day even 100 bucks earned is 100 bucks earned. 12 million is sweet. <P> DVD sales for a lot of movies dwarf box office and Alexander made a tonne on DVD. Just because you didn't buy it doesn't mean a damn thing. <P> People hear that movies are bombs and just steer into the skid. I bet you think Striptease was a bomb too but it made huge bucks in Europe. <P> "You don't spend $100+ million on ANY movie unless you're expecting (reasonably) to almost double the original investment. It just doesn't make any sense." <P> That's just about the dumbest thing I've ever read on any site. I mean amazingly dumb. But at least I have closure on your level of intellect. If I have any questions about Blues Clues or Playdo I'll give you a ring.
• Dec. 2, 2006, 10:07 p.m. CST
Supermarch, hindsight is 20/20
by glodene
Trust me on this, if the studio execs knew before hand that their initial investment of $150+ million would only get a return of (only) $12 million, they would've nixed that project in a heartbeat. A $12 million profit does'nt even begin to justify putting up that kind of money when you factor in salaries and overhead. Now if you're talking about something like The Blairwitch Project earning a $12 million dollar profit after an initial investment of $100.000 dollars then yes, but trust me, if the execs who greenlighted KoH & Alexander could've predicted the BO outcome they would've backed off, thus saving them a small fortune in Maalox.
• Dec. 2, 2006, 11:08 p.m. CST
blair witch was a 1 million purchase not 100K
by torontoxic
World wide gross...$248,639,099. Plus it was a once in a lifetime kind of thing. Marketing genius and good timing. <P> 12 million is a lot of money people.
Actually, I was talking about...
by glodene
Production cost, which they (the studio) invested to polish up the film. Btw, it's not a once in a lifetime anomaly. My Greek Wedding; The Passion of Christ; Saw 1 & 2; and so on. Those movies went on to garner over 5 to 10 times their production cost. The $12 million you're talking about does'nt cover Colin Farrel's or Angelina Jolie's salaries. Start thinking outside of the trailer park, Supermarch.
• Dec. 3, 2006, 12:36 a.m. CST
Blair Witch production cost was 60K
by torontoxic
Does your foot taste good or something? <P> Blair Witch was a post purchase. Saw was a financed production as was Greek Wedding. <P> The salaries were covered in budget. <P> Is supermoron a real word or should we contact Websters about you? <P> Now you've named 5 high grossing movies with low budgets in 6 years. Brava you twat. <P> The Passion was even privately financed. <P> Der. <P> I'd say your argument has been squashed...but what argument?
• Dec. 3, 2006, 1:52 a.m. CST
by Almost_Human
I smell jackass.
• Dec. 3, 2006, 5:02 a.m. CST
Oh supermarch
by Mr. Winston
I mean...this is difficult for me. Because we both know what you're saying is utter bullshit. Even me pointing out, item by item, your errors won't make even a shred of difference on this forum. I know, you don't...just hang on and be English, OK? The douchebaggery suits you.
• Dec. 3, 2006, 10:37 a.m. CST
Oh for f's sake
by torontoxic
You're trying to be condescending now? <P> I'm done. You weren't worth ripping into in the first place. <P> I kick your fat ass around and you try to elevate yourself with what? Will? <P> Don't bother me again.
• Dec. 3, 2006, 10:39 a.m. CST
Oh and PS
by torontoxic
If you want to be a total fucking idiotic bigot (Imnea continue being one) and cry that Cleopatra was black you better teach the actress playing her how to pronounce the word 'ask'. Wouldn't look to good to watch her tell someone she axed them a question.
• Dec. 3, 2006, 11:27 a.m. CST
by Almost_Human
roflmao - Good call. SHE WAS GREEK YOU RACIST SHIT HEADS! No supposition, not a guess, a scientific and historical FACT. Get over it and get over yourself. To listen to your interpretation of history, blacks must have invented sunshine. Grow the fuck up.
• Dec. 3, 2006, 3:11 p.m. CST
Kenneth Branagh
by Almost_Human
Maybe. Do not forget he let Keeanu in on Much Ado About Nothing. And it sssuuuuuccckkkkeddd. However, I find it impossible to watch his version of Henry V and not want to go kill the French.
• Dec. 4, 2006, 1:02 p.m. CST
by glodene
It must be real comforting to play the alpha-male behind the safety of a keyboard, proclaiming that you kicked someone ass and such. Dispite your earlier post, i find it hard to believe that any large movie studio would invest $100+ million with the expectation of only making a $12 million profit and be happy about it, especially when they have thousands of employees and other overhead concerns that they have to meet on a daily basis. By your rationale, they would be seeking bankruptcy protection...So at the risk of repeating myself: Start thinking outside of the trailer park.
• Dec. 4, 2006, 2:52 p.m. CST
I was actually going with Asia Argento based on her
by superninja
performance in Marie Antoinette, not your porn fantasies.
• Dec. 4, 2006, 5:06 p.m. CST
The Only Way
by neilmccauley
Split timeframe and ALLISON JANNEY as cleopatra. somebody needs to understand this.
• Dec. 4, 2006, 6:13 p.m. CST
Some historical sources suggest
by Ingeld
that Cleopatra had a large goiter problem due to iodine deficiencies. I hope they go with an actress who has a huge swollen neck--or maybe they could do it in post-production with CGI.
• Dec. 4, 2006, 10:07 p.m. CST
by torontoxic
You're projecting kiddo. I didn't proclaim, I reviewed and stated a fact. You're biased...I get it. And since I'm white and you disagree I must be in a trailer park. Even though we don't have trailer parks in the city I live in. There might be some in the country, I don't know. I've never seen one. <P> My rationale is that Alexander and Kingdom of Heaven were not flops (which I actually backed up with numbers as opposed to and everyone else who do nothing but squawk) and that they were great movies. Believe it or not (as evidenced by Alexander being privately financed) some people care about the quality of the end product. So any large movie studio might not back something with the guarantee of only a measly 12 mill in profits, but there are no guarantees and I don't think anyone is overly upset ever so long as they actually do make money. <P> So at the end of all this we have you looking like a fucking supersonic douchebag with a severe chip on his slopped shoulders by way of his obvious and laughable racist leanings. <P> I appreciate you taking the risk and repeating yourself, it's just too bad you didn't have a leg to stand on to begin with. <P> And who the fuck still retreats to the "you're tough behind the keyboard"? Are you new to the internet? Gonna throw out that fighting on net retarded line and play it off as your own? <P> I don't need to say I kicked your ass on here (not literally. I feel bad for you that I have to point that out) because it's pretty damn obvious. <P> Night, sweety.
• Dec. 4, 2006, 10:28 p.m. CST
Of course, supermarch...
by Mr. Winston
Neither of these movies made money. They both lost an incredible amount of money, as I've pointed out. Just because you refuse to believe in the reality of the 50% theater split (which is exactly how studio economics work) doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Your rationale is, in fact, backed up with numbers. It just so happens that those numbers are not only wrong but being applied in a way that would make Chris Burke blush. <br> <br> Now you seem like a last word freak, so I'm going to let you have it. But please use it to show us some data to "prove" your "numbers" or at least give us a blathering treatise on why Santa and the Easter Bunny really do exist despite what our parents have told us.
• Dec. 4, 2006, 10:39 p.m. CST
Aw hell, supermarch...
by Mr. Winston
I'd actually rather see you try to refute this: <br> <br> <br> <br> I would ask that you pay special attention to the first part of the third paragraph: <br> <br> "Second, theater chains are in the movie exhibition business. Here they are partners with the studios. Although every deal is different, the theaters and the studios generally wind up splitting the take from the box office roughly 50-50." <br> <br> But please, carry on and tell us all how ALEXANDER - widely considered the biggest commercial flop since WATERWORLD and ISHTAR - and KINGDOM OF HEAVEN made money at the box office. I don't actually think it's possible for you to look like a bigger moron right now, but damned if I don't believe you're scrappy enough to give it your best shot! And just so there's no confusion, in a post above you said... <br> <br> "It's a split. Not 50/50 you dolt." <br> <br> After that you went on to hem and haw about my lack of intellect and then promptly misspelled "Play-Doh".
• Dec. 5, 2006, 10:31 p.m. CST
Supermarch, Supermarch
by glodene
Do you always have this propensity to rationalize bullshit? The two movies that you're championing tanked! I'm sure that if you were to ask any Studio Exec from either Warners or Fox, they would tell you that if they had to do it again, they would've put those projects in turnaround and moved on to something more financially viable...Btw, I was using "Trailer Park" as a metaphor for small thinking. If you inferred something racist from that, those are bricks that you have to carry. | <urn:uuid:dafddb54-a95b-4a6c-b0b2-156ccd7c0640> | http://www.aintitcool.com/node/30857 | en | 0.96614 | 0.035428 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
In awe of the Williams sisters
Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images
This story appears in the Sept. 7 issue of ESPN The Magazine.
What if I told you about two white brothers from a trailer park on the tattooed side of the tracks? Their father decides -- against all logic -- to teach them a rich man's sport, golf, even though he's a complete chop himself. They become great on the weedy public courses, turn pro and dominate the sport. Just wipe the Tour up. Golf harrumphs in disbelief.
Then the two brothers grow disinterested with golf and get into motorcycle building. They nearly stop playing altogether.Then they grow disinterested with being disinterested and decide, What the hell, let's go thump again. So they crush all new saps, until it's obvious nearly every major is going to be won by one or the other.
Well, change their color to black, their sex to female and their sport to tennis, and you have the Williams sisters, who now have 18 majors between them -- 11 for Serena and seven for Venus. Eighteen! If this were golf, Serena would be tied with Walter Hagen for third, and Venus would be tied with Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead and others for seventh. From one family, one coach, one house in Compton. It's the single most underplayed story in American sports in the past 25 years. Where's their postage stamp?
Do you realize a Williams has six of the past 11 women's majors? That they've outlasted not one generation of rivals but two? Martina Hingis, Justine Henin, Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati. All gone.
There has never been a sibling combo like this in American sports history. Baseball's DiMaggios, Waners, Alous? Not even close. Skiing's Mahres? No way. Football's Mannings? Please. One championship each?
The Williams sisters are bigger than sports. Their achievements rank with any set of sisters in American history, along with the Stillwells -- Revolutionary War heroines -- and the Andrews Sisters, the biggest American singing act in the 1940s. The only difference is the Williamses are in their second decade of greatness, going on a third.
The problem is deciding which one you want to have win the next major. It's no good just throwing your hands up and saying, "It's going to be a Williams." You have to pick one. You can't root for both the Yankees and the Red Sox, the Clintons and the Bushes, Coke and Pepsi. You have to choose: Venus or Serena. They're two entirely different people with entirely different personalities.
Venus is like grass courts, steady and calm. Serena is like hardcourts, slick and fast. Venus kills you with her forehand. Serena kills you with her backhand. Venus takes too few chances. Serena takes too many. When they screw up, Venus glares, Serena smiles.
Venus talks about nothing but tennis. Serena talks about anything but tennis. Serena will do 45 minutes on the TV show she's writing or her book that's coming out (On the Line, in September) or her last Twitter tweet. To wind Venus up, ask her about equal prize money.
As kids, Venus was the one you let babysit. Serena was the one you got babysat. They're still like that. Venus is 29 going on 40. Serena is 27 going on 18. Once, at Wimbledon, when Serena was confused about what to do in front of royalty, Venus whispered into her ear, "Curtsy."
Venus keeps most of it in, and Serena lets most of it out. Or don't you remember those swimsuit pictures? Venus is a reader. Serena is a reality-TV freak. Venus dates a golfer, Hank Kuehne. Serena dates a rapper, Common. Are there two more opposite dates?
They're both fashionistas, but Serena likes to push it: the Lycra catsuit, the denim skirts with boots, the white trench coat. And that's just stuff she's worn on the court.
Serena's the better player, but that's like saying Paris is the richer Hilton. They're both a NASA space launch past everybody else right now. Their only legit competition is the Russians, and lately the sisters have made them look like weekend coaches at the Moscow Country Club.
Go ahead. Take your time picking your Williams. Thanks to their dad's brilliant long-term coaching strategy -- and their desire to step back from tennis to study fashion and acting -- their minds and legs are fresh. They're not burned-out (Capriati, Hingis, Henin), and they're not worn-out (Rafael Nadal). They plan on kicking booty through the 2012 Olympics and maybe, they say, clear through the 2016 Games.
But if somebody doesn't throw them a ticker-tape parade pretty soon, I'm running for Congress.
Want more Life of Reilly? Then check out the archive. | <urn:uuid:7179d35b-d79c-4069-a143-1ec6296144c5> | http://www.espn.com/espn/columns/story?id=4423192 | en | 0.956102 | 0.126316 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
'Community': Creator Dan Harmon talks Christmas and 'Star Wars' -- plus a sneak peek at the stop motion special! | EW.com
TV | Inside TV
It’s a very special Community Christmas come Dec. 9, when the Greendale students go “wall-to-wall stop motion animation,” according to the show’s creator Dan Harmon. “It’s Abed’s search for the meaning of Christmas. Everything that happens on this episode is part of the actual show and will change the characters, and yet there are wonderful, fantastic holiday things happening in it.”
Harmon had been toying (har har) with the idea of an animated episode for a little while, and when the "network brass" said they were thinking the same thing, he jumped at the chance -- at which point it was time for the Community writers to hunker down and get in the holiday spirit. "Once you're past the age where you're running on sugar and adrenaline about tomorrow morning, it's hard to get through anything -- even my favorite shows," Harmon jokes. "But we rewatched all the Rankin/Bass [Rudolph] specials. It's interesting to notice all these things that got magnified, and other things that got washed away in the tides of time [...] you pull these images and sounds into your heart as a child, and they stay there."
Harmon's pretty much an expert on the pop sounds and images that live in all our hearts and often incorporates them into Community episodes. Just see the Predator homages, the show's pacing -- which is akin to a Simpsons episode -- and the stars' sexual chemistry, which mimics the dynamic between Han Solo and Princess Leia. "That's Jeff and Annie," Harmon admits. "He's a scoundrel. But it could be said about Jeff and Britta, too," except with Britta in the bounty-hunter role and Jeff as the monarch of Alderaan. "Jeff longs to be thought of as cool." But Harmon's loath to put too high a value on the referential aspect of the show. "I'm not really intentionally doing that," he insists. "My brain is just made of a patchwork of stuff that I've seen."
Hm. Someone who expresses their ideas through cultural allusions and feels that he connects best with people when he communicates through pop references... sound familiar? "Abed is the character on the show that has the most in common, psychologically, with me," Harmon admits. "In the writers' room, I sound a bit like Abed -- I'm constantly communicating what my point is through examples I've seen on TV and in movies."
It's a form of communication that's working well for Harmon, for Community, and for the character of Abed. "The Christmas episode looks into what makes him different from other people," Harmon says. We're down for those reindeer games.
Read more:
‘Community’ misfits get in the holiday spirit with a ‘Rudolph’-esque stop motion episode | <urn:uuid:eeef12f4-66ca-4d87-af07-dd1049e95a1e> | http://www.ew.com/article/2010/11/23/community-christmas-special | en | 0.965308 | 0.021934 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
161: Accident
Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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As far as treachery-as-driving-music goes, Katamari music is matched only by Guitar Hero music.
Title text: As far as treachery-as-driving-music goes, Katamari music is matched only by Guitar Hero music.
[edit] Explanation
After someone plays a game enough, various instincts develop. One might be ready to push the right button when a right arrow comes up on screen. One might learn the tricky sequences of moves needed for a situation in the game, and find oneself doing them in another game in a similar situation. Or, as in this case, one might get used to pushing a giant ball around trying to collect smaller objects, and try doing so with your car when the game's themesong starts playing.
In the game Katamari Damacy, the player has to grow an initial object by rolling over smaller objects in the playfield which become attached to it, growing the object and making it larger and larger. As the conglomeration of objects gets larger, bigger things in the environment will begin to attach to it, allowing it to grow further. How big the player can get this conglomeration of objects, or "katamari", determines how well the player does in the game, as is also mentioned in 83: Katamari.
When Katamari Damacy's theme song comes on in the third panel, Cueball begins acting out the game's premise, and drives his car into a mailbox - which "looked smaller" than his car - trying to get it to attach. This doesn't work so well outside of the game.
The title text implies that music used in the game Guitar Hero is equally hazardous when driving. Anyone who's become accustomed to rocking out on a fake guitar to a particular song could find themselves involuntarily playing the air guitar when said song comes on the radio unexpectedly. Randall is pointing out that Guitar Hero-induced spontaneous air guitar performances are not safe activities while driving. Alternatively, one may try to hit all incoming objects in an attempt to mimic hitting strings of notes as they move down the fretboard, which would be immediately more disastrous.
The theme song from Katamari Damacy is also mentioned in 851: Na.
[edit] Transcript
[Cueball driving car while singing.]
Cueball: ♫ ♩ ♬
[Another panel of Cueball singing while driving. Cueball's head is turned to the right.]
Cueball: ♬ ♪ ♩
[A third panel. Cueball's head is turned to the left.]
[Cueball and Megan talking.]
Megan: And that's when you veered into the mailbox?
Cueball: It looked smaller then me. It was just instinct.
[edit] Trivia
• According to this comic's official transcript, Megan is the owner of the mailbox.
The issue date of the comic is not given. Can someone add this? Rikthoff (talk) 18:53, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
http://xkcd.com/851/ - more katamari damacy shenanigans (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
In guitar hero you tilt the controler to active star power. If you did so with steering wheel you would crash. 21:47, 10 January 2014 (UTC) (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~) Any reason for an incomplete? 06:29, 16 January 2014 (UTC)
I have changed the last part about the title text, as it referred to playing the games while driving, rather than listening to the music. Although the idea is that you then think you are playing! I hope my wording makes more sense. I have never played either of the two games, and cannot say if the explanation for driving poorly while listening to guitar hero music makes sense. But if it does, I would say it was OK to remove the incomplete tag now! Kynde (talk) 13:45, 16 January 2014 (UTC)
I have never played guitar hero either, but I believe the game shows a series of objects approaching you to represent the notes. The point is then to "hit" large objects, much like the point of Katamari Damacy is to hit small objects. This makes more sense since otherwise any game music could simply distract you from driving.
Is there a guitar hero player reading this who could make a final edit?-- 00:45, 17 January 2014 (UTC)
I don't think guitar hero has to do with hitting things, as much as doing sudden turns and hitting your horn on certain notes.. 14:24, 19 May 2014 (UTC)
After I play a lot of Mario Kart, I feel urges to run over boxes, and to shake the steering wheel on top of speed bumps. - 15:06, 14 May 2014 (UTC)
After playing a lot of Elder Scrolls, I find myself wanting to harvest all the flowers I see. How else am I going to become an expert alchemist? (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
After playing an rpg for hours then going out into public, I find myself scanning windows, doors, vehicles. Staying close to the edges with my head on a swivel, eyes moving like turrets focusing on any one who gets within "range" and IFF them. Walk into a room and move to the corners scanning for targets. I can see the attraction to paintball and laser tag.04:32, 2 April 2015 (UTC)
When I first read this, I mist thought katamari music was some sort of bloodthirsty, rage inducing music, and that it motivated Cueball to go hunting. Boy, I feel stupid.Will X (talk) 06:01, 5 February 2016 (UTC)
JEW JEW JEW PogChamp 08:24, 11 May 2016 (UTC)
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“I had a long drive to my chemo sessions and couldn’t take the chance of forgetting something,” says Barbara Gallagher of Florida, NY, who was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in 2010. So she put together a chemo coping kit, which included:
✓ wallet with ID, insurance card, AAA card, etc.
✓ list of current medications/supplements (how much, how often and why)
✓ cash (at least $25 for tolls and parking)
✓ 6 bottles of water (3 for the drive down, 3 for the drive back)
✓ something to read
✓ notepad
✓ calendar
✓ layered clothing (because the treatment room can get cold)
✓ socks (see above)
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Worrying Trends
Video game market has two big segments. On one hand we have the console market (Xbox, Playstation, Wii) and the PC market. The console segment is doing great and is constantly growing and going through changes. Wii for example was able to capture whole new demographic for Nintendo (good for them!). PC segment on the other hand…
Well, it’s like this. DRM, DRM, DRM, FUCK YOU YOU THIEVES, YOU ONLY GET 3 ACTIVATIONS! Pretty much like that. Buying a PC game these days is like getting slapped in the face. Hi, thank you for shopping, enjoy your game and **SMACK** that’s for stealing you fucker. If I find my game on the Internets I will come to your house and rape your mom! Understood? Ok, have a great day now.
So we have this never ending debate titled “is PC gaming dead yet?”. I now argued both sides of this discussion. There are plenty of reasons to expect PC gaming to remain vibrant for years to come. On the other hand though, there are legitimate reasons to be concerned about it. I’m not going to reproduce these arguments here (go read the relevant posts you lazy bum), I just wanted to point out that there are valid points on both sides. Game market for the PC is still doing well, but that may or may not last.
Some people say good riddance. These folks gave up on video gaming on their PC, uninstalled Windows (I hope, I mean what other possible reason than gaming would you have to keep that horrid OS on your machine) and nowadays do their gaming from their living room couch. They tell me they are happier this way. They don’t need to deal with DRM, they can actually share their games with friends, rent them, or even sell them after they get bored. Selling video games! Imagine that. I almost forgot that this is even possible. I don’t own consoles, and I’m pretty used to the fact that games these days are locked so tight you can’t even play them on your PC.
These folks can actually go and buy used games at like half the price. Hah! We can’t even return the game back to the store if we don’t like it. But I do remember that I owned a PS1 back when dinosaurs still roamed the earth, and I did get bunch of brand new (less than 6 months old) games for practically nothing from the used game bin.
Perhaps the grass is indeed greener on the other side?
But it’s not. When you buy a console, you enter a locked down proprietary, tightly controlled environment. That means no mods, no trainers and no indy stuff. There is virtually no such thing as open video game engines and getting the Development Kit usually involves paying large sum of money, and swearing an oath of silence and non-disclosure. It is a very different environment to live in, and one that sort of frightens me.
Oh, and you know that awesome, vibrant second sale market for console games I talked about? You know, the fact you can buy used games dirt cheap, or sell your collection back to the store when you get sick of it? Well, the big boys out there have plans to seriously undercut it. You can read the slashdot article (or the original one if you want to be rebellious and prove you are not just another slashbot) but let me reproduce the gist of it here:
You buy a game and you get an activation code. You need to use this code to unlock parts of the game at which point it binds it to your console. But it’s not like the PC online activation crap. Oh no, these guys are so much nicer about it. They will even allow you to sell it back. It’s just that the next person won’t be able to play the locked parts of the game which might be, oh – I don’t know – the final boss. Or maybe everything but the first level. If you buy a used copy and want access to the locked parts you will simply have to go online and buy your own activation code for a modest price (eg. the price of a brand new game).
In other words, the console game developers re-discovered the shareware distribution model and are planning to use it to make the second sale market, which was bothering them since the day one, disappear.
So don’t tell me the life in the fairy tale land of consoles is so awesome. The game companies on that side of the fence are as greedy and as deranged as on this side. They just haven’t figured out the best way to rip you off yet. So the ball is in your court. Will you let them do this? Of course you will. It’s like telling PC gamers to boycott games because of DRM. Everyone agrees and then runs to the store to get the game, or downloads it. Sigh…
Am I surprised? Not at all. I sort of seen it comming. This trend started long time ago around the time when Bethsheda came up with the horse armor mod for Oblivion. I could not believe the actually planned to sell this stuff. Who would buy it? After all, you can make your own fucking horse armor in the editor. And then I realized that Xbox version ships with no editor and won’t let you use mods. Crafty, I thought. Very crafty. I wonder when this sort of thing becomes a norm. It seems that this time is coming soon.
It seems that no matter which segment of the video game market you belong to you will end up being fucked. I don’t get it. Where is this hostility towards customers coming from. This shit would never fly in any other place other than our little video game ghetto. Oh wait. Never mind. Music and movie industries are pulling stuff like that too, quite successfully lately. What is going on here?
Why do we let these companies fuck us over and over again. Why do we allow them to treat us like shit? What is it about digital goods that makes us believe that their behavior is justified? Because, let’s face it. It is our fault. We are allowing this to happen by giving these people our money. Can we stop? Please?
6 Responses to Worrying Trends
1. There is still the “go indie” part of the PC segment. Ok, you can say “it’s crap” or “but it is only casual games!”. It isn’t. Oh, wait – there are lots of indie crap, and lots of indie casual. But this has *very much* to do with that abstract idea called money.
This is seems to me to be solved in indie development by “make small games” (or casual, if you want). This take less time, and is thus survivable.
Solution two seems to be; make larger and larger games, living on the (hopefully) incoming profit from the earlier games. This has been done successfully by Spiderweb and Positech (cliffski), among others.
Thirdly, there are a successful example of iterative development; Mount and Blade. Give players something small for free, building upon it until you can start taking money for it. Though I’m not sure if it still is termed indie; if it is not – then it is a success story.
I’m also looking forward to seeing how Rampant Games’ Frayed Knights episodic format will work out.
People care; if (good) AAA games stop arriving for the PC, I’m sure open source engines will get better. Then it will be open for content deliverers to charge for content and, hopefully, donate parts of their profit back to the engine devs.
Naïve and optimistic? Perhaps, but open source works for applications – why not for games?
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2. Ben UNITED STATES Mozilla Firefox Ubuntu Linux says:
I just sold my game PC and bought an XBox. I started PC gaming in the early 80’s. I fell in love with Kings Quests, Starflight, Wasteland, Magic Candle, etc. Those were the days. I stayed loyal for years. About the time Doom came out, the hardware upgrade race started in earnest. I kept up through the Fallouts and Baldur’s Gates and No One Lives Forevers, and Battlefields. Then Fallout 3 came out and the PC I spent $2000 on less than two years ago barely met specs. The upgrade cost a little less than an XBox, which is the default platform, has all the downloadable content, plays all the old XBox games which I can get used, etc. On top of that, I find I’m buying fewer and fewer PC games. Because many of them suck or are released for the consoles with buggy PC ports. At this point, I want PC gaming to die so that Linux gaming can pick up the slack with creative, interesting, original content (no more “It’s like F.E.A.R. meets Battlefield meets Oblivion . . .” garbage). I want some new ideas and I want to see them on a platform I love.
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3. IceBrain PORTUGAL Mozilla Firefox Debian GNU/Linux Terminalist says:
Why would the death of PC gaming help Linux? Nobody is going to make commercial Linux-only games, so if Windows games disappear, the already small Linux share won’t stand a chance.
I for one didn’t buy any console since the PSOne, and I’m not planning to do so.
The major “disadvantage” in Consoles VS PC (the price) is /bullshit/. For most people the question isn’t “should I buy a PC or a Console” but “should I buy a PC with a bad graphic card and a Console or a PC with a good graphic card”.
I bought a PC four years ago (and it wasn’t a killer) and since then I only needed to upgrade the graphics card ($70) and I can play CoD4.
Sure, I don’t play it in max settings, but that’s a choice you have in PC.
Other thing that bugs me is today’s bad console hardware: XBox had the Red Ring of Death, PS3 has the 80010514 error, and the repair price is often through the roof.
My N64 is more than 10 years old and still plays as well as the first time.
My only problem is that I would like to help more the companies who still make great PC games (and especially Linux games), but I lack funds, so I have to choose carefully those I can afford to help, and I tend to prefer small companies like Introvision.
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4. Ben UNITED STATES Mozilla Firefox Ubuntu Linux says:
I think the death of commercial PC gaming will put us back in a state similar to the 70s and early 80s where only the passionate were writing games. People won’t stop writing games for the platform, but without the franchises and powerhouse graphics, physics, and sound engines, we may see a little more focus on gameplay. Or maybe I’m just nostalgic.
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5. dawgit (D.Taylor) GERMANY Internet Explorer Windows says:
But, But, But….
Then I’d have to buy (aquire) one of those Television Things…
I’ll keep my brain cells, what I have left of them. Thank-You.
Seriosly, The Chess board works fine. Doesn’t even need electricity. How about that for ‘CO²’ Free, ‘Green’ friendly. (And reqirest brain cells, – the original GPU – Physics Prosessor.) -d
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6. Mart SINGAPORE Mozilla Firefox Windows Terminalist says:
I want to, I really want to “stick it to the man”. I didn’t buy/download Mass Effect and Spore at all. I tried to stay away.
But Far Cry 2 entices me too, and it got me thinking. Of course there will be 20 lemons for every good game out there that I want to buy and play. Will I no longer be able to enjoy all the latest games due to DRM and DLC? I do enjoy sites like gog.com and also all the indie devs out there, who thankfully ship their games without any DRM or minimal DRM. But at the same time, I also would like to play and enjoy the current batch of games.
My solution now is probably to buy and play as per normal, but at the same time, download a hack for the exe or mini-image from gamecopyworld or gameburnworld, just in case the publisher decides to shut down the activation server for whatever reason.
This is really not elegant, and I feel that I am still directly or indirectly contributing to the whole mess.
A friend of mine recently asked why I bothered to search for a crack since I had already bought the game and it’s highly unlikely that the publishers will shut down the activation servers, if at all. I replied that’s exactly what the customers of MSN music, Yahoo music and Walmart online MP3 store thought too.
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Review Quotes
Riley and The Rub staff volunteer for a gold tournament. Riley overhears Evan talking about his promotion to the task force targeting drugs, weapons, prostitution, and more. Riley and Judge Overstock exchange some awkwardness, but they eventually make a pact to watch each others' back. Afterwards, Derek and Riley head to The Rub after they get a report that the alarm has been triggered. They find that Riley's office has been ransacked, but Riley refuses to tell Derek what's going on.
Meanwhile, Travis convinces Kyle to have a sleepover for his football team. Lacey and Dale stop by to help because they want to prepare for their birth mother interview.
Episode Number:
The Client List Season 2 Episode 13 Quotes
I know you're going through a hard time, but a good friend of mine once said sometimes you gotta stop planning, thinking, and worrying and to hell with it.
I have a family, people that really depend on me. If something is going on... | <urn:uuid:649bd15b-f99c-4c11-86c9-d03185fc12fa> | http://www.tvfanatic.com/shows/the-client-list/episodes/season-2/whatever-it-takes/ | en | 0.960521 | 0.018581 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
University Lowbrow Astronomers
by David Tucker
Printed in Reflections: May, 2007.
M81 is a beautiful rotating disk of about 250 Billion stars located near the big dipper, at an estimated distance of 12 million light years. The haze that seems to make up the galaxy is in reality billions and billions of individual stars. Some of the brighter star-like objects may be globular clusters, which are dense clumps of tens of thousands of stars, others are likely foreground stars in our own galaxy. Also note the two faint spiral arms extending out of the disk of the galaxy.
This is basically the m81 image I took last month, but I went out and got some additional frames through Red, Green and Blue filters, so I was able to build a color image, using the new “color” frames plus the original image (the original B&W image was used to supply the brightness or “luminance” data for the picture—this is referred to as LRGB imaging). This is one of the first images I have taken with my Starlight Express MX716, which is significantly less noisy then my older ATiK 2HS (specifically because of its Active Cooling system which freezes the imaging chip down to about 30 degrees Celsius below the ambient temperature—heat noise from Infrared photons emanating from warm surfaces with the camera itself were a significant problem when doing long exposures with the older camera). The image stacks taken through the red, green and blue filters (about 25 1 minute exposures each) were separately Stacked and Aligned using k3ccd, and then the separate completed Red, Green, Blue and White-Light images were finally aligned and combined using RegiStar (a very powerful program for image alignment, but also fairly expensive given that it doesn’t do anything else). Final color tweaking (etc.) was done in JASC Paint Shop. It is extremely difficult to know how accurate the color really is, I just tweaked it in PaintShop until most of the stars turned white. Other software used includes AstroArt (which I use for camera control and initial image processing), and PixInsight, a *Free* Astro-Imaging program with some very powerful features for removing light pollution gradients (an increasing problem out here).
As usual, image was taken from my backyard near Howell, Michigan. Lessons learned include not allowing the dog to dig under the tripod legs while imaging.
Final Statistics:
110 * 60 seconds white light (“Luminance”);
25 * 60 seconds each through R, G and B filters;
Total Sleep: about 5 hours
Televue Genesis 4” F5 Refractor with Starlight Express MX716 Camera, image is just under 1” across (main diagonal).
Copyright Info
University Lowbrow Astronomers Privacy Policy | <urn:uuid:aaf0791b-bf70-48dc-8abf-0c955cb2ef4d> | http://www.umich.edu/~lowbrows/reflections/2007/dtucker.3.html | en | 0.936017 | 0.119279 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
EconMatters's picture
By EconMatters
Chart Source:, Aug. 11, 2012
This just is the same old cycle over and over:
1. QE Program
2. Gasoline prices explode upward with the rise in Oil
3. Consumers pull back discretionary spending
4. Economic growth slows down
5. Oil drops because of slower economic growth
6. Politicians lecture about the need to create more jobs
7. The Fed notes slower economic growth
8. Consumers benefit from lower gas prices
Stop this endless cycle and let the economy slowly work its way out of thedeleveraging processin a natural, slow but solid growth trajectory which can actually build momentum upon each previous quarter instead of this push and pullback QE cyclicality that can never get out of its own way.
Further Reading Forget QE3, America Needs a Real Road and Job Stimulus
Comment viewing options
q99x2's picture
Alcohol is a Gas.
disabledvet's picture
this with all the other pieces both here and on the MSM all run from the same playbook: "'73-'74." this was the "age of the petro-dollar" when hundreds of billions of dollars...then even trillions...flowed out of the USA and "was in need of recycling"...right back to the USA as it turned out. "This time is different." 2008 was a dollar SHORTAGE...not a dollar glut. the folks...meaning the ENTIRETY of Wall Street...went long foreign currencies, "zero cost labor" and front run the Fed in Treasuries in order to be on the vanguard of "the next train wreck of USA inc." EPIC failure as Jamie Dimon...and Goldman Sachs...have now discovered. The USA is no longer recycling creating MASSIVE AMOUNTS of them through the Bakken shale...and soon the Northeastern shale deposits which are even larger. It is in the interest of the Fed to let those energy prices rise...and rise monetize these short "print taxpayers"...since in order to keep pace with the price increases labor rates will have to rise least those that can afford to do that. My personal view is that this epic drought has called the Obama Administration's bluff on there so called "energy policy." the Fed's job is to "let that thing go North"...either through another round of QE or ideally "something more organized"...cuz believe you're going to need the military to contain the blowback from this reset. that could be the Treasury Secretary if this doesn't go right.
Mr Lennon Hendrix's picture
Production levels in most Western States have dropped since 2009, and yes, production rates have everything to do with price, via supply:
dcb's picture
Yup, most people don't really get that berneke took what could have been a moderate recession and turned it into a financial crisis. with the flood of liquidity, oil rose to 147 and that was it. we were toast.
but the media of course say he is a savior. this is exactly what keeps happening. the economy starts to pick up some steam, and he kills it with qe, or course by the end of the qe, the damage has been done. It's real clear except that it's not about the economy, it's about making sure the value of bank assets stay over inflated so we can pretend they are solvent. it has also never been about the economy, but about trading profits.
orangegeek's picture
For QE = 1 to November 2012
Markets hold/rise. Obama wins. Consequence: Oil keeps rising too.
Oil keeps rising. Obama loses. Consequence: Markets hold/rise.
End loop.
Blue Dog's picture
The Fed is deliberately destroying the dollar. It's officially "buying" 61% of US debt but it's really much higher. It allows the big banks to borrow at close to 0. They buy treasuries and make money on the difference. The Fed creates the money that it lends to those banks so the amount in money being monetized is most likely at least 90%. Hyperinflation is coming very soon!
JohnKozac's picture
"It's painful but we've got to print. Sorry for the inconvenience. Feel free to be a Barbarian to hedge against the coming food price hikes."
marz929's picture
Your money isn't yours anyway. Once it leaves your possession it belongs to the brokerage house!
Here is the Reuters piece.
U.S. Circuit Judge John D. Tinder
You have GOT to GET OUT.
OldE_Ant's picture
I want to add to the above comment. Having traded KCG (KNIGHT) for some profit I received an e-mail pointing me to the following:
This document basically tells KCG longs that due to the emergency nature of the situation that KCG bypassed existing law, got the SEC to go along with a rules change and voila - longs are completely screwed out of any rights to vote down the 'deal' managment made. The SEC is even complicit in helping KNIGHT out in the whole thing. You want to screw your shareholders - sure - as long as you cover that $400M in trading costs.
Consider if KNIGHT didn't have squat for capital and went BK. What do you think would have happened to all of the trades it did? (i.e. the real stock, and money they supposively paid). The money and stock associated with all of the trades would have be locked up in court for a few years while everyone tried to figure out what happened. I think this was the sole reason NYSE backed out a certian number of trades (simply because KNIGHT could not have come up with ALL the money and would have went BK).
If KNIGHT went BK and a whole slew of transactions went into court land this would have caused major market havoc as people would then realize a simple fact. There are certian players in the market who can not just create 'virtual shares - naked shorting' but can also create 'naked cash'. KNIGHT did just that. They had 3 days to fill this gaping hole or face a serious threat to the system, hence players came out of the woodwork to 'save KNIGHT'. Actually they saved their own asses - probably because a lot of the trades KNIGHT executed were with those same players algos.
In short while you may think when you execute a trade that someone actually has stock or cash, (like buying a car) they don't. They have NOTHING, zero, ZIP, NADA and for 3 days you have zip, ZERO, NADA but HOPE. What is worse is when push comes to shove according to the above court ruling anyone with money in these things will find they have nothing left, or it will be tied up in court until worthless.
This means not that are markets are broken, they are fricking DANGEROUS and HAZARDOUS to your wealth. I feel more confidant sitting down at a poker table in a casino than putting my money in a brokerage account, 401-K etc. these days.
End of Line
beachdude's picture
Dear econmatters,
2 : a lack of foresight or discernment : a narrow view of something.
Trees, meet forest.
paulbain's picture
The last chart (in the article above) predicts that, as of late 2013 (about 14 months from now), gasoline's price will be only $3.25 per gallon. That is right, just $3.25 / gallon.
Folks, if you believe this prediction, then you are in for one helluva surpise in about a year's time. Even without QE3, gasoline's price shall be much higher than $3.25 in late 2013.
Don't believe me? OK. Then just wait a few more months. It shan't be long now.
-- Paul D. Bain
Landrew's picture
In this depression I don't think gasoline will be headed higher. Wages are falling so gasoline will fall at a slower rate. Gasoline could be 1.89$ and average wage of 3.00$. Price isn't what matters it's the purchasing power of your dollar. Just as with higher education, you can only charge what the market will bare, I think Adam Smith wrote an interesting book on the topic
The Wealth of Nations
deez nutz's picture
"FUCK YOU BERNANKE"
Dareconomics's picture
Mr. Durden is right about the endgame. The Fed will keep printing to suport the economy until there is a crash. I wrote about this two days ago in response to Art Cashin's remarks on CNBC. What else can they do? If they stop printing, the economy and the stock markets will tank, and it will be all their fault. Once intervention starts, it cannot stop.
LMAOLORI's picture
The Fed will print until we get rid of bernanke after that it depends on who replaces him. For example Romney has said he will get rid of ben rumor is he will replace him with Alan Blinder who recently said...
How Bernanke Can Get Banks Lending Again
in full
JeffB's picture
The problem with that scenario as I see it is that the answer to our problem isn't really to goose the economy by getting the banks to lend more.
Our problem is in fact the opposite, the banks have already loaned too much. Artificially goosing the economy as the Fed has done leads to a misallocation of resources. It's not true savings of capital that is being invested... too much of it is fiat money printed out of thin air masquerading as saved and invested capital.
It's like a game of musical chairs no one realized they were in. There wasn't enough saved capital for all the people who were loaned money/let into the game. When the music stops and they realize it's not all there the panic and chaos starts.
The money supply has grown at a ridiculous rate already due to the de facto Fed monetization of our debt, but it would be far worse if the money they've pulled out of the economy and hence out of the money supply via the massive build up of excess reserves was let to flow back into the economy.
The money supply would shoot up like a rocket, particularly in our partial reserve system where the effect would be multiplied some 9 or 10 times as those banks loaned and reloaned that newly released money.
Inflation would rear its ugly head and bite us with a vengeance.
Quinvarius's picture
They are already doing QE. They will continue to do QE until the banks can stand on their own--Which is never. Only fools are waiting for the Fed to admit it or announce it.
max2205's picture
Fill up the guzzler on your credit card. Who gives a fuck who has to pay it off. Aint gonna happen
Flakmeister's picture
Well.... how else are you going to monetize the debt? The game must go on for TPTB....
It's a Catch-22.....
Now the real issue is that all the QE cannot be used to increase the supply of oil... From 1994-2004, 2.4 Trillion in CAPEX brought a ~12 mmbpd increase in C+C, from 2005-2010, 2.4 Trillion in CAPEX resulted in a decrease of 200,000 bpd in C+C
You *really* can't print oil...
ihedgemyhedges's picture
This post is about as useful as the crap Phoenix puts out to drive readers to his site.................ZH readers already know this as TD does his job very think of another way to get some "unique" visitors to your site.........
michael_engineer's picture
Agreed. Any comments about slower growth or solid growth fly in the face of resource depletion structural constraints and contraction impetus.
Landrew's picture
Not true both are not mutually Exclusive. That is exactly how it all plays out. Production declines, prices rise, employment falls, prices fall, employment rises and finally production rises (less so depletion). As the economy falls further into depression there is less need for energy and production falls but prices remain higher. Does that not sound like exactly what is happening around the world? The easy oil is gone or why drill two miles deep in the ocean, dig tar out of the sand and boil it with fresh water? The decline extends the oil capacity thats how it's playing out right now. Sorry nope hopey change. Physics matters (yes the pun is intended:) | <urn:uuid:032e932a-344e-4af0-b36f-4b0e9c8e6c52> | http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2012-08-11/spike-oil-prices-qe3-expectations-should-be-warning-fed | en | 0.952199 | 0.326981 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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The Home Handy Person’s Guide to Electrical Safety: Electricity Can Kill You
Electricity is the invisible force that powers our homes and drives the tools that we use to repair and upgrade it. Electricity is also one of the most misunderstood energy sources encountered by the do-it-yourselfer. Most people fear it because they can’t see it with the unaided eye and people naturally fear the unknown. It can jump out and bite you when you least expect it and the bite can be fatal but it can also be controlled. Like with most fears you can overcome them through knowledge. You can transform the fear into respect and once you do that you can work with and around electricity in a safe and secure manner. This is knowledge that every do-it-yourselfer needs to gain because electricity can hurt you even if the project that you are working on doesn’t directly involve electricity.
According to the United States Consumer Safety Report published in 1995 based on statistics provided by NCHS (National Center for Health Safety) on electrocutions by consumer products, the home is truly a dangerous place for the unaware. According to the 1995 statistics, the latest statistics available, there were 550 electrocutions in and around the home because of consumer products. Out of a total of 560 electrocutions in the United States, 230 electrocutions or 41 percent were related to consumer products.
· Installed household wiring accounted for 23 percent, or 53 deaths caused by household electrocutions. You need to know what’s inside that wall you’re cutting into with your Saws All.
· Another 17 percent, or 40 deaths, resulted from defective or improperly used small appliances.
· Another 14 percent, or 33 deaths, resulted from defective or improperly installed major appliances
· Another 10 percent, or 24 deaths, resulted from improperly installed television antennas.
· Another 9 percent, or 20 deaths, result from defective or improperly installed or used lighting equipment
· Another 7 percent, or 15 deaths resulted from people coming into contact with electrical wires while working on ladders
· Another 6 percent, or 13 deaths, resulted from using defective or improperly wired power tolls
· Another 6 percent, or 14 deaths resulted from defective or improperly used farm and garden equipment
· The remaining 8 percent or 18 deaths resulted miscellaneous causes of electrocution.
With those statistics in mind let’s take a look at how electricity kills so you won’t become one of those statistics.
A common misunderstanding about electricity and electrocution.
Most people believe that it’s the amount of voltage present that makes electricity dangerous or innocuous. That’s the most common misconception. In reality, it’s the amount of current flowing through your body that electrocutes you or send you to the hospital with grave injuries. Granted that there is a direct relationship between the amount of voltage present and the amount of current that can flow through a circuit no matter whether that circuit is completed by your body or an electrical conductor it takes very little voltage to force a fatal current to flow across your heart. People have been killed by voltages that most people would consider harmless, like the 24 V (Volts) present in a residential door chime circuit. Actually a current of 1A (Ampere) or less can shock the human heart into a state of arrhythmia. That’s why GFCI (Ground Fault Current Interruption) devices which are designed to protect human beings against fatal electrical shocks are designed to trip out at 6mA (Milliamperes), 0.006A, or less.
Introduction to the Ohm’s Law
The Ohm’s Law states that the current is directly proportional to the voltage and inversely proportional to the resistance. The Ohm’s Law is represented by the formula I=E/R, where
· I = the current in Amperes
· E = the voltage in volts and
· R = the resistance in ? (Ohms)
In other words the current flowing through a circuit or through your body will increase as the voltage increases as long as the resistance presented to the flow of current remains constant.
Human physiology and electricity.
The human body contains 65 percent water by weight and water is a relatively good conductor of electricity. The internal body fluids have a resistance that varies between 300 to 1,000?. The body outer layer of skin, the epidermis, has a resistance that varies from 1,000 to 100,000? depending on its moisture content. If you’re sweating profusely, the resistance of the epidermis can drop to 1,000? in an instant. The total resistance offered by the human body is represented by this formula
R (total) = R (skin in) + R (internal) + R (skin out)
This is one of the few areas where males truly are superior to females because a current of 9A is always fatal for a female where it takes an additional amp or 10A to always be fatal to a male. That brings us to the next question, how do those current relate to electrical potential or voltage. Let’s calculate that voltage for a day when the wsweat is pouring off you like the water cascading over Niagara Falls.
= 1,000? + 1,000? + 1,000?
= 3,000?
E = I X R = 10A X 3,000?
= 30,000 V
Very few of us will ever encounter that kind of voltage unless we start tinkering with out color television sets or computer monitors. Homes in the United States are wired for 240/120 Volts, so why does that kill people? Even with the body operating at minimum resistance, 240 Volts can only produce a current of 0.08A which is 0.8 percent of what we stated above as always being fatal.
Household voltages can kill because it disrupts the hearts internal pacemaker driving the heart into a state of fibrillation.
· Fibrillation is the fine, rapid, erratic, movements that replace the normal contraction of the ventricular muscle of the heart
· Fibrillation can be stopped by application of another controlled electrical shock, known as defibrillation, often seen in movies and on TV...
· A stopped heart can often be resuscitated with CPR techniques (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), but seldom a fibrillating heart.
The following list shows you how various amounts of current affect the human body when the current flows across the chest and through the heart.
· <0.01 A causes a tingling sensation or isn’t perceptible at all (< means less than)
· =0.02 A causes contraction of the muscles and you can’t let go
· =0.03 A disturbance to respiration or breathing
· =0.07 A extremely hard to breathe
· =0.10 A fibrillation caused death
· >0.20 A fibrillation doesn’t occur but severe burning occurs with paralysis of the respiratory system (> means greater than)
Safety rules
1. Treat every circuit that you are working on as if it were hot. This may slow you down but it will make safe working habits automatic and you won’t slip up when you have to work on an energized circuit.
2. When testing energized circuits work the way professional electricians do with one hand in their pocket. This way of working prevents you from providing a direct path across your chest and through your heart if your other hand accidentally comes into contact with live parts. If you’re using a meter learn to use an alligator clip on one of the test leads.
3. If you can’t lock a service panel door tape over the breaker and place a large sign on the panel advising other members of the household to not turn the circuit back on.
4. Where rubber sole shoes or boots
5. If you are working in a damp area stand on a rubber mat. If there is a lot of water on the floor, place the rubber mat on a wooden pallet to keep it from getting wet.
6. Watch out for overhead wires when working on a ladder.
7. Have the utility company come and mark the location of their underground lines before digging up the yard.
I always try to cover any special safety precautions to be taken with every tutorial that I publish but these will get you started off on the right foot.
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Comments (4)
Excellent article. The first rule I ever learned was the one hand in the pocket rule. As you get more used to doing things you might start to think the rules dont apply anymore and get careless. And it is so important to treat circuits as if they are hot, sometimes you might just turn the wrong breaker off.
My daughter got shocked once. She was plugging in or unplugging her hair drier. I don't know which one, but she got bit. I know 110 can kill you. It didn't do anything, but right after that she developed severe anxiety that has never left her. Before the shock she never had an anxiety attack. I'm not sure if the jolt did something to her or not.
Hi Charlene It sounds like your bathroom receptacles may not be GFCI protected and they need to be for eveyone's safety. I have a factoid on here all about GFCI. Here's the link It's possible that the shock precipitasted your daughter's aniaty attack but I'm no psychologist and not qualified to say. Different people react differently. I once knew a young man who had his left arm literally blown off at the elbow when he came into contact with a 10,000 volt line that was still hot but he shook the experience off and was back working as soon as he was fitted with an artificial arm. Then again I've known people that got bit by 110 volts and never worked again.
It is very important to keep yourself safe whenever you try to repair electrical wires at home. Electricity can really kill you if you don't have any safety materials to use before you repair electrical wires. Thank you for sharing the useful information on this article. Keep it up! Voted and shared. | <urn:uuid:4e3c430c-dd0e-4f7d-b12c-bff7b5377101> | https://electrical-systems-lighting.knoji.com/the-home-handy-persons-guide-to-electrical-safety-electricity-can-kill-you/ | en | 0.937832 | 0.217862 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
IDEAS home Printed from
Why Ants Do but Honeybees Do Not Construct Satellite Nests
• Janet Landa
• Gordon Tullock
Registered author(s):
Synopsis: Ants and honeybees are both social insects that share many characteristics in common. But there is a fundamental difference between ants and bees. Ants can and do construct main nests with satellite nests, whereas bees construct only a main nest with no satellite nests. In this paper we explain the difference between the socio-economic organization of ants and bees: ants can identify nest-mates from satellite nests because ants leave odor trails connecting main nests to satellite nests so that fellow nest-mate from satellite nests smell the same. Bees, on the other hand, cannot leave odor trails in the air, and hence are unable to identify bees from another nest; bees from another nest with different pheromone smells are stung to death by guard bees in the main nest. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2003
File URL:
Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
Article provided by Springer in its journal Journal of Bioeconomics.
Volume (Year): 5 (2003)
Issue (Month): 2 (May)
Pages: 151-164
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Handle: RePEc:kap:jbioec:v:5:y:2003:i:2:p:151-164
Contact details of provider: Web page:
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or (Rebekah McClure)
| <urn:uuid:717df9fa-4619-4773-a908-990a1750e58e> | https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbioec/v5y2003i2p151-164.html | en | 0.887415 | 0.090475 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Re: Request: Test suite for EFS.
> I did send mail to Miguel about how namaspaces should be used in bonobo
> to switch/detect compound in document serialized in XML. This was requiring
> registering the XML namespace URL for each application and make sure
> that all serialization would declare the namespace, and build XML analizers
> in a way flexible enought to skip element not in your "own" namespace.
> Seems I didn't get heard, too bad.
You did get heard. And this is a good thing that we might support for
other components.
But how do you address standard naming schemes with the XML file
format, for things like "Summary/Author" in a way that is consistent
across applications. How can we standarize this?
How can I quickly scan information? How can I pull an image from
another XML file without having to load the entire XML file into
(Consider embedding an image which is inside a document into a
spreadsheet without activating the document component)
| <urn:uuid:e5cab38d-e948-4190-82b8-6a3d72a66c63> | https://mail.gnome.org/archives/gnome-list/2000-February/msg00479.html | en | 0.880536 | 0.310243 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Toy drive
It was another awesome toy drive and once again bigger than the previous years by a lot.We had it starting at noon but when my father in law and myself got there at 10 people were already thier and instead of asking how soon we could start on them they asked if they could help set up with us.By noon the shop was full and more people were waiting outside ready to go and we knew it was going to be a great day.We really do appreciate every single person that came by dropped stuff off and everyone that waited hours patiently.The piles of toys were huge and the van is completely full with clothes and shoes and again would not have been possible with out the help of each person involved.We did around 130 tattoos and didn’t finish until 4am.This is our biggest charity event every year but as always we will continue to do other charity work throughout the year as well so keep your eyes peeled.We really can not put into words how much we appreciate everyone coming through and standing behind something that we really believe in.If you want to see where your donations directly go you can go to the Blessing Center on the 23rd and I guarantee it will change your outlook on a lot of things.Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #TEAMWORKMAKESTHEDREAMWORK #WEAREABOUTREDLANDSimage
2 years!!!!!
It’s our 2 year anniversary at Rendition Tattoo.When I first opened The shop I swore that I would not hire any assholes,crappy tattooers and or guys that didn’t treat people with respect and continue to progress whether they were friends or not and I would work by myself if needed.Luckily Rawbert came along,then Worm and Jake and they have helped make the shop what it is and I’m proud to work with these guys every day and can honestly say without a doubt that I enjoy going to work everyday and being around them and being inspired and pushed to always do better.Im also very thankful to everyone that has came through our doors and helped spread the word about the shop.I get excited every time some one walks in for the first time to get tattooed no matter how many times it happens in a day.I had a plan that I thought would work and one day maybe we would be busy and not just do appointments but also have walkins regularly and it’s happening and has happened faster than I could have imagined.So thanks to everyone that has helped make the shop what it is from our family to our friends and all of the new friends we have made through tattooing at the shop.We appreciate it and will never take it for granted. #teamworkmakesthedreamwork #aboutredlands #WEAREABOUTREDLANDS #redlandstattoo #renditiontattoo | <urn:uuid:cbe1eddf-47b1-4d9b-b854-57c895953501> | https://renditiontattoo.wordpress.com/ | en | 0.983743 | 0.057565 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Abstract: Seamanship and Sailing Rigs in the Ancient Mediterranean
It is often stated that the sea is central, in more ways than one, to our understanding of the Mediterranean World, particularly in Antiquity. At the heart of this lie the unprecedented levels of maritime connectivity between people and cultures afforded by the sea and the ships and boats that plied the waters of the ancient world. Our understanding of those vessels has been greatly expanded in the last half a century through a wealth of archaeological evidence that has allowed a detailed understanding to be developed of the construction of such vessels, the goods and products of trade and the trade routes themselves. By contrast, the archaeological remains of the rigging and sails by which such vessels were used in antiquity has received less attention. However, these remains, in conjunction with the rich iconographic and literary sources can paint a detailed picture of the nature of seafaring in the ancient Mediterranean, including an understanding of the potential performance of such sailing vessels. For the most part, the mariners of the ancient Mediterranean utilized a square-sail that we can identify as having a specifically Mediterranean tradition of use. This lecture addresses how maritime archaeologists have understood the practical aspects of sailing in the ancient Mediterranean in the past and highlights and discusses a number of key elements that are not currently widely understood. This includes the development of the sail itself, the evidence for whether or not ancient mariners could sail to windward. Finally, it is possible to address the eventual disappearance of the Mediterranean square-sail altogether and its replacement with the lateen sail during the late-antique and early medieval period.
Short bibliography and/or website on lecture topic:
Whitewright, J., 2011. The potential performance of ancient Mediterranean sailing rigs. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 40(1): 2-17.
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Sign Up! | <urn:uuid:3a00fd28-e4c5-47e3-9be5-fa131365fdeb> | https://www.archaeological.org/lectures/abstracts/16205 | en | 0.945348 | 0.784481 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Law & Disorder —
How Amsterdam was wired for open access fiber
Running fiber to the home can be a budget-busting experience for telcos, but …
The city of Amsterdam has been involved for several years in building Citynet, a partnership between the city and two private investors to wire 40,000 Amsterdam buildings with fiber. And it's not just fiber, it's open access fiber—any ISP can sign up to use the infrastructure and deliver ultra-fast Internet access.
In 2008, the European Union ruled that the city's involvement in the project was in fact legal, and that it was not improperly interfering in the market.
We asked Herman Wagter, CEO of the company that built the Citynet fiber project, to talk about how he got the job done, and to explain the challenges of rolling out fiber in a densely crowded European city.
Theory versus practice
First, a few basic problems.
Unlike in the US and Japan, stringing fiber along poles is not an option in European capitals. Every fiber cable must be buried below the pavement, then distributed inside a building to apartments; no wires can be exposed on the outside. The density of these old cities is quite high, and real estate is expensive, leaving little room for cabinets with active equipment on the street level. The majority of the housing consists of multi-dwelling-units (MDUs) with up to 500 individual apartments per building, but one can find the occasional houseboat on a canal as well.
When the design of the Amsterdam fiber network started in 2005, it became clear that there was little experience in the market with this type of deployment. Contractors were used to either putting copper wires or coax lines in new buildings, or digging long stretches of big high density polyethylene (HDPE) tubes for backhaul purposes. Most fiber packaging was optimized for backhaul and for metro networks; few products were specifically designed for fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) in these conditions.
Fortunately, most vendors, like Draka, who delivered the fiber in Amsterdam were able to react quickly and rise to the occasion when challenged with specific requirements for the city. The experience in Amsterdam and other European cities has resulted over the years in products like miniature direct burial cables, special high-rise cables with break-out windows to allow very fast builds inside MDUs, fibers that can bend sharply, easy-install Fiber Termination Units (FTUs) inside apartments, and so on.
The learning curve for everyone involved was immense. Only now, after five years, is it tapering off, giving everyone a chance to catch their breath. Here's what we learned from the last half-decade of fiber installs in Amsterdam.
Deploying buried cables to every apartment in a dense city is a disruptive process. You do not want to repeat it for decades—preferably longer—so it needs to be done right.
A point-to-point fiber topology runs individual fibers from each apartment back to the local aggregation point (think of the phone system model); it's the most flexible and future-proof topology. Point-to-point will support all known technologies (GPON, active Ethernet, lambda, RF video overlay, and others) by patching individual fibers in the aggregation point. It allows for easy unbundling of individual lines, a feature much appreciated by regulators and customers in Europe.
The alternative topology, PON, features a shared fiber for each 32 to 64 customers. This saves on fiber runs and reduces the number of connectors and the size of the local point of presence gear, but it has one big architectural drawback: more path dependencies. Finally, it is difficult to unbundle a PON topology.
The length of fiber needed to cover the distance from a point of presence (called an aggregation point with active equipment, or APOP) to an apartment is a few kilometers at most, so the cost of the actual fiber is only a small part of the total investment (less than 10 percent).
Handling that many fibers in a point-to-point topology may seem like a problem until the comparison is made with the old equivalent: 100-year old copper cabling for the phone system. Those copper cables are much more bulky than the equivalent fiber cables; in fact, they are four times fatter. Yet we have been able to manage a huge number of copper cables for ages without a problem, so a much slimmer fiber plant should not pose a problem, even when every apartment gets its own line.
So we decided to go for point-to-point in Amsterdam: it did (and does) not make sense to be “penny wise and pound foolish,” by saving on fiber upfront but running the risk of having to redo the outside fiber plant in a decade or two. Paying a slightly higher cost (estimated at 5 percent or less of the total CAPEX budget for the project) for more fiber length and more connectors/patches was considered an acceptable insurance premium against potential premature technical obsolescence.
(In case of Citynet, a second fiber specifically for RF-video was deployed as well, as a shared fiber with optical splitters. In the next build-outs this will be modified to a second point-to-point fiber, as the limitations of a shared fiber became obvious.)
The second decision was to build an open-access, passive fiber plant that would support multiple ISPs in competition. In practice this translates to:
• Unbundled dark fiber access lines which can be rented individually by an ISP who wants to serve that particular customer
• ISPs can get access to APOPs to install their line cards and related equipment, patch in their customer access line, and connect to their own backhaul network
To prevent a clutter of patch cords in the APOP, the patching is limited per group of connections (1,500 to 3,000). If an ISP wants to service a customer within the group, it has to place equipment within the group patch area. A group of 1,500 to 3,000 patches to a limited number of ISPs can be de-cluttered within a reasonable amount of time if the need should arise.
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Ugly, inaccurate and incomprehensible
This unidentified billboard has appeared in Cable Street: ugly, inaccurate and incomprehensible. Perhaps that’s why no one was prepared to put their name to it.
I can only guess that it is has been paid for by the First-Past-the-Post lobby that is pushing to get rid of proportional electoral systems.
It seems to lament the fact that a fair electoral system delivered a candidate with genuine majority support. Or is it just using Kerry’s name as an oblique attack on MMP.
Its very hard to tell. “Vote losers: get two votes’, “vote for a winner: get 1” makes no sense at all.
It appears that some FPP supporter out there has more money than sense. You would think that if you are going to spend that kind of money on a billboard you would at least make it intelligible.
28 thoughts on “Ugly, inaccurate and incomprehensible
1. Hi @kahikatea – Yep, I just wanted names to play with and that’s the order they fell in when I put numbers alongside them, so sorry for any impressions with the lazy choices. I probably should have made up different names, but too late now. I guess a catch is that if Jack’s supporters had ranked a second preference, those votes wouldn’t have been lost meaning Jack couldn’t have won anyway because their second preference would’ve had to go to either Celia or Kerry, pushing one or the other further ahead and past the quota. I think this is a specific issue that would come up when not everyone ranks all candidates. Election system experts have probably known about it for yonks.
2. Mike, that seems a fair comment, but I’m going to have to think about whether a similar problem could occur without voters leaving their second preferences blank. I trust that any resemblance of the names in your example to the names of any actual Wellington Mayoral candidates is purely coincidental.
Rimu, according to the official results, about a quarter of voters who gave their first preferences to Jack, Bryan, Bernard or Al did indeed rank Kerry above Celia. I think the claim by FPP supporters is that those people’s votes shouldn’t count either.
3. @toad, No argument there, except to add that my main point is that STV as designed isn’t as infallible as some people out there seem to think it is. STV specifically says people don’t have to rank all candidates, and if everyone doesn’t rank all candidates, STV isn’t guaranteed to produce a fair result… even for the subset of voters who did rank all candidates.
The thing with the hypothetical STV election above is that all those imaginary-Kerry voters really did nothing wrong. They ranked the candidates in their preferred order exactly as asked. Imaginary-Kerry could never win, but her supporters might have had a really good reason to feel annoyed that their second choice couldn’t be elected despite a full 2/3 of all voters preferring imaginary-Jack over imaginary-Celia. Somehow imaginary-Celia snuck ahead based on STV’s bias towards prioritising first preference votes, and then eliminating a trailing candidate before the total support for that trailing candidate was able to be tallied.
I really like STV and I think it’s much better than FPP for things like mayoral and council elections. (Maybe not so great with a system divided into lots of single-seat electorates unless there are other overriding systems like MMP to make sure a total vote count catches minority preferences between electorates.) But that’s really because FPP’s just very unfair from the beginning. The only thing going for it is absolute simplicity for voters to understand what’s happening. It’s really important for a good democracy that as many people as possible should be able to understand the mechanics of the system they’re voting in. If your system says “a computer does it and a small group of experts understand what’s happening and you have to trust them” then it’s not going to inspire confidence. But surely it's also important that the system actually produces a result that best represents everyone's views.
As for DHB elections, the Wellington DHB was definitely the hardest one for me to vote in. I don't know much about it, or the local health system, and there were so many candidates I'd never heard of! I ranked them all after a gruelling hour in my lunch break where I read all their short blurbs and trying to come up with a vague ordering. Not exactly fair or well informed, and I didn't feel too good about voting that way. If there are more than a few people in my situation, I really wonder about the usefulness of the DHB elections.
4. @MikeM 2:57 PM
So be it. If voters don’t bother to rank candidates they don’t want under STV, then that is the consequence.
With the Waitemata DHB, I made the point of ranking each and every candidate, right to the bottom of the list.
That was so I could rank Christine Rankin right at the bottom at No. 31 to show my utter contempt for her bigotry and elitism. Admittedly, there were a few on the list I didn’t know at all, so ranked them alphabetically in the middle.
Unfortunately, for reason of name recognition and probably no other, Rankin was elected to the Waitemata DHB (she also stood for the Auckland Council, and failed to get elected, for which I am very glad).
But as far as the Waitemata DHB goes, shit happens! STV is still the most democratic voting system, but there are sufficient electors who (unfortunately) support Rankin or don’t bother to rank the full list that even under STV we don’t always get the results we would like.
5. I know we don’t have STV for mayoralty in Christchurch, if we had I might have voted. Probably would have ranked everyone except Anderton and Parker.
6. Okay, so just to give a purely theoretical and unlikely example of how STV could return an “unfair” result, here goes: :)
* There are 3 candidates in a single seat election — Celia, Kerry and Jack.
* 66,999 voters results in a Droop Quota of about 33,500.
* Celia gets 23,000 first preferences. Kerry gets 22,000 first preferences. Jack gets 21,999 first preferences.
* Celia’s supporters didn’t bother to rank anyone else, and neither did Jack’s. They’re apparently all apathetic basement dwellers and never researched the other candidates.
* Nobody’s reached the quota after counting first preferences, and Jack is running last. Jack is immediately eliminated by STV rules.
* Because Jack’s 21,999 supporters never bothered to rank anyone else, those 21,999 first preference votes for Jack are never transferred to another candidate.
* With only 2 candidates remaining, Kerry (with less votes) is eliminated and Celia wins.
* All of Kerry’s 22,000 supporters had listed a second preference of Jack (and no third preference), but this second preference is ignored because Jack was eliminated.
The result means that Celia won with 23,000 votes, even though Jack had 21,999 first preferences, and could have had a further 22,000 second preferences if the STV system had allowed it. In other words, 43,999 of the 66,999 voters preferred Jack over Celia, but Celia still won as a consequence of the ordering rules of how candidates are eliminated.
If just one of Kerry’s voters had reversed their preference and put Jack ahead of Kerry, then Kerry would have been eliminated first up, all her votes would have been transferred to Jack, and Jack would have beaten Celia in an overwhelming landslide.
It’s just a proof of concept which relies on STV’s lack of requirement to rank everyone and that in turn meant the winner never reached the quota. But at some point someone might have a reasonable enough claim for an unfair result in an STV election, especially if it’s a lot of candidates having very distributed support and with voters tending to cluster the same groups of candidates with similar rankings and then not ranking everyone. That kind of situation could result in an elimination decided by a small margin between two candidates, and eventually results in a completely different election outcome down the track. Maybe this kind of outcome would be more likely to happen in DHB elections?
It’s certainly not to suggest that Kerry’s support base has much to complain about in the recent election. 😛
7. Yes it does appear to be an attack on the MMP system (2 votes) versus FPP (1 vote).. but I thought the majority of local body elections, use STV ?
As for democracy, proportional representation (MMP) is definatley ‘more democratic’ than FPP.. (my opinion only)
I think someone’s just a sore loser ?? Kia-ora
8. For those who’ve not seen it, there’s a big article on page 2 of today’s DomPost that attributes the billboard to Graham Bloxham, who seems to say he’s very confused about STV and wants “to start a conversation”.
It was pulled down a few hours after it went up.
9. Scott, I’m not sure where you got your “label voters as losers” line from in this post.
Seems to me it is just highlighting the PR ineptitude of someone on the right pissed off about a fair and democratic electoral system resulting in Prenderghastly losing.
BTW, I was not happy, given the exploits of the NZ cricket team in Bangladesh over the last fortnight, for you to remind me of New Zealand’s darkest day in cricket. Some things are best left forgotten!
10. @Valis – Although in FPP people would have voted differently, being less likely to support minor candidates, so it’s still hard to tell for certain if an FPP result would have favoured Kerry in this instance. STV gives a much better representation of actual support for other candidates, though.
11. on a more positive not…
celia wade-brown did very well on q & a on the weekend…
..she came across as calm/assured…with a clear vision..
..her ‘i have my networks’-line was a giant-killer…
12. I wish I had enough money to publish billboards without bothering to check all the letters were going the right way :)
13. Are those totals showing what candidates reached at the point they were eliminated for their votes to be redistributed, meaning some people’s votes would be displayed twice?
I think that is correct.
Actually re-reading my previous comment, strangely enough it suggests that even if STV was potentially unfair for anyone thanks to Kerry’s supporters only getting “one vote”, it’d be for Jack Yan, and pretty much everyone who’s not Kerry before being unfair for Kerry herself.
No, Kerry’s bitch is just based on first pref votes, which she got the most of. It does mean she would have won in FPP, showing why STV is more fair, not less.
14. @Toad — To state it another way, of all the people who voted in Wellington, more people preferred Celia over Kerry than preferred Kerry over Celia. The rest of the counting process is just a case of eliminating the other candidates to reach that conclusion.
@Valis — Thanks for clarifying that. Reading further the Droop Quota formula for a one-seat election basically puts the quota at number-of-votes/2, or near enough. I’m still trying to understand the way the totals have been presented. Celia’s shown with 24881 votes, but the sum of all the votes for all candidates adds to 64682, well over twice Celia’s votes. Are those totals showing what candidates reached at the point they were eliminated for their votes to be redistributed, meaning some people’s votes would be displayed twice?
15. Yep, you’re right, Valis. Preferences only get redistributed as candidates drop out. That is as fair as it gets – if a candidate is no longer in the race, the next question is who would that candidate’s voters prefer after that candidate.
16. MikeM, the second place candidate’s votes are never redistributed. Starting with the lowest polling candidate, votes are redistributed until someone goes over 50%. If this didn’t occur before getting to Yan, his votes were redistributed and that would have put Celia over 50% (it could have also created a tie). That Kerry’s voters may have all preferred Yan still wouldn’t put him above Celia, who was already over 50%.
I think!
17. The hard right really do go troppo when they lose!
The puke-fest all over the right wing blogs, first over Len Brown in Auckland and then over Celia Wade-Brown in Wellington, was unbelievable.
By contrast, the reaction at Frogblog or The Standard when NACT won enough seats to govern at the 2008 General Election was largely one of disappointment and realisation that the left/green parties have to pick up our game – not a vicious campaign on what is a largely democratic electoral system to attempt to revert to something less democratic.
I think it is indicative of the belief by many on the right that they have some sort of inherent superiority, and a lack of acceptance by them of the outcomes of democratic elections.
As far as the Wellington Mayoralty goes, more people favoured Kerry Prendergast over any other candidate as their preferred Mayor. But even more people than that opposed her as their preferred Mayor, and the majority of them preferred Celia Wade-Brown.
STV, which as Josh says above is really just preferential voting when there is only one elected candidate, is therefore a far more democratic system than FPP which can and does elect people with less than 30% of voter support, even though the rest of the voters may absolutely loath them.
18. Gosh it’s hilarious.
That aside and looking at the claim, if all the people whose votes eventually counted towards Kerry had put someone like Jack Yan as their next preference on the list, does that maybe make it technically unfair in some respects if those people’s votes weren’t redistributed once their candidate was finally eliminated, as everyone else’s were?
Having come third, maybe you could argue that Mr Yan should be most preferred if everyone who initially preferred Kerry wanted him as their next choice. Or is there something additional in the proportional way preferences are distributed that makes sure he couldn’t possibly be more preferred even if Kerry’s votes had been all redistributed onto him? (Part of this question is just me trying to figure out the details of how the quotas work within STV when only one candidate is needed, and all that stuff.)
19. If Kerry had been chosen as the 2nd, 3rd, etc choice by anyone then she would have benefited from STV too. How does she know this did not happen?
20. I hate to say this but I think I comprehend it.
1) People who voted for people who came last ‘get extra votes’ because their lower preferences go in to the next round an a way that people who 1’d for Kerry (or Celia) don’t.
2) ???
3) Profit!
Bit odd trying to use anger to attack an STV result. I mean – the whole thing is that you get a candidate most people don’t mind.
… and why deliberately make it look like illiterate scrawling?
21. Hmm. I’ve got to disagree that STV is an example of a proportional system in this case (the election for mayoralty). Proportionality is useful where there is more than one job, in that positions are allocated proportional to the total amount of votes.
However, in Wellington, there is only one role, and you can’t have a person who got 45% of the vote be 45% of a mayoral. Rather, the beauty of STV here is that it is preferential, rather than proportional (in that votes are redistributed according to preferences).
STV as a general electoral system however, that’s a different story.
22. What an illiterate eyesore! If someone had it professionally made, they should ask for their money back… it looks like it was made a year 9 kid in his garage on Saturday…
Comments are closed. | <urn:uuid:5563d46d-d727-4837-9ce3-a5f272f6267f> | http://blog.greens.org.nz/2010/10/19/ugly-inaccurate-and-incomprehensible/ | en | 0.974273 | 0.21026 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Vista Systems Spyder Goes Inside The Brain at TEDx Caltech for Jon 9
8432963631_f50c8b9f09_o.jpgVista Systems Spyder X20 played a key role in supporting digital artist and technologist Jon 9's participation in TEDx Caltech, an immersive one-day experience that grew out of the celebrated 26-year old TED idea conference.
Held in the Beckman Auditorium at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, the independently-organized TED event explored the topic of the brain with a diverse group of speakers sharing their newest, most unique and visionary ideas. Their appearances were punctuated by music, performance and comedy.
Supported by the Vista Systems Spyder, Jon 9 of Holonyne Corporation, Los Angeles, produced innovative backdrops and content for the expert presenters and did improvisational video mixing for musical performers David Torn and Moira Shirley.
"You could best describe my role as projection designer," he says. "The brief from the conference organizers was to create an immersive, interesting, visually stimulating environment that could display content related to the theme of the brain and also create an overall ambient environment. My creative approach was to make the audience feel that they were 'inside' the brain of the conference itself."
Jon 9 was instrumental in crafting the display system for the stage. His Holonyne Corporation specializes in creating WallSite(tm) installations, an approach to large-scale immersive display systems that mimics the interactive and information delivery functionality of a website but on large scale for public events.
Three 1080P screens were onstage at the Beckman Auditorium, with 180 pixels in between. Twenty-four Christie MicroTiles, also 1080P, formed a 4x6 videowall centered beneath the center screen with 120 pixels between the top of the MicroTiles and the screen. Content was driven by the Spyder, whose I/Os included four 10K and 20K projectors, four Green Hippo Hippotizer HD digital media servers and a live video truck. "This represented a cutting-edge configuration that went far beyond the typical set up for conferences of this nature," Jon 9 says.
"The Spyder played a crucial role in the immersive video configuration, linking together the four Hippotizers with the four projectors and 24 MicroTiles plus the speech-support system and confidence monitors," he explains. "We were able to monitor all the inputs on a single screen in two locations, backstage and the booth. We were also able to send and receive feeds from the video truck where the event's video director was calling a five-camera shoot. The flexibility and programming power of the Spyder meant we could use one device to do all our switching and scaling instead of a rack of separate components."
For playback with realtime control for the improv video mixing for the musical artists, Jon 9 tapped four Hippotizer HDs, which integrated smoothly through the Spyder, he reports.
"The entire configuration was an example of what's possible when you want to expand the boundaries of digital environmental design for academic and other types of informational events," says Jon 9. "By combining the high-powered projectors with an on-stage MicroTile videowall and the flexibility and power of the Spyder, we created an environment that was both highly functional and visually stunning."
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I teach ObjectThinking For Tips
ObjectThinking decodes the human experience. Your mind is going to transcend time like music and math. You can't tip me enough for what I'm teaching.
ObjectThinking is like learning to ski. I get you in balance and then you get better on you're own. We're born ObjectThinking.
First we need to deal with why we're not ObjectThinking now...
What's the hardest thing to do?
While developing the Naturehack in the many chatrooms on the web I've been described as an electrical shock. It is true. In the Behavior section you'll discover feelings are a mechanical calculation. In time, you'll apply the shock too.
But in the mean time, when you feel your mind tightening up, relax. It's the hardest thing to do. I forget too. Relax, I promise not to shock ya too hard...
When reading these words we're hearing them in our ears. Our eyes are under a spell. "Spell" has two meanings for a reason. We are not seeing Objects of the natural world when we're reading. In turn, our logic is inducted.
Literacy is more than just reading and writing. Literacy is also critical thinking or ObjectThinking...
They called the illiterate ignorant. Well, today we're literate but External Memory Ignorant. EMI is an Observable Mental Disorder installed with literacy.
Technically, literacy mixes two language sources, one timeless, one time sensitive, and creates an External Memory Override "A WordThinking" is not aware of.
ObjectThinking has rules. It's precise thinking correcting the literacy detour our species is experiencing...
Tyranny is more organized than freedom at first.
ObjectThinking organizes freedom and takes it back forever
ObjectThinking takes technology outside of the 2013 year paradigm. With one nature to hack, I use the term gen2013ever because we're setting the future up.
A child is born with the perpetual "behavior" that delivered us here. The Internal /|\emory Landscape keeps children operating under the perpetual "state" all life, less mankind lives under. Humanity rejoins the force of nature.
Literacy programming is strong like walking memory. We cannot forget how to walk. We, gen2013ever, will never be "right." Gen2013ever, the last of the wrong.
ObjectThinking Overview
With the development of the Internet, and with the increasing pervasiveness of communication between networked computers, we are in the middle of the most transforming technological event since the capture of fire. ~John Perry Barlow
ObjectThinking is Object Oriented Programming, how we program computers, applied to the human mind. ObjectThinking uses technology to amplify our nature.
Ruby Programming Language terminology is used because it is one of the closest to human machine thus far. In time children will gain control over machines with their language install.
ObjectThinking Progression identities the behavior and state of the BasicObjects. Yet the framework decodes Objects of everyday life.
Inherited: ObjectThinking hierarchy reveals shared behavior and states of descendant objects.
Encapsulated: Each self-contained ObjectThinking capsule of energy is connected to all with behavior mirroring any healthy cell of the body.
Polymorphic: From a cell to all life, each ObjectThinking unit of energy grows their unique specialty for freedom.
A well written computer program can be handed off to another programmer and they can grow it, add to it, adapt it. ObjectThinking does it on a generational level.
/|\ OBJECT / \
To ski, we need a skiing state of mind.
To live, we need a living state of mind.
The Naturehack My Gift | <urn:uuid:800c40bc-b2a9-4277-a44f-d4f6039743ed> | http://naturehack.com/ | en | 0.900068 | 0.180099 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Character Creation (WoW)
Once you have successfully installed the game, created your account, and logged in, you will need to make two very important decisions:
1. Which type of server do I want to play on?
2. What kind of character do I want to play?
Both of these are very significant decisions in the long run, however for your very first character you might just choose to make whatever just to find out about the game. Once you know a little more, you might revisit these ideas and choose to make a new character.
Contents [hide]
Server Types
There are two main types of servers, Player vs. Player (PvP) and "normal" (Player vs. Environment) (PvE) servers.
On a PvP server, members of opposing factions can attack each other freely. This type of server has much more of the spirit of Warcraft to it, but can also prove to be extremely frustrating to players who just want to experience the game itself without being griefed by other players.
A PvE server, on the other hand, does not allow you to be attacked unless you allow it. A player on a PvE server can "flag" themselves as PvP by either typing /pvp or right clicking on their portrait at the top of the page and selecting "flagged". There is the ability to shut the mode off at will as well, (although it takes 5 minutes to "turn off" in a friendly environment) but you will normally find that other players on PvE servers usually choose not to participate in open PvP as often as players on a PvP server.
If you choose to play on a PvE server, this does not mean you will never participate in PvP. It only means that world PvP is optional. You will still be able to participate in battlegrounds and the Arena.
There is one other category of server, called RP for role-playing. RP means you treat the game as if you are the actual character rather than truly treating WoW as a basic video game. You would communicate with other players heavily, and say appropriate things for your character. You might choose never to do many of the things that most players on non-RP servers would consider the main goal of the game. It is a different, but perfectly acceptable way to play the game. These special servers exist to bring role-players together. There are both RP and RP-PvP servers. See RP for more details.
If you know someone in the game that you wish to join, you might make a character on their server. Otherwise, all of the servers are pretty much the same to you. Note that there are different levels of population on each, meaning some are more populated than others. Depending on how much player interaction you want, you may opt to play on a more crowded server rather than a mostly empty one. ("Recommended" means the server is either new or completely desolate and Blizzard is trying to bring players to that server.)
Class, Race, and Faction
One major step done, and one to go. You will need to create your actual character now. The two most distinguishing features of your character are your class and your race. You will need to choose a combination of race and class that is the character you want to play as. Read the class and race articles for more descriptions of each class and race.
One important note to make, however, is that not every race can be every class. For example, there are no gnome priests or paladins because gnomes believe in technology rather than a higher spiritual power. Here are the available class/race combinations:
Also note that there are two factions in the World of Warcraft, the Alliance (which includes the Humans, Night Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes and Draenei) and the Horde (which includes the Orcs, Trolls, Undead, Tauren and Blood Elves).
Race Druid Hunter Mage Paladin Priest Rogue Shaman Warlock Warrior Death Knight
Blood Elf X X X X X X X X
Orc X X X X X X X
Tauren X X X X X X X
Troll X X X X X X X X X
Undead X X X X X X X
Goblin X X X X X X X X
Draenei X X X X X X X
Dwarf X X X X X X X X X
Gnome X X X X X X
Human X X X X X X X X
Night Elf X X X X X X X
Worgen X X X X X X X X
Note: Death Knights can only be created once you have another character to a high enough level, but can be any race.
Out of the two, class is a much more important factor in choosing a character than race. Although races do have some slight bonuses, the main differences are appearance and which faction that race is a part of. The first 6 races listed in the table are members of the Horde and the lower 6 are part of the Alliance.
Final Details
You will need to do three more things before making your character.
1. You will need to select a gender. There is nothing to say you must play what you are in the real world. Most players will assume you are male in real life regardless due to stereotypes.
2. You can adjust the appearance of your character. This means changing hair style, facial appearance, skin tone, and several other aspects that depend on your race. Most of these characteristics are changeable later at a Barber Shop.
3. You need to name your character. Many players complain about Blizzard's naming policy, but simply put, your character's name must be (a) name-like, (b) an original name, (c) appropriate, and (d) must not already exist. So there is a good chance names like "Humanmage", "Billclinton", "Dickless", and "Leeroy" will not be available, or that you might have to change the name later.
Once you have done these 3 things, press "Create Character" and (once you have an acceptable name) your character will be ready and waiting for you, looking back at you on the Character Select Screen. Click on Enter World and away you will go!
If you want to know what to do from here, check out our Beginner's Guide.
World of Warcraft
This page last modified 2010-12-13 11:27:59. | <urn:uuid:c25edff9-dda8-4cf7-b52a-c14a7d852bd2> | http://wow.allakhazam.com/wiki/Character_Creation_(WoW) | en | 0.954668 | 0.098498 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
The Rev. Pat Robertson has a long history of making outlandish comments firmly rejected by reasonable, compassionate people. His call for the slaying of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, however, flies in the face of Christian teaching and damages the interests of the United States.
"I don't know about this doctrine of assassination. But if [Chavez] thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it," Robertson told his large television audience. "It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war, and I don't think any oil shipments will stop."
Leave aside the faulty dilemma Robertson poses. No war is imminent between the United States and Venezuela, so there is no need for the illegal alternative of assassination. Chavez is chummy with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, but neither man holds much danger for this country. Chavez aggravates Latin American instability and fosters anti-American sentiment, but he resides far down the list of dangerous enemies this country faces.
A man of the cloth and an inspiration to millions, Robertson apparently has discovered a new translation of the Sixth Commandment: "Thou shalt not kill, if it would interrupt oil shipments."
The founder of the once influential Christian Coalition, Robertson heads the Christian Broadcasting Network, which produces and distributes his 700 Club television show. Over the years Robertson has painted a picture of a vengeful God who would send hurricanes to Florida to punish gay people and those who tolerate them. After the terrorist attacks on 9/11, Robertson agreed with the Rev. Jerry Falwell that God had allowed the terrorists to strike with such devastation because America had become infested with feminists and gays and abortionists.
Robertson's preaching, tinged from time to time with hints of derangement, has become almost a parody of the Old Testament prophets. That so many people still look up to him is a testament to unreasoning habit.
Robertson's remarks, which unfortunately cannot be lightly dismissed, damage U.S. interests by encouraging Chavez's paranoia regarding the United States. When a man who has the ear of the president of the United States openly calls out for the murder of a head of state, people pay attention.
Robertson denied using the word "assassination," captured on tape, but later apologized. Observant Christians are called upon to forgive him, but no one should be moved to heed his advice. | <urn:uuid:9b155616-56a2-4856-816f-c46b04e51eb5> | http://www.chron.com/opinion/editorials/article/Unchristian-Robertson-s-call-for-assassination-1913123.php | en | 0.966971 | 0.031169 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Menopause: Questions women are thinking, but not asking
Menopause 411
Menopause 411
Menopause 411
Menopause 411 03:47
Story highlights
• Menopause symptoms include night sweats, mood swings, weight gain
• Menopause can also cause changes in your sex drive or make sex painful
• Talk to your gynecologist for help navigating menopause symptoms
Dr. Deepali Patni is a board-certified OB/GYN at Kelsey-Seybold Clinic in Houston.
(CNN)Menopause: the permanent end of fertility (and periods!) that commonly happens to women in their late 40s and 50s. For many women, just saying the word "menopause" can increase anxiety levels.
Change is never easy, especially as we get older. And although menopause symptoms -- night sweats, mood swings, sleep problems, weight gain -- make it seem like a daunting time in a woman's life, there are many things that your gynecologist can do to help you through this transition.
One of the issues I find in my own practice is that there is plenty of misinformation about menopause, making it hard to separate myth from fact. Talking with your gynecologist about this very important change can help alleviate some of the confusion -- and maybe even improve your symptoms.
Frequent questions that have come up in my practice include:
My sex drive isn't what it used to be. Why?
There are many hormonal changes that a woman experiences in her transition to menopause. Estrogen and testosterone levels may drop, causing a decreased interest in sex or vaginal dryness, which can make sex uncomfortable.
If loss of libido is an issue for you -- or your partner -- talk to your gynecologist. He or she can work with you to determine the most appropriate treatment plan. Sometimes the fix can be simple, such as increasing the time that it takes for you to become aroused before intercourse, or incorporating the use of a lubricant or moisturizer. Other times, a gynecologist will recommend hormone replacement therapy.
Although there aren't any FDA-approved testosterone replacement products for women, in the appropriate patient, testosterone combined with estrogen replacement can have a beneficial impact. Keep in mind testosterone therapy can have significant side effects and the long-term risks have not been fully studied.
Menopause has made sex painful. What can I do?
If you're one of the menopausal women who suffer silently from pain during intercourse, you are not alone. Many don't realize that vulvovaginal atrophy is a common condition that happens as a result of the thinning and weakening of vaginal tissues due to a drop in estrogen after menopause.
Make an appointment to see your gynecologist to talk about the available treatment options, which range from vaginal moisturizers and water-based lubricants to topical or oral estrogen treatment.
Do I still need to worry about sexually transmitted illnesses?
Sexually transmitted illnesses are -- and always will be -- a concern for women, even menopausal women. If you are not in a mutually monogamous relationship, always use a condom to help protect against diseases that can be passed through sexual contact.
Sexually transmitted illnesses do not discriminate based on age, and I've seen menopausal women who have contracted chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital herpes, syphilis and HIV.
What about pregnancy?
Pregnancy in menopause does not happen, but there are some women who believe they have reached menopause and became pregnant, only to find out later that they were still perimenopausal. The general rule is that if you have not had your period in 12 months, then you are in menopause and unlikely to get pregnant. This can be confirmed with a simple blood test.
I'm feeling a lot of pressure down there. Is that bad?
Little alarm bells should ring if you are feeling constant pressure in your pelvic area. It doesn't necessarily mean that something life threatening is happening, but now would be the time to make an appointment with a gynecologist to get it checked out.
If you have reached menopause, there are many things that could be causing pressure in the pelvic region, ranging from constipation and fibroid tumors to pelvic floor disorders and cancer. Do not let this symptom go unchecked.
Women who have questions about menopause should seek a trusted source for information. Your gynecologist is ready to help guide you through this next phase in your life. | <urn:uuid:f4ce3e98-bcba-43bd-9ba6-30585183b325> | http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/20/health/menopause-symptoms/index.html?hpt=he_c2 | en | 0.952746 | 0.04224 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Prime cut
On a gray Sunday morning at the Eldorado Country Club in McKinney, Rabbi Michael Rovinsky stands in a high-ceilinged back room that's nearly empty except for a few chairs. He's a mohel (the Yiddicized pronunciation is "moil"), a rabbi authorized by Judaic certification to perform the bris milah, the Jewish ritual of circumcision. While the family mills about anxiously in the hallway outside, he is trying to set up the room for this sacred 3,000-year-old ceremony that bonds their 8-day-old baby boy to God by slicing off the foreskin of his penis. Rovinsky's concern at the moment? Where to place the Chair of Elijah, the shawl-draped seat where the baby rests during the ritual, so the bris will receive the best light for the news photographer.
"Where's the best place, photography-wise, for you to shoot?" asks the short, slight 36-year-old rabbi with the mile-wide grin. He moves to one end of the room, examining the glass double doors that bathe the room in overcast light. Then he traipses to the opposite end--a solid wall--looking pleased. Near the wall it will be.
"I'm going on three hours' sleep here, which I should never tell the parents," he chatters amiably. "But sometimes I tell them, 'Oh, don't worry, I don't like to watch it either. I keep my eyes closed the whole time!'"
This is one ribbing rabbi. He keeps it up when little Benjamin's mother, a lovely but nervous Vietnamese-American woman named Lisa Eisenberg, arrives before the crowd begins to trickle into the room. He tells her the "I keep my eyes closed the whole time" line, then takes a couple of minutes to offer more serious, albeit brief support. They had met before: Rovinsky circumcised her first child.
Upcoming Events
As the room begins to fill with more than 50 friends and relatives, Rovinsky sets up his white-draped surgical table against the more photogenic wall. He lines the table with kosher wine, a ritual knife, surgical scissors, pink antiseptic, "secret healing stuff" ("If I told you what it was," he says, "I'd have to shoot you"), and what Rovinsky declares is his "secret weapon," an instrument that is used, he claims, by only three other mohels in the country--a hemostat, specifically designed for open-heart surgery.
With his narrow shoulders draped in an ornate prayer shawl, he tries to silence the loud buzz of conversation and begin the bris. He turns off the beeper stuck to his belt--he also has a toll-free number(1-800-85-MOHEL), a Web site, and a laptop with modem that he carries everywhere with him.
Rovinsky, who counts a bachelor's in education from Adelphi University in New York among his many degrees, is a master of showmanship to groups large and small. He offers the crowd a short opening speech, serious but still seasoned with a few jokey asides.
The crowd grows a bit restless, and Rovinsky later admits that this is a low-energy bris--loose and informal with only a few tears from the gathered women--an appropriate mood for a country club. Most brissim are conducted in the home or the synagogue, where strong emotions and religious pride are more freely vented.
"All right, what I'm about to perform is the 'bris milah' [meaning covenant of circumcision]," Rovinsky explains. "Medically, it looks like circumcision, but it's not. You can do that in a hospital. This ceremony will reconnect this child 3,000 years back to his patriarchs and matriarchs."
Rovinsky was referring to a passage in Genesis that describes God entering into a pact with Abraham and the Jewish people: "Every male among you shall be circumcised. And Ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of a covenant betwixt Me and you."
Then Rovinsky, after invoking the Jewish prophet Elijah, whose hands are said to work through the agent performing the actual snip, asks the dad if he wants to perform the bris: According to Jewish law, the mohel is merely the agent of Elijah and the father, and must hang in the background if poppa wants to make the cut. Paul Eisenberg, a tall, curly-haired man with a distinct Texas accent, declines without hesitation.
With sleeping Benjamin wrapped in a white blanket and resting atop a pillow on his grandfather Jerry's lap in Elijah's Chair, Rovinsky does the work that has made him a most popular mohel. Grandfather Jerry undiapers Benjamin and holds his chubby legs apart with five fingers each. In less than 30 seconds, with family and photographers in a tight circle around him, a surgically gloved Rovinsky slits and separates Benjamin's foreskin from the head of his penis using a speedy 380-degree rotation of his wrist. Bleeding is minimal; Benjamin screams nonetheless. The rabbi then applies a narrow, antiseptic strip of gauze around the penis. In accordance with Jewish custom, he also dips a finger in kosher wine and nudges it into the baby's mouth to suck--a token gesture to alleviate the baby's pain and the parents' anguish.
"There are no Jewish winos," he says afterward. "There are alcoholics, but no winos. The taste of wine for a Jewish man has a bad association."
There's not much time to dilly-dally, because Rovinsky has circumcisions--not brissim--to perform, an estimated dozen for the St. Louis resident during his Sunday-afternoon visit to Dallas. He meets briefly with Lisa Eisenberg to describe what signs she might expect from Benjamin if he were not recuperating well. Rovinsky's flight leaves for St. Louis at 6 p.m., and he tells her, half-jokingly: "I've got a pager. I'm on the hook till a quarter to six; after that, nothing's my fault."
After he receives a $350 honorarium, the rabbi rockets back down Central Expressway to North Dallas, where his parents live and where Michael Rovinsky was born and raised. He has to be there before 11:30 a.m. to begin performing circumcisions on the dozen or so gentile clients. Although these families are scheduled at 30-minute intervals, Rovinsky's 30-second method makes it possible to do more than one during each appointment. Sometimes, when the families arrive early or late, loitering outside the open door or marching right inside because they've been here before, he deems this conveyor-belt approach necessary. All procedures are performed on a spotless blond wood table in his parents' dining area.
Rovinsky claims he's performed more than 40,000 circumcisions--both Jewish and gentile--in various states. Weekdays he is executive director of the H.F. Epstein Hebrew Academy in St. Louis, but weekends he travels wherever he's asked (his clients bring him back to his native city a couple of times a month). He also makes his bris-related ambitions apparent: "It would not be inaccurate to say that I want to relocate my family to Dallas. I want to make a living from my bris technique."
The rabbi's speed, precision, and borscht-belt banter have made him a word-of-mouth hit not only in the Jewish community but also in the midwife circuit that courses through the so-called "alternative medicine" scene. But his reputation has also traveled into anti-circumcision circles--those "intactivists" who have expanded their numbers in the last 25 years to include many doctors, ethicists, and medical institutions. Some wonder about the legal gray area in which Rovinsky works: Specifically, since he is unapproved by any legal or medical institution, is he performing surgery without a license when he circumcises gentile babies? Others wonder about the medical necessity of the procedure: Does it harm the infant, scar his sexuality by literally cutting off nerve endings that would otherwise enhance sensitivity? Rovinsky even has his critics within the Dallas Orthodox Jewish community, who see him as an interloper, a shameless promoter who might not follow the letter of Jewish law when he circumcises his clientele.
Rovinsky, who is an Orthodox rabbi, insists he's operating firmly within legal, moral, and ethical bounds.
"Does the money play a part in it? Yes," he says. "But I'm not doing it for the money. I'm doing it for the mitzvah, the good deeds."
The "good deeds" Michael Rovinsky cites can be broadly divided into two categories: his desire to deliver Jewish families a long-cherished religious ritual and, for those gentile families who request his drive-thru McMohel service, the desire to share what he insists is a fast and less painful procedure.
"Jewish law mandates that pain must be minimized whenever possible," Rovinsky says. "I use a topical anesthetic, and I can give an injection, but in my experience, that can be just as painful as the bris." With his awareness of infant pain, the rabbi is part of a national movement among medical circumcisers that has finally acknowledged what any baby would tell you if he was able: Having skin from your penis sliced off with a knife and without anesthesia hurts like hell. Nobody can give specific numbers, but more than half of all medical circumcisions in hospitals across the country are performed without anesthesia.
A January study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that the pain--measured from the heart rate, breathing patterns, oxygen intake, and the pitch of the baby's cries--may be greater than anyone had previously thought. A 1997 study in OB/GYN News suggests what Rovinsky and other rabbis insist they already knew: The mogen clamp they employ to hold the foreskin in place and guard the head of the penis is less unpleasant than devices used in most hospitals such as the gomko clamp (which crushes the foreskin before removal to reduce bleeding) and the plastibell (a device that stretches the crushed foreskin over a bell-shaped device, and results in many hospital procedures lasting over 20 minutes).
"In my experience, the procedures that hospitals use are a lot more painful," Rabbi Michael Rovinsky says. Although he refuses to name the hospital, "I worked under urologic pediatricians in Baltimore. Over a three- or four-week period, we did our own unscientific comparison. The doctors hooked babies up to heart and breathing monitors, and these boys were sent into the red zone when the doctors used the plastibell and the gomko; they shrieked more and for a longer time. When we used the mogen and the hemostat, they shrieked less and just went into the yellow zone."
In the interest of promoting his speedy circular cut as well as what he claims is the more humane hemostat to pull the foreskin (it's a scissors-like device that doesn't pinch when the skin's grasped), Rabbi Rovinsky has created the Association for the Advancement of Bris Milah ("it's basically just me"). This one-man education machine went into full gear in 1990, when Rovinsky returned to Dallas after travels and studies in Baltimore and New York, and began to meet with other rabbis and Jewish community leaders to introduce his technique. His cousin, Bernie Dworkin, is currently shooting an educational-promotional video with Rovinsky in his parents' home to distribute to midwives nationwide. But what will this video promote more: a kinder cut or Rabbi Rovinsky?
Rovinsky nods, smiles, and concedes, "The video is self-serving."
Rabbi David Shawel, a practicing Texas mohel ("I'm the resident Dallas mohel; when you pitch your tent in a certain city, you're the resident mohel") of 20 years who lives in Dallas with his wife and five children, probably wouldn't be surprised at this admission. Shawel claims that when the Association for the Advancement of Bris Milah began its proselytizing work in the Dallas Jewish community, Rovinsky took business away from him with his aggressive promotional tactics.
As Rovinsky plied his trade, he became a big hit. "He does great work," says Keith Stern, former rabbi at Beth Shalom in Arlington who now heads a congregation in Boston. "Everyone I knew loved him, and my congregation used him more and more because he was such a character."
But Rovinsky developed an enemy in Shawel. "I don't have any problem with him working as a mohel. I just think he should do it in St. Louis and the surrounding regions where he lives, rather than taking my parnasa, my livelihood; I was the resident mohel here since 1984, and it's the way I support my family and support my community. I have the endorsements of most of the congregations here in the community."
Of Rovinsky's style, Shawel says, "He hustles business. I've heard from families who come to his parents' home that he just rushes them through; that he has three or four families waiting while he performs. Some people said they didn't get a sense of care, that they felt like they were on an assembly line. And I wonder, how much of a religious significance can there be to what he does?"
Rabbis Shawel and Rovinsky have been engaged in something of a turf war since Rovinsky's return in 1990. Shawel admits that he went to rabbis and Jewish leaders in the Orthodox community to complain that "this fellow is coming into a region where there's a regional mohel" and, he claims, "performing brissim on days that are not the right day" (Judaic law mandates that the bris milah must be performed on the eighth day after birth). Shawel insists there were four or five other people in the Orthodox community who had complaints about Rovinsky's "procedures." They met in 1993 at the Akiba Academy, a Jewish private school where Rovinsky was employed, to address these concerns with the academy president. Rovinsky's yearly contract was not renewed.
Rovinsky declares, "There is no problem between myself and the Orthodox community in Dallas. The only damage the other mohel did was, he became friends with my boss at the academy, and I wasn't rehired. It's a professional jealousy issue. His attitude was, 'I was here first, and I don't like you working here too.' But there's no Jewish principle to support that. Let's say you have one school, and someone wants to open another. They're both to enhance Jewish observance."
Although Rabbi Rovinsky concedes he is a self-promoter, he strongly maintains that he has never encouraged anyone to circumcise an infant son: "With Jews, it doesn't need to be encouraged. It's just something we do, something that's a part of our faith. And I have never recommended to a gentile that the son be circumcised."
Yet gentiles continue to seek his services, despite increasing evidence that circumcision causes significant pain and reduces sexual sensitivity in the adult. Intactivists have insisted that, historically, a primary function of the procedure has been to curtail sexual pleasure. Eleventh-century Jewish physician and scholar Moses Maimonides wrote that an important reason for circumcision was "to limit sexual intercourse, and to weaken the organ of generation as far as possible, and thus cause man to be moderate." During the "masturbation hysteria" of the late 19th century stirred up by doctors as well as religious leaders, the non-Jewish Medical Record declared, "In all cases of masturbation...circumcision is undoubtedly the physician's closest friend and ally. There must be no play in the skin after the wound has thoroughly healed, but it must fit tightly over the penis, for should there be any play the patient will be found to readily resume his practice."
Perhaps espousing his own Orthodoxy, Rovinsky vaguely echoes both ancient Jewish philosophers and turn-of-the-century medical journals when explaining why God picked the foreskin and not the forefinger or the forehead as the place to mark His covenant. "A sign on the reproductive organ reminds Jewish men that we have choice, that we are not animals. Jews don't believe sex is sinful, but it has to be the right time and the same partner for the right reasons. Why weren't women chosen for this ritual? Because women are higher spiritually, they have a lower sex drive. They don't have a problem saying no."
The July/August issue of Men's Health puts a more deliberately anti-circumcision spin on the sexual inhibition issue. In an article titled "Separated at Birth: Did Circumcision Ruin Your Sex Life?" writer Mark Jenkins quotes urologists and pathologists who insist that in an area that grows to be about 12 square inches of skin in an adult male, the foreskin contains 240 feet of nerves and more than a thousand nerve endings. The article claims that one evolutionary function of the foreskin is to protect the head of the penis, which tends to grow rougher and less sensitive early in a circumcised adult's life.
"Separated at Birth" is only the latest salvo fired in the assault on sexual and medical excuses for routine circumcision. Conventional wisdom once held that uncircumcised men have higher rates of sexually transmitted disease. A 1997 Journal of the American Medical Association study now declares that "there is no evidence of a prophylactic role for circumcision, and a slight tendency in the opposite direction [with herpes, hepatitis, and chlamydia]." The study even suggests that circumcised men have higher rates of impotence and delayed ejaculation. And as far as the link between penile cancer in uncircumcised men and cervical cancer in their partners, the American Cancer Society released a 1997 statement asking pediatricians to stop making this connection, because rates of both are lower in countries where circumcision isn't routinely performed.
You might say that religious faith slams shut the door on such rational considerations--and indeed, for most Jews, the bris milah is performed as reflexively as Christmas is among Protestants and Catholics. But there are rumblings of dissent even from Jewish corners. Moshe Rothenberg is a social worker in New York and the author of articles condemning ritual Jewish circumcision. He defines himself as "not Orthodox, but observant." He has spoken at conferences from San Francisco to San Antonio for the anti-circumcision NOCIRC (National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Center) and NOHARMM (National Organization to Halt the Abuse and Routine Mutilation of Males) and demonstrates a birth ritual for boys and girls that he describes as bris b'lee milah ("covenant without circumcision"). Along with Miriam Pollack on the West Coast, Ron Goldman in Boston, and Victor Schoenfeld in England, he's a Jewish gadfly on an issue about which community discussion is still very limited.
On the sexual inhibition issue, Rothenberg says, "I don't see men as being inherently sexually promiscuous; human beings are inherently social. And as such, we will always need constraints on our behavior. That's where society comes into play. You don't have to be circumcised to learn that you're not supposed to run a red light."
As far as the "Do we follow God's Covenant with Abraham or don't we?" question, Rothenberg admits it comes down to how one applies religion in one's own life.
"It's not religious law that makes me a practicing Jew but the love for my people and my culture. And I believe that performing medically unnecessary surgery on a Jewish infant is abuse."
If you let your eyes travel over the stats and studies, you will notice that U.S. circumcision rates dropped by 30 percent during the '70s and have held relatively steady at 60 percent, with just over a third of boys cut on the West Coast in 1996. But Rabbi Michael Rovinsky is unperturbed by changing attitudes. His gentile business through national midwife referrals grows larger every year. He's a natural for this market, a bladesman whose patina of a multi-thousand-year-old tradition dovetails with their desires to steer clear of anonymous medical technology and bureaucracy.
Rovinsky claims he can understand why non-Jewish parents might decide to keep their son's foreskin intact. But for those who decide to circumcise their son simply because the father was cut or because they want their kid to look like everyone else on the soccer team, Rovinsky says: "Jews perform the bris milah because it's part of our covenant with God. On the other hand, the desire to look like everyone else just for the sake of conformity is a character weakness."
Still, it's a character weakness Rovinsky will indulge for a fee. Whether for cosmetics or conformity, his gentile clientele travel many miles to obtain his services.
On the Sunday afternoon following the bris milah at the Eldorado Country Club, eight families with weeks-old baby boys arrive in roughly two hours at his parents' doorstep. Some have driven from as far as San Antonio, Austin, Wills Point, and Quinlan. All are non-Jewish; most have another little boy in tow, an older brother whom Rabbi Rovinsky has circumcised.
Rovinsky's mother steps in and helps, ushering these children into a back room to watch videotapes of Barney or Winnie the Pooh. Another back room has been opened to the mothers, many of whom have been advised by the midwives and Rovinsky to breastfeed immediately after the circumcision.
At least four times before he dons surgical gloves to perform the procedures, he stands in front of the big-screen TV and repeats this spiel, sometimes to more than one family seated on the couches in his parents' living room:
"This is what your son looks like now." He extends an arm with the shirtsleeve cuff pulled over his fist. "Our goal is to have your son look like this." He pulls on his shirtsleeve and the fist pops out. "The pain that he will feel should be no more than having a torn cuticle." He pauses. "Or at least, that's what the babies tell me."
These parents appear happy and even relieved to be in the Rovinsky home. They laugh at his jokes, and when questioned, the mothers and fathers say they wouldn't think of having anyone else circumcise their sons. It's because of his fleet-handedness and professionalism--pro or con, you have to admit he possesses both in abundance--and, probably, because of the endless stream of wisecracks that makes the whole affair less tense for these parents. And he keeps the procedures free of religious cant, "out of respect," he says, because the non-Jewish families who seek his services are of so many different denominations.
"A lot of the jokes are forced," Rovinsky says. "They take the edge off. My goal is to provide families with as painless and comfortable a procedure as possible."
The one-liners come, fast and furious. Performing for the parents and the small black video camera that yarmulked cousin Bernie Dworkin has aimed at the dining-room table, Rovinsky lets 'em fly:
"This kid's so well endowed, I'm gonna have to charge the parents double!"
"Let me just make the snip here...Oops, it's a girl!"
A baby spraying him with urine right before the cut: "It's payback time! I always remember to wear my wet suit too late!"
Sometimes the parents get in on the act. When Rovinsky changes a boy's soiled diaper, he declares himself the "full-service mohel." To the mother standing beside him, he asks immediately afterward, "Do you breastfeed?" The father, on the opposite side of the table, counters with, "Wow! You really are a full-service mohel."
His fee--once again, he stresses it's an honorarium, saying he will perform the circumcision for free if the parents are in financial straits--is $150 for midwife referrals. Rovinsky says he performs an average of 15-20 a month, netting about $2,000 in that period--not enough right now, he admits, to support his wife and three children. Once, he did as many as 22 in a 24-hour period. For the bris milah, he's earned from zero to $1,000 plus plane fare.
But even as Rovinsky attempts to market himself nationally to the alternative medicine scene, some anti-circumcision advocates have raised questions about the legality of a rabbi performing what they call "surgery without a license" on gentiles. Some states exempt mohels and Muslim clerics who perform religious circumcision from official certification by state medical boards. In other states, such as Texas, they are simply non-entities, unaddressed by law or regulation. Mike Young, a veteran lawyer with the Texas Department of Health, says: "This is a hole you could drive a truck through. The Medical Practices Act, which the State Board of Medical Examiners concerns itself with, defines a physician as someone who declares himself a physician, someone who says he is performing medicine to cure or treat an illness or injury. Mohels don't claim to be doctors, so under this definition, they couldn't be prosecuted for practicing medicine without a license."
For a district attorney to prosecute a mohel, Young says, the rabbi would have had to botch the circumcision pretty badly. "I mean, think about the publicity--some Baptist prosecutor charging a Jewish practitioner with injury to a child for a centuries-old religious practice? In my opinion, you'd have to have a rabbi who was routinely unclean and unsafe."
Camellia May, a Houston midwife and the head of its local NOCIRC chapter, is more than a little peeved about the state's refusal to regulate mohels and Muslim holy men who practice religious circumcision. "The state regulates the hygienic practices of beauticians or fingernail-parlor operators, yet ignores the surgical alteration of a baby's genitals. I guess it means adults getting their hair cut or nails done deserve uniformity in training and cleanliness, but babies don't matter. Just because a mohel or a Muslim holy man rather than an M.D. performs circumcision does not make it risk-free." Of course, she sees injury in all circumcisions, because they cause pain and alter a child's body.
May wants to make it clear that her efforts are focused on those in the 98 percent non-Jewish majority who circumcise. Yet she has discovered that the pull of conformity can be just as powerful as religious conviction. "When it comes to circumcision, there is no one on this planet who can be totally objective and without prejudice," she continues. "But people aren't open to discussion. If I say something against circumcision, I have people screaming that I'm trying to oppress their religion. If I try to talk about medical benefits to being intact, suddenly I'm trying to take away their parental rights to decide how their baby's penis should look or force them to have a son with ugly genitals...My belief is that this is the way baby boys are made by our Creator, and we shouldn't alter healthy, functional tissue."
Rabbi Michael Rovinsky sticks to his guns--he insists he is operating firmly within the laws of the states where he performs both bris milah and circumcision, including Texas. He knows his Jewish clients are coming to him to fulfill the Jewish people's covenant with God, and the non-Jews have equally strong, though perhaps different, motivations. For him, the belief that his technique reduces pain constitutes his mission to bring a humane Judaic principle to a widely practiced (if controversial) procedure.
And it's also his ticket to move back to Dallas and make a living from his work. For the rabbi with the beeper, Web site, 800 number, and customized license plate that reads MOHEL, the fulfillment of both goals means getting his name and his face out there.
He stands beside the operating table in his parents' dining room as cousin Bernie crouches over the video-camera eyepiece. He moves forward, then back; the two of them are trying to find the best location for him to stand during the making of the educational-promotional video.
"I want you to shoot close enough that you can see the procedure," Rovinsky tells Bernie, "but not so close that you can't see me.
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Remind Me Later > | <urn:uuid:0b9f0026-7239-423a-96ae-31b464c98398> | http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/prime-cut-6401547 | en | 0.969824 | 0.058451 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Reflections on the Life of Isaac Newton
Article by
Staff writer,
At a recent morning staff devotional at the DG offices, John Piper shared a biographical sketch of the brilliant scientist, Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727). The talk was inspired by his recent reading of this 2005 biography by Gale Christianson.
The 37-minute talk was recorded, and although the audio quality is poorer than we prefer, the content is worth sharing.
"Isaac Newton was one of the most brilliant men who walked this planet, and, as far as I can tell, he ‘missed it’ profoundly,” said Piper. “The price of his ruthless focus on scientific observation was very high. He missed the true nature of Jesus. And he was in ceaseless war with other scientists, arguing endlessly about who discovered things first.”
It is a tragic story, but it is also a story that points to several spiritual principles. The biography can be listened to here.
Newton is remembered for many things, but especially for his theory of gravity, a discovery famously sparked by a falling apple. Yet the cause of gravity remains “a giant riddle still” (Christianson). In one of the more meditative sections of talk, Pastor John pondered the correlation between the cause of gravity in the natural realm and the cause of perseverance in the spiritual realm.
Nobody knows what gravity is — yet. All we know is the effects. Every entity in the universe that has mass is exerting a pull on every other entity in the universe. The earth is pulling on the moon, the moon is pulling on the earth, and since the waters in the sea are movable, the pull causes rising and falling tides.
The force of the moon's pull on the tides is enormous. I tried to compute in my head how much the water weighs that rises 20 feet in the middle of the Pacific, pulling out the water from all the coastlines. It must be trillions of tons of water getting pulled — by nothing. It's nothing!
Does anybody know what it [gravity] is? That the moon exists, means it is pulling. And scientists don't know what that is.
So I'm preparing my message for T4G and thinking: how does He keep me a Christian? He is Spirit. And I have a spirit. My spirit came alive when I was 6 years old. I have no idea what that means. Something came into being that wasn't there. Life. A spiritual life, and moment by moment that life is kept from degenerating into carnality and non-existence. And who can describe what force is exerted by this thing I have no idea what it is, called Spirit, on this thing, called spirit.
Therefore, who can define what power is necessary for that to happen? Is it a little power? Is it an easy thing for the Spirit to keep a spirit in being? Is it measured in pounds? Kilowatts? What is it? I have no idea what it is. All I have is the Bible to go on, and the Bible says: glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, to him who is able to keep me from stumbling (Jude 24–25).
Find the full biographical sketch here. | <urn:uuid:7d22b4c0-af93-431f-8f6f-63f924bd186d> | http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/reflections-on-the-life-of-isaac-newton | en | 0.966976 | 0.295899 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
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26.04.2010 12:59
Very helpful
Really good idea
The 02 Cash Manager is a pre-paid Visa Debit card and is available to anyone over the age of 13. The basic premise is that you top the card up with money and then use it like a credit card. You can only spend what you have on the card, meaning there is no danger of going over your budget.
*Why have one?*
I have been down the credit card route and I am not to be trusted with them quite frankly. Having been put on a debt management plan, getting my finances in order was top priority for me last year. The most obvious advantage of this card was to help me control my spending money. Once a month, after pay day, I work out my spending money, and transfer it onto my O2 card. Then for the rest of the month, that money is mine. Once it's gone, it's gone but I can keep track of it, and it keeps my bank account clear, with enough money to cover my direct debits. As you don't need a credit check to get one, my already poor credit rating didn't suffer as a result of applying for the card.
*How does it work?*
Topping up the card couldn't be easier. Logging onto the O2 money site, you can see your card's balance and then you have the option to "load" your card. You can top up whenever you want - you enter the bank card you are transferring money from and it literally takes seconds for the money to be available on your card. The other option is to set up a regular load - basically like a standing order. I did do that initially but found due to erratic pay days, it was easier for me to manually transfer an amount every month. The only limit is that you can't top up more than £500 a day, or £10,000 a year. For what I use my card for, it's not going to be a problem.
*The website*
The website is very easy to use and also offers a budget planner, to help keep you on track. Whether you are a new customer or already an 02 customer, you still need to have a user name and password to access the money section. This is for additional security.
The card is easy to obtain and easy to manage. You can check your balance online and add money through their website. You can sign up to receive text messages - for every transaction on my card I get a text message with the amount added to my card and then the total, or the amount taken off my card, the retailer and the remaining balance on my card. The message is instant -literally as I remove my card from the machine. You can use the card as a cash point card, without charge, from any bank's ATM. You can also use it as a credit card, where accepted.
There are only two downsides to this card really. The first is that once you have transferred the money to the card, you can't transfer it back. Whilst you can still access the money through withdrawing from a cash point or online transactions, if you have £8 on your card, and you need the money asap, you can't transfer it back to your bank account.
The second is that because it is a visa debit card, there are websites and traders who will not accept it. As a rule of thumb, if they won't take Visa Electron, they won't take your Visa debit. You need to look carefully at the Visa signs displayed and check that it has debit in small writing underneath. To date, I have had very few problems with using it. My local train station unfortunately is one of them, the other is hotel websites.
As far as I am concerned, this card is an amazing feature and has really helped me with my money. With text messages every time you use it, it means you always have access to the amount, so you can't lose track of it, and it also is an added security measure. If someone was to use my card, then I would get a text message and I would know to report it. O2 money is well run and I have *touch wood* not experienced any real problems with them. When the card first came out and I signed up, they gave all their customers £5 as their systems had been running slowly. As I actually hadn't noticed, it was well received as an extra bonus.
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20.11.2009 09:37
Very helpful
Worth a try if you're interested but more of a novelty than an effective banking option.
With the recession still looming over us and companies going down the pan one after another, it's easy to see why companies are doing everything they can to cash in on the recession so that their businesses can stay afloat. The 02 Cash Manager account is 02's way of giving something back to the community during these difficult times... all the while making themselves millions of pounds!
02 Cash Manager is a new service offered by one of the leading mobile phone and broadband networks in the UK. Cash Manager is a Visa Debit card which is basically just like any other debit card however it doesn't allow you to spend more money than you have in your account meaning that you'll never go into debt through using it. Cash Manager is available exclusively to 02 customers of 13 years old or over and can easily be set up over the internet.
*** Setting Up***
To set up your new Cash Manager account visit www.money.02.co.uk/cashmanager. You'll be greeted with a home screen where you can view all the benefits in owning a cash manager card. Setting up couldn't be simpler, if you click the clear red box saying 'Get Card Now' you'll be taken to the set up screen where you'll be asked to enter your 02 mobile number, you'll then immediately be sent a 6 digit code via text message which you enter into the website in order to get to the next stage. Upon entering your unique 6 digit code you'll be taken to the details stage, this takes two minutes maximum and consists of you entering your personal detail (address, telephone number etc) you will not be asked for any other bank account details, you only pass this information over after your card is set up in order to transfer money into your new account.
After entering your details you'll be asked to log into your 02 internet account (you're likely to already have one of these if you are on an 02 contract and have set your payments up online), if you don't have an existing account it's not a problem as it only takes two minutes to set one up.
So after you've set up your account, you'll get an onscreen message to tell you that your card should be with you in the post within 3 working days (which it was). With this you'll receive extra information about the 02 Cash Manager Card as well as a welcoming letter with contact numbers incase you need any assistance. Before you can use your card you will need to activate it, this involves logging back into your 02 Cash Manager account and near the bottom of the home screen you'll see the link clearly entitled 'activate my card' clicking on this will take you to a new screen where you'll be prompted to enter the three digit security code found on the back of your 02 Cash Manage card.
*** Making Payments ***
Subsequent to activating your card, it will then be ready to use, however what good is a card with no money on it? This is where you'll have to make a transaction from your bank account into your 02 Cash Manager account. This can be done from the home screen and takes only a matter of minutes by simply clicking 'add money' which can be found near the top of the screen. You'll then be required to enter the amount you want to transfer in GBP (£) and then enter your bank account details including card type, name and security code. This option can either be used to transfer a one off payment or it can be used to transfer a fixed monthly or weekly amount.
This card can be used for anything and doesn't just have to be there as an extra card if you ever need it, you could make it the main source for your bills to be paid or even for your wages to be paid into. Of course for this you'll have to contact your own bank which could be a little more complicated.
*** Home Screen ***
I've briefly mentioned the home screen already but there's a lot more that it has to offer than what I've already touched upon; the home screen can be used to view a list of recent transactions, alter your details (address, mobile number) and has a list of handy numbers that you may need to contact for assistance so it may be a good idea to take note of them. Putting these options aside, I think the best facility that the home screen provides is the mobile updates application. This enables 02 to send you a text everytime you: take money out of a cash machine, buy something with your card, transfer money, make a payment and if you're an 02 pay as you go customer you'll even receive a text to alert you of when your balance is running low, giving you the option to top up there and then or in your own time. This makes the 02 Cash Manager Card one of the safest cards to use as if it's ever used by anyone other than yourself you'll be made aware straight away and can notify 02 for them to hold the account and investigate any crimes which may have been committed.
*** Ease Of Use ***
If you've got an internet banking account set up with another bank then the 02 Internet Banking will be very easy to get used to. I've got a Lloyds TSB Internet Banking Account set up and the 02 Account is a lot easier to find your way around, it's nowhere near as advanced as Lloyds, or any other bank is for that matter which I think is a good thing. 02 have realised that they need to keep things as simple as possible and with that knowledge they're just offering the bare essentials, nothing more, nothing less. I think 02 have got the right idea in leaving the banking aspect to the professionals I.e. loans, mortgages etc and have decided to solely concentrate on giving their 02 customers another banking option which is simple, easy and effective.
As the account is open to 13 year olds and over I feel that this account would be the perfect first bank account for any 13 year old as you can never spend more than what's on your card and the account will coincide with their 02 pay as you go phone giving them the option to top up their phone and receive balance alerts. The account would be perfect for them to deposit their savings or pocket money into for them to save and spend on what they wish. It could also be used for them to put in any wages of Saturday jobs or EMA (Education Maintenance Allowance) if they choose to stay on at school or college. Another brilliant aspect regarding the children's account which I don't believe other banks do is restrictions on what they buy, if parents choose they can stop their children from buying products with an 18 rating such as DVD's, alcohol, cigarettes or fireworks.
*** Disadvantages ***
The disadvantages with these cards are the interest rates, which I believe to be zero! This isn't like a high street bank account and you shouldn't expect to make any money off the money you deposit into your 02 account, this is a little disappointing but it's understandable. Another disadvantage are the restrictions regarding the account, you're only able to deposit up to £10,000 a year, not a penny more. Of course it's unlikely that anybody will decide to put all their wages into their 02 account instead of a proper bank account but if they do choose to it could be a problem for them if they earn more than £10,000 a year which most people do.
*** Special Offers ***
Currently there's only one special offer available to 02 Cash Manager Account holders; all you have to do is set up a monthly payment of £50 or more and keep this in progress for two consecutive months then your account will be credited with an extra £5 within three days of your £50 standing order being processed.
*** Budgeting ***
The 02 Cash Manager Card has been specifically designed to help people budget and prevent even more people in the UK from going into debt. A great feature on the 02 Cash Manager website is what they call a Budget Calculator. This works as a pop up which will appear after clicking on the budget calculator link. It will ask you to input any money that goes into your account and any outgoing spends that you make. It will calculate these and tell you how much money you'll be left with or how much more money you're spending than is being paid in. This will help you to cut out any spends that aren't necessary and hopefully save a bit of money along the way.
The only problem that I've encountered while using this function is that it's impossible for it to be 100% accurate as it only lets you input three outgoing spends and it's obvious that people are going to have more than three bills to pay over the course of a month. Hopefully this will be altered over the coming months making it more accurate.
*** Spending ***
Using the card is extremely simple and works in the way that any other debit/credit card does, it can be used to pay for any everyday items and can be used to shop online. I wouldn't recommend using your card to shop online as it's not guaranteed to be as safe as proper banks will be. Banks have set up lots of security measures over the last few years to make internet shopping as safe as possible, 02 have only just set up their Cash Manager Card meaning that it may not be wise to use it for internet shopping unless you are 100% sure that your firewall and virus software is up to date.
*** Withdrawing and Loading Money ***
Card holders can withdraw money from any cash machine, you will not be able to withdraw more than £200 a day from your account. You may not load your card with more than £500 a day, £1000 a week, £2000 a month or £10,000 a year.
*** Conclusion ***
Overall I like the idea of the 02 Cash Manager Card, it's easy to set up and does everything you would require it to do however I think it's got a long way to go before this card can match up to the high street banks. I feel that it should make more special offers to reel customers in as I feel this account may be seen as a bit of a novelty and not a serious bank account. I think the people that will benefit from this account the most are young people (under 18's) so if you're a parent looking for a bank account for your child I would say that it's worth checking this account out and seeing if it's suitable for them.
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Why is government doing everything it can to destroy individual sovereignty?
Get Glenn Live! On TheBlaze TV
If there is one thing that we have learned through the course of all of human history is sticking our big, fat nose in other people’s business always works. And number two, best path to peace, strongly worded letter or like the UN or something like that or maybe a meaningful walk and chat on the beach, a.k.a. diplomacy.
That’s why the president was in San Francisco yesterday, the home of peace, to tout his diplomatic efforts in the Middle East. Here he is:
President Obama: We’re testing diplomacy. We’re not resorting immediately to military conflict.
He looks almost like Patton there, doesn’t he, with the big flag? We’re testing? There’s no reason to test diplomacy. The history of peace through diplomacy speaks for itself. Adolf Hitler when he called off his plans for world domination after a pleasant phone conversation with Neville Chamberlain worked out really well, or the Iranian Revolution being averted when a sweet-talking Jimmy Carter formed an unlikely friendship with the Shah of Iran.
And of course we all saw the movie with William Wallace. He gave a great speech about Scotland’s freedom on the battlefield, and that I think was what softened King Edward’s heart, and instead of a bloody battle, our history books celebrate the great piece picnics at Stirling Bridge and Falkirk that secured Scotland’s freedom, I think.
So don’t believe all of those peace through strength nut jobs. It’s all about diplomacy. The New York Times I read today, and I about had an aneurysm. They’re very excited about the president’s new strategy. They say in The New York Times, watch this, “It also reflects a broader scaling back of the use of American muscle…,” remember that, “…not least in the Middle East…,” remember that, “…as well as a willingness…,” you’re going to love this one, “…to deal with foreign governments as they are rather than push for new leaders the better embody American values.”
I wish any of that were true, any of that. None of that is true. A willingness to deal with other governments as they are? We should ask some of those governments. I tell you what, Tiffany, can you get Muammar Gaddafi on the phone? Oh, crap, that’s right, Muammar Gaddafi, what was it Hillary said?
Hillary Clinton: We saw, he died.
That’s right, can’t ask him, we killed him. That’s right, I remember. So maybe we’ll just go – Tiffany, get somebody from Assad’s regime on the phone in Syria. Oh no, Assad, currently the president is trying to drum up support to go and bomb the snot out of him, and we’re giving aid and weapons to jihadis to overthrow him.
Well, maybe we could get Mubarak on the phone. I mean, no, he’s on trial. Well, maybe he has a phone in the jail, because after all, the Obama administration helped incite a violent revolution against him. Boy, that sounds kind of more muscle-ish than scaling back to me, which is weird, because it also doesn’t sound like we get along with anybody either.
Let me make it really, really clear. I think scaling back our military in the Middle East is probably a really good idea, not the worst one I’ve heard. In fact, I would say that the whole progressive idea that started with Teddy Roosevelt to spread democracy around the world is one of the worst ideas ever. I may have been sluggish enough to go, “Yeah, well everybody loves us,” 15 years ago. Hello? Have we not spent enough treasure and blood around the world? Has the last decade not taught us anything?
We have to be a strong, non-isolationist, noninterventionist kind of country, strong. Here’s what I mean by that: You come over, you fly some planes into our buildings, we bomb the bat snot out of you and go home. We kill the bad guys who did it and go home. What are we still doing in Afghanistan? I believe, I for one, maybe not you, it is well past time to announce that this progressive idea, be it from John McCain or George Bush, Bill Clinton or Barack Obama, that we need to nation build and be the world’s policeman is dead and possibly the worst idea America has ever had.
But let me take you back to sugarplum fairy pop land of The New York Times. They go from the front page into this. Let me take you to Saudi Arabia, because for a guy, a president who’s hooked on diplomacy, doesn’t it seem like our president is converting all of our friends into enemies? Not that I was ever a big fan of George W. Bush taking the long strolls at his Crawford ranch holding hands with the Saudi princes. Boy, I don’t miss those days. That was creepy.
But you also have to be a realist, and before you start cutting off your friends and making them enemies, you might want to look at your own situation here. For instance, energy prices are up 42 percent in a decade. Okay, well maybe we should start exploring for our own, because getting into bed with these guys isn’t good. And now that it’s up 42 percent, it doesn’t seem wise to really disconnect from the cheapest source of oil in the world, unless you have something to replace it with. It’s also our second highest source of foreign oil.
So does this make sense to you? It doesn’t me, but it does to The New York Times, because here’s their rationale, and I love it: “At the same time, new sources of oil have made the Saudis less essential.” Same time, new sources of oil made the Saudis…what new sources of oil? I mean, serious question, anybody on the set, anybody know of a new source of oil that we’ve had?
It’s not Canada. Keystone pipeline went up. President blocked that one. More drilling permits in the gulf? No, huh uh. Alaska? No, huh uh. Where is this magical fount of oil that has sprouted up? Have little oil rigs just started to grow in the west lawn in place of the first lady’s veggie garden? I’m not really sure.
America, I want us to break up with the Saudis. I want Israel to take care of itself. I want to be out of the business of everybody else. But not standing with the only person that understands capitalism in the entire region while pissing off the Saudis really doesn’t seem like good news, you know? Breaking up with Israel, not so much. Our overseas policies matter, especially when your policies here don’t match.
You want to break up with the rest of the world, fine, but you have to be self-sufficient. We’re cutting ourselves off from energy suppliers while at the same time diminishing our own access to affordable allergy. Hello? Hello? Hello? Oh yeah, but we’re going to go green. Stop with the green nonsense. Maybe someday, not today. Another green company that the president invested your money in just went bankrupt, cost you $139 million. Why are we doing this? If green energy is so needed, the free market will figure it out.
Okay, so we have no money left. We’re really whittling down our friends. We have no oil. We have no sufficient source of energy to fill in the gap because we’re closing the coal plants. We won’t drill for oil, and we won’t build a pipeline. That sounds like energy shortage. When that comes, oh, and it will, remember this day.
And so what does that mean for you? Well, when you are not self-sufficient, you are a slave to whomever holds the bag of food or the bag of black gold. Our sovereignty as a nation will be put aside in order to survive. Why do you think we take the lead painted toys from China, and we don’t say anything? Because our hands are tied. We need their money.
But here’s the good news, national sovereignty begins with personal sovereignty. This is the secret of America, the more independent you are, the stronger the nation becomes. If we as people can self-sustain during an energy shortage, a cash shortage, a food shortage, a health care shortage, then you really can tell people like China and Saudi Arabia to go take their oil and shove it.
But that’s another policy that doesn’t matter because this administration is not encouraging people to be self-sufficient. We are not helping people go into business. We don’t advise people to store food, save money, protect yourself, get a gun. No, those people get mocked. Instead, Progressives have been campaigning to take all of those responsibilities away from you.
Now wait a minute, if our national sovereignty begins with personal sovereignty, I think you just figure something out. The secret lies with each individual. I don’t know what your idea is. It might stink, but it might be the one that saves us. I don’t know what your solution is. I don’t even know the problem you’re working on trying to solve, but you’ll figure it out.
Governments make it worse. I contend that our government knows where the real source of power comes from. I mean, how do you miss it? It’s in big huge block letters in our founding documents, “We the people.” That’s where the power comes from, the individual American, and that’s why they’re doing everything they can to hobble you. Look at the attacks on individual sovereignty in our nation.
Last night, we told you about how hospitals are taking custody of your children because the doctors say they know better than you. So you lose your child, and they can just do that and then issue a gag order so you can’t say anything? Los Angeles is now considering a ban on feeding the homeless. Let’s figure this one out. This is great, from the land of equality.
Listen to this: “If you give out free food on the street with no other services to deal with the collateral damage, you get hundreds of people beginning to squat…,” I love this. Remember, this is California. They’re the bighearted people. “…They’re living in my bushes, and they’re living in my next door neighbor’s crawlspaces. We have a neighborhood which now seems like a mental ward.” I just don’t want these people around me. Well, I’m blown away by your compassion.
This is bogus compassion. It always is. Government compassion and progressive compassion is bogus. The argument sure sounds familiar. It’s a familiar argument, don’t feed the animals. Ooh, are animals in cages? Well, people are animals too, you know? How about school choice, are we moving towards freedom with the government? As that thing is collapsing, are they encouraging you? No, in fact, just the opposite.
They’ve got Common Core, and then off to the side, a really important story that nobody’s paying attention to is the president, his silence on the German family who we’ve had on this program who were granted access to the United States and then denied asylum after they fled Germany because they weren’t allowed to teach their kids in their own home.
Here is an update on that story. The Supreme Court now has ordered today the administration to respond to the family’s appeal, but I can guarantee you what they’re going to say. They’re going to say no, send them back. We’ll give asylum to anyone but not these people. Why? Because then the government will be on record saying you have an inherent God-given right to raise your children and teach them the way you see fit. Government can’t have that.
You now have to purchase a product in order to be considered law-abiding. Catholic and other religious health care institutions are forced to violate their own beliefs and provide birth control and abortions. An update on this one too, Supreme Court’s going to take another look at that issue.
From the level that you set your thermostat at to the gas mileage on your cars to the fat content in foods, not being allowed to fish in order to eat unless you have a permit, individual sovereignty is all but dead. And people are becoming more dependent, and many people like it that way. We are going the way of Greece, and I have to tell you, we did, and you can find it if you’re a member of TheBlaze. You can go find it and watch this episode. I think it was like 40 minutes. It was six hours on the ground in Greece.
I flew out in the middle of the night, and I just talked to the cab drivers, and I talked to the people on the street. I watched what was happening. Things in Greece are getting so bad now that they’re actually inflicting themselves with HIV in order to receive government benefits. Here’s what it was like about 24 months ago in Greece.
Glenn: And what does this say?
Male: It says that we don’t have to live like slaves. Communism is the revolutionary movement of the ongoing period. Revolution now. Let’s produce life and not those things that strangle life. Let’s not produce those things that strangle life.
Glenn: Communism is the answer?
Male: Yes. It’s the revolutionary movement of the ongoing period.
Glenn: And the people that are on the street are not drunk. They’re high, bad heroin highs that we’re seeing on the streets.
Look, it’s a disease in the West, and it kills the human spirit, being a slave to someone else, waiting for the handout, waiting for the government. It reduces you to a compliant robot unable to think or choose for yourself. If you have not read this, I just reread this a couple weeks ago. It’s Anthem by Ayn Rand. You know, she asked Walt Disney to make this into a movie, and I want to make this into one.
She wanted it to be made into a cartoon, and I want to make it into a cartoon because it’s right. It’s right. This is the collective takes over. You become a robot. You forget about yourself entirely. This is why they want to regulate your guns, because they can’t have you stand up. They can’t.
You know, we put out a book this week, this book. I don’t care if you go to the bookstore and read this one chapter on Athens, Georgia. In fact, let me find which chapter it is. I’m sorry, Athens, Tennessee, I keep saying that. Battle of Athens is chapter 10, and the Battle of Athens, tomorrow…I’ve sent everybody home from the studios. So many people are traveling that I’m just going to come in and do the show myself tomorrow. And I might read this chapter to you.
And I’ve got some things I want to share with you tomorrow on the radio. It will be a very different radio show. But the Battle of Athens is happening again. What happened in Tennessee is happening all over our country, and this gives you the antidote. It shows you when you rise up and say enough, enough, you do everything right, everything, but they have to make you dependent.
See, the people that tried to take over Athens, Tennessee, the fascists there, they were criminals. They made everybody dependent, but they forgot one thing, soldiers were returning home from war. You can’t be dependent on anything or anyone. To the best of your ability, if you’re not independent now, you’ve got to strive for it. If you have it, empower someone else so they can achieve it.
This is the era that the American revolutionaries dreamt of. I’m convinced of it. They weren’t pining for 1776. They envisioned a day when man could live a self-reliant life free from all tyranny. This is it. The Internet gives us that. With technology, you don’t have to be chained to your own town. You don’t have to be chained to somebody else to be a buyer or a distributor. You don’t even have to go to work and be stuck at one location or a desk or bound by a schedule.
The sky is the limit now for the first time in human history, unless we allow others to put us in a box and close the lid. There is one uniting principle, and I think George Washington and Thomas Paine shared it. Now, those who are atheists will say that George Washington was a deist. I don’t believe that. I’ve read too much of his words and his letters.
And Christians will say that Thomas Paine wasn’t really an atheist. They’re wrong. I’ve read too much of his stuff. The guy was an early precursor to a Marxist. But they came together. If it wasn’t for the two of them, revolution wouldn’t have happened. They came and found something in common, sovereignty for the individual, maximum personal responsibility, maximum liberty. When you strip everything else down, I think that’s where most people are, I hope, at least 30% of this country.
And so when you find the religious people that will not oppress and force conformity, will not say my way or the highway or not just playing some game because they believe in the church ruling everybody’s life, and when you find Libertarians who are not anarchists who believe in some government just to be able to protect and defend property and won’t oppress and say none of that religion stuff, when you can get together where common sense and freedom live, where people believe in maximum freedom and maximum personal responsibility, games over. It’s over.
When you can get to a point where a guy like me, really very religious, and a guy like Penn Jillette, really not religious, can live in the same space, we could be neighbors, and we could be happy neighbors, how do you beat that? How could Penn Jillette be somebody who hates all people with religion and has a secret plan to put everybody in religion out of business, when I’m one of his good friends? How could I be a fascist when my good friend is a self-described narco-capitalist? Something doesn’t compute.
That’s the box that everybody wants to put you in. Don’t. Break those molds. When religious people and nonreligious people can get along, when Ayn Rand and small government Christians can get along, we find the balance, and we understand that the secret is self-regulation. When we can work together with people we disagree with on some pretty big principles but still have enough points in common to tether ourselves to those principles, and those principles free mankind, it is game over.
Why does the Federal government want to destroy individual sovereignty?
Control, that is the bottom line and the dividing principle and ideology of the individual being able to be accountable and responsible, and the state declaring that they will make the choices for everyone due to the individual not being able to make the choices for themselves.
• landofaahs
Birth “CONTROL”. REGULATION. Social Insecurity. People with a God complex cannot help but telling others what to do. There should be a bounty on the heads of liberals but instead we put them in charge.
• Anonymous
Because they are listening to the Serpent and they desire what they hear it say.
• QuietObserver
That about sums it up, but on a different note as a South African I want to wish you all a blessed and peaceful Thanksgiving and pass on my thanks to each one of you for trying to halt the tyranny that threatens to engulf your country because in doing so you help to keep us safe as well.
God bless!
• Anonymous
Thank you and happy Thanksgiving to you and your family as well.
• Feet2Fire
Hmmm… “GOD COMPLEX.” Never looked at it that way. Liberals seem to not believe in GOD, but maybe you are right. Maybe they do believe THEY are “GOD”–and are very actively striving to BE God and control everything and everyone. Or maybe they just hate God and want to dethrone Him?
• Anonymous
The government wants to destroy individual sovereignty to turn everybody into followers. Skip out of line and you land in prison or a reform camp. The communists did it in Russia and China, Hitler did it, East Germany’s regime
brainwashed their citizens until change came in 1989.
Collective choice takes away a thinking process. The government decides what your future will look like. With freedom comes the responsibility to choose what is best for each individual. This should never be taken away.
• Ron
Glenn – The thing to keep in mind is the mislead mindset of the “Progressive” movement. I have a good friend who is of this mindset and needless to say, we have had some rather heated discussions regarding politics.
He absolutely believes that he is a patriot. He absolutely believes that a single-payer system is the only way to go with regards to healthcare. He absolutely believes that we should extort money from those of us who make money to give to the poor.
Sadly, what he can’t seem to wrap his head around is that his beliefs run completely counter to what our country is all about. He feels that Capitalism is a fundamentally broken system and needs to be done away with except for him. He wants the Gov’t to control the teaching of children, but will get angry when the idea that his ability to raise his kids might get called into question by the same gov’t.
Progressivism is a mental illness. It is an illness of rampant selfishism, socialism and control. It is a disease that says, “Do as I say, but not as I do” and that is the big problem.
With regards to the POTUS’ actions, it is readily apparent that Mr Obama does not like the USA. He is doing everything in his power to destroy our nation and people are going along with him because he talks pretty.
I believe it is absolutely critical that the real Conservatives(Libertarians) of this country need to put up an electable person for the Presidential race in 2016 and GET BEHIND HIM/HER! We have lost the last two elections because of two reasons: 1) The primary candidate was not electable and 2) We didn’t get behind the candidates until it was too late. The time is now!
Secondarily, I believe it is absolutely critical that we kick the progressives out of congress completely and get a conservative, or at least a Republican majority in Congress so we will have the power to fix the tremendous damage which has been done by the last three administrations.
• Anonymous
Doesn’t look like you’ll be winning any elections anytime soon, ace.
• landofaahs
History of the American collapse is not over yet. The future will show the separation of the free from the control freaks on the left. We win in the end and the interim is just biding our time.
• Mike Nelson
How I pine for the days of thoughtful and erudite interaction…
Have you checked your old account of late? :)
• landofaahs
Misery loves company and liberal failures need everyone else to fail also.
• Anonymous
Pretty sure he doesn’t think at all, and never has, poor thing.
Of all the mind-control slaves, I think he is possibly the saddest case. He seems so lonely and confused….
It’s a good guess that, having been seelected” (to quote Rev. Wright) he has followed a concrete script his whole life, and never had the tests befalling a sovereign human being, so was denied the experience of growing and learning.
Speaking of Rev. Wright, where did HE get to, after getting his hush box of seelected treats and $150,000?
(That’s IT? Geez….how Mickey Mouse.)
• Anonymous
Missing a quotation mark – sorry.
• Anonymous
My father suffers from bipolar disorder, with typical manic-depressive tendencies. To compare progressivism to a mental illness is very ignorant and reflects poorly on you as a person. Don’t throw around words just because it’s the Internet. You can disagree with progressivism all you want but don’t equate it to a very real problem that people do not choose.
• Guest
Progressivism is an affliction of the shallow thinker.
• landofaahs
Liberals like all fascist control freaks cannot allow individual liberty lest the individual make a success of him/herself and expose the fascist for the loser he/she is.
• Anonymous
Liberals promote the idea that people are “afraid” that one may be: poor, disadvantaged, disenfranchised, marginalized, excluded, unwelcomed, discriminated, bullied, held captive and not free. Liberals promote the idea that conservative, right-wing, nutjob, bible-thumping, poverty-inducing, obstructing, fairy-tale believing, crazy, hating, racist, wealthy, they-took-it-from-you, bigots are the cause.
What they really desire is for everyone to sign up for a lifetime of mediocrity (or worse). They are deceived to think that the life is a Utopia where everyone is free*.
*free means: do what everyone else is doing based upon what the chairman decrees.
Conservatives tolerate (endure) whatever conservatives do not agree with — that’s why they’re conservative. They pause. They wait. They discern. Conservatives tolerate Liberals. Liberals do not tolerate, they move forward (“progress”), en masse, to wherever their dear leader desires crushing and burning whatever stands in the way. No waiting, no pausing. They want it NOW.
Conservatives have hope, liberals have a dream.
• fire lion
When did the bible EVER give us individual sovereignty? It basically says you were created to love someone and if you dont you go to hell. What kind of freedom is that?
Should we go back ancient times when the church ran things? witch burnings inquisition?
Or should we go to 1776 when blacks and women couldnt vote?
Maybe the 1950’s were better? oh wait government allowed abortions and allowed atheists to hold office
Ayn Rand get along with christians? Have you read Ayn Rand?
• Anonymous
One has Free Will Choice. Do as one desires, but that’s not freedom. Never was.
Same things happened before Christ formed His Church and afterwards both inside and outside His Church. Atrocities were and are not Christo-centric.
Fast forward to now — same accusations for different groups using words such as “disenfranchised”.
Forty million deaths and counting in the USA alone since 1974. Things are not better and no end in sight for the killing. Witch burnings and inquisition have nothing on the mass killings of our youngest and most vulnerable. We are Savages.
Ayn Rand was who she was. Do one embrace her, ignore her or torch her (see witches)?
We are not learning from the past we are just being more clever (so we think) at resuscitating our mistakes of the past.
Liberalism ladies and gentlemen.
• Feet2Fire
1950’s WERE better–MUCH better! We had a cohesive, God-fearing society that believed in the work ethic and individual responsibility, unlike the Balkanization, godlessness and social fragmentation we’re experiencing today.
P.S. Abortions were not legal until 1970’s.
All government wants to do is control. Everything from what to eat what our health care should look like. They want to police every single part of our lives.
• Mike Nelson
But… they need that information!
How else will central planning work effectively!? 😮
If only they can haz ALL information, surely that will translate to meaningful knowledge, and then truly smart people can tell a buck-toothed, inbred, illiterate Melungeon like me how to live a healthy life!
After all, without central planning, how would we have flouride in our water, MSG, aspartame, BPA, statin drugs, and a $20k insurance deductible to cover all the side effects from ingesting poisons (that I could NEVER have had without Obamadoesn’tCare!), all approved by Big Daddy Gov and Opie himself.
It’s the only way… didn’t you know?
• Liz Shearer
Thanks Glenn for having your finger right bang on the proverbial button..yet again.
I wish that all the things you say about the state of America were not true..but I’m afraid they are.
If I was an American and you were the next presidential candidate. ..I would vote for you and once again feel confidence and hope for your great nation.
• Anonymous
I would suggest to all the sworn democrat supporters take a hike to China or Russia and live there for a while. Maybe their eyes would open then. It seems that ALL governments of the world are no better than the other. Free USA is not free as it is ruled by a bunch of self-serving sleeze bags that is Washington. If Obama wants to redistribute the wealth, let him cancel ALL assistance to the big businesses who make exorbitant profits, pay their executives huge salaries and use every loop hole to avoid paying taxes.
• Feet2Fire
Glenn, imo, this is the most RANTING, disjuncted thing you have ever produced. Sorry, but you need to try to stick to one topic at a time… You are all over the place.
The GREECE story has been debunked. Will you correct it here?
See http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/11/26/oops-w-h-o-says-it-was-wrong-about-greek-people-giving-themselves-hiv-en-masse/
And that thing about L.A. probably has more to do with the place being overrun by desperado ILLEGAL ALIENS than anything else. What does that have to do with personal sovereignty? If we had more personal sovereignty, we would be demanding that the ILLEGALS get DEPORTED.
Your article title has little to do with the content of your long-winded presentation. “Why is government doing everything it can to destroy individual sovereignty?” Obviously, they’re doing it because they want a COLLECTIVE system, and INDIVIDUALS impede their goals–especially self-determined individuals. Why not just focus on that one topic and explore it thoroughly, instead of all this wild-goose chasing that leads nowhere?
PS Love you, Glenn, but sometimes you do get carried away to the point of near-hysteria–not good for you or your audience.
• Anonymous
J.P. Morgan has moved $50 million dollars worth of mining equipment into Afghanistan. An absolute “Mother-lode” of gold has been found there. A lithium mine has been started there also. China also has a mining contract for a large copper-mine. A Canadian oil company has found oil deposits under Afghanistan. (This country will become very wealthy over the next twenty years !)
• Anonymous
Glenn is sceptical about mysterious oil being produced in the US. Well, Glenn, the US has been extracting oil from shale and has been experiencing a boom for years now. Try to keep up. http://money.cnn.com/2012/11/12/news/economy/us-oil-production-energy/index.html?iid=EL
• Bonnie Somer
• Anonymous
I have a mouthful of T-rex, I post on this article my eyeballs will pop out. Will this communist scourge end at some point? Or does the country just finally split? Because all insanity and rants aside, that is where we are headed.
• Anonymous
Look at what happened in the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia when the caldera of multi-culturalism/language/religion could not contain the pressure — it exploded violently. If the amalgam will not blend then the great experiment is over.
We just acknowledged the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address — a glimmer of light given to us to show us the way out of the darkness. That remembrance became clouded and shunned by forces that do not want the amalgam. We have forgotten. We had our costly stumble then, we fell and by the grace of God we got back up.
Do we have the humility to ask Him to help us once again?
• Thomas Aquinas
While the actions available to states using democratic processes are restricted compared to those subjected to totalitarian regimes, the benefits of democratic methods are revealed over the long term.
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Shout if you will, but that just won't do.
I, for one, would rather follow softer options.
I'll take the easy line; another sip of wine,
And if I ignore the face you wore it's just a way of mine
To keep from flying colors.
Don't lay your bait while the whole world waits
Around to see me shoot you down
It's all so second-rate.
When we can last for days on a loving night;
Or for hours at least on a warm whisper given.
You always pick the best time to rise to the fight.
To break the hard bargain that we've driven.
Once again we're flying colors.
I thought we had it out the night before,
And settled old scores, but not the hard way.
Was it a glass too much?
Or a smile too few?
Did our friends all catch the needle match
Did we want them to?
In a fancy restaurant we were all aglow,
Keeping cool by mutual permission.
How did the conversation get
To where we came to blows?
We were set up in a red condition
And again we're flying colors.
Shout but you see it still won't do.
With my colors on I can be just as bad as you.
Have I had a glass too much?
Did I give a smile too few?
Did our friends all catch the needle match,
did we want them to?
We act our parts so well, like we wrote the play.
All so predictable and we know it.
We'll settle old scores now,
And settle the hard way.
You may not even live to outgrow it!
Once again we're flying colors, flying colors.
Correct | Mail | Print | Vote
Flying Colours Lyrics
Jethro Tull – Flying Colours Lyrics
Songwriters: IAN ANDERSON
Flying Colours lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
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How hacking fixed the worst video game of all time
According to urban legend, a landfill somewhere in the small city of Alamogordo, New Mexico, bulges with millions of copies of the worst game ever made—a game that many observers blamed for the North American video-game sales crash of 1983. Atari’s bubble burst because of a little alien.
In December 1982, Atari released E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial for the Atari 2600, and critics quickly labeled it the worst game of all time. In light of many more-recent debacles—I’m looking at you Aliens: Colonial Marines and SimCitygranting “worst game ever” status to E.T. in perpetuity seems somewhat unfair. Nonetheless, this primordial Atari 2600 title continues to top “worst of” charts, including our own, time and time again.
So why should you give it another chance? Because a code hacker managed to fix some of the games most glaring problems, and now it’s actually fun to play.
What went wrong?
When Atari finally got the rights to the E.T. name in late July 1982, it wanted to make the game a holiday-season sales hit. Steven Spielberg chose Howard Scott Warshaw (designer of both Yars’ Revenge and Raiders of the Lost Ark, two of the best Atari games ever) to design the game, and Atari established a schedule that gave him just five weeks to do the job.
“I was either the golden child selected to do the project, or I was the only one stupid enough to take on the challenge,” Warshaw says. Regrettably, due to the short development cycle, the game never received a proper fine-tuning. Atari rushed it out the door, and the product that hit store shelves was raw to a debilitating fault.
Behold the wildly popular Atari 2600—once synonymous with 'video games.'
Players immediately began denouncing E.T. as confusing and frustrating. Gameplay was inscrutable, and nothing that appeared on-screen made intuitive sense. Vague symbols would occasionally pop up at the top of the screen, but they made no sense unless you dove deep into the manual to ferret out their meaning. Walking to the edge of the screen would jump you to an entirely new map with no clear objective to pursue. And occasionally characters would appear and, without giving any indication of their purpose or intent, summarily carry E.T. off to yet another screen.
The graphics were bad, even by the standards of early ’80s game design. And E.T. was tragically susceptible to falling into any of the multitude of “wells”—diamonds, circles, and arrows—that dotted the gamescape like burrows in a vast prairie-dog metropolis, whenever even a single pixel of his sprite collided with one of those shapes. Tumbling into these pointless holes, and then laboriously climbing back out, time and time again, made for seriously annoying and monotonous gameplay.
Atari wildly overestimated the game’s sales volume, produced vastly too many copies, and ended up taking a major financial hit, suffering a reported loss of $100 million on the endeavor. But Warshaw modestly declines to shoulder all the blame for the 1983 video game depression, citing the failed Atari 2600 version of Pac-Man as a contributing factor. “I’d like to think I’m capable of toppling a billion-dollar industry myself, but I doubt it,” he says.
This game has fans?
Members of a small community of contrarians insist that the 1982 version of E.T. was a good, enjoyable, entertaining game. They say that people simply (and grossly) misunderstood it. The kids didn’t read the included instructions, they argue. Sure the game was difficult, they concede, but the game’s mechanics—featuring elements like open-ended worlds and side quests—were ahead of their time.
In the game itself, E.T.’s map is in the shape of a cube.
Here it is flattened out.
The game’s instructions answered all the questions regarding its objective, its point system, its enemies, the purpose of the wells, and the meaning of the strange symbols. Unfortunately, the instructions were also long and complicated, and about as likely to serve as reading material for a kid on Christmas morning—or really any time—as a terms-of-service agreement. The instructions did provide answers, but much as they would today, gamers in 1982 expected to hit Start and begin figuring out gameplay in real time.
The game’s unique open environment posed some issues of its own. Today, open worlds are common in video games. But when E.T. debuted, a world described by a three-dimensional cube (as illustrated above) was beyond ambitious. You’d reach a screen’s perimeter, and find yourself whisked away to an entirely different environment. The relocation was “correct” within the context of the game—but unless you understood the logic, you’d quickly become disoriented and be left grasping for answers.
E.T. lands and starts the game.
Duane Alan Hahn makes persuasive arguments in defense of the original E.T. on RandomTerrain, but there’s no denying that the game was a bad match for the younger audience that bought and played most games in 1982. E.T.’s gameplay, strategies, and style were unfamiliar to the infant gaming industry, and wouldn’t be appreciated until many years later.
A solution appears
To make the game more appealing to its many critics, launched a project to explain and address E.T.’s most widely recognized problems. Precisely who “fixed” the game remains unclear (edit 4/17/2013: We learned that the project was solely done by David Richardson aka Recompile of Greenville, PA), though an AtariAge member named Recompile certainly played a major role, but the bottom line is that the project yielded new ROM code that dramatically improves E.T.
E.T. is safely on the edge.
The number-one user complaint about the original game involves the frustrating issue of continually (and inadvertently) falling into wells. The original problem stemmed from pixel collisions between the E.T. sprite and the pits themselves. If a single pixel of E.T. collided with a single pixel from a well, down the alien went, even if his feet were firmly planted on the ground. A couple of adjustments to the code, and now E.T. doesn’t spend inordinate amounts of time plummeting into crevasses (unless you’re very uncoordinated).
A second issue related to general difficulty settings that were too challenging for even the most seasoned gaming pros. Every step would drain your energy, leading E.T. in short order to pass out (and thereby lower your score). For a game based on exploration, the steep penalty for any movement posed a major problem. But thanks to changes in the new game code, you lose energy only when running, falling, or hovering. Simply walking is no longer detrimental to your score.
The blog also provides some tips on how to customize the difficulty further. For example you can tweak the rate of energy consumption. Check it out to ratchet up the challenge!
E.T. gets a makeover to be a natural color.
Finally, in the original version of the game, E.T. suffered a strange color alteration. Granted, aliens are often known as “little green men,” but in the movie E.T. was distinctly tan. Now, thanks to a few HEX value changes in the new code, E.T. gets as close to his “natural” color as the Atari will let him.
By opening the E.T. ROM file with a hex editor and adjusting key values, the project’s coders essentially patched the 30-year-old game. Of course, the contributors didn’t change the core gameplay at all, so they recommend that you—unlike your tween predecessors—read the manual or watch a tutorial video so you have a sense of what the heck you’re supposed to be doing.
Some of the hex fixes to the ROM that patch the 30-year-old game.
Warshaw commends the fixes and admires the hackers’ tenacity in sticking with the project. “He brought a lot of integrity to the project,” he says, “I think he did a nice job.” He assures PCWorld that if Atari had given him more time back in 1982, he would have made the crucial fixes himself.
You can download the new ROM directly from the Neocomputer projects page and open it using an Atari 2600 emulator such as Stella. E.T. was ahead of its time in 1982—but thanks to a dedicated fan with some technical prowess, you can finally enjoy this gaming classic. Even if it remains the most reviled game in history.
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Gothic
Compendium of Horror, Fear, and the Grotesque
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Gothic Tradition
[Excerpt from David R. Saliba, A Psychology of Fear: The Nightmare Formula of Edgar Allan Poe (Lantham, MD: University Press of America, 1980), pp.27-28.]
The Gothic tradition...had its origins in 1764 with the publication of Horace Walpole's Castle of Otranto. Though no one has yet offered a concise definition of gothic literature, there are several characteristics that distinguish it from other modes of writing. These characteristics belong to all gothic works:
1. there is a victim who is helpless against his torturer;
2. there is also a victimizer who is associated with evil and whose powers are immense or supernatural;
3. the setting of the gothic story is at some point within impenetrable walls (physical or psychological) to heighten the victim's sense of hopeless isolation--the central gothic image is the cathedral or haunted mansion within which the victim is imprisoned;
4. the atmosphere is pervaded by a sense of mystery, darkness, oppressiveness, fear, and doom to recreate the atmosphere of a crypt--a symbol of man's spiritual death and a "vehicle for presenting a picture of man as eternal victim"[1]; and finally,
5. the victim is in some way entranced or fascinated by the inscrutable power of his victimizer [2].
The gothic tradition, however, is not limited to literature...the culture of gothic tradition can be examined in fashion, music, & even jewelry. There are many who celebrate special occasions like birthdays and weddings and maintain a gothic theme, even using a Zales promo code to purchase the proper wedding rings to fit in with the gothic tradition. G.R. Thompson has pointed out that a study of the gothic is a study in paradoxes of a duality that can be traced to the Middle Ages. Essentially, Medieval duality is spiritually based, and it is made manifest in the idealized quests for the Holy Grail, the entrenched beliefs in witchcraft, and the fascination with demonology. The central image that embraces these gothic paradoxes is the cathedral, which "has both an outward, upward movement toward the heavens, and an inward, downward motion, convoluting in upon itself in labyrinthine passages and dark recesses, descending to catacombs deep in the earth." [3] Throughout American literature the image of the cathedral can be seen to metamorphose and pass from the natural cathedral of William Cullen Bryant's "A Forest Hymn" to the "Old Manse" and similar venerable settings in Hawthorne's stories, becoming an extensive psychological image that Leslie Fiedler describes in detail:
Beneath the haunted castle lies the dungeon keep: the womb from whose darkness the ego first emerged, the tomb to which it knows it must return at last. Beneath the crumbling shell of paternal authority, lies the maternal blackness, imagined by the gothic writer as a prison, a torture chamber--from which the cries of the kidnapped anima cannot even be heard. The upper and lower levels of the ruined castle or abbey represent the contradictory fears at the heart of gothic terror: the dread of the super-ego, whose splendid battlements have been battered but not quite cast down--and of the id, whose buried darkness abounds in dark visions no stormer of the castle had even touched [4].
Architecture and the Gothic
From a religious perspective the Cathedral is the grandest of architectures in western culture. It is the primary interface between man and "God"; as such, its grand architecture is designed to inspire awe in its believers and overwhelm them with a sense of the enormity and power of their creator. It also impresses its believers with the "wholly other" or via negativa essence of God. This "unknowable" quality of an omnipotent and omnipresent God informs western man's fear of the unknown. And it is this fear of the unknown (fear of the "unknowability" of God) that is incorporated into the architecture of the gothic Cathedral with its vaulting ceilings and complex structures that are designed to strike holy dread in the hearts of sinful believers.
Recommended Reading/Research
• Botting, Fred, Gothic, New York: Routledge, 2007.
"Gothic focuses on the varous styles and forms of the genre and analyses the cultural significance of its prevalent figures: the ghosts, monsters, vampires, doubles and horrors that are its definitive features. Botting traces its history from its origins in the eighteenth century through to modernist and postmodernist representations. He offers a broad overview of the themes, images and effects that not only define the genre but also endure and reappear endlessly in both 'high' and 'popular' literature and culture."--quoted from cover promo
• Hogle, Jerrold E., ed, The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. | <urn:uuid:493cc721-9194-4d21-bbd9-86b4eef96ec9> | http://www.scepticthomas.com/gothic/gothic.htm | en | 0.929646 | 0.02693 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
(Joanna Neborsky)
By the early 1930s, Polish writer Shalom Asch was at the top of his literary game. Convinced by I.L. Peretz to write in Yiddish instead of Hebrew, Asch was best known for his portrayals of shtetl life serialized by the Forward as well as his 1933 historical drama, Three Cities. Then, in 1939, Asch wrote another historical novel—this time based on the life of Jesus.
As former senior editor Ellen Umansky wrote in 2007, Asch’s quest for widespread appeal would quickly lead to his downfall in the Jewish literary community. “He had long coveted the Nobel Prize, and the universal subject of Jesus might catch the eye of the Nobel committee,” Umansky explained. Yet Asch’s timing was horrific—1939, really?—and though the book featured prominently on bestseller lists (and spawned follow-up books The Apostle and Mary), there was no undoing the damage done to his reputation in the Jewish literary world.
Read Asch’s Passion, by Ellen Umansky | <urn:uuid:0536d402-5740-43da-b46c-18f18b3c2517> | http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/86494/ashen-2 | en | 0.977251 | 0.079595 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Equine Herpesvirus-1 Myeloencephalopathy: On the Rise?
Equine Herpesvirus-1 Myeloencephalopathy: On the Rise?
Goehring noted that disease likelihood and severity differ between horse breeds, ages, and genders.
Photo: Stephen Reed, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM
Lutz Goehring, DVM, MS, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, associate professor of equine medicine at Colorado State University's College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, discussed characteristics of this neurologic form of herpesvirus-1 and why it might be on the rise, at the International Conference on Equine Infectious Diseases Practitioner's Day, held Oct. 21 in Lexington, Ky.
Goehring explained that this infectious disease typically spreads when one horse inhales viral particles from an infected horse. Viruses attach to the respiratory tract epithelium (lining), are transported to the lymph nodes, and then travel through the bloodstream (also known as viremia) to their specific destinations: vascular endothelial cells lining the blood vessels of the pregnant uterus, central nervous system, or eye.
Viremia typically causes a high fever and occurs prior to clinical signs of EHM. Veterinarians commonly see neurologic gait abnormalities like ataxia (incoordination), paresis (impaired movement), and dysmetria (a high-stepping gait yet limited joint movement) and bladder dysfunction, said Goehring.
A key step to preventing development of neurologic disease is to prevent endothelial cell infection. Thus, Goehring said EHM therapeutics aim to lower viremia and general viral replication using antivirals (e.g., valaciclovir) and, potentially, block endothelial cell infection using simple drugs such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatories. Goehring recommended administering these two therapies in combination on the first day a horse exhibits fever during an EHM outbreak.
As for disease prevention, "vaccination is important," said Goehring, "but it won't work alone without good husbandry and management such as separating horses and practicing good hygiene and disinfection."
In describing EHM's epidemiology, Goehring noted that its likelihood and severity differ between horse breeds, ages, and genders. He said potentially mules and definitely ponies appear less susceptible, while tall breeds such as Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses, and Warmbloods are most susceptible. Adult horses (3 years and older) are most susceptible, while foals, weanlings, and yearlings are least susceptible. Females and aged horses that contract EHM are generally affected more severely.
One challenging aspect of this disease is that a variable fraction of horses is latently infected (not displaying clinical signs themselves but carrying "hibernating" virus). But Goehring said "the perfect storm" is still needed for an outbreak to occur: one infected and virus shedding horse, many horses housed close together, correct breeds and age groups, and potentially stressors that compromise immunity.
Goehring said the disease is also most prevalent from October to May. "This may be due to more indoor activity, competitions, and closed up barns (during this time of year)," he explained.
But are we really seeing more EHM outbreaks? Goehring seemed to think it's possible. "Commingling of horses is the biggest risk (for disease transmission)," he said. "And there are now more competitions; bigger and longer show circuits; more large-scale boarding facilities; and a growing horse population, which helps with rapid spread of virus so that more horses are exposed during a shorter period of time."
Added to the equation are increased ways to spread news (e.g., social media) and greater media attention of EHM outbreaks. This means more people are talking about EHM outbreaks than ever before.
About the Author
Alexandra Beckstett, The Horse Managing Editor
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Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/06/06/ibm_rational_upgrade/
IBM blows open development silos
It's only Rational
By Drew Cullen
Posted in Developer, 6th June 2006 13:14 GMT
Developer silos: who needs ‘em? IBM says they are a Bad Thing and here is why:
In a typical product development cycle, multiple teams are designated to manage specific functions such as testing software for bugs, creating a software blueprint, and pushing the final code into production. The hand-offs between these organisational silos can be manual and error prone, and are further complicated when teams are distributed, speak different languages, or involve business partners.
So IBM has diagnosed the condition and now proposes a cure; a bigger, tighter IBM Rational Software Development Platform. Announced yesterday at the IBM Rational Developer Conferenece in Orlando, this now automates the software testing process and tracking changes made to software code. Upshot, says IBM, "development, test and production teams can better collaborate and break down silos for improved delivery times, lowered costs, and greater software quality".
The Rational platform contains 12 upgraded software products, to aid workflow, reporting and other drudgework. In particular, IBM trumpets the new IBM Rational ClearQuest 7 - "at the hub of this activity" - and IBM Rational Build Forge. Build Forge, bought last month, helps customers automate their build and release processes.
IBM is also promoting the technology through ISVs and other channel players. Deets here. ® | <urn:uuid:d9c669b6-bb74-472c-a71c-7bc41911c5d4> | http://www.theregister.co.uk/Print/2006/06/06/ibm_rational_upgrade/ | en | 0.927133 | 0.02943 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Support the news
Teebs: Better Living Through 'Beat Music'07:58
Mtendere Mandowa, also known as Teebs, is an electronic artist from Los Angeles. Though he rarely works with musical instruments himself, he takes other people's recordings, loads them onto his laptop and manipulates the sounds. He adds layer after layer, beat upon beat, until he's left with a chaotic collage of sound.
Born in New York, Mandowa was raised by parents from Malawi and Barbados. As a child, he says, he listened to a lot of calypso, which influenced his music's aesthetic.
"Calypso is more fast-paced," he says, "but this happy nature, being on an island, it related right back into the music that I was making."
This type of music has often been described as "beat music" -- a style that originated in Los Angeles with producers such as Flying Lotus.
"It kind of stems from hip-hop, or people doing production for rappers," he says. "But as time went on -- and more kids had equipment to make their own things but not the proper vocals to fit their music -- they started filling in the gaps."
A number of things can fill these gaps, he says -- some conventional, others not so much. As Mandowa listens to the song "Double Fifths" with Weekend All Things Considered host Guy Raz, he points out the elements that go into each of his productions.
"You're hearing a harp, shakers, recorded drum taps ... and change falling," he says. "I have a machine called an SP 404 -- it's a little sampler with a built-in mic, and I record everything into there and keep re-affecting it there and then into a computer. I've used tape peeling off something and the door-slamming of a microwave before."
An Intense Time
Creating Ardour was not without its share of challenges for the 23-year-old producer. His father died in the middle of the project, at which point he returned home and stopped making music.
"That was a really intense time; it was last year. Actually, my brother ... was really sick at the time also, and he got taken away to be hospitalized because it was getting too out of control for my mother," Mandowa says. "So it was a crazy time when he left, and then my dad passed away, and it was just kind of like a whole shutdown, so I moved back home immediately after that, and I just wasn't making any more music. So there was a four- or five-month break period. Then I randomly bought some equipment, a little flute and wind chimes, and then I made a song on the record called 'Burner,' and I think from then on, things were a little bit different."
Mandowa's father had never listened to his son's music before getting sick. But during his fight with cancer, the elder Mandowa was able to connect with his son and learn what he'd been working on.
"At first, he didn't really know too much," he says. "He died of cancer, and when he was getting more sick and in bed, he had more time. We actually spoke more. I was showing him songs, and he did start to really appreciate it. It was really amazing. He slowed down, and I had more time to be around him, and we kind of understood each other a bit more."
They connected over one song in particular.
"The 'While You Doooo' song was the one he mentioned," Mandowa says. "I was playing him a lot of tunes -- not just my stuff, but a lot of relaxing songs. He didn't even know it was mine, and he thought that was a really beautiful song. And he just kind of stopped the tape. I told him I was the one who made it. It was a really crazy moment."
Copyright NPR 2016.
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At the same time, we have adopted the elements considered most important of the Carlos Castaneda works. Pointing out that the so-called "Don Juan teachings" are heritage and patrimony of all Mexicans. We believe that the philosophy managed by men of knowledge of the ancient Mexico, the Toltec, is in some way in Castaneda’s work and mainly lies on the surface of indigenous communities and in popular culture. At the same time, in this books’ dream, we have used personal experiences experienced with indigenous and rural communities; because we are sure, that to understand the Mexico past, we need to know the way of feeling, thinking and acting of Indians and peasants of our days; since this ancient culture is still alive, vibrant, and current; present not only in what Dr. Guillermo Bonfil called "El Mexico Profundo", but in all the structures of which today makes up the country.
Mexicans are mestizo people. In these five hundred years the Western and Anahuaca (Mesoamerican) culture have melted, but undoubtedly our mother culture is indigenous. Beyond the European patina covering us, Mexicans respond more to their ancient civilization in how they feel, think, speak, eat, relate to the family, people, nature, art and the spaces of the sacred and divine; because they are part of a process that never died, was only covered. Mexicans cannot continue denying their mother. The spirit of old grandparents living in the depths of their hearts, what is required is a "mirror" where we can recognize ourselves and "humanize our love".
This "dream" uses a novel structure, to give life to a character at the end of the Classical period. We try to imagine how our ancestors lived and what their thinking was. We try to recreate the society of our old grandparents, discarding the colonizing vision. We intend in this "dream" to describe life in the knowledge centers, now called "archaeological sites" and try to respectfully establish, what were the reasons for their creation. | <urn:uuid:e4f01476-4c83-44b8-bd33-5f3145dcd3f9> | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Daany_Be%C3%A9dxe.djvu/4 | en | 0.961359 | 0.052496 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Kery James
Kery James is a French rapper of great popularity who was a member of the pioneering duo Idéal J alongside renowned producer DJ Mehdi.
In 2001, after some time away from the French rap scene, James made his solo album debut with Si C'était à Refaire, a Top Five hit on the French albums chart. Born Alix Mathurin on December 28, 1977, in Les Abymes, Guadeloupe, West Indies, he was raised in Orly, a suburb of Paris. He began rapping in 1989 and made his recording debut a couple years later with a guest feature on "Raggajam," a song on MC Solaar's classic debut album, Qui Sème le Vent Récolte le Tempo (1991). Shortly thereafter James founded the rap duo Idéal Junior with DJ Mehdi, and they released the 12" single "La Vie Est Brutale" (1992) on the French dance label On the Beat. Shortening their billing to simply Idéal J, the duo released two full-length albums in subsequent years, O'riginal MC's Sur une Mission (1996) and Le Combat Continue (1998). Released on Barclay, a subsidiary of Universal, Le Combat Continue is a classic French rap album, featuring the hit single "Hardcore." Around this same time, James was featured as a member of the group Mafia K'1 Fry on the album Légendaire (1998). The violent death of a close friend in 1999 convinced James to give his rap career a rest, however. A couple years later he returned with his solo album debut, Si C'était à Refaire, his first of a series of major-label releases on Warner. Marking a substantial change in direction for James, the album was self-produced, largely autobiographical, and more positive-minded than his past work, which had been "hardcore." Si C'était à Refaire was also a huge success, breaking into the Top Five of the French albums chart and spawning the hit single "Y'a Pas d'Couleur." Firmly established as a French rap star after the success of his solo debut, James reunited with Mafia K'1 Fry for the album La Cerise Sur le Ghetto (2003) and released a double-disc various-artists charity album, Kery James Presente Savoir & Vivre Ensemble (2004). His second solo album, Ma Vérité (2005), was another blockbuster, charting within the Top Five of the French albums chart. The follow-up album, À l'Ombre du Show Business (2008), was similarly popular, peaking at number three on the albums chart. ~ Jason Birchmeier, Rovi
Do you have the Spotify app? | <urn:uuid:d598f401-2b4b-4aa1-a0ea-d800e504a175> | https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ydAcIK2KdpBIbL0yGFJle | en | 0.947842 | 0.024943 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Your Agency Hates You and You Don't Even Know It
Former Heineken CMO Offers Five Tips For Becoming A Better Client
By Published on .
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We've all been there. You have briefed your agency, waited for what seems like forever, and finally it is the day when you will see this amazing work that will propel your brand to greatness. What follows is a big blur and the next thing you know, you are saying in not so many words, "All of this is crap, go back and give me some more ideas."
No matter how charming you are and how nicely you said it ... I can pretty much guarantee they hate you. And by the way, it's probably your fault, not theirs.
I have been fascinated over the years to watch my agency partners do a fantastic job of appearing to like someone on my team that they really, really don't like. It's their job. And it's not hard to see why. Their job is to make work. So they need to find a way to get to the finish line. Thus, the great coverup. I have known people who quit the whole industry over one person.
One person. Please, make sure that person isn't you.
So like in a good poker game, you are looking for tells, and sometimes you are going to have to look hard. I am a firm believer in the fact that everyone who interacts with you is assessing you and what you will buy. And like buying a pair of shoes, they are thinking about whether you are a sensible loafer girl or a Converse girl, and their work will reflect it.
This is hard. Really hard. So while I'll never be sure that my agencies don't secretly hate me (I have worked with some really good poker players), here is what I have learned that I think has helped make me a better client.
1. Tell your shop your problems
You have asked for their help for a reason, so why would you pretend you know the answer? They are problem solvers. And creative problem solvers, which you probably are not. In my experience, many brand people feel they are failing if they don't have all the answers. In the boardroom you need to look like you know your shit. But with your agency team, you should be honest. And what the heck, why not be totally crazy and actually ask what they think?
2. Let your shop help you define the brief
You know that no matter what you give the agency, it changes when the the creative team is briefed, right? So don't worry about the template, the boxes and all the window dressing. Just get to the seven to 10 words that the creative team is going to create from. Sometimes a creative brief is right on strategy but not going to net good ideas. Look the creatives in the eye like you're Larry David and make sure they actually like it. The brief for the now famous "Gorilla" ad for Cadbury chocolate (which grew the business by 8%, by the way) was "Make me feel how I do when I'm eating Cadbury chocolate." And it wasn't even on paper.
3. Get to know your creatives personally
Let's admit it: Creatives are way cooler than we are. They can wear shorts to a creative presentation. They probably are part owners of a craft brewing company. You live in the suburbs and take your kid to soccer practice. Don't tell me that doesn't play into the dynamic of not wanting to tell the cool kids who never talked to you in high school that you don't like their idea. I absolutely love interacting with creatives. I find them genuine, funny and super talented at something I could never do. If you can get past being intimidated, you might find the same.
4. Tell them what you actually think in the meeting
Make sure you find a way to give creatives clear direction. I repeat: Clear direction. This means pick a couple of horses early in the race and don't make them go back and work on everything. Figure out if there is a grain of a good idea that may have been executed wrong. If you don't have this intuitive sense yourself (you may not -- that's why we don't work at agencies), find someone on your team who does and listen to them. I have several times been in a situation where the most junior person liked an execution that no one else did, and it ended up being the winner.
Oh, and for God's sakes, give them your gut reaction. React, laugh, grimace, anything. Do not give them a prepared polite response. If you say "I loved No. 3, hated No. 2 and think No. 1 has potential, they will come over and kiss you. If you don't know, say it and say why. Someone once told me the best clients are the ones who, if you walk into the room, you wouldn't know who was the agency and who was the client. Strive for that.
5. Pick your battles
Once when I started a new assignment, I learned that one of the media plans had 45 changes made to it within the previous six months. Another agency partner told me that someone on my team sent the agency back 40 times for a few lines of copy for a Facebook post. Forty times. Probably enough to quit the whole industry, right?
One last piece of advice: Enjoy it. You have the best job in the world, even if you don't get to wear shorts to work. You are actually part of creating something. And that's pretty cool.
Most Popular | <urn:uuid:0315ff1c-922c-45bb-af39-24a4081cb6b5> | http://adage.com/article/viewpoint-editorial/agency-hates/299532/ | en | 0.979879 | 0.11556 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Red Hat
So what's happening with Seam?
Posted by | | Tagged as CDI Seam
28 Sept 2011: Update
We'd like to thank everyone for their comments - on twitter, on IRC and in the comments section. There have been some excellent concerns raised, and, believe it or not, those same reasons are at the heart of why we want to make the changes we discussed here. We have exactly the same concerns the community has raised.
We would like to reassure everyone on a few points:
• We are convinced that one of things that drove people to adopt Seam 1 and Seam 2 was strong focus on how to build real applications. We are well aware that Seam 3 hasn't offered that and we want to focus on providing that
• We still believe in portability and standards, and we want to take the knowledge we have about building portable standards and applications out of the Seam silo, and to the rest of the Java EE ecosystem. We will continue to standardise APIs and ideas that we believe are necessary
• That we love the Seam community and their passion and that we want bring this community into the heart of the Java EE community, where it belongs
• We will ensure that apps built using Seam 3.x will continue to run. We will continue to support anyone who wants to build a CDI extension
However we made a mistake. We told you about the outcome we think is the right way to address this. We didn't tell you why we want to do it, or how it supports these goals. We don't want to jump right in with a half-baked position right now, and make that mistake again. So we ask that you give us the benefit of the doubt, and trust that we do have the community's best interests at heart, and watch this space for the whole picture over the next couple of days.
I'd like to take a few moments to update everyone on what is happening within the Seam project, and to clear up a few rumours that have started to float around before they start to balloon out of control (how do these things start up anyway???). As some of you might know, we recently held a JBoss face to face meeting in Toronto, Canada where besides consuming vast amounts of alcohol and staying up into the wee hours of the night coding and talking about important stuff like politics and humorous YouTube videos, we actually made a number of important decisions about the direction and focus of the Seam project as a whole.
Over the years, Seam has evolved by quite a substantial amount - if you were to ask the core team members for an executive summary of what Seam was, then the answer would have changed every year. In the very beginning, Seam was intended to solve some of the shortcomings of developing applications with JSF and EJB (and unfortunately this is the impression that has stuck with many people, even until now). It quickly grew into a powerful DI component framework, and more and more features have been added over time. It has spawned quite a number of innovations and sister projects - CDI, Weld and Arquillian to name a few. I'm also pleased to say that Seam is successfully powering many, many production web sites and rich internet applications today.
So, that brings us to the present. In the latter part of 2011, what is Seam's focus, and what goals does it set out to achieve? Well, let's start by looking at the goals it has already achieved. The core features of Seam - dependency injection, contextual component model, event bus, interceptors, i.e. the frameworky stuff has all been standardised as JSR-299 (CDI). Since this is now all part of the Java EE specification, and comes as standard in any compliant Java EE6 container, we now have a fantastic foundation to build on. However, it is just a foundation - as an experienced home renovator I know that the foundation is the most important part of building a structure, however having a foundation alone doesn't give you a place to live - you still need to build a house on top of it.
That's where Seam comes in. It helps you, the developer, by providing the tools and materials necessary to build a house on top of the CDI-based foundation. It does this by integrating various useful libraries - libraries that are important for everyday application development - with the CDI component model so that you can write one kind of stuff, to coin a phrase that Gavin came up with quite some time ago.
But wasn't this already the goal of Seam 3?
Well yes, yes it was. But we've recently come to the conclusion that the Seam project shouldn't be a destination, it should be a journey. Ooh, so Zen!!...but what does this mean? Well, let me explain - Seam's goal is all about supporting the CDI ecosystem, and promoting CDI Everywhere. Why? Because, if we're all building our tools and libraries on the same standards-based component model, then we're all going to be much more productive when it comes to developing our rich internet applications. So, in light of this goal it doesn't make sense for Seam to be gathering crops - rather it should be planting seeds. In other words, there are many modules currently in Seam that we think would make better sense if they were situated somewhere more closer to home, so to speak.
Let's take a look at a concrete example - the Seam Persistence module. This module provides an extension-managed persistence context, useful for when your project needs to inject an EntityManager into a POJO bean, or if your persistence context needs to last longer than a single request. These are features that we consider to be essential for day to day application development. But in light of the goal of strengthening the CDI ecosystem, do these features really belong in Seam? At JBoss we have another well known project which deals with EntityManagers and persistence contexts and other databasey-related stuff - perhaps you've even heard of it (I'll give you a clue, it starts with H).
So instead of Seam trying to capture all of the CDI extensions in one place, like Pokemon, we should be trying to propagate them throughout the greater developer community instead. To that end, our focus is going to shift somewhat, and we've already made some concrete plans towards achieving that goal. Here's a few of the changes that we're proposing:
• Seam Persistence - Move into the Hibernate core project, re-brand as Hibernate CDI
• Seam Validation - Move into Hibernate Validator, make CDI support part of the core offering
• Seam Wicket - Moving into the Wicket project itself, this is already in motion
• Seam REST - Moving into the RESTEasy project
• Seam Faces - Moving into RichFaces as a standalone Faces CDI integration library
As a part of the Seam community, you may have concerns that these changes might fracture the Seam project, or the community itself. I'd like to address this concern up front, and say that what we want to achieve is the exact opposite of this. Our aim is to broaden the existing community, by working closer with other projects to achieve a common goal. The current module leads will stay the same, however they will be working together with the other project leads to deliver native CDI support directly from their project. The end of result of this can only be a positive gain, as projects take more ownership of their own CDI integration, and work more closely with the Seam developer community to leverage the experience we have at building CDI extensions.
Seam's role in this new world
So while some modules may graduate from Seam to become part of the broader CDI ecosystem, there are still many features that are unique to Seam itself. These modules will remain within the Seam project for the foreseeable future, and Seam will continue to be an incubator for innovative development solutions and ideas. We still have much work to do, and many ideas on how we can provide new value-added features to Seam for our users.
So will there still be Seam releases?
We are planning on our next bundled release (3.1) to be our last. Note I said bundled - this release is basically a big zip file that contains the latest versions of all our modules. With our new focus, the bundled release just doesn't make a whole lot of sense any more. What we will continue to do however, is release each Seam module whenever it has received enough bug fixes and feature updates to warrant a brand new release.
From what I have heard personally, most of our developers are using Maven for dependency management anyway and so this change isn't going to make an iota of difference to them.
In Summary
So to sum up, Seam is not going away, rather its new goal is to unite the CDI developer community, and it will continue to foster innovation and encourage new ideas and improvements. If you have any questions or concerns about this, I look forward to addressing them in the comment section below.
back to top | <urn:uuid:e82610b4-121c-477c-876b-937bceae0cf5> | http://in.relation.to/2011/09/27/so-whats-happening-with-seam/ | en | 0.965543 | 0.023769 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
5 Ways to Deal with an Intimacy-Phobic PersonHave you ever met someone and got along famously, only to have them back off suddenly? Perhaps you reacted by ignoring them when they finally tried to get in touch a few weeks later, and now, ages later, are still wondering what happened.
Seen as a social or anxiety disorder, fear of intimacy often results in a person blowing hot then cold, or doing the occasional disappearing act, which can be terribly frustrating for others. But it’s also terribly frustrating for the person who is intimacy-phobic and does want your friendship but sabotages it despite themselves. The very nature of this anxiety disorder makes it difficult for them to explain what’s going on.
All that an intimacy-phobic person requires is a bit of patience and understanding. Here are 5 ways to deal with an “intimacy phobe” the next time you encounter one.
1. Be patient with their disappearing act but don’t try the same tactic in return.
Intimacy-phobics are prone to suddenly pulling back just at the point a person who is comfortable with intimacy leans in. If you’ve just spent a weekend away with a new friend and thought it went well, but they take ages to get back to your texts and emails, it could be that they are overwhelmed and taking time out to recover.
Don’t pressure the intimacy-wary person for a response, nor decide to disappear yourself in a sort of ‘revenge’ tactic. The two main fears of an intimacy-phobic sort, usually stemming from childhood trauma, are being abandoned or being ‘engulfed,’ losing themselves to someone else’s needs. If they feel they’ve had too much one-on-one time and back off a little, and you then abandon them, you’re fairly likely to scare them off for good.
You don’t have to accept being treated in a way that you don’t like or measure all your responses to please them, which would just be codependent and unhealthy for either of you. It’s more about being honest but staying available. Why not ask them if they are needing some time to themselves, and give them a chance to respond? Let them know that you are available when they are feeling more themselves and that next time it would be easier on you if they told you what they were doing.
2. Don’t let them hide behind questions.
Intimacy-phobics can be experts at asking just the right questions to keep you talking about yourself. That way they don’t have to ever talk about themselves and can avoid uncomfortable subjects. They can give you such focused attention that you walk away feeling great and thinking it was a good conversation, not realizing that your friend didn’t share anything in return.
Be conscious that you also ask the intimacy-phobic person questions about themselves. Even if they deflect and try to bring the conversation back to you, gently ask again. And let them take their time responding as they might be awkward or uncomfortable talking about themselves at first.
3. Encourage them to be imperfect.
If someone appears well put together and strong, then nobody bothers looking deeply at them and seeing their vulnerability and flaws. A person who is afraid of intimacy is actually more than anything afraid of being judged, even as they usually are their own harshest critics.
Don’t be afraid of or tricked by their perfect front. Look past it. Then let them know you don’t need them to be perfect or even want them to be. Demonstrate a good example by being gloriously comfortable with your own imperfections.
4. Look beyond their strong opinions.
Intimacy-phobic people are often prone to making strong statements or even rude jokes before they can stop themselves. It’s an unconscious tactic to scare people away, and a lot of the time, it’s not even what they really mean or feel. Their real selves will be the one where they are feeling relaxed, when they might even present totally opposite opinions.
If they say something you find untoward, don’t be afraid to call them on it when they are in a more centered frame of mind. Ask if they really feel that way, and give them time to respond. And look to their actions over their words. Point it out to them if what they do contradicts what they say, and show appreciation for the actions they take that are generous of spirit.
5. Teach them that nothing is certain, but things are worth it anyway.
A person who shies away from close connection has at some point in their life decided that it’s better to avoid getting close to others then suffer a relationship going sour and resulting in hurt. The secret of dealing with the intimacy-phobic person is never to over-promise anything, but to point out that the positive rewards of a good relationship are worth the risk. Being close to someone, learning to trust, and having support when we need it are worth the chance we might upset them or lose them. In fact good, intimate relationships are linked to better health and better careers, too, as we tend to feel better about ourselves and our capabilities. | <urn:uuid:b16e487e-f271-4f57-9546-43136c36b570> | http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2014/03/11/5-ways-to-deal-with-an-intimacy-phobic-person/ | en | 0.972336 | 0.072404 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Jarkko Hietaniemi > perl-5.8.0 > Unicode::Collate
Annotate this POD
Module Version: 0.12 Source Latest Release: perl-5.8.1
Unicode::Collate - Unicode Collation Algorithm
use Unicode::Collate;
Constructor and Tailoring
The new method returns a collator object.
$Collator = Unicode::Collate->new(
alternate => $alternate,
backwards => $levelNumber, # or \@levelNumbers
entry => $element,
normalization => $normalization_form,
ignoreName => qr/$ignoreName/,
ignoreChar => qr/$ignoreChar/,
katakana_before_hiragana => $bool,
level => $collationLevel,
overrideCJK => \&overrideCJK,
overrideHangul => \&overrideHangul,
preprocess => \&preprocess,
rearrange => \@charList,
table => $filename,
undefName => qr/$undefName/,
undefChar => qr/$undefChar/,
upper_before_lower => $bool,
# if %tailoring is false (i.e. empty),
# $Collator should do the default collation.
-- see 3.2.2 Alternate Weighting, UTR #10.
This key allows to alternate weighting for variable collation elements, which are marked with an ASTERISK in the table (NOTE: Many punction marks and symbols are variable in allkeys.txt).
alternate => 'blanked', 'non-ignorable', 'shifted', or 'shift-trimmed'.
These names are case-insensitive. By default (if specification is omitted), 'shifted' is adopted.
'Blanked' Variable elements are ignorable at levels 1 through 3;
considered at the 4th level.
'Non-ignorable' Variable elements are not reset to ignorable.
'Shifted' Variable elements are ignorable at levels 1 through 3
their level 4 weight is replaced by the old level 1 weight.
Level 4 weight for Non-Variable elements is 0xFFFF.
'Shift-Trimmed' Same as 'shifted', but all FFFF's at the 4th level
are trimmed.
-- see 3.1.2 French Accents, UTR #10.
backwards => $levelNumber or \@levelNumbers
Weights in reverse order; ex. level 2 (diacritic ordering) in French. If omitted, forwards at all the levels.
-- see 3.1 Linguistic Features; 3.2.1 File Format, UTR #10.
Overrides a default order or defines additional collation elements
entry => <<'ENTRIES', # use the UCA file format
00E6 ; [.0861.0020.0002.00E6] [.08B1.0020.0002.00E6] # ligature <ae> as <a><e>
0063 0068 ; [.0893.0020.0002.0063] # "ch" in traditional Spanish
0043 0068 ; [.0893.0020.0008.0043] # "Ch" in traditional Spanish
-- see Completely Ignorable, 3.2.2 Alternate Weighting, UTR #10.
Makes the entry in the table ignorable. If a collation element is ignorable, it is ignored as if the element had been deleted from there.
E.g. when 'a' and 'e' are ignorable, 'element' is equal to 'lament' (or 'lmnt').
-- see 4.3 Form a sort key for each string, UTR #10.
Set the maximum level. Any higher levels than the specified one are ignored.
Level 1: alphabetic ordering
Level 2: diacritic ordering
Level 3: case ordering
Level 4: tie-breaking (e.g. in the case when alternate is 'shifted')
ex.level => 2,
If omitted, the maximum is the 4th.
-- see 4.1 Normalize each input string, UTR #10.
If specified, strings are normalized before preparation of sort keys (the normalization is executed after preprocess).
As a form name, one of the following names must be used.
'C' or 'NFC' for Normalization Form C
'D' or 'NFD' for Normalization Form D
'KC' or 'NFKC' for Normalization Form KC
'KD' or 'NFKD' for Normalization Form KD
If omitted, the string is put into Normalization Form D.
If undef is passed explicitly as the value for this key, any normalization is not carried out (this may make tailoring easier if any normalization is not desired).
-- see 7.1 Derived Collation Elements, UTR #10.
By default, mapping of CJK Unified Ideographs uses the Unicode codepoint order. But the mapping of CJK Unified Ideographs may be overrided.
ex. CJK Unified Ideographs in the JIS code point order.
overrideCJK => sub {
my $u = shift; # get a Unicode codepoint
my $b = pack('n', $u); # to UTF-16BE
my $s = your_unicode_to_sjis_converter($b); # convert
my $n = unpack('n', $s); # convert sjis to short
[ $n, 0x20, 0x2, $u ]; # return the collation element
ex. ignores all CJK Unified Ideographs.
overrideCJK => sub {()}, # CODEREF returning empty list
# where ->eq("Pe\x{4E00}rl", "Perl") is true
# as U+4E00 is a CJK Unified Ideograph and to be ignorable.
If undef is passed explicitly as the value for this key, weights for CJK Unified Ideographs are treated as undefined. But assignment of weight for CJK Unified Ideographs in table or entry is still valid.
-- see 7.1 Derived Collation Elements, UTR #10.
By default, Hangul Syllables are decomposed into Hangul Jamo. But the mapping of Hangul Syllables may be overrided.
This tag works like overrideCJK, so see there for examples.
If you want to override the mapping of Hangul Syllables, the Normalization Forms D and KD are not appropriate (they will be decomposed before overriding).
If undef is passed explicitly as the value for this key, weight for Hangul Syllables is treated as undefined without decomposition into Hangul Jamo. But definition of weight for Hangul Syllables in table or entry is still valid.
-- see 5.1 Preprocessing, UTR #10.
If specified, the coderef is used to preprocess before the formation of sort keys.
ex. dropping English articles, such as "a" or "the". Then, "the pen" is before "a pencil".
preprocess => sub {
my $str = shift;
$str =~ s/\b(?:an?|the)\s+//gi;
-- see 3.1.3 Rearrangement, UTR #10.
Characters that are not coded in logical order and to be rearranged. By default,
rearrange => [ 0x0E40..0x0E44, 0x0EC0..0x0EC4 ],
If you want to disallow any rearrangement, pass undef or [] (a reference to an empty list) as the value for this key.
-- see 3.2 Default Unicode Collation Element Table, UTR #10.
You can use another element table if desired. The table file must be in your lib/Unicode/Collate directory.
By default, the file lib/Unicode/Collate/allkeys.txt is used.
If undef is passed explicitly as the value for this key, no file is read (but you can define collation elements via entry).
A typical way to define a collation element table without any file of table:
$onlyABC = Unicode::Collate->new(
table => undef,
entry => << 'ENTRIES',
0061 ; [.0101.0020.0002.0061] # LATIN SMALL LETTER A
0041 ; [.0101.0020.0008.0041] # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A
0062 ; [.0102.0020.0002.0062] # LATIN SMALL LETTER B
0042 ; [.0102.0020.0008.0042] # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER B
0063 ; [.0103.0020.0002.0063] # LATIN SMALL LETTER C
0043 ; [.0103.0020.0008.0043] # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C
-- see 6.3.4 Reducing the Repertoire, UTR #10.
Undefines the collation element as if it were unassigned in the table. This reduces the size of the table. If an unassigned character appears in the string to be collated, the sort key is made from its codepoint as a single-character collation element, as it is greater than any other assigned collation elements (in the codepoint order among the unassigned characters). But, it'd be better to ignore characters unfamiliar to you and maybe never used.
-- see 6.6 Case Comparisons; 7.3.1 Tertiary Weight Table, UTR #10.
By default, lowercase is before uppercase and hiragana is before katakana.
If the tag is made true, this is reversed.
NOTE: These tags simplemindedly assume any lowercase/uppercase or hiragana/katakana distinctions should occur in level 3, and their weights at level 3 should be same as those mentioned in 7.3.1, UTR #10. If you define your collation elements which violates this, these tags doesn't work validly.
Methods for Collation
@sorted = $Collator->sort(@not_sorted)
Sorts a list of strings.
Returns 1 (when $a is greater than $b) or 0 (when $a is equal to $b) or -1 (when $a is lesser than $b).
$result = $Collator->ne($a, $b)
$result = $Collator->lt($a, $b)
$result = $Collator->le($a, $b)
$result = $Collator->gt($a, $b)
$result = $Collator->ge($a, $b)
They works like the same name operators as theirs.
eq : whether $a is equal to $b.
ne : whether $a is not equal to $b.
lt : whether $a is lesser than $b.
le : whether $a is lesser than $b or equal to $b.
gt : whether $a is greater than $b.
ge : whether $a is greater than $b or equal to $b.
$sortKey = $Collator->getSortKey($string)
Returns a sort key.
You compare the sort keys using a binary comparison and get the result of the comparison of the strings using UCA.
$Collator->getSortKey($a) cmp $Collator->getSortKey($b)
is equivalent to
$Collator->cmp($a, $b)
$sortKeyForm = $Collator->viewSortKey($string)
Returns a string formalized to display a sort key. Weights are enclosed with '[' and ']' and level boundaries are denoted by '|'.
use Unicode::Collate;
my $c = Unicode::Collate->new();
print $c->viewSortKey("Perl"),"\n";
# output:
# [09B3 08B1 09CB 094F|0020 0020 0020 0020|0008 0002 0002 0002|FFFF FFFF FFFF FFFF]
# Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
$position = $Collator->index($string, $substring)
($position, $length) = $Collator->index($string, $substring)
-- see 6.8 Searching, UTR #10.
If $substring matches a part of $string, returns the position of the first occurrence of the matching part in scalar context; in list context, returns a two-element list of the position and the length of the matching part.
Notice that the length of the matching part may differ from the length of $substring.
Note that the position and the length are counted on the string after the process of preprocess, normalization, and rearrangement. Therefore, in case the specified string is not binary equal to the preprocessed/normalized/rearranged string, the position and the length may differ form those on the specified string. But it is guaranteed that, if matched, it returns a non-negative value as $position.
If $substring does not match any part of $string, returns -1 in scalar context and an empty list in list context.
e.g. you say
my $Collator = Unicode::Collate->new( normalization => undef, level => 1 );
my $str = "Ich mu\x{00DF} studieren.";
my $sub = "m\x{00FC}ss";
my $match;
if (my($pos,$len) = $Collator->index($str, $sub)) {
$match = substr($str, $pos, $len);
and get "mu\x{00DF}" in $match since "muß" is primary equal to "müss".
Other Methods
Returns the version number of Unicode Technical Standard 10 this module consults.
Returns the version number of the Unicode Standard this module is based on.
None by default.
Unicode::Collate has not been ported to EBCDIC. The code mostly would work just fine but a decision needs to be made: how the module should work in EBCDIC? Should the low 256 characters be understood as Unicode or as EBCDIC code points? Should one be chosen or should there be a way to do either? Or should such translation be left outside the module for the user to do, for example by using Encode::from_to()? (or utf8::unicode_to_native()/utf8::native_to_unicode()?)
Use of the normalization parameter requires the Unicode::Normalize module.
If you need not it (say, in the case when you need not handle any combining characters), assign normalization => undef explicitly.
-- see 6.5 Avoiding Normalization, UTR #10.
index() is an experimental method and its return value may be unreliable. The correct implementation for index() must be based on Locale-Sensitive Support: Level 3 in UTR #18, Unicode Regular Expression Guidelines.
See also 4.2 Locale-Dependent Graphemes in UTR #18.
SADAHIRO Tomoyuki, <SADAHIRO@cpan.org>
Copyright(C) 2001-2002, SADAHIRO Tomoyuki. Japan. All rights reserved.
This library is free software; you can redistribute it
Unicode Collation Algorithm - UTR #10
The Default Unicode Collation Element Table
Unicode Normalization Forms - UAX #15
Unicode Regular Expression Guidelines - UTR #18
syntax highlighting: | <urn:uuid:fcea749c-1ce3-4be0-99f3-66f5125f94f9> | http://search.cpan.org/~jhi/perl-5.8.0/lib/Unicode/Collate.pm | en | 0.7404 | 0.090896 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Mary Kate and Ashley : Our Lips are Sealed
Written by Eliza Willard
Reviewed by Morgan R (age 9)
Mary Kate and Ashley are getting hot dogs after school. They see this man stealing a jewel from a museum. They turned the man in. The next day the girls have to go to court to talk to the Judge! They told the Judge that the man stole the jewel. The Judge sentenced the man to twenty years in jail. The man told Mary Kate and Ashley that he would hunt them down and make them pay. Mary Kate and Ashley had to move to Miami, Chicago, New York, Wichita, Albuquerque, Boston, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Annapolis, Saginaw, Ho Ho Kus, and Tallahassee. They moved to Australia. They love it in Australia. They have friends there. The trouble is the jewel thieve tracked them there. They want revenge. If you want to find out what happened to Mary Kate and Ashley and the jewel thieves you will have to read the book.
My favorite part is when Mary Kate and Ashley are fighting over the shower on the first day of school. Mary Kate tricked Ashley to look for Brad Pitt and then slammed the door on her and locked it. That seemed like something that would happen at my house. My sister and I fight just like Mary Kate and Ashley. The neat thing about this book is the fact that Mary Kate and Ashley can fight with each other and still be close friends. My sister and I fight and we are close friends also. This book reminds my of the book "Almost Twins" because both books take place at the beach. If I could go on vacation I would want to go to a beach and see surfers.
The unique thing about the book is that the girls liked kids who were popular and unpopular. Just like Mary Kate and Ashley, I try to be friends with everyone too.
I think the book is really good. It seems like they fight a lot and my sister and I fight a lot too.
I would recommend this book to kids from second grade to sixth grade. I think if you like mystery stories you will like this book. Everytime they move, it's kind of interesting! HOPE YOU READ THE BOOK!
Morgan R is a student in Sr. Janet's 4th Grade Class | <urn:uuid:52c70245-9110-4b2d-ad92-c32710a09877> | http://spaghettibookclub.org/review.php?review_id=8461 | en | 0.968861 | 0.019447 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Kono Minikuku mo Utsukushii Sekai episode 7
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Kono Minikuku mo Utsukushii Sekai episode 7
Postby angelx03 » Mon May 17, 2004 2:22 am
Of course in the second half of the episode, we got some really kickass action scenes and a good amount of plot and character developments (especially from the "evil" Hikari :twisted: ).
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Postby Calim » Mon May 17, 2004 6:09 am
I don't know if you'd say some character development from the evil Hikari but definitly some plot and definitly some character development from the good one.
What I want to know is what the heck is going on why is the evil Hikari doing this and why is she targeting her good self. Again is she really evil or is she simply clever?
FUNimation Kills my innerchild
Shippo is the PIMP of all foxes ^^.
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Postby Kracus » Mon May 17, 2004 5:43 pm
Very interesting. Especially the difference between Hikari and Akari. Hikari in both states doesn't seem to care about the monster. Yet Akari does.
Ryou's powers are still a bit vague. I'm not even sure if that was wind he was using or something else or what exactly it did.
But Hikari's 'lighter' state, yea no development. Her motives if anything are like that of Kamui. There isn't an evil side, just fulfillment of wishes. She picked up on what Takeru was saying and was forcing it out of him. Like with the destruction of the school. The things she does brings out a good nature out of everyone who is affected. Think about it, after this episode he kissed her or was willing. Knows he wants to protect her. The school destruction just brought everyone together and helped Hikari understand as well. The first episode, allowed Takeru to protect her. And it isn't shown that Hikari actually destroys that monster. Who knows what happened. Alot of mystery.
The monsters though are still a puzzle.
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Issue 23 Fruits Fall 2006
Sweet Tart: An Interview with Adam Leith Gollner
Sina Najafi and Adam Leith Gollner
As the name suggests, the red berry of the West African miracle fruit (Sideroxylon dulcificum) has one astonishing property: all sour things eaten afterwards taste sweet. In the early 1970s, two American entrepreneurs set out to isolate its active ingredient and use it as the basis for a range of food products. If they had succeeded, the US would today be inundated with miracle fruit candy, popsicles, and chewing gum, and perhaps obesity would not be the medical issue that it is. But in 1974, under rather strange circumstances, the FDA banned miracle fruit and all its derivative products. Adam Leith Gollner’s forthcoming book on what he calls the “fruit underworld” examines the short, unhappy life of miracle fruit in the US. Sina Najafi spoke to him by phone.
How did Westerners first become aware of miracle fruit?
It was first come across by a French explorer called Des Marchais in 1725 on the Gold Coast of Africa. He noted how various tribes were popping miracle fruit berries before they would eat their traditional foods—kankies (cornbread), pitto (palm wine), and guddoe (oatmeal gruel). He tried some and noticed that the berries made these sour foods sweet. The encounter is written about in his journals and in Jean-Baptiste Labat’s Voyage du Chevalier Des Marchais en Guineé, isles voisines, et à Cayenne (1731). And then Dr. W. F. Daniel, a British surgeon stationed in West Africa, described it as the “miraculous” berry in 1852 in a periodical called The Pharmaceutical Journal. After him, several other people investigated miracle fruit, notably a plant explorer named David Fairchild who was one of the first people hired by the US Department of Agriculture to travel overseas and find out what the rest of the world had in terms of fruits and other plants that were useful and could be grown in the US. He brought miracle fruit from West Africa to a USDA agricultural station in Puerto Rico, where it was grown, though not on a large scale. Nothing much happened until the late 1960s, when some entrepreneurs came across it and realized there was enormous potential in this fruit and started doing studies to figure out how to bring it to market.
Do other regions in the world, for example Europe, import or grow the fruit?
There are miracle fruit cafes in Japan where you can have the fruit followed by sodas, ice creams, and desserts that actually aren’t sweet. Miracle fruit grows in tropical and subtropical regions all over the world, but it isn’t really available on a wide scale anywhere besides tropical Africa, where it grows wild. It’s a fair-sized bush, and you pluck the little berry off and pop it in your mouth. There is not a lot of flesh to it, but there is a pleasant squirt of juice that coats your tongue and deactivates all your acid taste buds, so you can only taste the sweet things in foods. You can eat a lemon, and it tastes delicious. If something has no acidity in it, though, it won’t become sweeter. For example, it doesn’t really do much to coffee. The effect lasts about an hour and a half and it doesn’t matter if you have one berry or a thousand—the effect is the same.
Given the berry’s astonishing effect, it’s surprising that Fairchild or his successors didn’t pursue it further.
A whole bunch of people, including the US Army, private researchers, and major chemical corporations, were doing experiments with it. The problem is that miracle fruit doesn’t have a long shelf-life; the berry, once plucked, only lasts for a couple of days. And it has a complicated molecular structure which doesn’t lend itself easily to synthesis. In 1968, two young entrepreneurs—Robert Harvey and Don Emery—pulled money together from a variety of investors, set up a company called Miralin, and started doing a very disciplined series of tests. They figured out a way to isolate the active ingredient, which is a glycoprotein, and turn it into a powder, which they called miraculin. The main visionary was Harvey, a young biomedical engineer who had made a lot of money by inventing a number of unusual contrivances, such as a nuclear-powered artificial heart. He came across this fruit and sunk some of his own money into it, and, because of his earlier successes, was able to rally other investors behind the idea. Soon enough, he had raised close to 10 million dollars to focus on figuring out how the fruit works and creating all sorts of products incorporating miraculin. Their FDA approval was pending but by 1973, they had huge plantations up and running in Jamaica, Brazil, Florida, and parts of Africa, and they started creating this marvelous suite of miracle fruit products. They had, for example, popsicles coated with miraculin. The first couple of licks covered the tongue, and then the rest of the popsicle tasted really sweet although there was no sugar in it.
Is the sweetness any different from that of sugar?
It is absolutely different. It isn’t like sugar, because it isn’t exactly a sweetener. It’s an elusive, illusory effect that depends on what you eat afterwards. With lemons, it has a kind of deep sweetness.
But it seems not to be an acquired taste if a young kid could enjoy it immediately.
It is a complex taste but instantly accessible; in Miralin’s market research, children preferred miracle fruit popsicles to traditional ones. Miralin also created a chewing gum; the sugar in regular gum dissipates after ten or fifteen minutes, but miracle fruit gum stayed sweet for over an hour and a half. They had miracle fruit mints, salad dressing, desserts, chewable tablets. They even had a soft drink with miracle fruit in the straw, so that the first sip would contain miraculin and make the rest of the soda taste sweet. They had an entire marketing campaign, a miracle fruit juggernaut.
Presumably diabetics were also part of the target audience.
It was greeted with open arms by diabetics in the 70s. Miralin placed ads in diabetes periodicals and offered free samples to diabetics. They scored an enormous success rate; 85% of people who received the free samples wanted to order more. This was all while Miralin was waiting for FDA approval. Incidentally, the fruit is still used in Florida by chemotherapy patients. It removes the metallic taste caused by cancer medications, and helps patients eat food that would otherwise be unpalatable.
So Miralin had millions of dollars of products ready to go, and they’d launched their advertising campaigns. At about this point, major corporations like Lifesavers and Gillette started approaching the company and offering eight-figure deals for a controlling interest, but Harvey and Emery decided to turn down all these offers. They had already been assured several times by the FDA that they would be granted approval and they were pretty confident that they were going to be making billions of dollars.
Alongside interest from huge multinationals, the sweetening industry was playing close attention, and they weren’t very happy about this new threat. The late 60s and early 70s were the glory days of artificial sweeteners: Aspartame, cyclomates, and saccharin were all introduced at around this time. Some artificial sweeteners had been banned because tests had shown that they caused cancer in lab rats. Saccharin was sold until recently with fine print saying it causes cancer. Because of health uncertainties, there was a long vetting process for any new sweeteners. In 1958, the FDA had introduced measures for protecting new foods and drugs called the GRAS system: Generally Regarded As Safe. Things eaten before 1958 that hadn’t caused any notable problems, for example sugar and salt, were automatically GRAS. New substances, however, needed to be accepted by the FDA. Even so, it can take decades for hazardous effects to become noticeable, as we saw recently with Vioxx.
The FDA had approved some sweeteners without due process, and after the cancer studies, there was a lot of heat on the FDA regarding new sugar substitutes. That is very important in light of the decision that was subsequently made banning miracle fruit. You also have to bear in mind that the sugar industry itself was immensely powerful, and has been since the early days of capitalism. So you have these very powerful special interests—sugar going toe-to-toe with artificial sweeteners—but then out of the rubble comes this little African berry with none of the side effects of sugar or artificial sweeteners. The mere thought of it incurred the wrath of these billionaire corporations. Just to give you an indication of the level of power of these artificial sweeteners; Donald Rumsfeld was the CEO of Searle, the company that manufactured Aspartame. And these people do not want anything dipping into their profits. So just as Miralin’s products are about to become available to the public, a number of mysterious events start to take place in the middle of the night, in their headquarters in Hudson, Massachusetts, and in Jamaica, where their major plantation was. One night in Hudson, Harvey and Emery got into a high-speed car chase. On another occasion, men in sunglasses jumped out of cars and snapped cameras in their faces to intimidate them. And coming back to work after dinner one night, Harvey and Emery noticed two men sitting in a car in the parking lot across from their warehouse. As they went up into their offices, they saw someone dash out their back door, get into the car in the parking lot, and speed off into the night. Whoever it was had rifled through their files and stolen some documents. This is in the weeks leading up to the product’s commercial release.
And then came the letter from Sam Fine at the FDA dated 19 September 1974 telling them miracle fruit was not approved and was not allowed to be sold in any form whatsoever, from the berries to the powder to the popsicles to the chewing gum. The letter didn’t provide any reasons, stating simply that further testing was required, which it hinted would last a minimum of three more years and cost millions more. All the investors at this point panicked and backed away. Miralin had no choice but to declare bankruptcy.
Part of the problem had been that these young guys weren’t familiar with the process of dealing with the regulatory commission. They weren’t following the correct protocol that is required to introduce any new substance, whether it is a food or drug. They had already started doing things without approval—that’s a no-no. Compounding matters, their timing was all wrong. Artificial sweeteners were being cast in a very dubious light, and Miralin was rushing to bring its products to market. They made some of it available publicly when it wasn’t supposed to be, and they did tests on little children, which they weren’t supposed to do.
The Generally Regarded As Safe principles presumably don’t apply to non-Westerners. The fact that for centuries West Africans had been eating the berry didn’t count, right?
That’s right. The only guy eating it in America previous to 1958 was this one fruit enthusiast who had brought a plant back from Puerto Rico. He would eat it every morning before his fruit salad, and he was fine. He is still alive.
So miracle fruit remains in a kind of legal limbo. It can be grown, you can give it to people, you can even sell a little at a time, but you cannot do so on a large scale. You can’t market it either. There are dozens of small growers who have miracle fruits in their back yards in Florida and Hawaii and in greenhouses, and nobody is saying boo. The problem is when it starts threatening other major industries—that is when you are not allowed to move forward.
To what extent was the FDA’s decision the result of pressures from the large corporations and special interests?
It is open to interpretation. But it’s a marvelous fruit and we are being deprived of an all-natural wonder.
Adam Leith Gollner’s upcoming book about the fruit underworld is being published by Scribner. He has been the editor of Vice magazine and has written for the New York Times, the Globe and Mail, Gourmet, and the Budapest Sun.
Sina Najafi is editor-in-chief of Cabinet.
| <urn:uuid:1f33fb95-16da-4d95-9ba0-68c1d0d03edb> | http://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/23/najafi.php | en | 0.972816 | 0.316365 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Federal Judge Overturns NCAA Restrictions on Athletes' Income
OAKLAND, Calif. (CN) - NCAA rules prohibiting student athletes from being paid for the use of their names, images and likeness "unreasonably restrain trade in the market for educational athletic opportunities for Division I colleges and universities," a federal judge ruled Friday.
Led by former UCLA star Ed O'Bannon, 20 student athletes sued the governing body for college athletics in a 2009 class action for the right to a share in the television broadcast revenue for their names, images and likenesses. A two-week bench trial was held in June.
In a 99-page opinion on Friday, Wilken found that the class had shown an injury to competition "only in the college education market or the market for recruits' athletic services and licensing rights."
Wilken found that acting in concert through the NCAA and its conferences, FBS Football and Division 1 basketball schools hold all the power to fix the price of the educational and athletic opportunities they offer to recruits.
"They have chosen to exercise this power by forming an agreement to charge every recruit the same price for the bundle of educational and athletic opportunities that they offer: to wit, the recruit's athletic services along with the use of his name, image, and likeness while he is in school," Wilken wrote. "If any school seeks to lower this fixed price - by offering any recruit a cash rebate, deferred payment, or other form of direct compensation - that school may be subject to sanctions by the NCAA. This price-fixing agreement constitutes a restraint of trade."
Wilken added: "Indeed, the NCAA's own expert, Dr. [Daniel] Rubinfeld, acknowledged that the NCAA operates as a cartel that imposes a restraint on trade in this market."
Wilken, citing high salaries for coaches and extravagant training facilities, said that schools should be able to afford to pay athletes.
"The high coaches' salaries and rapidly increasing spending on training facilities at many schools suggest that these schools would, in fact, be able to afford to offer their student-athletes a limited share of the licensing revenue generated from their use of the student-athletes' own names, images, and likenesses," Wilken wrote.
Wilken's ruling shot down the NCAA's primary justifications for not paying college athletes: amateurism, competitive balance and the integration of athletics and academics.
"The historical record that the NCAA cites as evidence of its longstanding commitment to amateurism is unpersuasive. This record reveals that the NCAA has revised its rules governing student-athlete compensation numerous times over the years, sometimes in significant and contradictory ways. Rather than evincing the association's adherence to a set of core principles, this history documents how malleable the NCAA's definition of amateurism has been since its founding," Wilken wrote.
She rejected the NCAA's argument that fans of college football and men's basketball watch or attend games because they know the players aren't paid, and will stop watching if they are, noting NCAA President Mark Emmert testified that the popularity of college sports are driven by school or regional loyalty.
"Dr. Emmert himself noted that much of the popularity of the NCAA's annual men's basketball tournament stems from the fact that schools from all over the country participate 'so the fan base has an opportunity to cheer for someone from their region of the country," Wilken wrote. She added: "This evidence demonstrates that the NCAA's restrictions on student-athlete pay is not the driving force behind consumer interest in FBS football and Division I basketball. Thus, while consumer preferences might justify certain limited restraints on student-athlete compensation, they do not justify the rigid restrictions challenged in this case."
Wilken also found the NCAA's compensation restrictions do not promote competitive balance, as the NCAA argued at trial.
"The academic consensus on this issue is not surprising given that many of the NCAA's other rules and practices suggest that the association is unconcerned with achieving competitive balance. Several witnesses testified that the restrictions on student-athlete compensation lead many schools simply to spend larger portions of their athletic budgets on coaching, recruiting, and training facilities.
Wilken wrote at length on the issue, noting that a head football coach for a major conference can make more than $1.5 million a year.
"The fact that high-revenue schools are able to spend freely in these other areas cancels out whatever leveling effect the restrictions on student-athlete pay might otherwise have. The NCAA does not do anything to rein in spending by the high-revenue schools or minimize existing disparities in revenue and recruiting," the judge wrote.
Wilken said that the NCAA does nothing to interfere with advantaged universities' lavish spending.
"This same sentiment underlies the NCAA's unequal revenue distribution formula, which rewards the schools and conferences that already have the largest athletic budgets. Revenues generated from the NCAA's annual Division I men's basketball tournament are distributed to the conferences based on how their member schools performed in the tournament in recent years. As a result, the major conferences - and the highest revenue schools - typically receive the greatest payouts, which hinders, rather than promotes, competitive balance."
The judge disagreed with the NCAA's contention that its anti-compensation rules are necessary to promote the integration of academics and athletics, and that paying student-athletes large sums could "create a wedge" between the student athletes and other students on campus.
"It is not clear that any of the potential problems identified by the NCAA's witnesses would be unique to student-athletes," Wilken wrote, citing testimony from Emmert that wealthy students raise the same problems.
Attorneys for both sides were unavailable for comment.
NCAA Chief Legal Officer Donald Remy issued a statement late Friday saying, "We disagree with the court's decision that NCAA rules violate antitrust laws. We note that the court's decision sets limits on compensation, but are reviewing the full decision and will provide further comment later."
The NCAA said it would appeal.
As for relief, Wilken's opinion says she favors a stipend for college athletes, as well as a share of the licensing revenue to be held in trust until they graduate.
Wilken rejected the plaintiffs' proposal that college athletes should be paid for endorsements, saying it could lead to commercial exploitation of student athletes.
The injunction prohibits the NCAA from preventing its member schools from "offering to deposit a limited share of licensing revenue in trust for their FBS football and Division I basketball recruits, payable when they leave school or their eligibility expires."
It adds: "To ensure that the NCAA may achieve its goal of integrating academics and athletics, the injunction will not preclude the NCAA from enforcing its existing rules - or enacting new rules - to prevent student athletes from using the money held in trust for their benefit to obtain other financial benefits while they are still in school." | <urn:uuid:a4987a37-98b8-4193-8068-70ec5044cc11> | http://www.courthousenews.com/2014/08/08/70243.htm | en | 0.964853 | 0.087382 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Key event
That was a fantastic victory, Brazil were effective and assertive. It would be foolish to pen Spain's obituaries. As many of you pointed out they lost to the USA in 2009 in this tournament. "Given that you need to either be the World Cup host country, reigning world champions or reigning continental champions, England's only chance to take part in the Confederations Cup is if they host it in 2025 … is that the reason for some of the disdain by the UK press towards such an enjoyable and exciting tournament?" asks Ian Cook. I don't think there's disdain for it Ian. Perhaps it's just football fatigue in midsummer. But that was remarkably enjoyable. Thanks for your company and your emails. Good night.
Final score: Brazil 3-0 Spain
Brazil win their third successive Confederations Cup and their fourth in total.
89 min: Brazil are just tapping it around now, more than satisfied with a 3-0 victory.
87 min: Paulinho goes of for Hernanes. "I dunno, don't think the atmosphere is THAT good," writes Patrick Crumlish. Wait for it, wait for it … "Severely lacking in vuvuzelas." Very good, Patrick! Brazil playing keepball in the centre of the park, much to the crowd's delight.
85 min: "Justin Kavanagh is right in saying that Spain have missed Xabi Alonso's long passes at times, but I don't think he would have coped well with Brazil's heavy pressing - he isn't the most mobile of players and often doesn't perform well in the high tempo Clasicos," writes Aisling Daly. "But his absence has prompted Del Bosque to drop the double pivot system of two defensive midfielders in favour of only Busquets. But I'd guess he'll be back in the team once he's fit - in this game and against Italy, Spain could have used the solidity a second defensive midfielder would bring." Julio Cesar has made another excellent save, this one from David Villa.
84 min: "Isn't the atmosphere at this game fantastic?"asks Richard King. "Every game should have noise like this. Wonderful stuff." It's tremendous, Richard.
83 min: Shot from Jo as he storms down the left, with Neymar bettre placed. Casillas parries it away to the keeper's left and Spain clear.
81 min: Julio Cesar earns his clean sheet bonus (if he's on one) with a low save from Pedro's diagonal shot from the left, pouncing down to tip it away.
79 min: Brazil sub: Jo for Fred. "I think this could be a good thing for Spain in a strange way as it will make them realise that some players will need to go before the next World Cup (Arbeloa, Torres etc) and maybe blood some of the younger ones (take your pick from the under 21s)," writes Carl Finch. "And not just think they can simply play one way turn up and cruise to victory (I.e. putting a defender/defensive midfielder upfront as they did against Italy). It will also give some of the other teams belief that Spain can be beaten. This however does not apply to England whose prospects are looking even grimmer in my eyes (if we qualify that is)!"
77 min: Neymar through the middle and forced out of room by Azpilicueta who just nicked the ball off his toe.
74 min: Dani Alves crosses from the right to Fred who shoots in the box but it's a rolled shot rather than a powerful one and Busquets blocks. "I almost glad about the way this is going," says Matt Dony. "I supported Spain before it was cool, and now hopefully the fair weather fans will Man City themselves over to Brazil, leaving me looking like less of a glory boy. And I think you've been harsh on Torres. He had almost nothing to work with. Arbeloa was a disgrace, though." Yeah, you're right on Torres. Thought he allowed Paulinho to win two headers from corners though that he could have won.
71 min: "Whenever Marcelo is mentioned I keep getting images of intense discussions about foot massages rather than defensive duties," writes Ian Copestake of Ving Rhames. Brazil sub – Jadson for Hulk. "Humour me with a rare bit of Confederations Cup kit-chat, but am I the only one who finds the ribbon-like collar on the Spain shirt, inferring yet another winner's medal dangling around the neck, to be a bit presumptuous?" writes Grant Tennille. "Hubris ahoy!" They're getting it tonight. It's as if a statue has been pulled down. But what does it mean in the long run? Who knows. It's too soon, surely, to tell.
69 min: Neymar chips the free kick over the wall, curling towards the right post but it didn't descend quick enough and hit the outside roof of the net, the slates bit. (It's late).
Red card
67 min: Gérard Piqué is deservedly sent off for tripping Neymar who sprinted past Busquets and closed in on the box. Pique and Casillas protest ridiculously because he kicked him on the shin when he slid in and he was the last man. Shakira, watching, is taking some of the goading aimed at her chap, too.
65 min: Nice move by Spain up the left with Pedro whipping a near post cross that Villa only just misses when he slides in. "Brazil, when they play like this, remind me of Germany under Löw," writes Gabriel Piller. "Fast, functional and with just enough style."
63 min: Marcelo played through on the left of the box after a slick Neymar pass. The angle's tight and Fred is in the centre of goal but marcelo shoots and into the side netting. "The GIANT has come back!" writes Wellingtton Mireali mesquita. "Where is Spain?Welcome to the country of football!" Scotland?
61 min: Now this is an interesting point from David Yates: "Anyone else got the feeling that'll have been the last time you see Arbeloa and Torres in a Spanish shirt?" That would be a fair punt, Tom. Both were pretty hopeless.
60 min: Sergio Ramos was the penalty taker who missed. Sorry.
58 min: Torres off for David Villa. Torres manages to look affronted. Corner to Spain, Xavi to the near post where Pique heads without power. A minute earlier Hulk was racing through 30 yards out and attempted to toe poke it high up and over Casillas who was haring out to sweep up but couldn't direct it so it ended up going more vertically than horizontally.
55 min: Just before the award of the penalty my inbox was beginning to fill up with emails from Brazil of the "form is temporary, class is permanent" variety. It's quite refreshing really that so many people are so chuffed. Pedro's on the left now, cutting in and rolling it back to Iniesta who shoots weakly at Julio Cesar.
Penalty missed by Sergio Ramos
Screwed wide of Julio Cesar's post – or so it seems but Cesar is claiming he touched it even though he was given a goalkick.
Penalty for Spain
Marcelo trips Navas.
50 min: "Pray for Tahiti," honks Cleyson. Here's a point from Nicholas: "Hook Torres? What about Casillas? Mourinho must be mouthing I told you so in Catalan." Off goes Mata, on comes Bitty Navas.
48 min: This tactic Brazil are using, getting David Luiz to bring the ball up the left and Marcelo switching into the middle has caused Spain all sorts of problems, Arbeloa not being able to cope with it and Azpilicueta neither for that goal.
GOAL!! Brazil 3-0 Spain (Fred)
Played up the left, Marcelo cutting inside and tapping through to Neymar in the centre who flicks it to his left and Fred steers a shot around Casillas into the opposite corner
46 min: "I love when Brazil plays like this," writes Nathaniel Davis. "I wouldn't say they're playing with style: more like a full-blast/nonchalant/savage prowess. The Dunga years seemed to put the shackles on, but I still remember a few games from that period when they turned into a wildly formless herd of very good footballers. Always an invigorating sight." Spain sub – Arbeloa off, Azpilicueta on. Rightly so, too. He was terrible that half.
"Once again this Brazil side is showing that it is not quite as bad as many believed," writes Andreas Remy. "It might not be a brilliant side (were they brilliant in '94 or 2002?), but with home support I think they have a legitimate shot at the title next year. And Spain just does not really care about the Confederations Cup; I reckon come next year they will still be the No1 favourite to win the whole thing - and rightly so." Fair point Andreas. They do care, I think, but not that much.
Oh to be young. "That was brilliant," writes Alex Perring. "That was quite possibly the greatest 45 minutes of football I have witnessed in my 21 years of existence." Either that or we have a new Father Jessup.
"Whatever Alex in Spain says," writes Justin Kavanagh, "the pitch at the Maracana looks like the Rio riot police have been practising on it all week. And the one man on the Spanish team that can unlock a defence with a long ball, Xabi Alonso is missing. If they want to retain their World Cup, Spain need a plan B. So let's see what they come up with in the second half." Indeed.
Too soon? "Right now millions of pseudo 'soccer' fans taking off their red tops, and putting back on their yellow ones," crows Lorenzo Fernandez, a Watford supporter, presumably.
Half time
That was loud and such an entertaining half. "Surely Spain will have to hook Torres ASAFP if they really want to get back into this game?" writes Tom Yates. "I think the current exchange rate is four goals against Tahiti equates to 0.04 of a goal against anyone else." He's not being allowed to play tonight is he?
Here's George Young: "Brazil seem to have invoked the spirit of Van Bommel tonight, clattering Spaniards at every opportunity. That nice Iniesta seems to have really riled them." Fifa, I believe, supply the pictures and there haven't been nearly enough replays of some incidents, George, for me to be sure. I don't mean to get splinters in the arsch but this is an odd job, you have your head down typing half the time rather than watching.
"Is it a good time to throw in the stat that the Confederations Cup winners have never won the following year's World Cup?" asks Simon Frank, who is always welcomed at parties for spreading some sunshine into every corner.
45 min: I was reading somewhere this morning about neutrals wanting Brazil to be given a footballing lesson by Spain. Well, who really is neutral? And it's great to see Brazil turning on the style.
GOAL!! Brazil 2-0 Spain (Neymar)
Glorious finish on the left of the box, played in by Oscar with a delayed one-two and smashed high, almost like Ryan Giggs v Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final in 1999 hard and high at the near post above Casillas. Magnificent.
41 min: Another dangerous run from Fred up the right but his cross to Neymar was cut out.
39 min: David Luiz can't defend? He's just made a superb goalline clearance when Mata played a glorious little dink across the box to the right to Pedro who was clear in on the keeper, He placed it around Julio Cesar without huge power but very precisely yet David Luiz slid in and knocked it clear an inch or so before it went in.
37 min: Interesting what Alanaõ and Alaninho have to make of this having backed Spain all the way. Paulinho's very good isn't he? He isn't going to Spurs really is he.
35 min: Xavi takes a free-kick from the left into the box, aiming for Busquets but Brazil win the header and clear, eventually getting Neymar free to run at Spain from 70 yards with three defenders back. He gets past the first but when he tails right he stumbles and Spain get it back. "Spain aren't passing like Spain, not dominating like Spain, not winning like Spain," says Matt Dony. "I was starting to doubt who was really playing. BUT then Ramos got booked. Looks like it is Spain after all." Ha.
32 min: Big save from Casillas after Jordi Alba misplaced his pass and Brazil broke at lightning pace, working a chance you would have expected Fred to convert, a shot from 15 yards after a lovely threaded pass from Neymar from the left and Casillas blocked it brilliantly diving low to his right. From the corner Fred almost has a free header, smack in the middle of forehead but he can't get it on target.
31 min: Spain have a free kick now by the corner flag after Ramos is shoved while trying to work an opening. The cross is blocked out for a corner which Xavi again takes, aiming for Torres but Paulinho is there to stop him heading it.
29 min: Long delay while Hulk and Neymar debate who'll take the free kick. Neymar touches it to his left and Hulk spanks it over the bar with his left foot.
27 min: "Never thought i would hear Guy Mowbray's comment 'Brazil expect periods where the opposition dominate possession', writes Ian Morgan. Well Spain aren't bossing it now. Sergio Ramos's hand on the back of Oscar as he broke past him and towards the area wins Brazil a free-kick 20 yards out and Ramos a yellow card. Again Brazil suggest it should have been red.
25 min: "They call him Fredje. He looks like he's been in the fredje," says Lawro. What does that mean? Fridge, yes. But really? Osacr is booked for a rake down the calf.
23 min: Spain have worked their way back into this, the usual way, bossing possession, keep ball, triangles and remarkably well-placed flicks but Brazil are defending well and breaking fast, Marcelo shifting it forwards qquickly and Fred dropping his shoulder past to go to the right of Ramos but drags his shot.
21min: It's Sunday night and as everyone in the UK knows, it's time for Poetry Please. Here's Rudyard Copestake:
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and are on the ground along with the goalie;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make space to hack it over the prone 'keeper:
If you can anticipate and not be tired by moving into that space,
Or, lying on the grass, don't worry about lying on the grass,
Or being obstructed don't give way to obstruction,
And yet don't look too good, when the ball finally goes in;
Yours is the Copa America or whatever its called these days, and all the rights that come with it,
And---which is more---you'll be an icon, my son!
19 min: Now Iniesta hits a curling, dipping shot to Julio Cesar's right and he turns it past the post. It wasn't going in. Whoever the TV director is, I'm not a fan. Replays are taking ages. The corner from Xavi is headed high over the bar by Torres after a near-post run
17 min: "Phil Brown is many things, lover, crooner, tanning booth enthusiast," corrects Niall Mullen. "But he is no Geordie. He hails from South Shields and supports Sunderland." Ah, yes. Busquets gets the ball and slots a 25-yard pass down the inside-right channel to Mata who has made a clever diagonal run across Torres but his touch is so heavy he knocks it straight to Julio Cesar.
15 min: Arbeloa is yellow carded when Spain lose possession and Neymar chases on to the through ball, Arbeloa taking him out on the halfway line. Brazil claim that if Neymar hadn't have been fouled he would have been oneon-one with Casillas and Arbeloa should have been sent off.
13 min: Xavi on the right crosses but puts too much on it, The ball comes back to Iniesta who rolls it to Xavi but Hulk is doing his defensive work on the right and blocks the pass.
11 min: This is ace. Noise of this volume would make any match seem like a classic. Brazil are hustling in midfield. Big Phil is up and waving his arms about. David Luiz takes possession on the left and clips it up. They win a throw in and when it comes infield after a couple of "phases" Paulinho tries to chip Casillas who has to push it out from behind the line.
8 min: Neymar's cross from the left hits Arbeloa's heel and falls to Oscar, 15 yards out and he screws his shot wide of Casillas's right post. Good chance. Very good chance. "I think it was Sergio Ramos flying through the air like Hong Kong Phooey," writes Simon Frank. A mild mannered janitor named Penry? "In other news, Brazil in yellow and white – it's just not right." Agreed.
7 min: Big shout for a Spain penalty when they played the ball across the Brazil box from a free-kick on the left, when it hit Marcelo on the hand.
5 min: Brazil certainly look determined to get the ball forwards quickly and not give Spain any time when they don't have the ball, trying to make sure they're not hypnotized by possession and made to dance their legs to stumps.
3 min: It's flaming loud. The crowd is going berserk. Piqué tried to knock the cross out with his foot, leaping in the air, missed it and it bobbled back of Neymar and on the ground Fred chipped it over Casillas who was also on the turf.
GOAL!! Brazil 1-0 Spain (Fred)
Ugly, from a long cross from the right, Neymar and Fred go up, Casillas misses it after Piqué fails to head it clear and Fred turns it in while falling to the floor.
1 min: Brazil kick off, the ball going up the left touchline to Oscar who holds it up, back to goal, and lays it off to Neymar who falls under the challenge of Jordi Alba but no foul is given and Spain get it up the other end quickly where Fernando Torres is fouled but advantage is played.
"Alan Shearer's authority has, in the eyes of all right-thinking people, gone up immeasurably after being subject to the candid assessment of Joe Eff Cee Kinnear," writes Charles Antaki. "If Joe can also disparage Phil Brown then we are our way to a full set of Geordie redemptions." Anthems over. Brazil's bellowed by 50,000 plus acapella style. Pennants exchanged.
Here come the teams – Brazil in white shorts, Neymar with popped collar a la Cantona/member of Then Jericho/fortysomething man on the Saturday afternoon of a summer stag romp after the night before.
The BBC has just had Tim Vickery on. As my colleague Daniel Harris noted, it's about bloody time, too. They asked him about the demonstrations but they could have also asked him about the game because we would value his judgment. Meanwhile Alan Shearer says David Luiz is a good player but "in my opinion" suspect defensively. What's with this "in my opinion" and "I think" that some pundits preface their comments with. Surely if they're saying it, the implication is that we know it's their opinion, we know they think that. Gianluca Vialli thinks Brazil will win 2-0, the Alans go for Spain.
"As people are making requests for how you should justify your hourly wage at this late hour (overtime no?)," asks Ian Copestake causing me to laugh bitterly having looked the word "overtime" up in the dictionary. "Please make regular tweets while penning a libretto to reflect the ironies of sporting achievement and its current use as a means of distraction and pacification in the face of anti-social/progressive elements? Thanks." I will Ian. I've still got two feet open for assignments too.
"I'm just tuning in so I missed the pre-game ceremony," writes Paulo Padilha. "But apparently two of the dancing ball/mushroom/albino ladybugs unfurled a banner that said 'Immediate cancellation of the privatisation of the Maracanã'.
All hail Joseph Nicéphore Niépce
"While there hasn't been a match between Brazil and Spain senior teams in quite a while, in 2011 there was this match between their U20 sides," writes Rit Nanda.
This match was also in South America in Colombia. Spain had beaten South Korea 7-6 on penalties after a 0-0 draw during regulation and extra time, much like they have beaten Italy in this tournament. The very next match they faced Brazil who beat them 4-2 on penalties after drawing 2-2 after 120 minutes. What are the odds of the same happening here? On an aside, Oscar scored a hat-trick in the final of the tournament, I see from Wiki.
I particularly want to know what people feel of this comparison between the senior and U20 sides because according to some, Spain will dominate for the next decade because of their U21 success in Israel this year. But Brazil winning U20s in Colombia did not mean their senior side winning in South Africa. And the Germany team won zilch when they were Euro champs at U21, U19 and U17 levels simultaneously.
I have a request here from Michael (why so informal?) asking me to make sure I post regular photographs to illustrate the action. This may be a problem as it's a slight inconvenience to trawl the picture agencies, make one's selection then crop pictures to fit while you're trying to watch/write about a football game. What I need is a wing man to do that, or Scott Murray's stick man illustrations. Sadly, I have neither, it being bed/malt time of a Sunday night. I'll see what I can rustle up, though.
First conspiracy theory
"So apparently the company that takes care of the grass/pitches in the Confed Cup is a Catalan one," writes Alex in Spain. "They typically take care of the Nou Camp grass, and are in direct contact with Xavi. According to Spanish TV, the grass today at the Maracanã is shorter than ever, at least shorter than usual." Short grass. What a lousy trick.
Proper team news
Forget what you read before. The source wasn't very reliable. Arsch.
Brazil: Julio Cesar; Dani Alves, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Marcelo; Paulinho, Gustavo, Oscar; Hulk, Neymar; Fred.
Spain: Casillas; Arbeloa, Pique, Sergio Ramos, Jordi Alba; Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta; Pedro, Torres, Mata.
Subs: Valdes, Albiol, Javi Martinez, Azpilicueta, Villa, Fabregas, Soldado,
Monreal, Cazorla, Silva, Jesus Navas, Reina.
Referee: Bjorn Kuipers (Holland)
Report from Plaza Saenz Peña
"The so far peaceful gathering at the Saenz Pena plaza near central Rio is going mobile and immobile," writes the Associated Press's Stephen Wade.
Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets around the plaza, with many sitting down to block traffic. There is no violence but the demonstrators are becoming more animated, with several already wearing gas masks in anticipation of police retaliation. Many of them are singing anti-government and anti-Fifa chants.
Italy won the third-fourth place play-off match on penalties if you didn't know. I didn't see anything of it apart from the last 10 minutes – Giorgio Chiellini was very angry when Riccardo Montolivo was sent off for a second bookable offence deep into extra-time, making the universal sign language gesture for a dive at Luis Suárez. I only saw it in real time but my first thought was that Chiellini was right.
Evening all – a very late one in the UK with an 11pm kick-off which brings back memories of 1986 and is a useful taster for next year's World Cup. Your regular guides throughout this tournament are sadly indisposed – Jacob Steinberg getting his giant ball signed down in SW19 and Paul Doyle who has it in his contract that he never works when Mumford & Sons are playing live.
Anyway this is the final we all wanted or at least that's what the Spain captain, Iker Casillas, thinks and Neymar too. Both semi-finals were enjoyable and intriguing and, though Spain were taken to extra-time and penalties 24 hours after Brazil's victory over Uruguay, it would be fair to say that they had the luxury of being able to rest 10 first-choice players against Tahiti (except for Sergio Ramos who only played a half) so the starting XIs' fatigue relative to each other shouldn't be an issue. I would expect the hosts' to stick with the side Luis Felipe Scolari has used for all bar the Italy match with Hulk and Neymar either side of Fred and the impressive Luiz Gustavo, Paulinho and Oscar behind them. Spain have injury concerns over Xavi and, of course, Xabi Alonso is back at home nursing his groin. "Nursing" as a verb, like adjudge, is one of football's more quaint usages that we should do more to encourage. Word is that Bayern Munich's Javi Martínez who came on as a sub against Italy will replace him if required. Other dilemmas for Vicente del Bosque if such a Gary Cooper figure really has anything as wendy as dilemmas, are deciding whether it's Jesus Navas or Pedro, Cesc Fabregas or Fernando Torres/David Villa/Bob Soldado.
We shall find out soon enough. In the meantime, help yourself to their last two tournament meetings, first up during the 1986 World Cup from Guadalajara when Michel's scorcher bounced over the line and was not given and Socrates scored with a header that was (under the old wording of the law) offside. And yes, that is Gerald Sinstadt commentating though probably dubbed on.
Finally, from 1978 here's the 0-0 draw in Mar del Plata on a rotten pitch with David Coleman. Enjoy. | <urn:uuid:37e35dd5-b924-48b9-bce3-8c9e76c3cdff> | http://www.footytube.com/news/guardian/brazil-v-spain-confederations-cup-final-as-it-happened-L24608?ref=art_trending | en | 0.970614 | 0.02787 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Navigating manifestations
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Deconstructing Betrand Russell
09 April 2013, 11:04
In reading this article, proceed with an open mind and a light heart. On this basis, then, consider the following quote from Bertrand Russell:
"After ages during which the earth produced harmless trilobites and butterflies, evolution progressed to the point at which it generated Nero’s, Genghis Khans, and Hitler’s. This, however, is a passing nightmare; in time the earth will become again incapable of supporting life, and peace will return." Unpopular Essays (1950)
Well, according to one authority, trilobites ate algae or plankton and some trilobites "had spines on the legs and they might have used these to eat larger pieces of food by tearing them into smaller pieces first. EG: Worms" So trilobites weren't really harmless, and to say that trilobites were harmless is wrong. There are other mistakes in Russell's above quote. He says "Nero’s." I only know of one Nero. Nero was the resident Emperor who fiddled while ancient Rome burned. And Russell says "Hitler’s." How many dangerous Hitler’s were there? I presume that Russell was referring to Adolf Hitler because the other Hitler’s were not known to be very dangerous. And he says "Genghis Khans." You'd better be glad there was only one Genghis Khan! Russell's use of English is rather careless. Perhaps the man was worn out from being so precise doing so much logic and mathematics. I would say that as a comic, Russell did okay. I do appreciate that in the above quote the man was simply cracking a joke.
Seriously, though, I also have to accept that Bertrand Russell was not dead serious when he uttered the brief remark: "What science cannot tell us, mankind cannot know." This statement really is a joke because, well, how do we use science to know (or prove) that that particular statement is true?
Moreover, according to the website I am consulting, that short plug for science is only said to be "attributed" to Bertrand Russell. No source of the quote is given by the website. So how can we know for sure that Russell said or wrote it? Can science tell us? If not, how are we ever going to know, and how long are we going to run around and around this dilemma like a mad dog chasing its tail? Bertrand Russell well knew it when he dreamed his dream, but was it "science" for the man to dream as Russell did, about the imminent fate of his and Whitehead's Magnum Opus:
How did Bertrand Russell the dreamer get into logics anyway? Well, read his own words and be glad if you are enjoying good mental health: "In adolescence, I hated life and was continually on the verge of suicide, from which, however, I was restrained by the desire to know more mathematics. Now, on the contrary, I enjoy life; I might almost say that with every year that passes I enjoy it more. This is due partly to having discovered what the things that I most desired were and having gradually acquired many of these things. Partly it is due to having successfully dismissed certain objects of desire . . . as essentially unattainable. But very largely it is due to a diminishing preoccupation with me . . . . I learned to be indifferent to myself and my deficiencies; I came to centre my attention increasingly upon external objects." Conquest of Happiness (1930)
From the above quote, a thinker may imagine that a professional man has to give up his talent to be happy. Do you think that Russell would have become famous and been honoured as a comedian or as a composer of books about his own personal opinions? He may have been happier being a public figure just spouting off but so what? Many people have said that a person has to agonize to produce a meaningful and enduring work. Like Siddhartha, for instance.
So is happiness the goal? If not, then why should there be any conquest for happiness?
The perennial question of what is good and thereby a meaningful goal brings us to the perennial philosophy and to a quote from a famous British whose name was not Bertrand Russell: Aldous Huxley.
What with the atheistic-agnostic Russellians and the theists going at each other, the image is that of a mad dog chasing its tail round and round and round and round. The wheel keeps on spinning and the mad dog debate never stops. Is there any way to transcend such canine spin-madness?
Maybe you should ask the laughing Buddha. Legend says that Buddha got off the karmic wheel. He won't stop laughing, though, and give you an articulate answer. So who else can you ask?
If all else fails, you can deconstruct yourself.
During your deconstruction you may realise that humanity was created when a mad dog swallowed a corkscrew and that's how humanity got so muddled up. Or, if you choose you might verify the following tale told by the dental patient whose story was related in this quote by Bertrand Russell:
In light of this humorous Russellian revelation, you might say that all that blackness a person sees on a clear night is composed of crude oil. You also might say that's an example of some very dark humour inflated to a cosmic level, even to the point of being one big bang of a joke.
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I cheated, and want him back
Q. I recently cheated on my boyfriend of 4 years. I don't know why I did what I did, but I did it. I told my boyfriend what I had done and he kicked me and my son out. He says he forgives me but he doesn't want to be with me anymore. Is there anything I can do to show him how sorry I feel and prove how much I love him?
A. In order for you to have any chance at salvaging this broken relationship, you need to start being honest - if not with others, then at least with yourself. You said you don't know why you betrayed your man. Seriously? Where was all the love you proclaim to have for him when you were wrapped around another fella? How about boundaries, commitment?
The fact that you admitted your wrongdoing is commendable, though your principles seem extremely disjointed. Why have such sound scruples in one situation and not in another? If it was so important to you to be up front and honest with him about your behavior, you could have applied that integrity to prevent the affair from ever happening.
So let's get down to it. If you ever want to find peace in your love life, you're going to have to do a lot better than "I don't why I did what I did". If you're not in touch enough with your emotions to identify what motivated you to cheat, then you ought to consider doing some serious personal reflection, rather than focusing all of your effort on getting him back. Having him back will not solve the problem that led you to stray in the first place.
You probably do care for him and are sorry for what you did, but it probably really hurts him to hear you say that. Because you chose to have an illicit sexual relationship, to him, hearing, "I love you" sounds like a contradiction in terms; an outright lie. Instead, focus on acting and communicating in a way that is more genuine. Express regret, but do it in a way that doesn't insult his intelligence. Show that you accept his decision to distance from you. Most importantly, take responsibility for your actions.
If you really, really want him to forgive you and take you back, give him the courtesy of knowing why you were unfaithful. Listen, people cheat for a million reasons. Sometimes it's because they're unwilling to raise an issue with their partner; other times it's because they’ve given up on something and don't believe saying anything will make a difference. If a part of the relationship is bad enough to compel you to cheat, don't kid yourself: it needs to be addressed. By denying the real issues, you'll be doomed to repeat this cycle. | <urn:uuid:4e65d72b-fadb-4047-93e6-bd9b057a2517> | http://www.sexinfo101.com/advice_cheated_regret.shtml | en | 0.989389 | 0.325572 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
As viewers migrate to the Internet for media consumption, these TV boxes attempt to put that content back where it started: on your big TV in front of the couch. And to a point these devices succeed. They all have a lot. But while the industry negotiates its business models, we're left with a bunch of half-measures. As Gizmodo's Kelly Hodgkins lamented about Xbox Live last week, "It's not the cord cutting-friendly service that we had hoped for."
So, we thought we'd look at a comparison of what boxes have which services. It gets confusing very quickly. WD TV offers Spotify, but it doesn't have HBO so Spotifiers who want to stream Boardwalk Empire are out of luck. While many of them offer Netflix, Hulu or Amazon, even these services have offerings from a hodgepodge of content providers.*
These problems stem from the standoff between cable companies and digital streaming services. Media has splintered across multiple streaming services because movie studios and cable providers aren't comfortable with the model yet and have never liked monopolies. Earlier this year Fox limited streaming of its shows on Hulu because of these very fears, as The New York Times's Brian Stelter reported. And a few months ago Starz walked away from its contract with Netflix.
But, given that consumers want all content at their fingertips, brighter times will come. Apple did it once with iTunes, it could do it again with Apple TV. But, that might've been a job for Jobs.
*This chart has been updated to include more XBox Live content. | <urn:uuid:6b57d92b-3e2f-4119-a036-2526e3fd3581> | http://www.thewire.com/technology/2011/10/fragmented-future-streaming-television/43416/ | en | 0.944203 | 0.024797 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
May 14, 2013 > High school schedule will change next year
High school schedule will change next year
By Laura Chen
Mission San Jose High School's (MSJH) staff and administration recently voted to begin first period classes on Wednesdays, one hour later for the 2013-14 school year, making it the last school in Fremont to transition to starting one weekday later than the others. Whereas school currently begins at 8 a.m., Wednesday classes will begin at 9 a.m., starting with the next school year.
As MSJHS's accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) approaches renewal next year, the later start is a motion towards providing more collaboration time for teachers. According to Principal Sandra Prairie, accreditation is the most important qualification a school can have. Without it, a school's students wouldn't be eligible for college admittance. Although MSJHS has consistently earned the maximum years of accreditation from WASC, it has also received negative marks from WASC for not having enough staff collaboration time.
Currently, the department staff meets Wednesdays after school, but since many teachers teach a seventh period class, coach sports, or administrate school clubs, the time is often not effective. During the new teacher collaboration period from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Wednesdays, teachers will have the opportunity to engage in professional development sessions and work as a team in their respective departments. "Teaching is an isolated job because you're in a classroom and you don't have a lot of time to collaborate, and you're focusing so much on your own curriculum and content that it's very difficult to step out of that world and look at what's happening. And this is that time to communicate with your colleagues, to be able to develop lesson plans. It's very exciting," said Prairie, who is retiring after this school year.
MSJHS parents are also looking forward to the change. "The teacher collaboration is very important to me because the same subjects should be in sync with each other. Also it's a good time for them to exchange ideas with each other. When they talk to each other, they also support each other, and therefore it also helps the students too," said parent Diem Tran.
Because Wednesday classes will start at 9 a.m., the morning student drop-off could be an issue for parents who go to work at an earlier time. Thus, some parents have suggested that the period of 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. could be used for other student activities, such as meditation. However, the decision will be up to the incoming principal.
Ultimately, MSJHS's later start time next school year signals movement towards even higher student achievement and a possible transition to a block schedule. "It's all about improving the academic program here and ensuring that kids are successful, and what that's going to look like under the new Common Core standards," said Prairie. "Collaboration time has been part of almost most of the more advanced high schools, so we are behind the time... it's time we take that forefront, just like we have in a lot of other areas, and take the lead again and bring that back to being part of Mission."
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Negative and positive atheism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Strong atheism)
Jump to: navigation, search
Some varieties of atheism
on right Explicit "positive" / "strong" / "hard" atheists assert that "At least one deity exists" is false.
on right Explicit "negative" / "weak" / "soft" atheists do not assert the above but reject or eschew a belief that any deities exist.
on left Implicit "negative" / "weak" / "soft" atheists include agnostics (and infants or babies) who do not believe or do not know that a deity or deities exist and who have not explicitly rejected or eschewed such a belief.
Note: Areas in the diagram are not meant to indicate relative numbers of people.
Positive atheism, also called strong atheism and hard atheism, is the form of atheism that asserts that no deities exist; negative atheism, also called weak atheism and soft atheism, is any other type of atheism, i.e. where a person does not believe in the existence of any deities and does not explicitly assert that there are none.[1][2][3]
The terms "negative atheism" and "positive atheism" were used by Antony Flew in 1976[1] and have appeared in Michael Martin's writings since 1990.[4]
Scope of application[edit]
Because of flexibility in the term god, it is possible that a person could be a positive/strong atheist in terms of certain conceptions of God, while remaining a negative/weak atheist in terms of others. For example, the God of classical theism is often considered to be a personal supreme being who is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnibenevolent, caring about humans and human affairs. One might be a positive atheist for such a deity (see problem of evil), while being a negative atheist with respect to a deistic conception of God by rejecting belief in such a deity but not explicitly asserting it to be false.
Positive and negative atheism are distinct from the philosopher George H. Smith's less-well-known categories of implicit and explicit atheism, also relating to whether an individual holds a specific view that gods do not exist. "Positive explicit" atheists assert that it is false that any deities exist. "Negative explicit" atheists assert they do not believe any deities exist, but do not assert it is true that no deity exists. Those who do not believe any deities exist, but do not assert such non-belief, are included among implicit atheists. Among "implicit" atheists are thus sometimes included the following: children and adults who have never heard of deities; people who have heard of deities but have never given the idea any considerable thought; and those agnostics who suspend belief about deities, but do not reject such belief. All implicit atheists are included in the negative/weak categorization.
Under this positive/negative classification, some agnostics would qualify as negative atheists. The validity of this categorization is disputed, however, and a few prominent atheists such as Richard Dawkins avoid it. In The God Delusion, Dawkins describes people for whom the probability of the existence of God is between "very high" and "very low" as "agnostic" and reserves the term "strong atheist" for those who claim to know there is no God. He categorizes himself as a "de facto atheist" but not a "strong atheist" on this scale.[5] Within negative atheism, philosopher Anthony Kenny further distinguishes between agnostics, who find the claim "God exists" uncertain, and theological noncognitivists, who consider all talk of gods to be meaningless.[6]
Alternate meanings[edit]
Jacques Maritain used the negative/positive phrases as early as 1949, but with a different meaning and in the context of a strictly Catholic apologist.[7]
Goparaju Ramachandra Rao (1902-1975), better known by his nickname "Gora", was an Indian social reformer, anti-caste activist, and atheist. He proposed a philosophy he called "positive atheism", which treated atheism as a way of life in his 1972 book, "Positive Atheism".[8]
The Atheist Community of Austin (ACA) uses the term positive atheism in a different sense. The ACA refers to positive atheism in the sense of putting a positive face to atheism and dispelling the false and negative image of atheism portrayed by religious people, especially in places of worship.
Agnostics are not always merely implicit atheists. For instance, Philip Pullman (born 1946), the English author of the His Dark Materials fantasy trilogy, which has atheism as a major theme, is an explicit atheist,[9][10] but also describes himself as technically an agnostic.[11]
See also[edit]
4. ^ Martin, Michael (1990). Atheism: A Philosophical Justification. Temple University Press. p. 26. ISBN 0-87722-943-0. "negative atheism, the position of not believing a theistic God exists" / "positive atheism: the position of disbelieving a theistic God exists"; p. 464: "Clearly, positive atheism is a special case of negative atheism: Someone who is a positive atheist is by necessity a negative atheist, but not conversely".
5. ^ The God Delusion, pp. 50–51
6. ^ Kenny, Anthony (2006). "Worshipping an Unknown God". Ratio. 19 (4): 442. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9329.2006.00339.x.
7. ^ Maritain, Jacques (July 1949). "On the Meaning of Contemporary Atheism". The Review of Politics. 11 (3): 267–280. doi:10.1017/S0034670500044168. By positive atheism I mean an active struggle against everything that reminds us of God – that is to say, anti-theism rather than atheism – and at the same time a desperate, I would say heroic, effort to recast and reconstruct the whole human universe of thought and the whole human scale of values according to that state of war against God.
8. ^ Robyn E. Lebron (January 2012). Searching for Spiritual Unity...Can There Be Common Ground?. CrossBooks. p. 532. ISBN 978-1-4627-1262-5. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
9. ^ "As an atheist I'm rather on difficult ground here, but presumably this is what a Christian believes." The Dark Materials debate: life, God, the universe... (interview of Pullman by Rowan Williams),, March 17, 2004 (Accessed November 12, 2007). | <urn:uuid:d732c70b-6083-4fe3-88af-7b9e25d38352> | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong_atheism | en | 0.907355 | 0.022057 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
iOS 8
Slated iOS 8 Keyboard Translates Your Text Messages To Other Languages In Real Time
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Communicating with others can be difficult, especially if not everyone in the conversation speaks the same language. Computer-based translation is easing a lot of that pain, but in general it still means a lot of cutting and pasting has to happen, along with interpreting possibly imperfect translations. Slated, a new keyboard now available for iOS 8, aims to change that with real-time translations of input text that you can use and send with just a click.
The Slated app can translate between 81 languages, and will show you your evolving translation below the text entry bar as you type. The keyboard itself is basically a mirror of the stock iOS keyboard, minus the autocorrect and suggestion functions, so that should help lower the adjustment barrier for new users. The app also translates backwards so that you can understand the other side of the conversation: All you need to do is tap and hold any message in the conversation window, then hit “copy” to see the translation appear in the same window below the text entry bar where your own translations show up.
Slated’s creator Alaric Cole says that while the app is designed to be used to make it possible to have entire conversations with people whose language you don’t understand, and who don’t understand you, he also finds himself using it as just his standard keyboard – a big plus if you’ve spent any time using iOS 8 keyboards, which can become frustrating to switch between. Cole also told me that he’s using the app to learn his wife’s first language, as you inevitably end up picking up some of the languages you’re translating to with frequent use.
I used Slated for a while last night, chatting with my former colleague and current Engadget writer Chris Velazco in Tagalog. Chris’ Tagalog is a bit rusty, and he says he had to speak the sentences out loud to get my meaning, but in the end he also said that all of the translations managed to convey my meaning, even if syntax wasn’t always perfect.
The app is $2.99 at launch, though it will go back to its regular price of $4.99 eventually, but if you’re interested in communicating with someone in real-time in their own language, it’s a fairly small price to pay. Other apps, including Translator Keyboard, already offer this kind of functionality, but Slated seems to have really nailed the UI, and it works in many more languages at launch. The app is currently rolling out through the iTunes Store, so be patient if the direct link to the app isn’t working for you just yet.
We’re nearing the era of the true Babel fish, people, and it’s amazing to watch. | <urn:uuid:8bf8843d-b9b5-42fb-b657-70af1fd0bc02> | https://techcrunch.com/2014/11/06/slated-ios-8-keyboard-translates-your-text-messages-to-other-languages-in-real-time/ | en | 0.95014 | 0.019958 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Note #1: This takes place in the same Alternate Universe that my piece "Awakened" takes place in, but both are standalone and neither is completely necessary to read in order to understand the other.
Note #2: To the first anon reviewer of "Awakened" - 9 out of 10? Wow, thank you! And it means a lot to me that you preferred the written version over the audio. I was afraid no one would want to read such a long poem, so I'm so pleased you took the time. I did realize a few moments were off, but I knew there were certain things I had to fit in certain places so I made a few desperate choices. I'm glad it still worked for you. I laughed when you said you'd like to see more in that universe, 'cause I was just finishing up this one. I hope you like it!
Title: Do Monsters Dream?
Author: Blonde Cecile
Characters: Arnold, Helga, Rhonda (as adults, or... at least Arnold is.)
POV: Arnold; present third person
Rating: Mature / R for violence and sensuality
Length: One-shot. 2,010 words.
Warning: As with all my work, this holds the possibility of character death.
Disclaimer: Hey Arnold would be very inappropriate for kids if I owned it.
Summary: Some people are lovers, others are fighters. Arnold is just a drunk inventor.
A/N: The setting is18th century England, and contains supernaturalism, het, and femslash.
Do Monsters Dream?
by Blonde Cecile
The answer came, like a shot in the back,
While you were running from your lesson.
- Marrow, by Ani DiFranco
The tavern music slips away as Arnold stumbles further down the cobbled street. He thought he knew when to stop drinking, but clearly his judgment deserves rethinking. Some light streams out from high windows, but it's still unnervingly dark. Indeed, this is an hour when most decent people are already tucked away in their beds, drifting in the solace of their dreams.
He hiccups and curses his foolishness. All his hard work, and for what? His lack of fresh ideas led him to find work at some cheap, lousy invention company, wasting his time creating rubbish contraptions. Still, he has no other options. He hasn't had a real idea for an invention since his parents' death last spring.
And this is what's become of him, since. A sorry drunkard with no family to worry for him as he prowls the night. His dreams of gaining recognition through great inventions spoiled by his own stupidity.
"Stupid," he scolds in a stark whisper. His thoughts distract him so that he stumbles over his own feet. His thin-framed glasses slip off and skip along the ground. He spends a silly amount of time crawling around in search of them, grumbling beneath his breath, and he nearly wets himself when a cat leaps out of nowhere.
It shoots past him; hurries down the alley he's facing, and Arnold almost loses sight of it in the dark. His fingers finally locate his glasses and he blows off some dust before pushing them on his face. The cat stops at a dark shape - something lying on the ground.
It hits him all at once. It's a body. Yes, there's an arm, there's the legs... how awful! Might the person be dead? Or just another drunkard, passed out from too much drink? The cat sniffs the body and saunters off, leaving Arnold alone with his conscience.
He rushes toward the person, nearly tripping. They might need help, and Arnold might be their only chance. He squats down, knees popping, and reaches out to feel whether or not the person - a young man - is breathing. He isn't.
Shivers trickle up Arnold's spine. He doesn't want to believe the man dead, so he lowers his hand to the man's heart - but of course, there is no beat. "No," Arnold whispers, and despite the ally's darkness, notices the dead man's collar is soaked with blood. He pulls his hand back to find his fingertips wet and red. He wipes them on his pants.
A laugh resonates through the alley. Arnold abruptly stands. He thinks about running. Surely, it would be the logical thing to do. But what if the laughter is that of the murderer? There is no nighttime police force, despite how hard his parents had urged for it. The government always had it's excuses for not enforcing such a change in the police department, and eventually his parents died because of that, killed by some unknown night-walker.
He recalls the locals' warnings against nighttime wandering, the notices of messy, violent criminals (mental vagrants, the newspapers suggest) who've naught a grain of decency or clemency inside them. Ye be warned and lock your doors, lest you die howling for the Lord's sweet mercy. Arnold should be running for his life.
But he isn't. He's coming to an alley perpendicular to the one he's in, and realizing there are two people snogging each other senseless in the shadows. They scuttle and clash in their frenzy to touch each other.
With a shock, Arnold realizes (by the girth of their dresses) that it is two women.
For a moment, he is transfixed.
The women pause, as if sensing him, and both turn to look. Their eyes immerse his senses in ice water. He stumbles back and away, but before he can get very far, one of the women has dashed forward with impeccable speed and veered in front of him.
"Have you lost your way, sir?" she asks, twirling her black hair around her fingers. She has on a red and white-lace dress and a confident, red smirk.
"N-no, I'm- I'm fine, thank you. I'm sorry if I... disturbed you."
"Not at all."
Arnold turns around to find the other woman behind him. Her hair is blond and curled at the ends and her dress is a tame pink, less ostentatious than the other's. She studies him with bright eyes.
"Are you out here all alone?" she asks.
He attempts to smile. "Seems like a question I should be asking the two of you." He feels a bit silly for having run off - these women couldn't possibly have been doing what he'd assumed. It was so dark, after all. And he's been drinking. Rather than upset them with the news of the dead body, he tries to suppress a hiccup and takes a deep breath. "Would you like me to walk you home?"
"Not to worry, lad," says the one in red. "We can take care of ourselves. And besides! The night is still young."
"Hardly." Arnold laughs and looks up at the sky. The stars are faint, and it's so quiet for a moment that he wonders if the women can hear his heart hammering. It's been a long time since he's been alone in the presence of such lovely ladies. He starts as something terribly cold touches his hand.
It is the blonde's fingers. "You're so cold!" he exclaims, and it feels only natural to take her hands in his in an attempt to warm them. She casts a smirky glance at her friend, who cocks an eyebrow in reply.
"And you're so warm," the blonde says sweetly and stands close enough that he can see the darker specs of blue in her eyes. "What's your name?"
"Ar-Arnold," he answers without hesitation.
"I'm Helga." He gently lifts their hands near his mouth to puff hot breath onto them, his gaze never leaving hers. She smiles wide. There is a harsh ahem sound from behind them.
"Oh. And that's Lloyd," Helga says, with a nod back at her friend.
"It's Rhonda Lloyd, I'll have you know. How many times have I told you not to call me 'Lloyd' all the time, Helga? Honestly. It's so strait-laced."
Helga looks back at her. "You've got a little..." Helga tongues the corner of her lips, referring to the redness smeared on the side of Rhonda's mouth. Arnold thought it was lipstick, but when Rhonda wipes her mouth with her knuckles, then proceeds to lick them clean, he isn't so sure.
He doesn't think on it, though, because Helga's hands have slunk out of his grasp and are currently crawling up his chest. His heart begins to beat even faster and he knows she can feel it because she places her right palm directly over his heart. The skin on the back of his neck tingles as she slides her other hand up and around it. Then she pulls him down into a kiss.
At first it's just a mild press of lips. But soon it becomes something he's never experienced before - feral and stormy, polluted with sharp tastes he can't put his finger on. The woman kisses as though all hope for tomorrow is gone, and the only thing left to do is surrender to basely desires, like beasts. He feels himself surrendering and kissing back as her hands pull him closer and closer still, until he recognizes the all-too familiar tightening in his groin and knows he has to pull away.
"No!" he says, panicked, stepping away. "This is... I can't!"
"What?" Helga asks with a frown. "What can't you do?"
"This!" As he moves backward, Helga moves forward, as does Rhonda, face cold and arms unhappily crossed. Everything feels wrong, suddenly. He should never have followed those noises. "I don't even know you!"
Quickly, Helga snatches his wrist and slides around behind him. He can feel her breasts against his back.
"We could get to know one another," she offers in a whisper to the fine hairs on his neck.
"Oh, come now, Helga," Rhonda scoffs, tossing back her bangs, "You can't honestly be thinking of turning this man? Besides, we just ate."
As Helga seems to be deliberately ignoring her friend by playing with Arnold's shirt collar, he tries to process Rhonda's last words. But when Helga's hand drags with lascivious ease down Arnold's front, Rhonda's mouth becomes some sort of jaw-dropped grimace, and Arnold gets a look at the awkward shape of teeth that reside there.
"You're... you can't be..."
"Vampires?" Rhonda answers for him. "Clever man. What gave us away? Not the fangs and the out-of-style gowns, surely?"
Before Arnold can react, there is a long swipe of wet tongue along his neck, and then Helga bites down. He can feel sharp tips of her fangs in his skin; feel the drop - two drops - of blood slide down inside his shirt. Helga settles against his back, wraps her arms around his torso, holds him in place.
It's wrong, unheard of, unspeakably evil. She's actually sucking the blood from his body. This is wickedness far beyond anything he's ever done. This is- punishment, he realizes. For his failures. True evil sent to discard of a smaller one. He doesn't even bother to fight. Stupid, so stupid! he tells himself and when his legs go numb he leans back slightly into the woman's arms so as not to topple helplessly onto the cobblestone.
Through slightly blurred vision, he can see that Rhonda has shed her grimace and appears to be taking great interest in Helga's doing. He sees her coming forward, closing in, and a strange noise escapes him as this one bites down on the other side of his neck. He is trapped between them, his legs sandwiched between their dresses. Their bodies, namely their breasts, are pressing against him from either side and he has never been so cold.
Rhonda is done quickly, but Helga drinks with drawn-out swallows. "That's enough, Helga. Let's go! You've had your fun," Rhonda tells her; Helga tears her mouth away.
"It's always about you, isn't it Rhonda? Always what you think, what you want. Well, do you know what I want? Him."
She circles Arnold until they're staring into each other's eyes, her hands holding steady his shoulders. Her eyes are bright and alive, and he can't help but look at them, even when she rips off his glasses and tosses them aside.
"Helga, don't."
"Piss off, Rhonda," Helga snarls, then presses Arnold's face to her neck and he is instinctively compelled to bite down. Everything swirls and sings and comes alive when he swallows. This is it. He's been dead all this time, and now he's finally alive. This must be it.
He was wrong about this being punishment - this is freedom. Indescribable energy enters his veins and it feels so great that he doesn't even care if Helga's hair is tickling his nose. He feels monstrous and pure at once and knows he can do anything, invent anything, pursue any fancy, any dream. Do monsters dream, he wonders?
Rhonda is pulling and scratching at them. "Helga, stop! Not him!" Helga's making strange (pleasurable) noises and twisting Arnold's shirt between her fingers. He thinks he hears something tear as Rhonda finally succeeds in detaching her far sooner than he'd like.
Then Arnold is falling. He falls but he doesn't feel the impact, and Rhonda is wrenching Helga away, toward shadows. Arnold wants to turn his head to watch them go, to say something, but he can't manage it and the shadows are creeping closer. He is numb of all sensation except the blood on his lips that now sends strands of guilt lacing through him.
I'm sorry, he prays. I'm sorry.
When he wakes, he cannot remember whether he has dreamt or not. He can only scream as the sunlight devours him, and he is never sorry again.
. t h e . e n d .
A/N: Feedback feeds my hungry, hungry heart. | <urn:uuid:a8631e61-6659-4327-83a8-82c006e6c7ca> | https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3224451/1/Do-Monsters-Dream | en | 0.983774 | 0.288559 | mlfoundations/dclm-baseline-1.0-parquet |
Yarvik TAB462EUK reviews and prices: Android 4.0.4 10" Tablet
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This tablet PC is a good all rounder.
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7.0 out of 10 based on 5 reviews.
Yarvik TAB462EUK: tablet with WiFi,1200 GHz , and 8GB Storage on Android 4.0.4. See full product description
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Product Features
Screen size (Inches) 10
Operating system Android 4.0.4
Processor speed (Gigahertz) 1200
Hard disk capacity (Gigabytes) 8
Battery life (Hours) 12
Battery life (Hours) 5
WiFi Yes
Integrated Webcam Yes
Weight (kg) 0.622
Number of HDMI ports 1
Manufacturer's Description
With a 1.2 GHz processor, the Android 4.0 operating system and 8 GB of space, the Yarvik TAB462EUK Zania 10" Tablet is perfectly designed to take on your digital world.
Superb display
The Zania 10 has a 10" HD display, boasting a resolution of 1280 × 800 pixels for a beautiful rendering of any entertainment, work or reading. You can enjoy the best in touchscreen technology with the capacitive 10-point multitouch screen giving you total command.
It also features In-Plane Switching (IPS) technology, providing wide viewing angles and realistic colour reproduction. This is all aided by the ARM Mali graphics card.
Processing power
Using your tablet is a pleasure thanks to the ARM Cortex A8 processor, working in conjunction with 1 GB of RAM for speedy processing. The 8 GB hard drive can be used for storing apps and other files, and if you find you need more space you can use the microSD card slot, supporting up to a 32 GB memory card.
You can download apps to your TAB462EUK Zania10 using the Play Store, providing you with access to a wide range of applications, whether they’re games, books or handy apps like calorie counters.
With connections including a mini HDMI with 3D support and a USB connection, this tablet is highly connectable too.
Built-in features
As well as tapping your way through apps, why not enjoy music on your TAB462EUK Zania 10 too? With the built-in speaker, listening to music and watching videos is as easy as pressing a button.
You can also capture the moment with a built-in microphone and front camera, so you don’t let a single exciting moment pass you by.
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The Prisoner and his Pin-up Girl
The National Geographic issue of July 1975 is as delightful a time capsule as you would expect from the magazine that dictated our understanding of the world. On the very first page is an advertisement for Iran Air—against a backdrop of the Manhattan skyline. “Now fly to New York five times a week,” the copy cheerfully proclaims, four years before a revolution and a hostage crisis resulted in the US government tossing the airline out of its airspace. There’s plenty of the usual stuff—bleak Malthusian stories on the hunger games of that decade, and despatches from Cape Cod, the Ozarks, and Philadelphia. In the middle of them all, bookended by ads for a Datsun sports car and the Beechcraft Baron—“You don’t have to live near the water to live near the water”—is a gem of a feature on living near the water, “The Last Andaman Islanders”, written and photographed by the late Raghubir Singh.
Singh documents the Jarawas, or what was left of them, with élan. These “brutish idolaters” who, in Marco Polo’s account, “killed and ate every outsider they could lay their hands on,” treated him quite sweetly. He realised their famous hostility was simply a survival strategy. His crew was plied with drink, taken on a memorable hunt for “wild screaming pigs,” and fondled by muscular tribesmen. The words in the feature are fine, but it is the photographs that leap off the page. One photograph in particular: a Jarawa woman, dancing in an “explosion of merriment” that accompanied the crew’s arrival on shore, according to the caption—which curmudgeonly goes on to add that some Jarawas still distrust strangers and will therefore attack and kill them.
This volcanic little piece of joy, of course, ended up in a prison cell thousands of miles west—in another penal colony, on another remote island, designed by another European occupier. The Dutch turned Robben Island into a holding facility in the 1600s; the English brought civilization to the Andaman and Nicobar islands by setting up a prison there in the 1700s. For the apartheid-era correctional system, National Geographic was presumably a gesture of cultural benevolence; to Nelson Mandela, who knew better, it was porn. He named her Nolitha.
My dearest Winnie, Your beautiful photo still stands about two feet above my left shoulder as I write this note. I dust it carefully every morning, for to do so gives me the pleasant feeling that I’m caressing you as in the old days. I even touch your nose with mine to recapture the electric current that used to flush through my blood whenever I did so. Nolitha stands on the table directly opposite me. How can my spirits ever be down when I enjoy the fond attentions of such wonderful ladies?
You don’t have to be serving time to see her appeal. There she is, unabashed, naked, dancing on the seashore, radiant in the sun, every bit of her throbbing with sexual energy.
In fact, the prisoner and his pin-up girl had more in common than they might have been aware of. Both of them were thorns in the side of their states. Despite Jawaharlal Nehru’s public exhortations on behalf of India’s tribal people—“…a people who sing and dance and try to enjoy life; not people who sit in stock exchanges, shout at each other, and think themselves civilised”—his state blundered into their lives and continues to confound them to this day. Both of them were endlessly romanticized, though they would have probably preferred to do a little romanticizing themselves (we know at least one of the two found that opportunity in the pages of a magazine). More significantly, regardless of their different physical predicaments— and this is what made them inexplicable to authority—both of them knew they were free.
I learnt of Nolitha on Mandela’s 86th birthday in Johannesburg. The year was 2004, Thabo Mbeki’s second term as president of South Africa had just commenced, and the struggle veteran Mac Maharaj had been left out in the cold. He shrewdly used his time to remind the grand old man of his lost love (Maharaj has since been rehabilitated, and currently serves as President Jacob Zuma’s spokesperson). The Sunday Times carried a picture: a beaming Mandela, holding a framed copy of the photograph, with his archivist Verne Harris and assistant Zelda la Grange standing by. This is what I heard. Mandela received the present at a public function, and toyed with Maharaj by insinuating his pipe was likely to be stocked with something stronger than tobacco. Some time later, after Harris unwrapped the present and discovered what it was, he took it straight to his employer, who was thrilled to be reunited with the image (the original photograph had been discarded with other detritus of his prison cell, years ago). Mandela considered Nolitha wistfully, and voiced a heartfelt concern. Women these days, he felt, wore far too many clothes. He looked up at his staff for affirmation, and they collapsed with laughter.
In Celebrity, an unremarkable Woody Allen film, a character played by Charlize Theron and identified only as the “supermodel” has a remarkable problem. The problem, by way of Sigmund Freud and Allen’s enduring obsession with psychoanalysis, is that she is polymorphously perverse. “It’s not a flaw, it’s just a weakness,” she offers, tentatively. “Every part of my body gives me sexual pleasure.” The character who hears her confession is Lee Simon, a failed middle-aged writer played by Kenneth Branagh, who is broken enough to appreciate what he has found. After he strokes her hand into near-orgasm, Simon feverishly thanks the Lord. “…And that was just her hand!”
I can’t say I’ve ever encountered this problem—watching Silk Smitha unfurl in Sadma might be the closest I’ll ever get —but I think I recognize the broad sentiment. I’m old enough to know it’s a blessing, a retrospective reward for a childhood spent futilely banging on the windows of the world to be let in. And I will admit to being unreasonably excited by Mandela’s choice of stimulation on Robben Island; it sounded like the left-handed reading habits of my import-substituted middle-class youth. When things are scarce, the whole world becomes perversely polymorphous. Every third-world child of a certain vintage knows this. When pleasure is out of reach, it’s waiting in plain sight to be discovered; it’s in Margaret Mead’s Coming of Age in Samoa, it’s in Masters & Johnson, it is, somewhat oddly, in the Thai Ramayana, and it is absolutely and definitely in the pages of the National Geographic, a publication that has thoughtfully featured naked women in my skin tone all the way since 1896.
You could dismiss my pulchritude and call it names; exploitation, or tourism, or, worse, anthropology. I suppose you could even call it poverty porn. A cute put-down, sure, but spare a thought for those of us who didn’t have the luxury of consuming enough porn to casually throw it away as a metaphor (and a negative one at that). It’s like brother Oscar said: A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
While it is widely acknowledged that Mandela left the details of the presidency to his deputy, Mbeki, it isn’t impossible to imagine that some part of the cosmic force he brought to the ambassadorial role he assumed—the indefatigable smile, the fragile political handling, the constant travel, the fund-raising, the pitch-perfect symbolism of his every action, the scrupulous care given to all his millions of social interactions—came from having nowhere to go and not much to do for decades on end.
Mandela was acutely aware of the redeeming value of scarcity, and carried it all the way into his wealthy sunset. He said as much when asked how he kept himself fit. On Robben Island, he explained, he ate brown bread, porridge and lean meat, and was consigned to hard labour. A punishment—for paler prisoners got whiter bread, fatter meat and softer work; and yet, also deliverance—for the enforced restraint preserved his perfect frame all the way to the end.
I know we’re supposed to be grateful to Mandela keeping South Africa “stable”—which, in the language of racial double-speak roughly translates to “Thanks for not messing with the nice white overclass who messed with you all your life.” But however standard the revenge-as-reconciliation model might be in our neighbourhood and other broken parts of the world, it is still a ridiculously low standard to apply to any human being in any part of the world. (Is there any one else on earth who will ever be thanked so much for what he didn’t do?) And it’s hardly like Mandela solved all of South Africa’s problems. Survey after survey shows in the period after 1994, of all the races that make the country, white people and Indians saw the biggest rises in their income, while black people and so-called “coloureds”—a collective 90% of the population—did not benefit anywhere nearly as much. Plenty of activists in South Africa think he didn’t go far enough with land redistribution, especially in comparison to Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe; they chafe at the “St. Mandela/Mad Bob” formulation that sets land reform up as something only a deranged dictator would do.
On the other side of the fence, the Wall Street Journal put forth a theory suggesting he is loved because he had the foresight to become what the American nation in general, meaning the Wall Street Journal editorial board in particular, wanted: an enthusiastic capitalist who saw the light and “transcended his party’s history of Marxism, tribalism and violence.”
The cold-warriors responsible for this last assessment received a splendid smackdown from the race-warrior Rev. Al Sharpton. “I think it is a betrayal of history to act as if…as Nelson Mandela evolved, the world embraced him,” he said on the American network MSNBC. “Let’s remember, the ANC, they were pursuing freedom,” he continued. “Many of the Communist nations embraced them, this country did not. It was not like they were born Marxist; they were born people seeking to be free… We chose sides. We chose the wrong side.”
Sharpton was echoing a point Mandela himself had made in an unusually heated interview with American television anchor Ted Koppel during his first visit to the US, shortly after his release from prison in 1990. Chided for his support of Yasser Arafat’s PLO and Fidel Castro’s Cuba, Mandela stood his ground, defending the ANC’s right to be loyal to old friends, reminding Koppel of the many Jewish people who were integral to the liberation struggle in South Africa.
This much is true: Mandela bent the world to fall at his feet. He wasn’t interested in turning into the person we wanted him to be; he trained us to embrace him for who he was. He had a striking fashion sense and recognized the irresistibility of his image early on. He put this power to good use in 1962, after his arrest, when he wore the traditional outfit of a Xhosa chief to his arraignment, an animal-skin cloak draped over one shoulder, the other bare, his body crowned by a bead necklace. He continued the tradition in sharp suits through the 1990s—he really rocked those suits—and with flamboyant floral shirts that became his trademark. He was funny and warm and a wicked flirt, and neither made any effort to hide these feelings, nor bothered to disguise all the other pesky human traits that made him vivid and real. In prison, he was “fixated” with Pantene hair oil, his fellow Robben Island inmate, Ahmed Kathrada told the New York Times. During one prolonged period of unavailability—dubbed “The Pantene Crisis”—he enlisted every influential visitor who came his way into this struggle.
“When Mandela dies,” the Johannesburg-based political theorist Achille Mbembe wrote in a stirring piece for Le Monde diplomatique this August, “we will be entitled to declare the 20th century is over.” Mbembe was referring to the wave of anti-colonial and racial justice movements that swept the last century, which themselves emerged out of the churn of abolitionist movements in the 19th century, a long and dramatic continuum of which Mandela was our last significant link. If the future is now open, let’s place on record just how unusual a third-world hero he was. In an arena where tropical leaders—the good ones at least—are seemingly required by law to be dour revolutionaries or dull technocrats, all of them carefully scrubbed of any trace of humanity, here was a man who was interested in fashion, sex, and humour, a man who had no trouble being fierce and dignified while wearing his heart on his sleeve. For the better part of a century, Mandela spun humanity right round, and now, it seems only fair that the world stop spinning for him.
A version of this piece first appeared in Mint Lounge on December 21.
Achal Prabhala
Achal Prabhala is a writer and researcher in Bangalore, India.
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