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0.025097 | <urn:uuid:9658d7c4-b769-4283-b9b7-b68984b0b966> | en | 0.869429 | voltage - circuit analysis
1,500 pts awarded
Image text transcribed for accessibility: The following circuit is a model of a pre-amplifier your company built for a light detection circuit in a visual-assist device for visually-impaired individuals. The voltage source v1 in the source circuit represents the voltage produced by a photovoltaic cell. Your company wants to you to determine if 3 volts from the photovoltaic cell is sufficient to drive the load R1(which is a circuit that sends a signal to the optical nerve)unfortunately for you .you do not have any photovoltaic cells or voltage sources to test this circuit. You do have at your disposal ONE current source (and your savvy knowledge from BME 253). Demonstrate using mesh analysis, how you would accomplish the company's goals by constructing(draw it!) an equivalent circuit using a single current source. For what value of the load Rl, will maximum power be transfered from the source and amplifier circuit to the load?
Answers (1)
• unknown4247
Rating:4 stars
View this solution... try Chegg Study
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0.018355 | <urn:uuid:b806355f-ca57-423d-b18a-337efa6d1616> | en | 0.964949 | Model-turned-actress Natasha Henstridge, who starred as the alluring human-alien hybrid Sil and her clone Eve in the sci-fi horror "Species" films, has sold her Sherman Oaks home for $1.75 million.
The traditional-style house, which was built in 1935 and sits on about half an acre, has five bedrooms and six bathrooms in 3,825 square feet. There are five fireplaces, vaulted wood-beam ceilings, skylights and an expansive wooden deck. Steps off the back of the house lead across the lawn to the swimming pool area.
The actress purchased the property for $1.36 million in 2003, public records show.
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Henstridge, 35, will be in the upcoming movies "Anytown" (2009) and "Let the Game Begin" (2010).
She took to the big screen as a man-murdering crossbreed in the Ben Kingsley-starring "Species" (1995), which along with "Species II" (1998) and "Species III" (2004), make the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence seem foolhardy.
Henstridge also starred in "The Whole Nine Yards" (2000) and "The Whole Ten Yards" (2004).
The cover girl costarred opposite Jonny Lee Miller as his fiancée in the ABC comedy-drama "Eli Stone" (2008-09), which aired its final episode in July.
Among other recent TV appearances, she was in the miniseries "Impact" (2009). She has done television commercials for brands including Old Spice and Lady Stetson.
Henstridge is moving toward the ocean and will be renting until she picks her new neighborhood, according to listing agent Matt Epstein of Re/Max on the Boulevard, Sherman Oaks.
Tiffany Fedell and Josephine Rossi of Coldwell Banker, Sherman Oaks, represented the buyer.
Where Bullitt used to relax
A Santa Paula ranch once owned by actor Steve McQueen and his third wife, Barbara Minty, has come on the market for $1.95 million.
The 1892 Victorian-style house has antique stained-glass windows, mountain views, and family room and kitchen fireplaces.
He picked the ranch because it reminded him of the Slater, Mo., farm where he lived during his childhood and because of its proximity to Santa Paula Airport, where he flew his yellow Stearman biplane.
Known for his macho roles and tough-guy persona, the box-office star appeared in such films as "The Magnificent Seven" (1960), "The Great Escape" (1963), "Bullitt" (1968), "Papillon" (1973) and "The Towering Inferno" (1974).
McQueen, who had contracted mesothelioma, died of a heart attack following surgery in 1980. He was 50.
The listing agents are David Kean and John Aaroe of the John Aaroe Group, Los Angeles. | http://www.courant.com/topic/la-hm-hotprop26-2009sep26,0,6453495.story | dclm-gs1-099080001 | false | false | {
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0.042189 | <urn:uuid:30d7b281-ff7a-42eb-aac1-194f79497fa0> | en | 0.962506 | The Trans-Caucasus Conflict: Bush Poked the Bear Once Too Often
We are witnessing a major power play by Russia just like the world watched a major power play by the US when Bush invaded Iraq. In both cases lies surround the invasion. In both cases, a bully nation threatens a smaller nation and the bully may go unpunished, but in the long run may suffer.
But I don’t want to draw too much parallel between Bush’s war of aggression against Iraq and Putin’s war of aggression against Georgia. There is actually another parallel that may have more relevance: Russia did to Georgia what Iraq did to Kuwait. Iraq and Russia used a minor, long-smoldering border dispute as an excuse for an invasion. It is another example of a bully picking on a weak neighbor when it thinks there is no authority to stop it. Iraq miscalculated when it invaded Kuwait. So far it does not look like Russia miscalculated, but the long term effects may make them regret their actions. But for now, China doesn’t care and the US has no military resources to spare thanks to the Bush/McCain Iraq Quagmire, and Bush’s stupid and arrogant foreign policy has alienated most of our allies, leaving us more isolated than Russia these days. Russia, in essence, chose its timing perfectly for this invasion.
But there is another way in which the Russian invasion of Georgia is more like Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait rather than the Bush invasion of Iraq. It comes down to a particular concept of “defense,” one that follows closely that of the early Roman Empire where each perceived threat was dealt with through aggression and invasion.
Having no natural borders, Russia is doing what it always did in “defense.” From Tsarist times through the Communist creation of the Warsaw Pact, to Russia’s disastrous invasion of Afghanistan, Russia has always seen aggression as the best defense. The current situation is nothing different except the Caucasus are arguably the only natural boundary Russia has. However, historically the Caucasus served almost as much as a corridor of invasion as it did a boundary. In ancient times invaders from the Steppes came through the Caucasus regularly. In Medieval times the Khazars and Arabs fought back and forth across the Caucasus. And the trans-Caucasus region, including the Northern regions of Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan and North Ossetia, as well as the Southern regions of South Ossetia, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, has been a collection of flash points among incipient nationalist interests as well as between nationalist interests and Empire. The analogy with the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Balkans prior to WW I is also apt.
The current conflict is also a continuation of the Cold War, even if the ideological underpinnings are gone. Post-WW II two superpowers emerged: the Russian Empire (then called the Soviet Union) and America. The economic conflict over capitalism vs. communism in many ways was not the primary reason for this conflict. The real conflict was which would emerge the dominant force in post-War Europe. This conflict dominated first European, then World politics for nearly 50 years. Then the collapse of the Soviet Union seemed decisive, but really it seems it did not end the Russia/US conflict over dominance. The expansion of NATO into formerly Warsaw Pact nations was a deliberate, and largely smart, expression of US victory in the Cold War. And Russia was powerless to prevent it. Bush’s stupid missile “defense” shield, which has little practical value in modern conflicts, was a further expression of dominance over Russia, and perhaps the point where a slowly weakening US may have started going too far in poking the Bear. At the same time Georgia itself was looking more and more to the West rather than to Russia. The current Georgian government is a pro-West government. Mikhail Saakashvili came to power after Georgian elections were declared rigged after final results failed to match exit polls. The fact that Bush backed this analysis was deeply cynical and ironic since Bush’s own elections included similar discrepancies between final tallies and exit polls. The same Bush administration denigrated exit polls when they showed he might have lost but embraced exit polls when it brought a pro-West regime to Russia’s neighbor, Georgia. To my mind the exit polls may have contained the truth in both cases, but Bush’s stand was hypocritical. One of Mikhail Saakashvili’s promises was Georgia joining NATO.
The combination of this expansion of NATO, a pro-West government next door to Russia’s most volatile region, and Bush’s posturing over a missile “defense” shield all are likely to be seen as direct threats to Russian security, particularly given the problems surrounding the Caucasus. Putin has been trying to reassert Russian control in the area for years now. Georgia’s escalation of the conflict with Ossetia, which was not very different than Russia’s own actions in Chechnya, was an easy excuse for Putin to use to finally show whose the boss of the Caucasus.
Russia intends to be just as much a boss of the region as it was during the Cold War. It wants to reassert its dominance, whether by direct control or dominant influence, on all the former Soviet Republics it can, particularly if natural resources are at stake. The invasion of Georgia is part of that reassertion of Soviet era dominance. Russia intends to take Ossetia into its direct control and to force a regime change on Georgia to produce a more compliant neighbor and to head off Western influence in the region.
The US doctrine that emerged from the Cold War, formulated by the elected Bush and Clinton, was that bully nations could no longer invade weak nations without consequences. That was the basis of our first Gulf War with Iraq and our involvement in the Balkans. This new policy also marked a high point in US respect and dominance worldwide. The current, unelected Bush deviated from that course, turning us into a bully nation when he lied to invade Iraq in the second Gulf War. At that point we lost both the practical ability and the moral authority to stand up to Russia when it chose to bully Georgia into line. There are no immediate consequences for Russia. They can keep saying they have declared a ceasefire while they send in more and more planes and tanks. They can blame Georgia even as they violate their own promises even as they make them. Russia, in the short term, will get away with this and Bush is left feebly scolding them while Putin just laughs.
Will this backfire on Russia? Probably in the long run it will. I believe Russia has interfered with its own interests by backing a separatist regime, thus encouraging the Balkanization of the Caucasus. This is precisely what Russia does NOT want to encourage. Georgia’s conflict with South Ossetia almost precisely matches Russia’s conflicts with Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia. The Ossetians have a record of some loyalty with Russia, but not in all cases. North Ossetia has been something of a potential flashpoint for Russia and it seems to me encouraging nationalism in South Ossetia is unlikely to be good for Russian stability in North Ossetia, Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia. It is quite likely that Russia is unleashing more trouble than they are solving. It is perhaps ironic that Bush has rendered the US powerless against Russian aggression, leaving tiny break away republics to be the probable source of payback against Russia’s aggression against Georgia. And let’s not forget that those same breakaway republics have been targets of al-Qaeda interest. This is another case where stupidity on the part of the superpowers is likely to benefit al-Qaeda. This is where the US and Russia have both failed. The US and Soviet proxy war in Afghanistan produced al-Qaeda. Russian aggression in Chechnya and Dagestan in particular as well as a US presence in the Persian Gulf (mainly bases in Saudi Arabia) fed al-Qaeda recruitment and expansion. Now American aggression against Iraq and, I predict, Russian aggression in the Caucasus, further feeds the growth of al-Qaeda. Way to go, Bush and Putin. Way to enable your enemies.
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Dan Jacoby's picture
A crazy thought
In addition to everything mole has outlined, I wonder how much of this is also for the same reason we invaded Granada in 1983.
At the time, we were reeling from both post-Vietnam traumatic syndrome and the fiasco in the desert of Iran. The invasion of a tiny island (about the size of Martha's Vineyard) was ostensibly to replace a hateful government; in fact, the government was only responding to U.S. restrictions (oh yes, and talking with Fidel Castro). The real reason for the invasion was to make Americans "proud" of our military prowess ('cause we could beat up on the really, really little guy).
Today, Russia is still feeling the effects of a disastrous ten-year invasion of Afghanistan, followed by the collapse of their economy (not to mention their entire governmental structure). With Putin firmly in de facto command, might there be a similar desire to resurrect a feeling of military superiority?
Just a thought.
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Gothanonymous Reader's picture
I really think this is the
I really think this is the start of a new Cold War. Let's hope it doesn't lead to a Hot War. I predict insurgencies like that are in Iraq & Afghanistan will start to show up in the provinces of Georgia. And by the way, the Russian economy is much better off than ours right now. In fact, in the New York Times this past weekend, large Real Estate companies are going over to Russia and selling properties in Hamptons.
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mole333's picture
But interestingly...
Interestingly this time around Russia and the US have more equivalent economic and political systems. Russia is much more like the US that it was as the Soviet Union, while under Bush the US has moved more towards the corruption, cronyism and restrictions on freedoms that the Soviets were known for. I don't think our paths have crossed, but we have become largely the same in these ways. So this time the rivalry is strictly practical, not ideological.
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sidnora's picture
Excellent, interesting analysis
Thanks, mole.
I've had the feeling that this might not benefit Russia in the long run, no matter how much it bolsters their self-image in the short run, but I couldn't think what the mechanics of that backfire might be. I read an incisive observation: that Russia is still doing their empire-building 19th-century style, through the acquisition of territory, whereas the countries most likely to be the successful empires of the 21st century are doing it through economic power: China and India, with Brazil maybe following up.
Good point about how their lack of natural borders makes the Russians insecure about territory. In fact, a general sense of insecurity and inferiority has always informed Russian foreign policy. If you've never read it, I highly recommend "The Russians" by Hedrick Smith for its look at the Russian psychology and how it informs their politics. Even though it was written during the Soviet era, its insights are just as valid today.
I work with two Georgians, both of whom have immediate family still in Tbilisi. They are helpless in this situation, and distraught. Very painful to see.
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mole333's picture
I haven't yet had a chance to talk to my Russian friends. Would be interestnig to hear their take. They don't like Putin and remember the threat of having to serve in Chechnya, but they also do have a certain amount of Russian chauvenism when it comes to ethnic minorities from the old Soviet Union.
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User login | http://www.dailygotham.com/blog/mole333/the_trans_caucasus_conflict_bush_poked_the_bear_once_too_often | dclm-gs1-099160001 | false | false | {
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0.031328 | <urn:uuid:6549da6e-4737-4cc9-a1a2-654dbf4dab2a> | en | 0.979412 | Psycho: I'm a social worker
Stuart Pearce claims that the skills of a social worker are needed when you become a manager.
Manchester City's caretaker boss is hoping for back-to-back wins when his side travel to Fulham on Saturday after the defeat of Liverpool.
Pearce is still feeling his way in the job following the departure of Kevin Keegan.
"There is a big difference between being on the staff and being in charge," the former England international told the Manchester Evening News.
"You realise from day one you are responsible for a lot of people and for the morale of the club.
"You have to be a social worker to get round all the players and keep everyone onside.
"That's not just those in the team but all the players. The staff have also got to be kept happy.
"Being the figurehead of the club is a very responsible role. It is one I relish." | http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-344786/Psycho-Im-social-worker.html | dclm-gs1-099190001 | false | false | {
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0.077487 | <urn:uuid:0fc8b21e-6892-49a0-be39-14fad04b3b47> | en | 0.971619 | Print 65 comment(s) - last by Bobby2000.. on Feb 1 at 12:30 PM
Foxconn factory in China (Source:
According to Apple executives and Foxconn management, safety is the last thing on Apple's mind
For hardcore Apple fans, rushing out to buy the next iPhone or iPad is a top priority -- even if it means standing in line for hours. But in the words of an anonymous former Apple executive, most people would be disturbed if they knew where their iPhone came from.
Apple's history with suppliers that are abusive to their employees is no secret. Foxconn and Wintek are among Apple's electronics suppliers that have factories in China with horrible working conditions, but no matter how many times violations of Apple's supplier code of conduct are brought to light, the situation remains the same. Now, The New York Times has taken a closer look at the bleak environment that the employees of Apple's Asian suppliers are forced to deal with in its second installment of its iEconomy series.
Apple's supplier code of conduct, which was developed in 2005, states "that working conditions in Apple's supply chain are safe, that workers are treated with respect and dignity, and that manufacturing processes are environmentally responsible." While this code was made with good intentions, it is not being upheld entirely by Apple or some of Apple's suppliers. Employees have complained of working long hours, unsafe working conditions and little pay -- all in the name of assembling iPhones, iPads and iPods at a rapid pace.
"You can either manufacture in comfortable, worker-friendly factories, or you can reinvent the product every year, and make it better and faster and cheaper, which requires factories that seem harsh by American standards," said a current Apple executive, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive topic. "And right now, customers care more about a new iPhone than working conditions in China."
Foxconn, which is Apple's electronics supplier in Chengdu, China, is one of the worst offenders of Apple's supplier code of conduct. Employees and worker advocates have both described the horrible conditions that workers must endure. Many work over 60 hours per week, putting in an obscene amount of overtime. Some work 12 hours per day, six days or more per week. Signs on the walls of Foxconn offer reminders such as, "Work hard on the job today or work hard to find a job tomorrow." There are 24-hour shifts, and 70,000 of the employees are crammed into tiny dorms when they have some time off. At times, about 20 workers would be stuffed into a three-bedroom apartment. There were also issues with the employment of under-age workers.
As if exhaustion and crowded living spaces weren't enough, the conditions within the actual factory were well below satisfactory. Aluminum dust clouded the Foxconn factories due to machines that polished iPad cases, and the factories had poor ventilation systems. A Hong Kong advocacy group called Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior published a warning, which was sent to Apple, to let the company know about the potential dangers of aluminum dust buildup.
The warning clearly went unnoticed, since two Foxconn factories exploded as a result of the aluminum dust. The first occurred in May 2011 in Foxconn's Chengdu factory, which killed four people and injured another 77. The second occurred in Shanghai and ended up injuring 59 workers while hospitalizing another 23.
The explosions weren't Foxconn's only high-profile issues over the last few years. In 2010, Foxconn's Shenzhen factory, which is responsible for Apple's iPods, iPhones and iPads, experienced a series of employee suicides due to the stressful and exhausting working conditions. There were at least 12 suicides during this time period as well as a riot. To address the issue, Foxconn made employees promise not to kill themselves and installed anti-suicide nets at its facilities.
"Conditions at Foxconn are anything but harsh," wrote Foxconn in a statement after the riot. "All assembly line employees are given regular breaks, including one-hour lunch breaks. Foxconn has a very good safety record. Foxconn has come a long way in our efforts to lead our industry in China in areas such as workplace conditions and the care and treatment of our employees."
Even Apple seemed to defend its supplier's factories overseas. Steve Jobs, former Apple CEO, made the factories sound like theme parks.
"I actually think Apple does one of the best jobs of any companies in our industry, and maybe in any industry, of understanding the working conditions in our supply chain," said Jobs. "I mean, you go to this place, and, it's a factory, but, my gosh, I mean, they've got restaurants and movie theaters and hospitals and swimming pools, and I mean, for a factory, it's a pretty nice factory."
Jobs' statement seems to contradict the company's own audits, though. Apple has been publishing audits of its supplier's factories since 2007, and completed 396 walkthroughs by last year. Each year, there have been several and consistent violations to Apple's supplier code of conduct. For instance, in 2007, Apple completed three dozen audits where two-thirds demonstrated employees working over the 60 hour limit. There were also cases of underage workers, falsified records, improper disposal of hazardous waste and cases where workers were paid below minimum wage (or even nothing at all) as punishment.
"Apple never cared about anything other than increasing product quality and decreasing production cost," said Li Mingqi, a former Foxconn Technology manager at the Chengdu factory. "Workers' welfare has nothing to do with their interests."
Source: The New York Times
Comments Threshold
RE: There's nothing Apple can do.
By 3minence on 1/27/2012 11:01:39 AM , Rating: 2
But Apple isn't the one doing that. The Chinese Government is!
Actually, Foxconn is. The Chinese government is allowing it along with Apple and any other company that buys from Foxconn and company's like Foxconn. The Chinese government and Apple are 'Enablers', they allow or encourage a bad situation to exist. By saying "hey, it's needed for business" you not much better they they are.
You really need to relax kid.
I'm no kid and I've worked for some of the best companies and a few that were pretty bad; I can sympathize with the Foxconn workers. I'm lucky that I live in a country where I can leave a lousy job and have a good chance at finding another one that is acceptable, they aren't that lucky.
Is DT so anti-business that even something this clear cut needs to be twisted this much?
I'm not DT, I speak for myself. I am not anti-business, I'm pro ethical business.
RE: There's nothing Apple can do.
By Reclaimer77 on 1/27/2012 11:13:05 AM , Rating: 2
I'm not going to sit here and try to defend Apple's ethics. I don't like them enough, frankly. My point is that the supply chain, the scale and speed, and the demand dictate that Apple is doing the only thing they can do meet the demand needed to produce their product. And it's not just Apple, it's everyone.
I can sympathize with the Foxconn workers.
Again you're applying your Western ideals, ethics, and expectations to a Chinese workplace. Foxconn workers are paid WELL above the national average. Without Apple, hundreds of thousands of jobs in China would not even exist. These people would then have to go back to making the equivalent of 17 cents a day. If they could even FIND work at all. How is that better for them exactly?
Don't get me wrong, the conditions in China are deplorable. But it's not Apple's fault. They can't change Chinese laws, enact labor unions, or dictate to Foxconn what their employees pay and what benefits they get.
Yes, yes we are. But again, you're holding Apple responsible for a condition that you just admitted is due to the COUNTRY they live in. We have opportunities they do not.
I am not anti-business, I'm pro ethical business.
Good. Now be pro-common sense as well.
RE: There's nothing Apple can do.
By Rukkian on 1/27/2012 2:25:32 PM , Rating: 2
While I don't agree with the practices, I feel it really is the job of the Chinese government to fix it, not ours. Where I have a problem here is with Apple coming and promoting their "higher standards" and lying about the conditions to get better sales. Either fix the problems, or defer to the manufacturer, but blatently lying about it is wrong!
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0.03455 | <urn:uuid:8112c7af-917c-45ca-8ab5-03eb154e0361> | en | 0.967305 | ONE blast seems to have been aimed at Algeria's constitutional court but killed a busload of university students who happened to be passing by. The other destroyed the local office of the UN's High Commissioner for Refugees and damaged other UN offices across the street. Hospital sources reported 76 dead, though the government said 26. Responsibility was claimed on Islamist websites by “al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb”, as Algeria's main terrorist group now styles itself. Its declared aim was to strike a blow at “the Crusaders and their agents, the slaves of America and the sons of France”.
Following several years of relative calm, Algeria has suffered a spate of violence since the spring. This has usually been explained as a hangover from Algeria's particularly brutal civil war in the 1990s. But the nature of recent attacks reflects a broader global agenda promoted by the alliance, announced last year, between local Islamist terrorists and al-Qaeda. Nearly simultaneous multiple bombings, aimed at maximising terror and carrying a message of “resistance” to imagined enemies of Islam, have become a calling card of the terrorist group. Previous attacks in Algeria had been smaller strikes aimed at police stations and the like. Earlier this year the group tried to kill the prime minister.
The seed for today's terrorism was probably planted in 1992, when Algeria's government annulled a second round of elections after Islamists had won the first. This led to one of the most spectacular outbreaks of violence in modern times, leaving some 200,000 Algerians dead. No target, even busloads of schoolchildren, was considered illegitimate. It stemmed from a perversion of the Muslim idea of takfir (excommunication), whereby al-Qaeda has declared several Arab governments, including the Egyptian and Saudi ones, to be apostates deserving death.
Algeria's Armed Islamic Group (GIA) took the condemnation further, announcing that anyone not fighting against the government deserved the same fate. A splinter from the GIA, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), has since grown to greater prominence than the GIA. This newer group at first promised to avoid the GIA's habit of random violence. But in the past six months its violence has claimed more civilian lives, often dozens at a time. The latest bombings were the bloodiest yet. If the Salafist group was responsible, it has broken that promise.
What makes this possible is the nature of the attack and the close links between the GSPC and al-Qaeda. Algeria's Islamists and Osama bin Laden collaborated in the 1990s. Their ties became formal last year, on the fifth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, when Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda's deputy leader, named the GSPC as his group's North African affiliate. Since then, it has styled itself al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, matching the name of its affiliate in Iraq, al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia. Both titles avoid mentioning Algeria and Iraq, names of the modern, secular states created by Europeans. Such a designation seemed ambitious when the group was engaged in parochial fighting. But as attacks have become bigger and deadlier, the group is aiming to look more like an organisation in its parent's mould.
Few expect Algeria to revert to the sustained violence of the civil war. An amnesty declared in 2002 has enabled thousands of former Islamist militants to return to ordinary life. High oil prices have helped resurrect what had been a nearly ruined economy, and in recent local elections moderate Islamists failed to make ground. Algerian officials say that, by choosing high-publicity targets of low strategic value, the terrorists display their own weakness. But they still generate terror. | http://www.economist.com/node/10286373/email | dclm-gs1-099390001 | false | false | {
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0.02396 | <urn:uuid:7c185872-ac1f-43db-911d-0fafceb631e8> | en | 0.943092 | Timor urged to close loophole for war criminals
Timor urged to close loophole for war criminals
By agency reporter
30 Jun 2010
Human rights groups are urging Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor) to close a legal loophole allowing war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the 1975-1999 Indonesian occupation to go unpunished.
‘Timor-Leste; Justice in the Shadow’, an Amnesty International report released this week on the country’s latest Penal Code, documents how the law allows amnesties that would prevent trials of people suspected of war crimes or crimes against humanity.
Without a ban on such amnesties, Timor-Leste is not fulfilling its obligations under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, to which it acceded in 2002.
“Survivors of decades of human rights violations in Timor-Leste are demanding justice and reparations, but the authorities’ routine use of amnesties, pardons and similar measures has created a culture of impunity,” said Isabelle Arradon, Amnesty’s Researcher on Timor-Leste.
The repected human rights NGO fears that the Timor-Leste authorities’ potential use of amnesties due to the gap in its new Penal code, will damage the young nation’s ability to develop a strong deterrent to violence, maintain an independent and trusted judiciary, and hold armed groups and security forces accountable for their actions.
People indicted and convicted by the UN Special Panels for Serious Crimes for crimes against humanity committed during Timor-Leste’s 1999 transition to nationhood, have been among those released through presidential pardons or commutation of sentences.
In 2008, a militia leader, Joni Marques, was set free after his sentence was substantially reduced by the President. He was originally sentenced to 33 years’ imprisonment for crimes against humanity.
“The authorities in Timor-Leste are compromising on justice to seek peace – but trading away justice for such serious crimes only undermines the rule of law, and cannot resolve the trauma of the past,” explained Isabelle Arradon.
In 2009, the Timor-Leste government allowed Maternus Bere, indicted by the United Nations Serious Crimes Unit, to avoid prosecution by transferring him to Indonesia before he faced trial. Bere had been a militia leader involved in massacres of civilians in 1999.
‘Timor-Leste: Justice in the Shadow’ acknowledges important steps that the country has taken to include many of its obligations under the Rome Statute into its Penal Code. However, as well as the lack of explicit ban on amnesties for crimes under international law, the Penal Code lacks provisions on co-operation with the International Criminal Court.
Both local and international NGOs, including Amnesty, are backing a long-term comprehensive plan to address impunity in Timor-Leste.
This would include the establishment of an international tribunal to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the crimes committed under Indonesian occupation; a search for the disappeared; reparations for the thousands who suffered and the relatives of those who died and an approach to amnesties, pardons or similar measures that does not undermine the rule of law.
In August 1999, the people of Timor-Leste (then East Timor) voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence from Indonesia in a UN-sponsored referendum. The lead-up to the polls and its aftermath were marred by crimes against humanity and other serious human rights violations. Most of those suspected of such crimes are still at large in Indonesia.
Between 1974 and 1999, 100,000 people are estimated to have been killed or starved to death in Timor-Leste, according to the report of the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor (CAVR).
Crimes against humanity and other human rights violations were most acute during the 24 years of Indonesian occupation from 1975. They included unlawful killings; enforced disappearances; arbitrary detention; torture and other ill-treatment; war crimes; sexual violence; violations of the rights of the child and violations of economic, social and cultural rights.
The overwhelming majority of the past crimes, mostly at the hands of the Indonesian security forces and their auxiliaries, have yet to be addressed.
For more information, see the AI report 'We cry for justice’: Impunity persists 10 years on in Timor-Leste’ - http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA57/001/2009/en
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0.850006 | <urn:uuid:2caa861d-4b7a-4699-9c46-53cdde7255e1> | en | 0.894755 | Tricolor Transport 2 (crop)
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rsimmonc, gooddingexotics, ccurtiss22, and 2 other people added this photo to their favorites.
1. Justin Smith - Photography 11 months ago | reply
Wow! tadpoles on the back. Does this represent the typical amount of eggs laid (which would be pretty small number compared with many frogs), or is getting a ride basically first-come-first-serve?
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0.365225 | <urn:uuid:512e561a-78b7-4878-9521-2fa34edfcb96> | en | 0.836984 | single black whisker
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lelu has always had a lone black whisker in a sea of white ones.
1. K S [deleted] 98 months ago | reply
That's just one thing that makes her so special!!
Really like the lighting and cropping on this!
2. LightStamp 98 months ago | reply
Do you think she dyes that hair?... How vain! ;-)
3. LeluOdinLove 98 months ago | reply
teehee! thanks, all!
4. r a e d e k e 98 months ago | reply
I love this. What a sweetie.
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0.090156 | <urn:uuid:51f0a8be-6275-48f8-8f0e-1d313da0aded> | en | 0.966381 | Newer Older
The short bob is cute, but I prefer long hairstyles.
Those shorts/tights were a pain in the ass to put on.
illusionwaltz, joylove23, Tap ・ ♠, and 40 other people added this photo to their favorites.
View 5 more comments
1. RedBeanPetit4s 20 months ago | reply
Dude, it took 2-3 people to put those shorts on her. And those are SD17 pants.
2. Purple ♥ Enma 20 months ago | reply
xD but SD17 girls have very slim legs, though, for me this is an average size for thighs o3o
3. RedBeanPetit4s 20 months ago | reply
LOL it's an average size for a girl that eats lots of desserts, bacon and cheese fries~
4. Purple ♥ Enma 20 months ago | reply
I wish I could be like her eating lots of desserts, bacon and cheese fries o3o
5. Belle Lenoir 20 months ago | reply
She's perfect!!!
6. .-. Kurel .-. 20 months ago | reply
Chubby... seriously guys? speechless... I mean, she´s still a doll... but at the end of the day we need more people who don´t think skeletal prototype is the natural and right size... LOL
7. Prettío 20 months ago | reply
I totally agree with Kurel. I don't think this doll is chubby at all.
I think that saying that because having normal or even chubby thighs you only eat fast food is very thoughtless and disrespectful...
8. RedBeanPetit4s 20 months ago | reply
DUDE. ME TOO.
Thank you!
Chubby is not fat. Her character design is supposed to be on the chubbier side with a bit of a muffin top. I think it's healthy (and so does her fans!). She just eats a lot of calories and she really hates veggies ^^
I didn't say skinny/skeletal is the right size either. But when I buy clothes for her, she can't wear the 'average' SD13/16 girls clothes. That top is SD13 boy's shirt (cuz she's got a large rack) and those shorts are 70cm (and they don't even button!).
9. Prettío 20 months ago | reply
Ah I understand, you said it because the character personality, that makes more sense then n_n
10. .-. Kurel .-. 20 months ago | reply
Okay, that´s your opinion and I can understand you´re saying that because of the character design... but telling me that this kind of body is from a person who eats a lot of calories and hate veggies is a wrong fact, just saying.
Obviously we´re talking about a doll, but ratios from a normal person with this doll talking in a proporcional way, I assure you it´s not from a person who eat a lot of calories and hate veggies. Saying that it seems to me a little bit insulting for a lot of girls who can have a similar size, even if you didn´t mean that, I think some girls may misinterpret your words, though you think is healthy, and feel bad, this is a very sensitive issue.
Of course it can be in some cases I will not generalize, but I´ve got a lot of friends with a similar size of "muffin top" or a "large rack" and they are way healthy and don´t eat a lot of calories, it is just their metabolism.
Anyway, I´m sorry If I sounded a little bit edge :)
11. RedBeanPetit4s 20 months ago | reply
Thank you~
I understand if you are on edge about this topic. I thought it was too long for me to explain the general concept, but as others have mentioned, 'average' sd13/16 girl sizes are very slim. I needed a doll that is bit bigger than the average (considering her character design is as what I have said).
When Iplehouse mentioned they are remaking the YID girls into a more heavier form (she is only 60cm with hips as big as EIDgirls so it shows a lot), I hopped on the bandwagon because it's the closest I can get (I needed a short girl with large bust and hips). I'm not saying you have to eat junk food and no veggies to get a form like this or that it's 'unhealthy'. I'm saying, she (as a doll and as a character) is a size larger than the 'average' girls/dolls since she has to shop in the men's department (lol literally!). Comparing her measurements with other girl dolls (that is 60cm), she is pretty big.
12. akumadolly 20 months ago | reply
People have different body types, shapes and ways their metabolism functions.
Since she is a doll, most 60cm(SD10/13) girls are on the slim side, some may have child-like appeal and have slightly "chubbier" look to them-- (chubby does not equate fat or over weight)
and there isn't much variety to the SD girl bodies-- because most are in the average slim category, but there are some SD girl bodies that are a bit more "skinnier" like Supia girl bodies (they are very slim and have hip bones sticking out while maintaining an curve) or an doll chateau SD girl body (those are on the extreme side on slim, pretty much borders into eating disorders, in my opinion lol)
the nYID girl was supposed to look and feel bigger but still maintain the similar height as the other SD10/13 girls, as Iplehouse wrote when they released news about the nYID. Which is lot different, and no one said it was unattractive.
13. .-. Kurel .-. 20 months ago | reply
Okay now I get what you mean. Then I hope that dolls shops will sell clothes for this body sizes. I think that´s the big deal, the fact that doll sculpters should do less "averages" sizes and focus more on realistic bodies.
Btw, I think your dolls are really beautiful, all of them. :)
14. RedBeanPetit4s 20 months ago | reply
Aww thank you very much! I don't want to cause drama and confusion, so I just wanted to clarify that up. Don't forget, these doll sculpters are from Asia, and they have their own point of view regarding weight and sizes. To them, average is the usual skinny, petite Asian girl.
It is really hard to buy clothes for her (even more for my EID girl). The people that makes really nice clothes (that fit their styles) only makes them for SD10/13/16. So when I do get a few items from them, I work up a lot of trouble just to squeeze them in. Plus, I had to sand down her feet a whole size just to get them to fit into SD16 shoes!! But.....I love her very much so I don't care XDD
15. .-. Kurel .-. 20 months ago | reply
XDD Hahaha don´t worry I understand, at least little by little they are creating more types of sculptures and that´s fantastic!
16. ✿Lun∀✿™ 20 months ago | reply
Viva is just too beautiful. <3
17. leishaj777 18 months ago | reply
I love her styling! :D
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0.024005 | <urn:uuid:1f81b2a3-e6e2-4bfd-a25b-9ece3133c6d5> | en | 0.817613 | Galaxy Girl
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I wanted to try something new.
I don't use photoshop (elements) for anything but enhancing the tones and colors, so it was interesting.
Courtney Wilde, and 94 other people added this photo to their favorites.
1. Stephen Medeiros 42 months ago | reply
looove this so much <3
2. .bravelittlebird 42 months ago | reply
damn. this is fljadlk;dajlaf;jn'
amazing. i love this!<3
3. let's use semaphores [deleted] 42 months ago | reply
whoa, this is so cool
4. MikesGraphics 42 months ago | reply
This is amazing! (Seen in flickriver)
5. Nipun Tantia [deleted] 42 months ago | reply
Amazing shot .......and a very interesting capture.....congrats on explore and have a nice day.....(:
You can also visit My Photostream
6. Queen_Pics 42 months ago | reply
wonderful composition, THE FINAL EFFECT IS GORGEOUS, CONGRATS!!!
7. Soleil is me. 42 months ago | reply
BRAVO!; Greeting from Bangkok. Your image is so stunning & creatively and I love it:)
INSPIRE Invite ONLY
You are INVITED to display this wonderful photo
in the INSPIRE Pool
Be happy Weekend:)
8. Astromachy 42 months ago | reply
That is awesome!
9. nature bee [deleted] 42 months ago | reply
Amazing concept
10. [V]ORTICE [deleted] 42 months ago | reply
great work!
11. thezartorialist.com 39 months ago | reply
This def works. Very nice.
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0.025692 | <urn:uuid:bc61f7b3-c71e-41ab-9716-ce00da8144dd> | en | 0.895858 | • thinnen the same way as the lower right corner!
• the with of the body is equal to two leg lenghes
Trilobite CP
Prev Next
the rivers width is 3% of the length of a leg flap. so if one leg has a radius of 100% the length of one edge ist aprox. 1612% for the antenna i just mesured the points on the drawing (not really purist, i know, but i suck at geometry!)
ENNIS61, dingdengdeng, PauliusOrigami, and 8 other people added this photo to their favorites.
1. Ryan MacDonell 73 months ago | reply
Hey, this kinda looks like mine :P
2. MABONA ORIGAMI 73 months ago | reply
yea, kinda ;)
i had to move away form the box-pleating because i couldn't get the rivers thin enough otherwise.
3. EricGjerde 73 months ago | reply
Gah... look at all those tiny creases. Madness.
4. ori-gauthier 73 months ago | reply
what about references points?
5. MABONA ORIGAMI 73 months ago | reply
read the info beneath the pic and the notes and should be able to calculate them!
6. Jon_Tucker 73 months ago | reply
Wow, I'm having a hard time understanding this one...The sheer amount of flaps, all the tiny rivers, the trapezoidal molecules (I never really got those). That must be really hard to fold.
7. MABONA ORIGAMI 73 months ago | reply
actually it is not hard to fold at all. the only difficulty is that one needs to use super thin paper. i'm working on a cleaner rendition and will post it soon. i might also post a more detailed cp.
also i am not very purist with reference points. i just mark them with pencil rather then fold them.
8. tskorigami 46 months ago | reply
that is an insane number of middle and edge points!
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0.628506 | <urn:uuid:cfa1bd3e-4424-4c2b-9bea-8c212c81d8f9> | en | 0.892532 | Semi-Detached/ Dale Grimshaw
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Signal Gallery
mel's_photos, za_Beasto, and KEIS VOL added this photo to their favorites.
1. mel's_photos 30 months ago
How was the show?I could'nt make it but bought the one on the left.
2. unusualimage 30 months ago
Impressive, well attended!
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0.440704 | <urn:uuid:dd459324-8d6b-437f-b3b0-a23e3104142b> | en | 0.947733 |
5 game franchises that deserve the MMO treatment
[Continued] Page 6
1) Grand Theft Auto
C'mon now, you must've known this was coming. Rockstar Games basically invented the "sandbox" style of video games with their classic series of crime thrillers, but the one aspect that's always been missing is a Liberty City teeming with actual players.
The formula seems so simple to me. Players start off running petty missions for local thugs, before eventually earning a spot in one of the game's many crime syndicates, all entirely run by fellow players. Maybe you'll be able to prove yourself as the best wheelman in town, a skilled assassin, or even a business genius who knows the right way to unload some illicit cargo. The only barrier to success is your own criminal cunning. Make the right friends and you could earn yourself a major role in the operations, or even become head of the family. Screw up enough missions, or make the wrong enemies, and you may find a player has put a hit out on your head.
Honestly though, the best aspect of GTA Online is going to be seeing exactly how society functions when everybody is a potential car-jacker. I can just picture thousands of vehicles being driven by sociopathic career criminals, unable to turn a corner without seeing cars leaping from buildings or slamming into pedestrians, with massive city-wide gunfights leaving the streets painted in cartoonish amounts of blood...
Sounds like my kind of city.
Anonymous User | http://www.gamezone.com/originals/2012/05/10/5-game-franchises-that-deserve-the-mmo-treatment/6 | dclm-gs1-099600001 | false | false | {
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0.018826 | <urn:uuid:1a7f3235-5ccf-4de1-a97a-dc4ca2efde79> | en | 0.948216 | Your E-mail:
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Hey! How are you doing? Lightning and the others are great! I am SO sorry to say this but I won't be able to get on tomorrow. I am having friends over to spend the night so I won't get the chance to get on. I'm sorry. But we will have a lot of fun and I will have new pictures and updates for you for Saturday! Well I won't keep you long. Here's a vote for your gorgeous horse! Talk to you soon!
P.s. PLEASE don't stop voting for Lightning while we're gone! Lightning's votes have been going down for some reason, no matter how hard I blog! I blog to SOOOO many people but his blogs and votes STAY down! What am I gonna do? Haha!
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0.415297 | <urn:uuid:a6f08792-19c5-46d5-a516-8d0011c24a2c> | en | 0.934322 | Negative Amortization Limit
Dictionary Says
Definition of 'Negative Amortization Limit'
A provision in certain loan contracts that limits the amount of negative amortization that can take place. A loan negatively amortizes when scheduled payments are made that are less than the interest charge due on the loan at the time. When a payment is made that is less than the interest charge due, deferred interest is created and added to the loan's principal balance, creating negative amortization. A negative amortization limit states that the principal balance of a loan cannot exceed a certain amount, usually designated as a percentage of the original loan balance.
Investopedia Says
Investopedia explains 'Negative Amortization Limit'
When a negative amortization limit is reached on a loan, a recasting of the loan's payments is triggered so that a new amortization schedule is established and the loan will be paid off by the end of its term. A negative amortization limit prevents a loan's principal balance from becoming too large, causing excessively large payment increases to pay back the loan by the end of its term.
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0.01822 | <urn:uuid:9f593627-f099-4b4e-b3db-049fc01d11c8> | en | 0.958353 | § 3-401. SIGNATURE.
(a) A person is not liable on an instrument unless (i) the person signed the instrument, or (ii) the person is represented by an agent or representative who signed the instrument and the signature is binding on the represented person under Section 3-402.
(b) A signature may be made (i) manually or by means of a device or machine, and (ii) by the use of any name, including a trade or assumed name, or by a word, mark, or symbol executed or adopted by a person with present intention to authenticate a writing. | http://www.law.cornell.edu/ucc/3/3-401 | dclm-gs1-099850001 | false | false | {
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0.960493 | <urn:uuid:7d351933-8b9e-4b2e-b75d-f5c8f58be905> | en | 0.820955 | View Single Post
08-23-2013, 02:12 PM #466
Drives: '08 328 coupe
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Georgia
Posts: 412
iTrader: (0)
Why can't two people live together without people saying "your shacking up" or whatever? As long as your loyal to that person and trust each other 100% why is it that you have to sign a contract saying your married? Can someone enlighten me?
'11 328I sedan- Le Mans Blue- MSport
'14 428 coupe-Alpine White-MSportelivered
benbo5 is offline
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0.039274 | <urn:uuid:9e15f071-b01b-4afb-be10-6a7d523abfdf> | en | 0.960512 | Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critics
Critic score distribution:
1. Positive: 7 out of 12
2. Negative: 0 out of 12
1. Well, the overall concept is fairly simple to understand, and beginners have a set of recommended items, to understand the idea of an inventory build at least at a basic level. Then there's the tutorial that will further explain the gameplay mechanics, which you can go through entirely or selectively, depending on how much you already know about the game.
2. The only real compelling argument for getting into the game now comes from that group of friends who spend hours a day playing, telling you how great it is until you finally give in and join the madness with them.
3. If you're looking for something competitive to sink some serious time into then Heroes of Newerth is one of the best options out there.
4. Heroes of Newerth is a multiplayer RTS based on the classic DotA scenario for Warcraft 3, so it comes with a classic gameplay, a great number of characters and hundreds of items that you have to know and try in order to win a match. It can be a very though experience for all newcomers, as they need to play several matches only to know how to use some heroes.
5. Another clone of Defense of the Ancients and another good one. The huge team battles are very addictive and the game offers a lot of maps and heroes.
6. Heroes of Newerth makes a lot of fun. The heroes are cool, you have the typical DotA atmosphere and the matchmaking system ensure fair play. Nevertheless HoN is mainly a game for DotA veterans.
7. For anyone who is a super advanced DotA player, Newerth is a must buy, if only to keep up with the tournaments. Everyone else really should stay away due to the terrible community.
8. Heroes of Newerth is an intriguing mix of frenetic action and tactical gameplay, showcasing some of the very best aspects of it's still-evolving genre.
9. A fairly arcane design and an unfriendly community make for difficult entry barriers. [July 2010, p.98]
10. Curious gamers will be pleased to possess what can be called the ultimate version of the legendary dota mod for Warcraft 3.
11. The issue is not with the game's creators, who haven't made a bad game at all. It's with the community that they have catered for with it. Words like 'PWNING' popping up when you're on a killing spree, however tongue and cheek, still add to the vibe that these overly-aggressive, humiliating or just downright internetty behaviours are encouraged.
12. Heroes of Newerth is definitely a good game, programmed to ensure players the same appeal already tried with Defense of the Ancients but with graphic, polygonal models and sounds completely renewed. A must for old fans but probably Hon isn't the most suitable game for players approaching this genre for the first time.
User Score
Mixed or average reviews- based on 199 Ratings
User score distribution:
1. Positive: 29 out of 53
2. Negative: 14 out of 53
1. Sep 8, 2012
Sports the worst community of any game bar none. This coming from a player that has played on and off for 2 years and stabilized around 1750 MMR post-normalization. The game has glaring design-flaws that contributes to the indescribably awful community, which serves to alienate rather than invite new players. Don't even bother to play HoN if you're out of puberty; the community is a disgrace. Full Review »
2. Nov 10, 2011
A very decent DOTA clone, miles ahead of LoL and should probably the market leader in the MOBA genre. Not going F2P from day 1 hurt them. Needs some better support for guild. Has in-game VOIP, great spectator system and a lot of re-playability. Definitely worth checking out if your waiting for DOTA 2. Full Review »
3. Jul 11, 2011
Heroes of Newerth wasn't a completely terrible game, but it tried way too hard to be DotA. It's steep learning curve and is in no way friendly to newer users. One of the more annoying quirks about the game was that it offered no range indicators for spells other than AoEs. It also has one of the worst communities I have ever seen and is totally unforgiving. Members of S2 Games' staff have also blatantly insulted users for berating the game, without any repercussions. I can say that it's graphics are well done. At it's price, this game isn't worth it. I'd recommend sticking to DotA, looking into League of Legends, and/or saving your money for Dota 2. Full Review » | http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/heroes-of-newerth/critic-reviews?num_items=30 | dclm-gs1-099930001 | false | false | {
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0.092057 | <urn:uuid:03cdb828-c72f-4071-b781-975365b3ef74> | en | 0.969313 | American Capitalist - Five Finger Death Punch
Mixed or average reviews - based on 5 Critics
Critic score distribution:
1. Positive: 3 out of 5
2. Negative: 0 out of 5
There are no positive critic reviews yet.
User Score
Universal acclaim- based on 19 Ratings
User score distribution:
1. Positive: 2 out of 2
2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
3. Negative: 0 out of 2
1. Apr 12, 2012
This has to be Five Finger Death Punch's beat album to date. This album is much heavier and much more aggressive songs than War Is The Answer. This shows on such songs as "100 Ways To Hate" and "Under And Over It". Over all this has to be their best album to date and i strongly recommend this CD to anyone. Full Review »
2. Dec 8, 2011
Five Finger Death Punch had a big mountain to climb after their last album. How do you improve on such a record? Easy. Heavier music, deeper lyrics, and ruthless aggression. This album is their best work yet. The title track, "American Capitalist" has the energy of a freight train going 900 miles an hour. The first single is the second track, "Under and Over It." is that head smashing jam that really has some meaning in it. "The Pride" is the next track, and it is something new for FFDP. This is a list song. This really gives the album that "capitalist" feeling, because it list some of the most American things we have. "Coming Down" is one of those medium songs that FFDP has used before (See "The Bleeding"). "Menace" has that "White Knuckles" vibe to it, and still is very unique. "Generation Dead" kicks off with a bass line that will blow you away, as simple as it is, and will get you in a fighting mood. "Back For More" is a tune that just gets you up on your feet and pumps you up. I can see this song being played in NFL stadiums everywhere. "Remember Everything" is that slow song in the vein of "Far From Home." The lyrics are so deep and personal, you wonder what Ivan went through to write this. This is actually one of the stand-out songs, and looks to be a hit single for the band. "Wicked Ways" is that "Meet The Monster" song that singles out celebrities for their...well, wicked ways. "If I Fall" is a song that just plain will whack you upside your head and give you that "going down swinging" mentality. The last song on the album is the one that will knock you on your ass and beat you senseless. "100 Ways To Hate" is their heaviest song on the album. It may be even heavier than "Ashes" and "War Is The Answer." There is so much anger and hate behind this song, and you will feel it. This is their best album yet, and you need to listen to it, even if you hate FFDP. Full Review » | http://www.metacritic.com/music/american-capitalist/five-finger-death-punch/critic-reviews?dist=positive | dclm-gs1-099970001 | false | false | {
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0.046688 | <urn:uuid:5c258c6f-3754-4c70-8bd9-9dcf6e2d00a8> | en | 0.937505 | Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys Image
Generally favorable reviews - based on 26 Critics What's this?
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Generally favorable reviews- based on 94 Ratings
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• Summary: My Chemical Romance's latest release -- four years after the last album -- reveals a slightly different sound and style for the band while keeping its recognizable emo meets rock-and-roll spirit.
Score distribution:
1. Positive: 19 out of 26
2. Negative: 1 out of 26
1. Dec 14, 2010
Rock'n'roll used to be about greatness, about escape and heroes. Once, you could get lost in an album, entangled in its world. It's been a long time since that has been the case. Danger Days...will change that.[13 Nov 2010, p.50]
2. This is the kind of album you just throw on to have fun. If anything, it proves My Chemical Romance don't need to be eccentric or theatrical to put out an enjoyable record.
3. Dec 7, 2010
This is a band that never rests on its laurels, a band that embraces new ideas but also knows how to write killer choruses. The worry was that this record would turn out dull; the reality blows that concern out of the water.
4. Dec 7, 2010
The band's held on to its drive and focus, and the hits outnumber the misses.
5. Dec 7, 2010
Viva la Vida Familiar.
6. Dec 20, 2010
For a band feeling they had painted themselves into a corner, this is them sodding the consequences and stomping their way out. [Dec 2010, p.96]
7. Dec 7, 2010
Pretentious yet lunkheaded, the disc's only charm is its slick, fist-pumping arrogance.
See all 26 Critic Reviews
Score distribution:
1. Positive: 39 out of 46
2. Negative: 6 out of 46
1. Mar 29, 2012
es increible este album es increible la diversidad y la gran variedad de sonidos de esta banda en the three su primer album vimos un ritmo emo un poco punk osea y opera yo lo llame revolucion rock opera emo/punk el el segundo album the black parade allamos un poco de opera otro poco under y punk increible con hardcore y speedrock y heavymetal y en este vemso un ritmo totalmente nuevo y evolucionado un poco de rock and roll baby con eletronica y punk increible Expand
2. Nov 22, 2010
Blown Away. That pretty much sums up my reaction to this album. To be honest I was not expecting such a well-rounded, brilliant album. But they delivered. Hands Down.
Standout Tracks:
Bulletproof Heart
Planetary (GO!)
The Only Hope For Me Is You
This album thoroughly deserves a 10/10. Right up there with the Black Keys as best album of the year
3. Nov 24, 2010
Regardless of how much I love a guy with insomniac eyes and a funerary demeanor, gone are the days of MCR with lank black hair, bulletproof vests, and weepy breakup songs, and here are the days of leather junker jackets, comic-book colors, and kick-your-ass rock suitable even for people who own no black clothing and have never worn eyeliner.
With Danger Days, the guys have successfully steered way clear of the emo that people took so much exception to in '05 and have come back swinging with one of the first genuine rock albums we've seen since Linkin Park's Meteora - not to mention a visual concept that'll knock your socks off.
In terms of lyricism and general musical maturity, My Chem has hit their peak form with Danger Days and brought us a truly enjoyable album that drags them back from the precipice of being doomed to a highschool audience forever - a precipice on which they had been teetering dangerously for some time.
Recommended tracks:
Planetary (GO!)
Party Poison
4. Mar 29, 2011
The only thing that could lead the rocker's mind away from enjoying this album is if it's strictly compared to My Chemical Romance's earlier albums. Danger Days has a mind of it's own. It's a new, modern sound that's influences come from many different ages of music. It's impressive when a band takes on a new style and it works. The album goes from old school rock sounds to 30 Seconds to Mars-esque spacey songs. The theme of the album captures a fun, fast paced kinda mood and the difference between Danger Days and the old albums is that it actually puts you in a good mood rather than bringing you down. Teen angst days are over, there is a higher demand in good music now a day and Danger Days definitely meets the standards of modern punk-rock. Expand
5. Jan 5, 2013
Changing your sound is a brave move and it doesn't often come off very well, but this isn't always the case with Danger Days, which provides highs that reach MCR's peaks and lows that define their lows. The sound change followed directly from the mega-hit 'The Black Parade' which is one of the bravest changes in history, meaning the band was putting a lot on the line, but with 2/3s of the album being very good and worth listening to and the other 1/3 being filler, although it is hit and miss, it is still definitely an album that is worth a listen. Expand
6. Feb 9, 2011
I must admit, I was a huge fan of My Chemical Romance's second album, ""Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge." Normally I'm underwhelmed by a following album, but "The Black Parade" proved me wrong.
With Danger Days, I was expecting another theatrical styled emo/rock album and was surprised by the change. At first I disliked the change - I missed the strong guitar riffs such as in "Dead!" and the powerful vocals emphasised in the past album. Whilst the lyrics are centered around an apocalyptic future - the songs somehow feel upbeat. However my opinion changed after a couple playthroughs of Danger Days. The songs are definitely catchy and enjoyable. My favourites being "SING" and "Planetary [Go!]." My only complaint would be that the album seems to fizzle out towards the end. Whilst MCR's style has changed - the energy is still there. A fun album, just not as great as their previous.
7. May 4, 2011
I like the music.. but the voice is just unbearable. Sorry, MCR. I will never be your fan. No matter how these pseudo "artistic" clips are, I just do not take it. Why should be a music album be designed like a comic book? OK, OK, Gerard Way draws comics. But there is one big BUT. It just does not belong together. It is a funny concept, but nothing more. And once again about the voice - I dislike it. It is clean, but harsh. Not very pleasant to hear. It is in a frequency that tears my ears. I am sorry for giving 1 point, but I have to. Expand
See all 46 User Reviews | http://www.metacritic.com/music/danger-days-the-true-lives-of-the-fabulous-killjoys/my-chemical-romance | dclm-gs1-099990001 | false | false | {
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Mothering › Mothering Forums › Pregnancy and Birth › I'm Pregnant › Blood in urine - thoughts?
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Blood in urine - thoughts?
post #1 of 3
Thread Starter
I am 12 weeks pregnant and my midwife did a urinalysis yesterday and it came back that there was a bit of blood in my urine. I can't see it - my urine doesn't seem off color, just a bit cloudy. The next part of the test came back today that it's not a urinary infection (which is surprising), but they are sending it for a culture and I will know more in the next few days.
My midwife said that this can just be a flukey thing and the blood goes away - and I know that blood is at all all time high during pregnancy anyway - but I don't know what to think. Has this happened to any of you?
If the culture doesn't distinguish what it is (or everything comes back negative), then my midwife suggested I go see my GP to run further tests in terms of kidney stones or kidney issues.
I cannot tell you how much turmoil my life has been in the past month or so and this is the last thing I need (or anyone needs).
Any experiences, thoughts? TIA :)
post #2 of 3
No...not like that BUT
I actually had it turn out to be a kidney infection the one time I had physical blood in my urine...I had a lot of pain though. Sorry I am of no help, but at least this is a bump...and a *hug*
post #3 of 3
Hi there! I'm so sorry to be commenting on this with something so unrelated, but I'm new to the site and can't figure out how to private message. I came across a post of yours about your concern with your friend's baby from back in 2007, with his arms being limp and him being disconnected. Everything you described was almost spot on with my sister's son who is 5 months old. I was just curious as to whatever happened with your friend's son and if it turned out to be a cause for alarm?
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Posts by rubber_bunny
Do you know why it posts as a 3.2 ghz then runs in windows as a 1.6ghz? RightMark CPU shows the cpu is running at half, 1600mhz, and never goes above that.
you can add up in your head, how the processor drawing less power, makes the brick run *even cooler* than it did after the mod. And here's the numbers: The energy meter says 35 watts at idle (with the screen blanked) And 50 watts when in use, about 48 if the screen is turned down in brightness. This compares favourably with about 65 watts with the other processor SL6WK loaded. So 15 watts less power = cooler brick. Although if someone with a comparable brick had not...
Put in the SL77R. The other one was a SL6WK. Was the OEM processor with the laptop. The SL77R POST displays 3.2Ghz; once in windows CPUID or CPUZ says only 1.6Ghz. The only threads I could find were of computers posting at 1.6Ghz, and a pin mod, BSEL1 and BSEL0, to run the processor at 200mhz FSB (800mhz) instead of 133mhz (533), which would be 2.4Ghz instead of 1.6Ghz. I wonder what the heat difference/power dissipation increase would be at 2.4Ghz? Right now it runs...
I find SL7CH For instance: http://cgi.ebay.de/Pentium-4-EXTREME...462511?pt=CPUs Do you mean this one? I see the price *is* quite high... oh my. However, that one is also 130nm, so it's not inherently cooler or lower power. SL7E5 (3.2ghz 90nm) or SL7E4 (3.0ghz 90nm) might be better.
That's what I'm asking: what are the model numbers of the best p4's to put in this board. It's based on an intel chipset i865 or something. look at the cpuz output 90nm? edit: Everest says Intel Springdale i865PE edit: I think those P4EE's were only made in an LGA 775 package, not a socket 478. What do you think? edit: the main thing here is performance/heat ratio. The default P4 3.06ghz northwood runs hot. This also leads to a shortened battery life. I have...
I got it for 20 bucks. I don't know where you get your pricing? :P So what's the fastest and will a 90nm process processor run on it?
Hi, Based on the hype around the 'net and very limited feedback (is everyone more than 2 years into computers here dead ? ), I had earlier formed the opinion the SL77R was a 90nm production processor with lower heat. Now I see it's not... I have the Clevo / Sager 5680 / D500P here with the default 3.06Ghz processor. Every now and then I would jump on eBay to see if a SL77R 'upgrade' was available, and I bought one, turns out it's not when I looked again: it's another...
what I meant by 'the bios here' is the bios mentioned in the article. Notice: the link is dead. So does anyone have a copy per chance? I did already email power... and am waiting for a response.
Thank you for the information. As the SL77R operates at a lower voltage, will things inside the laptop automatically adjust, or is it forced to run at the higher voltage of the present 3.06ghz cpu?
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Posts by flameup
Quote: When it doesn't last as long as you want it to. If you always leave your laptop plugged in and you battery only lasts less than an hour compared to the four hours it lasted when you bought it, why buy a new battery? But laptop is used while I travel. And sometimes I have no possibility to plug that somewhere in. Thanks for your replies. Rep added
Hello there! I wounder how do you understand that old battery should be replaced with new one?
I think that you need to reask question. Better understand what is more comfortable not more powerful thing
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Posts by getchoo
Heres the deal, I have a 5680 with 1 gig of memory 2 x 512 DDR 400 Kingmax. One is bad. What is the memory warranty? Is it whatever the warranty is on the laptop or is it lifetime, because my warranty has expired? I've seen this memory for sale on websites and it says it has a lifetime warranty. I emailed Sager and they basically said that I could buy the memory from them because my warranty had expred. I also emailed Kingmax and they said to talk to Sager. Before I talk...
I ordered mine in october and I still dont have it
I was wondering on the 5680 if you had the dual battery setup could you pop out the main battery and put in a new one while it runs on the 2nd bay battery?
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What upgrades for basic M6400?
post #1 of 7
Thread Starter
I just received a M6400 as a replacement for my damaged M90 and other than it having the 4GB of memory it's the most basic configuration. Harddrive is only 150GB.
It'll be used for some internet stuff, some gaming and at times at work running UG-NX.
If you'd be doing any upgrades, what would you do? I've never upgraded a laptop after I've received it and am not quite sure what would be reasonably easy and affordable.
Could I just buy a faster processor and swap it out? Guess adding some memory would be nice but I assume it's got 2x2GB and to get to 8 I'd have to replace both sticks with 2 x 4GB and I'm not sure if I really need it.
Also, it came with XP and the Vista upgrade, both the 32bit versions. I wouldn't mind getting the 64Bit Vista version. Would Dell be willing to replace the 32bit Vista version with the 64bit?
Of course Windows 7 and Vista would be nice too.
Would be great to hear what you guys think.
post #2 of 7
I would not upgrade CPU or RAM. 4GB's is enough for most. CPU's are expensive. I would buy a larger HDD 320GB or 500GB @7200. Cost is reasonable.
There was a way to upgrade to 64 thru M$ for like $10 in the past look into it. If you want W7 then sure get it in 64bit.
post #3 of 7
The M6400 takes four DIMMS so adding more memory is cheap - you don't have to buy 4 GB DIMMS which are $$$$.
Upgrading the CPU is easy todo,
If you have the FX2700 GPU it is a decent one, but the FX3700 is going to cost around $ 800.00 - I would stick to the FX2700.
post #4 of 7
Thread Starter
Guess upgrading the CPU might be a future option once prices for what I can put in have come down a bit.
Would you put in just a standard HDD or the newer solid state drives? Pricewise obviously the standard hard drives are way better and again, prices will surely come down in the future.
Not sure how I'd add the second drive as it seems the drives aren't as easily accesible on this laptop vs the M90 I've had. Bet there's a wee tutorial on the forum already.
post #5 of 7
Changing or adding a second Hd is very easy on these laptops
post #6 of 7
All above comments are correct
4x2 gig ram = 8gig DDR3 - very cost effective option, great for 64 but OS
7200rpm HDD's - I have 2x500gig 7200rpm set for raid 0 - good speed improvement and storage smaller & slower drives are also good but two running raid strip is best option for speed vs cost. (just run backups - one drive goes and so does your data!!!)
FX3700 - absolutely, if the budget can stretch that far have been noticing a few on fleabay & parts people (expensive but at least you know it will work)
LED RGB display - I'm surprised at the difference in colour intensity of this vs the old CCFL 1900x1200 display, again fleabay is cheapest option.
T9900 CPU - best bang for buck IMO - runs at 3.0ghz but with a lower thermal threshold than the QX9100.
Me I've done most of the above except mine had the FX3700 GPU & the Ram and I can't justify the extra CPU speed over the T9600, it all depends on how much you want to spend as to how far you can go. I prefer dual core over the slower quad cores - for me having more cores will not gain much - others who run multi tasking applications which can use all 4 cores will clearly prefer the parallel processing speed over the clock speed.
anyway enjoy your 6400 a step up over the M90 that's for sure!!
post #7 of 7
Thread Starter
Thanks to philby for the detailed list of improvements.
For now it looks like a bigger HDD will be a good improvement as I've just moved some data over and only have about 50GB left now. Should probably leave everything I don't really need on my external drives but prefer to have it all on here. So that's justification enough to get a bigger drive.
More memory can't harm but I should really look at how much I actually use. I've talked to a friend who uses UX-NX alot and he said that a faster processor did improve the performance for him quite a bit whereas more memory didn't quite have the same impact.
I've sent an email to Dell to see if they can help me in exchanging Vista 32 bit for the 64 bit version and what my chances are to get rid of XP and have Windows 7 instead. Don't have too much as far as that goes but let's see what they'll tell me.
I usually run one application at a time and don't see a need to move away from the dual core processor.
As far as the graphics card goes I'd love the FX3700 but they are still pretty pricey and so I'll stick to what I have for now. For what I need I think it's ok.
Thanks again for all your input guys.
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Permalink for comment 557694
Member since:
Well, no... quite clearly, one or two Google/Chromium devs are arguing with an Apple/Webkit2 dev over the multiprocess extensions. The Apple guy was actually part of the process and has first hand knowledge of the rational behind Webkit2, the Chromium guys are less well informed on the situation. I'm pretty much going to believe the guy who was actually part of the decision as to why it was made, and both the Chrome/Googlers conceded anyway.
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0.03294 | <urn:uuid:883c9d87-db86-41f4-8bd5-3674656f6722> | en | 0.914736 | U.S. patents available from 1976 to present.
U.S. patent applications available from 2005 to present.
Microelectronic biosensor plug
Patent 8090426 Issued on January 3, 2012. Estimated Expiration Date: Icon_subject October 27, 2026. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.
Abstract Claims Description Full Text
Patent References
Non-invasive automatic glucose sensor system
Patent #: 3958560
Issued on: 05/25/1976
Inventor: March
Method for measuring the protein composition and concentration in the aqueous humor of the eye
Patent #: 5258788
Issued on: 11/02/1993
Inventor: Furuya
Device for use in real-time monitoring of human or animal bodily function
Patent #: 5297554
Issued on: 03/29/1994
Inventor: Glynn, et al.
Device for determination of tear constituents
Patent #: 5352411
Issued on: 10/04/1994
Inventor: Khuri
Intravitreal medicine delivery
Patent #: 5725493
Issued on: 03/10/1998
Inventor: Avery, et al.
Method and apparatus for signal acquisition, processing and transmission for evaluation of bodily functions
Patent #: 6120460
Issued on: 09/19/2000
Inventor: Abreu
Punctum plug having a thin elongated lip and a distal starting tip and method of using
Patent #: 6149684
Issued on: 11/21/2000
Inventor: Herrick
Glucose concentration measuring method and apparatus
Patent #: 6152875
Issued on: 11/28/2000
Inventor: Hakamata
Contact device for placement in direct apposition to the conjunctive of the eye
Patent #: 6312393
Issued on: 11/06/2001
Inventor: Abreu
More ...
No. 11588974 filed on 10/27/2006
US Classes:
600/347Blood glucose
Primary: Mallari, Patricia
Assistant: D'Angelo, Michael
Attorney, Agent or Firm
Foreign Patent References
• 01/56463 WO 08/01/2001
• 2006/031658 WO 03/01/2006
International Class
A61B 5/05
The measuring and monitoring of substances in and the physical attributes of certain bodily fluids is an important and sometimes necessary procedure in the medical field. For instance, the monitoring of blood sugar (e.g. glucose), glycatedproteins, and other diabetes markers, can be essential in the prevention of diabetes-related end-organ complications in diabetics. Self-monitoring of such blood sugar levels has become relatively common and has necessarily reduced diabetic patients'dependence on medical professionals. However, such self-monitoring requires invasive, painful and tedious tasks, such as the lancing of the skin to obtain a blood specimen with an apparatus that must be kept sterile, and constantly carried by theindividual. Thus, even patients having extreme types of diabetes (e.g., Type 1 Diabetes) often fail to monitor their blood glucose levels on a regular basis.
Inconsistent or absent blood glucose management in diabetic patients is estimated to cause billions of dollars in excess health care costs each year. It has thus prompted the development of certain technologies that aid patients in bettermonitoring their bodies markers for diabetic disease. For example, various devices and techniques have been developed, which are of a less invasive nature, for obtaining and/or measuring a specimen. Even these minimally invasive methods and deviceshave drawbacks. It has been reported by the American Diabetes Foundation that frequent testing with trend analysis is the single most valuable tool for maintaining good control and avoiding long-term complications of diabetes. However, many of thesedevices do not automatically record and track glucose levels on a regular time basis (e.g., minute by minute). Rather, these devices require some type of action on the part of the patient, and thus do not guarantee regular monitoring. Intermittentmeasurement of blood glucose fails to identify important peaks, valleys and trends that a continuous monitor could track in order to help predict impending hypoglycemic events, and facilitate improved metabolic control. As such, proposed devices andtechniques may be ill-suited for optimal monitoring of glucose levels in diabetic patients.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,460 ("the '460 patent") teaches the utilization of a contact device placed on the front part of the eyelid in order to detect physical and chemical parameters of the body as well as the non-invasive delivery of compoundsaccording to these physical and chemical parameters, with signals preferably being transmitted continuously as electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared and the like. The system utilizes eyelid motion and/or closure of the eye lid to activate amicrominiature radio frequency sensitive transensor mounted in the contact device. The '460 patent teaches that the contact device remains in contact with the conjunctiva of the eye.
The present invention relates to a plug which is capable of being quickly and easily inserted through the punctum into the lacrimal canaliculus in either the inferior or superior eyelid of a patient. Unlike the prior art devices, the plug ofthe present invention does not involve direct eye conjunctiva contact (which is extremely sensitive) thus making it more comfortable, safer, and easier for a patient to tolerate. Once inserted, the plug remain functional for upwards of several months,and continuously provides information to a patient regarding a physical or chemical property of tear fluid, or the presence or amount of a molecular component therein. The device of the present invention exploits the fact that tear fluid closely mimicsthat of blood, and utilizes the tear fluid to provide information traditionally garnered from the analysis of blood. A patient may easily view results of information provided by the plug of the present invention, and act accordingly. For example, oneembodiment of the present invention is adapted to provide a patient with continuous glucose measurements. Depending upon the levels of glucose present in the patient's system, an injection of insulin for instance may be administered.
A first aspect of the present invention is directed to a plug for monitoring tear fluid. The plug includes a body adapted for placement through the inferior or superior punctum in the eyelid, the body having an exterior surface and a passageformed therethrough. The plug also includes a sensor in fluid communication with the passage adapted to measure a physical or chemical property of tear fluid, or the presence or amount of a molecular component therein.
A second aspect of the present invention is directed to a method of monitoring a physical or chemical property of tear fluid, or the presence or amount of a molecular component therein. This entails providing a plug having a sensor adapted tomeasure the physical or chemical property of tear fluid, or the presence or amount of a molecular component therein, inserting the plug into or through a punctum of the eyelid, whereby tear fluid flows into contact with the sensor measuring the physicalor chemical property of tear fluid, or the presence or amount of a molecular component therein, and transmitting information relating to the physical or chemical property of tear fluid, or the presence or amount of a molecular component therein to anexternal source.
A third aspect of the present invention is a biosensor system for implantation in a patient. The biosensor system includes a plug having a body adapted for placement within a portion of a human eyelid, the body having an exterior surface and apassage formed therethrough, and a sensor in fluid communication with the passage adapted to measure a physical or chemical property of tear fluid, or the presence or amount of a molecular component therein, and a receiver having a display. The plugtransmits information relating to the physical or chemical property of tear fluid, or the presence or amount of a molecular component therein to the receiver for viewing by the patient on the display.
A more complete appreciation of the subject matter of the present invention and the various advantages thereof can be realized by reference to the following detailed description in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is an illustration of certain anatomical portions of the human eye.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged illustration of the view of FIG. 1, with attention on the lacrimal drainage system of the human eye.
FIGS. 3A-3C are illustrations depicting the operation of the lacrimal drainage system in a human eye during blinking.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a plug in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, with certain portions shown as transparent for illustrative purposes.
FIG. 5 is another perspective view of the plug of FIG. 4, with certain portions shown as transparent for illustrative purposes.
FIG. 6 is a diagram depicting an exemplary operation of an optical and electrical sensor utilizing but not limited to glucose oxidase.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram depicting the relationship of various components of a plug and receiver in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a plug according to another embodiment of the present invention, with certain portions shown as transparent for illustrative purposes.
FIG. 9 is an illustration depicting other plug designs in accordance with other embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is an illustration of the human eye with a plug in accordance with the present invention being disposed in a portion thereof.
FIG. 11 is another illustration of the human eye with two plugs in accordance with the present invention being disposed in different portions thereof.
The present invention is intended for use in conjunction with a living organism. Although described herein in the context of an eye, such as an eye of a mammal (e.g., a human or livestock such as a cow) it is to be understood that the presentinvention may have uses in other bodily organs of various living organisms. For example, the present invention may be inserted in the salivary ducts to measure salivary substances or consistency, or mammary glands, seminal vesicles, or cowper's glandsto measure secretions.
FIG. 1 depicts a human eye or eye ball 1 and certain anatomical portions associated with same. Specifically, FIG. 1 depicts human eye 1 having an upper lid 2 and a lower lid 3, as well as a lacrimal (tear) drainage system 10. In normalcircumstances, the bulk of tear fluid in eye 1 is excreted by the lacrimal or tear gland (not shown), and tears are generally swabbed over the eye with every blink of lids 2 and 3. From the surfaces of eye 1, tears normally flow along the edge of lids 2and 3 toward the nose (shown as element 4 in FIG. 1). Just before reaching the corner of eye 1, the tears are aspirated by the blinking process into lacrimal drainage system 10, which is essentially a miniature drainage network that prevents tears fromcontinuously spilling over or rolling down an outer portion (the cheeks) of the face.
As is shown in FIG. 1, and in greater detail in FIG. 2, lacrimal drainage system 10 typically includes a superior punctum 12, an inferior punctum 14, two vertical canaliculi (superior and inferior) 16, two horizontal canaliculi (superior andinferior) 18, a lacrimal sac 20 and a nasolacrimal duct 22, all connected as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. It is to be understood that these elements are being described as the most basic elements of system 10, and are only representative of some of the manycomponents system 10 does in fact include. The operation of blinking of lids 2 and 3 generally aids in the draining of tears from eye 1 by creating a vacuum which aspirates the tear fluid through the punctum into the lacrimal canaliculi.
FIGS. 3A-3C depict eye 1 and lacrimal drainage system 10 during the different stages of a blinking operation. Specifically, FIG. 3A depicts a pre-blink state in which tears (shown as shaded areas) have already entered into the superior andinferior vertical canaliculi 16 through superior punctum 12 and inferior punctum 14, respectively. In a normal human eye, capillarity ensures that approximately 70% of the tear volume enters the inferior canaliculus, while approximately 30% of the tearvolume enters the superior canaliculus. This is basically due to gravitational effects which tend to push tears into the inferior canaliculus when a person is vertical, and into both the superior and inferior canaliculus when a person is lying in asubstantially horizontal position.
Upon blinking of lids 2 and 3, the attachment of the preseptal orbicularis muscle (not shown) helps create positive and negative pressure in lacrimal sac 20, thereby sucking tears into it. This is shown in the view of FIG. 3B, and is oftenreferred to as the tear pump. The force of gravity then helps keep sac 20 empty during post-blink, as is shown in FIG. 3C. In addition, during this post-blink state, the opening of lids 2 and 3 tends to create a negative pressure, thereby forcing tearsto move from sac 20, through nasolacrimal duct 22, and ultimately into the nasal cavity (not shown). The volume of tear fluid depicted in the diagrams is not to scale and is shown for illustrative purposes only. True volumes depend on the subjects age,sex, physical state, and tear production rates. As is mentioned above, eye 1, nose 4 and system 10 all include additional components which may or may not aid in the application and drainage of tears to and from eye 1. For example, system 10 preferablyincludes several valves generally referred to in FIGS. 1 and 2 by reference numeral 24. These valves operate such that once tears pass therethrough, such fluid cannot return to eye 1.
While tears are no doubt important in keeping eye 1 properly lubricated, it has also been established that tears or tear solution located in an eye of a patient can be analyzed in order to garner information relating to other functions of thehuman body. The main component of the tear fluid is the aqueous layer which is an ultrafiltrate of blood containing electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate, calcium, and magnesium as well as amino acids, proteins, enzymes, DNA,lipids, cholesterol, glycoproteins, immunoglobulins, vitamins, minerals and hormones. Moreover, the aqueous layer also holds critical metabolites such as glucose, urea, catecholamines, and lactate, as well as gases such as oxygen and carbon dioxide. Furthermore, any exogenous substances found in the blood stream such as drugs, radioactive compounds and the like are also present in the tear fluid. Thus, in some cases, tears provide a less invasive alternative to blood or plasma as a source of bodilyfluid. For example, the present invention may be utilized to take measurements of electrolytes, pH, osmolarity, body temperature, acid and lactate, creatine, lipids, blood gas, mediator of inflammation, endocrine hormones, liver and other tissueenzymes, inflammatory mediators, coagulation factors, albumin, lactoferrin, and proteins, among others. So, for instance, analysis of tears can determine the level of glucose in diabetics. The present invention will now be described in particularrelation to this determination of glucose levels.
Referring to the remaining drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements, there is shown in FIG. 4 an exemplary biosensor plug according to the present invention, designated generally as reference numeral 30. Plug 30 ispreferably designed for insertion into either the superior punctum 12 or the inferior punctum 14, in order to measure the glucose level in a patient by analysis of tears passing from eye 1 and through lacrimal drainage system 10. As is shown in FIG. 4,plug 30 includes an elongate cylindrical body 32 having a channel or passage 34 therethrough, beginning at an entry aperture 36 and continuing through an exit aperture 38. The illustration of plug 30 shown in FIG. 4 is a very basic depiction of a plugin accordance with the present invention.
Elongate cylindrical body 32 is preferably constructed of an inert, biocompatible material. Suitable material for the construction of body 32 include polymers, homopolymers, cross-linked polymers and copolymers of silicones, acrylic esters,polyurethanes and hydrocarbon polymers, among other materials. Body 32 is sized and shaped for insertion into either the superior punctum 12 or the inferior punctum 14, where it ultimately remains within one of the aforementioned canaliculi (e.g., twovertical canaliculi 16 and/or two horizontal canaliculi 18). Preferably, plug 30 and body 32 are designed for insertion into one of the vertical canaliculi 16. As shown in the FIG. 4, body 32 is elongate, with a relatively small diameter in order topromote comfortable insertion through one of the puncta and into one of the canaliculi. Dimensions for body 32 generally range between approximately 0.2 mm and 1.0 mm in diameter, and between approximately 1.5 mm and 2.0 mm in length. Of course,different patients may require smaller and/or larger plugs 30. Body 32 may also include microfabricated plastic or metal fibers which are designed as hair like protrusions, which may increase the adherence of plug 30 to the interior surface of any ofthe canaliculi or other bodily structure in order to prevent movement once the plug is put in place. As will be discussed more fully below in the section detailing problems associated with dry eyes, plug 30 may employ a body 32 which is configuredand/or shaped to provide for other functions than that of simply the monitoring of glucose in tears.
Passage 34 is shown in FIG. 4 as extending in a straight fashion between entry aperture 36 and aperture 38 through the center of body 32. In other embodiments, passage 34 may be off-centered, curved, spiraled, tapered from entry aperture 36 toexit aperture 38 or from exit aperture 38 to entry aperture 36, wider in its center or other portion along its length, wider at its ends, and any combination of these configurations. Similarly, although passage 34 is depicted as being circular in itscross-sectional shape, it may be shaped in any suitable fashion. For example, passage 34 may have a square, rectangular, triangular or the like cross sectional shape. Preferably, passage 34 is designed to take advantage of or accommodate the naturalflow of tears from eye 1 through lacrimal drainage system 10. Thus, passage 34 is preferably sized and shaped so as to allow normal flow of tears therethrough without the need for an additional force generator, such as a pump. In certain embodiments,passage 34 is circular and has a diameter of between approximately 0.2 mm and 0.8 mm. In other embodiments, plug 30 includes two or more passages, like passage 34, but which may be similarly or differently sized and/or shaped.
In addition to the basic structure discussed above, plug 30 includes several further internal components illustratively depicted in FIG. 5. While the above-described structure of plug 30 aids in taking advantage of the natural flow of tears,the following internal components aid in the measuring of a physical or chemical property of the tear fluid, or the presence or amount of a molecular component therein. For instance, plug 30 includes one or more internal components which act as sensorscapable of sensing or otherwise determining the level of glucose present in tear fluid flowing through the plug. There are many different sensors employing sensing components that may be utilized. The sensor(s) is sized and shaped so as to fit withinplug 30, analyze volumes of tear fluid generally in the range of 20 nl or less (which is generally regarded as the normal flow of tear fluid), and detect glucose therein (e.g., in concentrations within the range of 0.3 mg/dL to 15 mg/dL). Preferably,sensor(s) are very responsive (e.g., in less than 2 seconds), operates on a very small current (e.g., less than 1 microampere), and continuously measures glucose for a significant period of time (e.g., on the order of 3,000 hours) without fouling orlosing sensitivity. Suitable sensor(s) are also designed so as to work in conjunction with other elements of plug 30.
The biocatalytic oxidation of glucose in the presence of glucose oxidase is a two step process consisting of enzymatic oxidation of glucose by glucose oxidase in which the co-factor flavin-adenine dinucleotide (FAD) is reduced to FADH2followed by oxidation of the enzyme co-factor by molecular oxygen with formation of hydrogen peroxide. The reaction may be described as follows: Glucose+O2+H.sub.2O→glucose oxidase gluconic acid+H2O
With catalase enzyme, the overall reaction may be described as follows: H2O.sub.2→1/2O2+H.sub.2O.sub.2
The signals can be transmitted using various transmission systems with an externally placed receiver demodulating the audio frequency signal to a voltage and the glucose concentration being calculated from the voltage and subsequently displayedon a LED display. An interface card can be used to connect the receiver with a computer for further signal processing and analysis. During oxidation of glucose by glucose oxidase, an electrochemically oxidable molecule or any other oxidable speciesgenerated such as hydrogen peroxide can be detected amperometrically as a current by the electrodes.
A variety of materials can be used for the electrodes such as silver/silver chloride coded cathodes. Anodes may be constructed as a platinum wire coated with glucose oxidase or they may be covered by an immobilized glucose oxidase membrane.
Glucose concentration can be measured either by electrochemical detection of an increase of an anodic current due to oxidation of the reaction product, hydrogen peroxide, or by detection of the decrease in a cathodic current due to the chemicalreduction of the co-reactant, oxygen. Thus, the plug may contain an enzyme electrode that comes into contact with the tear fluid, and which measures the oxidation current of hydrogen peroxide created by the stoichiometric conversion of glucose andoxygen in a layer of glucose oxidase disposed inside the plug. A glucose sensor may be electrochemical in nature and based on a hydrogen peroxide electrode which is converted by immobilized glucose oxidase which generates a direct current depending onthe glucose concentration of the tear fluid. The glucose enzyme electrode is responsive to changes in the concentration of both substrates of glucose oxidase, namely glucose and oxygen. Current generated by the enzyme electrode is proportional to theglucose concentration, and may be converted to a frequency audio signal and transmitted to a remote receiver.
The present invention may also entail use of an organic mediator such as ferrocene, which transfers electrons from glucose oxidase to a base electrode with subsequent generation of current.
One particular set of sensing components acting as a sensor will now be discussed. As is depicted in FIG. 5, plug 30 further includes an enzyme cartridge 40, an electrode 42, and electronics 44. For illustrative purposes, flow of tears in FIG.5 is illustrated by arrow X. Enzyme cartridge 40 includes an enzyme or other chemical that reacts with glucose present within the flow of tears. While glucose oxidase is believed to be the best enzyme for converting glucose to measurable substances,other glycolytic enzymes and or catalysts may be used such as catalyse. In the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 5, cartridge 40 is composed of a porous structure of glucose oxidase which reacts with glucose in the tear stream to form hydrogenperoxide. This porous structure may facilitate the reaction and in turn, allow the sensor to more accurately analyze the amount of glucose present in the tear fluid. As shown in FIG. 5, cartridge 40 is a hollow cylindrical shape with surfaces thatalign with passage 34. Hence, tear fluid entering through aperture 36 is naturally pumped through cartridge 40 and into contact with its particular enzyme (i.e., glucose oxidase). Other structures may be utilized, such as a solid cartridge havingseveral passageways formed therethrough or being of a sufficiently porous structure to allow flow of tear fluid therethrough, and a structure which is offset within passage 34.
Any bi-product (e.g., the aforementioned hydrogen peroxide composition) of the reaction between the tear fluid and cartridge 40 then impinges upon electrode 42, which is capable of analyzing the amount of bi-product and reporting such amountthrough an electrical connection (not shown) with electronics 44. Essentially, electrode 42, which may be composed of polished conductive metal or other conductive surface situated in a similar fashion as that of cartridge 40, further reduces oroxidizes the products of the initial glucose oxidation or reduction. In the above-mentioned preferred embodiment, the hydrogen peroxide bi-product interacts with electrode 42 so as to facilitate a change in, for example, the intensity or color(wavelength) of an emitted light, or to facilitate a change in an electrical current flow through the plug. The former is referred to as an optical sensor, and the latter as an amperometic or coulometric sensor. A graphical depiction of these twosensor types is shown in FIG. 6. Preferably, cartridge 40 is arranged linearly with respect to electrode 42 so as to prevent the products of the aforementioned glucose oxidation or reduction to foul the electrode. The result of either sensing techniqueis then transmitted (via a connection) to electronics 44, and ultimately, as will be discussed more fully below, to a readable receiver. This analysis of the tear fluid passing through plug 30 inherently provides for an analysis of the glucose contentin the body or blood stream of a patient due to the correlation of blood and tear glucose concentrations, albeit that these are not temporally aligned. However, it is clear that other substances in the tear fluid may also be analyzed depending upon thetype of cartridge 40 and electrode 42 being employed.
It is to be understood that different sensing components may also be utilized in conjunction with the present invention. For example, it is known to utilize carbon nanotubes to measure glucose levels. These sensors exploit the intrinsicoptical and electrical properties of single-walled and multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Like that discussed above, such sensors utilize a chemical reaction that involves glucose oxidase (and the production of hydrogen peroxide). One specific sensorutilizing such technology employs carbon nanotubes that are coated in a monolayer of glucose oxidase to which ferricyanide is added. The ferricyanide is sensitive to hydrogen peroxide, the byproduct of the chemical reaction between glucose and glucoseoxidase. The presence of hydrogen peroxide preferably changes the inherent optical properties or electron conductive properties of the carbon nanotube. Consequently, the intensity of a fluorescence or amount or electromotive potential of the electronsemitted by the carbon nanotube is a function of the glucose level. Other suitable glucose sensors employing different sensing components may also be utilized by plug 30, as long as such may be tailored to the particular use and specifications of plug30.
As is shown in the block diagram of FIG. 7, the aforementioned electronics 44 are preferably designed so as to transduce the information emanating from electrode 42 and to transmit such information to an external source (e.g., a receiver). Forexample, electronics 44 are preferably designed so as to convert an analog signal (if initially in this format) to a digital signal that is more appropriate for transmitting. In addition, electronics 44 preferably encompass a transmitter capable oftransmitting such a signal. In preferred embodiments, electronics 44 is a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) capable of wireless transmission of information. Broadly, however, many different types of transmitters can be used. RFIC's will bediscussed more fully below. In short, electronics 44 facilitates wireless communication of data acquired by the glucose sensing technology (e.g., cartridge 40 and electrode 42).
RFIC's are one means for facilitating wireless communication, but the present invention is certainly not limited to the use of same. Like some of the other components of plug 30, the integration of RFIC in electronics 44 is dependent upon thecertain of the properties of the plug. For example, these properties include the overall size of plug 30 (e.g., 2.0 mm×1.0 mm×0.5 mm), its power requirements (active vs. passive power), the carrier frequency to be utilized (e.g., 402-405MHz (MICS band)), and the normal communications distance (e.g., 1.0-2.0 m) coupled with the associated antenna (discussed below). Generally, RFIC technology lends itself to relatively small devices. In fact, there is some thought by those of ordinaryskill in the art that RFIC's will continue to become smaller and smaller. RFIC's may also be adapted for power by both active and passive power sources, where active devices typically require a battery for power and passive devices induce power from areceived RF signal or light. While either type of power setup may be employed by plug 30, the latter is especially important given the size constraints of the plug itself. However, it is to be understood that a plug utilizing an RFIC powered by abattery may transmit signals over a further distance.
A carrier frequency is the frequency at which the RFIC typically communicates with an outside device, such as the reader discussed further below. While there are commonly used frequencies within the Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) bandof the electromagnetic spectrum, the FCC has allocated a specific band of frequencies for implanted medical devices. The Medical Implant Communications Service (MICS) band is typically from 402 to 405 MHz, and this band preferably supports high-speeddata communications from devices implanted within the human body over distances on the order of several meters. Plug 30 clearly falls within this category of devices. Thus, many different RFIC's may be suitable for use in plug 30 for wirelesslytransmitting output from cartridge 40 and electrode 42 to an outside receiver. One particularly suitable RFIC is sold under the product designation AMIS-52100 by AMI Semiconductor of Pocatello, Id.
Other wireless technologies may be utilized by plug 30 to transmit the information garnered by the operation of cartridge 40 and electrode 42. Of course, such technology must meet the same criteria that the above-discussed RFIC technology must. One example of such other technology is known as a wireless mote. These devices typically include complex circuitry, sophisticated networking capabilities and integration of various sensors. Often, wireless motes require a battery to power the complexcircuitry, to facilitate wireless communication between nodes in a network and to power the sensors. Those of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that wireless motes can be utilized in place of an RFIC, and the particular wireless mote to beutilized could be selected based upon the constraints of plug 30.
Although RFIC's or other wireless communications devices may have built in antennas or the like, it is contemplated to provide plug 30 with an external antenna in order to improve transmission distance and/or clarity. In fact, proper antennadesign, whether integrated with the wireless communicator or not, is important to the performance of plug 30. An antenna for use in accordance with the present invention is illustratively shown in the block diagram of FIG. 7 and labeled with referencenumeral 46. Suitable external antennas for use with plug 30 may be a straight piece of wire cut at its center (a half-wave dipole), a wound piece of wire (a helix or coil antenna) or the like. Such external antennas may be attached to the end of plug30 which is first inserted into a portion of eye 1 or attached at other portions of the plug. The former configuration for an antenna may be snaked down deep into one of the canaliculus without interfering with tear drainage or flow. An alternativeembodiment may include an antenna that is initially rolled up or otherwise compressed into a small area during insertion. Once inserted, the antenna may be designed to unfurl or elongate down into the lacrimal duct in order to achieve a longer length ofthe antenna, for example, but not limited to the dissolution of a binder that holds the antenna to the punctal plug, or through the use of memory wire that changes shape depending on temperature.
Likewise, plug 30 may be powered by a number of different energy sources. For example, and active source, such as a battery, may be utilized. Alternatively, power cells which convert either light or body heat into energy could be suitableactive power sources. Of course, the use of an active power source such as these examples must fit within plug 30, and therefore must rather small. In this regard, a passive power source could be employed, with power being delivered to plug 30 throughan RFIC or the like. Such passive sources need not be included in plug 30, but typically, transmission distance with same is largely minimized as compared to plugs employing batteries. The use of a passive power source could require a patient to placean external device at or near plug 30, or within a suitable range. The latter could allow for operation of plug 30 without the requirement on the part of the patient to make a positive act. As light and heat converting power sources become moreefficient, it is anticipated that a passive power source will be incorporated into the device.
Ultimately, plug 30 preferably transmits information garnered from tear fluid passing therethrough to a receiver system. As is shown in FIG. 7, receiver system (designated by reference numeral 50) preferably includes an antenna 52, a receiver54, a memory 56, a software package 58 and a display 60. Of course, other embodiments of receiver system 50 may utilize additional, fewer and/or different components. Preferably, antenna 52 and receiver 54 are capable of receiving a signal transmittedfrom plug 30. As plug 30 has been discussed in relation to the measurement of glucose levels in tears, the signal transmitted from plug 30 relates to same. However, it is clear from the above discussion that a plug in accordance with the presentinvention may be designed and used to measure different materials and/or conditions within many different living organisms. FIG. 7 depicts both electronics 44 and receiver 54 as being RF technology, but as is discussed more fully above such could be adifferent technology suitable for transmission of the necessary information.
Memory 56 is capable of storing information received from plug 30. This is important in revisiting or tracking certain of the information relating to the glucose levels in a person over time. Software package 58 processes information receivedfrom plug 30 so that such can be displayed on display 60. It is to be understood that depending upon the graphics being displayed on display 60, software package 58 may vary. Similarly, package 58 may vary with the type of information and/or signalbeing received from plug 30. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, plug 30 is powered by passive power provided by receiver system 50. Thus, system 30 is placed within a certain distance of plug 30 in order to generate a signal to be received. In thisregard, plug 30 includes a power converter for converting the passive power received from system 50. The distance required for operation of plug 30 can vary and in certain embodiments is several feet, in which case system 50 is kept on or near thepatient in order to receive continuous readings.
Receiver system 50 may be a stand-alone device directed solely to receiving information from plug 30, or such may be built into another device. For example, system 50 may be a component of a larger device, such as a cell phone, personal dataassistant, watch, television, MP3 player, computer or the like. Those of ordinary skill in the art would readily recognize how system 50 could be built into one of the aforementioned other technologies. Thus, a patient could be provided with a devicenot only useful for measuring the level of glucose, but also for performing other tasks or providing other benefits. As is mentioned above, plug 30 and system 50 are capable of taking regular interval readings of the glucose level of a patient's body,and thereafter storing and displaying such information to a patient. It is contemplated that patients could be provided with charts, graphs, tables or the like relating to the various glucose measurements taken. Such would clearly be dependent uponsoftware package 58 and display 60. Many data displaying means are well-known and widely utilized, and the present invention may employ any suitable one. It is noted that a memory, like memory 56 could also be included within plug 30 in order to storeinformation relating to the glucose measurements. This information could thereafter be downloaded upon an interface between plug 30 and system 50. A system that operates in this fashion would only require intermittent communication between plug 30 andsystem 50.
In addition to measuring and displaying information relating to the glucose level in a patient, the present invention may serve other benefits. Tuning back to FIGS. 1-3, when a tear gland (not shown) and/or system 10 does not operate properly,dryness of eye 1 may become a problem. Dry eye is a debilitating condition which often causes patients to have symptoms such as a feeling of dryness, and/or a feeling of having a gritty or foreign body in the eye. Dryness of the eyes often results whenthere is a paucity of lubricating tear fluid produced in eye 1. Treatment of dry eye can be the continuous administration of lubricating fluid by the patient, or more conveniently by placing devices in the superior or inferior puncta of the affectedeye. More particularly, devices such as punctal plugs have been developed to aid in increasing tear availability to the eye in patients with failing tear production, loss of tear production due to Lasic surgery, Sjogren's syndrome, drug induced dry eye,and filamentary keratitis. It is contemplated to provide a plug which employs a body that exhibits the properties of known punctal plugs. There exist several form factors for punctual plugs, which those of ordinary skill in the art would readilyrecognize could be incorporated into the plugs of the present invention.
For example, FIG. 8 depicts another embodiment in which plug 130 includes a body 132 shaped so as to act as a punctal plug when placed within one of the canaliculi of the eyelid. It is to be understood that in this embodiment plug 130 includesseveral components similar to those discussed in relation to plug 30. As such, like reference numerals have been used within the 100-series of numbers. For instance, plug 130 includes a body 132 having a passage 134 extending between apertures 136 and138. Additionally, plug 130 further includes an enzyme cartridge 140, an electrode 142, electronics 144, and an antenna 146, and the operation of each component and plug 130 as a whole remains substantially similar. However, plug 130 also acts like apunctal plug suitable for alleviating problems associated with dry eye conditions. Specifically, the shape of body 132 of plug 130 acts so as to allow for somewhat of a build up of tear fluid in the exterior aspect of the eye 1 before draining throughsystem 10. Therefore, plug 130 serves two purposes in subjects with dry eye, namely it will be useful in monitoring tear chemistry, as well as providing improved eye lubrication from increased availability of tears in the exterior aspects of the eye.
Plug 130 could also be equipped with a means to adjust the flow of tears through the device. For example, plug 130 could utilize two members disposed within passage 134, one capable of rotating in relation to the other to cause the passage toincrease or decrease its diameter. This is similar to a camera iris, and could therefore increase or decrease the flow of tears therethrough to effectively determine the amount of tears that remains in the exterior aspects of the eye 1. The flowpassage may be active or passive. A passive system would require the physician or manufacturer, or other professional involved in the patients medical care, to set the diameter of the flow orifice based on the relative dryness of the patient's eye. Alternatively, the system may be active in that the system would actively adjust the size or flow through the orifice based on the relative dryness of the patient's eye. Dryness may be ascertained in a number of ways including tear sodium (or othercomponent) concentration and/or tear flow.
FIG. 9 depicts three additional body shapes which may be employed in connection with a plug according to the present invention. These examples are merely shown for illustrative purposes, and all other configurations suitable for aiding in theprevention of dry eye may clearly be utilized. In addition, a plug according to the present invention may include certain exterior structure aids in keeping the device in place, once implanted.
Plugs in accordance with the present invention, such as plugs 30 and 130, are preferably easily inserted into a patient by any trained physician, but preferably by a trained ophthalmologist. A plug of the present invention may be provided in akit with all tools necessary for insertion of same. Subsequent to examining the eye to determine the particular eye geography and to ensure the lack of any medical conditions likely to prevent proper use of the present invention, the physician selects asuitably sized plug. This may vary depending upon the patient, and can be determined through the use of a provided (in a kit) microscope having a gauge for determining the diameter of the particular punctum through which the plug will be inserted. Inaddition, separate tools may be provided for verifying the size of the puncta. It is noted that a patient having such a procedure done could be completely anesthetized or could simply have a local anesthetic applied to the eye in question.
Once the correct size of the plug is determined, such is preferably inserted with the aid of an insertion tool. Such tools may include simple structures such as forceps or the like, or the tool (not shown) may have an elongate handle, a flange,and means for attaching to the plug. In the latter case, during insertion, the tool is slightly twisted to ensure smooth insertion. Once the flange of the insertion tool contacts an eyelid (2 or 3) of eye 1, the plug is completely in place. A releasemechanism provided in the insertion tool may then be activated to release the plug therefrom, and conclude the insertion procedure. Thereafter, the plug and its sensing components may be calibrated and linked with a receiver (like receiver system 50). A fully inserted plug in accordance with the present invention is shown in FIG. 10. Likewise, FIG. 11 depicts two fully inserted plugs, in different portions of an eye 1. It is to be understood that more than one plug may ultimately be inserted in asingle eyelid, as is shown in FIG. 11, or one plug could be placed through either punctum. Similarly, each eyelid of a patient may be provided with one or more plugs according to the present invention, thereby bringing the maximum total of plugs be usedto four.
The present invention provides for a microelectric biosensor plug that is capable of measuring a presence or amount of a material or a condition with a living organism, in a minimally invasive, pain-free, comfortable, passive and continuousfashion. In certain embodiments, a plug according to the present invention may be inserted into a portion of a human eyelid in order to continuously and passively monitor a physical or chemical property of tear fluid, or the presence or amount of amolecular component therein. This is particularly important to diabetics, as glucose is one material that may be monitored in tear fluid. In addition, a plug in accordance with the present invention may be coupled with a receiver capable of receivingwireless transmissions from the plug. This provides a system of continuously monitoring and recording readings taken by the plug for glucose or other materials.
Although the invention herein has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present invention. It is therefore to beunderstood that numerous modifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that other arrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
Other References
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• Yee RW. (1994) Quantitative ocular microbial flora of dry eye patients pre- and post punctal occlusion. Mvest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 35(4):1691.
• Willis RM, Folberg R, Krachmer JH, Holland EJ. (1987) The treatment of aqueous deficient dry eye with removable punctum plugs. A clinical and impression-cytologic study. Ophthalmology 94(5): 514-518.
• Wang, “Review: Glucose Biosensors: 40 Years of Advances and Challenges”, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, New Mexico State University, (2000).
• Wang et al., “Highly Selective Membrane-Free, Mediator-Free Glucose Biosensor”, Analytical Chemistry, 66(21); 3600-3603, (1994).
• Turberville AW, Frederick WR, Wood TO. (1982) Punctal occlusion in tear deficiency syndromes. Ophthalmology 89:1170-2.
• Mitka, “Poor Patient Adherence May Undermine Aim of Continous Glucose Monitoring”, JAMA, 298(6); 614-615, (2007).
• Maurice OM. (1973) The dynamics and drainage of tears. Int Ophthal Clin 31:103-116.
• Maguire LL, Bartley GB. (1989) Complications with the new smaller size Freeman punctal plug. Arch Ophthalmol 107:961-962.
• Jones LT. (1957) Epiphora II. Its relation to the anatomic structures and surgery of the medial canthal region. Am J Ophthalmol 43:203-212.
• International Search Report, PCT/US2007/022616.
• Iguchi et al., “A flexible and wearable biosensor for tear glucose measurement”, Biomed Microdevices, 9; 603-609, (2007).
• Gilbard JP. (1989) Effect of punctal occlusion by Freeman silicone plug insertion on tear osmolarity in dry eye disorders. CLAO J 15:216-2 18.
• Gilbard JP. (1985) Tear film osmolarity and keratoconjunctivitis sicca. CLAO J, 11:243-250.
• Fullard et al, “Protein Levels in Nonstimlated and Stimulated Tears of Normal Human Subjects”, Investigative Ophtalmolgoy & Visual Science 31(6); 1119-1126, (1990).
• Freeman JM. (1975) The punctum plug: evaluation of a new treatment for the dry eye. Tans Am Acad Ophthalmolol Otolaryngol 79:874-879.
• Foulds WS. (1961) lintra-canalicular gelatin implants in the treatment of kerato- conjunctivitis sicca. Br J Ophthalmol 45 :625-627.
• Fayet B, Bernard JA, Ammar J, Karpouzas, Taylor Y, Abenhaim A, Renard G, Pouliquen Y. (1990) Treatment of chronic dry eye with temporary punctal plugs. J Fr Ophthalmol 13(3):123-133.
• Dohlman CH. (1978) Punctal occlusion in keratoconjunctivitis sicca. Ophthalmology 85:1277-81.
• Doane MG. (1981) Blinking and the mechanics of the lacrimal drainage system. Ophthalmology 88:844-85 1.
• Daubert et al, “Tear Flow Analysis Through the Upper and Lower Systems”, Ophtalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 6(3); 193-196, (1990).
• Chung, “Microfabricated Glucose Sensor Based on Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube”, Mechanical Engineering Dept., Northwestern University, pp. 618-620 (2004).
• Choy, “Water-Soluble Antioxidants in Human Tears: Effect of the Collectio Method”, Invetigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 42(13); 3130-3134, (2001).
• Cai O, Zeng K, Ruan C, Desai TA, Grimes CA. (2004) A wireless,remote query glucose biosensor based on a pH-sensitive polymer. Anal Chem 76:4038-4043.
• Beetham WP. (1935) Filamentary keratitis. Trans Am Ophthalmol Soc, 33:413-435.
• Baca et al., “Tear Glucose Analysis for the Noninvasive Detection and Monitoring of Diabetes Mellitus”, Clinical Science, (2007).
• Baca et al, “Techinical Briefs”, Clinical Chemistry, 53(7); 1370-1383, (2007).
• “Noninvasive Photonic-Crystal Material for Sensing Glucose in Tears”, Clinical Chemistry, 50(12); 2236-2237, (2004).
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forgot password? | http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/8090426/description.html | dclm-gs1-100390001 | false | true | {
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0.193685 | <urn:uuid:b832fa13-4aef-4554-81fd-ccd4432d8a66> | en | 0.961023 | Definition of:multiplayer gaming
multiplayer gaming
Two or more people playing a game on the computer and competing with each other over the Internet or inhouse local network (LAN). The traditional card games such as bridge and poker emulate a deck of playing cards. However, video games also allow players to compete within a simulated environment that takes them into a fantasy world. See MMOG, MMORPG and gaming.
Requested resource not found | http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/47485/multiplayer-gaming | dclm-gs1-100410001 | false | false | {
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0.01813 | <urn:uuid:917275b8-440a-4be9-8cea-ad1e31c68304> | en | 0.942968 | Virgin Music Campaigns Against Illegal File-Sharing
Virgin Media and the BPI, the British music industry association, are working together on an 'education campaign' aimed at users believed to be illegally sharing copyrighted files.
As part of the campaign, two warning letters, one from the ISP and one from the BPI, will be issued to the alleged offenders. However, those who continue to illegally share files will not be disconnected under a 'three strikes' rule, as previously thought.
BPI investigators will closely monitor BitTorrent activities and inform Virgin Media of the IP addresses involved. The ISP will be responsible for distributing the letter and personally identifiable information regarding the accounts will not be given to the BPI.
In a statement, Virgin Media said the letter will advise users on "how to prevent account misuse", "avoid the risk of legal action", and warn customers that peer-to-peer networks carry "increased threats from viruses and spyware."
The campaign looks set to run for a trial period of two months, then its effect on illegally file sharing will be reviewed.
Virgin Media claims a lot of account holders may not be unaware other members of the households are using the connection to illegally download files.
"This campaign is about helping our customers understand how they can do this and get the best out of the internet," said Virgin Media.
Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the BPI added: "Education is absolutely key to reducing the extent of illegal downloading."
"We believe that new partnerships with ISPs can help build an internet in which music is properly valued. This joint campaign with Virgin Media is the first step towards achieving that goal."
ISPs have been under pressure from the government to work with the music industry in targeting illegal file sharers. Ministers have even threatened to introduce anti-filesharing legislation if a solution is not reached.
However not all ISPs have been happy to work with the BPI on this matter. The Carphone Warehouse, the company behind broadband supplier Talk Talk, publicly refused to disconnect customers caught illegally sharing copyright files. In response to this the BPI threatened the ISP with legal action.
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0.021099 | <urn:uuid:945fc99f-14c6-4655-b603-6424f177fad3> | en | 0.82454 | PeopleFinders > People Directory > A
Grand Junction, CO
Address: **** F Rd, Grand Junction, CO 81504 View
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Ted L Albers, Rhonda Albers Davidson, Beulah M Albers, Theodore E Albers, Shannon Gayle Davidson
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0.033413 | <urn:uuid:364f40bd-641b-46b6-80d0-298331805e2b> | en | 0.864661 | PeopleFinders > People Directory > K
Age 56
Glenville, PA
Address: **** Shaffers Church , Glenville, PA 17329 View
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Comment on
The wording does seem to imply that it would return a list of bit values, but that isn't what it is doing. Rather, that routine returns a list of bit positions that are set (have a 1 in them).
If you just want the list of bits, it is probably simplest to split an unpacked string.
my @bits = split //, unpack "b*", $vec;
To furthur demonstrate:
use integer; my $vec = 42; my @ints; my $bits = unpack "b*", $vec; my @bits = split //, unpack "b*", $vec; push @ints, 0 if $bits =~ s/^(\d)// && $1; push @ints, pos $bits while($bits =~ /1/g); print "\n"; print join ', ', @ints; print " <-- bit positions set\n"; print join ', ', @bits; print " <-- bits \n";
2, 4, 5, 9, 12, 13 <-- bit positions set
In reply to Re: Confusion about code sample in perlfaq4 by thundergnat
in thread Confusion about code sample in perlfaq4 by vr
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0.055744 | <urn:uuid:2027d622-5c9e-4024-b74c-07271eb5adca> | en | 0.953743 | GeoHot: Don't Update to 3.21, Promises PS3 Custom Firmware
To quote: "A note to people interested in the exploit and retaining OtherOS support, DO NOT UPDATE. When 3.21 comes out, I will look into a safe way of updating to retain OtherOS support, perhaps something like Hellcat's Recovery Flasher. I never intended to touch CFW, but if that's how you want to play...
First off, I want to apologize to all the people who use Linux on their PS3. Before releasing, I weighed the pros and cons, and considered the possibility of an impact on OtherOS support.
My logic was this. OtherOS support had already been removed from the Slim (not for technical reasons; I believe it only existed in the first place to promote the Cell for IBM) The builders had apparently no intention of including it in future products. So for the purposes of openness why not release? Not like anything else has (or probably will be) done on the PS3.
Now you go and remove a feature that people expected to be included with the expensive device they purchased, citing "security concerns". What security concerns? It's not like the exploit can be run even close to without the users knowledge.
You have to open the thing up. How could this harm users? Your blog post doesn't list positive reasons for upgrading like I think most users expect. Instead it lists things you will lose if you don't upgrade. Seriously?
The PlayStation 3 is the only product I know that loses features throughout it's life cycle. Software PS2 emulation, SACD playback, and OtherOS support are all just software switches you can flip. It's unbelievable you would go and flip one, not just on new boxes you are shipping, but on tens of millions already in the field."
Here is to hoping GeoHot releases a PlayStation 3 solution in a timely manner, as unfortunately the entire PS3 (and Linux) scene is left waiting on him at the moment.
Comments 97 Comments - Go to Forum Thread »
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tonyqc's Avatar
#82 - tonyqc - 206w ago
If he find a way to preserve OtherOS. He will probably work on a software exploit...
Neo Cyrus's Avatar
#81 - Neo Cyrus - 206w ago
I'm all in for it to preserve OtherOS, so hopefully a custom firmware of sorts will appear... not to promote/endorse piracy for PS3 that is, buy your games! Support the industry.
Screw the industry if they're never going to release proper demos. I always download games to try before buying whenever possible.
Not to mention in Canada we get screwed over on prices, the standard price tag per game is $80, hurray for overpricing and taxes despite the dollars being almost equal.
Pcsx2006's Avatar
#80 - Pcsx2006 - 206w ago
I'm sure he'll make a patched fw or cfw to retain otheros feature just like xbox360 patched dashboard update which prevent efuses to be blown to retain jtag hack.
livpool's Avatar
#79 - livpool - 206w ago
well when you think about it, George is known for his easy to use hacks: blackra1n for example. its literally plug in your iphone and click one button and your iphone is jailbroken in under 20 seconds. no one expected that so lets see what he can do here. i have confidence.
PS3 News's Avatar
#78 - PS3 News - 206w ago
If he manages to do anything related to CFW, then I would expect that it requires the current glitch hardware/exploit to gain control over the HV.
Correct, a likely scenario (assuming another hole isn't found) will be something along the lines of those with OtherOS on 3.20 will update to a "GeoHot 3.21" via the previously released glitch exploit to mount dev_flash etc and replace the data with a modded 3.21... which can be obtained by decrypting 3.21 via ldr's.
However, once this is done Sony will end up changing the ldr's and keys, although it may be possible to load in and use new ldr's unless checks against the Hypervisor version are added and so on... basically a cat and mouse game like with the PSP.
Needless to say, similar to the PS3 glitch exploit itself, unless a more user-friendly exploit surfaces this process isn't likely to benefit those who can't (or don't have the materials/patience) to perform/trigger the initial exploit so they won't be able to make use of a modded 3.21 Custom Firmware with OtherOS intact.
| http://www.ps3news.com/ps3-hacks-jailbreak/geohot-dont-update-to-3-21-promises-ps3-custom-firmware/page-4/ | dclm-gs1-100520001 | false | false | {
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0.019555 | <urn:uuid:c4cf7c2a-42ca-4dc0-822c-28d5a444541c> | en | 0.966964 | Log in
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CIA Sees Iraq with Nukes by Decade's End; Report Lays out Regime's violations.(PAGE ONE)
Article excerpt
Iraq has stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons in violation of U.N. resolutions and could deploy a nuclear bomb by the end of this decade, the CIA said in a report made public yesterday.
"If left unchecked, [Iraq] probably will have a nuclear weapon during this decade," the report said.
After U.N. weapons inspections ended in 1998, Iraq restarted its nuclear arms program, "maintained its chemical weapons effort, energized its missile program and invested more heavily in biological weapons," said the 25-page report titled "Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction Programs."
The CIA report was released yesterday as Congress debates a resolution to authorize President Bush to use force against Iraq and as the United Nations develops a new resolution that could lead to military action against Iraq.
Regarding missile developments, the report said Baghdad has violated the 93-mile range limit on missiles that was imposed by the United Nations. Iraq also is building unmanned aerial vehicles that will "allow for a more lethal means to deliver biological and, less likely, chemical warfare agents," the report said.The report contains a photo of a Czech training jet that was converted into a pilotless drone. The drones could be outfitted to deliver chemical or biological weapons that "could threaten Iraq's neighbors, U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf, and the United States if brought close to, or into, the U.S. homeland," the report said.
Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke yesterday said Iraq has an active program of "denial and deception" aimed at hiding its weapons of mass destruction programs.
The report also revealed for the first time that Iraq is building specialized facilities that are part of a medium-range ballistic missile program.
It has deployed new al-Samoud and Ababil-100 short-range missiles that have ranges beyond the 93-mile limit imposed by the United Nations after the Gulf war.
The report said Saddam Hussein lacks the material to make nuclear weapons and probably does not have any nuclear arms but that "he remains intent on acquiring them."
If Baghdad succeeds in acquiring nuclear material that could be used as fuel for a weapon, "it could make a nuclear weapon within a year," the report said.
Iraq recently tried to buy special, high-strength metal tubes that are used to make fuel for nuclear weapons, the report said.
"All intelligence experts agree that Iraq is seeking nuclear weapons and that these tubes could be used in a centrifuge enrichment program," the report said. … | http://www.questia.com/library/1G1-92513321/cia-sees-iraq-with-nukes-by-decade-s-end-report-lays | dclm-gs1-100530001 | false | false | {
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0.080591 | <urn:uuid:92b7b7f4-f4cd-4ad2-bc16-c1700f495b3d> | en | 0.929878 | Can you name the facts about Nashville, Tennessee??
created by LaurieT
• Answers do not have to be guessed in order
• Last names ok.
• This quiz has not been verified by Sporcle
In what county is Nashville located?
What is the name of Nashville's NHL team?
What is the name of Nashville's NFL team ?
On what river was Nashville built?
What Greek landmark has a full scale reconstruction built in Nashville's Centennial Park?
What building in downtown Nashville was the original home of the country music radio program , the Grand Ole Opry?
Vanderbilt University has what mascot?
East of downtown Nashville, the Hermitage was the home of what US President?
What Man in Black made his home north of Nashville in Hendersonville?
Nashville resident Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon was otherwise known as what Grand Ole Opry Comedienne?
What is the name of Nashville's current daily newspaper?
What Nashville daily newspaper ceased publication in 1998?
In 2000, what native Nashvillian became the majority leader of the US Senate?
What is the mascot of David Lipscomb University?
What star of Legally Blonde and Walk the Line grew up in Nashville ?
What is the mascot of Tennessee State University?
What contemporary Christian artist was the first to have a platinum record, the first to hit #1 pop and the first to perform at the Grammys?
What is the mascot for Belmont University?
What estate in the west part of Nashville hosts an art museum and botanical gardens?
What three interstate highways transect Nashville?
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March 12, 2009
Yellowfin 36
It's hard to imagine an improved Yellowfin, but this boat handled more than we had a right to throw at it with complete comfort and security.
Yellowfin added aft fish boxes where previously the vessel only had forward ones. Nagler also changed the transom door to a pocket-style slider. The 36 features all pop-up cleats and bow light. Rod holders can be customized for as many or as few as you desire from stem to stern. The foredeck has two large fish boxes as well as a coffin box atop a large under-deck fish box, which opens on electric rams. All this merely touches on the copious storage aboard.
You'll find holders for three rods under each gunwale, four across the leaning-post back, five across the hardtop, four more in the transom, as many as you wish in the gunwales themselves and lots of Plano-box storage in the helm seat. And finally, I especially appreciate that from stem to stern, the deck is all one level.
Design and Construction
Yellowfin recessed the transducer for the Garmin GPSMAP 5215 nav-system sounder into the hull just forward of the front step. Even at 50 mph, we never lost bottom lock. And the console dash had room to spare, even with a pair of the 15-inch displays flush-mounted.
The Garelick tube ladder that slides into the transom couldn't possibly be easier to deploy or re-stow - both from the water or while aboard. One other change with the redesign is the disappearance of the splashwell by the engine mounts - making the stern much cleaner.
Yellowfin uses composite laminates consisting of 100 percent vinylester resins and Core-Cell composite for superb strength without additional weight.
One reason for Yellowfin's success during this down market is the fact that the company sells direct; it has no dealers. That way, buyers know that the person they're purchasing a boat from knows absolutely everything there is to know about it.
LOA......36 ft. 8 in.
BEAM......10 ft.
DEADRISE......24 deg.
DRAFT......1 ft. 8 in.
WEIGHT......6,500 lb.
FUEL......510 gal.
MAX POWER......Triple 350 hp OB
MSRP......$224,000 (w/ triple 300 hp Mercury Verado)
Yellowfin Yachts / Sarasota, Florida / 941-753-7828 / | http://www.sportfishingmag.com/boats/boat-reviews/yellowfin-36?page=0,1 | dclm-gs1-100640001 | false | false | {
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0.018924 | <urn:uuid:b0b44ccf-507d-4c18-baae-83a3575ed91e> | en | 0.951723 | Police pair poisoned by colleagues
Six people were killed when an officer and a cook attacked their police colleagues in southern Afghanistan
An Afghan police officer and cook poisoned their colleagues at a checkpoint in an assault co-ordinated with rebel fighters which left six dead in the country's south, officials say.
It was the latest in a string of attacks from inside the Afghan army and police that are threatening to undermine both the partnership with international troops - which have been the target of many attacks - and the morale of Afghan forces, who have suffered equally heavy casualties from such strikes.
The police officer and the cook worked with outside insurgents in the assault, which hit police manning a checkpoint in the Gereskh district of Helmand province, the governor's office said in a statement.
They poisoned two of the officers and then the militants attacked from outside, killing the remaining four officers, provincial spokesman Ahmad Zirak said. He did not say how the officers were poisoned.
The police officer was captured as he fled, but the cook escaped and remains at large, Mr Zirak added.
The insurgent gunmen escaped by motorcycle with weapons and ammunition, the governor's statement said.
A recent upsurge in the number of insider attacks on coalition troops by Afghan soldiers or police - or insurgents disguised in their uniforms - has further undermined public support for the war in the West. So far this year, at least 52 foreign troops - about half of them Americans - have been killed in insider attacks.
The Afghan government has not provided statistics on the number of its forces killed in insider attacks. However, US military statistics show at least 53 members of the Afghan security forces had been killed by the end of August.
Meanwhile, a Taliban attack elsewhere in Helmand killed two district community council members, while Taliban-fired rocket-propelled grenades destroyed a warehouse full of food destined for the main US base in Afghanistan.
Insurgents ambushed the council members while they were driving to a tribal meeting in the volatile Sangin district, the governor's office said in its statement, adding that the attackers escaped and police are pursuing them.
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Cara Delevingne teams up with Kate Moss for Burberry campaign | http://www.standard.co.uk/panewsfeeds/police-pair-poisoned-by-colleagues-8221336.html | dclm-gs1-100680001 | false | false | {
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0.056549 | <urn:uuid:79f8346c-530c-42c7-9a72-a63705390fa0> | en | 0.970507 | France, Russia and Germany harden stance
France, Russia and Germany yesterday raised the stakes in their defiance of Washington's war plans against Iraq, vowing jointly "not to allow" a resolution authorising war to be passed by the United Nations security council.
At a hastily convened meeting in Paris, the three foreign ministers of the anti-war axis hardened their stance against military action and in favour of inspections two days before the UN chief weapons inspector is due to report to the security council.
"We will not allow the passage of a planned resolution that would authorise the use of force," the French foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, said after the meeting with his Russian and German counterparts, Igor Ivanov and Joschka Fischer.
He refused to say whether France was prepared to use its veto to block a new resolution already tabled by Britain, the US and Spain that would give the green light to the use of force against Baghdad.
But, he said, "Russia and France, as permanent security council members, will fully assume all their responsibilities on this point. We are totally on the same line on this as the Russians."
The US government dismissed the statement as little more than the public expres sion of the diplomatic bargaining taking place behind the scenes. "You will continue to hear various statements by various people around the world," said the White House spokesman, Ari Fleischer.
The US and Britain are seeking nine votes in favour of the draft resolution they presented last week, which would then force the French or Russians to use their veto.
Both camps have four votes secured and are intensively lobbying for six votes of non-permanent nations who are wavering in the middle. The US regards yesterday's remarks as part of an effort to persuade the swing nations that the resolution will not be passed.
"What you are observing is a fluid situation as different nations make different statements that all lead up to the one day which is the most important day, which is the day of the vote," Mr Fleischer said.
The German chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, conceded that the anti-war position may not prevail. "We may lose this argument," he said.
"Anyone who fights for something that is good and right can lose. But anyone who doesn't fight has already lost."
But analysts and diplomats believed that the statement did represent a hardening of the three nations' position from which it would be difficult to climb down.
"They are all working as hard as they damn well can to ensure the resolution does not have a majority on the council, so that they do not actually have to take that veto decision," said one diplomat, who asked not to be named.
"But clearly, I don't see how you can interpret 'will not allow' in any other way than to mean that if it really comes down to it, yes, they are prepared to use their vetoes."
The president of the Institute for Strategic Studies in Moscow, Alexander Konovalov, said the statement marked a warning to the Americans and British to pull back.
"This is a very strong signal to the United States not to put the second resolution up for a vote at all. After such strong statements, however, Russia has lost the opportunity to not use its veto, if it does come to a vote."
Mr Ivanov said that China, which also has a veto, "shared the approach" of Paris, Moscow and Berlin in seeking a peaceful resolution.
Mr Fischer said: "I do not see personally how we can stop the process of resolution 1441 and resort to war." Mr de Villepin said the results of inspections were "more and more encouraging".
But the three warned in a joint declaration that Iraq must do more to cooperate: "We strongly encourage the Iraqi authorities to cooperate more actively with the inspectors towards the full disarmament of their country. These inspections can not continue indefinitely."
Today's best video
Today in pictures | http://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/mar/06/russia.iraq | dclm-gs1-100830001 | false | false | {
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0.156267 | <urn:uuid:467e56d8-6fcd-402d-9ac0-be76d9b9a7d7> | en | 0.962097 | Modern Times
Charlie Chaplin
This 1936 classic written, music-directed, produced, directed by and featuring Charlie Chaplin is a satire on the evils of industrialisation and the struggle of the common man to survive. It was reported that Charlie Chaplin was inspired after a conversation he had with Mahatma Gandhi in which Gandhi complained about “machinery with only consideration of profit”. Putting so many emotions in a silent movie was remarkable and Chaplin’s character being force-fed by a machine, running around tightening screws in the assembly line and the factory owner watching through a close circuit camera have turned out to be a reality in these modern times. This movie is often hailed as one of Chaplin’s greatest achievements, and there are no two opinions about it. | http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/4/article4486464.ece | dclm-gs1-100850001 | false | false | {
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0.259261 | <urn:uuid:1e2de9ab-d8cf-4d94-bf65-2c0d8bdc9b93> | en | 0.914829 | Artesia market price summary for the Acura RDX
Live in or near Artesia, NM and need to know what other people are paying for new vehicles? TrueCar provides you with actual prices paid by people around Artesia for all new 2014 models.
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0.162645 | <urn:uuid:abae1451-a591-415b-ba43-29543bf4a8d5> | en | 0.930964 | Subscribe English
look up any word, like drinking watermelon:
To imagine a what something sounds like in your head.
After he explained the womans terrible laugh to me I was trying to audiolize what it sounded like.
by Kyleen July 19, 2006
11 1
Words related to audiolize:
audio imagine sound speculate visualize | http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=audiolize | dclm-gs1-100960001 | false | false | {
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0.018251 | <urn:uuid:e1d039cf-bc47-4cc3-8194-71d3f0de43d6> | en | 0.974544 | Ingrid Law - Author
ePub eBook | $7.99 | add to cart | view cart
ISBN 9781440634857 | 368 pages | 01 May 2008 | Puffin | 8 - 12 years
Additional Formats:
Summary of Savvy Summary of Savvy Reviews for Savvy An Excerpt from Savvy
Thirteen is when a Beaumont’s savvy hits—and with one brother who causes hurricanes and another who creates electricity, Mibs Beaumont is eager to see what she gets. But just before the big day, Poppa is in a terrible accident. And now all Mibs wants is a savvy that will save him. In fact, Mibs is so sure she’ll get a powerful savvy that she sneaks a ride to the hospital on a rickety bus with her sibling and the preacher’s kids in tow. After this extraordinary adventure—full of talking tattoos and a kidnapping—not a soul on board will ever be the same.
A Discussion Guide to Scumble and Savvy by Ingrid Law
Savvy - Chapter One
My savvy hadn’t come along yet. But I was only two days away from my very own thirteen dripping candles—though my momma’s cakes never lopped to the side or to the middle. Momma’s cakes were perfect, just like Momma, because that was her savvy. Momma was perfect. Anything she made was perfect. Everything she did was perfect. Even when she messed up, Momma messed up perfectly.
I often reckoned what it would be like for me. I pictured myself blowing out the candles on my cake and fires dying in chimneys across four counties. Or I imagined making my secret birthday wish—getting my cheeks full and round with air—then floating up toward the ceiling like my very own happy birthday balloon.
“My savvy is going to be a good one,” I told my brother Rocket. “I just know it.”
“Girls don’t get the powerful jujubes,” said Rocket, running one hand through his dark shock of unkempt hair with a crackle of static. “Girls only get quiet, polite savvies—sugar and spice and everything humdrum savvies. It’s boys who get the earthshaking kinds of savvy.”
I had scowled at my brother and stuck out my tongue. Rocket and I both knew that there were plenty of girls climbing round our family tree that had strong and sturdy savvies, like Great-aunt Jules, who could step back twenty minutes in time every time she sneezed; or our second cousin Olive, who could melt ice with a single red-hot stare.
Rocket was seventeen and full of junk that I wasn’t allowed to say until I got much, much older. But he was electric through and through, and that had always gone to his head. for fun, Rocket would make my hair stand on end like he’d rubbed it with a balloon, or hit fish with a wicked zap from the other side of the room. But Rocket could keep the lights on when the power went out, and our family sure liked that, especially the littler Beaumonts.
Rocket was the oldest, with fish and me following after. Born only a year apart, fish and I were nearly the same height and looked a lot alike, both with hair like sand and straw—hair like Momma’s. But while I had Poppa’s hazel eyes, fish had Momma’s ocean blue ones. It was as if we’d each taken a little bit of Momma, or a little bit of Poppa, and made the rest our own.
I wasn’t the youngest or the smallest in the family; broody Samson was a dark and shadowy seven, and doll-faced Gypsy was three. It was Gypsy who started calling me Mibs, when my full name, Mississippi, became far too much for her toothsome toddler tongue to manage. But that had been a relief. That name had always followed me around like one of fish’s heavy storm clouds.
The itch and scritch of birthday buzz was about all I was feeling on the Thursday before the friday before the Saturday I turned thirteen. Sitting at the dinner table, next to Poppa’s empty chair and ready plate, I barely ate a bite. Across from me, Gypsy prattled endlessly, counting the make-believe creatures she imagined seeing in the room, and begging me to help her name them.
I pushed the food around my plate, ignoring my sister and daydreaming about what it would be like when I got my very own savvy, when the telephone rang right in the middle of pot roast, mashed potatoes, and mighty unpopular green beans. As Momma rose to answer, us kids, and Grandpa Bomba too, seized the chance to plop our mashers on top of our beans while Momma’s back was turned. Samson tucked some of those beans into his pockets to give to his dead pet turtle, even though Momma always said he shouldn’t be giving it any of our good food, seeing how it was dead and all, and the food would just go to rot. But Samson was sure as sadly sure that his turtle was only hibernating, and Momma hadn’t the heart to toss it from the house.
We were all smiling to each other around the kitchen table at the smart way we’d taken care of those beans when Momma dropped the phone with a rattling clatter and a single sob—perfectly devastated. She sank to the floor, looking for all the world as if she were staring right through the checkered brown and blue linoleum to behold the burning hot-lava core at the very center of the Earth.
“It’s Poppa,” Momma said in a choked voice, as her perfect features stretched and pinched.
A gust of wind burst from fish’s side of the table, blowing everyone’s hair and sending our paper napkins flying pell-mell onto the floor. The air in the room grew warm and humid as though the house itself had broken out into a ripe, nervous sweat, and the many dusty, tightly lidded, empty-looking jars that lined the tops of all the cupboards rattled and clinked like a hundred toasting glasses. Outside it was already raining fish rain—drops hastened from a sprinkle to a downpour in seconds as fish stared, wide-eyed and gaping like his namesake, holding back his fear but unable to scumble his savvy.
“Momma?” Rocket ventured. The air around him crackled with static, and his T-shirt clung to him like socks to towels straight from the dryer. The lights in the house pulsed, and blue sparks popped and snapped at the tips of his nervous, twitching fingers.
Momma looked at Poppa’s empty chair and waiting plate, then she turned to us, chin trembling, and told us about the accident on the highway. She told us how Poppa’s car had gotten crushed up bad, like a pop can under a cowboy boot, and how he’d gone and forgotten to get out before it happened, landing himself in a room and a bed at Salina Hope Hospital, where now he lay broken and asleep, not able to wake up.
“Don’t fret, child,” Grandpa consoled Momma as though they were back in time and Momma was still a young girl sitting on his knee crying over a broken doll. “Those doctors know what’s what. They’ll fix your fellow up in no time. They’ll get his buttons sewn back on.” Grandpa Bomba’s tone was soft and reassuring. But as the strobe-like flashes from Rocket’s nervous sparks lit Grandpa’s face, I could see the worry etched deep into all his wrinkles.
For half of a half of a half of a second I hated Poppa. I hated him for working so far away from home and for having to take the highway every day. I hated him for getting in that accident and for ruining our pot roast. Mostly, I realized that my perfect cake with its pink and yellow frosting was probably not going to get made, and I hated Poppa for wrecking my most important birthday before it had even arrived. Then I felt the burning shame of even having those thoughts about my good, sweet poppa and sank low in my chair. To make amends for my selfish feelings, I sat quietly and ate every last unwelcome green bean from beneath my mashed potatoes, as fish’s rain lashed against the windows and Rocket caused every lightbulb in the house to explode with a live-wire zing and a popping shatter, sending shards of glass tinkling to the floor and pitching the house into darkness.
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The author releases another book | http://www.us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781440634857,00.html | dclm-gs1-100980001 | false | false | {
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0.024052 | <urn:uuid:9cf0ec03-0bf7-4e61-b0a6-7dd0356fc345> | en | 0.976813 | Tracy McKenzie, Distinguished Teaching Award
When the UW history department hired Tracy McKenzie in 1988, he filled a position vacated by legendary Professor Tom Pressly, a Distinguished Teaching Award winner. At the time, a faculty member predicted McKenzie would "honor the position held by Professor Pressly."
Not only has McKenzie honored it, he has followed in Pressly's footsteps by winning a 1998 Distinguished Teacher Award himself.
"For the last few years, undergraduate students have been telling me what a good teacher Tracy McKenzie was, and my visit to his classroom confirmed their impression," one colleague says. "What I witnessed was a polished, lucid, and engaging explanation of how the Union began disintegrating between 1848 and 1858. His teaching surely helps to bring distinction to the history department."
The same students who describe him as a "fabulous professor" and "charismatic" also note receiving strong criticism and low grades from McKenzie, who teaches Civil War history. (His comments on student papers can rival the papers themselves in length.) "His standards may be high, (but) no one ever complained that they were unfair or that they did not get the guidance they needed to meet those standards," a student comments.
"I've always thought that the role teachers should play is to follow the old newspaper motto to 'comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable,' " McKenzie says. "I don't intend on leaving my students in a self-congratulatory mood. I want them examining and questioning their attitudes--not necessarily discarding them, but examining them."
"Tracy takes risks as a teacher," a colleague wrote. "He is scrupulously careful to distinguish between history and his own opinions, but at the same time he models in himself the claim that he urges upon his students: that history demands of all of us that we engage ourselves personally with it."
"The idea is not that at age 21 [students] have all the answers," McKenzie says, "but that they can articulate the conflicts around their world view."--Nedra Floyd Pautler, UW News and Information
Return to the Beginning of "The Best of 1998"
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Table of Contents | http://www.washington.edu/alumni/columns/june98/mckenzie.html | dclm-gs1-101110001 | false | false | {
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Health & Parenting
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So Long, Soda...Hello, Fruit
WebMD Feature from "Good Housekeeping" Magazine
By Walecia Konrad
Good Housekeeping Magazine Logo Are your kids addicted to chips, soda, and sweets?
Advice from Dr. William Sears on getting your kids to eat right
Even if you prepare healthy meals at home for your family, your teen or tween still makes a lot of her own food decisions-in the school cafeteria, at friends' houses, at the food court in the mall. How can you help your child make the right choices without you?
William Sears, M.D.-a pediatrician, father of eight children (ages 14 to 39), and author of more than 30 popular parenting books-offers some answers in a new book, The Healthiest Kid in the Neighborhood. Cowritten with his wife (a nurse) and two of his sons (who are both pediatricians), it provides a detailed nutritional guide as well as plenty of down-to-earth advice. Below, Dr. Sears talks about keeping kids on the right nutritional track.
Q: Tell a kid that a food is good for him, and odds are that he'll immediately hate it. How can parents convince kids to eat well?
Even older kids equate healthy with gross when it comes to food. So stay away from off-putting labels and focus instead on the tangible benefits of eating well. Here's an example: I tell my 14-year-old and 17-year-old sons that certain foods will make their muscles and brains work better, helping them get higher test scores, run faster, and hit more home runs. For my baseball-crazy 17-year-old, especially, this was a real winner.
Appearance is another good enticement. I have one patient, a 15-year-old girl, who recently came in for a checkup. Her mom was worried about her daughter's new craving for sugary coffee drinks and the girl's pronounced aversion to fresh fruits and vegetables. When I told the girl that eating well would make her hair shinier and her skin clearer, it really got her attention.
Q: As kids get older, they eat more meals away from home. How can parents influence kids' food choices?
There's simply no substitute for setting a great example. Now is the time to be even more careful about what you serve at home. When kids grow accustomed to eating nutritious, healthy foods-and feeling good afterward-they tend to do just fine when they're on their own. Serve a delicious dinner of grilled skinless chicken breasts and two or three vegetables, or a snack of yogurt, fruit, and almonds, and kids will immediately respond to the satisfied-but not too full-feeling they get when they're finished. Sure, they'll eat an order of fries after the soccer match or some pizza and soda at a party. But they will be more aware of the sluggish way they feel afterward and eat less of the bad stuff.
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0.0506 | <urn:uuid:b71776b7-3dcc-4fed-9085-9d9747c294e3> | en | 0.953698 | Saving the Planet - One Drop at a Time
by Nora Dunn on 8 December 2008 23 comments
Photo: Nora Dunn
More and more catastrophic storms. Global warming. Droughts and floods. It seems that we have entered an era of extremes in planet earth’s saga.
With global environmental issues becoming bigger and harder to ignore, there are things we all can work on to help do our part. You may argue that we should stop making “the little guy” pay and change their habits when it is really the big corporations who exponentially consume that should be held to a higher standard.
But truly – if we are to continue to foster a planet for future generations to enjoy, we have to start somewhere. Being an example and teaching our children how to conserve resources is the first step to getting the “big guys” to listen; some of our children will eventually be in those positions of power and influence to enforce greater changes than we could ever imagine. All we have to do is give them the proper building blocks.
I am currently traveling through Australia, a country that has suffered terrible drought for over a decade now. So here in Oz, water conservation is not a nice thing to do for the environment; it is a necessity.
Here are a few ways you can save the planet, one drop at a time:
2 Minute Showers
You heard me: two minutes. Public showers at some campgrounds in Australia actually have timers. If you aren’t done in the allotted time, you will be one soapy dude for the rest of the day.
At home, you don’t necessarily have to complete your shower in two minutes. But see if you can run the water for just two minutes by turning it on and off as needed. Myscha wrote a great article about how to get the greatest use out of the least amount of water while sudsing up.
Brushing Teeth
I’m sure it goes without saying, but if you aren’t tuned in yet, let’s get with the program! Turn off the water while you are brushing your teeth, okay? It involves no sacrifice other than the laborious action of turning a tap on and off a few more times.
Washing Dishes
For anybody who has camped and had to haul their dishwashing water from a nearby river or tap or wash using a sink that’s way too small, you are already a good chunk of the way towards washing your dishes in a water-friendly way. Every kitchen is set up differently for washing dishes, so techniques for how to get those plates clean while using the least amount of water will vary.
One technique I have found useful is to fill the sink with rinse water (not too much!), and rinse dishes creatively instead of running the tap to do so. Use glasses and bowls to scoop up the water and pour it over the awkward dishes, killing two birds (or rather, rinsing two dishes) in one shot. And at the end, if your rinse water isn’t too grimy, leave it in the sink to soak your next set of dirty dishes.
For those with dish washers, seriously consider cutting down or eliminating your usage. It is a pig on both power and water, while ultimately being totally unnecessary for survival. At the very least, only use it when it is absolutely fully packed. Even then…
Watering Your Garden
Using a hose to water your garden is the perfect way to waste a ton of water. Instead, try using a bucket and scoop. You will concentrate your watering efforts on exactly the plants and spots that need watering, and you’ll get better exercise hauling the bucket. In Australia, this is how even some commercial growers water their produce; so you can too.
If you are an avid floral gardener (and thus not able to consume the product of your watering efforts as with a veggie patch), consider the types of plants you are landscaping with. If you live in a dry climate and plant with a water-hungry plant, you are doing no favors to anybody and satisfying no more than your own sense of aesthetics. Try instead learning about drought-bed techniques, and planting things that do well even in dry conditions.
For those with a new property and a small patch of lawn, try not laying sod down at all. There are lots of grass-free landscaping techniques that are very attractive, virtually maintenance free, and dry as a bone.
If It’s Yellow, Let It Mellow
Do you have to flush the toilet every time you pee? Arguably, no. Ladies: don’t use a half a roll of toilet paper (one or two squares will do – this is also environmentally friendly) to wipe, and you can get lots of extra mileage out of a toilet flush without clogging the pipes.
Catch the drips
Most taps drip, even if very slowly. Think about all the taps you have; outside taps for hoses are the biggest culprits. Bathtubs are close followers. Catch those drips! It may not be aesthetically appealing to have a bowl or bucket under the tap, but at least perfectly potable water won’t be wasted.
Get Creative
Every time you turn on the tap, think about how you can either reduce your usage, or get some extra mileage out of it by reusing it. Some people water their gardens with their gray water (from washing dishes with biodegradable soap). Others install water-saving taps and pressure reducers. By calculating how every single drop of water gets used, you can actually turn water conservation into a creative exercise that is stimulating and even enjoyable! Present it as a challenge for the whole family to participate in. Put the right slant on it, and saving the planet – one drop at a time – can create a more sustainable world for us to live in, and actually be fun too.
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Guest's picture
On dishwashers:
It turns out that the question of which is more green, handwashing versus dishwashers is not exactly straightforward. Sure, if you have a 20 year old clunker, it's not exactly water or energy efficient. But if you have a newer EnergyStar model (post 2003), it is reasonably comparable to best handwashing practice, and beats "handily" sloppy handwashing practice which is more the norm (i.e., letting the water run at high pressure, rinsing instead of scraping food, not using a cold water rinse, etc.) See here for a comparison:
I read somewhere else (EnergyStar's homepage, I think) that part of the secret is more efficient use of water in the newer machines, but also a turn towards heating at the machine, instead of relying on the house's central water heating to get the water temperature up high enough.
It all sure surprised me! I was poised to handwash forever, but I was persuaded that (given my husband's handwashing technique) that the dishwasher was the greener choice.
Guest's picture
I agree with Diane above about dishwashers being much more eco-friendly than they used to be.
I agree with you on everything else and do all of the things you mention at least part of the time. Other small helps include using the leftover water and melted ice from our glasses to water plants and saving water from boiling potatoes for bread recipes.
Hubby is less watchful of water usage, so I used to keep a plastic wash pan under the kitchen faucet to catch water that he would otherwise let go down the drain (overfilled ice trays, waiting for water to get cold enough, waiting for water to get hot enough, etc.) I used it to fill my washing machine. I can't do that anymore because I now have a front-loader. After much nagging on my part he's getting better about his water usage and waste.
Guest's picture
Dont forget the classic: placing a 1 liter pop bottle full of water in the upper deck of your toliet so you use 1 liter less with every flush automatically!
Guest's picture
We recently acquired an energy star rated dishwasher. If you use the fast setting with the eco setting it supposedly uses a gallon and a half to run the cycle. Our sink holds more water than that. It has the two drawers so there is the benefit of being able to run a half load. We do try to make sure it is completely full before running. If we hand washed two drawers worth of dishes we would use far more between rinsing and having to refill the sink with clean water multiple times. As far as the old dishwasher, I don't even want to think how much water that thing was using.
I do try to put all of the silverware in a cup full of water beside the sink to cut down on rinsing. I also pulled out the spatula. That is what my mom used to get dishes ready to wash in the days before garbage disposals were the norm.
In the summer we use the dirty water out of the fish tank to water the veggie garden. We run a dehumidifier in the basement in the summer. Water from that goes to watering plants or garden beds.
Guest's picture
I grew up in Australia, so I know well the water saving tactics. After all, being the driest continent on earth, we are on constant water restrictions. When I moved to the USA a year ago, I was truly horrified at the amount of water wastage. To this day I cringe when I walk through my Californian neighbourhood and see the amount of sprinklers watering the sidewalk.
As for the water saving method of adding a bottle to your toilet cistern: In Australia every toilet is dual flush. Half flush for #1 and full flush for #2. I think this toilet should be implemented in every household.
Guest's picture
I'd agree with most of these, save for two. The dishwasher one (for the reason the first poster mentioned) and the "if it's yellow let it mellow" one. Leaving urine in your toilet can actually stain the bowl over time due to the uric acid in ones urine. Now if you don't mind the stains, by all means I guess.
Guest's picture
While I agree with most of this article..... One to two squares of toilet paper?! You've got to be kidding! Half a roll is obviously too much, but maybe you're just trying to make a point.....
I used to live in an RV and travel a lot. The shower heads in RV's have a turn off switch so you can turn the water flow off and on. When you turn the water back on to rinse, the water temperature is not affected. And it's very easy to reach. I really like that feature, and miss not having it in my home shower head. Any inventors or designers out there who can design one for the home?
Guest's picture
These already exist! Look for one with a "flow control valve". It's typically a knob to twist or a button to push, can shut the water completely off or just reduce the flow.
Guest's picture
Unless you are taking high-dose B vitamins, your urine should be clear.
If not, you need to drink more water.
Guest's picture
I have heard about people here in Seattle having large rain catches that store rain water from their gutters. Some people even pipe it into their plumbing for flushing toilets. I have not really researched this for myself, but it may be a way to save on my water bill.
-Dan Malone-
Guest's picture
If you are serious about saving water, want a toilet that really works and is affordable, I would highly recommend a Caroma Dual Flush toilet. Caroma toilets offer a patented dual flush technology consisting of a 0.8 Gal flush for liquid waste and a 1.6 Gal flush for solids. Caroma, an Australian company set the standard by giving the world its first successful two button dual flush system in the nineteen eighties and has since perfected the technology. Also, with a full 3.5″ trapway, these toilets virtually never clog. All of Caroma’s toilets are on the list of WaterSense labeled HET’s and also qualify for several rebate programs currently available as well as LEED points. Please go to for more detailed information or visit to see why they actually work better than any US toilet. Best regards, Andrea Paulinelli
Guest's picture
For dishwashing, I live in an apartment with a single sink. The way I minimize water use is to fill the very bottom of the sink with soapy water and soak then wash the smallest stuff in this, usually silverware and tupperware (and by tupperware I mean yogurt and cottage cheese tubs) lids. Then I rinse these under running water into the sink, and this fills it up enough to soak the next largest things, plates and cereal bowls, then continue up to the biggest pots and pans. I usually leave my dishes for awhile (just laziness here, not for water saving purposes), so I have lots to do at once, and most of the time drain the sink halfway when it gets too full. I figure that I use about one and a half sinkfuls of water for a very large load of dishes. When I am doing smaller loads, I use the same process, but do it in a large salad/mixing bowl or the liner to my crockpot.
About the 'let it mellow' issue, I refuse to do this. My parents did this for years when I was growing up, and I have a friend who's family did this as well, and both of their bathrooms ABSOLUTELY REEKED of urine. When I returned to my parents home after being away for several months, the smell was almost intolerable even after they had stopped doing this for a long time. I think it soaked into the wallpaper, or the floor or something, and even after they replaced the wallpaper, the linoleum, the tiles around the bathtub, the sink vanity, and most of the rest of the bathroom, there is still a faint but distinct smell of urine everytime you walk in there. I do keep plastic bottles full of sand in the toilet tank though, to reduce the amount of water used per flush.
I also use the 'wasted water' from the kitchen tap (waiting for it to be hot or cold, rinsing something, etc) to water my plants.
Guest's picture
It should actually be "if it's brown, be mellow". Urine decomposes quickly into ammonia gas and other unpleasant things in the absence of carbon, such as you would find in a sawdust toilet or similar composting system.
If you really want to save water and still want to use your water-flushed toilet to "go" in, keep some 2 liter plastic soda bottles or 1 gal milk bottles (with caps) and guys can pee into those, then cap them off. No smells.
Women need a funnel to make this work.
In general, this is a class of toilet management called "urine diversion"--which is intended to keep the urine sequestered bcs it's the URINE not the **** that smells most.
after you go in the bottle and cap it, try your #2. #2 can sit in the toilet all day and the next without smelling.
Then when it's time to flush, you empty the bottles into the toilet and flush--once a day or every two days.
The obstacle here is that #2 is considered "gross" and "disgusting", so most people are embarrassed to leave it in the toilet. YOu would need to have an agreement with all household members to pull this one off.
For areas that have SERIOUS water shortages, a sawdust bucket carry system and outdoor compost pile would be the best options, as outlined in the Humanure Bible by Jenkins, which is a very funny and good read on the subject written by someone who knows his subject well.
Guest's picture
Installing a system to store shower greywater for use as either (a) water for the wash cycle of a clothes washer or (b) for use to flush toilets or (c) irrigation for landscaping is worth considering as an option.
Also, it is possible to rerig the outflow of your washing machine to a barrel (like a big trash barrel) so that you save the rinse water of one load for the use as the wash water of the next load, thus saving 50% of the water you would normally use. There are also automated systems to do this, but the basic way is to manually pour the rinse water from the bucket into the washer once the new wash cycle has begun.
Guest's picture
"Grey water system" cracks me up, but we have one. "System" sounds so technical. It's as simple as running our drain hose into a trash can. The trash can is set up on bricks and has a hole in the bottom attached to a pool hose. The hose is directed at whatever is thirsty in the yard. The only thing we have to be careful about is the type of soap we use.
Of course, we wash and dry outside so....
Guest's picture
We plug our bathtub, take our showers and use the tub water to flush the toilet (with a bucket). We have enough tub water to never need to flush the toilet. Every 10 days or so, I also use the tub water to wash the dirty socks. The kids socks get so dirty that they usually need two washings; the first pass is done with used shower water. We also use the tub water to water our garden, flower beds and compost bins (we have a chlorine filter on the shower).
Guest's picture
Maybe if your vagina were the size of a fish egg, 1 or 2 squares would be sufficient, but even though I religiously wash up, I prefer to not get urine all over my hands while I'm wiping. BLEGH.
Some people take this eco crap too far. Leaving pee and/or poop (gross, Steve) in a toilet with 1 square floating on top is absolutely below my level of comfort. (And I'm grateful I don't live with any of you people who do it. I hope I'm not friends with you either.)
Andrea Karim's picture
When I was traveling, I had to carry toilet paper with me at all times, because Chinese bathrooms don't offer such amenities. I learned that one or two squares of toilet paper was sufficient, if all you were doing was peeing.
I've also never peed out of my vagina, though, so maybe that has something to do with it.
Nora Dunn's picture
Nora Dunn
Andrea - I love you. You rock!
I am digging the forum here....and getting lots of great water saving ideas. I'm especially jazzed about commenter #16's bathtub trick. Any recommendations for somebody with a stand-up shower?
Keep the great ideas and your water-saving methodologies coming!
Guest's picture
for a stand-up shower, just install a water-saver button. I think ours was $10 at Home Depot. You just take off the shower head, install the button (it screws in -- make sure to use teflon tape to reduct dripping), and re-attach the shower head. Now you can just push the button in to turn the stream off without turning the water off.
One warning, though: If you shower with hot water, be prepared for a blast of cold when you turn the stream back on! :)
Guest's picture
Reading the other comments reminded me of the largest water-saving change we did, 8 years ago:
front-loading clothes washer. Our current washer uses about 13 gallons per load, holds more than a standard washer, and uses less detergent. A reg washer uses up to 60 gallons of water per load!! *faint*
Also, we've never used the "dry" cycle on our dishwasher. That doesn't save water, but it does save electricity. :)
Guest's picture
Here is a little idea I use to take a shower. It's from Japan actually, I take a 1 or 2 gallon bucket with a scooper and use this. I fill it with warm water by first turning on the hot water only at a trickle and letting it fill the bucket. By the time the bucket is full the water is hot so you end up with a warm bucket of water. I take the scooper and pour a few scoops of water over my head and body, then soap up, and then scooper rinse. I usually can take a shower in this method using around 4 gallons of water or less. This will not be a surprise to any Asians out here since this is a normal method of bathing; however for non-asians this will probably sound new. You save a lot of water and a lot of electricity.
Aloha Guill.
Nora Dunn's picture
Nora Dunn
@Guill - Of course! I have showered using this method in Asia, but it is usually arrestingly cold water. What a great way to save water and be conscious of your usage at the same time (and a little warm water makes it easier too)! | http://www.wisebread.com/saving-the-planet-one-drop-at-a-time?wbref=readmore-3 | dclm-gs1-101160001 | false | false | {
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Hunter's Edge
Some love can last a lifetime-their love was destined to last longer.
Angel's first words to Kel were "I'm going to marry you." She was seven at the time. He was eight. And he didn't laugh when she spoke the words. Best friends as children, lovers as young adults, they had an unexplainable bond. Their future looked set. Until the night they were attacked by a creature that couldn't exist.
Angel survived the attack-barely. But Kel didn't. Or at least, nobody thought he did. His body was never found and Angel's life would never be the same.
The attack might not have killed Kel's body, but it sure as hell killed his heart. Twelve years later, there's one part of his former life that he can't move past. Angel. He can't let her go, but he can't have her either. She doesn't even realize he is still alive.
But when a threat surfaces, Kel's willing to do whatever it takes to protect Angel. Even if it drives them both to the edge of insanity and back.
Warning: Some violence. Some sex. Some bloody violence. Even a little bit of bloody sex. Not all of the sex is between the hero and the heroine, even though every time that happens, the hero closes his eyes and thinks of England Angel. Not exactly a traditional romance, but I promise it does end HEA.
This book has been previously published and has been repackaged.
Author Information
Shiloh WalkerNotify me of new titles added by this author
Shiloh Walker is the national bestselling author of many novels, including Hunting the Hunter, Hunter's Salvation, and Hunters: Heart and Soul.
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Product Details
• Published by
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
• Publish Date
April 27, 2009
• eBook ISBN
• Filesize
921.69 KB
• Number of Print Pages*
• Format
Adobe DRM EPUB
Excerpt from Hunter's Edge by Shiloh Walker
Do something.
Closing his hands into fists, he muttered, "I can do this." Hell, all he'd wanted do for twelve years was hold her again. No reason he couldn't manage it now, right? He settled down on the couch, sitting behind her. She was sitting sideways on it, with her legs drawn up to her chest, huddled in on herself. Nestling up behind her, he slid his arms around her waist and tucked her against him.
She was cold. Too cold. Nuzzling her neck, he whispered, "Come on, Angel. Snap out of it."
The rapid, irregular beat of her heart was clear to him as if he'd had a stethoscope pressed to her chest. Sliding one hand down her arm, he closed his fingers down on her wrist. The thready beat had him swearing. Scooping her into his arms, he strode through the house, searching for her bedroom. The dog followed along behind him and when Kel laid her down on the bed, the dog jumped up as well and stretched his length out against her side.
Kel let the dog be. As cool as Angel's body was, she needed heat from somewhere and she wouldn't get it from him. There was a fat quilt folded down at the end of the bed and he tossed it over Angel. As the dog wiggled up to poke his nose out from under the blanket, Kel lay down on the other side of her and wrapped his arms around her.
Snap out of it, he thought. If she didn't soon, he was going to have to get her to a hospital. Most of the Hunters received crash courses on emergency first aid and as far as he could tell, she was in shock. She hadn't been physically hurt--
No. You just pretty much ripped her heart out. Kel didn't mind feeling guilt. Sometimes it was the only thing he did feel. But the weight of this was too damn heavy, crushing him. Easing her over onto her side, he curled his body around hers and pushed up onto his elbow, staring her profile.
"Do you remember that summer you broke your arm..."
He talked. Seemed like he talked for hours. He might have given it up after the first few minutes, but her body no longer felt so cool against his and her heart rate slowed down, taking on a more regular rhythm. By the time he got to their last summer, she had a faint blush of color to her cheeks and her gaze would flick his way for a minute, then just bounce away.
"That night you moved out of your mom's place...remember that?"
Her lids lowered over her eyes, shutting him out. Pressing on her shoulder, he guided her onto her back. A soft breath shuddered out of her, but other than that, she made no response. Kel took her hand and twined their fingers. His voice was harsh as he muttered, "I remember it."
Damn, did he remember. You need to find something else to talk about, man. Fast.
But before he could wrest his attention to something other than that first night they'd made love, her lids lifted, revealing heated, hungry eyes.
"I remember." She laid her hand on his cheek. "Are memories all I'm ever going to have of you, Kel?"
She shook her head. "Never mind. That's answer enough." She started to wiggle away, but the dog's weight kept her from moving away too fast. He brushed a hand over her shoulder but she jerked away. "Move it, Rufus." At the sound of her curt voice, the dog shoved his mammoth weight upright and leaped off the bed.
Kel watched as she headed toward the door, the rational voice of common sense telling him to let her go. Disappear from her life. She'd be better for it.
He didn't remember leaving the bed. He didn't remember crossing the room, or barring the doorway. He didn't even remember reaching for her, but he must have, because she was pressed up against him, his hands gripping her upper arms. She had her palms pressed against his chest, keeping him at bay. He held back but it took a measure of control he wasn't sure he had.
"Go ahead, Kel. Disappear. I know that's what you want." She stared at him, her blue gaze icy and cold. She tried to twist away from him but he wouldn't let go--couldn't seem to manage it.
"You think that's what I want?" he rasped, dipping his head and pressing a kiss to her neck, just below her ear. Her scent was strong there, warm, soft and female and he wanted to lose himself in it. The rapid beat of her heart was a siren's song and he could almost imagine how she'd taste, could imagine pressing his mouth to her neck, his teeth piercing her silken skin...
Instead of doing it, though, he lifted his head and stared down at her. "Can you really believe, even for a minute, that I'd wouldn't do anything to have you back in my life?"
His words had little effect--if anything, her gaze became more aloof. She flashed him a hard-edged smile. "Doesn't look that way from where I'm standing. Let me go, Kel. Despite what your nudist friend thinks, I'll be fine."
"Nudist... Toronto." Narrowing his eyes, he studied her face. "You heard him."
"Yeah, Kel. I heard him--sort of. I took a mental trip but that doesn't mean I've completely taken leave of my senses."
I only wish I had...maybe life would be easier that way. Insanity sounds a lot easier. That or just plain dead.
Angel never spoke the words aloud. But those words echoed between them. She paled and jerked against his hold as his eyes flew wide. He snarled and wrapped an arm around her waist, locking her against him as she struggled. "Damn it, Kel, let go of me."
"Not going to happen, babe," he growled. Reaching up, he fisted a hand in her hair and jerked her head back, forcing her to meet his eyes. "You don't think like that, Angel. You hear me?"
A sneer curled her lip. How such a derisive expression could be so damned appealing, Kel would never know.
"You can't tell me how to think, babe." Her voice was deliberately scathing, deliberately insulting.
His control stretched tight, he tried to let her go. He needed to do just that--get some distance between them before need, love, lust and fear got the better of him.
But his body wasn't listening to his head's commands and instead of letting her go, he shifted, turned, pressed her back against the door. Leaning into her, he slid one hand up and rested it over her neck. His thumb lay in the hollow of her neck, feeling the silken softness of her skin, the warmth of life rushing just below.
"I said, don't," he muttered as he dipped his head and pressed his mouth to hers. | https://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/shiloh-walker/hunter-s-edge/_/R-400000000000000092039 | dclm-gs1-101290001 | false | false | {
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0.096129 | <urn:uuid:629c6a70-989d-45be-811f-0f0055fa4b0a> | en | 0.973263 | Hacker Newsnew | comments | ask | jobs | submitlogin
TwoBit 390 days ago | link | parent
For a few years Internet Explorer had a monopoly and lots of web sites became dependent on its bugs, quirks, and extensions. A lot of corporations are still stuck due to that.
just2n 390 days ago | link
It wasn't because of the monopoly.
It was because IE had a HORRENDOUSLY SLOW development cycle with minimal resources committed. It was impossible to get all of those issues fixed in a timely manner. If they can be fixed within a few months, it won't be 5+ years of entrenching people in egregious bugs before a new version comes out that breaks all of those if/elses in everyone's code.
We develop ONLY for Chrome. It (and WebKit especially) has bugs, too, and we report them regularly. But the development cycle is rapid enough that we can put a TODO in the code, file a bug against it, and a few months later we actually get to fix the code because, oh my gosh, it's fixed on Chrome stable.
sequence7 390 days ago | link
IE only had a horrendously slow development cycle with minimal resources committed after it became a monopoly. Up until that point it was regularly updated with features and bug fixes.
I doubt that Chrome/WebKit will stagnate if it becomes the de facto standard but I'd rather it didn't have the chance and I'm constantly amazed that so many comments on HN seem desperate for one browser to rule them all.
just2n 390 days ago | link
IE was always that way, actually. Please check their release dates. They were very slow by standards we expect today. After 6, they did suddenly disappear for years, but again, this is a Microsoft problem.
It was also closed source, so nobody who found a bug could just go fix it. You had to ask Microsoft, nay beg Microsoft, to fix it for you. And they didn't.
These effects compound one another. The result is that MAJOR bugs become features.
scholia 390 days ago | link
IE development was pretty rapid up to IE6: please check their release dates. Microsoft out-developed Netscape.
How do you think it got from IE1.0 in August 1995 to IE6 in October 2001? (That included the IE5.5 release as well.)
just2n 390 days ago | link
I did check their release dates. I don't consider multi-month releases of minor versions "rapid", and major versions were shipped yearly.
That rate of development with the resources Microsoft had to get the best developers available is really unacceptable.
scholia 388 days ago | link
You're wrong, but I guess you're too young to remember and can't be bothered to learn anything.
The IE team produced 7 versions in six years and there were some very substantial advances, including a new layout engine (Trident). They also did Mac and Unix versions, a mobile version, and a tabbed version for MSN (before iE had tabs).
IE certainly developed a lot faster than anything else on the market in the 1990s, bearing in mind that Netscape took three years to get from 4.7 to 4.8.
Safari entered the market late (2003) and still took the best part of seven years to make it to version 4.
Nobody shipped major versions "yearly".
yuhong 390 days ago | link
Netscape used a similar release cycle too, and so did Firefox before version 4.
pjmlp 390 days ago | link
Yes, but new releases are worthless if consumers cannot use them.
So we are forced to hack web sites to make it work in the majority of WebKit based browsers out there in the field.
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5233448 | dclm-gs1-101320001 | false | false | {
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0.049317 | <urn:uuid:f1eecd2c-c12b-43dc-957b-c90eb1d751ec> | en | 0.958789 | Reverse Phone Lookup
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0.900318 | <urn:uuid:f9e5a451-7780-4893-808a-b7dbd8b63e70> | en | 0.924936 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I am using WAS application server and EJB 3. I need to generate stubs for my EJBs . Is there any ANT task to generate EJB 3 stubs ?
I know createEJBStubs can be used, but it would be grateful If i can use ANT task.
share|improve this question
I heard there is a way by which we can generate stubs using websphere ant task. But i did not find anything. Any comments or direction is appreciable. – Mayur Sharma Sep 30 '13 at 8:24
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1 Answer
up vote 2 down vote accepted
Based on this faq page, when websphere is generating the stubs using an ant task, it is actually calling createEJBStubs:
<exec executable="${was.home}/bin/createEJBStubs.${suffix}">
So that's probably what you should do as well.
(It is peculiar that EJB stubs would be needed for EJB 3.0, as that's supposed to eliminate the need. However, it seems that with websphere, you still have to generate them)
share|improve this answer
You need to generate the stubs in case you need to create a standalone client, i.e. an EJB client that does not run in an application server. In case your client does run in an application server then you do not need to carry the stubs. – trikelef Oct 1 '13 at 8:33
+1 to @trikelef , we need stubs if we are running stand-alone client. I just need to confirm that is there any other way to generate stub rather than calling this executable? – Mayur Sharma Oct 1 '13 at 8:59
The faq page cited by @eis gives you an ANT script that does the job – trikelef Oct 1 '13 at 9:02
@trikelef : that script internally calls createEJBStubs.sh (or .exe). I think there is no other way to generate stubs. Thanks trikelef and eis for discussing with me. – Mayur Sharma Oct 1 '13 at 9:37
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Your Answer
| https://stackoverflow.com/questions/19087477/how-to-generate-ejb-3-stub-using-ant-task/19108948 | dclm-gs1-101370001 | false | false | {
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0.039186 | <urn:uuid:86c25361-bf88-44d5-a05b-d24fd5cdb047> | en | 0.994417 | Forbidden bonds
Chapter one: Decisions
She was in love, in love with the one person she knew her uncle and brother hated. But every day without him was hell. How could she go on like this?
He lived in the same time zone as she did, so she could visit him. To talk. She could tell about her feelings and hope that he felt the same. Would he want her?
She had been alone at home. She was doing her homework when a sudden need to go outside grew inside of her. She had been wandering on the streets for god knows how long when she finally looked up to see where she was. At first she didn't recognize it but it slowly dawned at her where she was. She was at Murloch's house!!
Sara knew that this was a very important moment in her life. One that could decide her future. Murloch was the one she loved, and Sara felt that he was the only one that she could and would ever love. She could walk to the door, knock and tell Murloch about her feelings. Or she could walk away and never come back and lose Murloch. She would never see him again and probably be miserable for the rest of her life.
She smiles to herself. 'I don't really have a choice do I? I can try and be happy or miserable or I can run away and be miserable.' She said out loud to no one in particular.
Sara walked to the door and knocked. A few seconds later he opened the door, looking surprised but happy to see her there. Before he could say anything Sara said 'Hi Murloch can we talk?' | https://www.fanfiction.net/s/1379150/1/Forbidden-bonds | dclm-gs1-101420001 | false | false | {
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0.162524 | <urn:uuid:24dad73f-2ab9-46da-b922-1cbb35660bd9> | en | 0.988302 | Summary: Xander spends a Friday evening in the library studying, and things get weirder from then on.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters portrayed here, they remain the property of their respective owners/creators.
Rating: PG-13, for sexually suggestive dialogue and general themes.
Time Frame: "Bad Girls." A few things are different. . .
Archiving: Be my guest, but e-mail me (eilandesq@aol.com) to let me know. . .I like to know where stuff I write ends up and I might want to see what else you've got.
Xander stared at the trigonometry textbook, willing it to make sense and having little success. He sighed. Friday night, and he was stuck in the library, studying like crazy with the desperate hope that he could keep all of his grades in the passing range. It was bad enough that he was looking at a whole lot of "no way" letters from the colleges he had applied to, but the thought of not graduating with his friends just sucked. . .unlike Oz, he didn't have the consolation of having a girlfriend one year behind him that he could spend the next year with. Not to mention that another year of living under the reign of terror that was Principal Snyder was a serious incentive to study.
He heard footsteps, and looked up, thinking that Giles had returned to do some research. He stared at the sight of Buffy: she was dressed to kill, wearing a leather mini-skirt and a black top that covered very little. Xander willed himself to breathe and called out, "Hey, Buffy. . .are you trying to slay vampires by causing them to hyperventilate?"
Buffy smiled softly and replied, "Naah. . .it's been a slow night. . .when we took out Balthazar, I think it scared the hell out of most of the other vamps in town. . .they're laying low for a while, and there are no new graves to stake out. I was thinking of spending a night on the town. . .but Willow's busy, and Faith isn't one to pass up a patrol even if she thinks there probably isn't anyone out there. . .so I went looking for my Xander-shaped bud." She scowled at the books in front of him and commented, "Studying on a Friday night. . .isn't there a law against that?"
Xander gave her a mock glare and replied sardonically, "Some of us want to graduate, Miss-Skate out-in-the-middle-of -a-Chemistry-test-to-play-with-Faith Girl. Besides, since you seem to be able to keep Sunnydale safe from lard-assed demons without me, I had some time on my hands."
Buffy gave him a look, then walked over and grabbed a chair, turning it around and straddling it as she looked at Xander and replied, "Oh, don't be like that. That was a seriously unpleasant scene. . .vampires with swords are no fun. Faith, Angel, and I had our hands full, even after we freed Giles. . .he's wicked with a sword, you ought to see him in action with one sometime. Besides, wasn't saving our asses from those zombies a couple of weeks back enough to let you know that we need you?"
Xander blinked and managed to croak out, "Uh. . .I mean. . .how did you find out about that?"
Buffy grinned, and replied in the tone of a quote, "Oh come on, Xander. . .just because I'm gorgeous doesn't mean I'm stupid." She visibly enjoyed the startled look in his eyes as she continued, "It started the morning after. All of us remembered running into you that night and seeing that you were upset, but we were too caught up in the whole apocalypse thing to think too much of it. Then I went to check to see that Willy the Snitch was all right. . .and he dropped some comment about 'tell that tough guy buddy of yours that he did O.K. last night.' I started to get suspicious, so I went to Angel. . .everyone knows he has sources almost as good as Willy's. . .and he wasn't out of commission during the last few days. He hemmed and hawed, then told me most of it. Quite a night you had, Xander. . .meeting up with the world's first zombie street gang. . .thwarting their nasty plan to blow up the school and inadvertently take the rest of the world with it when the Hellmouth opened. . .boinking my new little sister before you went out to do battle with-"
"ANGEL TOLD YOU THAT?!" Xander was seriously pissed off, and didn't bother to hide it as he continued, "What business does Dead Boy have telling you tha-" He stopped in mid-sentence at the smirk on Buffy's face, and he mumbled, "Uh. . .Angel didn't tell you that part, did he?"
Buffy shook her head, then calmly replied, "Nope. Faith was asking me some strange questions about you when we first ran into those Eliminati vamps. . .wanted to know if we had ever done it together." Xander flushed, and Buffy continued, "I wondered why in the hell she would ask me that. . .so after we finished off Fat and Slimy, I cornered her and asked. . .and she came clean. No wonder you were in such a good mood the morning after that."
Xander was mortified, and found that he couldn't look at Buffy as he replied, "Uh, yeah, Buffy. . .it was one of those things that just happened, you know? She was worked up from fighting that Apocalypse demon and, well. . .just how mad are you at me?"
Buffy raised an eyebrow and responded, "Mad? Why would I be mad, Xander? It's not like you forced yourself on her, and. . .Xander, you do know that she takes these things kind of casually, don't you?"
Xander snorted and replied, "Getting kicked out of her motel room in my skivvies two minutes after we had finished was kind of a tip-off that she wasn't looking to wear my class ring any time soon. . .assuming I had a class ring to give her." He frowned at her and asked suspiciously, "What, did she send you over to see if I was going to bug her from now on? You can tell her I'll leave her alone. . .I just hope I haven't screwed things up with her in general. . .I like her, you know."
Buffy's expression softened, and she replied, "She's cool with it, Xander. . .she was having second thoughts about it too. There aren't many guys around who have saved the lives of two Slayers, you know. . .Faith asked me to pass along a 'thank you' that didn't involve the exchange of bodily fluids." She gave him an appraising look, then stood up and walked around to his side of the table, pulling up the chair next to him as she continued, "Talking with Faith got me to thinking. . .maybe I've been wrongheaded about a lot of this stuff myself."
Xander blinked, puzzled, then asked, "Could you clear that up a bit? I'm not following you."
Buffy looked at him calmly, then replied, "Xander, I've been all caught up in the idea of having the perfect love. . .the normal life. . .but I'm beginning to think that it's just silly for me to be obsessed with that. . .not to mention the fact that even when I try to be responsible. . .it comes back and bites me in the ass. I waited for almost a year to sleep with Angel. . .and BAM! Instant murderous stalker. . .just add Buffy." Her face contorted momentarily, and Xander was preparing to say something comforting when she continued, "Damn it, the odds are that I'm not going to be alive that much longer anyway. . .why not just enjoy life while I can while I'm fighting the good fight. . .carpe diem and all that." She smiled at him and commented, "Maybe Faith has the right idea, Xander. . .why don't we just enjoy ourselves without all of the obsessing over true love and all that crap?"
Xander stared at her, disbelieving, before asking, "Buffy. . .you haven't died recently, have you? Wait, wrong question. . .you're being nice to me, so the question should be whether some idiot has cast a random love spell on you. . .because the last time we had a conversation like this, you were about two minutes away from a serious cheese obsession."
Buffy chuckled, then replied, "Nope, it's just me. No black magic. . .no post-death trauma. . .just me looking at my life and asking, 'Why not?'" She met his eyes with a questioning look, then asked, "So, Xander, why not?"
Xander was feeling an unpleasant mixture of arousal and uneasiness: he swallowed and asked, "So, what's your plan, Buffy? We do it in your room for fifteen minutes, then you toss me out of the front door in my briefs? That's good for a chuckle once, but I'm in no hurry to have it happen again any time soon."
Buffy grinned at him and replied, "Not a chance. . .you're way too important to toss aside that way, Xander. . .what would I do without you around to save my ass when I do something dumb? No, I'm just saying. . .no strings. If we find someone we like better, we break it off. . .no regrets. Just two buds having a good time together. . .what do you say?"
Xander stared at her for a long time, then took a deep breath and responded, "I say no, Buffy." He looked away, willing himself to stay calm.
Buffy laughed and replied, "Really? What, you'll sleep with Faith but I'm not good enough for you? Is that it?"
Xander could tell that Buffy was trying to get a reaction out of him, but the shot was well wide of the mark, and he managed to calmly respond, "Buffy, I was seriously stressed that night. . .and Faith was even more worked up than I was. Maybe I should have shown a little more restraint, but I didn't. I've got a little more time to think about things right now, and I'm worried that you're not firing on all cylinders right now." He met her eyes again and commented, "It's been a rough month for you. The Council pulling that stupid test on you and firing Giles. . .sending that idiot Wesley to replace him. . .it's all thrown you for a loop, Buffy. . .and I'm not going to take advantage of that. . .it would be like if I tried to seduce you when Angelus killed Theresa and turned her into a vampire just to send you a message. . .that's not what I'm about."
Buffy closed her eyes, and Xander could tell that she was remembering that horrible night. After a moment, her eyes opened and she replied, "Wesley's not a problem anymore. That little weasel offered to give up the amulet to save his kneecaps, and Faith and I called the Council and screamed bloody murder about it. Those tweedy bastards are recalling him, and unless they send someone a hell of a lot more competent, they can just sit on their hands until the two of us buy the farm. . .we've had it." She locked eyes with him and continued, "So that excuse is history, Xander. The Council isn't a problem, Wesley is history. . .and I'm feeling pretty good about things. So, I ask again, how about it?"
Xander closed his eyes for a long moment, then looked at her and replied, "Sorry, Buffy. . .I still have to say no, though I will admit that there is a strong minority position inside my head that thinks that you have come up with the greatest plan of all time." He looked at her, seeing that she wanted an explanation, and shook his head before continuing, "Buffy. . .this hasn't been the best year for me. . .helping to save the world aside. I've been really harsh to you. . .and I almost got Angel killed a couple of months back when even I have to admit he didn't deserve it. This whole big Angel thing is still hanging over your head. . .the point is, I'm amazed our friendship has lasted this long, given what has happened between us, and I'm not going to risk it by rushing into something unless it is worth risking it over. . .and as theoretically appealing as fooling around with you whenever you get into the mood is, it's not enough."
Buffy raised an eyebrow at him and replied, "You think I'd drop you over an ended love affair? Xander, you have to know that you mean more to me than that."
Xander closed his eyes for a moment, then replied, "I know, Buffy. . .and it means a lot to me. But rushing right into something casual after breaking it off with Angel. . .deep down, you'd see it as a reproach to what you had with him. Eventually, you'd start blaming yourself for that. . .and it's not far from that to blaming me for participating in it. . .particularly since you know that I've never been a big fan of Dead Boy anyway." He paused at the odd expression on Buffy's face, then continued, "It was one thing when you started dating Scott Hope: you were taking it seriously, then events kind of blew it all to hell. . .which happens, even in places without a Hellmouth. But you're going into this with the thought that it isn't going to lead to anything. . .and that isn't good."
Buffy looked at him with intensity, then responded, "You're not being straight with me, Xander. . .what's really your problem with this?"
Xander looked at Buffy, and noticed that the visible emotion on Buffy's face was not anger, nor concern. . .it was simple curiosity. He had spent over a year considering what he would do if she asked him a question that led to the answer that he was so terrified of giving her, but his carefully laid plans came to naught as he looked into the intense green eyes and whispered, "I love you, Buffy."
Buffy blinked, hard, but said nothing. Xander found that he could no longer look at her, and he continued, "Angel called me on it when I went to him to get him to lead us to the Master's lair. . .I didn't bother to deny it-to him or myself--then, but I did later. I cared about Cordelia. . .I still do. . .but deep down I think I knew that I wasn't truly in love with her. . .and she knew it too. She always watched me like a hawk when I was around you. . .I think that's why she took the thing with Willow so hard: we blindsided her. Willow and I had the attraction for awhile, but the way it ended made it clear that the friendship came first between us. I've tried to make the same choice with you. . .and it's been hard. It's not easy being in love with your hero. . .and knowing that it just isn't going to happen between you and me. For the record, I think that I would have mostly behaved the same way about you and Angel if I didn't feel the way I do. . .but I'd be lying if I didn't admit the green-eyed monster was at least nudging me along. . .I'm sorry. I know you think that you're suggesting what's best for you, but I think you're wrong. . .and I'm sure it isn't what's best for me, either." He took a deep breath and forced himself to look at her as he concluded, "Buffy. . .I'll understand if you don't want to see me for a while. I'd do anything for you. . .except knowingly betray our friendship. . .and I think I'd be doing that by going along with your plan."
Buffy stared at him for a few seconds, then began laughing. Xander tensed up, then the tone of the laughter set in: it wasn't mocking or otherwise unpleasant; rather, it was joyful and genuinely amused. He waited as she regained her composure and whispered, "Damn. . .she was right."
Xander was puzzled, and asked the obvious question: "Who was right, Buffy. . .and about what?"
The Slayer shook her head ruefully and replied, "Faith. . .Xander, we had a close call the night we took out Balthazar. Faith and I were going through this alley, and we kept getting attacked by those sword-crazy Eliminati vampires. We had a nice fighting rhythm going, then someone grabs me from the shadows and I toss him against a dumpster. To make a short story shorter, Faith came within an eyelash of staking this guy who turned out to be the deputy mayor. . .who was coming to give us the goods on his boss-who is apparently a major league baddie. Big problem. . .but the more immediate problem was that both of us were seriously shaken up by the close call: we had been living life in the fast lane since Wesley arrived, and it almost blew up in our faces. After we took out Fat and Slimy, I suggested that we head back to her room for a lengthy heart-to-heart, and she agreed. . ."
* * * * *
Faith winced and pleaded, "Easy, B. . .the walls are thin, and I don't want to get kicked out of here."
Buffy flushed, then replied, "Sorry. . .didn't mean to react like that. . .it's just a shock. . .I didn't know that you two were close in that way."
Faith shrugged and commented, "It was just one of those things that happens sometimes." She quickly told Buffy how it had happened, and Buffy frowned before commenting, "You were lucky he came along. . .that was kind of cold, Faith, throwing him out like that."
Faith looked embarrassed, then replied, "Yeah, I know. . .but it's the way I've been doing things, you know? Nothing personal about Xander. . .he's a good guy. . .never crossed me." She grinned and commented, "At least we kept him clear of the battle zone that night. . .that would have been bad for him."
Buffy laughed and replied, "No, we didn't." She told Faith what she had found out from Willy and Angel about what Xander had been doing that night, and Faith laughed and commented, "That sneaky bastard! He never said a damned thing. . .why didn't he just rub our noses in it. . .we tell him to stay clear, and he saves all of our asses. . .I'd think he would have been gloating about it."
Buffy smiled softly and replied, "Xander has a way of keeping quiet about these things. . .I wouldn't know a lot of what he's done without Angel to spill the beans." She smiled wickedly and commented, "Still. . .we don't have to let him be smug forever. . .I'll let him know we know, and watch him squirm. . .should be fun." Buffy looked at the younger Slayer thoughtfully and asked, "Faith, I know you're all invested in this 'all guys are beasts' thing, but Xander's a great guy. . .why don't you give him a shot? I know the two of you well enough to know you've got stuff in common. . .and he's a good guy to have watching your back. . .I ought to know."
Faith noted the earnest expression on the older Slayer's face, and nodded as she replied, "I've thought about it. . .but I see one major problem in the way."
Buffy looked at her, thinking, then responded, "Willow? She might not be thrilled. . .but after that whole mess last year, I think she's permanently attached to Oz at the hip. Besides, if she wanted Xander, she had a clear shot at him after his breakup with Cordelia. . .I think they got each other out of their systems."
Faith nodded and replied, "That was my take too. . .but I was talking about you, B."
Buffy snorted and responded, "Me? I told you, Faith. . .I love Xander, I just don't LOVE Xander. . .besides, it seems like we've been fighting for most of the last year. . .great future for a relationship there."
Faith smiled and commented, "I've watched you two together, B. Sure, the whole Angel thing has had you screaming at each other for a lot of the time. . .but I've seen how he looks at you: it ain't just lust or hero worship, 'cause I've seen both of those. As for you, I know that you think Angel is the center of your world, but you've been trying to move away from all that. . .which is good for you and the rest of us, since I've heard all the stories and I've fought enough crazy super-vampires for a while, thank you very much. But I've noticed how you look at Xander: you may not even be aware of it, but you're starting to notice he's a guy. . .and I think you're starting to wonder what it would be like if-"
"Of course I've wondered," Buffy admitted, looking at the younger Slayer with a sheepish look on her face. "A guy asks you to a dance, you turn him down, and a day later he saves you from a thousand year old prophesy about your death. . .you start to wonder whether someone's trying to tell you something. But I was in love with Angel, and Willow wanted him. . .I couldn't-" Her eyes widened as Faith smirked, and she shook her head and concluded, "No . . .maybe. . .I just don't know, Faith. . .it's not something I've been giving deep thought to, you know?"
Faith grinned and replied, "Yeah. . .I know. You'd better find out, though, one way or another. I'm not going to go to all of the effort of breaking him in just so you can decide he's boyfriend material and grab him. . .between my own experiences and watching what happened with Cordelia, I'm not going near that scene. Go for it. . .and tell him thanks for me. . .I think I'm going to stay clear of him for a while. . .might be tempted to do something stupid." She smiled tightly and changed the subject: "So, you were going to tell me about that whole thing with Ted?"
* * * * *
Xander stared as Buffy concluded the narrative, then asked quietly, "So, this was all about finding out how I felt about you? There was no need for the song and dance, Buffy. . .you could have asked."
Buffy shook her head and replied, "That's not all it was, Xander. . .I needed to know how I felt about you. As close as we've been over the years, we've hurt each other a lot, too. . .I wanted to know how real my feelings were for you. I've got as much at stake as you do. . .I needed to see how you would react, and how it would make me feel before I did anything."
Xander nodded and asked, "So. . .what conclusion did you come to, Buffy?" He waited for a response and was startled when Buffy leaned forward and kissed him very softly on the lips.
Buffy saw the confusion in Xander's eyes, and she explained softly, "Faith was right. . .I need to move on from Angel, and I have wondered what it would be like with you. . .and I've decided that I want to give it a shot . . .a real shot, not just me fooling around with you whenever the mood strikes. . .but it's up to you, Xander. . .what do you want?"
Xander exhaled, then looked back at her and asked, "Is this a trick question? It sounds great. . .Buffy, what would you have done if I had gone along with what you were proposing earlier?"
Buffy looked at him thoughtfully, then replied, "I would have gone through with it. . .then figured out how to end it without losing you." She shuddered and whispered, "Thanks for getting me off the hook. . .that would have been tough."
Xander leaned over and kissed her softly on the forehead, and replied, "Not a problem. . .all right, so we're going to do this seriously, huh? Well, I think we should start by spending the rest of the evening here studying, since while your awesome SATs have insured you a future in higher education, I'm still looking at barely getting out of this hellhole come June. Then tomorrow. . .I want to take you out on the town. . . fancy dinner, movie. . .the whole nine yards. Non-negotiable. . .how about it?"
Buffy pouted and mumbled, "Studying on a Friday. . .seems immoral somehow. . .but I guess it's part of the package. . .O.K." In spite of her complaints, she quickly settled down and actually managed to concentrate on the trigonometry equations. Neither of them noticed the dark-haired figure quietly watching them from the stacks.
Faith frowned. * Being right sucks sometimes. * She shrugged and left the library. * At least I avoided a big mess with B and Xander. . . * She thought for a moment, then it occurred to her that there was another single man she trusted as much as Xander. . .a guy who had always been attractive to her, and who was as of now no longer (officially, anyway) her Watcher. It would be a challenge. . .but, hey, the whole point was to change the way she did things, right? She grinned and went out into the night, planning the gradual seduction of one Rupert Giles while Xander and Buffy remained behind, scribbling notes and smiling softly at each other.
As always, comments are welcomed and desired | https://www.fanfiction.net/s/212272/1/Honesty | dclm-gs1-101430001 | false | false | {
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0.0878 | <urn:uuid:99348141-e2bf-4695-9cf1-58a2948cf9d3> | en | 0.990064 | The Silent Horse
By M. Zephyr
Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.
Ranma x Akane. Ranma is traumatized upon his initial arrival in Nerima, leaving him mute. Alternate universe story.
Chapter 13. Okonomiyaki Fiancée
Ukyo and Genma felt confident that they had finally tracked down Ranma's whereabouts. Thanks to a chance encounter, they now knew that he was a student at Furinkan High School. Classes for the Fall were due to start the very next day, which meant that it would be easy to find him. In a voice filled with menace, Ukyo had just declared, "Tomorrow morning I will know where to find you, Ranma Saotome."
Upon hearing this, Genma looked at his traveling companion with sudden concern. "You know, boy, I don't believe you've ever mentioned why you're looking for my son Ranma."
"Haven't I?" Ukyo asked cheerfully as she unfolded the portable grill she carried. She mixed ingredients and poured batter on the grill, smiling grimly as Genma forgot his question, being too busy salivating over the enticing aroma wafting up to his nose. When the okonomiyaki were done, Ukyo flipped them up off the grill. Genma snagged them out of midair and quickly gobbled them down.
As the man fed his face and was thus distracted, Ukyo came up behind him while pulling out her massive battle spatula. Since Genma was a highly skilled martial artist, despite Ranma's tendency to deride him as a fool in other matters, he was not caught completely unawares. He sensed the blow to his head coming in time to ride it slightly, and therefore was merely stunned rather than unconscious when he fell to the sidewalk.
"What ... what are you doing, boy?" Genma asked thickly. He was barely able to hold himself up on his hands and knees.
The voice above him hissed. "The name is Ukyo Kuonji, you fat fool. The one you left behind." The spatula came down again, driving Genma to the ground. Several smaller spatulas sliced into his gi, pinning him down. Ukyo lifted the massive blade again, this time to make a final strike.
Genma looked up in fear, recognizing the name and wondering if his death was at hand. Ukyo herself was unsure in that moment whether she truly meant to kill him, or just maim him severely. However, she had no chance for either, as a voice of authority commanded, "Freeze!" Ukyo turned to see a policeman advancing rapidly. She growled in frustration, but wheels inside of her head were already turning.
"What's this all about?" the policeman demanded as he arrived at the scene.
Ukyo managed to produce some moisture in her eyes, and allowed her chin to quiver just a little. "I'm a wandering okonomiyaki chef. I'm a poor girl who has to send all of the money I make to support my invalid father." Well, sort of, she thought to herself, even if it is the sake that incapacitates the old man.
Going on for the police officer's benefit, Ukyo complained, "I was starting to cook some okonomiyaki here, when this man came up and stole some! He ... he started eating it. Without paying! Then he told me to hand over all of my money or he'd beat me up!"
The policeman frowned. Genma tried to protest, his head still dizzy. "That's a ... a lie. I'm inno-innocent."
"Luckily," Ukyo stated proudly, "I'm a martial artist. I was able to defend myself. I bet if you check his background, you'll find he's done this sort of thing before."
On the ground, Genma paled. The policeman was already pulling out his radio. As he did so, he asked sternly, "What's your name, sir?"
Genma just stared at him, but Ukyo answered, "He said his name was Genma Saotome. He acted like his name should scare me."
The policeman nodded, then gave a brief summary of the information he wanted together with this name. After a couple of minutes, the voice from the radio started speaking, at length. At great length. The officer's expression grew ever more grim as the list of past petty crimes went on.
A few minutes later a couple of other police officers appeared on the scene, to help bring in the suspect. After all, the rap sheet indicated that he had a reputation as a highly skilled martial artist. They made sure to handcuff his wrists and shackle his ankles before pulling the spatulas out of the ground so that Genma could rise.
"You're not going to get away with this, Kuonji," Genma growled. Ukyo just waved merrily as they led the man away.
"Now then," Ukyo smiled evilly as she spoke to herself. "Furinkan High School, tomorrow morning. Ranma Saotome, at last we shall meet again!" She laughed. It wasn't a pleasant sound.
On the first day of the new school term, Akane and Ranma ran to school together, along the tops of the fences. Not that this protected Ranma from getting splashed, but he didn't let his change of gender slow him down. They were both smiling, and occasionally making gestures with their hands, although Ranma had to look back over his shoulder to watch Akane's hands. Anyone who was present and could understand sign language would know that they were making plans for a date on the upcoming Friday night.
They ran through the schoolyard without incident, the hordes of boys who used to attack Akane a distant memory. Even Tatewaki Kuno had peacefully gone to his own classroom, keeping his word to leave the two first year students in peace. On arriving at their own room, they slid into desks beside one another.
At this point, Akane started to feel a touch apprehensive, although she kept the smile on her face. Nabiki, Yuka and Sayuri all knew by now that she and Ranma were officially dating, so it was a given that the word was already spreading to everyone else at school. She wondered how long it would be before other girls approached her, asking questions, wanting details. Akane saw a couple of her classmates turn their regard on her, lips and eyebrows turned up to indicate both amusement and inquisitiveness.
Luckily the bell rang before anyone had a chance to say anything, granting a reprieve until the next break between classes, at least. The teacher entered the room, causing all of the students to rise swiftly to their feet, bowing and greeting him. A boy followed behind the teacher, carrying something. He was wearing an unusual uniform, with a bandolier containing many small spatulas.
The teacher returned his pupils' greeting and then said, "Class, I'd like to introduce a new student ..."
This student set down the object being carried, revealing a portable grill. Slapping batter onto it, a delicious aroma immediately spread through the room. The young chef, dressed to appear as a male, introduced herself. "My name's Ukyo Kuonji. My hobby is okonomiyaki."
Lifting the cooked pie from the grill, she threw it at Ranma, who caught it reflexively. "Ranma! It's been a long time!"
A buzz quickly filled the room, voices whispering to one another, "Does he know Ranma?"
Akane looked over at Ranma, asking quizzically, "Another challenger from your past?"
Ranma shrugged, not recognizing the name. Looking down at what was in his hands, he saw a lopsided face scrawled in sauce on the okonomiyaki. For some reason, this awoke a feeling within him, something strangely familiar. Chasing after the memory, he finally had it. It was the face in the sauce that was the trigger. Standing up, he pointed happily at Ukyo.
The chef shouted, "For ten years I've hunted you!" Grabbing several small, and very sharp spatulas, she flung them at Ranma. Still beaming, he dodged them all, leaping to the front of the room. He grabbed Ukyo's upper arm with one hand, and punched the seeming boy lightly in the shoulder with the other. Ukyo tried to pull away, stumbling slightly as Ranma released her.
Turning back to Akane, Ranma started making rapid gestures. Akane translated for the benefit of the rest of the class. "This is ... Ucchan. He and I were childhood friends, when we were six. Every day he and I would fight. When I won, which I usually did, I would get free okonomiyaki."
Akane paused to ask, "Isn't that stealing?"
Ranma shook his head. Akane sighed and interpreted his continuing signs. "No. We were friends. He'd draw faces in the sauce. Every day he'd have a hot okonomiyaki waiting for me."
"What the hell is going on here?" Ukyo yelled. The teacher wandered over and sat in a chair, putting his head down into his hands.
Daisuke spoke up. "What do you mean, 'What's going on?' You're the one throwing things around. One of your spatulas is stuck in my desk! Ranma's just telling us about how the two of you used to be friends."
Ukyo's voice hissed and she pointed. "Ranma's not telling it, she is!" The chef turned to Akane. "Who are you? And how do you know about all of this?"
Put on the spot, Akane answered, "I'm Akane Tendo. Ranma's my ... um, er ... friend." She winced as she saw amused smiles on most of the faces in the room. "Ranma can't speak, but we've both learned sign language. He is telling the story, with the signs his hands are making. I'm just interpreting for everyone."
Ukyo turned to Ranma. "He can't talk?"
Ranma's mouth formed a crooked smile. He tilted his head to the side and shrugged his shoulders.
Ukyo turned back to Akane. "Since when?"
Akane responded, "It, er, happened in a fight. Back in May. We're still hoping ... but it's been a long time now."
Ukyo shook herself visibly, tossing aside any sympathy this revelation might arouse. "Whatever. That doesn't matter right now!"
Ranma made some more gestures and Akane relayed, "It's great to see you again, Ucchan. I was really sad the day I left you."
Ukyo lifted her massive spatula, shouting in Akane's direction, "How dare you?!" Then she had to swivel from Akane to Ranma, as if it took a moment to remember the one she was actually mad at. She tried to flatten Ranma, who sidestepped the blow easily.
"Hey! What's your problem?" demanded Akane. At Ranma's hand motions, she added, "And, uh, Ranma wants to know the same thing."
In a harsh, clipped voice, Ukyo inquired, "Do you remember anything about the day you left?"
Akane translated some more. "I remember you running down the road after my father and me. But we left you behind."
"And what were you riding on?" Ukyo asked in brittle tones.
Ranma put a hand on his chin and thought. Then his eyes widened and he held a finger in the air. Gesturing some more, Akane told everyone, "I remember! I was riding on your okonomiyaki cart. Why did we have ...?"
Akane broke off her translation, fixing Ranma with a mild glare. "Do you mean to say that you and your father stole their cart?"
Ranma held his hands out to the side, looking baffled. Making a few more signs, Akane sighed and translated, "I only just remembered! I was only six years old! I didn't know my father stole the cart!"
Akane turned to regard Ukyo and reluctantly stated, "He has a point, you know. You can't really blame Ranma for something his father did when he was only six."
Ukyo ground out through clenched teeth. "We had a deal. You were supposed to take me with you. You broke your promise and left me behind."
Akane looked at Ranma, who shrugged again, making it clear that he knew nothing about any promise or deal. She decided to voice her own opinion. "I've, uh, heard a lot about the things that Ranma's father did to him over the years. Even if they did break some promise by leaving you behind, you were probably better off. I mean, he might have put you through the same stupid things that he did to Ranma."
Ranma nodded his head, and tried to pat Ukyo on the back. She knocked his hand away, then grilled up another okonomiyaki and threw it at him. "Ranma Saotome, I have a special recipe I have prepared for my revenge upon you. Prepare yourself!" With that, she stormed out of the classroom.
Looking over Ranma's shoulder, Akane read out loud the message printed in sauce. "Meet you at the field behind the gym after school." Looking up into Ranma's eyes, she stated the obvious. "It's a challenge!"
Ranma nodded, eyes troubled. He was unable to figure out why his old pal Ucchan was so upset.
Ukyo spent the rest of the school day in frantic preparations, preparations which she had begun before the first bell even rung. In response to a phone call the previous day, a truck had pulled up to the school grounds at dawn and dropped off several crates. Years of daydreaming were about to culminate in a too long delayed revenge.
When Ranma and the other students arrived behind the gym after school, they found a strange sort of ring set up. There was a square of canvas in the center, as expected, but between that and the ropes appeared to be a surface of metal. Ranma leaped up onto one of the posts, wondering again why Ucchan wanted this fight. When the chef turned around to glare at him, Ranma flew a paper airplane in her direction.
Ukyo unfolded the paper to read, "Ucchan - Why are you so mad at me? Why can't we be friends like before? I'm sorry if my pop stole that cart, but I didn't know anything about it."
Ukyo growled. She swung her spatula at Ranma, but he leaped over it. "How dare you call yourself a friend? And stop calling me Ucchan!"
Ranma shrugged, seeing that there was clearly no help for it. He set himself in an obvious stance to indicate that he was ready to fight. Ukyo sneered and hefted her spatula. With a cry of "Take this!" she came in swinging.
Over the course of the next several minutes, Ukyo's dreams of revenge turned into a nightmare. Oh, there were small, inconsequential victories. Ranma burned his hand upon discovering that the metal surface was a giant hot plate. She locked him in place temporarily with glue and rubber noodles. She seared him slightly with tempura flakes mixed with gunpowder. But none of it actually stopped him.
Ten years of training. Ten years of dreaming about revenge. Years of planning. Now they were at the moment, but Ranma was still moving, barely slowed down. He was climbing to his feet again, a little singed but still in one piece. As Ranma tore the rubber noodles from his body, Ukyo saw that one thing had changed. Her opponent was no longer smiling.
Before Ukyo could comprehend what was happening, Ranma had flung some of the rubber ropes around her, pinning her arms to her sides. With a casual yank, he pulled her from her feet, tossing her far out of the ring over the heads of the spectators. Ranma leaped after her. Akane jumped after Ranma, right behind him.
A short distance from the school, three figures ran along the top of a fence. Ukyo in the lead was wondering how it had gone so wrong, trying to figure out how she was to get her revenge now. Ranma, running behind her, was wondering why his old pal Ucchan was behaving like a sissy, running away from a man-to-man fight. Akane was just wondering why Ukyo wanted to fight, and how Ranma always got into these situations.
Ukyo saw that they were circling back toward the school, and realized that she wasn't getting away. Making up her mind, she suddenly spun to attack, brandishing her battle spatula. Once again Ranma easily dodged the blow, grabbing the spatula's handle behind the blade, and driving his heel into Ukyo's gut.
Taking the spatula away, Ranma swung back around with it, cutting through the front of Ukyo's shirt and the chest bindings underneath. He even managed to slice the ribbon in her hair, causing the locks to break free and hang loose around her head. Ukyo backed away as Ranma crumpled the spatula into scrap metal, struggling to hold her shirt closed so as not to expose herself. Unable to hold her shirt and fight at the same time, she dodged a kick from Ranma and tried to run away again.
Except that when she turned around, she found Akane blocking the way. The latter had taken the time to dodge around Ranma and Ukyo while they fought, in order to pin Ukyo in the middle so that the "boy" couldn't escape without providing a more detailed explanation.
Well, if you can't move forward or backward ... Ukyo sprung to the side, landing lightly on the roof of the P.E. equipment room. Ranma and Akane jumped after her, but the weight of the three of them turned out to be too much for the aging roof of the shed. It collapsed beneath them, dumping all three into a bin full of basketballs and volleyballs.
Ukyo jumped up to try to get away, but Akane threw her arms around the chef. Ukyo froze in shock, and after a moment, Akane realized that she had two handfuls of breasts. She gave a startled "Eep!" and flung her arms out to the sides, backing away. Ranma, unable to believe what he thought he had seen, reached out and pulled the sides of Ukyo's shirt apart. She shrieked, and Ranma found himself tumbling backward courtesy of a mighty slap.
"You ... you're a girl?" Akane asked, breathlessly. Inwardly she was cringing at the way she had grabbed another girl's chest. Why hadn't Ranma warned her that his childhood friend was a girl? Wait. Hadn't Ranma used masculine pronouns for her?
Ranma handed Ukyo a sheet of paper. On reading it, Ukyo looked up and yelled, "What do you mean, 'How long have I been a girl?' What kind of stupid question is that?"
Ranma held his hands up and out, as if to suggest it didn't seem that stupid to him. Looking back and forth between them, Akane realized that Ranma really did expect Ukyo to be a boy. Suddenly wondering if yet another old friend of Ranma's had stupidly followed him to Jusenkyo, Akane went over to a sink and filled a pail with hot water. She came back and dumped it over Ukyo's head.
Spluttering in anger, Ukyo shouted, "What's the big idea?!" She kicked at Akane, who easily leaped above it, spreading her legs to either side of Ukyo's kick.
Akane's face was turning red as she landed back on her feet. "Um ... just thought that maybe you would change back to a boy with hot water." Coming up to stand beside Akane, Ranma nodded his agreement to this notion.
Ukyo's fists clenched as she stared at them both incredulously. "Does the sight of cleavage make you both insane?!"
"So ... you were always a girl?" Akane asked. "It's just ... Ranma seemed to think you were a boy back when you were both six."
Ukyo crossed her arms. Angrily she stated, "And just how the hell could our fathers have engaged us to one another if I was a boy?"
Akane turned slowly toward Ranma. "Engaged?" she asked quietly. To Ranma, the pain underneath the question was clearly audible. He started shaking his head back and forth in wild panic. His hands signed that he hadn't known anything about it, that he had thought Ukyo was a boy.
"Yes, engaged," Ukyo responded bitterly. "My father gave Ranma's dad our yattai as a dowry, in exchange for the two of us being engaged to marry, and Saotome's agreement to take me with them when they left. But instead they ran off and left me."
She scowled at Ranma. "On that day, my life as a woman came to an end. I devoted myself to revenge. For ten years I've trained so that I could have my vengeance when I found Ranma Saotome."
"Don't you think that maybe you went a little overboard?" Akane suggested. Besides ..." She sighed. "I think Ranma's telling the truth when he says he didn't know about it. That he always thought you were a boy."
Ranma's hands were gesturing again. Akane obligingly interpreted. "Besides, how could my father have promised I would marry you, Ucchan? He had already made an agreement for my engagement with ..." Akane broke off, blushing again and dropping her eyes. Her voice hissed, "I thought we had agreed never to bring that up again?" Ranma made a sign of apology to the girl he hoped was still his girlfriend when this dust settled.
Ranma's words were awakening old memories in Ukyo. "Huh. Yeah, my dad told me that Saotome said there was a previous agreement. He decided to ignore it when my father offered the yattai as a dowry. I believe his exact words were something about promises being meant to be broken. At least he was consistent, since he turned right around and broke his promise to my father."
Ukyo turned to stare at the other girl. "Wait a minute! Just what was Ranma about to say, er, gesture, whatever? What wasn't he supposed to bring up about an engagement?" Her head swiveled back and forth. "What's really going on here? Why are you two together?"
Akane felt a twinge of panic now herself, and hoped that the rosy hue of her cheeks wasn't too apparent in the dim light of the equipment shed. Of course, it wasn't that dim, what with the big hole in the roof. "Er ... Ranma's father and mine had made an agreement. That Ranma would marry me. Um, I mean, me or one of my sisters. Except that my father has decided not to insist on it. No one's being forced to marry anyone."
Ranma was trying hard to think of some way to deal with this situation. He felt sorry for Ukyo, but ... what could he do? He wasn't going to let her kill him. He wasn't going to marry her. He couldn't go back in time and stop his pop from making that promise, stealing the cart, or leaving Ukyo behind. He felt helpless, a feeling he did not at all care for.
Ukyo clutched her shirt and watched warily as Ranma stepped forward, stopping a meter in front of her. He bowed deeply. He turned and caught Akane's eye, then turned back and started making those gestures with his hands again. Speaking in sign language, Ukyo now recognized.
Akane began speaking, letting Ukyo know what Ranma was saying. "Ucchan ... Ukyo, I'm sorry. I'm very sorry for what my father did to you. I don't know what else to do, except to apologize. I wish that I could make it up to you somehow. Is there anything I can do? Any way that you'll forgive me?"
Ukyo got a gleam in her eye. "Yes," she replied sweetly. "You can ... hold still!" Her foot lashed out in a kick, trying to take Ranma's head off. However, he ducked under it, and also dodged her followup punches.
As she lashed out futilely, Ukyo was shouting. "When you abandoned me, you made it impossible for me to ever again embrace my own femininity! Since that dark day, I've sworn that I will never love another man!"
Tired of dodging, especially since Ukyo didn't seem to be tiring, Ranma thought of something else to try. Without warning, Ranma was in Ukyo's face, and she screamed and closed her eyes as she saw his fist coming at her, too late to block or dodge it. A few seconds later, still unharmed, Ukyo cracked open one eye to see a piece of paper being held up in front of her.
She opened her other eye, took the paper and read, "Seems like a waste. You're a pretty cute girl, when you don't pretend to be a boy. Too bad you'll never let any guy see it."
The paper slipped from nerveless fingers as Ukyo stared blankly into the distance, muttering, "Cyuh ... cyuh ... cyuh ..."
While Ukyo gave her impression of a scratched record, Akane reached down and picked up the sheet of paper. After reading it, she turned to regard Ranma with a lifted eyebrow and a medium intensity glare. "Ranmaaa ..." Akane's voice carried a low growl that brought Ranma up on his toes, sensing danger. "You're not supposed to notice that other girls are cute. At least, you're not supposed to say so!"
Ukyo found her tongue again, and went into immediate denial. Turning her face to the side, blushing, her hand shot out to shove Ranma away. For the first time he failed to dodge her, landing hard on his posterior. Ukyo proclaimed, "You're lying! I'm not cute! No one would want me!"
Ranma made a quick sign from his position on the floor. Akane felt obliged to translate. "Ranma says that you're wrong." With a sigh, Akane added her own opinion. "He's right, you know. Once you stop acting like a boy, you make a very nice girl. There's no reason to give up on guys completely just because you were disappointed once."
Ukyo stood there, dumbfounded, unsure what to say or even what to think. For ten years, her life had revolved around thoughts of revenge. She had been convinced that she would never marry, that Ranma had left her because she wasn't pretty enough or attractive enough. Now Ranma had told her that she was cute, and this other girl had even confirmed it. Her dreams of revenge had been shattered. She was unable to land a blow on Ranma, let alone do all of the damage she had planned. What was left to her?
She looked at Ranma, who had climbed back to his feet and was looking back at her, concern clear in his eyes. He was obviously a superb martial artist, strong, handsome ... He cared about her. He thought she was cute. He thought it was a waste for her to give up on love.
She was unable to obtain her revenge.
So what about carrying out the engagement instead?
After all, both Ranma and this Akane admitted that the original engagement between themselves had been called off. If Ranma were to marry herself, then there would be no need for revenge. It would certainly show up those girls in her hometown who had whispered that Ukyo would never get a man. The fact that Ranma, Ranchan, was such an appealing specimen was icing on the cake. Really, it seemed just about perfect!
"Okay, Ranchan." Ukyo essayed a small smile, and was pleased to see Ranma return the smile. "I'll forgive you for running out on me." She walked over and opened the door, stepping through it. She turned back and gave him a large, sunny smile. "I'll go and start making plans, shall I? Now that our engagement is back on, there's just so much to do!" The door shut behind her.
Akane and Ranma stared at the closed door for several seconds, before Akane shouted, "What?!" Ranma leaped for the door, but tripped over a volleyball. He crashed to the floor, dragging the bin full of balls over with him, blocking the door and spilling balls everywhere. Akane shook her head in disgust and jumped through the hole in the roof. Unfortunately, Ukyo was nowhere in sight.
‹So much to do,› Ukyo was thinking to herself. ‹We'll need someplace to live. Wandering around with a portable grill just won't do. I'll call father's friends right away, see if they can help me find a suitable restaurant to take over. Something with an attached apartment.›
Her mind got lost for a moment in a fantasy of being alone with Ranchan in said apartment, before she shook herself free of it. ‹Focus girl. How long an engagement? Not too long.› She couldn't suppress a giggle. ‹But not too short either. Must be proper. I need to find someone to teach me sign language. It wouldn't be right if I couldn't talk to my husband on our wedding night. Oooh!› She saw people turning to stare at her blushing cheeks, and tried again to rein in her thoughts.
‹Now what about ... my father-in-law? Hmmph. Let the jackass rot in jail for the time being. If we let him out too soon, he'll find some way to screw things up. Besides, Ranchan ran away from the old fart. He might prefer to leave his father right where he is.›
Ukyo continued down the street, her steps light, cheerfully making plans.
Akane and Ranma were walking together down a different street from the one Ukyo was on, and they were much less cheerful than the okonomiyaki chef. Akane was not happy with this latest development and she had let Ranma know of her feelings in no uncertain terms. He in turn was trying to think of some way to repair the damage. So far he had resisted his impulse to babble incoherently - insofar as hands can babble. He had remembered his promise to himself to try to think before speaking. The walk home was turning out to be very tense.
Still, Ranma wanted to try to sort this out before they got home. As they were passing the park he reached over and touched his fingertips on Akane's shoulder. She gave him an unhappy look, which he returned with a weak smile, a nod toward the park, and the hand signs for "Follow the leader."
Akane stood rooted to the spot for a moment as Ranma leaped across the street and atop the wall surrounding the park. From there he jumped into one of the trees. Snorting, Akane followed him, jumping onto the wall and into the tree. From there she followed him deeper into the park and higher into the trees. She was a little worried about her skirt given the aerial maneuvers, but for the most part the leaves hid her from sight below.
They ended up near the top of a very tall and leafy tree, completely hidden from the sight of people passing by underneath them, but with a nice view of the taller buildings out beyond the park's boundaries. They sat down beside the trunk on two neighboring branches, their knees nearly touching.
Ranma began signing, slowly. "I'm sorry about Ucchan ... Ukyo. I didn't mean for things to turn out that way. I'll try to find her and explain that she and I are not engaged."
"If she'll listen," Akane remarked bitterly. "She seemed pretty determined. Think about it, she's been obsessing over you for the last ten years. I don't think she's going to simply ... let go."
"It doesn't matter," Ranma signed. "Whether she likes it or not, my father had no right to promise me to her. Even if she won't listen, it doesn't matter. I'm not going to marry anyone I don't want to, no matter what my pop promised. I don't care for Ukyo in that way."
He sighed, then reached out to touch his fingertips gently to the back of Akane's hand, a touch which she permitted. He pulled his hand back and signed, "There's only one girl I feel that way about. You're my friend. My partner. The one who rescued me. The one who held my hand on my first visit to my therapist. The one who gave me the strength to fight my nightmares. The one who held me while I cried."
Akane's eyes were growing moist. Ranma decided he was on the right track, but told himself to be careful. "Ukyo ... she was my friend when we were children. You're my friend now. A lot more than a friend. It would be nice if Ukyo could be my friend again. But not if the price is losing you."
A tear escaped Akane's eye and slid down her cheek, but she was smiling. She reached over and brushed her fingertips along Ranma's cheek. "I don't want to lose you either," she whispered.
Motioning Ranma to stay seated, Akane got up then stepped over to his branch and gently lowered herself until she was sitting in his lap. She put her arms around his neck and leaned her cheek on his shoulder. "Thanks, Ranma. We'll both go see Ukyo. You'll need my help to try to explain to her. We need to try to let her down gently."
They sat that way quietly for a time, feeling peaceful and secluded. A breeze was blowing through the treetops, and the sky gradually darkened. Akane looked up into Ranma's eyes and told him, just a little breathlessly, "I was, um, thinking that, after our date Friday ... Well, after all, we've gone out on several dates now." She licked her lips. "I was thinking that maybe you could, we could ... kiss."
Ranma's eyes widened slightly, and his face took on a hue to match the blush creeping across Akane's face.
Akane's voice dropped to a barely breathed whisper. "If ... if you want to ... we ... uh ... don't have to wait, for Friday."
The tip of Ranma's tongue poked out of his mouth, licking his lips nervously. After a moment, when it was clear that she really meant it, his mouth curved up a small amount, and he gave a tiny nod. His face leaned forward, eyes closing, and Akane allowed her own eyes to close as well. She felt a pair of lips brush over her nose, and her eyes flew open to see Ranma's eyes right in front of hers, looking highly embarrassed. With steely determination, however, he corrected his aim and pressed his lips to hers.
Akane wanted the moment to go on forever, but it only lasted a few seconds. Unable to meet his eyes under the intensity of emotions crashing through her, Akane leaned her cheek against his shoulder again. Her eyes closed, as she replayed the kiss in her mind over and over, wondering how she could deserve to be so lucky.
She felt something wet touch her cheek and her first startled thought was to ask herself why Ranma was crying. As she looked up, another drop struck, and she saw that Ranma was looking up at the sky. Following his gaze, she saw that the growing darkness was not the coming of evening but was instead due to the thick gray clouds which had moved in. Within seconds, sheets of rain were cascading across them, and Akane was now sitting in the lap of a buxom red-haired girl.
"Let's go, Ranma," Akane said happily. Smiling and taking each other's hand, they leaped together from branch to branch down to the ground. From there they sprinted side by side for home.
The next day, Akane and Ranma took Ukyo aside at lunch to try to explain the situation. "Ukyo, I'm afraid you may have gotten the wrong idea yesterday," Akane began. "Ranma doesn't accept either of the engagements his father tried to make for him."
"Akane, isn't it?" Ukyo asked. "You really shouldn't go and try to put words in Ranchan's mouth. I'm sure he'll do the honorable thing and fulfill his father's promise. The fact that your father released him from the other engagement just makes it easier for him."
Ranma shook his head in frustration. Akane told the other girl, "I'm not saying anything Ranma wouldn't say for himself if he could speak. He was trying to be nice to you, not to declare any intention to marry you. The truth is ... he and I ... well, we're sort of ... seeing each other."
Ukyo's eyes narrowed. When she spoke, there was a hissing quality to her voice. "I thought you said your father released you from the engagement."
"He did!" Akane was looking frustrated now too. "But Ranma and I, well, we found we ... like each other. There's no talk of marriage, but ..." She let her voice trail off, hoping the point was made.
"Look, Tendo-san," Ukyo said grimly. "I don't know what your game is, but you better stop trying to get in between Ranchan and me. You heard him, er, saw him. Whatever! He thinks I'm cute! We're engaged. You've admitted that you aren't. He and I are going to get married, and if you keep this up, you're just going to get yourself hurt."
While Akane stared at her open-mouthed, Ukyo turned to Ranma and said, "I'll talk to you later, Ranchan. I have to leave school early to take care of some details about the restaurant I'm going to open. Once I've signed the lease, you and I can move in there together." She turned and swept out of the classroom they were in.
"That didn't go so well," Ranma signed.
On Friday night, Ukyo stormed into the Mexican restaurant where Akane and Ranma were eating. Lightning flashed in her eyes as she brandished her brand new battle spatula. "Listen, you little hussy. I've warned you for the last time. Stay away from my fiancé!"
She swung the spatula down at Akane, who leaped over the blade, allowing it to splinter the chair in which she had been sitting. Ranma jumped up to try to grab the weapon, but had to knock aside several smaller spatulas which were flung in his direction.
"Ranma, this is my fight!" Akane yelled. "Stay out of it!" Turning back to Ukyo, she grated, "You need to open your eyes, Kuonji-san. But in the meantime, what do you say we take this out of here?"
Akane ran for the door with Ukyo following closely behind. Shaking his head miserably, Ranma paid for the half finished meal and gave the manager a piece of paper with a name to contact in regard to the cost of replacing the chair. He was amused to see the manager's face pale upon looking at the paper and seeing the name 'Nabiki Tendo.'
Ranma ran outside and cast his senses around. Jumping up to the roof, he spotted Akane on a roof a couple of buildings over. He quickly joined her. On arriving, he found Ukyo lying against a roof vent, unconscious.
"Any trouble?" Ranma signed. "Did she hurt you?"
Akane shook her head. "No. And I tried not to hurt her. Not more than I had to, anyway. I just wish she'd get a clue."
Once again Akane felt drops landing on her face and arms, and looked up to see rain falling from the sky. Ranma changed forms, and Ukyo started to rouse. "You know," Akane spoke thoughtfully, "we ought to rent you out to farmers. You could go out and stand in their fields whenever they need some rain."
Ukyo blinked open her eyes, figuring out after a few seconds that it was raining. She lifted a hand and gingerly probed the small lump on the side of her head. She gritted her teeth in self loathing. Ten years of training for her revenge, and not only couldn't she take Ranma, she also lost to the girl who was trying to steal him from her.
Ukyo looked up to see an unfamiliar girl standing beside Akane. This confused her considerably, as she wondered what the other girl was doing on the roof with them. "Who are you?" she demanded, in no mood to be polite.
Akane sighed. "I know this is going to be hard to understand, but she's Ranma."
Ukyo snapped, "Cut the crap! She's obviously female! Now who is she?"
Ranma started making signs with his hands which, if Ukyo had understood them, would have said, "It really is me." However, even if she didn't understand the signs, the gestures struck a note of familiarity to the ones she had seen Ranma making for the last few days. The pigtail also brought a sense of recognition. A little more slowly, Ukyo realized that the girl was wearing the same clothes she had seen on Ranma in the restaurant.
"It's ... it's not possible," Ukyo stated, without conviction. "Stop kidding around! What's going on?"
"It really is Ranma," Akane said sympathetically. "He has a curse. Whenever he gets wet, with cold water, he turns into a girl."
"That's impossible!"
Akane shrugged. "It's still true. Hot water changes him back to his real body. He became a girl just before you woke up, when it started raining."
Ukyo didn't want to believe this, but was getting the spooky feeling that they were telling her the truth. "You have to show me," she declared harshly, "and if you're lying ..." Climbing to her feet, Ukyo headed for the edge of the roof. "Follow me. My restaurant is just a couple of blocks from here."
When they arrived at their destination, Akane and Ranma saw that the sign above the door proclaimed the name to be "Ucchan's." Ukyo pulled out a key and let them in. The place seemed to be just about ready to open. The okonomiyaki counter was already in place. Tables and chairs filled the dining area. Ukyo confirmed the appearance by telling them, "The freezer's being hooked up tomorrow morning, and the final deliveries are coming in the afternoon. The grand opening will be on Sunday."
Ukyo led them into the back, where she quickly filled a cup with hot water. She handed it to Ranma and waited expectantly, her stomach writhing nervously inside of her. Seeing no reason to delay, Ranma lifted the cup over his head and poured. Instantly he was male once more. Ukyo reached a hand out to steady herself on the edge of the sink, trying not to faint.
In a voice which sounded to her own ears like it was wandering lost in the woods, Ukyo said, "I ... need to think about this ... Ranchan. I'll ... talk to you ... tomorrow." Not really seeing anything, she walked the other two to the door and let them out.
‹My fiancé turns into a girl!› Ukyo thought to herself. She giggled helplessly. ‹I dress like a boy, and my fiancé turns into a girl!›
On Saturday morning, Ukyo showed up at the Tendo home at breakfast. She said that she needed to convince herself that she hadn't been dreaming the night before. Arming herself with a pitcher and a kettle, she proceeded to change Ranma's gender back and forth several times. He put up with it in a good-natured manner until Ukyo giggled and proclaimed, "This is fun no matter how many times I do it!" Then he stood up and marched off.
Ukyo tried to follow him, but Ranma stopped at the bottom of the stairs and crossed his arms. "So what if you have a curse, Ranchan? I promise that I'll marry you anyway." With a grimace Ranma took her by the arm and led her to the front door. With a huff Ukyo told him, "Well, I have to go anyway. The guy is due to arrive soon about the freezer. But you are going to marry me! You'd better be clear about that!"
She turned and strode away. Ranma stared after her, wondering how he was going to put a stop to this.
When Ryoga came over later that afternoon, Ranma and Akane found they received surprisingly little sympathy from him.
"So, you've got a girl chasing you around, insisting that she's going to marry you?" Ryoga chuckled. "Hell, fair's fair. I've got that crazy gymnast Kodachi chasing me, swearing the same thing. I'll bet your chef doesn't try to use paralysis gas and other drugs on you. Count your blessings."
That night, preparing for bed, Akane stared at her face in the mirror while brushing her hair. There was a knot of worry in the pit of her stomach that wouldn't go away. She told herself that she knew Ranma had no intention of marrying Ukyo, or breaking up with herself, but she couldn't help but feel threatened by the other girl's persistence. No matter how many times Ranma reassured her, it just didn't seem to be enough.
Akane slowly pulled on her pajamas, facing her bed. She smiled as she remembered all of the times that Ranma had slept beside her in that bed. Always as a girl, of course. That triggered the memory of the night they had spent together in the tent, during the training trip. It had been very comforting to sleep beside Ranma that night. She had missed the warm presence of her friend beside her during the night. She thought about how he had been her friend before becoming her boyfriend.
The more Akane reflected on these memories, the more she wished that it were possible to reclaim that comfort. Of course, Kasumi would never permit such an improper arrangement, now that Ranma no longer needed it. On the other hand, a troublemaking little corner of her mind suggested, even Kasumi slept a little bit later on Sunday mornings.
Akane valiantly fought against the temptation. Or at least told herself that she was fighting it. She turned off the light and crawled into bed, then lay there thinking about Ranma in his room just down the hall. It was no use, Akane told herself. She was all wound up, worrying about Ukyo trying to come between her and Ranma. She wanted to be comforted, to be held while she went to sleep. Hesitantly, she slipped back out from under the covers.
Quietly Akane opened her bedroom door and crept down the hall. Opening Ranma's door just as quietly, she slipped inside, then closed the door again. Ranma turned the light on, wondering what it was that Akane wanted.
"Ranma?" Akane whispered. "I was wondering ..." She paused, unsure how to ask for what she wanted. Eventually she asked, "Do you ... remember that night in the tent? When you slept beside me?"
Ranma nodded.
"It was ... I missed that. I miss having you beside me at night. It felt ... nice, to know you were there. I know that you're my ... boyfriend ... now, and we really shouldn't do things like that. But ... I miss having my best girl friend spend the night with me, from time to time."
Ranma looked Akane in the eyes, trying to understand what she wasn't saying in addition to the words she spoke. It wasn't something he was usually very good at, but it wasn't too hard to guess that the situation with Ukyo was worrying her. He raised his hands and signed, "Kasumi and your father won't like it. What if we get caught?"
"I ... yeah ... we'd be taking a chance. But I think we can get away with it. Everyone sleeps later Sunday morning. If you came and left through my window, so nobody heard you in the hall, and made sure to come back here early enough ... I think we'd be okay."
Ranma sat and thought about it for a long time, while Akane chewed her lip nervously. The truth was, he missed those nights too. There wasn't any strong sexual desire to it, aside from the normal undercurrent he was coming to recognize whenever he thought about Akane. He just missed having her there beside him through the night.
‹We're probably going to regret this,› Ranma thought to himself. He smiled at Akane, stood up, and went over to the table where he had a glass of water in case he got thirsty during the night. Akane smiled happily as he lifted it and poured it over his head. She jumped up and went back out into the hall, shutting the door quietly again.
Ranma went over to his window which was already open, since the September night was muggy. He slipped out and leaped up onto the roof. Walking as quietly as he could, he was over Akane's room in seconds. Ranma leaned over the eave to check if her window was open, saw that it was, and swung himself down and inside. Akane smiled at him again, gave him a quick hug, and they climbed into the bed together. Ranma wrapped his arms around Akane, and they settled down to go to sleep.
Down the hall, Kasumi stared at her ceiling and sighed. ‹You two really shouldn't be doing this, little sister. The question is, should I stop it? Or just keep an eye on you?›
With as much stealth as she could possibly manage, Ukyo jumped up onto the sill of the window. She had no intention of actually doing anything with Ranchan, or so she told herself. But she needed to make it clear to him that she was his fiancée. And if that hussy should just happen to walk in on the two of them tomorrow morning, sleeping together in the same futon, well Akane Tendo might get the message as well.
Her eyes quickly adjusted to the only slightly darker interior of the room. Ukyo saw in annoyance that the futon was empty. ‹Is he in the bathroom or something? Guess I'd better check.›
Moving as quietly as possible, Ukyo quickly determined that Ranma wasn't anyplace obvious. She then started checking less obvious places. Confronting a nameplate bearing Akane's name, telling herself that there was just no way, she eased the door open.
There were two figures in the bed. One of them had a pigtail.
Ukyo nearly went supernova on the spot. She was never sure afterward how she managed to contain the blast of emotion which erupted within her. But once she had, she acknowledged to herself that charging into the room screaming wasn't going to do any good. Her Ranchan would just get angry with her in turn, and they'd fight. That wouldn't bring him back to her side.
No, she needed another plan entirely.
Ukyo quietly closed the door, went back to the window in Ranma's room, and jumped to the ground outside. As she jumped over the wall and returned to her restaurant, she was seething. She'd show them! She'd find a way to force Ranma to acknowledge their engagement! Something that would convince him to marry her!
Genma walked down the hall to the visitor's area feeling just a little worried. No one had told him who had come to see him. If it was Ranma, that would be no problem. Ranma had bailed him out of jail before. If his wife had found him ... Genma shuddered, praying that was not the case.
It was infuriating the way the police were dragging their feet over his case. He hadn't even been allowed to speak to a lawyer yet! It wasn't as if any of the alleged crimes for which they were holding him were particularly serious. Genma sighed in resignation. Most likely he, or possibly even the master, had managed to offend one of the officials here at some point in the past.
His eyebrows arched helplessly upward when he walked into the room and saw Ukyo Kuonji sitting at the table. She was wearing her hair loose, except for a ribbon at the back, which made her identity as a girl a little less obscure. Even so, you had to look twice to spot it, given the clothing she favored.
Seating himself, Genma growled, "What are you doing here, Kuonji? Isn't it enough that you got me arrested?"
Ukyo smiled at the lack of a bandanna, displaying the weird ears for everyone to see. However, this was not the time to indulge her amusement. "I have a proposition for you, Saotome-san. Which includes dropping the charges against you."
Genma leaned back, crossing his arms. "I'm listening," he told her, still scowling.
In a lofty tone, Ukyo told the man, "I've located your son Ranma, but I've decided not to kill him."
"What you mean is, you weren't able to lay a finger on him," Genma responded.
Ukyo gritted her teeth. "Instead, I've decided to let bygones be bygones. He told me himself that he thinks I'm cute, that any guy would want me. So now we're engaged again. Isn't that great?"
Genma found that he was sweating. He had never meant to go through with the engagement between Ranma and Ukyo. That was just a scheme to get hold of her father's okonomiyaki cart. If Ranma married this girl, then the plans to unite the Tendo and Saotome schools through marriage were finished.
Gruffly, Genma suggested, "There's a small problem with that idea."
Ukyo smiled sweetly. "If you're talking about the previous arrangement for Ranchan to marry Akane Tendo, that agreement has already been set aside. By none other than her father, Soun Tendo. Not to mention that you chose to ignore it ten years ago. So it's not really a problem."
Genma, sweating harder, felt betrayed. How could Tendo have set aside their agreement so casually? The boy had to get married soon, before his mother Nodoka found them. But if Tendo wasn't going to cooperate ... "You said you had a proposition?" he inquired.
Ukyo's smile broadened. "Yes. I'll drop the charges and pay your bail. If you go along with me on this, you'll be eating at my restaurant free for the rest of your life."
Ukyo chuckled internally as she congratulated herself on correctly predicting Genma's reaction to that. The man was already salivating, and leaning forward in his chair. She continued speaking. "Now here's what I want you to do in return. ..."
Another week had come and gone. On Friday, when Akane and Ranma confessed to Mitaka that they had shared a bed the previous Saturday night, and intended to continue doing so each Saturday, she suggested that this might not be the wisest decision on their part. However, she avoided pressing them too hard out of fear that they might continue to do so anyway, and simply not tell her about it. Instead she offered them a couple of pieces of advice in that regard, to which they appeared to listen seriously.
Ukyo knew that Ranchan went out on a date with Akane that same Friday night, but made no move to interfere. All week long she had been quietly ignoring the way they acted. It had become increasingly difficult as all of the other students insisted on treating them as a couple. Ukyo focused her concentration on the preparations she was making.
She had Genma's full cooperation in those preparations. He had made quiet inquiries without revealing his presence, going so far as to make a telephone call to his old friend Tendo while pretending to be a distant relative. It had been confirmed that Soun had no intention of forcing one of his daughters to marry Ranma.
A letter arrived at the Tendo house on Saturday, inviting Ranma to come over to Ucchan's Restaurant on Sunday afternoon. It specified that Ranma should dress in a formal kimono, giving the impression that Ukyo was planning some sort of elaborate tea ceremony. Ranma and the Tendo's discussed this, arriving at the conclusion that Ukyo intended this as a way of acknowledging what Ranma had been telling her and clearing the air between them.
Thus Sunday afternoon found Akane and Ranma standing in front of the restaurant, which had a "Closed" sign in the window. They were both dressed in kimono, looking immaculate, and Akane had taken a great deal of trouble with her makeup. She even had a yellow flower pinned in her hair.
A bearded man whom Ranma did not recognize came to the door and let them in, beaming happily. He led them through the back and up the stairs to the apartment above the restaurant. As the man reached the door at the top of the stairs, he called, "Your fiancé is here, daughter!"
The notion that this man was Ukyo's father startled Akane and Ranma so much that they almost missed the reference to Ranma as Ukyo's fiancé. The small group stepped into the room, and the trailing pair froze in shock.
The walls of the room were covered in elaborate decorations.
Ukyo was kneeling seiza on the other side of a small table, wearing what was clearly a wedding kimono. All of the necessities for a Shinto wedding ceremony were on the table before her.
A Shinto priest was standing beside her, smiling benignly.
Another man was standing in the room, somewhat stout, with shocking eyebrows, and a bandanna that stood out from his head curiously. For Akane, his appearance was a little strange, but her eyes passed over him quickly to lock on Ukyo.
Ranma's eyes however were locked on Genma Saotome. His father. The man he had not seen since May. The man whose behavior he had complained, raged and wept about to Mitaka-sensei and Akane both. The man whose memory he thought he had been coming to terms with. The wash of emotions sweeping through Ranma revealed this belief to be a lie. Akane gasped as Ranma squeezed her hand painfully, and she looked where Ranma was staring. At the stout man.
"Well boy, it's been a long time," Genma said heartily. "I have a bone or two to pick with you about the way you left me, but not today. Today is a time for happiness! You're getting married! Congratulations!"
Ukyo smiled as she took in the changing expressions on Akane's face, watching the other girl arrive at the conclusion that this was Ranma's father. ‹Check and mate!› Ukyo chortled to herself. ‹He's mine now! All mine!›
Growing impatient with his son's stare, Genma strode over intending to grab Ranma's arm and propel him in Ukyo's direction. "Come, boy! It's time to ... urk!"
He landed against a wall, upside-down.
A small frown line creased Ukyo's forehead. "Ranchan, be careful! You don't want to ruin our wedding!"
Akane watched Ranma's face, worried and sad, wondering what was going on behind his eyes. She did not greatly fear that he would go through with this farce of a ceremony, though she was firmly suppressing her anger at Ukyo. Instead she was worried about how he would react, and whether this would inflict new damage on his barely healed psyche. With growing concern, Akane saw that he was holding himself so tensely that his arms were trembling, and his hands were clenched into white-knuckled fists.
There were so many emotions filling Ranma that he felt himself overflowing, sure that the others must see the emotions boiling out of him like some dark cloud. He hardly knew which one to latch onto first. Rage, pain, depression, sorrow, hatred, loss. The young man wanted desperately to scream, and the pain was all the greater for this outlet being denied to him.
The greatest pain of all was the knowledge that he was being forced again. Someone was trying to make him feel helpless, trying to force him to give in to their desires. Someone he had thought to be a friend. An internal howl of hurt and fury swept through his soul.
Ranma felt his senses try to sharpen. Grimly he pushed back, forcing the cat to remain buried, though not very deeply. No, he did not need the neko-ken for this.
Ranma moved forward, the aura of menace around him so strong that Ukyo rose to her feet, and both she and the priest took a step backward. On reaching the table, Ranma swept his hand down, the edge of his hand forming a knife. The table fell apart into two halves along a clean break. Sake spilled. Bowls and other implements dropped to the floor where the bowls shattered. Everyone's eyes other than Akane's widened in shock. When Ranma turned his regard on Ukyo, she saw deep pools of terrifying unhappiness in his eyes.
Genma had managed to climb back to his feet. He was growing angry himself, displeased by his son's rebellious attitude. On the other hand, the aura he felt from the boy was ... troubling. It reminded him of something, some memory of danger. He decided that a degree of prudence might be called for, an attempt to use words before fists. "Now listen here, y' ungrateful boy. You're gonna do what I tell you to do. And what I'm tellin' you to do is to kneel on that floor there, and marry your fiancée Ukyo."
Ranma spun and directed a blazing glare at his father, standing there as if he had walked out of one of the boy's nightmares. Ranma's hands were clenching and unclenching, as he fought desperately to keep his fury under control. His teeth were grinding loudly in his mouth. And in his mind, a dam was crumbling, releasing a raging flood of emotion.
Everyone in the room heard a whisper. So quiet that it was amazing they all clearly understood what was said. So cold that ice condensed around the words and froze them. "No ... I ... will ... not!"
It took several endless seconds for Akane to understand, as she looked around naively wondering who had spoken. It was only as her mind replayed the image of his mouth moving that it struck Akane like a thunderbolt that she had just heard Ranma's voice for the very first time. Heedless of everything else which had occurred in the room so far, Akane squealed, "You're cured!" She leaped over to Ranma in one bound, encompassing him in a crushing hug. Everyone else stared at them, and Ukyo let out a loud growl of warning.
The young chef reached around, and pulled her battle spatula out from behind a wall hanging. "Get your hands off my fiancé, bitch!" she snapped. She swung the spatula with the intent to smash Akane aside.
The spatula came to an impossible halt when Ranma reached out and grabbed it, its kinetic energy transferring back to Ukyo, who stumbled and fell. He rolled the weapon up into a softball-sized lump of metal, his eyes never leaving his childhood friend, the look in them pinning her where she lay. Ukyo looked up at Ranma in turn, with fear in her eyes, and an agonized cry of "Why?" on her lips.
Genma was becoming very worried, seeing the promise of a lifetime of free meals evaporating before his eyes. He was concerned about the feeling he was getting from his son, but decided that action was called for. Besides, the boy was momentarily distracted. The middle-aged man leaped forward to strike Ranma unconscious, and thereby render him more tractable.
Everyone winced at the sound of shattering glass as Genma Saotome disappeared through a window.
The elderly priest cleared his throat. "It, ah, seems clear to me that the groom, er, prospective groom, is not willing to go through with the ceremony. I'll, uh, just be on my way." He quickly left the room by the door.
Ukyo's father had had enough. Pulling out his own battle spatula, he charged Ranma. Seconds later he was lying on top of Genma on the street below, the metal ball which used to be his weapon bouncing across the asphalt nearby.
Ranma turned to look at Ukyo once more. Akane was still holding his arm, unsure whether to be ecstatic about Ranma speaking, or deeply unhappy about what had been attempted. She chose to remain quiet, and let Ranma handle matters.
"Ukyo," Ranma whispered. As he spoke, the words came slowly and sounded rusty, as of a machine after a long period of disuse. "Do you want to know how I lost my voice?"
Ukyo couldn't move. Couldn't answer. She had no idea how to deal with this being into whom her Ranchan had transformed.
"You remember that I change into a girl, right? After I arrived in Nerima, I was injured. Three men tried to rape me. Akane arrived just in time to save me."
Ukyo looked like a flower dipped in liquid nitrogen. Frozen, and likely to shatter at a touch.
The slow words continued, relentless, forcing themselves into the girl's ears. "I couldn't call for help, and afterward I couldn't speak at all. I was helpless, and I hated it. They tried to take something from me by force, and I hated them."
Ranma gave her a piercing look. Ukyo felt as if it were her heart that was pierced by the look.
"You tried to trap me today Ukyo. You tried to tie my hands. You wanted to make me do something against my will." His next whispered sentence, when it came, was filled with more bitterness than Ukyo had ever heard in one place. "Do you have any idea how it makes me feel, to know that my old friend would do something like that?"
Ukyo tried to look away from the tear which rolled slowly down Ranma's cheek. Tried, but utterly failed. Heart tearing within her, she watched as Ranma hugged Akane tightly, burying his face in her hair. Together the two of them turned and walked over to the door.
Just before stepping out of the room, Ranma turned back one last time. He whispered, "If you ever decide you can live with just being friends, let me know. But you'd best never again say the word 'engagement' in my hearing. I won't cut you any more slack." With that, the couple vanished through the doorway.
Ukyo slowly collapsed to her knees. She lifted a single flower off of the floor, staring down without seeing it.
Reactions at the Tendo home were mixed. Outrage over the attempted marriage conflicted with joy over Ranma's recovery of his speech. Kasumi decided to prepare a special dinner to celebrate the latter. Soun went off by himself to think, wondering how to handle the return of his old friend.
The front bell rang as dinner was winding down. Kasumi disappeared, only to return a minute later leading Genma Saotome. The man, dressed in a faded gi, regarded his son warily. He then gave Soun a smile and called in a loud voice, "Tendo! It's great to see you again!"
Soun looked nervous. "Uh, yes, Saotome. It's good to see you also. Ranma-kun has, er, been telling us quite a lot. I ..." Soun hesitated, looking puzzled. "What the devil is wrong with your head?"
Ranma was also staring at his father. There hadn't been time at Ucchan's to wonder about the man's appearance, but now curiosity finally won out over the other emotions. Quietly he asked, "Yeah pop. What's with the eyebrows? And what do you have under that bandanna?"
"Do you really turn into a panda bear?" Nabiki asked mischievously. She lifted a glass of water and threw it over the man.
Ranma stared in shock as there was no change. "You're cured pop? How?"
Genma grimaced, seeing no way out of explaining. "Not ... exactly. Y'see, when you went missing boy, I figured you headed back to Jusenkyo. So that's where I went. While I was there I found a pool called the 'Spring of Drowned Man'."
He shrugged. "I figured I'd be cured if the curse 'changed' me into a man with cold water. I dove in. I was a panda bear at the time."
Ranma smirked. "Lemme guess. Because you were a panda bear when you got the new curse, hot water turns you into a panda."
Genma winced. "Sort of. The curses also mixed, just a bit. That's the reason for ..." He waved his hand in the vicinity of his eyes. "Also ..." Genma pulled the bandanna off of his head. His audience stared in shock for a moment at the white fur and large black ears, before everyone broke down in laughter.
Wiping her tearing eyes, Nabiki said, "I have to see the rest of this." In what was almost a replay of her previous action, she grabbed a cup of hot tea and flung it over Ranma's father.
Everyone stared dumbfounded. He was a bear, all right. He might have even been a panda bear. It was rather hard to tell, since he was completely bald from head to foot. The bear lumbered over to the table, growling, where he picked up another glass of water and poured it on himself. The embarrassed man hastily rearranged his gi.
In a way, the comical nature of his father's problems helped Ranma. He didn't really want to hate the old man, but he knew they had a lot of issues which they still needed to work through. Beyond that, the man's simple presence grated against the scabs on his spirit. Ranma knew he wouldn't be able to tolerate his pop for long.
Trying to ignore his embarrassment, Genma spoke gruffly, "So Tendo! Has Ranma picked one of your daughters to marry yet!" This was answered by a ringing silence around the table.
Soun broke the silence with a nervous laugh. As his laughs echoed in the otherwise stony silence, he stopped himself and sighed. The Tendo patriarch looked up with a bleak expression. "No, Saotome. I've given Ranma and my daughters my word that they won't be forced to marry." The bleak expression did lighten, however, as Soun remembered that Ranma was nonetheless dating Akane.
"Nonsense, Tendo," Genma laughed. "I'm sure it won't take long for you and I to convince them to do what's right. So which one of them d'you think he should marry?"
Ranma and Akane both snarled. Soun shook his head. Over the last few months the Tendo father had watched Ranma slowly heal. He had also watched, breathlessly and with rising hope, as the boy and Akane gradually grew closer until they were now at the point of considering themselves to be a couple. The way that things were going, Soun found himself daring to hope that he would not only get his wish, but that his daughter would also be happy.
Now Genma was rocking the boat.
Soun valued his old friendship with Genma. The two men had suffered together under Happosai's tutelage. But Ranma was the future of his dojo, and that was more important.
"I'm sorry, Saotome, but no." Soun took a deep breath and steeled himself. "Back when Ranma was injured, I made a promise to him. I gave him my word of honor. That he would not have to go back to you. I didn't know it was you at the time, but I have no choice." He paused once more, then declared, "Until Ranma decides otherwise, I'm afraid that I can't let you stay here."
Genma stared at Soun in shock. "Tendo, don't be ridiculous!"
Soun hardened his face. "I'm sorry, Saotome. But this is the way it has to be."
Ranma sighed, then rose to his feet. "Come out in the yard with me, pop." Without even looking to see if he was followed, Ranma stepped out through the open door and sat down on a rock beside the koi pond. A moment later, Genma sat beside him.
Ranma spoke quietly. "Too much has happened since we split up, pop. After I left you, I got hurt. Hurt real bad. And I hated you for it." He held up a hand as his father started to protest. "I know it wasn't really your fault, pop. I know it," he repeated, pointing at his head, "but I don't feel it." The finger moved down to point at his chest. His father stared at him, frowning with incomprehension.
Ranma looked away from the man sitting beside him, studying the image of his face in the pond. A face hiding things he couldn't share yet, from a father he knew wouldn't understand. The young man let a hand trail in the water, spreading ripples, obliterating the face. "Deep down inside, I still ain't forgiven you. Doesn't matter if it's fair or not, that's the way it is. I blamed you for a long time. Now, every time I look at you, it makes me remember what happened. And I get angry at you all over again."
The boy snorted over his inability to control his emotions. "I've been seeing a therapist." He watched the reflection of Genma's face in the water as it twisted in disgust, just as he expected, and held up a forestalling hand. "Don't say it pop. Whatever it is you were about to say, I don't wanna hear it. Yeah, I'm seeing a therapist, and you know what? You should be glad. Real glad. Without her help, I might've killed you when I saw you today. If she wasn't helping me, I'd probably never be willing to talk to you again."
"What the hell happened?" his father demanded.
Ranma shook his head. "Sorry pop. I'll probably tell you someday. Not today. If I did, you'd say something stupid about that. Then I really would kill you." The boy sighed, and looked up at Genma once more. "I am a lot better now. And I'll keep getting better, but not with you hanging around making it harder. You can't stay, but ... maybe you can visit. We can talk. It's gonna take time." He gave a sad laugh. "Neither of us is very patient, but you're gonna have to learn how."
Genma's voice was filled with frustration, and fear. "Dammit, boy! You have to marry one of Tendo's daughters! As soon as possible!"
Ranma's face hardened. "No pop. I ... will ... never ... again ... do what you want just because you say so. No one is ever gonna force me again! I have claws now, and I'm willing to use 'em when I have to." He deliberately drew his fingertips along the rock, cutting parallel grooves into it.
The older martial artist shuddered, face freezing in a rictus of fear. He recognized that sign of the neko-ken, except that the boy was aware, in control. The meaning of his son's words, the threat they contained, was clear. Genma tried to speak, swallowed heavily, then tried again.
"So you expect me to just leave? Let you do as you please? What about your training?"
"It's been four months since you were around to train me, old man. I seemed to handle you easily enough earlier. I'm training Akane, and she's turning into a pretty good sparring partner. I'm sparring with a guy named Ryoga once a week too, and he works me harder than you did. I'm gonna be all right, pop." Ranma turned his face back to the house. "It's time for you to go."
"What if I refuse?"
"Don't make me throw you over the wall, pop," Ranma replied wearily. "Because I will. I'd rather not embarrass both of us." He stood, and walked back to rejoin the family. His family, as he realized he now thought of them. A short time later he walked his father to the gate, where he watched with a heavy heart as his old man trudged wearily down the street and out of sight.
When he turned to go back in, Ranma found Akane waiting for him just inside the gate. She leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips, then wrapped an arm around him as they walked together back into the house.
Things settled back down. Everyone at school was amazed to find that Ranma could speak again. In hindsight, Mitaka drew the now rather obvious conclusion that Ranma had been unable to recover his voice due to the unresolved feelings he had concerning his father. She suggested that this was why the emotional confrontation with Genma had cured his muteness, and that such a confrontation may even have been necessary to his recovery. Akane and Ranma simply accepted this explanation, not caring much about the why's and wherefore's, simply happy that he could talk again.
Ranma's speech remained soft and slow most of the time, unless he was making a conscious effort otherwise. To a degree he was content for this to be so. He wanted to make sure that he had time to consider his words before letting them escape from his mouth.
Ranma continued to sleep in Akane's bed as a female on Saturday nights, slipping back to his room near dawn on Sunday morning. They behaved themselves, and kept it platonic. Kasumi and Mitaka-sensei were the only ones who knew of this, and Kasumi helped the therapist to monitor the situation so that no harm would come of it. After Akane and Ranma finally figured out that Kasumi knew what they were doing, it actually became easier for them to resist the temptation to do anything inappropriate on those nights.
Ukyo continued to watch Ranma unhappily from her seat in the classroom. She had not yet approached him about the possibility of renewing their friendship, but neither had she made an effort to transfer out of the class or create any kind of scene with him or Akane. The young couple hoped that soon she would be able to come to terms with the situation, so they could all put the past behind them.
Genma found a place to stay nearby. He got a job as a maintenance man for an apartment complex, within which he rented a very small room. He came over to the Tendo house regularly to visit, and he and Ranma gradually began repairing their relationship. Occasionally he'd try to put some pressure on Ranma to marry Akane, but this invariably brought an immediate and painful end to the visit.
Kuno and Ukyo strode out onto the stage in front of the rest of the cast, drawing their swords and holding them up in the air, tips barely touching. They basked in the applause. Hiroshi came running out underneath their swords, dressed in his friar's outfit, and bowed deeply. The applause increased a notch.
Then Ranma and Akane ran out and underneath the swords, hand in hand. As they bowed, the applause grew thunderous and the audience surged to its feet for Romeo and Juliet. They bowed again, still holding hands, and the applause grew even louder. Yuka, still dressed as the Nurse, ran onstage and handed a bouquet of roses to Ranma. He dropped to one knee and offered them to Akane, whose eyes were shining.
The curtains closed, but the applause continued unabated. After a minute, the curtains opened again for a final bow, revealing Romeo and Juliet locked in another passionate kiss. As the applause threatened to bring down the roof, the two teenagers became aware that they were on display once more. Breaking apart and blushing madly, though unable to stop grinning, they bowed again. The curtains closed for a final time, as Ranma pulled Akane tight to his side once more.
Author's note:
So The Silent Horse has come to an end. I think it may be my favorite of my stories so far, primarily because of the slowly developing relationship between Akane and Ranma which I think turned out pretty well. One point - don't bother asking for a sequel. Their lives go on but the words do not. I've told the story I wanted to tell.
Now I need to warn you that there may be a delay of a few months before you see something else posted by me. Or there may not. It all depends.
I've written first drafts of chapters 5 and 6 of Side by Side, but because of interconnectedness issues I feel that I need to write chapter 7 before I go back and edit those three chapters and finally start giving them to my pre-reader. Then, of course, I cannot start posting until I have at least chapter 5 back from my pre-reader and do the necessary rewrite based on her work.
I'm also working on another story which is drawing near the climax, but isn't quite there yet. Titled Fighting Chance, so far it is six chapters and forty-eight thousand words. I expect it to be seven or eight chapters when it's done.
So while there may be a slight delay, more is coming. If things work out faster than I expect, there may not even be a significant delay. Or I might add another chapter to Nerima Journals or get inspired to write a quick one-shot. We'll have to wait and see.
At any rate, I'll be looking forward to posting something else soon, and hearing from all of you.
Related sites on the web: Please visit my profile page for information on upcoming chapters or stories, by clicking on my name at the top of this chapter. My profile also has links to my web site, LiveJournal site and forum. The web site contains the official versions of my stories. The LiveJournal site provides updates on what I am working upon at any given time. The forum is a place to discuss my stories or Ranma 1/2 in general. | https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3733763/13/The-Silent-Horse | dclm-gs1-101450001 | false | true | {
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0.054382 | <urn:uuid:efdf74a9-1e41-4cfc-b8e5-8c9ffeaef1e1> | en | 0.905521 | A Love Story—Of the Earth and the Moon By Austin P. Torney Copyright 2012 Austin P. Torney Smashwords Edition Like the moon, challenge night and gain the light; Like the rose, suffer the thorn—gain the fragrance; Of life, surrender to live forever— Enlightened more than a thousand suns. When the moon throws its cold shadow on us From an eclipse, it shatters the place That we’ve gotten so used to. By a rare coincidence The tiny moon snuffs out our star When the sun ‘sets’—at high noon. My blood runs warm with the sun’s heat at noon. The spirit is swept by the swelling moon. Air surrounds me. The ocean flows through me. Earth’s rhythm is always playing my tune. NEW 9TH PLANET FOUND! Poor Pluto’s been banished to the underworld, Charon rowing him to the land of the forgotten. Schoolchildren petitioned for his return, But he was voted off of the solar island. Memory’s crutch for the order of the planets, Is now just “MVEMJSUN”— Old Pluto tried so darn hard, its position Now even closer to the sun than Neptune’s. Well, many have searched for quite a while for The next planet without any success— There have been hoaxes, theories, and some ghosts; Yet, I have firm proof of another planet. But, first, a review of some poor attempts: ‘Vulcan’ was spotted very close to the sun, And ‘existed’ for about five days, But now is relegated to the Star Trek World. Another ‘Vulcan’, impossible to see, Being 180 degrees away from Earth, Behind the sun, was seen in the movie ‘Journey to the Far Side of the Sun’. Could an asteroid like Eris be a planet? Nope, ‘tis not allowed, although all of the Debris between Mars and Jupiter Could have come from an unstable planet. Nice try, but it’s not out there anymore, And any planets of other solar systems Don’t count, nor does Planet Hollywood Or Daily Planet or any other restaurants. Perhaps there’s another planet way out, Beyond; that may be so, but, no matter, Though it may become the 10th planet, since I have found the newest 9th, with no doubt. The 9th planet does follow an orbit Close to Earth’s, ever falling toward the sun— It is right under our nose: It’s the moon! But, wait, you say, it is Earth’s satellite. Our moon is unique in the solar system— It’s not captured by the Earth, but by the sun, It’s orbit being everywhere concave to Sol. (Thanks to Isaac Asimov for proving this.) Never does our moon fall away from the sun, For it’s attracted to it about twice as much As it is to the Earth, although the moon and The Earth do form a double planet system That revolves about a common point that Happens to be inside of the Earth. SEA AND SKY The Caribbean evening songs tucked in The planetary paramours, As Jupiter and Venus Pulled the cover of night up and over their bed; Then sunk the crescent, Sideways into the sea, But its two horns showing. This rare sight of moon to see Sent us into ecstasy, While darkness brewed its tea. Worldly Love I am thy moon, thy constant satellite, Thy crystal paramour of day and night. Above and below, and within thy sight, I whirl around you in loving delight. In a magnetic dance I whirl and twirl, Attracted to you, the liveliest world. Around you as a necklace I’m aswirl— Wear me as thy crystalline gem impearled. Wherever thou orbits round Apollo, I must twirl and whirl, hurry and follow. Dust I gather, meteors I swallow, Ranging far and wide through space not hollow. Thy romantic beam, like Cupid’s arrow, Pierces my heart and kills my sorrow, Injecting life and love, for tomorrow; Henceforth, I’ll shine with this light I borrow. Around you I whirl, a necklace of pearl, Trailing afterimages of my world, Adorning you, thy bosom bountiful, With crystalline gems from another world. As twin planets, our orbits must convolve; Into each our tidal motions dissolve. Around a common center we revolve— The focus from which our passions evolve. As twin planets, each other’s way we pave, With the push-pulse of the graviton wave. We’re captured, but not as each other’s slave, For to the sun our orbits are concave. To your lines of flux my path I align— I’m your constant paramour, crystalline. Your world pours life on mine, on mine! Dearest Earth, I must be thine, must be thine! A magnetic beam emanates from thee, Attracting me, holding me, kissing me. Tidal love washes freely over me, Linking you and me for eternity. Basking warmly in your reflected light, I’m bright, oh so radiant in your sight! In the love and light of your spirit bright, I need not ever face the endless night. Your vibrations travel without a sound, Circling from all directions to surround. This affection touches me, ’round and ’round, And closely binds me to you—I’m love-bound! We’re as different as midnight and noon, Yet drawn close by the force of Earth and moon. As lovers, we merge in a sweet eclipse, When world meets world as a kiss on our lips. Oh, as your shadow of love covers me, I am full, so full in the shade of thee. When we overlap, that union is us The you is in me, the me is in thee! As moon and Earth we bathe in radiance, Cleansing our hearts in love’s grand alliance. Round and round each other we dance, entranced, Revolving in the whirl of our dalliance. ### | https://www.smashwords.com/books/download/142197/6/latest/0/0/a-love-story-of-the-earth-and-the-moon.txt | dclm-gs1-101540001 | false | false | {
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0.033834 | <urn:uuid:836e338b-edc2-40b3-b5de-03ff549b3d86> | en | 0.885741 |
From Wikibooks, open books for an open world
Jump to: navigation, search
The ratio of activities of a solute, A in an aqueous/organic system will remain constant and independent of the total quantity of A (hence [A]_{org} \propto [A]_{aq}), so at any given temperature:
(K_D)_A = {(a_A)_{org} \over(a_A)_{aq}} \approx {[A]_{org} \over[A]_{aq}}
Thus, the conentration of A remaining in an aqueous solution after i extractions with an organic solvent can be found using:
[A]_i = ({V_{aq} \over V_{org} K_D + V_{aq}})^i [A]_0
| http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Chemical_Sciences:_A_Manual_for_CSIR-UGC_National_Eligibility_Test_for_Lectureship_and_JRF/Distribution_constant | dclm-gs1-101770001 | false | false | {
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0.019343 | <urn:uuid:aba9a7d9-6a79-487a-8142-cedf8d4cabe3> | en | 0.982332 | Utd have momentum ahead of Moscow says Fergie
May 11, 2008
Sir Alex Ferguson celebrated another title triumph for Manchester United and warned Champions League final opponents Chelsea: 'We are bouncing into the final'.
United retained the Barclays Premier League title after a 2-0 win over Wigan secured by a first-half penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo and a second-half clincher substitute Ryan Giggs.
Chelsea could only manage a 1-1 draw against Bolton at Stamford Bridge and Ferguson was quick to remind them who has the psychological advantage ahead of the Champions League showdown in Moscow on May 21.
'If we had lost the title today it would have been a great knock but the great thing is we are bouncing into the final,' Ferguson told Sky Sports News.
Ferguson, asked if United's latest triumph reinforced his determination to carry on as manager, replied: 'I am very proud to have survived so long but I am at a great club which makes it easier for me than the rest.'
Ferguson, who has won 10 titles during his reign, also predicted that the current United side will overhaul Liverpool's overall total of 18 titles. United now have 17.
'I think it will come. This side is young. This side is young. There is plenty left in them.'
Giggs, who equalled Sir Bobby Charlton's record of 758 appearances when he came on, drew more satisfaction from a 10th title winners medal.
'It was a great goal to settle us down - it gave us a two-goal cushion,' he said.
Ferguson admitted that Wigan had given United a stern test on their way to a title-clinching victory.
He continued: 'It was a tough one all right. For most of the game we played well but there were some nervous moments.'
United might have been reduced to 10 men in the first half when Paul Scholes, already on a yellow card, blocked off Wilson Palacios but referee Steve Bennett gave him a final warning instead.
'We were a bit lucky,' acknowledged Ferguson. 'The first tackle was reckless and he deserved to be booked but the second one was nothing.'
Ferguson was pleased that his players had been able to maintain control of their own destiny.
He added: 'We had to concentrate on our own game and I think we did that okay. Just after half-time we started to get a grip of it and I was pleased with that second goal. It makes it 10 (title medals) today for Ryan Giggs which is fantastic.'
Wayne Rooney said the players were all determined to win the title.
'We have got the hunger and we knew coming into the last two games that six points and we would be champions,' he told Sky Sports 1.
'We could see the finish line.'
Rooney paid tribute to Ferguson, describing him as 'brilliant' and 'determined'.
He added: 'It's a privilege to play for him every week.'
Rio Ferdinand said: 'Credit to Wigan - they gave us a tough game today. It's just a fantastic feeling to win the trophy.' | http://espnfc.com/news/story?id=534120 | dclm-gs1-101800001 | false | false | {
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0.020912 | <urn:uuid:3b16213d-34a5-4eb1-b3a3-78a7ad69f2d9> | en | 0.975654 |
Cedar Fair, L.P. Message Board
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• bidupbid bidupbid Oct 31, 2005 11:39 AM Flag
The economy is the worst I have seen it here in many out of work or working in lower wage jobs just to have a job. I heard that unionized construction unemployment is pushing 30% around here.
What is going to bring Ohio back? That is the question...I just don't see much of a future right now economically around here...Thoughts?
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• I don't know enough about Ohio's specific problems, but I've heard many theories of what's in store for Michigan, where about 50% of Cedar Point's business originates.
An economist I talked to predicts that Michigan will hit bottom in 2 to 5 years. Some of the things he recommends (and which a Global Economics class I recently took also recommends) are things Michigan is unlikely to do. These two independent sources think that taxes need to be cut in order to encourage more businesses and residents to move into the state, rather than leaving the state. Meanwhile, Michigan keeps increasing "fees," which is the equivalent of tax increases. Also, to avoid going deeper into debt, state spending needs to be cut. Not a popular thing to do, and politicians generally hate to cut spending.
Michigan is the least popular choice of the continental U.S. for manufacturing. The reason is because of something that is unlikely to change anytime soon: Michigan is a closed-shop state. The state could probably bring in more jobs if it became a right-to-work state.
Additionally, Michigan is highly dependent on one industry. Most of the people in the state make their livings, either directly or indirectly, on the auto industry. The state desperately needs more diversity. But, with the tax situation and the closed-shop condition, Michigan has a tough time convincing new companies to move in.
These conditions are far from affecting just the blue collar workers. I've got two degrees in electrical engineering, and the auto industry situations definitely impact me. With the Delphi troubles, I've seen a couple of coworkers who were recently released to save expenses. My company has already taken quite a few hits due to other corporate bankruptcies, and many layoffs resulted, even in areas which were not directly affected by the bankruptcies, just to counter the losses from uncollectable debts.
Since Michigan and Ohio have a lot of similarities, I suspect many of the same situations are true for Ohio, but I can't say for certain.
• 1 Reply to ol_harpo
• Ol_Harpo the two things you mentioned go hand in hand here in AZ it has always been a right-to-work state,But the econemy really took off in the early 90's when the legistaure gave tax cuts to both presonal and busness and the state has not looked back. The cities here don't fight to bring in new busness just which city will get the new company Google being the latest
Sir Draw | http://finance.yahoo.com/mbview/threadview/?bn=0a2298a7-2858-390d-9c4b-4fee954b6896&tid=1130726602000-9b2883fd-09f7-35f1-9ca3-65c42f4ffe19&mid=00003k000000000000000000000000-21115126-f333-3339-a0cb-7b40706d13aa | dclm-gs1-101810001 | false | true | {
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0.051347 | <urn:uuid:d63c225c-6c9d-4ce0-acbd-09b037a57455> | en | 0.943758 |
Vanguard REIT Index ETF Message Board
• gambling2m gambling2m Dec 24, 2012 10:42 AM Flag
Reits have full backing of our CROOKED FED. Gov.
Unbelieveable what these crooks can do. just keep printing debt money and have cnbc fools say cheap money is good for reits. Really??
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• They also want to steal your money. Credit unions are now starting a mandatory $3/ month fee just for being one of "US as they put it. Arizona federal CU.
ALL financial institutions will charge at least 1% to get YOUR money out.
Nobody knows what will break the camels back from what the crooked FED has done, but I wouldn't be anywhere near the stock market. I absolutely can afford missing gains from a criminal enterprise, while my money is safe from the thieves where I WANT IT. | http://finance.yahoo.com/mbview/threadview/?bn=98a5ad54-e01f-3e0f-ba9b-88257b81c878&tid=1356363736030-a137a0bd-9626-42fa-834a-a0d3b70b239b&stb=o&tls=la%2Cd%2C0 | dclm-gs1-101830001 | false | false | {
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0.970796 | <urn:uuid:ac063ab1-af17-4f3a-af72-194fdbfa59a7> | en | 0.939322 | Jenni Carlson: OU chose to play Florida A&M after losing TCU as a non-conference opponent
By Jenni Carlson Modified: September 7, 2012 at 2:20 pm • Published: September 7, 2012
It's a bit different than the Longhorn Network in that it's not a stand alone channel, so your cable provider doesn't have to pick up Sooner Sports TV for you to get the programming.
Why is there no line on the OU-Florida A&M game?
It's basically because it's a lower-division team vs. OU. Lots of times, Vegas odds makers refuse to put odds on these types of games.
The OSU-Savannah game last week, for example, didn't get a line until Friday.
Where does the TV deal rank B12 teams in terms of revenue per team as opposed to other major conferences? Was it more or less than expected?
I haven't seen a dollar amount on the TV deal just yet. I'll ask while we're chatting and see if I can get a number.
But in terms of expansion or contraction, I have to think this slows both. The per-school payout is sure to be dang big. That will make teams want to stick around. It will also make the league schools hesitant to want to expand and slice up that pie in smaller pieces.
Read the entire chat recap here.
| |
by Jenni Carlson
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+ show more | http://newsok.com/jenni-carlson-ou-chose-to-play-florida-am-after-losing-tcu-as-a-non-conference-opponent/article/3707718/?page=2 | dclm-gs1-102080001 | false | false | {
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0.026198 | <urn:uuid:5e3aa65c-0048-4b66-b160-98b1655c8e60> | en | 0.962151 |
By Michael Baldwin Published: December 31, 2012
There's a chance a New Year's Eve game was Jordan Eberle's last at the Cox Convention Center.
If it ends up being Eberle's final appearance in Oklahoma City, what a way to go out.
Eberle registered his second hat trick of the season in a 5-2 Barons win over the Texas Stars Monday night in front of 4,976 fans.
“We were kind of talking how this might be (our last game here) because negotiations are going,” Eberle said. “But you have no idea what's going to happen. I'm just focusing on Houston tomorrow and see what happens.”
Eberle is playing with the Barons during the NHL lockout. Oklahoma City begins a four-game road trip on Tuesday. The Barons don't return home until Jan. 11, the pseudo deadline NHL owners have set to salvage the 2012-13 season.
During the 106-day lockout, Eberle has shown why he was an NHL All-Star last season. He scored his 21st, 22nd and 23rd goals and added an assist in Monday's win to take over the AHL scoring lead from teammate Justin Schultz.
All three Eberle goals were scored within a four-minute span late in the first period to help the Barons roll to their fourth consecutive win.
Set up by a beautiful pass from Taylor Hall, Eberle deked Texas goaltender Cristopher Nilstorp to give OKC a 1-0 lead with 4:16 left in the first period. Nine seconds later Eberle lit the lamp again with a top-shelf wrist shot. He scored a power-play goal with 1:33 left in the period.
“He's fun to watch,” said Barons coach Todd Nelson. “He scored three different ways tonight. The power play goal was an incredible goal. He caught the pass in tight to his feet, toe dragged the guy and beat the goalie with his backhand. That's a high skill level. Not too many guys are able to do that.”
| |
by Michael Baldwin
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+ show more | http://newsok.com/oklahoma-city-barons-jordan-eberle-scores-hat-trick-in-barons-5-2-win-over-texas/article/3742274?custom_click=pod_headline_sports | dclm-gs1-102090001 | false | false | {
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0.032497 | <urn:uuid:65567401-6baf-4358-82da-3953039029e4> | en | 0.980644 | Michael Reynolds builds self-sufficient 'earthships' that generate their own power. Kirsten Jacobsen
Full name: Michael Reynolds
Age: 63
Current position: Founder of Earthship Biotecture
How I got to here in 10 words or less: Don't give up.
* * *
Architect Michael Reynolds has built more than 1,000 homes from materials including used car tires and glass-bottle bottoms. He calls his self-sufficient designs "earthships" because they require little heating or cooling and generate their own electricity and water. His company, Earthship Biotecture of Taos, N.M., designs and builds sustainable homes world-wide.
A: I discovered early on that architecture needs to embody the needs of people. Most architects have impractical ideas that are wasteful. That's why I've drifted away from what you know as architecture. The University of Cincinnati had a co-op program where you could work for three months and go to school for three months. It took me six years of working in a lot of architectural offices around the country to discover that I didn't want to do architecture the way it was being done.
Best advice: Get free. Do not let economy manipulate your life. Get your essentials taken care of. Then you can pursue what's in your heart and in your mind.
Skills you need: Building knowledge and experience. "Most architects don't build," he says. "They just design and not well as a result."
Professional organizations to contact: Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility; American Wind Energy Association
Salary range: The U.S. Bureau of Labor reports a 2006 mean wage for architects to be $64,150. The highest 10 percent earned over $104,970.
Q: Where did you get the idea to use trash?
Q: How did you go from cans to car tires?
A: I later decided to try a different material and thought of the mountains of discarded tires that can be found everywhere. Pack them with dirt and they will store energy. Plus they're strong and resilient, so I built an entire house out of them. I went on to add photovoltaic panels, windmills, water collection and onsite sewage treatment.
Q: It didn't sound like you got many takers in the beginning.
A: We did sell houses here and there. I wasn't trying to build a big corporation and, of course, our overhead was low. I just needed to get the idea out there. I was also a licensed contractor so I could work on other projects.
Q: Who were your early adopters?
A: When I started, it was young hipsters who were not afraid of trying something new. As recycling and conservation became more mainstream, it became a wider variety of people ... from all walks of life.
Q: That's when you took your fight to the state legislature?
Q: And you went overseas with your ideas?
Q: What did you see in the Andaman Islands?
Q: What's next?
A: We're launching a village project called Eve: Earthship Village Ecology in Taos. The focus is complete independence. We're specifically working on food production in the home, and we've dedicated 50% of the floor space to gardens.
Q: How efficient are your earthships?
Write to Dennis Nishi at cjeditor@dowjones.com | http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB124510435308816591 | dclm-gs1-102110001 | false | false | {
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0.269218 | <urn:uuid:374bf367-0abb-47d3-9d85-bc8d24e1b963> | en | 0.966891 | Forgot your password?
Comment: Thanks (Score 1) 1521
by Denny (#37204414) Attached to: Rob "CmdrTaco" Malda Resigns From Slashdot
Comment: Re:"Extreme Ultraviolet" (Score 2, Insightful) 362
by Steve525 (#33244826) Attached to: How Much Smaller Can Chips Go?
Comment: Extraordinary claims require evidence. (Score 5, Informative) 264
by dr. loser (#33052774) Attached to: Possible Room Temperature Superconductor Achieved
Comment: Re:GM (Score 1) 835
by Steve525 (#32825992) Attached to: Avoiding GM Foods? Monsanto Says You're Overly Fussy
I don't think that's the same. If the label said that GM foods were bad for your health or the environment, then you'd have a point. If all the label says is that the food is GM then it's up to the consumer to decide what that means to him/her. I don't see anything wrong with this. If the consumer wants to vote with his/her wallet to avoid GM foods, then great - companies will respond to the desires of the people by producing less GM food. If people would rather buy GM food, well, then I can't really blame the companies for giving people what they want. (In the absence of evidence of harm to health and environment).
New Estimates Say Earth's Oceans Smaller Than Once Believed 263
Posted by timothy
Comment: Re:Puritan pferd merde stops it in US (Score 1) 436
by Steve525 (#31582132) Attached to: Later School Start For Teenagers Brings Drop In Absenteeism
I really think the current schedule has a number of reasons: Sharing the buses between high school, middle school, and elementary school. High school students want to get out early for sports or jobs. Teachers probably also appreciate being done with classes earlier. I don't think Puritan culture has anything to do with it, at this point.
Comment: Re:Loopholes (Score 1) 582
by Steve525 (#31481068) Attached to: In Israel, Potential Organ Donors Could Jump the Queue
...Rich people of all religions seem to do it, but wealthy Jews seem to have a knack for it.
*(With very strong emphasis on "rich and arrogant". One of my closest friends from High School is a practicing Jew and I have no patience for antisemitism.)
Uhm, in your first sentence that I quoted you are, indeed, specifying that people who are Jewish are worse than other groups in this regard. One might consider judging a whole group like that to be prejudiced
I agree with the sentiment that you should get as you give, and that someone shouldn't expect donations if they aren't willing to give them. Dogma be damned. I don't think that Jews as a whole (or even just the wealthy ones) are any worse than other group in this regard.
As far as loopholes go, there is a cultural tradition for Jews to read, discuss, debate, and interpret the meaning of their laws. This can lead to some pretty bizarre practices, but how they follow their religion is up to them.
Comment: Re:What a Tragedy and No Charges? (Score 1) 1343
by Steve525 (#31439458) Attached to: Accidental Wii Suicide
Those cases are always heartbreaking. It's a mistake anyone of us could make. You multiply the large number of kids in child seats times the small likelihood of someone making this mistake and you are going to get a finite number of deaths a year. Most of the time the parents aren't being neglectful, they're just being human.
To some extent one could say the same about this case involving the gun. However, I don't think anything involving a gun (especially in a house with kids around) should ever be as routine as driving a kid around.
You are in a maze of UUCP connections, all alike. | http://slashdot.org/~Steve525/firehose | dclm-gs1-102230001 | false | false | {
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0.045525 | <urn:uuid:d442b5d5-7ca3-45df-bc25-f62a5178aebb> | en | 0.925942 | Forgot your password?
Comment: Re:apple profits from every product, MS doesn't (Score 1) 269
by djnanite (#44491891) Attached to: Apple Isn't the Next Microsoft (and That's a Good Thing)
This is a good point. People are quick to confuse Apple with a company that actually innovates and pushes boundaries and stuff, when in fact, they just release highly-polished (and sometimes very well-timed) products that are often 5 or 10 years old.
For example...?
Comment: Be wary... (Score 4, Interesting) 397
by djnanite (#44067077) Attached to: Samsung Launches 3200x1800 Pixel ATIV Book 9 Plus Laptop
I bought a Samsung Chronos Notebook a year ago, and it was a horrible experience.
The touchpad broke twice.
The headphone socket produced a buzz every time the laptop was plugged into the mains.
The WiFi kept disconnecting
Out of date drivers that have never been updated.
No support for Windows 8.
Terrible support staff who were either incompetent, lazy, or bored.
Badly written system software: it takes a full 20 seconds to enable/disable the WiFi, no support for non-administrators, it's intrusive and yet it's also required for full system functionality.
Even if all the hardware on this new model is up to scratch, nothing else has changed, and this deal will leave you sour. Basically, don't expect any real after-sales support in the way you probably expect it from most other laptop manufacturers. If you think of it as an appliance (like a TV) and never upgrade it, you *may* be fine.
Comment: Oh really?!? (Score 0, Flamebait) 1176
by djnanite (#42902427) Attached to: Driver Trapped In Speeding Car At 125 Mph
Change gears down. It's called engine braking. Change to a lower gear and your engine will either explode, or it will slow down. Either way, you'll stop.
Or how about the handbrake? You may skid, yes, but you will also slow down.
Got an ignition switch? Turn it off.
Got keys in the ignition? Take them out.
ProTip! if you're keen for a joy-ride, call the police first and pretend your car's gone crazy. Not only do you get to legitimately drive faster than you've ever driven before, but the police will also clear the roads for you.
Comment: Tiny hard disk, limited RAM (Score 1) 513
by djnanite (#41532693) Attached to: Why Ultrabooks Are Falling Well Short of Intel's Targets
A 256GB HD, 4GB RAM, and a low resolution display just doesn't cut it for brand new hardware these days. It's rare (and expensive!) to find Ultrabooks with better specs than this.
Ultrabooks look nice - but if they're less powerful than my current hardware, why would I want to change?
Comment: 'Fair Use' is not sufficiently well defined (Score 4, Insightful) 194
by djnanite (#41255297) Attached to: The Algorithmic Copyright Cops: Streaming Video's Robotic Overlords
We have repeated cases of people going to court to dispute 'fair use', which shows that it is not well defined enough for humans to get right, let alone automated bots.
Lay down specific rules for 'fair use' and then you can write an algorithm to respect those rules.
(Just don't let RIAA/MPAA dictate the rules.)
Comment: Re:Great plan (Score 4, Insightful) 310
by djnanite (#41131349) Attached to: Hackers Dump Millions of Records From Banks, Politicians
I consider it a protest against bad security......
And will you still be supporting their actions when you find your own personal bank details on that list?
Seriously - this just causes hassle for *everyone*, and is not a good way to drum up support for your ill-defined and unfocussed protest.
Comment: Also watch this film... (Score 5, Informative) 394
by djnanite (#40633667) Attached to: A Million-Year Hard Disk
"Into Eternity" (http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/nov/11/into-eternity-film-review), which documents the staggering engineering requirements of creating a nuclear bunker designed to last a million times longer than any man made object ever created.
The scale of the work involved is almost beyond comprehension. And a hard disk is just a fraction of that work.
It will blow your mind.
+ - San Francisco to stop buying Apple Macs->
Submitted by
Link to Original Source
Comment: Re:This case is a joke. (Score 5, Insightful) 383
by djnanite (#40610275) Attached to: Kim Dotcom Offers the DoJ a Deal
Legal means for getting media when needed? Like iTunes...
Has only a limited range of choice in New Zealand.
Not available in New Zealand.
Not available in New Zealand.
Not available in New Zealand.
Will not ship DVDs or CDs to New Zealand.
paid Pandora
Not available in New Zealand.
and any other of a plethora of easy to use and economical means of legally "getting media"?
Tell me more about this 'plethora' of legally accessible media in New Zealand. Sounds like Kim Dotcom was providing a service where there is demand, but no supply.
You are in a maze of UUCP connections, all alike. | http://slashdot.org/~djnanite/tags/government | dclm-gs1-102240001 | false | false | {
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0.405182 | <urn:uuid:4eac1278-239e-4adc-893f-6ae759cab3e0> | en | 0.944899 | Forgot your password?
Comment: Re:Forget the customer (Score 1) 108
It undermines the whole point of having a locked in operating system on the system and all the security features. Now you can poke and prod at one OS from the other. I like the idea - if one OS gets bricked by some update you received the minute you got off the plane, you can flip to the other one.
Comment: Re:The real puzzle (Score 2) 357
2005: Greek 737 crew succumbed to cabin de-pressurization, plane flew on until out of gas & crashed. Helios Airways Flight 522: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H...
Story of multiple pilot errors on top of ground mechanic's stunning mistake. I suspect something similar happened in this case.
Comment: Re:BTDT (Score 1) 266
by mikael (#46478401) Attached to: Is the New "Common Core SAT" Bill Gates' Doing?
We did that in the UK. Starting in the 1980's, politicians tinkered with the education system. Replaced all the different competing exam boards with one standard national exam board. The only problem is that the party of the day would issue edicts like 50% of the population must go to university. To achieve this goal, they had to improve high-school exam grades. So how did they do that? They started merging high school subjects (physics, chemistry and biology became general science, arithmetic and mathematics became general math). They invented an exam system where there were foundation, general and credit exams for the same subject. Employers wouldn't consider anyone with foundation and general exam grades so those were dropped. That left the universities to sort out the mess once the students started arriving.
Having separate state and county exam boards compartmentalizes the education system and restricts the amount of damage any vote-desperate education minister or party can do.
Comment: Re:Using this to solve a problem (Score 1) 171
by mikael (#46477499) Attached to: Power Cables' UV Flashes Apparently Frighten Animals
At night-time, birds tend to fly towards light. Many downtowns with skyscraper office blocks end up with flocks of dead birds at street level due to birds flying towards the office lights. If anything you would need bright lights at either side of the wind turbines, so the birds could see a safe path to fly along.
Comment: Re:Godwin Time! (Score 1) 89
by mikael (#46457813) Attached to: Volkswagen Chairman: Cars Must Not Become 'Data Monsters'
The concept of the Internet of Things thrives on the fact that there will be literally "billions and billions" of embedded devices with internet connectivity, sensors, all sending back to servers, which then use Big Data processing methods to discover hidden information.
Knowing the traction on car wheels and vibration on suspension systems will allow councils to determine which segments of road need resurfacing.
Knowing the speed of cars will tell them which areas of freeways are starting to clog up (before they gridlock).
Knowing the usage pattern of roads allows them to adjust traffic lights accordingly.
Maybe traffic light systems could be made smarter by dynamically adjusting the timing due to motion on the roads.
Comment: Re:How fine is this distinction? (Score 2) 62
by mikael (#46451001) Attached to: Study: Elephants Have Learned To Tell Certain Languages Apart
If you draw a graph of brain size vs. number of words an animal can learn (parrot = 200, cat = 50, dog = 1000), an elephant should be able to learn hundreds of words. A wild animal like an elephant is going to have to be aware of every possible sound from every possible creature (crocodiles snapping, toads croaking, hyenas fighting, vultures crying, lions fighting, as well as watery sounds like thunderstorms, rain, waterfalls and rivers. Then they can also hear infra-sound as they communicate using low frequency.
Some brain scans were done of elephants and it seemed they had larger brain regions related to hearing.
Comment: Re:Way to shoot the messenger (Score 1) 167
For instance, I can post anonymously right now on this very platform. How is that wrong?
At the first level, slashdot will log all the IP addresses of all submissions - that's part of the general infrastructure of discussion forums. At a second level someone can contact the maintainers if anything offensive has been written. Then at the third level, they can hire a lawyer and request the IP address of the person submitting the comment. From there they can escalate the complaint with the originating ISP, the authorities and the individual concerned.
| http://slashdot.org/~mikael/firehose | dclm-gs1-102250001 | false | false | {
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0.117657 | <urn:uuid:bde68953-cdea-4ced-98b4-3581e79c2bf2> | en | 0.962969 | Forgot your password?
Comment: Re:Saturn (Score 1) 126
by MightyYar (#46487727) Attached to: Elon Musk Addresses New Jersey's Tesla Store Ban
They approached existing dealers first. Only if existing dealers refused to build a dedicated facility would they offer up the territory to a new dealer. I'm sure you could find Saturn dealers who owned no other GM franchises, but I am under the impression that this was rare. I do know one Chevy/Cadillac/Oldsmobile/Pontiac/GMAC dealer who told them to go pound sand.
Comment: Re:Anti-Vax home schoolers (Score 1) 610
by Just Some Guy (#46485685) Attached to: Measles Outbreak In NYC
I'm not a homeschooler (all my kids are in public), but I've known a few. One of my best friends is a family practice doc. His family homeschools because they believe they can give a better education than the local schools in his small town, but he's adamantly in favor of vaccination.
Homeschooling absolutely doesn't imply anti-vax (although the Venn diagram does overlap a fair bit).
+ - Target Ignored Signs of Data Breach->
Submitted by puddingebola
puddingebola writes "Target ignored indications from it's threat-detection tools that malware had infected it's network. From the article, "Unusually for a retailer, Target was even running its own security operations center in Minneapolis, according to a report published Thursday by Bloomberg Businessweek. Among its security defenses, following a months-long testing period and May 2013 implementation, was software from attack-detection firm FireEye, which caught the initial November 30 infection of Target's payment system by malware. All told, up to five "malware.binary" alarms reportedly sounded, each graded at the top of FireEye's criticality scale, and which were seen by Target's information security teams first in Bangalore, and then Minneapolis." Unfortunately, it appears Target's security team failed to act on the threat indicators."
Link to Original Source
Comment: Re:A bit of common sense maybe? (Score 4, Insightful) 610
by Just Some Guy (#46484129) Attached to: Measles Outbreak In NYC
Comment: Re:Anti-Vaxxers? Try Population Density (Score 4, Insightful) 610
by Just Some Guy (#46483985) Attached to: Measles Outbreak In NYC
Comment: Re:A bit of common sense maybe? (Score 0) 610
by Just Some Guy (#46483915) Attached to: Measles Outbreak In NYC
Anti-vaxxer here. Convince me that I and my entire family should vaccinate.
That's not our collective job. Convince me that you should have the right to spread diseases that could otherwise easily be eradicated.
I don't want all the toxins
Full stop here. "Toxin" is something that a bacteria squirts out, like botulinum toxin. That's the only thing it means. The only people who use "toxin" in any other context are the ones who want to sell you treatments to remove them from your body. No doctor or scientist refers to toxins as meaning anything else.
and animal byproducts used in creating these vaccines injected into me or my children. Nor the aluminum components.
Why aluminum, specifically? I just drank a can of highly flammable hydrogen in compound with ridiculously dangerous oxygen, containing among other things a hell's blend of reactive sodium and deadly chlorine. And it tasted good. You've probably had many a pickle brined in vinegar (acetic acid! corrosive!) and alum (aluminum, potassium, sulfur, and oxygen again!), so why is aluminum as one chemical in a compound of many a particular concern in this context?
You probably wouldn't want to sit down and eat half a pound of aluminum powder by itself, but you and your kids have almost certainly ingested some as food ingredient recently.
Nor many others. Why do any vaccines need monkey kidneys in it?
Because that's a more convenient incubator for poliovirus than a human kidney.
by Just Some Guy (#46483751) Attached to: Measles Outbreak In NYC
Not remotely. Public health has long been accepted as a legitimate concern of the government.
Of these, lack of access is the only legitimate excuse and it's self limiting and easy to address. Many places offer mobile free vaccination clinics.
I can just about guarantee I'd win a "more Libertarian than thou" contest, but your idea of individual liberty is severely flawed. That old saying about your right to swing your fists ends where my nose begins? Well, your right to carry around dangerous pathogens for the hell of it ends where my immune system begins. You don't have the right to willfully take steps to make people around you ill.
| http://slashdot.org/~mudshark/firehose | dclm-gs1-102270001 | false | true | {
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0.552826 | <urn:uuid:3fc83157-d3e1-4eda-bb5c-7264e05b2187> | en | 0.961245 | Forgot your password?
User Journal
Journal: my response to slashdot beta
Journal by prgrmr
Comment: Re:Information paradox? (Score 1) 193
Comment: mercy killing (Score 1) 308
Comment: rigged tests are unimpressive (Score 1) 114
Comment: Just enforce the existing laws (Score 1) 649
by prgrmr (#42790645) Attached to: Richard Stallman's Solution To 'Too Big To Fail'
It's the same solution as always: simply enforce the laws we have. Enforce anti-trust law, enforce truth in advertising law, enforce laws against anti-competitive behavior by monopoly and near--monopoly sized corporations. If the SEC had enforced its regs fully against Goldman Sachs, et al, that were on one hand recommending to their customers to buy mortgage-backed securities, and on the other hand having a prohibition against them for in-house investing and NOT telling their customers about this, they would not have been able to dump as many of these junk securities on other banks or the government.
Comment: Don't disappear, go offensive (Score 1) 789
by prgrmr (#41102305) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: What Would Your 'I've Got To Disappear' Plan Look Like?
Governments outlive people, so there's no way you could take enough cash or resources with you if you don't already have a safe house setup somewhere. So go offensive and immediately get to your attorney who should be well versed in federal criminal law as well as civil law and have some understanding of international law with regard to protecting you from getting extradited. Have your attorney appeal to your state's/province's attorney general office for protection because you witnessed a possible criminal act and you now fear for your safety. (That you are fearing for your safety from the federal government is irrelevant as far as the A.G. should be concerned).
You will also want to simultaneously arrange for a "leak" to your local newspaper and TV station as well as sending anonymous "leaks" to national newspapers, cable news networks, and the AP in case the A.G's office just turns you over to the feds. Ensure that your attorney has several of his partners or even another law firm in on what's going on, so you have defense in-depth in case someone gets cold feet (genuine or is paid-off to), so there will be someone to file the appropriate papers with the courts. Also let you family and friends know so that if the feds are intent on making your "disappear" it won't happen without considerable notice.
And above all, don't be naive: if the feds want you, they are going to get you. Don't waste time, money, or effort preventing it, just presume it will happen and deal with it from that point on.
Comment: choices for real action (Score 1) 708
by prgrmr (#40554419) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: How Do I Stay Employable?
1. Leverage your industry knowledge and move to a company that's still in the financial industry, but doesn't handle other people's money. These companies (start-ups aside) are generally more stable now that we are 4 years beyond the home mortgage melt-down, and they have less risk. This, of course, means they offer less rewards (lower base salaries, lesser or no bonuses), but that's the trade-off for not worrying about getting laid-off
2. Management, but only if you want to embrace the accountability. I'll assume you are all too aware of the politics of accountability in the financial industry. Being a manager is willingly putting yourself in the political cross-hairs. It's going to be like that to a lesser degree in any industry, so if you can't take that sort of heat, stay out of the management kitchen.
3. Stay in programming if you love what you do and are at all good at it. It's much easier to get up and go to work everyday doing something you love, or even just like, than something you hate to do but think it's better because of the pay or benefits.
4. Look at small and mid-size companies. Ageism is much less of a factor in smaller companies. While being the jack-of-all-IT-trades has it's stress points, it also makes you somewhat indispensable to your employer, and is much easier to do in smaller IT shops.
5. Stay where you are and try to be the MVP. If you don't already know where the bodies are buried or what skeletons are in whose closet, you're not likely to find out now. So, you'll have to become valuable the old fashioned way: earning it. Find a skill set that is absolutely necessary to your companies bottom line, find out who on the business side cares about it, become and expert in the skill and the friend of those business folks. Now you have an advocate in a profit-center to go with your argument on the IT side for the company keeping you around. If you do good work and can make the effort to politically correctly for your environment to get acknowledgment for it (notice I did not say credit), then your work will *almost* speak for itself.
6. Pray.
You are in a maze of UUCP connections, all alike. | http://slashdot.org/~prgrmr/ | dclm-gs1-102280001 | false | false | {
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0.77013 | <urn:uuid:959df568-dc02-42ec-8b8e-46877e59fced> | en | 0.886652 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
So, I'm developing a website that uses a custom font via the Google webfonts system. In Firefox and Chrome all the fonts look fine. But in Opera 11.62 running on Ubuntu 11.10, 15px Lato looks really weird: http://i.imgur.com/x2GgQ.png . The font appears to vary in weight part way through letters. I think that its just applying hinting way too much. Google webfonts is sending the file in .woff format, if that affects anything.
How can I either fix this or prevent Opera from applying the custom font?
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2 Answers
up vote 2 down vote accepted
Yes, your screenshot definitely indicates that the font's hinting is not perfect. You could try running Lato through the Font Squirrel Generator and see if you get better results. Autohinting routines are a bit hit or miss, though ours is getting better.
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That worked, thanks. – Jcubed Apr 6 '12 at 19:55
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Some thoughts:
1. Have you tried loading other .woff fonts? Do they look weird as well?
2. Try setting the font-weight in CSS to something and seeing if that fixes it.
3. Does it display weird on the Google Font Directory page?
Sadly, my Ubuntu 11.10 system went out of commission today, so I'm unable to test.
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1. The ones I tried didn't. 2. It looks odd at all the font weights I tried, although its less noticeable over 700. 3. Yes. – Jcubed Apr 6 '12 at 3:30
If it displays oddly on the Google page, it might not be easily fixable. Sorry I can't be of more help. – Evan Hahn Apr 6 '12 at 3:36
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| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10038686/css-font-looks-weird-in-opera?answertab=active | dclm-gs1-102310001 | false | false | {
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0.753011 | <urn:uuid:187e5250-da31-493e-97be-fb5ee05e9a03> | en | 0.863929 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I have a file input known as 'name=fileImage'. Now I have php code below where it checks to see if file exists in the folder (ImageFiles) or not:
if (file_exists("ImageFiles/" . $_FILES["fileImage"]["name"]))
My question is that if a file does exist in the folder, how can it be coded so that it still uploads the file but it gives it a different file name. Maybe something like automatically add a number at the end of the filename to give it a different file name?
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I would argue that uploaded files should generally be stored with names completely distinct from their original names. This way you prevent information disclosure (people changing links from "myfile.txt" to "test.txt", "secret.doc", etc. to see other people's files), don't have to worry about international characters in filenames, and avoid complications in case you need to copy the files to a different filesystem (e.g. copying to Windows for development will mess up if you have "test.txt" and "Test.txt" in the same folder). – DCoder Apr 14 '12 at 13:59
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2 Answers
up vote 6 down vote accepted
$_FILES is just a variable, that happens to be superglobal and pre-populated with file upload data. Meaning you can easily change it.
For example:
if( file_exists("ImageFiles/".$_FILES['fileImage']['name'])) {
$parts = explode(".",$_FILES['fileImage']['name']);
$ext = array_pop($parts);
$base = implode(".",$parts);
$n = 2;
while( file_exists("ImageFiles/".$base."_".$n.".".$ext)) $n++;
$_FILES['fileImage']['name'] = $base."_".$n.".".$ext;
// now use $_FILES['fileImage']['name'] just like you would normally
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If you want to rename the uploaded file to a name of your own choice, you can try
//Any file name user/uploader has chosen/used on his/her computer
$tmp_name = $_FILES["domainfile"]["tmp_name"];
//Name you want
$name = "MyDesiredName.png"; //save as MyDesiredName.png
//Move/save file
move_uploaded_file($tmp_name, $name);
Obviously this code will replace the old file everytime a new file gets uploaded.
To not to let this happen, you need to introduce some variable in the $name
and do $name++ and to find a way to store its value for future reference.
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| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10154106/how-to-upload-a-file-with-a-different-file-name | dclm-gs1-102320001 | false | false | {
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0.021544 | <urn:uuid:da4917b2-9da3-4d2a-b003-f64fc653d2c7> | en | 0.840788 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
How can I call the equivalent line in PHP for this MySql line:
mysql> source [path-of-file].sql
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This question seems fairly similar to yours... – optimusprime619 Apr 16 '12 at 12:18
This is non-trivial, because it involves parsing the queries with PHP. PHP is unable to execute more than one query at once. You might be able to $queries = explode(';', file_get_contents('[path-of-file].sql')); foreach ($queries as $query) mysql_query($query);, but if any of the queries contains a literal ; or changes the delimiter at any point in the file, this will not work. – DaveRandom Apr 16 '12 at 12:22
Don't pass the password on commandline, if you choose to go that road. Setup passwordless login instead, see here for more information. – Berry Langerak Apr 16 '12 at 12:25
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1 Answer
up vote 1 down vote accepted
SOURCE is not a native mySQL command, but one specific to the command line client.
In PHP you could try something like:
shell( "mysql --user=$user --password=$password $database < $file" );
share|improve this answer
Yeah, passing $password in a command is really what you should be doing ;) Rather create a ~/.my.cnf file including the password, and remove read-permissions for anyone but the user PHP is running as. That said; it's a viable (if not shaky) solution, so +1. – Berry Langerak Apr 16 '12 at 12:24
I am assuming its just a once off quick setup instead of a permanent solution :P – Brendan Scarvell Apr 16 '12 at 12:26
Although I understand this is probably a one-off solution, I'd still never recommend passing a password ;) – Berry Langerak Apr 16 '12 at 12:26
Thanks. There are two of us developing and therefore we will be running the source command multiple times. Yes will add the password to the my.cnf file. – Prakash Raman Apr 16 '12 at 13:02
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| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10173883/mysql-source-via-php | dclm-gs1-102330001 | false | false | {
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0.048236 | <urn:uuid:8f1e84bb-e872-4c54-84b0-6bfd4ca61a68> | en | 0.882404 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I need to know whether Codename One supports zxing. If not, Is there any other way to scan the QR code with Codename One? I need to use this on both android and iPhone. Is it possible with Codename One?
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up vote 3 down vote accepted
We intend to add support for that relatively soon. If you have specific requirements please open an issue/RFE, we tend to promote RFE's from community members faster.
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Thanks shai. I posted my requirement here. – bharath Apr 20 '12 at 6:53
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here is a working example how to use within via native calls.
there's also a class for scanning barcodes (javadoc). You could find a usage example here.
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| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10230041/is-it-possible-to-use-zxing-with-codename-one | dclm-gs1-102340001 | false | false | {
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0.044383 | <urn:uuid:cc4c0653-010d-4c89-bc29-995ef7b6339e> | en | 0.838979 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I try to connect 3 jquery ui sliders.
The sum of the 3 values must always stay at 100, so when a slider is moved the two others must moved.
I made something, it works but it is very slow: http://jsfiddle.net/vBsTR/2/
If you just connect one slider it works fine (try to move the first one): http://jsfiddle.net/tyjJx/2/
Can anyone help please? Thanks!
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It's very slow? There is infinite recursion so it doesn't even run ;o – Esailija Apr 22 '12 at 18:51
Put somewhere the 'PANIC' button into your Fiddle before posting ;) – Roko C. Buljan Apr 22 '12 at 18:52
I updated the second link, it works fine.. What is this PANIC button? – pol Apr 22 '12 at 18:59
It works quite decently for me if I just remove the slidechange event bindings. – ZeroOne Apr 22 '12 at 21:22
You're right! if we just drag & drop the handle it works fine! jsfiddle.net/vBsTR/3 But it doesn't work if you click on the slider's background.. – pol Apr 22 '12 at 21:47
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I was looking for an answer to this as well and ended up writing it from scratch
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You may check event.originalEvent before your refresh function:
event.originalEvent && (event.originalEvent.type == 'mousemove' || event.originalEvent.type == 'mouseup') && refreshSliders(1);
Use event.originalEvent to detect whether the value changed by mouse, keyboard, or programmatically.
This is your example in action
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Thank you! Now I understand why it didn't work.. Everything is OK now, but I can see one more problem, if you click on the slider's background to change the value sometimes the total is bigger than 100.. jsfiddle.net/tyjJx/7 – pol Apr 22 '12 at 22:32
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| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10270976/3-jquery-ui-slider-connected | dclm-gs1-102350001 | false | false | {
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0.803302 | <urn:uuid:517897c5-16e9-4cc7-82a6-b7929355ac47> | en | 0.926763 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I have a C# library which has System.Data.SQLite as a reference, and an executable (as a 2nd project) which uses the library.
In the library, I have a function which references a class in System.Data.SQLite (Specifically the SQLiteDataReader class):
public static IEnumerable<T> SQLiteFetch<T>(Func<SQLiteDataReader, T> formator, string connectionString, string query)
The library compiles properly, but not the executable which calls this function.
This comes up as an error on build, saying I "must add a reference to assembly 'System.Data.SQLite'". I get that it's due to the IEnumerable, but why isn't the reference forwarded through my library? Do I really have to add a reference to System.Data.SQLite in my executable as well?
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up vote 1 down vote accepted
Yes, you have to add a reference to your executable because when you are creating your formator, .NET expects it to be of type Func<SQLiteDataReader, T>. And since your executable doesn't have a reference to System.Data.SQLite, it doesn't know how to deal with your formator. This is the case even if you pass null as the formator.
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An assembly is only aware of its immediate references (such as your library), and does not recursively load the references of its references, so you will have to add the reference to your executable.
Your library can include a wrapper class that inherits from SQLiteDataReader to get around this, but I don't see any particular advantage of doing this other than if you really don't want the executable to have the extra reference.
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I'll give +1 since you are correct, but there are advantages to wrapping 3rd party libraries. If you are providing a library to be used by an application (especially external-facing), you don't want your users to care about the implementation details of your library. In this case, it is better to abstract the referenced library away and control their access to your system through a wrapper. I agree, this isn't always necessary, but there are definitive times when you want to do this. – Jordan Parmer Apr 24 '12 at 21:57
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| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10306087/reference-forwarding-in-visual-studio-2010-from-library-to-executable/10306297 | dclm-gs1-102360001 | false | false | {
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0.030149 | <urn:uuid:c91c4c02-d858-4402-9b91-b7c38aec5b48> | en | 0.862307 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
i'm wondering if spring loads an interface when declared as an @autowired attribute of an implementation class without having annotated the interface as a @component .
let me describe my problem a bit more : i have both an interface and its implementation class have the same name but they reside in different packages . i annotated the implementation as @Component("myImplementation") . but i end up having an exception that says :
i'm thinking of excluding interfaces from <context:component-scan , what do you think ?
PS : my interface isn't @Component annotated , the application runs just fine on developpement environement , i only get the error after Proguard obfuscation
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good question, try it by excluding component-scan by implementing e.g., and post result. – Nandkumar Tekale Apr 25 '12 at 15:20
you mean excluding the interfaces from the component-scan right ? – FrozenFlame Apr 25 '12 at 15:23
Can you describe your case in more details? Is there anything special in configuration of <context:component-scan>, etc? – axtavt Apr 25 '12 at 15:26
i am scanning all the packages , and it happens that my implementation class and it's interface have the same name , but in different packages. (i can't manage the naming part since i'm obfuscating my code) – FrozenFlame Apr 25 '12 at 15:32
@FrozenFlame : yes – Nandkumar Tekale Apr 25 '12 at 15:37
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Annotating your implementation with @Component and not annotating your interface is usually the right way to set things up. Spring's autowiring will look for a managed bean of a matching type, and your implementation will match for a field typed to the interface. If your interface is not annotated with @Component or any Spring stereotype annotation, it should not be loaded into the context during a component scan, so you should not have a problem if the interface and implementation have the same class name. Are you sure you've tried -not- annotating the interface? Are you sure you don't have some other class somewhere else in your project that also has the same name as the interface and its implementation?
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my interface isn't annotated with Component("myImpl") , only my implementation is . but still , i'm mysteriously told that the name is asigned to both the interface and the implementation . i'm thinking of using a autowired with Qualifier ("myImpl"). – FrozenFlame Apr 26 '12 at 9:11
Could you include the beginning lines of your interface and implementing? Specifically the package statement, the declaration lines, and any annotations on the classes (you can omit imports). Also, have you checked if you have another annotated class somewhere else in your project that has the same name as your implementation? Spring should only care about annotated classes, so if your interface really isn't annotated then it shouldn't be causing a problem. – sdouglass Apr 26 '12 at 15:36
the project runs just fine , i only get this error after obfuscation with proguard . now eventhough the implementation are in the same package and have different names , the same probleme occurs . ps : there's no other class using the same component name + my interface is clean from annotations . i wonder if it's something wrong with proguard . the debugging process is such a nightmare :( – FrozenFlame Apr 26 '12 at 16:18
Have you tried searching for info on how to use Proguard with Spring annotations and autowiring? A little bit of searching makes me think it's going to be nearly impossible to get things to work the way you want because of how Proguard treats annotations. stackoverflow.com/questions/8970505/… – sdouglass Apr 26 '12 at 20:15
this is realy a dead for me :D i can't seem to find a solution , and i'm not well positionned to influence myBoss on giving up obfuscation. – FrozenFlame Apr 27 '12 at 10:47
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Your proguard.conf should be contain:
## ... preserve class annontation (Java EE 1.6 DI)
# Spring3
#-keep @org.springframework.stereotype.Service class *
-keep @org.springframework.stereotype.Controller class *
#-keep @org.springframework.stereotype.Component class *
#-keep @org.springframework.stereotype.Repository class *
proguard forums has more detailed answers.
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Well I think moving interfaces in different package would work because you would create object reference of interface and respective implementation beans would be auto wired to those object references. But you should follow naming conventions. There would be problem when differentiating interfaces and implementation classes as names are same. Follow standards like
interface SomeInterface {
for implementation class of SomeInterface
class SomeInterfaceImpl implements SomeInterface {
// implementation....
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i agree on the naming conventions , but i'm obfuscating my code , so i can end up with interface's name = a and it's implementation = a (in different packages of course) – FrozenFlame Apr 25 '12 at 15:47
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0.105008 | <urn:uuid:e5d64c2c-8507-417b-9606-1ae5ab4f37aa> | en | 0.917676 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I am doing some reading about the Memory Management and they not recommend to use accessor methods in initializer method.
Question : why should not we use accessor methods in initilizer method
I was searching coupe of references about this issue on stackoverflow and other sites as well. However, I am not still confusing about it.
Can anybody advice me on this issue or if you can throw at me an example or a good reference so that I can go thru it by myself. Thanks
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Which material have you already read on the subject? Which bits confuse you? – Jim May 8 '12 at 19:42
Have you took a look at the link I embedded. Actually, my question is also the subject of a thread. I did an edit so you can see my questin now. – ttran May 8 '12 at 19:56
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closed as not constructive by casperOne May 10 '12 at 21:21
4 Answers
up vote 1 down vote accepted
Here's an example I wrote which demonstrates two things:
• how initialization can be reordered
• how leaks can be introduced
Initializing a property, dot notation
Although the example focuses on initialization, dealloc is susceptible to similar categories of problems. As one specific example: an object may partially resurrect itself in dealloc, and reference count imbalances become a potential danger.
Briefly, you want to focus on correct initialization and cleanup of the data your objects need -- rather than the behavioral concerns/influence of your objects through any subclasses.
More reading:
(iphone) why myInstance = nil instead of self.myInstance = nil?
Should I refer to self.property in the init method with ARC?
Best way to set a retained property to a newly created object
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That is a bit of a religious issue with developers on both sides and the arrival of ARC has further muddied the issue.
A couple of reasons are:
1. The object is not fully initialized and the accessor may depend on a fully initialized object.
2. The accessor may have side effects and again the object is not fully initialized. One common side effect is instantiating an iVar on first use.
These arguments can also apply to using accessors in dealloc (for non-ARC code).
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KVC observers monitor the getter and setter methods. Unless you are absolutely certain that no-one will ever observe your property, then you are asking for trouble. Have a defect where an observer is mucking around with a partially dealloc'ed object is very hard to reproduce and nearly impossible to test for.
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The main reason behind not using accessor methods in intiailiser methods and dealloc probably stems from Mac OS X development and is probably not so much of an issue on iOS. Mac OS X GUI development involves a useful thing called "bindings" which allows you to bind a control's property to a property of an object, so that when the user updates the control, the "binding" will automatically update the property, and if the program updates the property (via the accessor methods), the "binding" will automatically update the control.
A lot of binding stuff is done with Key-Value Observing (I think). Key-Value Observing is when an object observes changes to properties on other objects. Whenever you use an accessor method to change a property, any object that is observing your object will be notified so that it can take action on the new value of the property. Using accessor methods can trigger any Key-Value Observing notifications when you don't want them to occur, such as during initialisation and deallocation, because any observers of your object will be dealing with only a partially initialised or partially deallocated instance rather than a fully initialised instance.
There is also another main area of concern, and that is when your object is subclassed. When you use the accessor methods to set properties of your object, you will actually be invoking the accessor methods of your subclass (if it implements different accessor methods). This is less likely to be an issue because inheritance in Objective-C development is rare compared to say .NET.
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The main reason behind not using accessor methods in intiailiser methods and dealloc probably stems from Mac OS X development and is probably not so much of an issue on iOS… no. bindings add to the list of potential side effects. side effects (read: bugs) can exist without using bindings, observers, ui elements, and so on. here's the demo i wrote, which uses foundation types: stackoverflow.com/questions/5932677/… – justin May 8 '12 at 20:53
@Justin: I mentioned subclassing at the end of my answer. – dreamlax May 8 '12 at 21:06
yes. i saw that before commenting. – justin May 8 '12 at 21:22
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| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10505274/dont-use-accessor-methods-in-initializer-methods-and-dealloc?answertab=oldest | dclm-gs1-102380001 | false | false | {
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0.776434 | <urn:uuid:74cf365f-6c88-409f-9e08-d6decff4fe0b> | en | 0.892388 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I've learned a lot about JMX over the past couple of years and have built some pretty fancy MBeans for my web applications. However, I'm not sure I have a good answer to a pretty basic question:
Why use JMX over simple HTTP servlets?
My current web applications offer redundant monitoring options: I can access the data that needs to be monitored via JMX with a client like JConsole or I can access that same data in XML format via a servlet. I don't see a strong reason to use one method over another, but the servlet method does have the major advantage of being readable by a simple http client / web browser.
I can see how JMX would be quite useful for Java applications that aren't web apps, but I can't see any advantage to using JMX for a web app.
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2 Answers
up vote 2 down vote accepted
Why use JMX over simple HTTP servlets?
From my standpoint, JMX is better for 3 reasons:
1. It requires less code to enable monitoring points.
2. It deals with Java serialized objects end-to-end so there is better data consistency.
3. It works with programs that are not servlet based (as you mentioned).
JMX offers a much easier interface to specific data items. You can certainly write the same functionality in a number of servlets, but it is easier for me to expose those using JMX.
For example, if you are using Spring then you can use the org.springframework.jmx.export annotations (@ManagedResource, @ManagedAttribute, etc.) to mark up your classes. I've also published my SimpleJmx framework so you can easily expose attributes and operations with just a couple annotations independent of Spring. For example:
@JmxResource(domainName = "j256", objectName = "lookupCache")
public class LookupCache {
// this can also be done as @JmxAttributeMethod on the getter/setters
@JmxAttributeField(description = "Number of hits in the cache")
private int hitCount;
@JmxOperation(description = "Flush the cache")
public void flushCache() {
I have a fully working example program to see how it works. So all you need to do to expose a value or operation is add an annotation to the class and each attribute and/or method. The code to publish it using SimpleJmx looks like the following. Spring is similar albeit with beans:
// create a new server listening on port 8000
JmxServer jmxServer = new JmxServer(8000);
// register our lookupCache object defined above
To get similar functionality in servlets would take a lot more code than just annotations. That said, there may exist frameworks which provide similar functionality in servlet land that I don't know about.
Some more notes:
• There are probably better monitoring tools that grok HTTP/HTML but there are also a ton of distributed JMX monitoring applications. Probably a toss up.
• Being able to programmatically get objects from JMX servers is a plus as opposed to just strings from a servlet page. SimpleJmx also supports a simple JMX client although better ones exist out there.
• Obviously a lot of other worthwhile data is already published by the JVM by default: VM settings, thread details, memory information, etc..
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In addition to reading values, JMX can be used to invoke methods on Management Beans.
For example, we often use it to force a JVM garbage collection for Tomcat instances remotely.
Also because JMX is a different port that http/https you can limit access at the network level via firewalls. JMX has built-in username/password authentication as well.
A web servlet would have to implement it's own access control.
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0.521875 | <urn:uuid:fcd23695-2a1f-45ce-99fb-8f4752178fe1> | en | 0.890527 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I am looking at a crash log for my objective-c code.
It says -[MyClass _original_setMyVariable:]: unrecognized selector sent to instance
What I'm curious about is, where did the _original_ come from and what does it mean?
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Can you include the rest of the crash log? My guess would be KVO name mangling. – Josh Caswell May 22 '12 at 21:52
It's a dynamic method wrapper around your method or property. Basically the system creates special methods to keep track of stuff that is important to iOS, but invisible to you. – amattn May 22 '12 at 22:07
Yup -- that'd be a KVO wrapped method. – bbum May 22 '12 at 22:48
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Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question. | http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10710671/where-does-original-come-from-in-my-setter-method?answertab=oldest | dclm-gs1-102400001 | false | false | {
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0.039887 | <urn:uuid:93efc3b2-750d-4f0e-86b6-f927f73524ed> | en | 0.802326 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I am trying to get an ROI (Region of Interest) from a PGF image file using the libpgf libraries ( http://www.libpgf.org ), and then use that as a texture in opengl. I am able to get a full sized image just fine, but when I try to extract an ROI, I ends up being distorted in some way.
Also I am loading the full sized image and then replacing a portion of the image with the ROI in the right stop because this will be used later to view a video of some sort that contains frames of PGF files that plays on the inside of a cube for a 360 movie, I just have create the wrapper yet.
Is there some way for me to fix this problem?
Code of where I am getting the bitmap for the image either as an ROI or full sized image:
UINT8 * pgfreader::getImage(UINT32 height /*= 0*/, UINT32 width /*= 0*/){
if(height == 0) height = m_height;
if(width == 0) width = m_width;
//pitch = 3*width;
pitch = ((width * (int)bpp) + 7) / 8; //I have a feeling that it is
//a problem with my pitch calculation
//if(buff) delete[] buff;
UINT8 *buff = new UINT8[height*(pitch)];
try {
int map[] = {2,1,0};
pgf.GetBitmap(pitch, (UINT8 *)buff, 24,map);
} catch( IOException& e) {
std::cerr << "FAILED\n";
return 0;
} catch( const char * &s){
std::cerr << "FAILED--ERROR--: " << s <<std::endl;
return buff;
Here is where I am trying to extract the ROI:
std::cout<<"------RE-READING FILE\n";
int level = 0;
std::cout<<"------RE-GETTING IMAGE\n";
UINT8* buff = reader.getImage(150,150);
std::cout<<"------RE-GOT IMAGE\n";
glPixelStorei(GL_UNPACK_ALIGNMENT, 1);
glTexSubImage2D(GL_TEXTURE_2D, 0 , 0, 150, 150 , 150 , GL_RGB, GL_UNSIGNED_BYTE, buff);
delete[] buff;buff=0;
And here is where I am extracting the full image:
glPixelStorei(GL_UNPACK_ALIGNMENT, 1);
PGF::pgfreader reader;
const char * string = "./cube_map1.pgf";
std::cout<<"------OPENING FILE: " << string <<"\n";
std::cout<<"------READING FILE\n";
int level = 0;
std::cout<<"------GETTING IMAGE\n";
UINT8* buff = reader.getImage();
std::cout<<"------GOT IMAGE\n";
if(buff == 0) {std::cout<<"FAILURE at buffer\n"; return; }
glTexImage2D(GL_TEXTURE_2D,0,GL_RGB,reader.Width(level), reader.Height(level), 0,GL_RGB,GL_UNSIGNED_BYTE,buff);
std::cout<<"------DONE GETTING IMAGE\n";
delete[] buff;buff=0;
EDIT: Original Image size is 600x450. EDIT2: URL to image before on left after on the right: http://tinypic.com/r/dy17xv/6 EDIT3: The problem was in the PGF image library, thanks for every bodies help.
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"I ends up being distorted in some way" Please Elaborate? A before/after picture would be helpful. – Tim May 24 '12 at 17:46
The post has been edited for a before and after image of the ROI I am trying to get – btaidm May 24 '12 at 18:37
I don't know anything about libpgf, but maybe it has the same quirk as Windows bitmaps - replace the +7 in your pitch calculation with +31. – Mark Ransom May 24 '12 at 18:43
That made it worse... – btaidm May 24 '12 at 18:53
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Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question. | http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10740235/getting-a-roi-from-a-pgf-progressive-graphics-file | dclm-gs1-102410001 | false | false | {
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0.814321 | <urn:uuid:858e633b-242f-4f38-b7f3-cd8b50709e96> | en | 0.805986 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I have an SQL schema that I need to feed to SQLite in my Objective-C command-line app. I’d like the schema to be a part of the binary, so that I can distribute just one file. Unlike a regular Mac or iOS app, the binary has no resource bundle, so the traditional way of storing resources inside the app bundle is out. Is there an elegant way to include the schema in the source? I know I can simply store it as a multiline string in a header, but that sucks.
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Why don't you want to keep it in header? I can't think of any disadvantage of that solution. – Adam May 28 '12 at 18:06
I’d like to keep the schema in a separate .sql file for easy updates and debugging. – zoul May 29 '12 at 7:18
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3 Answers
extern NSString * someSchema;
NSString * someSchema = @"CREATE TABLE IF EXISTS blah...."
@"More SQL here"
@"more SQL here";
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What about creating an array of sql statements, and then you use an enum to access the statements.
Schema.h file:
static const NSString *sqlStatements[] = {
@"CREATE TABLE...",
@"SELECT * FROM ...",
... // Lots of other statements
@"DELETE ..."
typedef enum {
... // Matching enums
} SQLCommands;
Used in some other file:
NSString *stmt = sqlStatements[SQLCREATECommand];
The benefit of doing it this way is that the code becomes more maintainable.
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up vote 0 down vote accepted
One interesting solution I have come up with is extended attributes. It’s possible to add a Run Script phase to the Xcode build process that does something like:
xattr -w com.company.Schema "`cat SQL/schema.sql`" \
And then in runtime:
const size_t maxSchemaSize = 1000;
char schema[maxSchemaSize] = {0};
getxattr(argv[0], "com.company.Schema", schema, maxSchemaSize, 0, 0);
NSLog(@"%s", schema);
This way I can keep the schema in a separate file without mangling it into a header file. The obvious downside is that the extended attribute might not survive some file operations.
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0.035232 | <urn:uuid:711482c9-c2d3-443a-8ccf-cab1fdcd7bd0> | en | 0.821413 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
Is there are possibility to filter ForeignKeys field query in djano models? (by default django uses objects.all() i guess).
See the example bellow :
Server -> Conf -> sip_conf -> peer -> context
Server -> ext_conf -> context
The contextFK can be only in list of the context's_ID which contain in the ext_conf model for the same ServerFK for Conf and ext_conf;
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up vote 1 down vote accepted
It's it's a relative straight-forward limitation, you can use limit_choices_to.
Anything too complicated, you'll need to override the ModelForm:
class MyModelForm(forms.ModelForm):
self.fields['my_fk_field'].queryset = self.fields['my_fk_field'].queryset.filter(...)
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Filtering in ModelForm will protect only in UI. But what about code?django Console? I guess nothing. This would help, but not completely; – Andrewshkovskii Jun 1 '12 at 21:41
Like I said, you have limit_choices_to, which will work everywhere. If you can use that, you're golden. If it's not robust enough for your use case, then all you have is the form, so yeah, direct creation through the shell will not respect it. – Chris Pratt Jun 1 '12 at 21:43
Thank's for answering, Chris. I will try to filter throught limit_choises_to, and will post the solution if it will be found. – Andrewshkovskii Jun 1 '12 at 21:46
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| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10857636/filter-foreign-key-choises-in-django-models | dclm-gs1-102440001 | false | false | {
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0.024304 | <urn:uuid:c944043e-43a4-4a8f-8985-d68825041f7d> | en | 0.917067 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I'm using the Facebook C# SDK 6.0.20 to allow users using my app to log onto facebook. I'm using the display=touch parameter so that the fb login page renders for mobile devices with smaller screens. The problem is, fb keeps reading it as display=wap which is being deprecated. As a consequence, users are receiving an error message when logging on. Is there a solution to this other than forcing users to see the ugly full screen display on a mobile device screen?
Facebook has been unhelpful and unwilling to accept this as a bug but rather says it is a "feature by design", but everyone else seems to think it is a bug. (https://developers.facebook.com/bugs/355102764525510) Why would facebook try to discourage WP7 developers like this when they apparently have a good relationship with Microsoft, which provides them with map services for fb places?
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There is currently no resolution to this issue or further clarification as to why Facebook seem to be treating WP7 app this way. Discussin gwhy FB may have done this is not a good use of SO – Matt Lacey Jun 7 '12 at 9:32
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1 Answer
up vote 0 down vote accepted
Facebook display=touch for WP7 is now directing properly after recent facebook updates on July 5th. This should no longer be a problem.
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0.103983 | <urn:uuid:b2ec392c-cbe5-47b3-973d-2a2e437788f1> | en | 0.872116 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
Is there any existing solution to embed the app.config file into the resulting assembly? I know there's costura for embedding DLL's into the assembly (costura also provides a really nice VS plugin!)
Some equalient project for the app.config?
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Then it is no longer configuration... – Andrew Barber Jun 19 '12 at 8:12
It is! I want my WCF config in the file, but I also want no one to change the config. – GameScripting Jun 19 '12 at 10:03
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1 Answer
up vote 2 down vote accepted
Its not really config if you are not allowed to configure it. Why dont you set these things in code instead? That way only a dev can change them and there is no need for a config file?
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Cause I am lazy and I don't want to transform my complete WCF config with custom bindings etc. into code config. – GameScripting Jun 19 '12 at 10:29
lol, an honest admission there! There may be a way to get round this issue but the problem you are hitting is that the .net default behaviour is to have the .config file separate so it CAN be configured. Its like providing a UI to configure your system and then making all the fields read-only! – Penfold Jun 19 '12 at 10:39
But even the UI would be useful, cause you could see the default config, and that's exaclty what I want! – GameScripting Jun 19 '12 at 10:43
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| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11096883/embed-app-config-into-assembly?answertab=active | dclm-gs1-102460001 | false | false | {
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0.788466 | <urn:uuid:6a7f29fd-87c1-4643-aa57-3d5d0d30c7a0> | en | 0.724892 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I have over 100 tables. I need to access each of these tables depending on a username that is provide on a form. The username is the table name. I do not not want to create 100 of classes for each one representing a table. Is there a way i can do this?
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1 Answer
I use this code similar to this in my base mapper class:
protected $_tableGateway = NULL;
protected $_tableName = NULL;
public function __construct(Zend_Db_Table_Abstract $tableGateway = NULL, $tableName = NULL) {
//set the tablename in a concrete mapper, set it here in constructor or create mutator to setTableName.
if (!is_null($tableName)) {
$this->_tableName = $tableName;
if (is_null($tableGateway)) {
$this->_tableGateway = new Zend_Db_Table($this->_tableName);
} else {
$this->_tableGateway = $tableGateway;
Something like this should allow you to pass in an instance of Zend_Db_Table_Abstract (DbTable model) or a string that is the name of the table.
//controller code
$mapper = My_Mapper(NULL, $username);
$result = $mapper->fetchAll();
I don't think this is really finished, but should help show the way.
If you are not using mappers and just want to use DbTable Models you might try (this could be passed to a mapper that accepts Zend_Db_Table_Abstract):
class Application_Model_DbTable_Users extends Zend_Db_Table_Abstract
function __construct(array $config) {
and to use this in your controller/action:
* Supported params for $config are:
* - db = user-supplied instance of database connector,
* or key name of registry instance.
* - name = table name.
* - primary = string or array of primary key(s).
* - rowClass = row class name.
* - rowsetClass = rowset class name.
* - referenceMap = array structure to declare relationship
* to parent tables.
* - dependentTables = array of child tables.
* - metadataCache = cache for information from adapter describeTable().
$config = array('name'=> $username, 'primary' => 'id');
$model = new Application_Model_DbTable_Users($config);//This should setup your table
$result = $model->fetchAll(); //perform queries or execute methods defined in DbTable model
or you could just use Zend_Db_Table naked in your controller/action:
$db = new Zend_Db_Table($username);
$result = $db->fetchAll();
Good Luck...
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what do you mean by base mapper class? What would i have in the dbtable, in model, and mapper? – sharif Jun 25 '12 at 10:42
a class you can extend to make other mapper classes. – RockyFord Jun 26 '12 at 4:05
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| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11158797/zend-dynamically-create-classes-or-access-many-different-tables-using-a-single-c | dclm-gs1-102470001 | false | false | {
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0.272727 | <urn:uuid:aa1585e0-f97f-4903-9204-a51d637294e3> | en | 0.904962 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
SOLVED: needed to declare MP globally.
I have a MediaPlayer playing/looping a sound.
MediaPlayer mp = MediaPlayer.create(this, R.raw.v);
and it works fine until I suddenly get
D/dalvikvm(14090): GC_CONCURRENT freed 1841K, 51% free 4335K/8839K, external 10702K/12379K, paused 2ms+4ms
in logcat and MP dies. Any ideas what might have happened and how do I fix that?
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2 Answers
Add this line before mp.start()
Then set false when you want to stop it looping.
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Thanks. Just tried it. same result, dies with "GC_CONCURRENT freed..." – Roger Travis Jun 29 '12 at 16:41
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Got it! Just needed to declare MP globally and it works!
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You mean you've added it to a member variable or static variable. The reason it was released is because as a local variable, it came out of scope when your method has returned, i.e. you had no reference to it (no directed path existed to it from none of the GC roots, to be precise). Therefore, it was eligible for garbage collection, and its finalizer was run. The managed finalizer of MediaPlayer calls it native finalizer, which in turns releases the underlying native MediaPlayer/AudioTrack. This is why your sound playback died. – Thomas Calc Jun 29 '12 at 17:08
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| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11265590/gc-concurrent-freed-1841k-and-killed-my-mediaplayer | dclm-gs1-102480001 | false | false | {
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0.033994 | <urn:uuid:e67d404e-7f6f-4786-b451-4c3531eac778> | en | 0.827825 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
Is it possible to replace the splash screen for iOS and Android with a custom one?
As far as I know there are 2 splash screens in iOS PhoneGap:
• The "normal" iOS splash screen
• The PhoneGap splash screen (same image with a spinner)
Would it be possible to:
• replace the "normal" iOS splash on runtime as it is possible with normal xCode Projects
• replace the "spinner" splash screen (I couldn´t figure out if that´s the phonegap-plugins / iPhone / SplashScreen code or not)
It seems that the normal xCode ways of doing things get overwritten. I´m a bit confused by that as I´m new to PhoneGap.
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Regarding PhoneGap Android splash screen read: stackoverflow.com/questions/8156841/… – Simon MacDonald Jun 30 '12 at 21:55
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1 Answer
up vote 9 down vote accepted
yeah,you can do that.
1. make your custom image in 640×960px(name:Default@2x~iphone.png) and 320×480px(name:Default~iphone.png)
2. go to[Name Your Project]/Resources/splash
3. replace them..
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Thanks. Do you know if I can change the path to the image? For example to something like ../Documents/ that I can change at runtime? – thomasf1 Jul 2 '12 at 8:11
I never did that,so I don't know... – lucky520aki Jul 2 '12 at 11:58
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| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11274733/custom-phonegap-slash-screen | dclm-gs1-102490001 | false | false | {
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"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.795391 | <urn:uuid:7c2517f1-fa9f-482d-99c1-167c9146ce19> | en | 0.833516 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
Right now I have two regular expressions that does this:
Regex-1 = "(\\{(\\w+)\\})";
Regex-2 = "(\\{([^\\|]*)\\|([^\\|]*)\\|([^\\|]*)\\})";
I just want to be able to combine the two Regex into one, so that which ever Regex searches first will be the match.
Conceptually i'm thinking regex-1 || regex-2. Is that possible to combine them?
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Can you provide a couple examples of what it is you are trying to match? – JDB Jul 4 '12 at 1:48
rubular.com/r/YxzHacVbtd Regex-1 only matches if there's only 1 value in curly braces. Regex-2 matches for 3 values. – unwise guy Jul 4 '12 at 1:51
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1 Answer
up vote 1 down vote accepted
You mean like this?
Regex-1_2 = "(\\{(\\w+)\\})|(\\{([^\\|]*)\\|([^\\|]*)\\|([^\\|]*)\\})";
So, something like this?
Your last comment helps. So, work from beginning to end. You know you want to match an opening curly bracket, so that part is easy:
Now, after the first curly bracket, there are two options. Either there will be one or more alphanumeric (or underscore) characters, or there will be three groups of zero or more characters separated by pipes. The first two groups must be non-pipe characters, while the last group must be non-curly bracket characters (since a curly bracket will close the expression). That can be expressed using the alternation construct:
Finally, the expression ends with a curly bracket:
This works with the example you provided. If your rules are different or more specific, you will need to say so.
share|improve this answer
close, but not quite.. that works if Regex-1 matches first, but if Regex-1 matches after Regex-2, then it doesn't work. – unwise guy Jul 4 '12 at 1:38
rubular.com/r/YxzHacVbtd – unwise guy Jul 4 '12 at 1:42
@unwiseguy - updated my answer. – JDB Jul 4 '12 at 3:47
that was awesome. – unwise guy Jul 4 '12 at 5:04
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Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11321366/regular-expressions-in-c | dclm-gs1-102500001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.219051 | <urn:uuid:91ee2a70-ffba-47f5-a02c-c33f2b294586> | en | 0.927301 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
Is it possible to launch another app within an App in Windows Phone progamatically?
I see a Question already asked here on whether it is possible to launch a third party app installed in the phone within another App.
I see it is a old Question (during Windows Phone 7.0 times) and hoping whether version 7.5 introduced this functionality. I googled a lot but I am finding mostly the external features list and not a developer friendly features list for Mango.
Can anyone confirm that its still not possible ? If so, is there any feasible way or a work around ?
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3 Answers
up vote 1 down vote accepted
I confirm that it's not possible and no workaround is known.
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Launching third party apps is unfortunately not possible at this time, something I feel is a very good decision. As a user this could lead to very intrusive behaviour (developers could screw with my work flow), although I understand the benefits and positive uses of such a feature. Unfortunately for your scenario, you have to go in a different direction.
You CAN however, launch tasks - parts of the operating system like the browser, phone, messaging etc.
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Its currently not possible.
I guess it will be possible in windows phone 8. As Win8 has some inbuilt functions which help you to do that.
Otherwise if you want to open a file on the web using in-built apps like pdf viewer, just give the link to the webbrowser in a webbrosertask and it will do the rest.
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Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11507422/is-it-possible-to-launch-another-app-within-an-app-in-windows-phone | dclm-gs1-102530001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.032075 | <urn:uuid:f24ac990-0bfe-400f-9d06-2c2567b8ec04> | en | 0.672963 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I have listview which has 5000 items. I want to get item of listview at some position and do smth with it, I call getListView().getChildAt(1) method and it returns null.
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
cur = ItemDao.getItemsCursor();
column_names = new String[] { ItemDao.NAME, ItemDao.MEASUREUNIT, ItemDao.REM };
columns = new int[] { R.id.item_name, R.id.item_measureunit, R.id.item_rem };
scadap = new SimpleCursorAdapter(this, R.layout.list_items, cur, column_names, columns, 0);
ListView list = getListView();
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can you post your code so we better understand the issue? at first look seems you don't have values in your list. – cosmincalistru Aug 9 '12 at 7:25
@cosmincalistru added code, my list view has items, I checked – Vahan Aug 9 '12 at 7:28
Please see my updated answer. – Korhan Ozturk Aug 9 '12 at 7:51
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2 Answers
up vote 1 down vote accepted
The problem might be due to trying to retrieve list view's child item on onCreate() where any view-related methods will return null (or empty) because the list has not been rendered yet.
One solution could be to get your listview and set the adapters and listeners in onPostCreate() method.
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I write this in onPostCreate() and get the same result – Vahan Aug 9 '12 at 8:07
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Try to use OnItemClickListener() for getting selected item
listView.setOnItemClickListener(new OnItemClickListener() {
long arg3) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
String getSelectedItemOfList = yourList.get(pos); // here you can get selected item.
Hope this helps.
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What if I want to cheange item not on click, for example I want tochange it when some condition becomes true – Vahan Aug 9 '12 at 8:13
@Vahan You have to change/modify list or what? If it is so then you can use notifyDatasetChange() method for your adapter. – Akshay Aug 9 '12 at 8:29
modify element of list, for example list items has boolean property isnew and I qant to show the new ones with other color – Vahan Aug 10 '12 at 7:46
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Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11878537/why-getlistview-getchildat-method-returns-null-in-filled-listview | dclm-gs1-102560001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.201085 | <urn:uuid:820eda7a-a704-4a12-ada7-08f562113ed0> | en | 0.906854 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
After uploading a file with a name conflict with existing one, the server still responds with HTTP status code 201 Created. I had to parse the response body to know exactly whether it is really created or not. It sounds to me that I should be able to know the result of the operation just by the status code. So I am wondering if this is an intended behavior.
The following is the response I get
"message":"Item with the same name already exists",
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1 Answer
up vote 1 down vote accepted
We are in the process of changing this from a 200 to a 202. Later this week (or possibly tonight) we'll roll out a change to make upload statuses be 202's, to show that the upload request has been accepted. I'll post a bit more on our blog to explain more details.
The basic logic is that uploads can be sent in bulk, and the API call has to return you an array of upload statuses (stati?). If you only upload one file, you'll get an array of 1, and you'll have to dig into the array to see if you were successful or not. If you upload a group of files, then you'll be digging into the array to find out the status of each file.
You might ask: Why not collapse the status when there is only one file? Our thought there is that you'd have to implement 2 different code paths to deal with single vs bulk-upload, and it would be easier to just write the code once to handle uploads either way.
Hope that helps. Let us know if you see unexpected behavior after we flip the error code over from the 200 to the 202.
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That's a clear explanation. Thanks for clarifying. – Azu Aug 29 '12 at 2:31
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Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12155323/box-api-2-0-uploading-files-with-conflict-name-returns-200 | dclm-gs1-102600001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.151333 | <urn:uuid:d41ef1df-b727-4097-8e90-ef41401e60c7> | en | 0.932003 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I would like to read and write to some save files with a special format. The extent of my current capabilities, however, would be to compile the go source and then call it with Python and return JSON.
Is there a better way to communicate between GO! and Python?
share|improve this question
What is wrong with json? – Burhan Khalid Sep 11 '12 at 4:08
@BurhanKhalid, It would have to be parsed? I was just wondering if there was a better way. – mowwwalker Sep 11 '12 at 4:13
Python's json module will do all the work of writing and parsing json files, nothing to it. – alexis Sep 11 '12 at 13:38
any format you use will have to be parsed. Some parse faster than others but json is a perfectly respectable format for data interchange. – Jeremy Wall Sep 11 '12 at 22:13
JSON-RPC over UDS – tomwilde Sep 12 '12 at 7:46
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2 Answers
Go has a gob format for serializing data, but some mailing list discussion on golang-nuts suggests that it's not a good choice for communicating with other languages.
JSON would be a very respectable option, or you could try using protobufs which were also suggested in the discussion I linked to above.
EDIT: You could also try communicating with Thrift depending on your needs, but that's probably a less likely candidate for what you're doing.
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There is BSON, which you can think of as a binary version of JSON, with implementations for many languages including Go and Python.
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Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12362615/medium-of-communication-between-python-and-go | dclm-gs1-102630001 | false | false | {
"keywords": "candida"
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.091523 | <urn:uuid:b672aed9-94c1-4e79-944e-fd9b961f1a3a> | en | 0.763293 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I'm writing an app using JQM and Phonegap to deploy on iOS and I need it to read input arguments like a url arguments of a common website does in javascript by handling the object 'window.location.search'
In my situation, the app will be launched from a website, like this:
<a href="myapp://?arg1=1&arg2=2"> My App </a>
This is working right now, I can already call my app, what I need now is to read the arguments arg1, arg2, etc. I've tried reading window.location.search but with no luck.
How can I do this? Do I need to write some Objective C code?
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
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5 Answers
up vote 2 down vote accepted
My problem was solved using the content of this link: https://gist.github.com/859540
The code is:
Objective-c part:
In MainViewController.m:
// perform any custom startup stuff you need to ...
// process your launch options
NSArray *keyArray = [launchOptions allKeys];
if ([launchOptions objectForKey:[keyArray objectAtIndex:0]]!=nil)
// we store the string, so we can use it later, after the webView loads
NSURL *url = [launchOptions objectForKey:[keyArray objectAtIndex:0]];
self.invokeString = [url absoluteString];
NSLog(@amp;" launchOptions = %@",url); // if you want to see what is happening
// call super, because it is super important ( 99% of phonegap functionality starts here )
return [super application:application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:launchOptions];
- (void) webViewDidFinishLoad:(UIWebView*) theWebView
if (self.invokeString)
[theWebView stringByEvaluatingJavaScriptFromString:jsString];
// Black base color for background matches the native apps
theWebView.backgroundColor = [UIColor blackColor];
return [super webViewDidFinishLoad:theWebView];
In the index.html file using cordova-1.7.0:
function onDeviceReady()
alert returned: myapp://?arg1=1&arg2=2
just the same string used to call it ... :)
share|improve this answer
Actually it was easiest than I thought. My AppDelegate.m file was already prepared for this, I just needed to use the invokeString in the javascript code, obviously, this variable will be defined only when the app is called with a url, so it is necessary to check if it is defined: if (typeof invokeString != 'undefined') { //get parameters } – viniciusmelo Sep 16 '12 at 1:41
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I had the same issue, everything here in these answers is hella confusing and extra information.
Understanding and solving the problem in 2 easy steps:
1. Informative (you can skip if you don't care what happens in the background): Go to AppDelegate.m in Clases folder in the project and search for "handleOpenUrl", you should notice some code there with comments explaining what's up. I don't know objective-c, but intuitively that code there looks for window.handleOpenURL function and calls it giving it the parameter of the url called (e.g. 'myapp:///?parameter=value')
2. Basically all you have to do is globally(in window object) define the function handleOpenURL
function handleOpenURL (url) {
Note that this only gets executed when your app is opened with an
<a href="myapp://">..</a>
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thank you! bunch of crazy people down there... – Devin Smith Dec 1 '13 at 0:51
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window.location will be the location of your phonegap index.html file, not the URL that was used to launch your app.
Some web searches suggested that a function called:
function handleOpenUrl(url) {
alert("opened from url " + url);
.. might automatically be called . I don't have my dev machine here to test though, Sorry!
If this doesn't work in Objective-C check out the handleOpenUrl method of the AppDelegate.m This gets called when your app is opened with a URL Scheme.
share|improve this answer
Thank You, Ben. I'll check out those alternatives and post here the results. – viniciusmelo Sep 15 '12 at 2:17
Ben, I tried to use then handleOpenURL but with no luck too ... However, when I was googling about it, i found this: gist.github.com/859540 .. so I tried to get the url with params defining the didFinishLaunchingWithOptions and webViewDidFinishLoad objective-c methods and this time the variable invokeString was defined with the exact url I needed : "myapp://?arg1=1&arg2=2". – viniciusmelo Sep 16 '12 at 1:21
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you should do it in obj-c and then with a plugin pass it to javascript code : for doing it in obj-c first you should implement
NSURL *urlToParse = [launchOptions objectForKey:UIApplicationLaunchOptionsURLKey];
if (urlToParse) {
[self application:application handleOpenURL:urlToParse];
return YES;
and then you could access parameters like this :
if ([[url scheme] isEqualToString:@"myapp"]) {
//in here you do whatever you need the app to do
// e.g decode JSON string from base64 to plain text & parse JSON string
return YES; //if everything went well
share|improve this answer
Thanks, Ocelot. I did something very much like this. I found this: gist.github.com/859540 while trying to do the handleOpenURL be called in javascript(phonegap), and, I still can't do it, but I get the invokeString variable working like the example on the link, and that did the job.. :) – viniciusmelo Sep 16 '12 at 1:15
you are welcome – Ocelot Sep 16 '12 at 6:54
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function getParameterByName(name)
var regex = new RegExp(regexS);
var results = regex.exec(window.location.href);
if(results == null)
return "";
return results[1];
Call this function like var para1 = getParameterByName("para1");
on pageshow event in jquery mobile.
var para1 = getParameterByName("para1");
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Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12432004/how-to-pass-arguments-to-app-built-on-phonegap | dclm-gs1-102640001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.058821 | <urn:uuid:63f00657-344a-4911-9afd-624921c1c32b> | en | 0.792469 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I want to write a file-download page for customers to download files from my company servers.
And I don't want to expose the real file link to users, so I have two pages : filelist.php for offering a link to click and posting the file name as parameter to the other page, named download.php , accepting the request and transferring file stream to customers.
The key part of download.php is like this:
$fp = fopen($real_file_path,'r');
$file_size = $temp_res['ef_file_bytes'];
Header("Accept-Ranges: bytes");
Header("Accept-Length: ".$file_size);
Header("Content-Disposition: attachement;filename=".$file_name);
echo fread($fp,$file_size);
Now I use an onclick() function in filelist.php ,when the file link is clicked ,the function following is called:
function downloadfile( ef_name )
var url_str='download.php';
url_str = encodeURI(url_str);
url_str,{fnm:ef_name },
But I can only show the file's content in page rather than popping up a dialog-window to save it.
If I use to test , it works well.
The the 'data' in JS code above is exactly the whole content of the file I want to down load. I think the question is in the function I used in $.post(); Is there any function in javascript can open a new page with post parameter ?
I'm on windows , apache ,php,mysql.Thanks!
share|improve this question
You should consider looking for existing Q/A with the same topic. – ibtarek Sep 19 '12 at 11:03
@PradeepSanjaya, the OP wants it to be through POST method because that's how he receives data on the other side. Your links only show how to do it through GET. – SparK Sep 19 '12 at 14:04
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1 Answer
You can't use $.post but you can create a hidden form with method="POST" and submit it. Optionally a hidden iframe to use as target to recieve the result.
share|improve this answer
yeah , thanks, it does work when I use a form with 'POST' method.It will be much easier . So I counldn't find a way using JS code to send a post request and pop up a dialog window to save files ? I just feel strange -_-| – ChiangRay Sep 20 '12 at 0:59
you can use JS to form.submit()... unfortunately. To send a post and recieve binary data you would have to open a socket and assemble the request yourself, the $.ajax() method won't help you and neighter will the XMLHttpRequest object... – SparK Sep 20 '12 at 12:40
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Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12492952/how-can-i-use-post-function-in-javascript-to-visit-a-page-with-post-method-to | dclm-gs1-102650001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.954406 | <urn:uuid:cc978c67-c3e7-463a-87f1-8ae649cd9a02> | en | 0.746379 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I am building a simple calculator as a learning exercise and I have stumbled - I get the user input for the first number, but it fails to store the int for the second input - do I need to create objects? I assume this is an obvious problem...
//Simple calculator to work out the sum of two numbers (using addition)
#include <cstdlib>
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
cout << "Enter the first int: \n";
int input1 = std::cin.get();
cout << "Enter the second int: \n";
int input2 = std::cin.get();
cout << "The sum of these numbers is: " << input1 + input2;
cout << "\n";
return EXIT_SUCCESS;
share|improve this question
how do u input number ? – Krishna Sep 21 '12 at 9:42
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1 Answer
up vote 9 down vote accepted
cin.get() only retrieves one character of input. Why not use
int input1, input2;
cin >> input1;
cin >> input2;
Using std::cin this way (with operator>>) also takes care of any surplus newline or space characters a user entered.
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Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12527986/simple-calculator-in-c | dclm-gs1-102660001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.192155 | <urn:uuid:f196c8cf-1ead-47c2-b07d-eec154d34ed2> | en | 0.816317 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I am making a phonegap application with jquery. I am confused whether I should wrap my entire code inside JQuery's $(document).ready like
or inside the deviceready event of phonegap like
document.addEventListener("deviceready", function(){
I am currently using document.ready but I think I may encounter problems if I try to access some Phonegap API methods inside document.ready.
Which is the best event to wrap my code in, document.ready or deviceready?
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2 Answers
up vote 8 down vote accepted
You should use the deviceready event to avoid funny things happening.
The docs state: This is a very important event that every PhoneGap application should use.
PhoneGap consists of two code bases: native and JavaScript. While the native code is loading, a custom loading image is displayed. However, JavaScript is only loaded once the DOM loads. This means your web application could, potentially, call a PhoneGap JavaScript function before it is loaded.
The PhoneGap deviceready event fires once PhoneGap has fully loaded. After the device has fired, you can safely make calls to PhoneGap function.
Read the documentation here:http://docs.phonegap.com/en/1.0.0/phonegap_events_events.md.html
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A key point in the answer is this line from the documentation of the deviceready event.
What this means is that you won't 'miss' the event if you add a listener after the event has been fired.
So, first move all the initialization code to the onDeviceReady function. Then first handle the document.ready. Within the document.ready if you determine that you are running in a browser, just call the onDeviceReady function, otherwise add the deviceready listener. This way when you are in the onDeviceReady function you are sure that all the needed 'ready's have happened.
$(document).ready(function() {
// are we running in native app or in a browser?
window.isphone = false;
if(document.URL.indexOf("http://") === -1
&& document.URL.indexOf("https://") === -1) {
window.isphone = true;
if( window.isphone ) {
document.addEventListener("deviceready", onDeviceReady, false);
} else {
function onDeviceReady() {
// do everything here.
The isphone check works because in phonegap, the index.html is loaded using a file:/// url.
share|improve this answer
I like this solution as well. In my build I add a test for localhost if(document.URL.indexOf("http://") == -1 && document.URL.indexOf("localhost") != 7) so I can open index.html locally from the file system if I want to. – genkilabs Jul 9 '13 at 21:16
If your app could run in browser with https you should also check for "https" protocol so the "if" should be: if (document.URL.indexOf('http://') === -1 && document.URL.indexOf('https://') === -1) – bluesm Sep 17 '13 at 10:00
@bluesm done. thanks. – Kinjal Dixit Sep 18 '13 at 5:12
This answer helped me a lot. – MurifoX Jan 13 at 22:00
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Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12576062/jquery-document-ready-vs-phonegap-deviceready/12577431 | dclm-gs1-102670001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.381882 | <urn:uuid:bf5712fc-6e42-4034-be31-4a775367f9bc> | en | 0.901634 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I read that the ways to pass data to a Flex application are flashvars and URL fragments. However, it seems both are appropriate only for simple data. What if I want to pass some (dynamic) XML data to Flex? Which way is better for this case? Or is there another way altogether?
share|improve this question
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2 Answers
Just load your XML data from a server at runtime. For XML, I would use either a URLLoader or an HTTPService call.
share|improve this answer
The problem is that I have an HTML page which has the XML data, and it has to navigate to the HTML page containing the Flex application and pass it the XML, so I can't retrieve the data from a server. – user940016 Oct 3 '12 at 13:14
You realize all HTML pages must reside on a server? IT is part of the paradigm of the web. If you have an HTML page w/ XML on it; you can load that page using URLRequest / URLLoader and parse your XML data that way. – Reboog711 Oct 3 '12 at 13:34
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up vote 0 down vote accepted
I ended up using a GET response and passing it in the query string. I know it's ugly, but I didn't find any other way...
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Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12708045/pass-xml-to-a-flex-application | dclm-gs1-102680001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.023864 | <urn:uuid:f40ff7d5-4c14-4a20-9b0c-f9a469798449> | en | 0.889041 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I'm working on a project that entails photographing text (from any hard copy of text) and converting that text into a text file. Then I'd like to use that text file to do some different things, such as provide hyperlinks to news articles or allow the user to edit the document.
The tool I've tried so far is Java OCR from sourceforge.net, which works fine on the images provided in the package. But when I photograph my own text, it doesnt work at all. Is there some training process I should be implementing? If so, does anybody know how to implement it? Any help will go a long way. Thank you!
share|improve this question
Just came across this project. No idea if it's any good. sourceforge.net/projects/tcrneuroph – Stewart Dec 5 '12 at 16:24
Interesting. I've come a long way since this question, and ended up downloading VirtualBox and running GOCR on it. But the virtual machine has a world of problems on its own! Lord have mercy. – Agent Pants Dec 10 '12 at 0:51
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1 Answer
up vote 0 down vote accepted
I have a java application where I ended up deciding to use Tesseract OCR, and just call out to it using Runtime.exec(). Perhaps not quite the answer you need, but just in case you'd not considered it.
Edit + code added in response to comment reply
• On a Windows installation I think I was able to use an installer, or unzip a ready made binary.
• On a Linux server, I needed to compile Tesseract myself, but it's not too hard if you're used to that kind of thing (gcc); the only gotcha is that there's a dependency on Leptonica which also needs to be compiled.
// Tesseract can only handle .tif format, so we have to convert it
ImageIO.write( ImageIO.read( new java.io.File(file.getPath())), "tif", tmpFile[0]);
String[] tesseractCmd = new String[]{"tesseract", tmpFile[0].getAbsolutePath(), StringUtils.removeEnd(tmpFile[1].getAbsolutePath(), ".txt")};
final Process process = Runtime.getRuntime().exec(tesseractCmd);
try {
int exitValue = process.waitFor();
if(exitValue == 0) {
final String extractedText = SearchableTextExtractionUtils.extractPlainText(new FileReader(tmpFile[1]));
return extractedText;
throw new SearchableTextExtractionException(exitValue, Arrays.toString(tesseractCmd));
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
throw new SearchableTextExtractionException(e);
} finally {
share|improve this answer
Thanks for the input. Tesseract is proving to be extremely difficult to set up. Would you be able to enlighten me on how you set it up? Also, a resource on how to properly implement Runtime.exec() would be great. Thanks again for your help. – Agent Pants Nov 13 '12 at 18:40
Added code & comment as edit to post – Stewart Nov 17 '12 at 18:16
This looks great. I was able to get something working with the command line using runtime.exec, but tesseract still isn't installing. I think the reason why is because my Mac OS is outdated (version 10.5.8), and it doesn't have certain linux commands like "make" and "sudo apt-get". I can't download XCode to get those commands because its only available for 10.6 and later. I also can't install gcc because of that. Do you know of a simpler OCR engine that works on 10.5.8 by chance? Thanks again for your help. If you don't know of any, I'll try a different machine. – Agent Pants Nov 19 '12 at 13:23
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| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12731817/do-any-java-ocr-tools-convert-images-of-text-into-editable-text-files | dclm-gs1-102690001 | false | false | {
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0.53579 | <urn:uuid:f84b7764-2de1-44b8-9020-b0edc3d00196> | en | 0.837244 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I am trying to use a c++ dll in python but I cant even load it. I am trying the following python code to load it:
from ctypes import cdll
mydll = cdll.LoadLibrary('SORT_DLL.dll')
But when i try to run this i get:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "D:...\src\SORT_DLL\Debug\UseDll.py", line 2, in
mydll = cdll.LoadLibrary('SORT_DLL.dll')
File "C:\Python27\lib\ctypes__init__.py", line 443, in LoadLibrary
return self._dlltype(name)
File "C:\Python27\lib\ctypes__init__.py", line 365, in init
self._handle = _dlopen(self._name, mode)
WindowsError: [Error 193] %1 ist keine zulõssige Win32-Anwendung
The last sentence means "%1 is not a valid Win32 application" in english.
I already looked it up at http://docs.python.org/2/library/ctypes.html#module-ctypes , but this didnt lead to a solution for my problem.
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First, is it actually a cdll rather than a windll? Second, as the documentation says, you're not supposed to add the .dll suffix on Windows. – abarnert Nov 7 '12 at 7:47
Also, one good way to debug ctypes problems loading libraries is to break the steps up explicitly. First try to use the native Win32 LoadLibrary (if you've got PyWin32, that's the easiest way; if not, you can ctypes the system DLL, I think it's user32, or you can use the undocumented wrapper in _ctypes.LoadLibrary) and see if you can get a handle. Then you can try to create a CDLL instance by calling the constructor with the explicit handle and see what happens. If the first step works but the second fails, try some explicit GetProcAddress calls with the handle. – abarnert Nov 7 '12 at 7:55
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3 Answers
up vote 4 down vote accepted
Sounds like you have an incompatible version of Python installed or the DLL was compiled using the wrong settings. The DLL and the Python interpreter both have to be either 32 or 64 Bit.
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Thanks. Although i have compiled the DLL for 64bit and had the Python 64bit version installed, it didn't work. Now i have the 32bit version of Python installed and everything works great. – nimp0u Nov 7 '12 at 15:06
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Refer to this answer: http://stackoverflow.com/a/10163943/953887
"ctypes doesn't work with C++, which the [DLL] example is written in."
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this link is a complete example to creating and using .dll files via ctypes: Python | accessing dll using ctypes
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| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/13265046/could-not-load-c-dll-in-python | dclm-gs1-102750001 | false | false | {
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0.985668 | <urn:uuid:d7fbfbe1-230e-4bf2-819d-6f11642d9e41> | en | 0.707083 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I'm trying to update my datetime field in a table with the following PHP datetime:
$datetime = date('d/m/Y H:i:s');
Unfortunately the datetime field in the table is NULL
How can I update a datetime field with $datetime ?
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up vote 3 down vote accepted
right format is Y-m-d H:i:s anyway in your SQL query you can use NOW()
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You can also instead of now() use current_timestamp in mysql query. – pregmatch Nov 30 '12 at 20:58
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$datetime = date('Y-m-d H:i:s');
will work. DATETIME columns must be in a Y-m-d H:i:s format, not d-m-Y H:i:s.
From the manual:
The DATETIME type is used for values that contain both date and time parts. MySQL retrieves and displays DATETIME values in 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS' format.
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The correct format is Y-m-d H:i:s.
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| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/13652597/convert-php-datetime-string-to-mysql-datetime | dclm-gs1-102800001 | false | false | {
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0.609992 | <urn:uuid:86f85a02-e336-4f47-9fd3-4a8b7d0d61b1> | en | 0.895761 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I have a list that has dispaly:none but I want under certain conditions to make a child element of the list (li) visible. Is it somehow possible?
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you can clone the elements and append to another visible element, even a temporarily created one which can be simply destroyed later using remove(). This is pretty much how most tooltip plugins work – charlietfl Dec 2 '12 at 13:22
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up vote 8 down vote accepted
No. If your container is invisible then visibility of its children is irrelevant. So in your case you have to hide all li elements you want to be non-visible, but list as such have to be visible.
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| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/13669652/is-it-possible-to-make-children-of-dispaynone-element-to-be-visible/13669658 | dclm-gs1-102810001 | false | false | {
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0.650124 | <urn:uuid:d14b140c-ac69-4f01-83ff-74468a59da75> | en | 0.90205 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I would like to somehow limit what kind of inputs constructors are allowed to take in an inductive definition. Say I want to say define binary numbers as follows:
Inductive bin : Type :=
| O : bin
| D : bin -> bin
| S : bin -> bin.
The idea here is that D doubles up a nonzero number by adding a zero at the end and S takes a number with zero as the last digit and turns the last digit into a one. This means that the following are legal numbers:
S 0
D (S 0)
D (D (S 0))
while the following would not be:
S (S 0)
D 0
Is there a way to enforce such restrictions in an inductive definition in a clean way?
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2 Answers
up vote 6 down vote accepted
You could define what it means for a bin to be legal with a predicate, and then give a name to the subset of bins that obey that predicate. Then you write functions with Program Definition and Program Fixpoint instead of Definition and Fixpoint. For recursive functions you'll also need a measure to prove the arguments of your functions decrease in size since the functions are not structurally recursive anymore.
Require Import Coq.Program.Program.
Fixpoint Legal (b1 : bin) : Prop :=
match b1 with
| O => True
| D O => False
| D b2 => Legal b2
| S (S _) => False
| S b2 => Legal b2
Definition lbin : Type := {b1 : bin | Legal b1}.
Fixpoint to_un (b1 : bin) : nat :=
match b1 with
| O => 0
| D b2 => to_un b2 + to_un b2
| S b2 => Coq.Init.Datatypes.S (to_un b2)
Program Definition zer (b1 : lbin) := O.
Program Fixpoint succ (b1 : lbin) {measure (to_un b1)} : lbin :=
But this simply-typed approach would probably be easier.
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This seems more reasonable than the other answer. I was too lazy to write one. You could take a predicate as additional argument, but then writing numbers is annoying. You could just not care and canonicalize when needed. – Ptival Dec 24 '12 at 21:13
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This could be done with inductive-recursive definitions - but unfortunately Coq doesn't support those.
From an object-oriented programming perspective, O, D and S are subtypes of bin, and their constructor types are then definable without resorting to logical predicates, but Coq doesn't support object-oriented programming natively either.
However, Coq does have typeclasses. So what I might do is make bin a typeclass, and make each of the constructors a separate inductive type, each of which has an instance of the bin typeclass. I'm not sure what the method(s) of the typeclass would be though.
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| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/14008722/restricted-inductive-type-definitions-in-coq | dclm-gs1-102820001 | false | false | {
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