fasttext_score float32 0.02 1 | id stringlengths 47 47 | language stringclasses 1 value | language_score float32 0.65 1 | text stringlengths 49 665k | url stringlengths 13 2.09k | nemo_id stringlengths 18 18 | is_filter_target bool 1 class | word_filter bool 2 classes | word_filter_metadata dict | bert_filter bool 2 classes | bert_filter_metadata dict | combined_filter bool 2 classes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0.815262 | <urn:uuid:7adf2af5-0318-41a9-abc0-ed97b6b431df> | en | 0.908632 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I'm trying to detect how well an input vector fits a given cluster centre. I can find the best match quite easily (the centre with the minimum euclidean distance to the input vector is the best), however, I now need to work how good a match that is.
To do this I need to find the spread (standard deviation?) of the vectors which build up the centroid, then see if the distance from my input vector to the centre is less than the spread. If it's more than the spread than I should be able to say that I have no clusters to fit it (given that the best doesn't fit the input vector well).
I'm not sure how to find the spread per cluster. I have all the centre vectors, and all the training vectors are labelled with their closest cluster, I just can't quite fathom exactly what I need to do to get the spread.
I hope that's clear? If not I'll try to reword it! TIA Ian
share|improve this question
add comment
2 Answers
up vote 3 down vote accepted
Use the distance function and calculate the distance from your center point to each labeled point, then figure out the mean of those distances. That should give you the standard deviation.
share|improve this answer
add comment
If you switch to using a different algorithm, such as Mixture of Gaussians, you get the spread (e.g., std. deviation) as part of the model (clustering result).
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2320595/finding-the-spread-of-each-cluster-from-kmeans?answertab=active | dclm-gs1-117340001 | false | false | {
"keywords": "vector"
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.824392 | <urn:uuid:5b5c3b64-b121-4766-aa63-f3bc4430e575> | en | 0.778543 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I'm trying to check if a form input has any value (doesn't matter what the value is) so that I can append the value to the action URL on submit if it does exist. I need to add the name of the param before adding the value, and just leaving a blank param name like "P=" without any value messes up the page.
Here's my code:
function getParam() {
// reset url in case there were any previous params inputted
document.form.action = 'http://www.domain.com'
if (document.getElementById('p').value == 1) {
document.form.action += 'P=' + document.getElementById('p').value;
if (document.getElementbyId('q').value == 1) {
document.form.action += 'Q=' + document.getElementById('q').value;
and the form:
<form name="form" id="form" method="post" action="">
<input type="text" id="p" value="">
<input type="text" id="q" value="">
<input type="submit" value="Update" onClick="getParam();">
I thought setting value == 1 would do a simple exists, doesn't exist check regardless of what the submitted value was, but I guess I'm wrong.
Also, I'm using if statements, but I believe that's bad code, since I don't have an else. Perhaps, using a switch statement, though I'm not sure how I would set that up. Perhaps:
switch(value) {
case document.getElementById('p').value == 1 :
case document.getElementById('q').value == 1 :
document.form.action += 'Q=' + document.getElementById('q').value; break;
share|improve this question
You won't be submitting anything if your input fields do not have names. – kennebec Apr 6 '10 at 20:59
true, but in this case the form is only there to update the url and since I'm grabbing the values of those inputs by id, it's not really necessary. – Choy Apr 6 '10 at 21:07
You do realize you can change your method to GET, and the values will be appended to the querystring? You should be able to handle empty values server-side without problems; what do you mean messes up the page? – RedFilter Apr 6 '10 at 21:12
Do it RESTfully stackoverflow.com/questions/671118/…. – N 1.1 Apr 6 '10 at 21:16
add comment
1 Answer
up vote 7 down vote accepted
var val = document.getElementById('p').value;
if (/^\s*$/.test(val)){
//value is either empty or contains whitespace characters
//do not append the value
//code for appending the value to url
P.S.: Its better than checking against value.length because ' '.length = 3.
share|improve this answer
This seems to work opposite. When I leave the field blank it appends P= with no value (since it's blank) and when I type something in, it doesn't append anything. – Choy Apr 6 '10 at 21:18
:) you are supposed to append when if clause evaluates to false – N 1.1 Apr 6 '10 at 21:22
Why not just invert the if, since one branch will be empty?, e.g. if (!/^\s*$/.test(val)) { //... – CMS Apr 6 '10 at 21:30
ahh, lol. I misunderstood what you were testing for. I thought you were testing for any character (which is basically what CMS is saying) vs empty or whitespace characters (which you clearly stated, doh!). thanks a lot. And just as a follow up question, is it bad practice to have if statements with no else? – Choy Apr 6 '10 at 21:31
@CMS: The above code is just for explaining purpose. :) – N 1.1 Apr 6 '10 at 21:35
show 1 more comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2588229/how-to-check-if-form-input-has-value | dclm-gs1-117350001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.957437 | <urn:uuid:196188cd-e933-474d-8aad-9f70006d2f9f> | en | 0.751809 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
i am trying to write a query using eSQL where in my entity has got navigation properties. i am not able to include these navigation properties in the query. Like in Linq to SQL we have this .Include method, how will it be possible in eSQL?
share|improve this question
add comment
1 Answer
Like so:
string esql = "Select value e from EFEntities.MyDataEntity as e";
ObjectQuery<Data.MyDataEntity> query = c.
List<Data.MyDataEntity> entities = query.ToList();
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2728092/how-should-i-use-navigation-properties-while-writing-a-query-using-esql?answertab=votes | dclm-gs1-117360001 | false | false | {
"keywords": "ct value"
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.12962 | <urn:uuid:53eaa072-e873-45eb-80a2-b1372653daf3> | en | 0.785253 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I need to get the current plugin directory like [wordpress_install_dir]/wp-content/plugins/plugin_name
(if getcwd() called from the plugin, it returns [wordpress_install_dir], the root of installation)
thanks for help
share|improve this question
add comment
6 Answers
up vote 22 down vote accepted
Looking at your own answer @Bog, I think you want;
$plugin_dir_path = dirname(__FILE__);
share|improve this answer
In PHP 5.3 you can use the new constant __DIR__, which achieves the same thing. – dave1010 Jun 9 '11 at 9:31
You're almost there. Heck, you've even named the variable the same as the built-in WordPress function that does what you want. Future-proof your code by using the recommended WordPress function to do what you want. See my answer. – Tom Auger Apr 3 '12 at 14:35
@TomAuger plugin_dir_path( $file ) is merely a wrapper for trailingslashit( dirname( $file ) ) - I would argue it's no more "future proof" than mine; the only difference is a trailing slash. – TheDeadMedic Apr 4 '12 at 10:39
No, it is more future proof because if the core team for some reason decides to change the architecture or the mechanic, they will modify the plugin_dir_path() function to reflect this change, whereas the direct call to dirname( $file ) would then be stranded. If a function in core exists, use it, even if it just appears to be a meaningless wrapper. – Tom Auger Apr 4 '12 at 14:56
Don't get me wrong, I understand it's the "correct" WordPress way. But let's be clear; the function's sole intent is to return the absolute trailing-slashed path to the directory of a given file. Even if it was modified, or the WP filesystem changed, it would still need to return the equivalent of dirname( __FILE__ ) . '/'. Anything else would compromise the functionality of any plugin using it. – TheDeadMedic Apr 5 '12 at 12:51
show 1 more comment
Why not use the WordPress core function that's designed specifically for that purpose?
<?php plugin_dir_path( __FILE__ ); ?>
See Codex documentation here.
You also have
<?php plugin_dir_url( $file ); ?>
if what you're looking for is a URI as opposed to a server path.
See Codex documentation here.
IMO it's always best to use the highest-level method that's available in core, and this is it. It makes your code more future proof.
share|improve this answer
Further, if you're trying to get at a resource in a location that's relative to that plugin's directory, use plugins_url( 'images/image_inside_plugin_folder.png' , __FILE__ ) – Tom Auger Oct 31 '11 at 16:04
This is the correct answer.WP_PLUGIN_URL will not work if plugin is being used as a MU (must use) plugin, while plugin_dir_path() and plugin_dir_url() will. – Andy Dec 29 '11 at 4:59
Thanks for passing on the codex doc. I found FILE did the trick for me. – Ian Jun 17 '12 at 8:13
add comment
This will actually get the result you want:
<?php plugin_dir_url(__FILE__); ?>
share|improve this answer
This returns a URL not a server path name. Although handy in some cases, not really an answer to the question. – Luke Mar 9 '13 at 1:48
add comment
To get the plugin directory you can use the Wordpress function plugin_basename($file). So you would use is as follows to extract the folder and filename of the plugin:
$plugin_directory = plugin_basename(__FILE__);
You can combine this with the URL or the server path of the plugin directory. Therefor you can use the constants WP_PLUGIN_URL to get the plugin directory url or WP_PLUGIN_DIR to get the server path. But as Mark Jaquith mentioned in a comment below this only works if the plugins resides in the Wordpress plugin directory.
Read more about it in the Wordpress codex.
share|improve this answer
this is not the answer – bog Jul 1 '10 at 15:56
Don't use WP_PLUGIN_URL or WP_PLUGIN_DIR — plugins might not be in the plugins directory. – Mark Jaquith Aug 20 '11 at 4:31
Thanks, I added it to my answer. – stefanglase Aug 20 '11 at 10:20
add comment
• WP_PLUGIN_URL – the url of the plugins directory
• WP_PLUGIN_DIR – the server path to the plugins directory
This link may help: http://codex.wordpress.org/Determining_Plugin_and_Content_Directories.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Try this:
function PluginUrl() {
//Try to use WP API if possible, introduced in WP 2.6
if (function_exists('plugins_url')) return trailingslashit(plugins_url(basename(dirname(__FILE__))));
//Try to find manually... can't work if wp-content was renamed or is redirected
$path = dirname(__FILE__);
$path = str_replace("\\","/",$path);
$path = trailingslashit(get_bloginfo('wpurl')) . trailingslashit(substr($path,strpos($path,"wp-content/")));
return $path;
echo PluginUrl(); will return the current plugin url.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3128873/how-to-get-the-current-plugin-directory-in-wordpress/3131097 | dclm-gs1-117370001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.887863 | <urn:uuid:614a31fd-161b-4acf-a1c7-e5a2dfaa90b6> | en | 0.897027 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
There are a lot of different classes that can be used in various ways to read/write to files in Android. For example, you can make use of java.nio.ByteBuffer, FileOutputStream and BufferedOutputStream. Are there any general guidelines for what to use to read/write quickly to the SD card? For example, BufferedOutputStream seems as if it should make things faster but I'm unsure the buffer size should be set for.
Specifically, I want to read/write byte arrays that are ~1Mb in size as quickly as I can.
share|improve this question
Why not write a benchmark and then share the results? – yanchenko Jul 18 '10 at 1:35
add comment
1 Answer
up vote 1 down vote accepted
This document benchmarks different ways to read files quickly in Java on a PC (the 'Conclusions' section is definitely worth a read). You might find it useful as guidance, but you should really just try different approaches and see what works quickest for you.
share|improve this answer
Excellent, thanks. – BitShifter Jul 18 '10 at 12:15
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3273865/fastest-method-to-read-write-to-sd-card-in-android | dclm-gs1-117390001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.050581 | <urn:uuid:c3f8f416-a68b-4266-8129-b55d55de355e> | en | 0.921049 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I have downloaded June bits of Pex and June bits of SlimDX SDK. Installed them on my RTM VS2010 Premium. Pex explorations do not work. Reverting to Feb 2010 bits of SlimDX seem to cure the problem.
I've asked the same question on Microsoft Forums and SlimDX forums, and neither party wants to own this. How can I even begin to troubleshoot this?
share|improve this question
You should file a bug on the SlimDX bug tracker; I don't recall seeing your GDNet thread until now and I only found this via a random Google Alert. However, I should warn you this doesn't sound like anything that's at all related to SlimDX. The only things I can think of offhand are that (a) C++/CLI assemblies in the GAC render PEX unusable for some reason and (b) the SlimDX installer installs some other file that's otherwise incompatible with PEX (mainly we install the DX redists and the C++ runtimes). Can you get any kind of debug log out of PEX? – Josh Petrie Jul 26 '10 at 23:44
Would it be fair to say that VC10 Runtime stays when you uninstall SlimDX? – GregC Jul 30 '10 at 18:21
Turning on Diagnostic messages in Pex does not do anything more than the default settings in this case. They haven't published symbols for Pex either. – GregC Jul 30 '10 at 20:39
show 1 more comment
1 Answer
up vote 0 down vote accepted
Peli has answered this question on the Pex forum. It worked for me. See the link above.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3338671/compatibility-issue-between-vs2010-pex-and-slimdx?answertab=active | dclm-gs1-117400001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.611801 | <urn:uuid:3b7f5fc6-3490-479e-a9b5-348c85a35080> | en | 0.784277 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
What is the best way to accomplish this?
share|improve this question
if you ever need to find a function to do something with an array go here: php.net/manual/en/function.array.php and look through the functions. – Galen Sep 15 '10 at 17:27
rather than coming over to SO !? – Hrishikesh Choudhari Jul 27 '11 at 6:57
add comment
3 Answers
up vote 63 down vote accepted
Use array_slice()
This is an example from the PHP manual: array_slice
$output = array_slice($input, 0, 3); // returns "a", "b", and "c"
There is only a small issue
If the array indices are meaningful to you, remember that array_slice will reset and reorder the numeric array indices. You need the preserve_keys flag set to trueto avoid this. (4th parameter, available since 5.0.2)
share|improve this answer
Wow, 3 year edit :) Nice job. – webnoob Jan 27 at 22:05
add comment
You can use array_slice as:
$sliced_array = array_slice($array,0,$N);
share|improve this answer
add comment
In the current order? I'd say array_slice(). Since it's a built in function it will be faster than looping through the array while keeping track of an incrementing index until N.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3720096/php-get-the-first-n-elements-of-an-array | dclm-gs1-117410001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.142351 | <urn:uuid:04195b44-3119-4c03-9651-5e21bdbdad2b> | en | 0.919514 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I'm looking for documentation on the file format of Palm Desktop's "datebook.dat" file for versions of Palm Desktop >= 4.1.
Note that http://www.notsofaqs.com/datebook_dat.php documents part of the <4.1 datebook format, but I'm looking for the current "Calendar" format used by the current version of Palm Desktop.
There exist Perl and PHP scripts that attempt to reverse-engineer portions of the format, but a complete spec would be most helpful.
I could not find anything on the Palm Developer Web site.
The only additional clues I have are
1. The first four bytes of the file are "0xCAFEBABE" just like in Java class files and Mach-O files (?!)
2. A forum post in a user group mentioned that Palm was using some kind of "MS Serialization" technique and linked to a defunct post on a previous incarnation of the Palm Developer Network
Any help would be greatly appreciated! For example, if anyone knows of a Microsoftish serialization format that uses the "0xCAFEBABE" magic number, this might help my sleuthing.
share|improve this question
add comment
6 Answers
Palm Desktop 6 ("Palm Desktop by ACCESS") stores files in MS Access format. Prior versions of Palm Desktop (e.g. 4.x and earlier) store files in a proprietary format, as other has mentioned. If you use your Palm Desktop to save your calendar in Datebook Archive format (as opposed to Calendar Archive format, which confusingly also uses a DBA extension), it will be in a format that is documented fully here: http://www.notsofaqs.com/palmrecs.php.
I know these docs are complete because I used them to write Palm2CSV, a Palm to CSV/iCal converter that works with both Palm 4 and Palm 6 files. (It handles Palm 6 files by first running them through MDBTools, then parsing the CSV output.)
share|improve this answer
add comment
I don't want to frustrate you, but it's almost impossible. I have a palm for 5 years and spent hours and hours to sync my palm with any open platform.
It still does not work properly. The only working solution is sync with Outlook.
There's no official documentation about Palm's file formats. In my opinion, they are not interested in open delevopment and Palm Inc. has more important problem than their file formats.
I gave up. It's a pity, but there was no option.
share|improve this answer
add comment
The format, IIRC, is the serialization format used by the Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC). It's highly dependent on the actual implementation of the C++ objects that are being saved to disc. Since MFC source code comes with Visual Studio, you might be able to look at that to figure out what is happening.
However, with the update to the 4.1 Desktop application, the binary format did change to handle the new fields that were added. I'm not privy to those changes or if the code used the same method that the original desktop did.
share|improve this answer
This is hard to believe. Why on earth would Pam use MFC serialization format? Isn't the file format shared between the desktop and the Palm? – jdigital Jan 13 '09 at 1:07
I believe that the data on the Palm itself is stored in the PDB format which actually is documented. That's only useful if you're writing a Palm app, though. The Calendar Hotsync conduit does the data conversion to the PC format, correct? – David Citron Jan 14 '09 at 20:29
Right, the MFC format is used only on the desktop side. Since HotSync ran as a record-level wire protocol between the device and the desktop app, there was no need for the storage formats to be the same for the two applications. – Ben Combee Oct 16 '09 at 20:23
add comment
Another place to look would be the jpilot project. It's a linux PIM which creates palm databases which can then be sync'ed directly to the palm.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Look here, there is a very good reader on perl on which you can see the format.
share|improve this answer
I have already linked to that Perl script in my question. Unfortunately, it's not a complete answer--that Perl script only reads some of the fields in the datebook.dat file (see the NOTE near the top of the script). – David Citron Dec 9 '09 at 14:16
add comment
Was just searching for the same thing and stumbled across this discussion. The best I've found so far is dbapipe which can read and write dba files (using its own text format as an intermediate representation). The program handles the 4.1.4 and earlier formats. This doesn't constitute documentation, of course, but a working program is a good start. The program is written in C and the download includes a precompiled version for Windows.
Note that dbapipe fails if it hits a calendar entry with a location.
One other resource I've located is a Palm datebook manipulation module that is part of the Gabbie natural language command system. Its palm.c file has some documentation.
It's a pity Palm didn't provide official documentation for their file formats. I wonder if part of this is embarrassment about the kludgey design.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/419441/need-palm-desktop-datebook-dat-file-format | dclm-gs1-117460001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.245491 | <urn:uuid:55273670-7f58-41af-88af-7b4b66b5da7d> | en | 0.795473 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I got the following crash-report:
OS Version: iPhone OS 4.2.1
Report Version: 104
Exception Type: SIGSEGV
Exception Codes: SEGV_ACCERR at 0x12803ea4
Crashed Thread: 0
Thread 0 Crashed:
0 libobjc.A.dylib 0x0000930a realizeClass(class_t*) + 18
1 libobjc.A.dylib 0x0000935d realizeClass(class_t*) + 101
2 libobjc.A.dylib 0x0000953f prepareForMethodLookup + 51
3 libobjc.A.dylib 0x00005f39 lookUpMethod + 41
4 libobjc.A.dylib 0x00003781 _class_lookupMethodAndLoadCache + 13
5 libobjc.A.dylib 0x000034b7 objc_msgSend_uncached + 27
6 Oculus 0x0001449f -[TestSingleView downLightingEnded] (TestSingleView.m:52)
In the following method:
- (void) downLightingEnded {
[currentTestItem removeFromSuperview];
currentTestItem = nil;
CGRect frame = CGRectMake(0, 0, [myTestData heightOfRow:newI], [myTestData heightOfRow:newI]); //line 52
currentTestItem = [[TestItemView alloc] initWithFrame:frame AndEyeTestItem:[myTestData signAtRow:newI Column:newJ]];
currentTestItem.alpha = 0.0;
[self addSubview:currentTestItem];
currentTestItem.center = self.center;
[UIView beginAnimations:nil context:nil];
currentTestItem.alpha = 1.0;
[UIView commitAnimations];
[currentTestItem release];
Of course "currentTestItem" could be nil when the method is startet, yet sending a message to nil isn't a problem, so thats not the reason for the crash.
Any ideas in which direction I'd have to search?
I didn't know where to search for the bug, because this is a report send by a customer, and I'm not yet able to recreate it.
share|improve this question
Which line is number 52? – Migol Dec 8 '10 at 15:09
Good point, the problem seems to lie with "myTestData". I was very fixed on "currentTestItem" up to now, thank you. Unfortunately I can't create any crash by clicking around there, so I'm still stuck. – Bersaelor Dec 8 '10 at 16:02
6 Oculus... Is that what I think it is? – Jason Sperske Mar 15 '13 at 20:39
add comment
1 Answer
Could currentTestItem be non-nil, but pointing to a released object?
Check by enabling Zombies (Tip #1):
Edit (based on comment to question by OP): myTestData could be a zombie -- check by enabling zombies. Basically, it tells Objective-C to not deallocate objects that have a retain count of 0. Instead, it will mark them as a Zombie. If you send any message to a Zombie it will let you know.
share|improve this answer
Since he is assigning nil to it, I don't think this is it. – Benjamin Egelund-Müller Dec 8 '10 at 15:13
He first sends the old instance a release message before assigning nil to it. – Eiko Dec 8 '10 at 15:32
What Lou said in his edit; until we see more code, the assumption that myTestData has been over-released is a good one. (I edited the answer to not mention retainCount; an object can never have a retainCount of zero...) – bbum Dec 8 '10 at 16:52
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4388974/any-clue-about-sigsegv-crash | dclm-gs1-117470001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.866195 | <urn:uuid:e571023d-4858-49cc-b189-97a6c7eb6cc5> | en | 0.815883 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I have the following code:
Object.defineProperty(LineSegment.prototype,'hasPoint',{ value:
function (point) {
if (typeof point != 'object' || !(point instanceof Point)) {
throw new TypeError('LineSegment.prototype.hasPoint requires a point value.'); }
var m = (this.y1 - this.y2) / (this.x1 - this.x2);
return (this.y1 - point.y) / (this.x1 - point.x) == m; }
It works fine for lines, but not line segments. How would I check if the point is out of bounds, and apply it to JavaScript?
share|improve this question
add comment
1 Answer
up vote 1 down vote accepted
The easiest and fastest answer can only be used if x1 < x2. In that case, the following return statement:
return (this.y1 - point.y) / (this.x1 - point.x) == m && point.x >= this.x1 && point.x <= this.x2;
The first part checks if the point is on the line, the two next conditions check if the x coordinate is between x1 and x2 (inclusive).
Note: if x2 < x1, you can simply add a condition in the constructor to swap the two points. You could also change the point in the form p+q*v (where p is the first point of the line, q the second and v a scalar value, this is only possible if the point is on the line). If v is between 0 and 1 (inclusive), the point is on the line segment.
EDIT: Just a warning, your method won't be very reliable, because of the way computers handle doubles. See the wikipedia page for some examples: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_precision
share|improve this answer
Thanks, I ended up using: return ((this.y1 - point.y) / (this.x1 - point.x) == m && ( point.x >= this.x1 && point.x <= this.x2 || point.x <= this.x1 && point.x >= this.x2)) || (this.y1 == point.y && this.x == point.x);, I'll look into something to deal with the float issue later, probably a 9e6 type solution. – Not a Name Feb 2 '11 at 2:18
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4866325/how-to-deal-with-line-segments-in-javascript-checking-a-point | dclm-gs1-117500001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.993291 | <urn:uuid:d88d3f60-8f08-4823-b86a-d6f1c76a243e> | en | 0.794029 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
Simple question: where do the tableView and section arguments get passed from? The actual code in the method return [self.listData count]; doesn't even mention them.
Here's my interface code:
@interface Simple_TableViewController : UIViewController
<UITableViewDelegate, UITableViewDataSource>
NSArray *listData;
@property (nonatomic, retain) NSArray *listData;
And this is all the implementation code:
#import "Simple_TableViewController.h"
@implementation Simple_TableViewController
@synthesize listData;
- (void)viewDidLoad {
NSArray *array = [[NSArray alloc] initWithObjects:@"Sleepy", @"Sneezy",
@"Bashful", @"Happy", @"Doc", @"Grumpy", @"Dopey", @"Thorin",
@"Dorin", @"Nori", @"Ori", @"Balin", @"Dwalin", @"Fili", @"Kili",
@"Oin", @"Gloin", @"Bifur", @"Bofur", @"Bombur", nil];
self.listData = array;
[array release];
[super viewDidLoad];
- (void)viewDidUnload {
self.listData = nil;
- (void)dealloc {
[listData release];
[super dealloc];
#pragma mark -
#pragma mark Table View Data Source Methods
- (NSInteger)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView
numberOfRowsInSection:(NSInteger)section {
return [self.listData count];
I just want to know how does the method (NSInteger)tableView: (UITableView *)numberOfRowsInSection: receive those arguments? Of course this happens everywhere; I just want to understand it.
share|improve this question
add comment
2 Answers
up vote 0 down vote accepted
The Simple_TableViewController class is likely meant to manage a single table with a single section. Given that, the tableView and section parameters aren't important because they can only be one thing: a pointer to the table and 0, respectively.
share|improve this answer
This is true, but does that mean all arguments in all methods aren't required? Or do they have defaults? Also, I know that method is triggered through the delegate, but how do I know which event does the triggering? – Trevor McKendrick Mar 23 '11 at 5:47
The table data source has to implement certain methods with specific interfaces. -tableView:numberOfRowsInSection: is a good example -- the data source doesn't get to rewrite the method name to eliminate unneeded parameters -- if it did, how would UITableView know what method to call? So, in this case, the table is giving its data source more information than it needs to answer the question "How many rows are there?" The method isn't obligated to use all its parameters. – Caleb Mar 23 '11 at 6:21
add comment
Your view controller class is adding support for these callback methods through UITableViewDelegate and UITableViewDataSource. You are adding this support in your .h file through <UITableViewDelegate, UITableViewDataSource>. These classes are built in to the Cocoa Touch framework and you are just using them. When the table is (re)loaded, this callback methods are called if you have defined them (some are required, others are optional).
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5400925/where-does-this-methods-arguments-get-passed-from | dclm-gs1-117510001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.161409 | <urn:uuid:dac9f368-1d10-47df-a5b0-da82afabecb6> | en | 0.873914 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I have searched all over and can't manage to get this to work. I am trying to build a question that groups my records within 5 minutes - and displays the last entry. However I managed to get there halfway, but my query is only returning the first entry (XX=10).
I do have the following data:
ID XX DATETIME
N1 5 2009-05-01 13:00:00
N1 10 2009-05-01 13:04:49
N2 7 2009-05-02 14:00:00
and I want my group by to give me this:
N1 10
N2 7
I have uses this group by statment:
((60/15) * HOUR(created_on) + FLOOR(MINUTE(created_on) / 15))
Any one out there that has any ideas on how this query should look like?
Best regards, Joakim
share|improve this question
Doing this for 10 minutes is mildly trivial, but it's a highly expensive task... why do you need to group like this ? – Khez Apr 9 '11 at 15:09
I dont follow you? Can u explain further what you mean? – Joakim Krassman Apr 9 '11 at 18:18
You can do GROUP BY SUBSTR(datetime,15);. It will give you sets of 10 minutes. – Khez Apr 9 '11 at 18:30
Hmmm, that doesnt seems to do what I am trying to achive? I want to group a recordset and get me the latest entry. – Joakim Krassman Apr 9 '11 at 18:41
sigh... SELECT *, SUBSTR( datetime, 1, 16 ) as foo FROM tbl GROUP BY foo ORDER BY foo DESC LIMIT 1; Highly unoptimized way of doing anything. – Khez Apr 9 '11 at 19:10
add comment
2 Answers
You can simply use: ((60/12) * HOUR(created_on) + FLOOR(MINUTE(created_on) / 5))
share|improve this answer
add comment
UNIX_TIMESTAMP(created_on) - UNIX_TIMESTAMP(created_on) % 5
share|improve this answer
oh! this seems to be a stale question! – newtover Dec 26 '11 at 14:38
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5605708/mysql-query-group-by-datetime-period-in-5-minutes | dclm-gs1-117530001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.300205 | <urn:uuid:173183c9-b074-4493-a9f2-fadd3af69284> | en | 0.754107 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I have profile pages for users of my little card game, like this one - where I display their position by looking up their city. My current jQuery code is here:
<script type="text/javascript">
$(function() {
// the city name is inserted here by the PHP script
function createMap(center) {
var opts = {
zoom: 9,
center: center,
mapTypeId: google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP
return new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById("map"), opts);
function findCity(city) {
var gc = new google.maps.Geocoder();
gc.geocode( { "address": city}, function(results, status) {
if (status == google.maps.GeocoderStatus.OK) {
var pos = results[0].geometry.location;
var map = createMap(pos);
var marker = new google.maps.Marker({
map: map,
title: city,
position: pos
<div id="map"></div>
and it works well, but I only get a simple red marker with a dot displayed:
map with a marker
Is there please a way to display the user avatar instead of the simple marker?
I have URLs for user pictures in my database (together with names, cities, etc.)
They are mostly big images (bigger than 200x300).
Thank you! Alex
share|improve this question
add comment
2 Answers
up vote 1 down vote accepted
The Google maps API does support custom icons, and it's explained in their documentation here.
An example can be found here
share|improve this answer
Thanks, but what about resizing the pictures, is it necessary? – Alexander Farber Apr 28 '11 at 13:34
As far as I know there isn't a limit to icon sizes concerning Google Maps not working. However I would recommend making them smaller yes because big icons like those would certainly be in the way visually. – Kokos Apr 28 '11 at 13:37
add comment
Yes. Look at this piece of the documentation regarding MarkerOptions and MarkerImage. That will work for you.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5819310/google-maps-javascript-adding-user-foto-to-a-marker | dclm-gs1-117540001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.119134 | <urn:uuid:5a1e827b-44f2-4d8e-b8a0-309978d129b8> | en | 0.883299 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I have a backup script which backups up all files for a website to a zip file (using a script similar to the answer to this question). However, for large sites the script times out before it can complete.
Is there any way I can extend the length of time available for the script to run? The websites run on shared Windows servers, so I don't have access to the php.ini file.
share|improve this question
Probably best option here would be to use shell_exec() to run it in the background and also ignoring timeout settings. – arma May 10 '11 at 8:35
Plz dont forget to accept an answer if it resolved your issue. – Deepu S Nath May 19 '11 at 12:09
Running PHP on windows? That sounds like a bad idea. Then again, so was running IE on a mac. – Xeoncross May 20 '11 at 16:03
Do a phpinfo() on your server. See if there is a value in the section Scan this dir for additional .ini files. If so, let me know. – Salman A May 21 '11 at 9:55
@Salman 'Scan this dir' is set to 'none' – What May 23 '11 at 8:45
show 2 more comments
7 Answers
up vote 11 down vote accepted
Simply put; don't make a HTTP request to start the PHP script. The boundaries you're experiencing are set because you're using a HTTP request, which means you can have a time-out. A better solution would be to implement this using a "cronjob", or what Microsoft calls "Scheduled tasks". Most hosting providers will allow you to run such a task at set times. By calling the script from command line, you don't have to worry about the time-outs any more, but you're still at risk of running into memory issues.
If you have a decent hosting provider though, why doesn't it provide daily backups to start with? :)
share|improve this answer
the hosting provider takes daily backups; this script is for clients to take their own backup copies without having to fiddle with FTP – What May 23 '11 at 15:14
+1 best answer here. Do not create a web page to do backups. use cron or scheduled tasks. – Byron Whitlock May 23 '11 at 19:30
@What; still, using a browser to request a back-up script is usually a very bad idea, it's too error prone. Call the hosting provider and ask them for possibilities on cronjobs or scheduled tasks. – Berry Langerak May 24 '11 at 7:18
I hadn't even considered this - thanks! – What May 24 '11 at 8:59
add comment
If you are in a shared server environment, and you don’t have access to the php.ini file, or you want to set php parameters on a per-site basis, you can use the .htaccess file (when running on an Apache webserver).
For instance, in order to change the max_execution_time value, all you need to do is edit .htaccess (located in the root of your website, usually accesible by FTP), and add this line:
php_value max_execution_time 300
where 300 is the number of seconds you wish to set the maximum execution time for a php script.
There is also another way by using ini_set function in the php file
eg. TO set execution time as 5 second, you can use
Please let me know if you need any more clarification.
share|improve this answer
Unfortunately, these are IIS servers so htaccess files won't work :( – What May 10 '11 at 9:01
Okay no probs.. Thank you for the response. Hope you got the issue already resolved by set_time_limit(0) method suggested.. if not you can still try ini_set() method. – Deepu S Nath May 10 '11 at 9:08
Even if it was possible to use .htaccess, I would not advise to use it to set configuration for single script. Limit needs to be changed only for backup script rather than for whole page. – binaryLV May 11 '11 at 7:10
still no joy with either the ini_set or set_time_limit methods. – What May 20 '11 at 18:06
add comment
set time limit comes to mind, but may still be limited by php.ini settings
share|improve this answer
add comment
You can use the following in the start of your script:
set_time_limit(0); //0 in seconds. So you set unlimited time
And at the end of the script use flush() function to tell PHP to send out what it has generated.
Hope this solves your problem.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Is the script giving the "Maximum execution time of xx seconds exceeded" error message, or is it displaying a blank page? If so, ignore_user_abort might be what you're looking for. It tells php not to stop the script execution if the communication with the browser is lost, which may protect you from other timeout mechanisms involved in the communication.
Basically, I would do this at the beginning of your script:
This said, as advised by Berry Langerak, you shouldn't be using an HTTP call to run your backup. A cronjob is what you should be using. Along with a set_time_limit(0), it can run forever.
In shared hosting environments where a change to the max_execution_time directive might be disallowed, and where you probably don't have access to any kind of command line, I'm afraid there is no simple (and clean) solution to your problem, and the simplest solution is very often to use the backup solution provided by the hoster, if any.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Try the function:
On windows, there is a slight possibility that your webhost allows you to over ride settings by uploading a php.ini file in the root directory of your webserver. If so, upload a php.ini file containing:
max_execution_time = 300
To check if the settings work, do a phpinfo() and check the Local Value for max_execution_time.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Option 1: Ask the hosting company to place the backups somewhere accesible by php, so the php file can redirect the backup.
Option 2: Split the backup script in multiple parts, perhaps use some ajax to call the script a few times in a row, give the user a nice progress bar and combine the result of the script calls in a zip with php and offer that as a download.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5947345/php-backup-script-timing-out/6098660 | dclm-gs1-117550001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.105459 | <urn:uuid:346f1428-2609-41e8-ac9c-32ee9ad71120> | en | 0.891085 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I have searched the web and read through the Boost documentation about shared_ptr. There is a response on SO that says that shared_ptr for Copy-On-Write (COW) sucks and that TR! has removed it from the string libraries. Most advice on SO says to use shared_ptr rather than regular pointers.
The documentation also talks about using std::unique() to make a COW pointer, but I haven't found any examples.
Is the talk about having a smart pointer that performs COW for you or about having your object use a new shared_ptr to a cloned object then modifying the cloned object?
Example: Recipes & Ingredients
struct Nutrients;
struct Ingredient
Ingredient(const std::string& new_title = std::string(""))
: m_title(new_title)
{ ; }
std::string m_title;
Nutrients ing_nutrients;
struct Milk : public Ingredient
: Ingredient("milk")
{ ; }
struct Cream : public Ingredient
: Ingredient("cream")
{ ; }
struct Recipe
std::vector< boost::shared_ptr<Ingredient> > m_ingredients;
void append_ingredient(boost::shared_ptr<Ingredient> new_ingredient)
void replace_ingredient(const std::string& original_ingredient_title,
boost::shared_ptr<Ingredient> new_ingredient)
// Confusion here
int main(void)
// Create an oatmeal recipe that contains milk.
Recipe oatmeal;
boost::shared_ptr<Ingredient> p_milk(new Milk);
// Create a mashed potatoes recipe that contains milk
Recipe mashed_potatoes;
// Now replace the Milk in the oatmeal with cream
// This must not affect the mashed_potatoes recipe.
boost::shared_ptr<Ingredient> p_cream(new Cream);
oatmeal.replace(p_milk->m_title, p_cream);
return 0;
The confusion is how to replace the 'Milk' in the oatmeal recipe with Cream and not affect the mashed_potatoes recipe.
My algorithm is:
locate pointer to `Milk` ingredient in the vector.
erase it.
append `Cream` ingredient to vector.
How would a COW pointer come into play here?
Note: I am using MS Visual Studio 2010 on Windows NT, Vista and 7.
share|improve this question
is this multi-threaded? if so, be aware the COW and multithreading can yield unexpected results gotw.ca/publications/optimizations.htm – Assaf Lavie Jun 5 '11 at 19:24
The initial version is not multi-threaded. However, since I am using a database, multi-threading may be used for the database and the GUI. – Thomas Matthews Jun 5 '11 at 19:27
relevant: stackoverflow.com/questions/2349871/… – Assaf Lavie Jun 5 '11 at 19:30
Are you using C++ox? I have a hunch this can be implemented with one of those nifty rvalue reference thingies. Just a hunch, though. Might be worth investigating. open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/2006/n2027.html – Assaf Lavie Jun 5 '11 at 19:36
Just a mention about alternate meanings of Copy On Write. When I read the question title I was thinking about how shared_ptr sucks for copy-on-write memory mappings such as those created by fork() in Unix. Whenever a shared_ptr reference count is bumped its memory page becomes unshared, adding to the system's real memory usage. – Zan Lynx Mar 3 '13 at 23:19
add comment
2 Answers
up vote 8 down vote accepted
There are several questions bundled into one here, so bear with me if I don't address them in the order you would expect.
Yes and No. A number of users of SO, unfortunately, recommend shared_ptr as if it were a silver bullet to solve all memory management related issues. It is not. Most advice talk about not using naked pointers, which is substantially different.
The real advice is to use smart managers: whether smart pointers (unique_ptr, scoped_ptr, shared_ptr, auto_ptr), smart containers (ptr_vector, ptr_map) or custom solutions for hard problems (based on Boost.MultiIndex, using intrusive counters, etc...).
You should pick the smart manager to use depending on the need. Most notable, if you do not need to share the ownership of an object, then you should not use a shared_ptr.
What is COW ?
COW (Copy-On-Write) is about sharing data to "save" memory and make copy cheaper... without altering the semantic of the program.
From a user point of view, whether std::string use COW or not does not matter. When a string is modified, all other strings are unaffected.
The idea behind COW is that:
• if you are the sole owner of the data, you may modify it
• if you are not, then you shall copy it, and then use the copy instead
It seems similar to shared_ptr, so why not ?
It is similar, but both are meant to solve different problems, and as a result they are subtly different.
The trouble is that since shared_ptr is meant to function seamlessly whether or not the ownership is shared, it is difficult for COW to implement the "if sole owner" test. Notably, the interaction of weak_ptr makes it difficult.
It is possible, obviously. The key is not to leak the shared_ptr, at all, and not to use weak_ptr (they are useless for COW anyway).
Does it matter ?
No, not really. It's been proved that COW is not that great anyway. Most of the times it's a micro optimization... and a micro pessimization at once. You may spare some memory (though it only works if you don't copy large objects), but you are complicating the algorithm, which may slow down the execution (you are introducing tests).
My advice would be not to use COW. And not to use those shared_ptr either.
Personnally, I would either:
• use boost::ptr_vector<Ingredient> rather than std::vector< boost::shared_ptr<Ingredient> > (you do not need sharing)
• create a IngredientFactory, that would create (and manage) the ingredients, and return a Ingredient const&, the Factory should outlive any Receipt.
EDIT: following Xeo's comment, it seems the last item (IngredientFactory) is quite laconic...
In the case of the IngredientFactory, the Receipt object will contain a std::vector<Ingredient const*>. Note the raw pointer:
• Receipt is not responsible for the memory, but is given access to it
• there is an implicit warranty that the object pointed to will remain valid longer than the Receipt object
It is fine to use raw (naked) pointers, as long as you treat them like you would a reference. You just have to beware of potential nullity, and you're offered the ability to reseat them if you so wish -- and you trust the provider to take care of the lifetime / memory management aspects.
share|improve this answer
+1 Thanks for a well-reasoned and accurate assessment of the problem. – templatetypedef Jun 6 '11 at 8:17
+1 for thoroughness, though I'll offer that I've found some interesting applications for copy-on-write for GUI apps. I force worker threads doing background tasks to pay for the copy of data structures while the GUI thread proceeds...kinda slick: hostilefork.com/thinker-qt – HostileFork Jun 6 '11 at 8:19
Very nice answer, but you might also want to add that naked pointers are perfectly fine (imho), if you pass them to a function that isn't concerned about ownership at all for example. – Xeo Jun 6 '11 at 8:38
@Hostile Fork: There are cases where COW makes sense, however it is an optimization trick, and such tricks should only be used when it has been measured they were beneficial :) Thanks for the example (though I don't use QT so I just skimmed over it). – Matthieu M. Jun 6 '11 at 8:43
@Xeo: Thanks. It was implied in the IngredientFactory idea, I've made it explicit :) – Matthieu M. Jun 6 '11 at 8:49
show 2 more comments
You have nothing to worry about. Each Recipe object has its own vector, so modifying one won't affect the other, even though both of them happen to contain pointers to the same objects. The mashed-potatoes recipe would only be affected if you changed the contents of the object that p_milk points at, but you're not doing that. You're modifying the oatmeal.m_ingredients object, which has absolutely no relation to mashed_potatoes.m_ingredients. They're two completely independent vector instances.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6245235/confusion-about-copy-on-write-and-shared-ptr/6245310 | dclm-gs1-117590001 | false | false | {
"keywords": "vector"
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.055884 | <urn:uuid:74c62e04-7721-4aa1-85c8-4b088a335baa> | en | 0.80124 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
The byte order mark is the first 3 bytes in my xml file. How do I remove the Byte order mark from the xml file programmatically? I want to completely discard it.
share|improve this question
could you paste the beginning of your xml file here? – woliveirajr Jun 30 '11 at 20:19
þÿ<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="yes"?> – Pan Jun 30 '11 at 20:23
add comment
1 Answer
Rather than removing it, I use a special reader which reacts properly to BOM (and uses proper encoding, based on read BOM): I copied it from elsewhere (see note inside) but it is open-sourced in my android-menu-navigator project:
You can use this reader anyway to read content of XML and write it elsewhere, effectively removing the BOM.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6540538/byte-order-mark-removal-in-xml-files-using-java-io | dclm-gs1-117610001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.582276 | <urn:uuid:0ca94906-cc57-462b-a404-3e8f187d064f> | en | 0.865494 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I have a PromoCodeViewController which is triggered using the following code:
@implementation Demo_WebServiceCallingUsingiOSAppDelegate
@synthesize window = _window,promoCodeController;
self.promoCodeController = [[PromoCodeViewController alloc] init];
[self.window addSubview:self.promoCodeController.view];
// Override point for customization after application launch.
self.window.backgroundColor = [UIColor whiteColor];
[self.window makeKeyAndVisible];
return YES;
The PromoCodeViewController contains the UITextField and I implement the UITextFieldDelegate for the PromoCodeViewController as shown:
@interface PromoCodeViewController : UIViewController<UITextFieldDelegate>
IBOutlet UITextField *promoCodeTextField;
@property (nonatomic,retain) IBOutlet UITextField *promoCodeTextField;
I implement the textFieldShouldReturn method as shown:
- (BOOL)textFieldShouldReturn:(UITextField *)textField
return TRUE;
I have even setup the PromoCodeViewController to be the delegate for the UITextField events. When I start typing in the TextBox it throws "Program received signal. EXC_BAD_ACCESS". It happens when I type second character in the UITextField. What am I doing wrong?
The error comes on the following section:
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
@autoreleasepool {
return UIApplicationMain(argc, argv, nil, NSStringFromClass([Demo_WebServiceCallingUsingiOSAppDelegate class]));
share|improve this question
I don't think you should be setting your window to you promoCodeViewController in the first code block... Though I don't think that is what is causing your error. – Karoly S Aug 10 '11 at 15:45
what is the stack trace at the moment of the crash? – sergio Aug 10 '11 at 15:46
@sergio There is nothing in the stacktrace! – azamsharp Aug 10 '11 at 15:47
See my answer here. I had the same problem once and it seems to be related to a bug in the simulator SDK. – omz Aug 10 '11 at 15:54
The EXC_BAD_ACCESS errors as far as I know are caused by trying to access something that no longer exists, IE wasn't retained enough, or was released early. It doesn't look like the code you posted has anything like that wrong, so it must be elsewhere. Are you detecting text being typed anywhere in your code? Try placing some breakpoints, or NSLog messages for yourself, and post the results. – Karoly S Aug 10 '11 at 15:55
show 4 more comments
2 Answers
It looks as though you're missing an @synthesize statement for the promoCodeTextField property. Add the following to your Demo_WebServiceCallingUsingiOSAppDelegate class (which by the way, might benefit from renaming):
@synthesize promoCodeTextField = _promoCodeTextField;
Without the @synthesize statement, Xcode's Nib File Editor will directly set the instance variable instead of calling the accessor methods (since they don't exist); as a consequence the text field is never retained.
share|improve this answer
I have synthesize! It is a BUG in the simulator! – azamsharp Aug 10 '11 at 16:02
There's no @synthesize statement for promoCodeTextField in the code you posted. – jlehr Aug 10 '11 at 17:07
It's true that the promoCodeTextField isn't synthesized. That can't be the problem here however. First, the outlet is declared directly on the instance variable, so the nib-loading mechanism will use setValue:forKey: which can fall back to accessing the variable directly if there's no setter. In this case, the documentation states that the value will be retained. Even if that was not the case, the containing view would retain the text field. – omz Aug 10 '11 at 17:30
add comment
What object is the delegate of the textfield? Objects do not usually retain their delegates (since the delegate is often retaining a reference to the object, and retain-cycles lead to memory leaks).
My hunch is that your text field's delegate is defined and attached in your nib, but isn't being retained anywhere, so shortly after the nib is loaded the delegate is deallocated. As soon as the text field attempts to do anything with the delegate, it crashes.
If so, make sure something (usually the application delegate) is retaining a reference to whatever object is serving as the delegate of your text field.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7013629/going-crazy-with-uitextfield-input-in-a-very-simple-app | dclm-gs1-117640001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.026544 | <urn:uuid:461fb1ac-5a3a-40af-b24f-549b9a713f3e> | en | 0.913406 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I am making an interpreted language with java......and am also making an IDE for it. I want to know how to compile java source from my IDE and have it run on a console. I have created a simple console window. But how do i compile java source from my simple IDE and route its output to my console window?
The Interpreted language is interpreted by an interpreter i created and it then creates a java source that needs to be compiled.
share|improve this question
Too ambitious? I do not think that should be in ANY developers vocabulary... – nicholas.hauschild Aug 15 '11 at 18:35
add comment
closed as not a real question by greyfade, bmargulies, Mrchief, Kev Aug 15 '11 at 20:01
2 Answers
You can use the JavaCompiler interface from the JDK. Read the linked documentation to get an elaborate example of how to use it.
As to running the resulting code, you use the Tool class.
In general: Check out the javax.tools package in the JVM.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Assuming you get the syntax right, you would want to compile it using javac . Now choosing which implementation of the JVM to use is another issue as not everything lines up so "nicely"
share|improve this answer
add comment
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7068972/how-to-compile-java-source-from-custom-ide | dclm-gs1-117650001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.922679 | <urn:uuid:a86d586d-cd79-4870-bedf-b21f7be47169> | en | 0.884287 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I would want to display a list of contact as the user type in the input box.
How can I programmed to display it?
I know I need to add a permission, "READ CONTACT".
The most important is do I need to use Multi-Threading(Async Tasks)?
share|improve this question
add comment
1 Answer
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7267235/display-a-list-of-contact-as-i-type-name-or-phone-number-in-the-input-box | dclm-gs1-117670001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.982872 | <urn:uuid:0a2e8bf5-a1a8-4210-af22-6b85a025b906> | en | 0.898979 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I have an SQL Azure database that multiple client programs are connecting to. I would like to log the network usage of the SQL Azure traffic per client. Is there a better alternative then aggregating the BytesReceived/ByteSent connection statistics?
share|improve this question
add comment
1 Answer
You can query usage per database, but I don't think you can segment it any further than that.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7396411/how-can-i-measure-sql-azure-bandwidth-usage-per-client | dclm-gs1-117680001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.048286 | <urn:uuid:5df356de-261d-46d4-a4d6-b677c7bb79ee> | en | 0.905816 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I'm currently developing the concept of a simple game on Facebook. I would like to store to kinds of scores and because for organizational reason have to limit my persistent storage needs, I'm thinking about storing all user scores using the scores API. Storing two integer values in one variable would be possible using the high/low byte-trick (e.g. score1 = (score << 15) >> 15; score2 = score >> 15; score = score1 | (score2 << 15). But then the score wouldn't be a value I would like to show up anywhere and it wouldn't be directly comparable between users.
Is it possible to prevent the score from showing up anywhere?
share|improve this question
Organizational reason? You should just store the scores normally. – Jeff Sherlock Oct 25 '11 at 17:20
Have to work around a few (?) limitations*, so I was kind of desperate. But I will just set up an web service on Heroku now. * My app has to run on a frontend-server without own persistent storage... – Jan Olaf Krems Oct 28 '11 at 13:43
add comment
Your Answer
Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question. | http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7887931/can-i-use-the-high-low-byte-trick-with-the-scores-api | dclm-gs1-117700001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.069124 | <urn:uuid:5f8291ee-9039-468e-96b3-c008afe57f1f> | en | 0.80001 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I am attempting to run a tomcat application, but when I try to go to the application I get:
java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: Could not initialize class ysl.util.Utils ysl.util.Utils.executeQuery(Utils.java:186)
org.apache.jasper.runtime.HttpJspBase.service(HttpJspBase.java:98) org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServletWrapper.service(JspServletWrapper.java:328)
I have found many references to this problem on the web - most say there was a class available when the application was compiled that is not available at run time and that I need to add something to the java classpath to find it. But how can I determine what class is missing?
The error message says that the Utils class could not be initialized, yet the stacktrace shows that we are into the second method in the class, so I would think that the class was already initialized. And certainly that is not the class whose definition can't be found, since we have line number information in the stacktrace.
The method which is triggering the error looks like this:
static public ResultSet executeQuery(String queryString) throws SQLException {
return dbConnPool.executeQuery(queryString);
Any suggestions?
share|improve this question
On that particular one, there should be another root cause further down in the stacktrace. If there is any, post it as well (it contains the answer). If there's none, then it's likely a bug in static initialization of ysl.util.Utils class which is suppressing the root cause of the exception (doublecheck all static fields and blocks of that class). – BalusC Nov 14 '11 at 20:07
add comment
2 Answers
Most likely the Utils class is trying to use another class that is unavailable during static initialization (that would be the root cause that @BalusC pointed out). The failure to load that class causes Utils to fail as well, so even though Utils is defined, its dependencies are not.
share|improve this answer
add comment
If you are using oracle (ex Sun) java, try running:
java -verbose:class
more options under http://download.oracle.com/javase/6/docs/technotes/tools/windows/java.html
You will see what classes were loaded.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/8127325/noclassdeffounderror-how-can-i-determine-what-class-definition-is-not-found | dclm-gs1-117710001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.416345 | <urn:uuid:9b0754f3-f03b-4848-ac53-5f97aa1244cd> | en | 0.822285 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I would like Windows automatically open a web page on the default browser with a parameter as part of the URL such as "http://MyDomain/MyApp.asp?P1=MyParameter" when a user type in something like "MyURL:MyParameter" in the RUN box. Is it possible?
share|improve this question
add comment
1 Answer
Registering an Application to a URL Protocol. In the url handler application, compose a new url based on the incoming url, then call ShellExecute with the url.
share|improve this answer
Is it possible that we directly use the default browser to handle the URL by only changing the Windows Registry such as: – Toronto Dec 15 '11 at 17:13
which "the url" you are talking about? the browser is already capable of handling http but is not capable of handling MyUrl as it neither registers nor understands the url. – Sheng Jiang 蒋晟 Dec 15 '11 at 17:41
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/8511703/how-to-register-a-url-schema-in-windows-to-be-opened-as-a-parameter-of-a-web-pag | dclm-gs1-117730001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.020158 | <urn:uuid:9549027f-44fe-4bdb-af23-d796e9d684c5> | en | 0.83607 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I got an issue and really need help from you.
I have a page that call main_page, main_page contain a textbox name textbox_A and an iframe this iframe link to embedded_page. The embedded_page contains a input textbox called textbox_B and button "send". The main_page and embedded_page are 2 different domain.
My issue is:
When user input to textbox_B and click button "send", how can I show inputed text from textbox_B into textbox_A without reload the main_page?
I also research about the postMessage method, but it does not work. I dont know if it because Same Origin Policy ???
Are there any one can help me out with this, Many thanks, Kelly
share|improve this question
add comment
1 Answer
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/8709887/cross-domain-communication-with-iframes | dclm-gs1-117740001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.108714 | <urn:uuid:cba6a0dc-92f5-46a4-b68f-1a476174f7a6> | en | 0.740735 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
If I have a structure like:
<div id="listofstuff">
<div class="anitem">
<span class="itemname">Item1</span>
<span class="itemdescruption">AboutItem1</span>
<div class="anitem">
<span class="itemname">Item2</span>
<span class="itemdescruption">AboutItem2</span>
<div class="anitem">
<span class="itemname">Item3</span>
<span class="itemdescruption">AboutItem3</span>
Say I continue this pattern until item5... and I wanted to make it so that when the page loads, it would search for the div with itemname "Item5", and scroll to it so that it is visible. Assume that the listofstuffdiv is sized small such that only 3 anitems are shown at any given time, but since overflow:auto exists, user can scroll.
I want to make it so that jquery can scroll to the item it found so it is visible without the user having to scroll down to item5;.
share|improve this question
FYI you have loose </h3> in your markup – Ilia G Jan 7 '12 at 22:00
add comment
2 Answers
up vote 5 down vote accepted
See this fiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/pixelass/uaewc/2/
You don't need the scrollTo plugin for this..
lastElementTop = $('#listofstuff .anitem:last-child').position().top ;
scrollAmount = lastElementTop - 200 ;
$('#listofstuff').animate({scrollTop: scrollAmount},1000);
.anitem {
#listofstuff {
with a little more action and variables http://jsfiddle.net/pixelass/uaewc/5/
$(document).ready(function() {
var wrapper = $('#listofstuff'),
element = wrapper.find('.anitem'),
lastElement = wrapper.find('.anitem:last-child'),
lastElementTop = lastElement.position().top,
elementsHeight = element.outerHeight(),
scrollAmount = lastElementTop - 2 * elementsHeight;
scrollTop: scrollAmount
}, 1000, function() {
share|improve this answer
Pixelass: Good job ;) – Julien Lafont Jan 7 '12 at 22:20
just updated my answer.. The scroll was too much.. the height of two divs above should be subtracted (e.g. 200 for this example) – pixelass Jan 7 '12 at 22:22
Now, your code became a little more complex, maybe it's not necessary to reinvent the wheel, and to use a plugin (2.5k for ScrollTo) ;) A renowned plugin is approved by a lot of people, tested with all browsers, etc. – Julien Lafont Jan 7 '12 at 22:47
I use the scrollTo plugin a lot. but if this is needed for a static set of elements my first version is probably a lot more lightweight. If this needs to be dynamic, I would probably also use the scrollTo plugin. Even my second version (which is partially dynamic) is a lot lighter. This came in handy for me quite a few times. – pixelass Jan 7 '12 at 22:55
I am having problems since the .anitems are being dynamically generated after the user clicks on a button. – Rolando Jan 8 '12 at 3:30
show 7 more comments
You can use a plugin like ScrollTo
And call $.scrollTo with a selector when the page is loaded :
$(document).ready(function() {
$.scrollTo( $('#listofstuff .aniItem:eq(4)'), 500); // index start with 0
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/8773405/how-to-auto-scroll-to-target-div-with-jquery?answertab=oldest | dclm-gs1-117750001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.6895 | <urn:uuid:7afa01d7-ef7f-484b-9135-1c181815b9ae> | en | 0.896357 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I have come a long way styling a certain treegrid, attempting to make it not look like a treegrid :D I've removed the connector lines, open/close buttons, icons to only have text and indentation.
However, for some reason when I hover a row, the background still changes to an shade, just like on any regular listgrid when you go over a row. It looks like it's a layer coming over my usual row. Any ideas how to disable this behaviour alltogether and only rely on CSS?
Then, a second issue: how can I create a margin between the rows/nodes in my TreeGrid? Each item has a border set by CSS, and I can't manage to make subsequent rows not sticking together. I need a few pixels in between them.
share|improve this question
add comment
2 Answers
you don't want hover on TreeNode then disable it.
for second issue, i guess you just need to increase the height of cell.
share|improve this answer
add comment
For your first question: you can use the following:
You may also take a look at this link.
Besides there are so many properties related to style in ListGrid such as following:
& many more. You should try them to achieve your desired look for the Tree..
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9314293/styling-a-smartgwt-treegrid | dclm-gs1-117760001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.077042 | <urn:uuid:15d73c06-ad9d-41a6-9a7b-184887722471> | en | 0.919955 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
this is my first question, I've searched a lot of info from different sites but none of them where conslusive.
Problem: Daily I'm loading a flat file with an SSIS Package executed in a scheduled job in SQL Server 2005 but it's taking TOO MUCH TIME(like 2 1/2 hours) and the file just has like 300 rows and its a 50 MB file aprox. This is driving me crazy, because is affecting the performance of my server.
This is the Scenario: -My package is just a Data Flow Task that has a Flat File Source and an OLE DB Destination, thats all!!! -The Data Access Mode is set to FAST LOAD. -Just have 3 indexes in the table and are nonclustered. -My destination table has 366,964,096 records so far and 32 columns -I haven't set FastParse in any of the Output columns yet.(want to try something else first)
So I've just started to make some tests:
-Rebuild/Reorganize the indexes in the destination table(they where way too fragmented), but this didn't help me much -Created another table with the same structure but whitout all the indexes and executed the Job with the SSIS package loading to this new table and IT JUST TOOK LIKE 1 MINUTE !!!
So I'm confused, is there something I'm Missing??? -Is the SSIS package writing all the large table in a Buffer and the writing it on Disk? Or why the BIG difference in time ?
-Is the index affecting the insertion time?
-Should I load the file to this new table as a temporary table and then do a BULK INSERT to the destination table with the records ordered? 'Cause I though that the Data FLow Task was much faster than BULK INSERT, but at this point I don't know now.
Greetings in advance.
share|improve this question
No clustered index on the table? – billinkc Feb 22 '12 at 21:04
Disable your original dataflow and add a second dataflow task to the control flow. Call it speed test Use your flat file source and connect it to a row count transformation. Run the package as you would for production. This should provide your theoretical maximum throughput. Knowing the fastest you can read the data off disk will help determine whether it's a source or destination issue. What else is happening on that server? If you simulate the insert same operation (300 select statements unioned together would suffice) from ssms/sqlcmd, does it take a comparable amount of time? – billinkc Feb 22 '12 at 21:08
add comment
3 Answers
up vote 0 down vote accepted
If it works fine without the indexes, perhaps you should look into those. What are the data types? How many are there? Maybe you could post their definitions?
You could also take a look at the fill factor of your indexes - especially the clustered index. Having a high fill factor could cause excessive IO on your inserts.
share|improve this answer
Hi, I have 3 indexes each one in this columns: -Access_number(varchar 10,null) -Received_date(datetime,null) -Creation_date(datetime,null They are NONCLUSTERED and the 3 have this options WITH (PAD_INDEX = OFF, STATISTICS_NORECOMPUTE = OFF, SORT_IN_TEMPDB = OFF, IGNORE_DUP_KEY = OFF, DROP_EXISTING = OFF, ONLINE = OFF, ALLOW_ROW_LOCKS = ON, ALLOW_PAGE_LOCKS = ON) ON [PRIMARY] They were created with the default options as I can see (fill factor 0 = 100%) Should I Rebuild them with another fill factor like 80%.Cause my table is more like read intended and the writing just happens once a day – JC_Robledo Feb 22 '12 at 20:47
I would try lowering the fill factor after reading this: msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms177459.aspx – Sam Feb 22 '12 at 23:28
Actually the correct document for 2005 is this one: msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms177459(v=sql.90).aspx – Sam Feb 22 '12 at 23:35
You should have a clustered index as well. support.microsoft.com/kb/297861/en-us – Sam Feb 22 '12 at 23:36
Well I Rebuild the indexes with a fill factor of 80%, and the time drops significantly. It took 30 minutes instead of almost 3hours!!! – JC_Robledo Feb 23 '12 at 23:45
show 1 more comment
One thing I might look at is if the large table has any triggers which are causing it to be slower on insert. Also if the clustered index is on a field that will require a good bit of rearranging of the data during the load, that could cause an issues as well.
In SSIS packages, using a merge join (which requires sorting) can cause slownesss, but from your description it doesn't appear you did that. I mention it only in case you were doing that and didn't mention it.
share|improve this answer
thanks HGELM, the table doesn't have any trigger. And I dont use merge join. Thats the weird thing of all, it's just a data load from a file, simple, well at least I thought it was simple hehe. Any other advise or thing that I'm missing? – JC_Robledo Feb 22 '12 at 18:56
add comment
Well I Rebuild the indexes with another fill factor (80%) like Sam told me, and the time droped down significantly. It took 30 minutes instead of almost 3hours!!! I will keep with the tests to fine tune the DB. Also I didnt have to create a clustered index,I guess with the clustered the time will drop a lot more.
Thanks to all, wish that this helps to someone in the same situation.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9400404/ssis-file-load-way-too-slow-in-large-destination-table/9423346 | dclm-gs1-117770001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.023535 | <urn:uuid:fcb5f077-e1d0-4bec-9376-0852c9cbf929> | en | 0.903523 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I've just downloaded and put to run Eclipse C++, in Windows, as well as MinGW (I've set its bin/ directory in the PATH variable).
When trying to compile a Hello World program, I get the following error:
**** Build of configuration Default for project tests ****
(Cannot run program "make" (in directory "D:\lixo\eclipse_cpp\workspace\tests"): CreateProcess error=2, The system cannot find the file specified)
Trying to run the make command from the command line yielded nothing, so I figured out that MinGW's make was called MinGW32_make.exe. I've renamed the file to make.exe, but the problem persists.
What am I missing?
share|improve this question
for me it is mingw32-make.exe – marcus hatchenson Feb 26 '12 at 17:32
yes, that's how it was here, too. – devoured elysium Feb 26 '12 at 17:45
im on a 64bits eclipse. could that be an issue? – devoured elysium Feb 26 '12 at 17:48
I had issues with eclipse cdt using the 64bit version. I decided to switch to 32bit version. I don't know if this will solve your problem though. If you decide to go 32bit you have to download 32bit java too. – marcus hatchenson Feb 26 '12 at 17:56
add comment
1 Answer
Run the 32bit Eclipse instead, and make sure you're running a MinGW toolchain.
Not a solution, but a generally good enough workaround.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9455263/running-a-hello-world-application-in-eclipse-c-in-windows | dclm-gs1-117780001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.999169 | <urn:uuid:1136947d-3d04-450b-bdf6-857ad60c2a9b> | en | 0.758826 | Why this ad?
Skip navigation
no spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Skip navigation
Pumpkin the Munchkin Kitten
We just overdosed on cuteness! Watch 2 month old munchkin cat play in her room.
Why this ad? Why this ad? Why this ad? Forever in My Heart Cat Swarovski Crystal Ring
Share this page and help fund food & care: | http://theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/clickToGive/ars/article/Pumpkin-the-Munchkin-Kitten615 | dclm-gs1-117830001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.023264 | <urn:uuid:d19c60aa-e427-477a-8ef8-7fe4d4f28e5a> | en | 0.890854 | You are here:News» Topics» Bob Atha
Open:Prv. Close:
Ameesha’s Valentine’s Day plans TOI
Ameesha Patel’s maiden home production Desi Magic, directed by debutant Mehul Atha, will see her in a double role for the first time.
Why did Ameesha Patel get teary eyed? TOI
Spring hairdos - low ponytails, wavy bobs TOI
British transit union leader Bob Crow dies TOI
Bob Crow, Britain's best known and most divisive trade union leader, has died at the age of 52.
Bob Dylan to feature in Super Bowl commercial TOI
Music legend Bob Dylan will appear in a Super Bowl commercial and his 1966 hit song 'I Want You' will be featured in another advertisemen
A new chapter in Bob Biswas' Kahaani TOI
Launch of Michael, Ananth and Bob's Bierre Republic in Bangalore TOI
Revellers check out a new watering hole in town
'BoB is cautious in lending to diamond companies' TOI
Bank of Baroda chairman and managing director SS Mundra said his bank was cautious in lending to diamond companies, including sightholders (registered bulk buyers) of global mining companies like De Beers, Alrosa and Rio Tinto because of increasing number of default cases in Surat, Mumbai and Antwerp.
There are no Quotes on Bob Atha | http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Bob-Atha | dclm-gs1-117840001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.112817 | <urn:uuid:2512c97e-ec9f-4f2e-982a-c42c94af9da8> | en | 0.9555 | yeah that sounds interesting... After carting around change bags, paper envelopes for unexposed and exposed 'negs' and having to sit down on the ground to make a neg change (and thats only with a 5x7 camera) I can see your multi-shot design would make life easier and more productive!
your 'roll film' camera is a little like my 1st pinhole... I jammed a 35mm canister into a 100 sheet box of Ilford Ilfospeed (4x5" size... probably tells you how long ago this was.. mid 80's) so that the reel the film winds onto poked out of the box and I could wind it on. Wasn't as smart as yours to be able to tell how far to wind the film on for the next exposure! Several exposures ran into each other! Also, I didn't know anything about sharp pinholes and using tinfoil, etc.. I just poked a hole in the opposing side of the cardboard box! The pictures were primative!
My 5x7 pinhole (which I call A Nigon B57) is made out of some kind of particle board and consists of 3 boxes that fit inside each other. The middle box points the other way to make things light tight and holds the pinhole (soft drink can aluminium) and slides off to allow a new sheet of paper to be inserted. This actually allows the camera to be a zoom-pinhole... about 150mm to 240mm if my memory is correct. I switch the pinholes to suit whatever focal length I'm using. I screw a quick release plate into the bottom of it so it sits on my tripod quite well.
My Nigon B810 (although technically it's a B7.9-10... I didn't allow for the thickness of the material while constructing it) is made of matt board, taped together. It's a single shot unit with a curved focal plane. I think I did that to even out the exposure, but will probably remove that feature due to the distortion it introduces. This camera usualy gets sat on something, with a brick or such object wacked on top to keep it still!
I've been collecting ice cream sticks which I have plans to make a camera out of with a 4x5 DD as a film/paper holder. Just got to eat a few more ice creams | http://www.apug.org/forums/viewpost.php?p=28165 | dclm-gs1-117940001 | false | false | {
"keywords": "envelope"
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.254462 | <urn:uuid:5340c981-c3fb-4a24-9bb7-0ba818cfa4b9> | en | 0.983833 | Belfast Telegraph
Saturday 15 March 2014
Whittle denies photographer charge
Actor Ricky Whittle arrives at Liverpool Crown court
Actor and Strictly Come Dancing star Ricky Whittle deliberately knocked a photographer down with his car "in frustration", a court has heard.
Whittle had recently split up with Hollyoaks co-star Carley Stenson but was giving her and a friend a lift after attending a cast and crew party in Liverpool's Parr Street Studios last year.
It was 1.30am on November 27 when Whittle used his red Dodge car to knock down Stephen Farrell, Liverpool Crown Court heard.
So the defendant agreed to collect his ex and her friend round the corner when they had lost the paparazzi. But a car full of photographers followed the women into nearby Duke Street where Whittle tried to pick them up.
The jury of five men and seven women heard that Mr Farrell was taking pictures next to Whittle's left-hand drive Dodge, but not blocking it, when the Dodge suddenly veered to the left, taking off and colliding with him. CCTV footage of the incident was played in court.
Mr Becker said Whittle believed the photographers were exploiting his relationship with Miss Stenson. Mr Becker said: "The prosecution's case is that the defendant, irritated by the presence of the paparazzi, had deliberately turned his wheel to the left in order to vent his frustration towards Mr Farrell."
Whittle, Miss Stenson and Helen Splaine left the scene but Miss Stenson then phoned a photographer friend to find out what happened because it was obvious there had been some sort of collision. She learned that Mr Farrell had phoned the police. Whittle, of Billinge, Lancashire, later voluntarily attended at St Helens Police Station.
Whittle denies dangerous driving.
Latest News
Latest Sport
Latest Showbiz | http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/whittle-denies-photographer-charge-28551512.html | dclm-gs1-118010001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.079242 | <urn:uuid:1056959e-79a8-4168-a5b4-de6fe87b10fe> | en | 0.891861 | Email updates
Open Access Research article
Eric A Hoffman12, Jennifer L Kovacs1 and Michael AD Goodisman1*
Author Affiliations
2 Department of Biology, University of Central Florida, 4000 Central Florida Blvd., Orlando, Florida 32816, USA
For all author emails, please log on.
BMC Evolutionary Biology 2008, 8:239 doi:10.1186/1471-2148-8-239
Received:11 June 2008
Accepted:20 August 2008
Published:20 August 2008
© 2008 Hoffman et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
The complex, interactive communities displayed by highly social insects represent an important and highly successful evolutionary innovation [1,2]. The success of social insects arises largely from their extraordinary cooperative and helping behaviors [2-5]. However, the intricate social organization displayed by social insects may also be exploited and manipulated. For instance, many social insects are subject to social parasitism [6,7]. Social parasites benefit from brood care or other resources at the expense of the society of a social host species [8].
In hymenopteran social insects (ants, some bees, and some wasps), social parasitism may take several forms [3,7-10]. The most extreme social parasites are completely dependent on their host taxa. Queens of these obligate parasites enter active host colonies, kill the resident queen, and use the remaining worker force of the host to rear their own parasitic offspring. These obligate parasites do not produce their own workers, and are completely reliant on the workers of the host to complete their life cycle. Alternatively, some social parasites display facultatively parasitic behavior. Queens of these species may usurp colonies of their hosts in some cases, but may also reproduce independently under other conditions. These facultative social parasites are of particular interest, because they may represent an intermediate stage in the evolution of socially parasitic behavior [11,12].
The social wasp Vespula squamosa, commonly known as the southern yellowjacket, is a facultative social parasite [11,13-15]. Vespula squamosa is found throughout the eastern part of the United States extending south to Honduras (Fig. 1) [16,17]. It is thought that V. squamosa queens can found colonies independently under some circumstances [11], because no known hosts live in the southern part of the range of V. squamosa. However, throughout most of its range, V. squamosa is considered to be parasitic [13].
thumbnailFigure 1. Distribution of V. maculifrons and V. squamosa in North America. The range of the parasite V. squamosa largely overlaps with that of the host V. maculifrons (adapted from [17]).
Vespula squamosa queens parasitize host taxa by usurping active nests established by other queens [11,12,14,15,18]. Vespula squamosa queens are known to primarily parasitize species in their own genus. However, there are reports of V. squamosa queens usurping colonies of distantly related taxa, such as the hornet Vespa crabro [18]. Where parasitism occurs, V. squamosa queens emerge relatively late in the season and seek out already established host colonies to usurp [12-14]. Once host colonies are located, the V. squamosa queen kills the resident queen and assumes possession of the colony. The remaining host workers help the V. squamosa queen rear her own worker and sexual offspring. Eventually the usurped workers die and the entire colony comes to be inhabited by V. squamosa individuals.
In the southeastern part of the United States, the principal host of V. squamosa is the eastern yellowjacket, V. maculifrons (Fig. 1) [14,15]. In some areas, 40% of V. maculifrons colonies fall victim to V. squamosa parasitism [19]. Moreover, 80% of V. squamosa colonies show clear evidence of having originated by parasitism of V. maculifrons colonies in this part of the country. In fact, the frequency of parasitism is likely higher, because usurped nests can only be detected if nest take-over occurs subsequent to significant cell construction by the host [15].
Social parasitism may play an important role in determining the levels of genetic variation and structure of the two interacting taxa [7,20-22]. For example, V. squamosa queens represent a significant mortality factor for V. maculifrons, owing to the relatively high rate of nest takeover. Nest parasitism may thereby potentially depress the amount of genetic variation in V. maculifrons populations by limiting V. maculifrons population size. Moreover, the number of V. squamosa nesting sites is potentially constrained by the presence of V. maculifrons colonies in the population, because V. squamosa queens primarily found nests by usurping those already initiated by V. maculifrons. Evolutionary interactions of social parasites are also known to be influenced by rates of migration for a parasite and its host [7]. The interaction between migration and local adaptation may lead to a coevolutionary arms race between parasites and their hosts with gene flow as the primary currency [23]. In sum, parasite range and effective population size are related to the degree of population structure of its host. However, the degree that this will influence demography and genetic structure is currently unknown in a facultative social parasite. Thus, our aim was to understand the genetic structure and levels of genetic variation in V. maculifrons and V. squamosa to determine if the parasitic lifestyle differentially affected gene flow and population size in the two taxa.
The relationship between a social parasite and its host also likely affects the breeding systems of both taxa. For instance, signaling systems between hosts and parasites provide an interesting paradox associated with genetic diversity generated by the breeding system of the host [10]. Increased within-colony genetic diversity of a host species arising as a result of multiple queens within colonies or multiple mating by queens may lead to a superior defense against pathogens or enhanced division-of-labor (e.g., [24-27]). However, high levels of within-colony genetic diversity may also enhance the ability of social parasites to invade host colonies, because it leads to a greater diversity of recognition cues [28,29]. In addition, the breeding system of the parasite may also be affected by the host-parasite interaction. Specifically, Sumner et al. [30] recently found that parasitism may affect mate number of the parasitic queen. They discovered that queens of a socially parasitic ant mated singly, whereas queens of the closely-related host species mated multiply. These results suggested that benefits to multiple mating were only accrued in a free-living lifestyle. In contrast, the obligate parasite reverted to single mating, because multiple mating apparently did not provide benefits to the parasitic lifestyle.
In Vespula species, within colony genetic diversity is directly related to queen mate number because annual Vespula colonies are always headed by a single queen. Indeed, queens of all Vespula taxa mate with multiple males [31-37]. We thus aimed to investigate if the host-parasite relationship between V. squamosa and V. maculifrons altered mate number of the parasite V. squamosa relative to its host V. maculifrons. In this system, however, because V. squamosa colonies exist as free-living entities for most of their life cycle (i.e., after usurpation and colony takeover is complete), we predicted that V. squamosa would not have reverted to a mating system with reduced number of mates, as has been found in other obligate social parasites.
Overall, the primary objectives of this study were to compare levels of genetic structure and breeding systems of a social wasp and its social parasite. We expected that the parasitic interaction would lead to differences in the genetic structures, but not the breeding systems, of the two species. We conclude this study by discussing how the observed patterns of genetic variation provide insight into how parasitic interactions affect genetic structure within and between species.
We collected 37 V. maculifrons and 13 V. squamosa colonies in and around the city of Atlanta, GA, USA (Fig. 2). Colonies were anesthetized with ether, extracted from the ground, and brought back to the lab. Several workers from each colony were then placed in 95% ethanol for subsequent genetic analysis. Colony collection occurred late in the season (September – November), when usurpation would have been complete, so we did not find mixed colonies containing workers of both species. In addition, most colonies had initiated the reproductive phase of their development and were already producing new queens and males.
thumbnailFigure 2. Locations of 37 V. maculifrons and 13 V. squamosa colonies collected in this study. All samples were obtained from the state of Georgia (inset, see also Fig. 1). Lines denote county boundaries within the state. The greatest pairwise distance between colonies exceeds 120 km and colonies of both species were sampled from overlapping regions.
Microsatellite loci
We determined the utility of several previously developed microsatellite loci in providing genetic information in V. maculifrons and V. squamosa. Specifically, we investigated if the loci cloned by Thorèn et al. [38] in V. rufa, Hasegawa and Takahashi [39] in Vespa mandarinia, and Daly et al. [40] in V. vulgaris were genetically informative in our study taxa. For these assays, we determined if each locus would PCR amplify in V. maculifrons and V. squamosa. If a locus amplified, we then used agarose gel electrophoresis to determine if the locus displayed size variation in a subset of individuals. In the end, we obtained the genotype of all sampled workers of both species at the eight loci, LIST2003, LIST2004, LIST2013, LIST2019, LIST2020, Rufa 5, VMA-3, and VMA-6, which amplified and were polymorphic in both taxa.
Estimates of variability
Members of social insect colonies do not represent independent genetic samples because they are related. Consequently, it is necessary to remove the effects of relatedness among colony members to effectively analyze population level data. We avoided the problem of genetic nonindependence of colonymates by inferring the genotypes of the queen and male(s) that produced workers from each colony. Paternity analyses in hymenopteran taxa, such as Vespula, are particularly straightforward because males are haploid and full siblings always display the same multilocus haplotype derived from their father. Our analyses thus resulted in a set of diploid (queen) and haploid (male) individuals that were genetically independent. We used the genotypes of these inferred parental individuals to obtain estimates of genetic variability.
Based on the reconstructed male and queen genotypes, we calculated the allelic richness at the eight loci in V. maculifrons and V. squamosa. In addition, we used the rarefaction method of Petit et al. [41] to correct for the difference in the number of genes sampled in the two species. This method estimates the number of alleles that would be observed in an equal sample of genes from multiple groups based on the number of alleles observed in the actual unequal samples obtained. The use of the standardized allele richness allows for comparisons in the diversity of samples of different sizes. We then calculated the effective number of alleles and gene diversity of each locus to obtain general measures of the overall variability for the markers.
Population structure
To avoid problems caused by nonindependence of workers sampled from the same colony, we used a resampling technique that yielded unbiased measures of population genetic structure [33]. Specifically, we used reduced data sets that included only one individual per colony for population analyses. Briefly, a computer program was written to randomly select a single individual's multilocus genotype from each colony, yielding a new data set with the number of individuals sampled equal to the number of colonies. This procedure was repeated 25 times to produce 25 such data sets. Each of these data sets was then used to calculate the population statistic of interest, and the median of the 25 values was taken as the unbiased estimate. Probability tests implemented by the program GENEPOP 3.4 [42] were used in conjunction with this resampling procedure to determine the significance of genotypic disequilibrium between microsatellite markers and deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
We next determined if V. maculifrons or V. squamosa populations showed evidence of isolation by distance over the geographical scale considered. We first calculated estimates of FST between all pairs of colonies for each species using GENEPOP. Thus, colonies, which consisted of groups of sampled workers, were considered as 'populations' for these analyses. Significance of the correlation between geographical and genetic distance was assessed with a Mantel test. The relationship was deemed to be significant if the observed correlation was greater than 5% of the 10,000 randomly generated values. Spearman's rank order correlation coefficient (rS) was used to quantify the association between the genetic distances between nests and the geographical distances that separated them.
Mating system
We used the molecular genetic data derived from the worker genotypes to investigate how the breeding systems of V. maculifrons and V. squamosa differed. Because annual Vespula colonies are headed by single queens, within colony genetic diversity provides insight into the queen's mating history. We thus used the genetic data to determine the number of males to which queens were mated. We then compared mate number in the two taxa via a Kruskal-Wallis test. We next calculated the effective paternity (ke3) for workers using the method of Nielsen et al. [43]. The metric ke3 includes information on the number of times a queen mates and the unequal contributions of a queen's male mates to offspring. We also tested if the estimates of ke3 obtained for V. maculifrons and V. squamosa differed using a Kruskal-Wallis test.
Additionally, we investigated if the distribution of mate number in the two species matched known distributions, as might be expected if particular biological processes (such as constant mate search time or equal probability of mating with particular numbers of males) affected the mating behavior of queens [44]. Specifically, we fitted a Gaussian distribution to queen mate number. We expected that mate number would match this distribution if number of mates were a random function of time and mating opportunity. In contrast, deviations of mate number from the Gaussian distribution might indicate the action of selection operating in these species.
We calculated the magnitude of reproductive skew of males mated to queens using the metric B of Nonacs [45]. The 95% confidence intervals for each estimate of B were estimated to determine the significance of skew. Values of B were considered to be significant if the 95% confidence intervals failed to overlap 0. Both the skew and significance of skew were calculated using the program Skew Calculator [45]. As was the case with our estimates of ke3, we tested if estimates of B differed between species via a Kruskal-Wallis test.
We calculated the relatedness of workers belonging to the same colony using the program RELATEDNESS [46]. We then estimated the relatedness of the queens to their male mates and the relatedness of males mated to single queens to determine if inbreeding occurred or if related males mated the same queen. Standard errors for all estimates were obtained by jackknifing over loci. Finally, we compared our relatedness estimates with similar data collected over two decades ago to determine how the parasitic relationship may have changed mating structure over time.
We sampled 40.56 ± 23.51 (mean ± SD) and 45.62 ± 8.31 workers from each of 37 V. maculifrons and 13 V. squamosa colonies, respectively (Fig. 2). Our total sample size thus consisted of 1501 and 463 workers from the two taxa. The maximum distance between colonies in this study spanned approximately 120 km. Moreover, the sampling locations of V. maculifrons showed considerable overlap with those of V. squamosa (Fig. 2).
Microsatellite loci
We determined if the 43 microsatellite loci developed in related species within the Vespidae were informative in V. maculifrons or V. squamosa. Overall, we found that 16 loci amplified and were variable in both species (Appendix). We used eight of these 16 loci for our study (see Methods). We analyzed reduced data sets consisting of only one individual per colony to determine if loci were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in the two species. We found no evidence of disequilibrium among workers in either Vespula taxon (P > 0.1 for all loci in both species; overall combined P = 0.2388 in V. maculifrons and P = 0.5304 in V. squamosa). In addition, there was no evidence of linkage disequilibrium between any pair of loci (P > 0.3 for all pairs of loci in both species). The eight loci that we ultimately utilized for this study showed substantial variability in the two taxa, with gene diversities (h) often exceeding 0.7 (Table 1). The exceptions were the loci Rufa-5 in V. maculifrons and LIST2019 in V. squamosa, where the variability was somewhat less. Regardless, the variability of the loci was high enough such that the probability of any two males having the same multilocus genotype (nondetection error) was extremely low (<< 0.0001).
Table 1. Variability metrics of microsatellite loci in V. maculifrons (Vmac) and V. squamosa (Vsqu).
Estimates of variability
The standardized number of alleles (A50, defined as the number of alleles expected to be observed if only 50 genes had been sampled from a given population; Table 1; [41]) did not differ significantly between the taxa [12.8 ± 6.3 (mean ± SD) for V. maculifrons and 11.5 ± 4.45 for V. squamosa; paired t-test, t = 0.74, P = 0.48] suggesting that genetic variability was not substantially different between the parasite and its host. In addition, the effective number of alleles did not show strong differences between species (9.2 ± 5.90 for V. maculifrons and 7.0 ± 3.31 for V. squamosa; paired t-test, t = 1.27, P = 0.24). Moreover, the variability at particular loci was similar in the two species. Specifically, the estimates of A50 and expected heterozygosity (h) were significantly correlated across loci in the two taxa (Spearman's correlation coefficient; A50, rS = 0.738, P = 0.0366; h, rS = 0.762, P = 0.0280).
Population structure
The overall estimates of genetic differentiation between colonies in V. maculifrons and V. squamosa were FST = 0.1953 and 0.1914, respectively. We found no evidence of genetic isolation by distance among colonies in either species (Fig. 3). The correlation between geographic distance and genetic distance was low and nonsignificant in V. maculifrons (FST, rS = 0.0176, P = 0.4694) and V. squamosa (FST, rS = 0.0036, P = 0.4748). Thus, both of these Vespula species are apparently able to mate at random over the range in which sampling occurred.
thumbnailFigure 3. Relationship between genetic differentiation and geographic distance of workers sampled from Vespula colonies. There was no evidence for genetic isolation by distance in these species over this range.
Mating system
As expected, we found that the genotype distributions of workers within colonies always were consistent with the presence of a single queen mated to multiple males. V. maculifrons queens mated with 5.64 ± 1.27 males (mean ± SD; range of 3 – 8, Fig. 4), whereas V. squamosa queens mated with 7.25 ± 1.86 males (range of 5 – 12; Fig. 4). The mate number of queens in the two taxa differed significantly from each other (Kruskal Wallis S = 412.5, P = 0.0037). The estimates of effective mate number (ke3) in V. maculifrons and V. squamosa were 4.96 ± 1.40 and 5.58 ± 1.66, respectively (range in ke3 of 2.61 – 8.82 in V. maculifrons and 3.75 – 10.15 in V. squamosa; Fig. 4). In contrast to the actual mate number, the estimates of effective mate number did not differ significantly between species (S = 343, P = 0.2482).
thumbnailFigure 4. Distribution of (A) observed mate number and (B) effective mate number (ke3) for V. maculifrons and V. squamosa queens. Within each species the distribution effective mate number is reduced relative to observed mate number because of unequal sperm use by queens. The distributions of observed mate number differed significantly from a Gaussian distribution in both species due to an excess of queens mated to intermediate numbers of males.
We then turned our attention to the reproductive skew of males mated to the same queen. The mean magnitude of skew was B = 0.0273 ± 0.0409 in V. maculifrons and B = 0.0433 ± 0.0411 in V. squamosa. These values were not significantly different from each other (S = 371, P = 0.0685). However, the estimates of skew were significantly greater than zero in only 13 of the 36 V. maculifrons colonies, whereas the estimates of skew were significant in 10 of the 12 V. squamosa colonies. Thus, the proportions of colonies in which the skew was significant in the two taxa differed (G1 = 8.553, P = 0.0034). Nevertheless, although paternity skew was statistically significant in many colonies, the overall magnitude of B was low and the actual mate numbers were similar to the effective mate numbers in both species.
We investigated if the distribution of queen mate number in the two species fit known distributions to determine if simple biological processes could explain patterns of queen mating behavior [44]. We found that the distribution of mate number in V. maculifrons and V. squamosa differed significantly from that expected under a Gaussian distribution (Shapiro-Wilk test; V. maculifrons, W = 0.920, P = 0.0125; V. squamosa, W = 0.852, P = 0.039). The failure of these distributions to fit the data arose from an observed excess of queens that mated with an intermediate number of males (Fig. 4).
Nestmate V. maculifrons and V. squamosa workers had relatedness values significantly greater than zero (Table 2). However, the relatedness of queens to their male mates did not differ significantly from zero (Table 2), as judged by the fact that the 95% confidence intervals (r ± 1.96 * SEM) overlapped zero. This indicated that inbreeding does not usually occur in either of these species. Furthermore, we found that relatedness of V. maculifrons males mated to single queens was not significantly different from zero (Table 2). But we did find weak evidence that relatedness among V. squamosa males mated to single females was significantly greater than zero. Much of this signal, however, was due to a single colony in which the relatedness among male mates was surprisingly high (r = 0.312).
Table 2. Relatedness (± SEM) estimates for V. maculifrons and V. squamosa.
The interaction between a parasite and its host may lead to an evolutionary arms race between the taxa. Microparasites often have large population sizes and fast generation times, and may be able to win the evolutionary arms race with their hosts [47]. In contrast, social parasites may have reduced effective population sizes owing to their dependence on host colonies and the 1:1 ratio of parasite to host colony replacement. Moreover, the difference between the level of local adaptation between a host and its parasite is determined by the rates of gene flow within host and parasite populations [23]. Limited gene flow may lead to local coadaptation between hosts and parasites [23,48,49]. In contrast, theoretical models predict that increasing rates of gene flow among host populations can influence parasite population demography such that population densities are reduced, potentially leading to the extinction of the parasite [7,50].
This study represents one of the first joint analyses of levels of genetic variation and breeding system in a parasitic social wasp and its primary host. The main focus of this study was to understand if the parasite V. squamosa displayed significant differences in its mating system, levels of genetic variation, and population genetic structure from its host V. maculifrons. Subsequently, our investigation led us to more closely compare and contrast the mating system of the two species in order to understand what factors might affect mating behavior. Overall, we found strong similarities in the genetic structure and mating system of the host, V. maculifrons, and its parasite, V. squamosa. In addition, our investigation of mating biology uncovered patterns consistent with the effects of selection operating on mate number in both taxa.
Population genetic variation and structure
One of the more striking results arising from our investigation of levels of genetic variation was that measures of allelic diversity were not appreciably different between V. squamosa and V. maculifrons. Population genetics theory suggests that the amount of genetic variation maintained within a population is related to the effective population size [51]. Therefore, the shared patterns of diversity among these species suggest that long-term effective population size is not substantially different in the two taxa.
Furthermore, we failed to find evidence for genetic isolation by distance in either Vespula species. The absence of isolation by distance within both taxa suggests that these Vespula wasps exhibit substantial levels of gene flow within the sampling range of this study. This finding is consistent with the high flight capacity of Vespula wasps, which are naturally capable of dispersing over considerable distances [52,53]. In addition, hibernating Vespula queens may readily be moved via accidental human transportation thereby increasing their effective migratory abilities [54,55].
However, our finding of a lack of geographic structure in V. maculifrons and V. squamosa differs somewhat from that found in a previous study of the congener V. germanica in Australia [33]. In that investigation, V. germanica was found to display genetic isolation by distance on approximately the same scale investigated in this study. We note, however, that V. germanica is a recent invader to Australia [56]. Thus, the population dynamics of V. germanica in Australia likely differ from those of V. maculifrons and V. squamosa in their native range in the United States. In particular, the observed isolation by distance in V. germanica populations in Australia may reflect non-equilibrium conditions that will ultimately fade as gene flow swamps local genetic differentiation [17].
The overall similarity of levels of genetic variation and low levels of structure in V. maculifrons and V. squamosa stand in contrast to expectations derived from other studies of social hymenopteran parasites. For example, ant social parasites often have low population sizes and dispersal capabilities [7]. In accord with these predictions, Trontti et al. [57] found that an inquiline parasite species exhibited much greater genetic substructuring than was found in its host. Brandt et al. [58] also found substantial genetic structure in two species of parasitic ants, although the magnitude of structuring did not differ substantially from that of the host species. Thus our findings indicate that social parasites need not show levels of variation distinctly different from their hosts.
Queen mate number and mating behavior
We compared the mating system of V. maculifrons and V. squamosa in order to investigate if there were differences between the two species that might be associated with parasitic behaviors. As expected, we found that all colonies of both species were headed by only a single queen, and that all queens of both species were polyandrous [35-37]. Our estimates of worker relatedness for V. maculifrons and V. squamosa (0.373 and 0.357, respectively; Table 2) did not differ significantly from earlier estimates obtained for these species (0.320 and 0.403; [35]). Thus, we found no evidence for temporal variation in the mating systems of these two taxa from samples obtained some 23 years apart. Although only tangential to this study, this result is noteworthy. Few studies have investigated temporal stability of mating structure. Here, we found that structure did not change over a 23 generation time-span. This stability in general mating structure suggests that selective factors affecting mating behavior have remained constant over that time.
We also did not find any convincing evidence of inbreeding between queens and males of both the parasite and its host. In addition, the relatedness of males mated to the same queen tended to be low in both taxa (Table 2). These data are consistent with our understanding of the mating system of Vespula wasps. Namely, although inbreeding is possible under laboratory conditions [59], matings in natural settings tend to take place away from the nest and result in outbreeding [18,32,60]. Thus, the parasitic behavior of V. squamosa has not led to a cycle of inbreeding as occurs in some socially parasitic ants [7,61].
Our primary interest in studying queen mate number was to test hypotheses related to how mate number should evolve in social parasites. We predicted that mate number would be similar in the two taxa, because V. squamosa colonies exist as free-living entities for a substantial part of their life cycle. Therefore, they should retain benefits of multiple mating [37], such as superior task performance of parasite defense associated with increased within-colony genetic diversity, unlike obligate social parasites that are more intimately associated with their hosts [30]. Interestingly, we found that queen mate number differed significantly between the species, with parasitic queens tending to have more mates than host queens. This finding may result from a regime of strong selection of parasites on hosts. In this case, hosts of social parasites might be selected to develop less genetically diverse colonies to increase colony uniformity [7] and hence increase parasite recognition. However, this is not likely to be the case in this system, as levels of within-colony genetic diversity, the currency of multiple mating, did not differ substantially between the species. Thus, overall, our results suggest that V. squamosa does indeed bear the benefits of multiple mating likely as a result of the free-living portion of its life cycle [30].
We also found that effective mating frequency of queens was similar between the species. This suggests that unequal use of sperm reduces the effective mate numbers to approximately equal levels in both species, despite the fact that actual queen mate number differed significantly in the two taxa. Although the magnitude of paternity skew was similar between species, such skew was significant more frequently in V. squamosa. Male skew has important implications for the reproductive success of males and, potentially, for how colony members allocate resources to the production of sexuals [62]. The underlying mechanisms resulting in the variation of male reproductive skew between the two species remain unclear at this time, but may result from female choice of male sperm or male-male competition occurring among sperm within the female reproductive tract.
Finally, one striking feature of our data was the similarity in the shape of the distribution of mate number in both species. In particular, the distribution of the number of male mates (Fig. 4) indicated that the extremes at both ends of the distribution had been somewhat truncated. This suggests that the number of mates observed does not simply result from random interactions between queens and males. One explanation for the observed pattern is that mate number is under stabilizing selection. Specifically, mating to too few males may be maladaptive [63], whereas mating to too many males may be costly [64]. In fact, Goodisman et al. [37] identified a positive correlation between a fitness correlate and number of matings by queens in V. maculifrons, indicating that there is a selective advantage to polyandry. Regardless, the patterns of mating behavior found here suggest that similar factors may influence queen mate choice decisions in V. squamosa. However, queens in each species may achieve the optimal effective mate number via different evolutionary strategies. That is, V. squamosa queens mate with more males, but have greater skew in sperm usage, while V. maculifrons queens mate with fewer males, but have less skew.
The overall similarity in population genetic makeup of V. maculifrons and V. squamosa may reflect the fact that V. squamosa represents an intermediate stage in the evolution of social parasitism. Taylor [12] proposed that parasitism in Vespula develops through four stages. First, queens display intraspecific, facultative, temporary social parasitism, whereby conspecific queenless nests are taken over by queens searching for a nesting site. Second, a species may evolve interspecific, facultative, temporary social parasitism. In this case, a queen searching for a nest occasionally takes over the queenless nest of a heterospecific host. Third, a species may evolve to interspecific, obligatory, temporary parasitism. In this third evolutionary step, the parasitic queen loses her ability to found new colonies but still produces her own workers once she takes over an established heterospecific nest. And finally, a species may evolve to display interspecific, obligatory, permanent parasitism, where the parasitic worker caste is completely lost.
Extreme specialists (obligate, workerless parasites) are usually rare, restricted locally, and highly genetically structured. However, the genetic fingerprint of V. squamosa may be somewhat less defined by its parasitic life style because it falls somewhere between stages two and three in Taylor's proposed series of the evolution of parasitism. In support of this hypothesis, Hölldobler and Wilson [3] point out that facultatively parasitic ants, or those that are more primitively parasitic, tend to be widely distributed, as seems to be the case with V. squamosa.
Future research in the study of the social parasite V. squamosa should aim to determine the extent that this species is facultatively versus obligately parasitic. In particular, a study of geographic variation in parasitic behavior and frequency would be informative. Additionally, it has been suggested that social parasites that exploit multiple hosts may form host races. A previous study failed to find evidence for such host race formation in Polistes [65]. However, closer study of V. squamosa, which parasitizes multiple hosts [18], would provide another system in which to study how parasitism can lead to increased biodiversity of social insects.
Authors' contributions
EAH, JLK, and MADG conceived the study and participated in its design and coordination. EAH and JLK carried out laboratory analyses. EAH and MADG analyzed the data and drafted the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Utility of 43 microsatellite loci in V. maculifrons and V. squamosaa (Table 3)
Table 3. Utility of 43 microsatellite loci in V. maculifrons and V. squamosaa.
This research was supported by the Georgia Institute of Technology and the United States National Science Foundation (#DEB-0640690). We thank E. A. Matthews for help collecting wasps, D. Bhatka, J. Rekau, and K. A. Sankovich for laboratory support, and T. N. Thirer for assistance with microsatellite analysis.
1. Maynard Smith J, Szathmary E: The major transitions in evolution. Oxford , Oxford University Press; 1998.
2. Wilson EO: The insect societies. Cambridge , Harvard University press; 1971.
3. Hölldobler B, Wilson EO: The Ants. Cambridge, Massachusetts , The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press; 1990.
4. Ross KG, Matthews RW: The social biology of wasps. Ithaca , Comstock Publishing Associates; 1991.
5. Bourke AFG, Franks NR: Social Evolution in Ants. Princeton, New Jersey , Princeton University Press; 1995.
6. Davies NB, Bourke AFG, Brooke MD: Cuckoos and Parasitic Ants - Interspecific Brood Parasitism as an Evolutionary Arms-Race.
Trends in Ecology & Evolution 1989, 4(9):274-278. Publisher Full Text OpenURL
7. Brandt M, Foitzik S, Fischer-Blass B, Heinze J: The coevolutionary dynamics of obligate ant social parasite system-between prudence and antagonism.
Biol Rev Biol Rev 2005, 80(2):251-267. OpenURL
8. Schmid-Hempel P: Parasites in social insects. Princeton, NJ , Princeton University Press; 1998.
9. Cervo R: Polistes wasps and their social parasites: an overview.
Annales Zoologici Fennici 2006, 43(5-6):531-549. OpenURL
10. Lenoir A, D'Ettorre P, Errard C, Hefetz A: Chemical ecology and social parasitism in ants.
Annual Review of Entomology 2001, 46:573-599. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text OpenURL
11. Carpenter JM, Perera EP: Phylogenetic relationships among yellowjackets and the evolution of social parasitism (Hymenoptera : Vespidae, Vespinae).
American Museum Novitates 2006, Cover1-19. OpenURL
12. Taylor LH: Observations on social parasitism in the genus Vespula Thompson.
Annals of the Entomological Society of America 1939, 32:304-315. OpenURL
13. Matthews RW: Social parasitism in yellowjackets. In Social insects in the tropics. Edited by Jaisson P. Univ. Paris-Nord; 1982:193-202. OpenURL
14. MacDonald JF, Matthews RW: Nesting biology of the southern yellowjacket, Vespula squamosa (Hymenoptera: Vespidae): Social parasitism and independent founding.
Journal of the Kansas entomological society 1984, 57(1):134-151. OpenURL
15. MacDonald JF, Matthews RW: Vespula squamosa: A yellow jacket wasp evolving towards parasitism.
Science 1975, 190:1003-1004. OpenURL
16. Hunt JH, Cave RD, Borjas GR: First records from Honduras of a yellowjacket wasp, Vespula squamosa (Drury) (Hymenoptera : Vespidae : Vespinae).
Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 2001, 74(2):118-119. OpenURL
17. Akre RD, Greene A, MacDonald JF, Landolt PJ, Davis HG: The yellow jackets of America north of Mexico. Volume Agriculture handbook 552. U. S. Department of Agriculture; 1980::102.
18. Greene A: Dolichovespula and Vespula. In The social biology of wasps. Edited by Ross KG, Matthews RW. Ithaca , Comstock publishing associates; 1991:263-305. OpenURL
19. MacDonald JF, Matthews RW: Nesting biology of the Eastern yellowjacket, Vespula maculifrons (Hymenoptera: Vespidae).
Journal of the Kansas entomological society 1981, 54(3):433-457. OpenURL
20. Foitzik S, Herbers JM: Colony structure of a slavemaking ant. II. Frequency of slave raids and impact on the host population.
Evolution 2001, 55(2):316-323. PubMed Abstract OpenURL
21. Foitzik S, Herbers JM: Colony structure of a slavemaking ant. I. Intracolony relatedness, worker reproduction, and polydomy.
Evolution 2001, 55(2):307-315. PubMed Abstract OpenURL
22. Foitzik S, Heinze J: Microgeographic genetic structure and interspecific parasitism in the ant Leptothorax nylanderi.
Ecological entomology 2001, 26:449-456. Publisher Full Text OpenURL
Journal of Evolutionary Biology 2002, 15(3):451-462. Publisher Full Text OpenURL
24. Jones JC, Myerscough MR, Graham S, Oldroyd BP: Honey bee nest thermoregulation: Diversity promotes stability.
Science 2004, 305:402-404. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text OpenURL
25. Seeley TD, Tarpy DR: Queen promiscuity lowers disease within honeybee colonies.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences 2007, 274(1606):67-72. Publisher Full Text OpenURL
Proceedings of the national academy of sciences USA 2003, 100(16):9394-9397. Publisher Full Text OpenURL
27. Crozier RH, Fjerdingstad EJ: Polyandry in social Hymenoptera-disunity in diversity?
Annals Zoologici Fennici 2001, 38:267-285. OpenURL
28. Bekkevold D, Boomsma JJ: Evolutionary transition to a semelparous life history in the socially parasitic ant Acromyrmex insinuator.
Journal of evolutionary biology 2000, 13:615-623. Publisher Full Text OpenURL
29. Gardner MG, Schonrogge K, Elmes GW, Thomas JA: Increased genetic diversity as a defence against parasites is undermined by social parasites: Microdon mutabilis hoverflies infesting Formica lemani ant colonies.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences 2007, 274(1606):103-110. Publisher Full Text OpenURL
30. Sumner S, Hughes WOH, Pedersen JS, Boomsma JJ: Ant parasite queens revert to mating singly.
Nature 2004, 428:35-36. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text OpenURL
Behavioral ecology and sociobiology 2001, 50:1-8. Publisher Full Text OpenURL
32. Goodisman MAD, Matthews RW, Crozier RH: Mating and reproduction in the wasp Vespula germanica.
Behavioral ecology and sociobiology 2002, 51:497-502. Publisher Full Text OpenURL
33. Goodisman MAD, Matthews RW, Crozier RH: Hierarchical genetic structure of the introduced wasp Vespula germanica in Australia.
Molecular ecology 2001, 10:1423-1432. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text OpenURL
34. Wenseleers T, Badcock NS, Erven K, Tofilski A, Nascimento FS, Hart AG, Burke TA, Archer ME, Ratnieks FLW: A test of worker policing theory in an advanced eusocial wasp, Vespula rufa.
Evolution 2005, 59(6):1306-1314. PubMed Abstract OpenURL
35. Ross KG: Kin selection and the problem of sperm utilization in social insects.
Nature 1986, 323(6091):798-800. Publisher Full Text OpenURL
36. Goodisman MAD, Kovacs JL, Hoffman EA: Lack of conflict during queen production in the social wasp Vespula maculifrons.
Molecular Ecology 2007, 16(12):2589-2595. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text OpenURL
37. Goodisman MAD, Kovacs JL, Hoffman EA: The significance of multiple mating in the social wasp Vespula maculifrons.
Evolution 2007, 61(9):2260-2267. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text OpenURL
38. Foster KR, Ratnieks FLW, Gyllenstrand N, Thorén PA: Colony kin structure and male production in Dolichovespula wasps.
Molecular ecology 2001, 10:1003-1010. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text OpenURL
39. Hasegawa E, Takahashi JI: Microsatellite loci for genetic research in the hornet Vespa mandarinia and related species.
Molecular ecology notes 2002, 2:306-308. Publisher Full Text OpenURL
40. Daly D, Archer ME, Watts PC, Speed MP, Hughes MR, Barker FS, Jones J, Odgaard K, Kemp SJ: Polymorphic microsatellite loci for eusocial wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae).
Molecular ecology notes 2002, 2:273-275. Publisher Full Text OpenURL
Conservation Biology 1998, 12(4):844-855. Publisher Full Text OpenURL
Journal of heredity 1995, 86:248-249. OpenURL
43. Nielsen R, Tarpy DR, Reeve K: Estimating effective paternity number in social insects and the effective number of alleles in a population.
Molecular ecology 2003, 12:3157-3164. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text OpenURL
44. Goodisman MAD: A theoretical analysis of variation in multiple mating in social insects.
Sociobiology 2007, 49(3):107-119. OpenURL
45. Nonacs P: Measuring the reliability of skew indices: is there one best index?
Animal Behaviour 2003, 65:615-627. Publisher Full Text OpenURL
46. Queller DC, Goodnight KF: Estimating relatedness using genetic markers.
Evolution 1989, 43(2):258-275. Publisher Full Text OpenURL
47. Criscione C, Poulin J, Blouin MS: Molecular ecology of parasites: elucidating ecological and microevolutionary processes.
Molecular ecology 2005, 14:2247-2257. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text OpenURL
48. Foitzik S, DeHeer CJ, Hunjan DN, Herbers JM: Coevolution in host-parasite systems: behavioural strategies of slave-making ants and their hosts.
Proceedings of the royal society of London B 2001, 268:1139-1146. Publisher Full Text OpenURL
49. Blatrix R, Herbers JM: Coevolution between slave-making ants and their hosts: host specificity and geographical variation.
Molecular ecology 2003, 12:2809-2816. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text OpenURL
50. Nuismer SL, Kirkpatrick M: Gene flow and the coevolution of parasite range.
Evolution 2003, 57(4):746-754. PubMed Abstract OpenURL
51. Nei M: Molecular evolutionary genetics. New York , Columbia University Press; 1987:512.
52. Edwards RE: Social wasps: their biology and control. East Grinstead , Rentokil; 1980.
53. Moller H: Lessons for invasion theory from social insects.
Biological conservation 1996, 78:125-142. Publisher Full Text OpenURL
54. Crosland MW: The spread of the social wasp, Vespula germanica, in Australia.
New Zealand journal of zoology 1991, 18:375-388. OpenURL
55. Thomas CR: The European wasp (Vespula germanica Fab.) in New Zealand. In New Zealand department of scientific and industrial research information series. Volume 27. Auckland ; 1960::1-74. OpenURL
56. Spradbery JP, Maywald GF: The distribution of the European or German wasp, Vespula germanica (F.) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), in Australia: Past, present and future.
Australian journal of zoology 1992, 40:495-510. Publisher Full Text OpenURL
57. Trontti K, Aron S, Sundström L: The genetic population structure of the ant Plagiolepis xene-implications for genetic vulnerability of obligate social parasites.
Conservation Genetics 2006, 7(2):241-250. Publisher Full Text OpenURL
Molecular Ecology 2007, 16(10):2063-2078. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text OpenURL
59. Ross KG: Laboratory studies of the mating biology of the Eastern yellowjacket, Vespula maculifrons (Hymenoptera: Vespidae).
Journal of the Kansas entomological society 1983, 56(4):523-537. OpenURL
60. Spradbery JP: Wasps: An account of the biology and natural history of solitary and social wasps. London , Sidgwick & Jackson; 1973:408.
Biological journal of the Linnean Society 1991, 43:157-178. Publisher Full Text OpenURL
62. Boomsma JJ, Sundström L: Patterns of paternity skew in Formica ants.
Behavioral ecology and sociobiology 1998, 42:85-92. Publisher Full Text OpenURL
63. Brown MJF, Schmid-Hempel P: The evolution of female multiple mating in social Hymenoptera.
Evolution 2003, 57(9):2067-2081. PubMed Abstract OpenURL
64. Thornhill R, Alcock J: The evolution of insect mating systems. Cambridge, MA , Harvard University Press; 2001:547.
65. Fanelli D, Henshaw M, Cervo R, Turillazzi S, Queller DC, Strassmann JE: The social parasite wasp Polistes atrimandibularis does not form host races.
Journal of Evolutionary Biology 2005, 18(5):1362-1367. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text OpenURL | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/8/239 | dclm-gs1-118040001 | false | true | {
"keywords": "genetic diversity, genotypes"
} | false | null | false |
0.086742 | <urn:uuid:55184c4f-2fa3-4876-8a98-85e6e9bee656> | en | 0.91918 | Forgot your password?
The Cattle Raid of Cooley Quiz | Two Week Quiz A
Purchase our The Cattle Raid of Cooley Lesson Plans
Two Week Quiz A
Name: _____________________________ Period: ___________________________
This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through The Account of the Appearance of Cuchulain | Dubthach's Jealousy.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What do Medb and Ailill think is responsible for Cuchulain's success in battle?
(a) He has a magic slingshot.
(b) His druids cast battle spells.
(c) His warriors really do all the work.
(d) He has a magic spearlet.
2. Dubthach plots to capture Cuchulain. What does Fergus do?
(a) Kill Dubthach.
(b) Tells Cuchulain what Dubthach is doing.
(c) Kick Dubthach out of the camp.
(d) Join Dubthach in his plot.
3. What is unusual about Cuchulain's hair?
(a) It is very long.
(b) He is almost bald.
(c) It is worn in a ponytail.
(d) It is three different colors.
4. How does Cuchulain kill Mani, Medb and Ailill's son?
(a) He tricks him into retreating and his men kill him.
(b) He creates a flood and Mani drowns in it.
(c) He stabs him with his sword.
(d) He traps him in a wooded area and kills him.
(a) By offering him a bribe.
(b) By pretending to be a holy druid.
(c) By saying he would never kill an unarmed man.
(d) By giving the man his sword.
Short Answer Questions
1. What does Medb offer Cuchulain if he will stop killing her men?
2. In her second disguise, Morrigan is an eel. What does she do to Cuchulain in battle?
3. After Redg the Satirist is killed, how many men do Medb and Ailill send to battle with Cuchulain?
4. Medb and Ailill split into two groups. What does Ailill then do?
5. What is the result of the man of Ireland's dealing with Cuchulain?
(see the answer key)
This section contains 356 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page)
Purchase our The Cattle Raid of Cooley Lesson Plans
Follow Us on Facebook | http://www.bookrags.com/lessonplan/cattleraidcooley/quiz2A.html | dclm-gs1-118050001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.299086 | <urn:uuid:c368cc57-c1f3-4d6d-b6e1-c30a75781838> | en | 0.966328 | wi-fi stories
The United States isn't the world leader in broadband penetration. In fact, we're nowhere close to the top of the list — we typically hover around spot 15 or 20, depending on how you define it. In less than five years, however, the President just said he wanted to spread wireless broadband to cover 98% of the nation.
So you want to stream music from your computer to another room. Congratulations, you've realized what century this is. First, you're going to need some kind of wireless receiver in that room. You could get an unnecessarily expensive system like the Sonos, or go with a cheap and easy streamer like this Orb, just $69. But, yep, there's a catch.
Sick of that Wi-Fi signal dying whenever you need it most? That may be happening a lot less in the coming years as the FCC pushes forward a plan to turbocharge the wireless tech, giving it longer range and improving its capability to penetrate walls. The key: unused airwaves between TV channels. | http://www.dvice.com/tags/wi-fi?page=4 | dclm-gs1-118160001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.035426 | <urn:uuid:9db744bd-7431-4090-8445-a10c71285958> | en | 0.957635 | Two international con artist are beginning sentences totalling 22 years this afternoon, after carrying out an elaborate fraud on one of Norfolk’s richest men.
George Katcharian and Cemal Esmene were each given 11-year sentences by judge Nicholas Coleman at Norwich Crown Court.
On Thursday a jury found Katcharian, 60, guilty of conspiring to defraud businessman Graham Dacre out of £12m, and a German church out of 10m euros.
Turkish Cypriot Esmene, was convicted of the fraud on the Christian philanthropist and laundering the money form the fraud on the German church.
The fraud took place in spring 2008, when Mr Dacre was persuaded into parting with a slice of his fortune, built up through a car dealership.
He believed the money was going to be invested in a high-yield trading platform, reserved for humanitarian projects.
But after the money was transferred to a Swiss bank account, it was never returned.
In May, Alan Hunt, 65, of Poole and Arthur Ford-Batey, 62, of Carlisle, were convicted of conspiracy to defraud Mr Dacre while Ian Yorkshire, 62, of Brighton, was found guilty of conspiracy to money launder.
•See tomorrow’s newspapers for a full interview with Mr Dacre in which he reveals how he fell for the fraud.
Norfolk Weather
max temp: 12°C
min temp: 7°C
Five-day forecast | http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/crime/fraudsters_sentenced_to_22_years_in_prison_for_20m_con_on_norwich_businessman_and_a_german_church_1_1664974 | dclm-gs1-118170001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.146702 | <urn:uuid:709bad12-7709-4627-9b4b-57048a24bfbb> | en | 0.916773 | Paper toys
Newer Older
boyoma, Felipe Tascon, and More-Bratz! added this photo to their favorites.
1. Lila Rache 67 months ago | reply
Once we have some proper furniture, we'll have to show off the space we've got ;) It's a new apartment after all.
2. boyoma 50 months ago | reply
where did you get these? or did you make them? I LOVE IT!!!
3. eikei 50 months ago | reply
I believe there are links over two of the paper toys, if you move your cursor over them. The others I just found by googling "paper toys".
| http://www.flickr.com/photos/ekarlsson/2845244091/ | dclm-gs1-118250001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.049492 | <urn:uuid:351129c5-998b-47a1-aa48-60e333098c32> | en | 0.943088 | A lump in the neck
About laryngitis
Cancer of the mouth, pharynx, and larynx
The pharynx (FAIR-INKS) is the medical term for the throat. The larynx is the voice box. Together with the mouth, they provide a starting point for several types of cancer.
Chronic cough
Hoarseness prevention and treatment tips
Hoarseness may be nature's way of getting back at people who talk too much. Overuse of the voice is among the common causes of this condition. Smoking is another.
The thyroid diagnosis
Your thyroid gland produces hormones that control your body's metabolism. Diagnosis of thyroid problems consists of a simple blood test. The level of these hormones in the blood will quickly determine whether or not your thyroid is functioning properly.
Throat cancer
In the early part of the twentieth century, tonsillectomies accounted for almost a third of all the surgeries performed in this country. Removing the tonsils was a standard part of childhood.
The tonsils perform an invaluable service during infancy. From their location at the back of the throat, they intercept bacteria from the mouth and allow the body to create antibodies.
Treatment of your thyroid lump
If you have a thyroid lump, the first step is to determine its cause. An ear, nose and throat specialist can run tests to determine the level of hormones in your blood and whether your thyroid is producing too much or too little of them.
Vocal cord facts
You talk on the phone; you talk to friends and family; you probably talk as part of your job. Normal talking is what the vocal cords were designed to do.
Voice disorders
What are tonsils?
What is a thyroid gland?
What is strep throat?
Strep is the informal term for streptococcus (STREP-TOE-KOK-US), a common bacteria that causes such symptoms as a sore throat, swollen lymph glands and fever.
When is a thyroid gland abnormal?
Inergize Digital This site is hosted and managed by Inergize Digital.
Mobile advertising for this site is available on Local Ad Buy. | http://www.fox23news.com/guides/health/earnosethroat/heading.aspx?heading=Throat+%26+Neck | dclm-gs1-118260001 | false | true | {
"keywords": "bacteria, streptococcus"
} | false | null | false |
0.018908 | <urn:uuid:143f9460-f7c5-4332-af70-913f0e449fa2> | en | 0.82078 | Israel in 1968 & 2014: The Jews Are Alone
Canada Takes Its Place at the Table
How Canada’s support for Israel has improved the country’s geopolitical standing.
Evangelicals: Vital for American Support for Israel
We Stand with Israel
Why outreach is more important than ever.
ObamaCare on the Edge
Morsi’s Boasts of a Pro-Brotherhood U.S. Come True
A Rallying Cry from Christians United for Israel
With the world turning on Israel, steadfast friends show their support.
Christians Unite for Israel in Washington
An impassioned defense of the Jewish State.
Are American Jews Waking Up?
Why shrinking Jewish support for Obama may be too little, too late.
Pages: 1 2
Saudi Arabia Prosecutes PR Groups Aiding Terror
….While American PR firms and Twitter continue to provide PR cover to terrorism.
Pages: 1 2
Pakistan: An Enemy Regime
What America should do now over the duplicitous country.
Pages: 1 2 | http://www.frontpagemag.com/tag/support/ | dclm-gs1-118290001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.084749 | <urn:uuid:ff7edf99-03a6-4239-903b-865dd18ba239> | en | 0.914869 | Need For Speed Most Wanted U features best visuals, true Miiverse integration
#21NarutoPosted 2/14/2013 2:15:20 AM
Will you be able to see your Mii inside the cockpit?
#22Elements012894Posted 2/14/2013 2:19:16 AM
ORANGE666 posted...
keybladeXIII posted...
They said the same thing for Aliens: Colonial Marines.
Criterion also said the Vita version of most wanted looked the exact same as the PS3 version except with a lower resolution. Wasn't even close
I'm pretty sure they said it was the exact same game, not the same graphics. They even mentioned that the Vita wasn't as strong as Sony made it out to be in that same article.
#23ChipChippersonPosted 2/14/2013 2:23:58 AM
Considering that this is pretty much Burnout I'll probably check it out.
#24shaunmePosted 2/14/2013 2:53:41 AM
Ok people need to start saying best console version. | http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/631516-wii-u/65447036?page=2 | dclm-gs1-118330001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.341555 | <urn:uuid:6645f324-86bd-43d9-b23c-86964483ac3b> | en | 0.866876 | 3.4. Interactive evaluation at the prompt
Prelude> "hello"
Prelude> putStrLn "hello"
let it = e;
print it
which is then run as an IO-action.
Prelude> id
No instance for `Show (a -> a)'
arising from use of `print'
in a `do' expression pattern binding: print it
3.4.1. What's really in scope at the prompt?
Which indicates that everything from the module Prelude is currently in scope. If we now load a file into GHCi, the prompt will change:
Prelude> :load Main.hs
Compiling Main ( Main.hs, interpreted )
We're not limited to a single module: GHCi can combine scopes from multiple modules, in any mixture of * and non-* forms. GHCi combines the scopes from all of these modules to form the scope that is in effect at the prompt. For technical reasons, GHCi can only support the *-form for modules which are interpreted, so compiled modules and package modules can only contribute their exports to the current scope.
The scope is manipulated using the :module command. For example, if the current scope is Prelude, then we can bring into scope the exports from the module IO like so:
Prelude> :module +IO
Prelude,IO> hPutStrLn stdout "hello\n"
(Note: :module can be shortened to :m). The full syntax of the :module command is:
Using the + form of the module commands adds modules to the current scope, and - removes them. Without either + or -, the current scope is replaced by the set of modules specified. Note that if you use this form and leave out Prelude, GHCi will assume that you really wanted the Prelude and add it in for you (if you don't want the Prelude, then ask to remove it with :m -Prelude).
The scope is automatically set after a :load command, to the most recently loaded "target" module, in a *-form if possible. For example, if you say :load foo.hs bar.hs and bar.hs contains module Bar, then the scope will be set to *Bar if Bar is interpreted, or if Bar is compiled it will be set to Prelude,Bar (GHCi automatically adds Prelude if it isn't present and there aren't any *-form modules).
3.4.2. Using do-notation at the prompt
Here's an example:
Prelude> x <- return 42
Prelude> print x
Prelude> let x = 42
Prelude> print x
Prelude> let x = error "help!"
Prelude> print x
*** Exception: help!
Prelude> :show bindings
x :: Int
Prelude> :set +t
Prelude> let (x:xs) = [1..]
x :: Integer
xs :: [Integer]
3.4.3. The it variable
Prelude> 1+2
Prelude> it * 2
let it = e;
print it
before execution, resulting in a binding for it.
Prelude> Time.getClockTime
Prelude> print it
Wed Mar 14 12:23:13 GMT 2001
The corresponding translation for an IO-typed e is
it <- e
3.4.4. Type defaulting in GHCi
Consider this GHCi session:
ghci> reverse []
What should GHCi do? Strictly speaking, the program is ambiguous. show (reverse []) (which is what GHCi computes here) has type Show a => a and how that displays depends on the type a. For example:
ghci> (reverse []) :: String
ghci> (reverse []) :: [Int]
However, it is tiresome for the user to have to specify the type, so GHCi extends Haskell's type-defaulting rules (Section 4.3.4 of the Haskell 98 Report (Revised)) as follows. If the expression yields a set of type constraints that are all from standard classes (Num, Eq etc.), and at least one is either a numeric class or the Show, Eq, or Ord class, GHCi will try to use one of the default types, just as described in the Report. | http://www.haskell.org/ghc/docs/6.2.1/html/users_guide/x1075.html | dclm-gs1-118390001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.037951 | <urn:uuid:ec4007bf-90d4-4310-a00f-3dd23ae27ba8> | en | 0.959367 | Would stay again
Member Rating 4 out of 5 by a traveler from Travelocity.com on May 10, 2009
This hotel was a good value and in a wonderful location. If you're expecting a 1st class hotel you'll be disappointed. The sheets were fresh and clean and the room was comfortable. There was some grime on the light switches and here and there, but it's not a 1st world country or a 4 star hotel. The staff was friendly and helpful, and the breakfast buffet was wonderful! The hotel dining room was good, but a bit expensive. I would recommend it for my not so picky friends, and I woud go back if I'm ever in the DR again. Probably will not be going back though. Not a lot to do there, and I feel ripped off paying an entry fee of $10.00 each and an exit fee of $20.00. If they want to attract tourism, they need to get a clue about that kind of thing, and also clean up their beaches in Santo Domingo. The trash was unbelieveable.
Mercure Comercial Santo Domingo
El Conde esquina Hostos, Ciudad Colonial
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 10211
+1 (809) 688-5500
©Travelocity.com LP 2000-2009 | http://www.igougo.com/print.aspx?ReviewID=100526998 | dclm-gs1-118420001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.020241 | <urn:uuid:d8cb9942-d1f5-4ee2-b1b5-7abd8e9227d6> | en | 0.923109 | Interiors: Using all four lighting types is a bright idea
Let’s shed some light on how to light your space. There are basically four types of illumination used in homes: natural, general, task and accent lighting. Homes should have all four.
n Natural lighting, of course, comes from the great outdoors. It is believed that the more natural light we get in our homes, the healthier and happier we are. Our bodies produce vitamin D as a result of exposure to sunlight. We should allow as much light to come through our windows as possible. In some rooms, the sun might glare too harshly at certain times of day, so proper window treatments are necessary, such as sheer draperies; roll-down, see-through shades; or soft, see-through pleated shades.
n General illumination features overhead fixtures, such as chandeliers or recessed lighting. They all light up a space, but each has a different effect. General recessed lighting gives light without interfering with the space or the decor. Its purpose is to light the space, nothing more. A chandelier not only lights the space but also serves as an accessory. When hanging a chandelier over a table, place the bottom 32 to 36 inches above the top of the table. If a chandelier is going to hang in a room without a table underneath, then measure the room to get the right size for the chandelier.
To do so, measure the length and width of the room. Add those figures, and the total will give you the width the chandelier should be. For example, if a room is 18 feet by 20 feet, the chandelier should be about 38 inches wide.
n Task lighting is the next type of task lighting. Here, again, recessed lighting fits the bill. Task lighting sheds light in a specific work area, commonly over the stove or over counter space. Another type of task lighting is a lamp for the purpose of illuminating reading material or a study desk. When you’re seated, the lamp shade bottom should be at eye level so the light shines on the book. In laundry rooms, fluorescent light works well, as it is bright and costs less.
n Accent lighting is fun. A general description of an accent light is any lamp that is 60 watts or less, but an accent light is much more than that. Wall sconces fall in the accent-lighting category, as they shed light and serve as fashionable decorations. Accent lights can also highlight artwork on a wall or in a shelf. Recessed lighting works, too, as the light source can shine unobtrusively from the ceiling on to the chosen subject.
Another attractive accent light that gives a homey feeling is a small, quaint lamp set on just about any surface — an end table, a dresser or a bathroom counter.
So there you have it: Lighting 101. Hope you’ve been illuminated!
Rosemary Sadez Friedmann, an interior designer in Naples, is author of “Mystery of Color.” E-mail:
• Discuss
• Print
Comments » 0
Be the first to post a comment!
Share your thoughts
| http://www.marconews.com/news/2009/oct/08/interiors-using-all-four-lighting-types-bright-ide/ | dclm-gs1-118500001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.024121 | <urn:uuid:1048750f-906d-4f47-bfab-83680f35e290> | en | 0.941319 | Collaboration: How to avoid crossed wires with cross-promotion
As brand-owners look to get more from their tightened budgets, running promotions across multiple products is becoming a more important and effective tactic, writes Suzy Bashford.
The news that Britvic is running its first cross-brand promotion, with PepsiCo, and backing it with its biggest consumer giveaway to date, is a sign of the times. The 'Reward your thirst' on-pack activity encourages consumers to text in to find out whether they have won prizes, which will be awarded every minute for a year at a cost of £5.5m. The campaign spans a host of brands including Tango, 7-Up, Drench and Mountain Dew.
In the wake of a recession, such promotions make commercial sense. However, Jonathan Gatward, Britvic's brand and activation director, argues that the joint activity is more than just an economy drive and that retailer buy-in is a key part of the strategy too. 'By offering just one promotion across a wide range of brands, we hope it will make it easier for retailers to display something that appeals to a large number of consumers,' he says.
Britvic and PepsiCo are not alone. In a cluttered retail environment, more brands are clubbing together to gain promotional stand-out. That's certainly the case with Warburtons, according to Paul McGann, managing partner at integrated agency Brass, which works with the bread brand. 'With group promotions, you get more display. The point-of-sale gets placed and the promotion achieves critical mass,' he says.
Rather than create a promotion with brands that compete for the same 'occasion' - as Britvic and PepsiCo's soft drinks do - McGann says Warburtons has had success in using a 'shared platform' upon which non-competing products can also stand.
For example, 'breakfast' has proved an effective theme for marketers to promote lines such as crumpets and muffins. 'We've extended this to encompass complementary products, such as cross-couponing with PG Tips and Bertolli spread,' says McGann. 'Ultimately it's about relevance. We are making it easier for consumers to find and eat the perfect breakfast.'
Customer publisher Seven Squared, which works with Sainsbury's, has also found that creating themed platforms that allow such collaborations works best. For the past few Christmases, Sainsbury's has offered a 'Bake a cake' leaflet in-store, which features multiple brands.
'The ingredients of the cake are sponsored by different suppliers,' says Lynne de Lacy, senior account director, creative services, at Seven Squared. 'It's a similar deal to a multiple-supplier advertorial, but they all combine to make a single product, which gives the message much more power. This makes sense as they are non-competitive brands, can be displayed near one another in the baking aisle and produce a unified, long-lasting marketing piece that is useful to customers. Being a recipe, it encourages "keepability".'
Brand integrity
One of the big risks in cross-promotions is that brands can lose their individuality and suffer a dilution of values. Britvic has tried to avoid this by offering prizes that are specific and relevant to each brand. Tango, for example, gives consumers the chance to win a party with 'the Tango dwarf', whereas Pepsi Max offers a US road trip for four. 'Individual brand activity will also continue throughout the year,' says Gatward.
When it comes to running such promotions, Gatward recommends that all areas of the business work together, stressing that communication and early planning are essential. This may sound straightforward, but getting different brands to work in harmony is often easier said than done.
Even if a cross-promotion makes perfect financial and retail sense, individual brands inevitably get less attention, and may even be overshadowed by a more popular, rival product. Many marketers skirt around this issue, but TLC Marketing managing director Gemma Lovelock, who runs cross-promotions for Kellogg, is more open.
'Of course cross-promotions cause friction between brand managers - these campaigns can be very difficult,' she says. 'The strategy is handed down from the gods above and brand managers have to just put up with it, but that doesn't mean they're happy about it.'
Lovelock has witnessed many meetings over the years where power struggles between brand managers dominate the agenda, making it difficult to take decisions due to wildly varying opinions.
So what would her advice be to a brand manager working on a cross-promotion? 'I'd remind myself that by doing this I'm getting a bigger bang for my buck and that all brands will get more reward if they pool their money,' she says. 'There is always an opportunity to speak in a different tone and be single-minded. Particularly on a European scale, cross-promotions are an exciting opportunity as long as you are in the right mindset.'
Lovelock worries that some marketers are getting too greedy, however. She points to a spate of cross-promotions that she believes have stretched the brands and message too far, leading to consumer confusion and POS that becomes 'wallpaper'.
'Take Procter & Gamble's activity before the World Cup around Pringles, which it called "Pringoals",' she says. 'It (rolled out) a related collector mechanic across brands from crisps to soap powder. It ran across so many aisles and so many packs, no one understood the synergy. Mum choosing washing powder is just too different from a bunch of lads having Pringles while watching the footie.'
Another high-profile cross-promotion that Lovelock feels fell flat was Nestle's 'Get active', which ran across its entire portfolio, from cereals to confectionery. She says the idea of encouraging her children to eat three packs of chocolates to redeem an 'activity' prize seemed contradictory, at the very least. 'Putting a health message next to chocolate shows no clear strategy. One size does not fit all with cross-promotions,' she says.
Consumers need to be able to see the relevance of grouping different brands and categories. One way to do this is by tapping into an existing framework, such as a loyalty programme. Brand activation specialist OgilvyAction, for example, ties all its cross-promotions for InterContinental Hotels Group - which comprises the Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Candlewood and Staybridge chains - to the operator's Priority Club reward scheme. This is an effective way to educate consumers about the range in the portfolio, as the majority will be most familiar with one brand and unaware of the others in the stable.
Before multibrand promotions can work, the participating brands must have already communicated their positioning and values clearly to the target consumer, according to OgilvyAction business director Christine Givens.
'You can't just run a multibrand campaign without at least one of the brands being very familiar. If you want to introduce other brands, too, you have to do it one at a time and gradually. We now do joint promotions for Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express, but before we converged their marketing, we spent time working on the perceptions of those brands individually,' she says.
Creative inspiration
Despite the evident logic behind many cross-promotions, there is a general feeling that they don't make for the most creative or inspiring campaigns that spark genuine interest. Guy Bradbury, executive creative director at DDB UK, says, for example, that Britvic and PepsiCo's 'Reward your thirst' approach, while tactically sound, is run-of-the-mill.
'How many of these promotions are on-pack for other products right now, and what does it say for your brand, other than "unoriginal"?' he asks. 'Cross-promotions can build brands and long-term sales, but we need more agencies to create big ideas that can work across multiple specialist disciplines.'
Marketers could learn much from the fashion world, where recent alliances have captured consumers' imaginations, not to mention wallets. Take fashion label Dolce & Gabbana's partnership with Martini Gold, or retailer H&M joining forces with designer Karl Lagerfeld.
'These strategic cross-promotions have more meaning,' says Daniel Dumoulin, director at research agency Sundance. 'Stepping into a category it doesn't own reinforces D&G's core values of glamour and beauty and gives Martini the opportunity to create a "tribe" for Gold. And far from devaluing Lagerfeld, the promotion with H&M reinforces high fashion's power of aspiration, giving people the chance to feel and own the designer's clothes.'
What should marketers in other sectors learn from this? Dumoulin is in no doubt. 'Brands that can work together to bring new insight and loyalty to their existing brands are the ones that make the future of cross-promotion so compelling.'
FIVE TOP TIPS - to ensure frustration-free cross-promotional work
Outline each brand's contribution in a simple contract at the start.
Start planning well in advance with meetings where all parties are involved in decision-making.
If you're feeling a bit like the promotion is not doing your brand justice, remember you are getting a bigger bang for your buck.
Focus on the opportunity the promotion affords for you to speak in a different tone and be single-minded about your particular brand.
Measure the campaign carefully and ensure that your partners are not cannibalising sales.
FIVE QUESTIONS - to answer before rolling out a cross-promotion
- Do the brands share the same potential audience or audience mindset?
- Is there a theme to hang the promotion on that is relevant to all the brands involved?
- Is each brand and brand manager clear about their role?
- Will this approach appeal to retailers and can it be translated easily in-store?
- Are you being too greedy and asking your cross-promotion to stretch too far?
Before commenting please read our rules for commenting on articles.
comments powered by Disqus
Brand Republic Jobs
subscribe now
Smiljan Radic turns to Oscar Wilde story for Serpentine Gallery Pavilion design
Fashion magazine Centrefold shoots entire issue on Nokia Lumia 1020
Facebook begins selling auto-play video ads in the US
Unilever puts cash behind digital ventures for global expansion and marketing
Mobile gamers: Brands must approach with caution but can reap rewards
Duracell heats up Canadian bus commuters by getting them to hold hands
SXSW14: Rediscovering the feeling of something in your hand
iBeacons: What are they and how should they be used?
Coke-slurping Danish cinema-goers unwittingly appear on silver screen
John Lewis celebrates 150th anniversary with campaign focusing on customer stories
Asos partners with Benefit and Citroen to launch online car boutique
Morrisons invests £1bn in price cuts after £176m losses
Tesco mulls new strategy on loyalty
Ambitious CMOs must 'think like a CEO' to win respect
SXSW14: What have we learned from the last five days? | http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1043879/collaboration-avoid-crossed-wires-cross-promotion | dclm-gs1-118510001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.362339 | <urn:uuid:57a8d164-328d-455a-840f-04d0262b6938> | en | 0.914155 | You are here
Yearlong (Ph X-B, W II)
3 Medicine-Ball Pushup
Get into pushup position, resting one hand on a medicine ball. Lower your body until your chest is about one inch off the floor, and then push up. Roll the ball to your other hand and repeat.
Exercise Step:
comments powered by Disqus | http://www.mensfitness.com/training/build-muscle/yearlong-ph-x-b-w-ii?page=3 | dclm-gs1-118580001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.01917 | <urn:uuid:dd76e533-540d-4053-85cb-99744ed4fa7e> | en | 0.945844 | Mixed or average reviews - based on 15 Critics
Critic score distribution:
1. Positive: 4 out of 15
2. Negative: 0 out of 15
1. A great bike racer; with fun gameplay, sharp visuals, good sound effects, rock & roll music and enough adrenaline to keep you pumped, this is definitely one game that stands out from the crowd - and if you make a space for it on your games shelf, I'm sure you'll agree.
2. While SBK-07 is a game that will appeal to Superbike geeks, it’s only as geeky as you want it to be.
3. 79
Not being able to punch people off their bikes is something of an oversight we feel. Punching makes everything better. Always. [Issue#154, p.87]
4. 76
SBK-07 would seem to have all the necessary ingredients to keep both casual gamers and hardcore Superbike fans happy. With the variable difficulty and realism settings you should be able to find the perfect balance to suit your needs.
6. Overall Can't ride a bike? This is the next best thing. Can ride a bike? Guess what, it still is.
7. The presentation is flawed and even though SBK 07 looks rough in parts, we can't recall actually enjoying a bike game on PlayStation 2 this much since, well, since PlayStation 2 began.
8. It's good to see someone taking bike racing seriously, but make sure you can do without stabilisers - this is no easy ride. [May 2007, p.84]
9. SBK '07 succeeds at being accessible to casual Superbike fans while also catering for the hardcore market.
10. The mix of modes, coupled with the strong simulation settings, create a challenging yet rewarding experience that fans of the sport will enjoy over the summer months.
11. A technically tight simulator, but lacks the spark needed to offer broad appeal. [June 2007, p.83]
12. 65
The lack of content lets down an otherwise competent racer.
13. The experience certainly isn’t awful, but nor is it in any way exceptional – and up against the accomplished competition, that simply won’t be good enough. [June 2007, p.93]
14. 60
SBK ends up being a far more accessible and ultimately more enjoyable experience -- even if that experience isn't terribly compelling at the end of the day.
15. Fine for fans, but no-one else should touch it with a greasy finger. [July 2007, p.114]
There are no user reviews yet. | http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-2/hannspree-ten-kate-honda-sbk-07-superbike-world-championship/critic-reviews?dist=neutral | dclm-gs1-118610001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.209783 | <urn:uuid:2ec3b690-568a-439a-bd0f-fdb9ef88d22c> | en | 0.929582 | Generally favorable reviews - based on 41 Critics
Critic score distribution:
1. Positive: 33 out of 41
2. Negative: 0 out of 41
2. As a result of Mann's craftsmanship and concern, Collateral crackles with energy and purpose, a propulsive film with character on its mind and confident men and women on both sides of the camera.
3. Reviewed by: Joanne Kaufman
Hugely entertaining thriller.
4. The best kind of genre filmmaking: It plays by the rules, obeys the traditions and is both familiar and fresh at once.
5. 88
6. 88
7. Reviewed by: Mike Clark
Shake it all up and you get Collateral, a movie with only one conceivable flaw: its disinclination to break new ground, though no one held that against "The Fugitive" more than a decade of Augusts ago.
8. Michael Mann's tensely funny and alive Los Angeles night-world thriller, is, in its own twisty way, a very high-stakes buddy movie, yet it doesn't look like one, because it leaps off from a situation more jangled and threatening than we're used to.
10. Reviewed by: Colin Kennedy
Perhaps the best premise for thrills since "Speed," only this time the bad guy’s on board and the battle of wits is more philosophical debate than pop quiz.
12. Reviewed by: David Ansen
13. Reviewed by: Richard Schickel
As much a dark, odd couple comedy as it is a quirky, efficient little thriller.
14. Reviewed by: Todd McCarthy
Occupying a dramatic, philosophical and sensory twilight zone that casts a considerable spell, this intensely focused piece soars not only on the director's precision-tooled style but also on the outstanding interplay between leads Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx.
15. If Collateral is all formula, it's polished to a fine sheen.
16. 80
17. Really two movies: a taut, terrific, realistic crime drama, and, by the end, an over-the top, high-tech extravaganza which tries to out-Woo John Woo and turn Cruise into another Terminator.
19. 75
Collateral is a small, modest movie writ large by people so talented, they aren't capable of anything less.
20. The whole movie is something of a joke, a feature-length prank that mixes stark violence and shock humor in the mold of Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction." Though it is a far less ambitious entertainment than Tarantino's masterpiece, it has its moments.
21. 75
Stylish - if predictable - thriller.
22. Foxx makes what he does look effortless. He's the reason to see Collateral, as he walks into the frame and walks off with the picture.
23. Collateral is a good idea for a movie, backed up by expert execution... It's straight-up entertainment, not something to see and then talk about a month later, but definitely something to enjoy.
24. 75
Cruise is chillingly credible as the cold, cruel Vincent. And Foxx shows unexpected depth and humanity as Max, whose night encapsulates the cliché about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
25. The first half is exhilarating, and the rest is a tolerably honourable surrender to Hollywood conventions.
26. Reviewed by: M. E. Russell
28. Reviewed by: Pete Vonder Haar
After a solid hour and a half, the climax almost seems to have come from a different movie. Collateral is still a hell of a ride, but could've used a smoother landing.
29. 70
30. 70
Mann's moody Collateral unravels toward the end, faltering at its conclusion but dispensing enough atmosphere, characterization, and world-weary humanism along the way that audiences would be wise to enjoy the ride without worrying too much about the final destination.
User Score
Generally favorable reviews- based on 198 Ratings
User score distribution:
1. Positive: 88 out of 104
2. Negative: 8 out of 104
1. Sep 29, 2011
2. Feb 28, 2014
3. Feb 22, 2014
Full Review » | http://www.metacritic.com/movie/collateral/critic-reviews?dist=neutral&num_items=30 | dclm-gs1-118620001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.036577 | <urn:uuid:8a0c89bf-c2f5-4d18-9995-b123841e7647> | en | 0.934655 | Mixed or average reviews - based on 8 Critics What's this?
User Score
No user score yet- Awaiting 2 more ratings
Your Score
0 out of 10
Rate this:
• 10
• 9
• 8
• 7
• 6
• 5
• 4
• 3
• 2
• 1
• 0
• 0
• Starring: ,
• Summary: Sidney Bruhl, a playwriter (Caine) receives a play from a student (Reeve). With the help of his wife (Cannon), Sidney plans to murder the young man and take credit for the script.
Score distribution:
1. Positive: 5 out of 8
2. Negative: 0 out of 8
1. 75
2. Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
One can still appreciate the professionalism with which Levin crafted them and the larky spirits with which the performers force the suspension of incredulity.
3. Deathtrap falls short of the classic potential it would obviously like to have. Still, it's a jaunty entertainment, by and large.
4. Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
5. Reviewed by: Bruce McCabe
Deathtrap is slick enough that you can't disengage from it without missing something. [19 Mar 1982]
6. 40
Sidney Lumet's wired-up, hysterical direction overwhelms the minor pleasures of Ira Levin's play.
7. Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
Despite its intermittently amusing dialog, however, Deathtrap comes across as a minor entertainment, cleverness of which cannot conceal its essential artificiality when blown up on the big screen.
See all 8 Critic Reviews
Score distribution:
1. Positive: 1 out of 1
2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
3. Negative: 0 out of 1
1. CRL
Sep 2, 2011
Deathtrap does have one virtue to counterbalance its ridiculously convoluted plot... it's guaranteed that you won't figure out the ending until the final curtain drops. Collapse | http://www.metacritic.com/movie/deathtrap?user_review_id=1739038 | dclm-gs1-118630001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.044306 | <urn:uuid:b51c25e9-dd7e-439d-bcf2-444e9021898d> | en | 0.973158 | or Connect
Mothering › Mothering Forums › Baby › Diapering › Need advice on HORRIBLE grossness (don't read if you're bug phobic like me)
New Posts All Forums:Forum Nav:
post #1 of 13
Thread Starter
Seriously, if you hate bugs, stop reading now.
I mean it, you will be horrified.
Still with me? Great. Last summer, unbeknownst to me, some fruit flies managed to find the diaper pail and lay their eggs in the poopy diapers. I was happily going about my business putting diapers in the washer, when I opened one up and it was CRAWLING with maggots on the inside. Now, I am UBER phobic about bugs in all their stages, and larvae are the worst. It may sound silly, but this was about as traumatic a thing for me as I can imagine (at least with relation to diapering). From that day on, DH has washed all the diapers (switching to disposable was never really an option). I figured it was just a fluke, since we had a mess of flies last summer. I was actually just thinking I might be ready to start helping out with the washing again. But just today I pulled a poopy diaper out of the diaper bag that had accidentally gotten left in it for 4 days, and went to scrape it out into the toilet, and again it was covered in crawlies. This never happened in our old house. I don't know if it's Alabama, or where we keep the diaper pail here, or just coincidence. Whatever the reason, I really need advice on how to prevent this problem. I try to keep the fruit flies under control, but we just can't resist fresh peaches, which bring them into the house. This time, I really hadn't even noticed any fruit flies in the house, but there must have been at least one. Any suggestions that don't involve banning peaches from the house? :
post #2 of 13
I don't think you need to ban peaches from the house. I really doubt they are fruit flies. Different flies like different "hosts" to lay their eggs in, and I suspect your flies are the kind that like manure/poop (maybe gnats rather than flies, but not fruitflies, anyway.)
My best advice would be to keep your pail tightly closed and wash frequently so that they don't have time to hatch/complete a life cycle.
post #3 of 13
Yeah, it's probably just a common housefly or something. Regular washing and a tight lid should help.
post #4 of 13
There are flies that look like fruit flies but are "drain" flies. Maybe it could be them, they would be attracted to poop. I think you have to check your drains and make sure there is no open water and I guess they are attracted to the gelatinous coating that can develop inside pipes. It might be related to being in Alabama since it's humid and warm there.
I am grossed out completely by bugs, grubs, larvae too, by the way, lol, but I couldn't stop reading!
post #5 of 13
Maybe you could make your own essential oil fly repellent thingies? Citronella, clove, thyme stuff like that on cotton balls or something? I live out in the country in an older house that is FAR from bug-tight. I feel your pain. I am not a buggy-gross out person typically, but maggots of ANY sort just gross me right out. Talk gagging fit! :Puke I think a snug lid would solve the issue, but our diaper/wiper pail is just that... A bucket with no lid. While we've not had problems with creepy crawlies in there, I think if we did I'd resort to using EOs.
post #6 of 13
Thread Starter
Drain flies! That must be what they are then! They always congregate near the sink. When I hung a sticky tape over the sink, I caught like 20 of them in a week. I had no idea there was such a thing. I guess it's just coincidence then that they come out at the height of peach season, when it's warmest and most humid, so I always assumed they were fruit flies. Short of harsh chemicals, which I'd (obviously) rather avoid, what can I do to get rid of them? I don't particularly fancy dumping pesticides down my drains.
post #7 of 13
You could do baking soda and vinegar to get rid of any grime and then bleach for good measure...and do like an OP suggested and use EO's to deter them
post #8 of 13
This page gives some good info. http://www.getridofthings.com/get-ri...rain-flies.htm
I like the test with the tape. Then you can see where they are coming from.
Mainly it seems that you need to scrub the insides of the pipes to remove the gelatinous material and use a snake to get all the hair and anything else out.
Good luck, I hope they are gone soon!
post #9 of 13
Another vote here for using essential oils. My dirty diapers have become infested with ants on occasion (I hate ants...) and I wipe down the lid of the diaper pail with a combo of peppermint EO and olive oil (so the EO doesn't dissipate a quickly). Works.
I am also really glad I have a sanitary cycle on my washer.
post #10 of 13
We were having this problem for a while, and it took some work to combat it. With me, the flies that were going after the dipes were the same ones that were going after the compost bucket (in the kitchen), and the drains in the bathroom.
I was washing every 3-4 days, and having the dipes sit around just caused more problems. So this is what I did: I had to run the dipes through a rinse cycle every other day to get rid of the poopies (washing every 3rd or 4th). Keep an air-tight lid on the diaper pail. Get air-tight lids on the compost. Clean the drains. Put out traps in the kitchen, bathroom and nursery. Check every piece of fruit that was not refrigerated, and refrigerate any fruit that was fast-turning (like peaches or other stone fruit). Get religious about taking the compost outside and scraping/rinsing any plates left in the sink.
It took about 2 weeks to get rid of them, but they haven't been back since.
Traps are simple - using a narrow-necked bottle (like a salad dressing bottle, soda bottle or beer bottle), pour in about 1/4 c of water, a few drops of dishwashing soap and shake it really well until it's foamy. Then pour in about 1/4 c of raw apple cider vinegar (I usually use Braggs). The pasteurized stuff is not as attractive, since it's not active. If you see 20 flies, you'll catch 50 or more... I was amazed at the sheer numbers I caught this way. Dump the traps and put out fresh about once a week.
post #11 of 13
I would also consider sanitzing my pail every load I do filled with hot water and swish of bleach and let stand just to make sure no larvae or eggs gets left behind on the pail.
post #12 of 13
we are having the same problem. we've only seen the flies in the hamper, but have the other stage (cannot bear to type it..) in the compost bin.
we have been sprinkling food grade DE on the compost bin once it's outside but i have proposed to dh that we have a little jar to put on the compost in the bin in the kitchen. i am trying to figure out if that would be bad at all for the diaps.. i know it's considered very very safe for humans, some people consume it, so i may actually be sprinkling that in our diaper bin. i am also not sure if it affects flies.
eta: we have completely washed the compost bin with peppermint dr bronners, and now are sealing the lid very tightly all the way on. no bugs at this point!
also, a fly strip seems to catch lots of them.
post #13 of 13
I know what you mean. I am usually really good about taking the diapers out. This week I had a cold and just got lazy. When I opened the diaper Genie to take out the diapers...OMG fruit flies EVERYWHERE. Ok so here is what I did and it got rid of them literally overnight (it was a trick I learned about in HS when I went to summer camp and left a rotted bag of cherries in my closet for a week unbeknownst to me until I returned from camp to find my room converted into a mecca for all the fruit flies in the neighborhood). Take out all the trash...all of it. Tie up any food during the day in a plastic bag, or just take it right out to the trash. Take out the trash twice a day at least. Put all food/fruit/any thing edible in pantries and the fridge. Tie up bags of food and put them away. Clean the counters with a vinegar solution or other natural house cleaner. Wipe down the walls with a clorox wipe (they can lay their eggs on the walls) :( at night, put out a glass bowl with steep edges. Fill it 1/2 way with apple cider vinegar. Add three to four drops dish soap. Overnight the flies will have nothing to eat and they will flock to the solution to eat it. They will get drunk and be too weak to fly out and they will drown in the solution. hahaha...you will think. Good luck!!
New Posts All Forums:Forum Nav:
Return Home
Back to Forum: Diapering | http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1230415/need-advice-on-horrible-grossness-dont-read-if-youre-bug-phobic-like-me | dclm-gs1-118670001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.034202 | <urn:uuid:24d26da0-0571-4397-a36b-72e6531e051e> | en | 0.914829 |
hide cookie message
Contact Forum Editor
Send an email to our Forum Editor:
Tech Helproom
Want to download undercover XP
Likes # 0
Can someone suggest a suitable site from which to download undercover XP from.Have looked on google but unsure which was the best and safest
Like this post
Chronos the 2nd
Likes # 0
I had to look up to find out what Undercover XP was,I thought it was a dodgy copy of Windows XP.
in answer to your question,why not get it from the home site?
Like this post
Reply to this topic
This thread has been locked.
IDG UK Sites
What is Amazon Prime Instant Video? What happened to LoveFilm?
IDG UK Sites
IDG UK Sites
The future of wearable tech - where is this bandwagon headed?
IDG UK Sites
How MPC created Three's singing cat | http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/forums/1/tech-helproom/4184681/want-to-download-undercover-xp/?ob=voted | dclm-gs1-118820001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.781428 | <urn:uuid:f1a8ecef-7aec-46ef-9e72-d068f6278470> | en | 0.881312 |
More like this: salt lake city, planet earth and tomato plants.
Visit Site
Danae Jeanes
Danae Jeanes • 1 year ago
Related Pins:
The sun is 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit and 93,000,000 miles away from Earth. It is also 1,000,000 times the size of Earth. 960,000 Earths would fit inside it. If Earth was a golf ball, the sun would be 15 feet in diameter. It would take the Gross National Product (GNP) of the U.S. for 7 million years for a power company to run the sun for 1 second.
The blue spheres represent the relative amounts of the Earth's total water, liquid fresh water, and fresh surface water (in decreasing size) in comparison to the size of the Earth.
Earth from the Moon
planet size comparison
The Earth as seen from Mars
Every single satellite orbiting the Earth / via vuokko
Solar flare and size of the earth | http://www.pinterest.com/pin/211528513718947492/ | dclm-gs1-118840001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.090571 | <urn:uuid:6a9269e4-242a-413b-b6e1-26189f03074b> | en | 0.933774 | Macneil Mcn300 Apple Design Talking Alarm Clock With Temperature (White)
Write a review
Customer Reviews
"Average rating ( reviews)"
Results 1-1 of 1
Great Gadget and a very Clever Clock
| | See all yogiourbear's reviews (1)
The clock is an excellent, different gadget and fun to use! It is great value for what you get as it doesn't only show the time but the temperature too! Everyone who hears the hourly voice thinks its really funny! There is loads of fun alarm noises including a 'cuckcoo' sound-which I use. Its very easy to set up and I recommend it to anyone who is fun loving! (Otherwise the American voice could get on your nerves!!)
| http://www.play.com/Gadgets/Gadgets/4-/18049026/Macneil-Mcn300-Apple-Design-Talking-Alarm-Clock-With-Temperature/ProductReviews.html | dclm-gs1-118850001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.019599 | <urn:uuid:79d18f77-ebbc-41f1-91fb-03cb373ed03d> | en | 0.943485 | Product Reviews
3 (100% helpful)
Page 1 of 0
1. The best damn headphones you can buy for the money.
I have tried so many headphones, Sennheiser PX100, B+W P5, Bose QC3, Etymotic, Grado and these are simply astonishing for money. They look awesome, lifetime warranty and sound incredible for the money.
Great bass, mid, treble. My favourite pair of headphones by miles.
Just like the Grados, they have been around for years and you can see why.
Don't even think about these, buy them. Works with anything and easy to drive.
2. Amazing phone for the money
First thing to do in replace the rom with Android 2.2 (Japan Jellyfish, unlocks too) and this phone is just the best Android phone EVER for the price. Same GPU as the Sony X10, so although its no snapdragon 1ghz cpu, the games run great, anything 3D runs great and its just a superb phone. Highly recommend. TFT screen on mine and its hi res and very good quality.
One problem? Camera is rubbish. Everything else superb and you will pay A LOT more for the same spec.
Buy it, replace the ROM and you have the best spec'd phone EVER for less than a ton.
3. Very good but...
4. Excellent dual driver earphones with mic
- No Bass, overpriced, are all things not aimed at these earphones.
- The CHEAPEST dual driver earphones you can buy with a Mic and iPhone compatible (2G and 3G).
- Excellent sound, bass is taut, rather than loose and thumpy and the treble detail is superb for the price.
- Much better sounding than my Sennheiser CX300 and very close in sounding to a pair of Etymotic earphones.
- Comfortable too, just make sure you get a good seal with the correct rubber (I use the medium size ones)
5 Stars!
5. At last a decent pair of Bluetooth headphones
I have tried various bluetooth headphones (including the sony models) and these are by far the best. They aren't run in yet and have the usual harshness and lack of bass that you get with new headphones, but they sound great.
The controls also work very well. I am just so shocked they are actually quite good.
No weird warbly sound that you get with any other bluetooth headphones, but a very wired sound.
I have tried them with an N95 and Apple Mac Mini with Leopard and they work great with both.
6. Great for the price
Not the best headphones EVER, but for the money they are quite good and if you use them with Dolby Headphone to watch movies they do a decent job.
If you can spend a bit more (extra £10) you can buy soooo much better.
If you have only ever used free or cheapie headphones you will think these are amazing. | http://www.play.com/HOME/HOME/6-/UserReviews.html?rn=178431&edtm=0 | dclm-gs1-118860001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.211078 | <urn:uuid:4a186c4b-293f-4a0e-b181-932096bf71fc> | en | 0.897921 | 1. Latest News
2. Submit Press Release
1. PR Home
2. Latest News
3. Feeds
4. Alerts
5. Submit Free Press Release
6. Journalist Account
7. PRNewswire Distribution
Pitching Drills - Increase Hip Speed to Increase your Baseball Pitching Speed!
Increasing your Hip Rotation Speed leads to increased pitching speed. Learn how now!
PRLog (Press Release) - Dec. 11, 2013 - MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Fastball pitching speed is a combination of correct mechanics along with correct kinematic sequencing of your body.
Major league pitchers have very fast hip speeds which allows energy to transfer to the torso and arm.
While studying the fastest pitchers on the planet it is easy to see how they have advanced hip speed rotation, a big first step and store tons of power through elastic energy of the muscles while pitching.
The Hip Speed Trainer is a great training tool to help baseball pitchers increase their itching speed by training proper motor control of the lower body and increasing hip rotation speed.
Here is a video explaing the importance of hip speed and pitching.
The science behind why hips are so important has to do with transferring a load through the body and is known as Proximal to Distal Sequencing.
In all ground based rotational sports requiring throwing (football, baseball, discuss, shot-put) and striking (golf, baseball, hockey, punching etc...) we develop a load from the ground and transfer that energy / force through our bodies to the final lever (punch, bat, club, stick etc...).
In order to transfer as much energy as possible we need to use our bodies in an efficient manor sequencing the energy transfer in a proper order.
This is what is known as Proximal to Distal Sequencing.
The first potential rotational speed multiplier are the hips. Hip / Pelvic rotation begins with firing of the gluteus muscles and specifically the gluteus medius muscle as well as lower back lumbar rotator muscles.
The more motor control along with strength and speed of these muscles... the faster you can rotate the hips and increase over all performance.
You can purchase a Hip Speed Trainer for only $89 at http://www.hipspeedtrainer.com and start throwing faster pitches within a couple weeks!
Tom Lowrie
--- End ---
Click to Share
Contact Email:
***@hipspeedtrainer.com Email Verified
Source:Hip Speed Trainer
City/Town:Mooresville - North Carolina - United States
Industry:Fitness, Sports
Tags:pitching speed, faster pitches, increase pitching, baseball pitching, pitching drills
Latest Press Releases By “
Trending News...
1. SiteMap
2. Privacy Policy
3. Terms of Service
4. Copyright Notice
5. About
6. Advertise
Like PRLog?
Click to Share | http://www.prlog.org/12255188-pitching-drills-increase-hip-speed-to-increase-your-baseball-pitching-speed.html | dclm-gs1-118900001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.048523 | <urn:uuid:cb5cb20e-c0d7-4f86-a8c9-74d10fc8018d> | en | 0.967465 | Username Post: Best Type of Scrapbook?
Posts: 47
Joined: 03-10-10
In response to HuskerMom98
Thank you all for sharing! My friend who introduced me to scrapbooking only uses strap-hinge because she had so much trouble with post-bound albums falling apart, but I really like the variety of albums you can find that are post-bound. I do mostly 2-page layouts, so I also like the fact that they lay flat with little gap between them.
| http://www.scrapbook.com/forums/showpost.php?post/12485829/ | dclm-gs1-118960001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.031525 | <urn:uuid:b4cd7656-550d-42e3-a827-a5cea9cec669> | en | 0.947263 | Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/09/curiosity_spots_bright_object/
Rover spots 'possibly artificial' MYSTERY SHINY OBJECT on Mars
Might be a piece of Curiosity, speculates NASA
By Brid-Aine Parnell
Posted in Science, 9th October 2012 09:20 GMT
Martian nuclear tank Curiosity has spotted a bright metallic-looking object sparkling on the planet's surface as it went in for its first soil sample, which could be a piece of the robot rover itself.
Curiosity's first scoop also shows bright object
The rover was scooping sand for the first time with its robotic arm when its camera picked up on the object. NASA boffins have put a stop to any further Curiosity activity while the rover takes extra pictures to try to figure out what the mysterious, but tiny, thing could be.
Curiosity is set up to take soil samples so that it can run chemical and mineralogical tests and discover what makes up the Red Planet's surface. Looking at the chemical makeup of the dirt is just one of the ways that the rover's science instruments will analyse whether Mars has ever or could ever support microbial life.
The roving truck took its first scoop on Sunday and was due to take some more samples yesterday, but mission control called a halt to any robotic arm shenanigans until the bright object is identified.
NASA didn't speculate on whether instead of finding microbes, Curiosity has instead found a piece of an alien craft. The agency's only guess so far is that it could be a bit of the rover itself and they're holding up to see if its presence on the surface will muck up the soil samples. ® | http://www.theregister.co.uk/Print/2012/10/09/curiosity_spots_bright_object/ | dclm-gs1-119120001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.111281 | <urn:uuid:5666deab-83fd-4675-8446-2bfa22faf37f> | en | 0.953301 | Our TV Shows
Got a Tip?
Call TMZ at (888) 847-9869 or Click Here
Pete Wentz Loves Underaged Kids
6/1/2009 1:05 AM PDT BY TMZ STAFF
So there.
No Avatar
lol i just think its so funny that it just so happens..that his of alll the bars in NY that are indeed givin drinks to younger kids, which i promise u there are alot in ny lol..his is the one who gets caught and shut down.
1748 days ago
1748 days ago
L O S E R!!! H A T E H I M!
1748 days ago
Pete Wentz is a pedaphile! Thats why he likes younger kids and i bet he surfing child porn on his computer! Pete should go to jail for life! epic fail!
1748 days ago
Pete isn't the only person who owns the bar there are other people who are celbs who co-own it with him so not all the responsiblity falls on him to hire good staff
1748 days ago
Oh, please. The amount of times in high school I heard all the 16-year-olds talking about going to bars and getting totally wasted.
Besides, I'm pretty positive it wasn't Pete at the door carding people and failing miserably. This isn't anything new. It's a bar. This happens.
1748 days ago
Pete probably has absolutely nothing to do with the hiring of bartenders/door staff. Yes, he owns the place but that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the hiring of staff. Same goes with the one in Chicago.
1734 days ago
tmz are a bunch of douchebags who like to make good people look bad, like really? get real ****ing jobs.
1392 days ago
Around The Web | http://www.tmz.com/2009/06/01/pete-wentz-loves-underaged-kids/ | dclm-gs1-119140001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.053543 | <urn:uuid:c1422fcc-e7fa-47c4-80bb-d2bd8d8e6b42> | en | 0.954395 | Our TV Shows
Got a Tip?
Call TMZ at (888) 847-9869 or Click Here
Lady Gaga -- Proof She Stole From Dead Friend?
No Avatar
Who really cares? What artist hasn't borrowed anything from any other person? As far as fashion can copy something you see from a magazine. I just think the mother of the dead girl needs to just take a chill pill. You are not getting any money so stop trying to use your daughters suicide as a way to pay your bills. Pathetic
1281 days ago
Drag queens like to dress up like other people.
No seriously, come on. Lady Gaga dresses like drag queens, club kids, Liberace, Cher, Bjork, Madonna, Marilyn Manson, Shania Twain, Elton John, ravers, Twiggy, Mr. Bubbles, The Michelin Man, Jem from Jem and the Holograms ('memba that cartoon?)...
And they both stole the red scarf over the head look from the lady on the famous National Geographic cover.
No such thing as original.
1281 days ago
After watching the video all I could think of was that your daughter must have admired Cher.. your daughter didn't invent the style..So stop this silliness and honor your daughter.
1281 days ago
Nothing she does is original. She steals from everyone else, why wouldn't she steal from a dead friend?
1281 days ago
Everyone gets their inspiration from someplace... I don't think that there is enough similarity to say GaGa ripped off this girl. It's not like someone can own a look anyway. Madonna did most of those looks years ago anyway.
1281 days ago
I'm sorry to say, but this is a little uncalled for. Every artist takes a little from every artist. Otherwise, there would be approx. 10 musicians in the world because no one would be able to sample from others unless a lawsuit would ensue. *IF* GaGa is sampling from your daughter, be happy that your daughters style is getting out there for the world to see, regardless of who's doing it. Stop hating on GaGa. She's amazing.
1281 days ago
ummm.... NO
1281 days ago
Celebrities Suck
what a tragic story.
I'm not a gaga fan, and who wants to be a fan of some chick that calls her fans monsters and always looks like she's high as a kite on coke.... Not me! I am a fan of myself, I am my own celebrity I don't worship any singer. The only time they care about their fans is when they are promoting something, such as concerts, books, cd, etc etc.
1281 days ago
most of thois looks were madonnas in the first place...the truth is when you come from a similar placve there are similar trends that are coming forward..but even if she did influence or copy the same style..BIG DEAL>....gags voice and pkg total is her own..........
1281 days ago
I watched the video, and the similarities are not enough to convince me Lady Gaga copied her daughter.
1281 days ago
Lady Gag is pathetic! She stole from her dead friend and she is a fake!!
1281 days ago
I got news for you, Lina's mom, that's NOT ART!!! It's dressing like a ostentatious whore for attention.
1281 days ago
I am sorry for this womans loss but it seems instead of channeling her grief into something positive she has gone the wrong way and is just grasping at straws here. The poses she included are pretty common, nothing unique about them; and the same goes for the outfits and style she claims gaga is ripping off her daughter.
1281 days ago
I sympathize with Lina's mother, but it is not true that Lina "never had a chance" to show the world her artistry. Sadly, Lina decided to check out instead.
1281 days ago
OMG People....I have no interest in GaGa but you could do this type of a video comparing anyone. If anything they both stole from Madonna, hows that for a comparison? Some people have too much time on their hands like me for even writing this!
1281 days ago
Around The Web | http://www.tmz.com/2010/09/11/lady-gaga-lina-morgana-video-dead-friend-copycat/6/ | dclm-gs1-119160001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.023775 | <urn:uuid:53818f3b-1085-47de-acb1-e6d6964fa621> | en | 0.936631 | Our TV Shows
Got a Tip?
Call TMZ at (888) 847-9869 or Click Here
Brooke Mueller
I Bought Mel B's Old House!
3/17/2012 5:40 AM PDT BY TMZ STAFF
Turns out what Brooke Mueller really wanted ... what she really, really wanted ... was Mel B's house -- because TMZ has learned she just bought it and moved in last week. Zigazig ah!
Sources close to Brooke tell TMZ she plunked down $3.3 million for the Tarzana home that the Spice Girl bought back in 2009. We're told Brooke has been looking for a place since she got out of rehab and wanted a place that was outside of the Hollywood scene.
According to our sources, Brooke put down the money for the 5 bedroom, 8 bathroom house herself -- and didn't get any of the money from ex Charlie Sheen.
Sometimes if you want your future, you need to forget your past.
No Avatar
The house looks nice and Tarzana is a lovely community. This is the perfect place for Brooke to keep the boys close to Charlie, while keeping herself out of temptation. The good people are rooting for you, girl.
728 days ago
NO money from Charlie.. yeah right... who the hell pays her alimony??? child support??? Give me a break.. like someone said, he will end up paying for it.. Up keep!! She's full of Crap!!! And why does TMZ care??? Freaking non acting drug addicted loser!!! who just happened to marry someone popular... UGH
728 days ago
Brooke don't have any money to buy anything that's why she got caught trying to sell drugs. I'm sure her parents bought the house for her. Crackhead.
728 days ago
who wants to live in tarzana? what a dump
728 days ago
Message: be a slut and wait. Money will find its way. No country for working men.
728 days ago
Well I hope Brooke plans to hire a professional decorator. On the inside, the home needs serious help.
728 days ago
So... mommy and daddy bought it? Coke whore.
728 days ago
Harvey's Gerbil
I wasn't aware that being a cokehead was so lucrative. Where the hell did this trainwreck get that kinda money?!?
728 days ago
John T.
This trashy crack head whore never works and has no talent to even get a decent job to make that kind of money. It's Charlies . Only thing she knows how to do is work those streets looking for crack and where all the clubs are. Give her a month and she will be back in the news. She'll never make it.
728 days ago
Says: "and didn't get any of the money from ex Charlie Sheen"...Uh, Sheen pays her thousands $ in child support and alimony every month, so YES, he supports her! Divorce money from him probably bought this house, so Sheen has/IS paying for this house and MORE, TMZ, are you that stupid?
728 days ago
Rogue Warrior
What? Is this were she'll finally OD?????? Why the fuss, who the fvk cares....
727 days ago
According to my research/numbers the comments here are running 9-1 in Brooke's favor -
I wonder what happened to her other house -
Love that area and location - use to run in Los Feliz.
727 days ago
-We're only limited by what we think/don't think.
If Brooke and Charlie have proven anything - it's that.
Haters - next time you're here -
-Ask yourselves, why.
Why the negative energy - and how does one convert it.
727 days ago
I thought Brooke to be the-most-compelling-person.
-On the Hilton's most-recent show.
This is saying a lot, considering you're talking about Paris, Kathy, Nicky -
The show didn't quite work - but there was something there with Brooke and Paris - that wasn't quite captured/explored.
Brooke, at least on this particular show - was the only main character -
Willing to show vulnerability.
Showing up at Kathy-Rick Hilton's at 2:11 a.m. or so -
And saying simply, "Can we talk."
This was my favorite part of the show.
-and the part least-explored.
727 days ago
I'd like to see the Hilton's revamp their show w/Brooke -
-And try again.
I love when Paris is oblivious to everything/anything:
-Except maybe what she's going to wear that night.
When the drama revolves around:
Something inane -
That all the main characters are worked into a fever over.
Like bringing the wrong shoes - to a Premiere or Opening.
Went to the show's website - but no one paid any attention.
727 days ago
Around The Web | http://www.tmz.com/2012/03/17/brooke-mueller-mel-b-house-photos/2/ | dclm-gs1-119170001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.029293 | <urn:uuid:0130b2cb-f1e8-48aa-adbc-14f8ecc37848> | en | 0.935528 | Sherry McCourt
Sherry McCourt is a highly motivated professional with a unique combination of experiences as a Corporate Executive, Entrepreneur, Certified Fraud Examiner, Private Investigator, Trainer and Speaker. She is an effective communicator who has the expertise and natural ability to bring authentic solutions to her audiences worldwide. Sherry McCourt is a devoted advocate, supporter and defender of the right to live and work without fear and seeks to empower individuals and corporations to thrive and grow through courage, leadership, vision, teamwork, calculated risk taking, and personal accountability. As a strategic safety advisor and corporate trainer to many organizations and a personal life and safety coach to numerous individuals: her goal is to create a movement of men, women and corporations who choose to take charge of their safety and success at work and in their own lives. Sherry McCourt keynote and workshop messages focus on Health and Safety, Security, Risk Management, Loss Prevention, Workplace Violence, Sexual Harassment, Fraud, Identity Theft and Cyber Crime. Her unique ability to simplify and de-mystify the ugly truth of risk, loss and crime with eye-opening, informative and surprisingly humorous presentations has resulted in her soaring popularity amongst large organizations, small business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals who want to stand out and stand up in today's world. | http://www.twellow.com/sherrymccourt | dclm-gs1-119230001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.018881 | <urn:uuid:5d0b5452-7728-4a30-bd19-cdc3ac637216> | en | 0.968614 | Kilo Kish, Smooth Operator
The rapper's laid-back flow makes waves in the hip-hop world
Earlier this month, Lakisha Robinson—better known by her stage name, Kilo Kish—commanded the bar at Top of the Standard while sporting a silver sequined jacket over an American-flag-patterned blouse and similarly decorated shorts. The occasion was a book party; the 21-year-old MC was part of the night's entertainment, and she performed five songs off her self-released debut EP, Homeschool. Reports the next morning noted that Mos Def, Theophilus London, Lena Dunham, and Sean Avery were among the guests.
A glam location and a slew of boldfaced names—not too shabby for a gig that was, for all intents and purposes, Kish's first real show.
"For a while, I couldn't even really listen to my music and be in the same room as other people," says Kish, whose pseudonym stems from a Twitter handle inspired by Atlanta rapper Kilo Ali. "I would kind of just run to the bathroom or something because you have your own diary, and no one is going to read it, but to have other people hear this is still a little bit strange for me."
“Being sweet over a beat”: Kilo Kish
Robert Adam Mayer
“Being sweet over a beat”: Kilo Kish
Despite high praise for Homeschool from the likes of Childish Gambino (with whom she's collaborating) and fellow New York hip-hop upstart A$AP Rocky, it's difficult to get Kish to admit she is in fact a real rapper or a gifted lyricist or little more than an average senior at the Fashion Institute of Technology, who lives in Fort Greene and stresses out about graduation. Music for her started as a joke; she'd rhyme whatever popped into her head while drinking beers in the small home studio her roommate, the rapper Smash Simmons, had set up in their old apartment. The result is a brand of hip-hop that is intimate, conversational, and actually pretty strange.
"I don't have punchlines and all the things you would say rappers have to have, and I'm not really trying to do that, either," Kish says. "It's just me talking softly and being sweet over a beat."
Her voice is unwaveringly mellow; though her delivery has a rhythm to it, it tilts closer to spoken word than rap, the lyrics more abstractly poetic than a standard hip-hop verse. Other female MCs—Lil' Kim, Eve, and, more recently, Nicki Minaj and Azealia Banks—try to make up for being in such a male-dominated genre by relentlessly boasting about their wealth and sexual superiority. But Kish, whether on purpose or by accident, has taken the opposite approach: Her humility comes through on the record. Even in a song like "Julienne," where she casts herself as a scorned lover drunk off Jack Daniel's and attempting to murder her ex, she still comes off as cute, almost campy.
"Usually when I have a beat, I just write it on the spot, or it evokes some type of feeling, and I just write," Kish says. "But if I can't, then I pull from little notes about people on the train or stuff like that."
Kish is at her best and most relatable on tracks like "BusBoy," where she allows the listener a peek inside her everyday life. "On the bus, wanna know what's up?/I'm drifting in and out sipping my Styrofoam cup/I finally decided I should make the first cut/Starting with you, you only bring me bad luck," the lyrics go. The words skip out of her mouth in a quietly declarative way. It's easy to picture her riding the bus to school with a notebook in hand while dwelling on a bad relationship.
Produced largely by the Internet (Matt Martians and Syd tha Kid) and the Super 3 (Martians and Hal Williams) of the headline-grabbing Los Angeles hip-hop collective Odd Future, Homeschool's laid-back, jazz-inspired beats suit Kish's placid voice nicely. She met Martians, a friend of Simmons's from growing up in Atlanta, at a party after the first Odd Future show in New York and played him the songs she had been messing around with back at her apartment. To both their surprise, Martians liked what he heard.
"Her voice is just so girly—you can't not like that voice. It's just so loveable," he notes. "I said: 'Let's do something together, and I can be kind of your primary producer, so you don't have to worry about finding your sound. We can find your sound together.'"
After featuring her on two Odd Future tracks (The Jet Age of Tomorrow's "Want You Still" and the Internet's "Ode to a Dream"), Martians and Syd began creating music with Kish specifically in mind, sending her folders of beats via e-mail before eventually flying her out to Los Angeles to record.
"Her voice over our beats made a lot of sense because I make a lot of mellow-ass beats that aren't hard to get into," Martians says. "She needs her own sound to really stand out, and that's what I wanted to give her."
Kish is working on material for her and Simmons's group KKK (Kool Kats Klub) and hopes to make a full-length solo record in the near future. Plans for a long-form music video, which she hopes will incorporate the entirety of Homeschool in a "Michael Jackson Moonwalker kind of way," are also in the works.
Next Page »
My Voice Nation Help
Concert Calendar
• March
• Fri
• Sat
• Sun
• Mon
• Tue
• Wed
• Thu
New York Event Tickets | http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-05-09/music/kilo-kish-smooth-operator/ | dclm-gs1-119280001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.258646 | <urn:uuid:01e5fc4b-c091-4401-8706-6b6c62228971> | en | 0.955368 | Letters to the Editor
Marijuana laws are based on lies
Federal marijuana prohibition began in the thirties when Congress passed the 1937 Marijuana Tax Stamp Act. The first drug czar, Harry Anslinger provided the testimony before Congress which ensured passage of the law. Mr. Anslinger later admitted that his testimony was untrue and that with marijuana being relatively harmless, it was not really a problem. The law said that to possess marijuana one must first purchase a tax stamp for it, but in order to get the stamp you had to have the marijuana in your possession. Additionally, there were few stamps printed because there was no intent to use them anyway. Police started arresting people based on the law and continued to arrest them until the law was declared unconstitutional for obvious reasons in 1970.
President Nixon doubled down on the Anslinger lie. After rejecting the advice of his self-appointed commission of experts, The Shafer Commission, Nixon signed into law the 1970 Controlled Substances Act. This time there would be no mistake. The 1970 law even restricts the drug czar from saying anything good about marijuana even if it is true, ordering the Anslinger lie to continue. Marijuana was listed as schedule I, a dangerous substance with no medical value. Arrests resumed and have continued unabated since then. There is not one piece of scientific evidence or bit of logical theory to explain he government’s reasoning behind continuing this policy, only the lie.
The only explanation one could venture would be that industrialists were interested in eliminating the competition. The Hearst Newspaper Syndicate pushed for a national prohibition of marijuana with all the untrue stories and sensationalism it could muster. Marijuana can be used for a host of products, paper, cloth, fiber, lumber, ethanol from hempseed oil, etc., and as the use of marijuana is environmentally friendly, it is a threat to some of these industries. Ask yourself, what ever happened to the canvass industry?
The same is true of the pharmaceuticals industry. There were many medical marijuana medicines approved for sale by the Food and Drug Administration before 1937 and in 1988 marijuana was declared to be the safest therapeutic substance known to man by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s administrative law judge. You know big pharma must feel threatened by that.
Some historians are beginning to believe there is a connection between the suppression of the marijuana/hemp industry and the rise of Dupont, Dow and the big pharmaceutical companies. These companies are not the only players who benefit from the total prohibition of marijuana. If prohibition is a crime, and I think it is, then who benefits from the crime?
And so, as the lie continues, in it’s aftermath are the victims. Over 850.000 citizens arrested in 2009 alone, 12 million since 1980, billions of tax dollars spent on the justice system, police, enforcement and prisons, billions in lost economic activity, jobs and revenue, and for what? For what good reason do we cut this swath of destruction through our society every year? Are there any Federal or State legislators who can provide a scientific and logical explanation as to why we do this to ourselves? Legislators are always talking about eliminating programs that don?t work. Why is prohibition such a sacred cow? Drug prohibition is the greatest policy failure in the history of this great nation. How long before our legislators face up to prohibition?s failure and end this sad chapter in our history?
Kentucky State Sen. Joey Pendelton has announced that he will propose a hemp law for Kentucky during the next session of the General Assembly, legalizing industrial hemp as a cash crop here in Kentucky. While I applaud his efforts it still leaves our Kentucky’s 4.47 billion dollar marijuana industry in the hands of the bad guys. What should be done is to attach a medical marijuana bill to the senator’s hemp bill. This could be the first step in ending criminal dominance of the marijuana industry here in Kentucky, and bring the money involved into the legal coffers of the state. Better to improve the lives of our citizens than that of the Mexican drug cartels which is where the money goes now.
Arizona just this last November 2nd passed what is the best and most comprehensive medical marijuana law in the nation and became the 15th medical marijuana state. A medical marijuana law will protect our sick and disabled who need this medicine and also protect our veterans from Veteran’s Administration retaliation. Veterans are only protected if they live in medical marijuana states. Let us do right by our citizens who are sick and disabled and pass a comprehensive hemp and medical marijuana law during this session of the Kentucky General Assembly.
Thomas Vance
Posted in: government, Greater Cincinnati, healthcare, National, Politics
Tags: ,
About The Letters
Letter Categories
Older Letters
Read Letters by Email
Enter your email address:
Delivered by FeedBurner
Cincinnati.com Blogs
RSS | Atom | http://www2.cincinnati.com/blogs/letters/2010/11/27/marijuana-laws-are-based-on-lies/?from=global | dclm-gs1-119340001 | false | false | {
"keywords": "assembly"
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.029223 | <urn:uuid:cc523d48-14c9-404b-bc4b-64bc080bf11b> | en | 0.930515 |
- Introductions: >
Hello. Welcome to the Python YAML parser. This is
a work in progress. The primary author is Steve Howell,
with a few contributions by Clark Evans
- installation: >
Simply type install. If you do not have distutils
installed, you can simply copy the yaml sub-directory into
- testing: >
If you want to run all of the tests use the following
>python2.3 scripts/ yaml.tests
if you haven't installed the module yet you might have to
>export PYTHONPATH = .
whilst in the directory above yaml
This package currently requires python2.3. We lost Python2.1 support
recently, so we should be able to get that back. Depending on interest
we may be able to port back to 1.5, but don't hold your breath. 2.2
may work, but at the time of this documentation update, it hadn't been
- playing: >
The best way to play, is to start with and
work from there. Note that this implementation has quite
a way to go before it is compliant with the YAML specification.
If something is failing in the tests for your platform
please let us know. If something doesn't work, check the
tests to see if the test covering the feature you need is
active; if not, chances are it's not implemented.
Your feedback or any other contributions are certainly welcome.
- ypath: >
The YPATH implementation is EXPERIMENTAL but included
in the yaml package beacuse it is fun and we'd like to get
feedback from the user community as to how they'd like it
to work. It requries Python >=2.2 since it uses iterators.
- query: >
There is a and query.yml file in the experimental directory,
it is currently broken as ypath was re-written.
- who: Steve Howell
why?: |
Original author of the pure Python implementations of the
YAML parser and emitter. Many thanks to the other folks
listed here, and some not listed here.
- who: Brian Ingerson
why?: |
Brian got me hooked on YAML. We have used his Perl
implementation to do some really cool stuff, even on projects
that primarily used XML. He also got me started on
the Python project.
- who: Clark Evans
why?: |
Clark's YAML fame far precedes the Python implementation--he
founded the whole project. But, he also contributed alias
emitting to this project, and he's also generously allowed
me to bundle his very cool YPATH implementation. Finally,
he's helped with module packaging issues and miscellaneous
features and bug fixes.
- who: Why The Lucky Stiff
why?: |
That's right, Why's the name, Ruby's the game. Why devotes
most of his YAML effort to a Ruby implementation that grows
increasingly robust, but he's also a great team player on
the YAML project. For example, he consolidated the YAML
testing suites, so that multiple YAML implementations can
share the same YAML test files. If you look in this YAML
distribution, you will see Ruby all over the place. Think
of it as a free introduction to another great scripting
- who: Ryan King
why?: |
Sharpener of saws and pair programmer extraordinaire.
- who: Neil Watkiss
why?: |
Donated hardware and major expertise to the project.
- who: Oren Ben-Kiki
why?: |
YAML cofounder. All library implementors owe a huge gratitude
toward Oren for his work on the YAML spec.
- who: Lion Kimbro
why?: |
Early adopter, also known for his three-humped YAML.
- who: Dave Kuhlman
why?: |
Dave's contributions include, but are not limited to, the
XmlYaml code bundled with this distribution. The README
with that code talks more about Dave.
- who: Tim Parkin
why?: |
Been using yaml for a while and wanted to use it more and see it adopted
more so put a little effort into a home and a spring clean
- who: Seth de l'Isle
why?: |
Love YAML. Installing syck is not always convenient and pyyaml is
looking very unmaintained; I was initially motivated by security
vulnerabilities announced on the python mailing list. Now I'm going to
focus on spec. compatibility and perhaps integrating syck.
Recent activity
Tip: Use camelCasing e.g. ProjME to search for | https://bitbucket.org/xi/pyyaml-legacy/overview | dclm-gs1-119360001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.058846 | <urn:uuid:648b6fa7-1d21-4510-a0f0-61fbf6dacbb6> | en | 0.954904 | Looking Back at P3P: Lessons for the Future
November 11, 2009
Supporting Documents
A number of people who work on data protection have begun examining the idea of machine-readable statements that can express the privacy practices of a Web site or a third-party intermediary, such as a network advertiser or an analytics company. The theory is that such statements would provide a clear, standardized means of rendering potentially complex privacy policies into a format that could be automatically parsed and instantly acted upon.
The idea is a good one. It harnesses the power of information technology to create a means for transparency and user choice. However, it is hard to overlook the fact that there is already a Web standard to do precisely the same thing, and it hasnʼt been very successful.
The Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) is a standard of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the main standard setting body for the Web. P3P has never been fully implemented as its creators had hoped. While it is in use today and functions in some ways as we thought it might, P3P is unlikely to be broadly adopted or to accomplish all that those pushing for machine-readable policies would like. | https://cdt.org/paper/looking-back-p3p-lessons-future?issue=76 | dclm-gs1-119370001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.068052 | <urn:uuid:680de227-2821-4ca9-ba7b-ac271ac7fb66> | en | 0.989297 |
Add to Cart
The O. Henry Prize Stories 2006
Author Information
Laura FurmanNotify me of new titles added by this author
Editorial Reviews
A new, wider-ranging selection process (allowing the consideration of all English-language writers appearing in North American publications regardless of citizenship) makes this one of the strongest O. Henry collections in recent years, with stories by, among others, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ("The American Embassy"), A.S. Byatt ("The Thing in the Forest") and William Trevor ("Sacred Statues"). Other standouts include Anthony Doerr's "The Shell Collector," which details the daily rituals of a blind shell gatherer; Bradford Morrow's "Lush," the tale of an alcoholic husband forced to confront the possibility of redemption after the loss of his equally addicted wife; and the enchantingly bucolic "Swept Away" by T. Coraghessan Boyle, in which a strange set of circumstances brings together a grizzled Scotsman and a demure American birdwatcher. Ann Harleman incorporates crossword puzzles and e-mails into "Meanwhile," a story about the pressures of attending to a chronically ill spouse, while Evan S. Connell's delightfully clever "Election Eve" juxtaposes marital and political conflict against the backdrop of a pre-election masquerade party. Denis Johnson's "Train Dreams," which could arguably be classified as a novella, is a sweeping, dreamlike portrait of the American west as seen through the eyes of a man who has lost his wife and young daughter in a fire. An extra bonus is an appendix in which the 2003 jurors (Jennifer Egan, David Guterson and Diane Johnson) weigh in on their top choices. This is a collection of literary gems that would surely please the man for whom the prize is named. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Customer Reviews
Product Details
• Published by
• Publish Date
January 20, 2010
• eBook ISBN
• Filesize
1.98 MB
• Number of Print Pages*
• Format
Adobe DRM EPUB
Excerpt from The O. Henry Prize Stories 2006 by Laura Furman
Edward P. Jones
from "Old Boys, Old Girls"
They caught him after he had killed the second man. The law would never connect him to the first murder. So the victim--a stocky fellow Caesar Matthews shot in a Northeast alley only two blocks from the home of the guy's parents, a man who died over a woman who was actually in love with a third man--was destined to lie in his grave without anyone officially paying for what had happened to him. It was almost as if, at least on the books the law kept, Caesar had got away with a free killing.
Seven months after he stabbed the second man--a twenty-two-year-old with prematurely gray hair who had ventured out of Southeast for only the sixth time in his life--Caesar was tried for murder in the second degree. During much of the trial, he remembered the name only of the first dead man--Percy, or "Golden Boy," Weymouth--and not the second, Antwoine Stoddard, to whom everyone kept referring during the proceedings. The world had done things to Caesar since he'd left his father's house for good at sixteen, nearly fourteen years ago, but he had done far more to himself.
He came to Lorton with a ready-made reputation, since Multrey Wilson and Tony Cathedral--first-degree murderers both, and destined to die there--knew him from his Northwest and Northeast days. They were about as big as you could get in Lorton at that time (the guards called Lorton the House of Multrey and Cathedral), and they let everyone know that Caesar was good people, "a protected body," with no danger of having his biscuits or his butt taken.
A little less than a week after Caesar arrived, Cathedral asked him how he liked his cellmate. Caesar had never been to prison but had spent five days in the D.C. jail, not counting the time there before and during the trial. They were side by side at dinner, and neither man looked at the other. Multrey sat across from them. Cathedral was done eating in three minutes, but Caesar always took a long time to eat. His mother had raised him to chew his food thoroughly. "You wanna be a old man livin on oatmeal?" "I love oatmeal, Mama." "Tell me that when you have to eat it every day till you die."
"He all right, I guess," Caesar said of his cellmate, with whom he had shared fewer than a thousand words. Caesar's mother had died before she saw what her son became.
"You got the bunk you want, the right bed?" Multrey said. He was sitting beside one of his two "women," the one he had turned out most recently. "She" was picking at her food, something Multrey had already warned her about. The woman had a family--a wife and three children--but they would not visit. Caesar would never have visitors, either.
"It's all right." Caesar had taken the top bunk, as the cellmate had already made the bottom his home. A miniature plastic panda from his youngest child dangled on a string hung from one of the metal bedposts. "Bottom, top, it's all the same ship."
Cathedral leaned into him, picking chicken out of his teeth with an inch-long fingernail sharpened to a point. "Listen, man, even if you like the top bunk, you fuck him up for the bottom just cause you gotta let him know who rules. You let him know that you will stab him through his motherfuckin heart and then turn around and eat your supper, cludin the dessert." Cathedral straightened up. "Caes, you gon be here a few days, so you can't let nobody fuck with your humanity."
He went back to the cell and told Pancho Morrison that he wanted the bottom bunk, couldn't sleep well at the top.
"Too bad," Pancho said. He was lying down, reading a book published by the Jehovah's Witnesses. He wasn't a Witness, but he was curious.
That night, before the place went dark, Caesar lay on the bottom bunk and looked over at pictures of Pancho's children, which Pancho had taped on the opposite wall. He knew he would have to decide if he wanted Pancho just to move the photographs or to put them away altogether. All the children had toothy smiles. The two youngest stood, in separate pictures, outdoors in their First Communion clothes. Caesar himself had been a father for two years. A girl he had met at an F Street club in Northwest had told him he was the father of her son, and for a time he had believed her. Then the boy started growing big ears that Caesar thought didn't belong to anyone in his family, and so after he had slapped the girl a few times a week before the child's second birthday she confessed that the child belonged to "my first love." "Your first love is always with you," she said, sounding forever like a television addict who had never read a book. As Caesar prepared to leave, she asked him, "You want back all the toys and things you gave him?" The child, as if used to their fighting, had slept through this last encounter on the couch, part of a living-room suite that they were paying for on time. Caesar said nothing more and didn't think about his 18k.-gold cigarette lighter until he was eight blocks away. The girl pawned the thing and got enough to pay off the furniture bill.
Three years later, they let Pancho go. The two men had mostly stayed at a distance from each other, but toward the end they had been talking, sharing plans about a life beyond Lorton. The relationship had reached the point where Caesar was saddened to see the children's photographs come off the wall. Pancho pulled off the last taped picture and the wall was suddenly empty in a most forlorn way. Caesar knew the names of all the children. Pancho gave him a rabbit's foot that one of his children had given him. It was the way among all those men that when a good-luck piece had run out of juice it was given away with the hope that new ownership would renew its strength. The rabbit's foot had lost its electricity months before Pancho's release. Caesar's only good-fortune piece was a key chain made in Peru; it had been sweet for a bank robber in the next cell for nearly two years until that man's daughter, walking home from third grade, was abducted and killed.
One day after Pancho left, they brought in a thief and three-time rapist of elderly women. He nodded to Caesar and told him that he was Watson Rainey and went about making a home for himself in the cell, finally plugging in a tiny lamp with a green shade which he placed on the metal shelf jutting from the wall. Then he climbed onto the top bunk he had made up and lay down. His name was all the wordplay he had given Caesar, who had been smoking on the bottom bunk throughout Rainey's efforts to make a nest. Caesar waited ten minutes and then stood and pulled the lamp's cord out of the wall socket and grabbed Rainey with one hand and threw him to the floor. He crushed the lamp into Rainey's face. He choked him with the cord. "You come into my house and show me no respect!" Caesar shouted. The only sound Rainey could manage was a gurgling that bubbled up from his mangled mouth. There were no witnesses except for an old man across the way, who would occasionally glance over at the two when he wasn't reading his Bible. It was over and done with in four minutes. When Rainey came to, he found everything he owned piled in the corner, soggy with piss. And Caesar was again on the top bunk.
They would live in that cell together until Caesar was released, four years later. Rainey tried never to be in the house during waking hours; if he was there when Caesar came in, he would leave. Rainey's name spoken by him that first day were all the words that would ever pass between the two men.
A week or so after Rainey got there, Caesar bought from Multrey a calendar that was three years old. It was large and had no markings of any sort, as pristine as the day it was made. "You know this one ain't the year we in right now," Multrey said as one of his women took a quarter from Caesar and dropped it in her purse. Caesar said, "It'll do." Multrey prized the calendar for one thing: its top half had a photograph of a naked woman of indeterminate race sitting on a stool, her legs wide open, her pussy aimed dead at whoever was standing right in front of her. It had been Multrey's good-luck piece, but the luck was dead. Multrey remembered what the calendar had done for him and he told his woman to give Caesar his money back, lest any new good-fortune piece turn sour on him.
This was the only calendar Caesar had in Lorton. That very first Monday, he taped the calendar over the area where the pictures of Pancho's children had been. There was still a good deal of empty space left, but he didn't do anything about it, and Rainey knew he couldn't do anything, either. | https://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/laura-furman/the-o-henry-prize-stories-2006/_/R-400000000000000192634 | dclm-gs1-119380001 | false | false | {
"keywords": "t cell"
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.057536 | <urn:uuid:e23f7ffc-f933-4ada-bc3e-f5ab75f092a2> | en | 0.939648 | Reviews for A Soul Reaper of a Twin
Pleasanttrouble chapter 11 . 2/27
ii love this story
Guest chapter 9 . 2/21
Jade x ichigo
Smokeypaw chapter 9 . 1/8
I would love to see her paired with Uryuu, but I don't think the timeline matches up (since Aizen hasn't left yet)
Door 913 chapter 6 . 12/28/2013
I've been reading this story and got really confused. How can she be alive but not alive? Is she like a substitute soul reaper or something else. Please explain.
FantasyLover100 chapter 7 . 12/16/2013
I'm crazy and proud. If you hate how most people I know are also crazy and weird, deal with it. I LIKE YOU MEERKAT MOKA! You keep telling off these guest reviewers! *cheers* Ha ha, I keep posting reviews about these people. Anyways, I like what I'm reading so far!
FantasyLover100 chapter 5 . 12/16/2013
Girls put up with a lot of hate and discrimination because boys decide that girls can't do a thing when we know that we are able to be strong and independent. We don't just lay around and let them do whatever they want to us because we can very well beat it into their heads. Sometimes I really hate guys and I'm so glad none of the guys in my family are sexist like that. No offence to all you guys out there that realize that girls aren't weak, and I'm sorry for this rant. I just really hate things like this.
Emmaline Haesel chapter 7 . 12/6/2013
*Makes a giant 3D origami thumbs up, lights it on fire, and dances on the ashes singing weird songs* *Shrugs* Just 'cause I can.
Emmaline Haesel chapter 3 . 12/6/2013
I'm sorry for laughing at your rant but your use of 'kido' as a curse had me in stitches.
fullmoon'11 chapter 7 . 9/2/2013
"like master, like zanpakuto"
fullmoon'11 chapter 5 . 9/2/2013
don't listen to those who flame you, there will always be people who don't agree with you
Just a Dark Lord chapter 10 . 4/19/2013
well id like to say good job its a pretty good idea on my opinion there is most likely place for improvement but based on the size of the story its pretty decent good luck with your writing
Kyra Monroe chapter 2 . 2/9/2013
*twitch* okay, this is NOT aimed at the writer. At all. Its aimed at these guest reviews:
"Female writers... It's like female drivers, only worse."
Hahahahaha no. Your not funny.
"It's not the story I don't like, it's you. Your the kind of author that makes regular people hate fanfiction. Your kind and slash writers. Then again, I don't like the story either."
How exactly can you like the stry but not the author? The author is what makes the story amazing! (I bet you are the person who writes stories with no punctuation whatsoever. Those a the writers who people don't like (no offense, but your stories are really hard to read) and no being homophobic. It's not good for your health.
"Grow up and write better stories"
How old are you? Five? No, you grow up and grow a pair! Being five doesn't give you automatic immunity.
To the author: you are amazing and I love your stories! Keep up the good work!
(and sorry for basically spamming your reviews, but I can't PM them cuz their anonymous. :/)
mauryaatluri chapter 1 . 1/24/2013
FireStorm chapter 5 . 12/3/2012
Not talking to writer i am talking to the Guest who wrote the review.
I love the story so far still reading, i love it
tartanarmygirl chapter 3 . 12/3/2012
dear god, tell me please that the poor girl isnt gonna be paired with snape?! please! Oh the humanity!
47 | Page 1 2 3 .. Last Next » | https://www.fanfiction.net/r/8484817/ | dclm-gs1-119470001 | false | false | {
"keywords": "immunity"
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.032949 | <urn:uuid:74cdf737-93e1-4b86-84fd-d460a4134acd> | en | 0.981596 | Just Out Of His Reach
You Always Want What You Can't Have
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any shape or form. All rights go to the rightful owner. Please don't sue me.
A/N: Late night, boredom. It's exactly 12:38AM on Saturday right now. I haven't been on fanfiction in ages, and the thought suddenly occurred to me, "Hey, I should get on FanFiction and see if my stories are worthy of a few 'pity reviews'."
However, I feel that due to the massive amount of work and essays I receive as a sophomore, I have sharpened my grammar and vocabulary skills a lot. And I type a lot faster now without cramping my hands. D
Also, please don't message me. My email for this account has recently been suspended as we have switched service providers, and I will not be able to see any of your messages. ;[
Let's go!
"Shikamaru…come here. I have a surprise for you…" crooned a husky and silky voice coming from behind Shikamaru's back. He spun around a few times, searching for the face to put to the voice. He suddenly felt two silky hands slide over his eyes.
"Gotcha. Surprised?" Shikamaru spun around once again, to see two emerald green eyes peering back at him, then a mouth slowly turned up at the corners in a smirk.
"T-T-Temari! What are you doing here?" Shikamaru stuttered while his eyes wandered past her mouth, then to her thin smooth neck, then to her…
"SHIKAMARU!" He awoke with a start, and saw two eyes peering back at him, however, much unlike the sparkling green eyes in his dream, these eyes looked angry.
"Do you KNOW how long I've been trying to wake you up? TWO HOURS! What the hell were you dreaming about anyways, you kept mumbling to yourself."
"Ahh Ino, nice you see that you are just as radiant in the morning as you are at night." Said Shikamaru, smiling sheepishly. "She sure has a temper, I wonder if she's PMSing."
"Oh would you shut up with that sappy crap, I know you don't mean it. Get dressed! NOW!" Said Ino as she stormed off into the next room.
"Geez, does she HAVE to be so loud? I can hear her perfectly fine when she uses her inside voice." Shikamaru thought this to himself as he pulled on his pants over his boxers and slipped on his trademark shirt and vest outfit.
"Shikamaru, hurry, I wanna go to this brunch with Sakura and some other people."
"Ya know Ino, I'm gonna pass on that okay? I'm not in the mood to hang out with everyone right now."
Rolling her eyes Ino sighed and said, "Come ON, Naruto is gonna be there, so is Chouji, as well as Temari and her boyfriend. Just go okay?"
Shikamaru's heart sped up at the sound of Temari's name, he felt himself blush a bit, but disguised it by turning away and simply replied, "Fine."
"Thank you Shika! You're the best, always doing stuff for me." Ino wrapped her arms around Shikamaru's neck and pressed a kiss into his cheek. Shikamaru heard her, but didn't reply, as his mind was somewhere else entirely.
"AHHHH! INO!" Said an overly excited pink-haired girl. "SAKURA!!!!" Said Ino with an equal amount of volume and excitement. Shikamaru distanced himself from the frenzy of screaming and decided to get some food. Since food wasn't loud, annoying, and squeaky.
Shikamaru was slowly loading his plate with the selections of delicious foods, when suddenly a slender hand darted beneath his and took the last pastry. Luckily his reflexes were quick and he was able to seize the hand before the pastry had touched the plate.
Looking up, he noticed four blonde ponytails and immediately dropped the hand. Temari stared back with equal shock. Both of them were silent, and locked in a staring contest of sheer disbelief.
"So…here with Ryuu?" Shikamaru said this as casually as he could, trying to muster up a very nonchalant tone, all while avoiding eye contact with Temari.
"As a matter of fact, I am. Why are you here? I didn't think that brunch was your 'thing'." Temari said with a bit of venom in her tone.
"I went for Ino, she really wanted to go, so I decided that I'd come along to make her happy." Shikamaru knew inside that this was a complete lie, but Temari didn't.
"Well then, Ino certainly is lucky to have a boyfriend like you." Temari said this a little too quickly, noting the wavering of her voice; she blushed slightly and hurried off.
"What's up with her?" Thought Shikamaru, noticing Temari's hurried tone, he could've sworn he saw her eyes watering. "Darnn, she still left with my pastry."
Temari couldn't stand it anymore, was Shikamaru truly happy with Ino? She angrily wiped off the stubborn tears that ran down her cheeks. "Is he really happy with her, truly? If he is, I might as well move on instead of teasing him with this fling with Ryuu, heck I'm not even all that happy with Ryuu." Temari sat and thought for a while, and suddenly coming to a solution, she got up and walked back into the brunch calmly.
The brunch finally came to a close, surprisingly Shikamaru had a lot of fun, he got to eat, and Ino was very nice to him despite what happened in the morning. Temari found that Ryuu, while he may be a bit plain, he was quite funny, and seemed to genuinely be in love with her. Both Temari and Shikamaru left with smiles on their faces. And upon arriving home, both spent the rest of the day happy and smiling.
"Shikamaru, did you have fun today?" Ino asked with a hopeful tone.
"Actually I did, it wasn't half bad that brunch. Not as troublesome as I thought it would be. You're actually the reason it was enjoyable as it was. Not to mention, uh you looked really lovely at the brunch." Shikamaru looked away, hoping that Ino wouldn't make a scene out of what he'd said.
Ino blushed into a deep red color, "Oh, wow, thank you Shikamaru!" Now let's get to bed, tomorrow I'll get up early and cook you your favorite breakfast."
Meanwhile at Temari's place, conditions were just as cozy.
"Wow Temari! You give amazing head massages." Said Ryuu as Temari rubbed his scalp and temples.
"Don't get used to it, or I'll start charging you by the minute!" Temari said with a smile and a giggle. "Ahhh I'm getting sleepy, I'm gonna call it a night." She said as she started to stand up.
"No, no, no! Not yet!" Said Ryuu as he promptly laid his head into Temari's lap. He smiled and said, "Let me finish getting my head massage first." Sending Temari a wink that tickled her heart.
"Alright fine I guess I can't move now." Said a smiling Temari as she resumed rubbing his head.
"I know I'm not gonna be moving anytime soon, actually Temari, I've got something to ask you…" Ryuu said sitting up and staring solemnly into Temari's eyes.
Temari felt the breath rush right out of her lungs, was he actually planning to break up with her, his tone sounded so serious!
"Shikamaru please get up right now!" Said Ino as she rushed around the room trying to find an outfit, apparently there was another event going on.
"What's so important that I have to lose my sleep…" Said Shikamaru rubbing his tired eyes. But boy was Ino a sight for sore eyes; she looked even more ravishing this morning than she did last night.
"Temari is throwing a party! We HAVE to go, it's HUGE!" Said Ino comparing shoes in the mirror.
"Why is she throwing a party, not like it's her birthday or anything." Said Shikamaru sourly.
"It's bigger than that! She got engaged last night! Ryuu proposed to her and she accepted!" Ino said this with a huge smile on her face, with sparkly eyes and even a small "squee!" could be heard.
Shikamaru could only be silent at this; he didn't know what to think. Just when he'd thought he was completely over Temari, something like this brings back all the feelings he had for her. He suddenly felt a piercing pain in his heart, at the thought of Temari marrying some guy, kissing him, being with him.
"SHIKAMARU WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!?" Said Ino flinching as a glass of water shattered in Shikamaru's hand.
"Nothing, I'm just cranky in the mornings." Said Shikamaru getting dressed quickly and walking out the door.
"W-Wait! Where are you going? You have to go with me, please!" Ino ran toward him and grabbed his arm. "Please, this is important, Temari's a good friend of mine. And I don't wanna show up alone at the party!"
Sighing, Shikamaru turned around and waited for Ino to finish dressing. "Well, if Temari wants to be trapped in a marriage with that MEATHEAD, all the luck in the world to her!" Thought Shikamaru bitterly as he shoved away thoughts of having to attend their wedding.
Shikamaru and Ino arrived at the party, and it was quite packed, many of Konoha's residents were present at the party. Despite the numerous guests attending, Shikamaru's eye easily found Temari, she looked amazing. More than that, utterly fantastic. No, even more than that…"Sexy…" Thought Shikamaru.
Temari was in a dark violet dress that hugged her curves in all the right places, Shikamaru noted this and found himself becoming flushed.
"Hey Shikamaru, can you go up to Temari and give her my regards, I gotta hit the little girl's room. Thanks you're the best!" Shikamaru had no time to argue, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and walk up to Temari.
"Hey, um, congratulations on your engagement, may it be long and prosperous." Shikamaru felt like he could've choked on these words.
Temari was completely caught by surprise, she couldn't believe that he was saying this, but she could see in his eyes the sorrow and pain, she felt these feelings herself, but neither of them had the guts to say anything. Instead Temari proceeded to pour herself some punch, meanwhile her eyes were locked on Shikamaru.
"Wow, thanks so mu-YEOUCH!" Temari had not been paying close enough attention, and instead of grabbing the ladle to the punch bowl, she instead submerged her entire hand in a vat of boiling soup.
"Oh my god! This pain is unearthly, god, I'm so stupid!" Said Temari as she flailed her burning hand in the air meanwhile wincing from the pain.
"Oh geez, here, let me…" Said Shikamaru reaching for Temari's hand. To his surprise she pulled her hand away.
"It's okay, um don't touch me, I'll be fine." Said Temari as her eyes watered from the obvious pain.
"Temari! Just let me help, your hand is gonna be in pain even longer unless you let me help you, come on. Troublesome woman!" Said Shikamaru and with a flourish he grabbed a hold of Temari's waist and walked her into one of the bathrooms.
"There! Geez, stick your hand in here." Said Shikamaru as he ran cold water in the sink.
"Oh my godddd…that feels amazing. So much better." Temari's eyes closed as she savored the cold water running over her burning hand. She opened an eye, and saw Shikamaru waiting expectantly.
"Oh yeah, um, Thanks Shika for helping me." Grumbled Temari, embarrassed.
"Heh, she looks cute when she blushes. Too bad she's such a troublesome girl." Thought Shikamaru to himself, "Yeah, yeah, you're welcome, you're lucky I was there, you could've lost your hand. I saved your life!" said Shikamaru with a sly smirk.
"Hah, you're a riot." said Temari sarcastically, but with a smile on her face.
"So, you and Ryuu, unexpected engagement huh?" said Shikamaru trying to appear as composed and indifferent as possible.
"You're telling me, I was expecting him to break up with me, not propose to me. But, he's a nice guy." Temari said, pretending to be focused on her hand.
"You guys in love?" Shikamaru said, looking right at Temari sternly.
"…O-Of course!" Temari sputtered, a little too loudly.
"You hesitated."
"That doesn't mean anything! Shut up, I do love him."
"Do you? Honestly. Tell me the truth."
Temari could only be silent, it was this absence of words that answered Shikamaru's question as clear as if she said it out loud.
"I'm still waiting for my answer." Shikamaru was standing very close to Temari, so close in fact, that she could feel his breath on her cheek.
Temari began to feel dizzy, being so close to him was having an intoxicating effect on her. "Honestly…I think I could love him one day, but no. I'm not in love with him right now." Temari's eyes welled with tears when she realized how cruel she was being to Ryuu. "It's not fair to Ryuu, but…you're so happy with Ino, I thought that maybe if I got serious with Ryuu, I could be happy with him too…"
Temari was about to rush out of the room when she felt a strong hand grab a hold of her arm, she felt herself being pulled back.
"Wait. Tell me more about this sham marriage of yours." Shikamaru said sternly, meanwhile gently wiping a tear off Temari's cheek.
"What's there to know, we'll probably move away from Konoha, maybe start a family, do that couple thing." Temari said regretfully.
"How could you possibly commit yourself to someone you don't love?" Shikamaru said, with a look in his eyes that hinted…betrayal?
"Because I couldn't possibly have the person I DO love!" Yelled Temari angrily.
A/N: That's it kiddos! It's late, and I am very tired. Teehee, I know it's totally cheese at the end, but give me a break, I basically just watched Winter Sonata before typing it, hence the painfully cheesy ending. I will see if I actually get reviews for this, I will definitely continue. | https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2974097/8/Just-Out-Of-His-Reach | dclm-gs1-119500001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.018432 | <urn:uuid:55147301-f6fe-477a-8888-d26a8d2d4092> | en | 0.944327 | • Comment
Judge orders pilot's competency tested
Posted: April 4, 2012 - 4:22pm
FBI agents escort JetBlue Capt. Clayton F. Osbon into the federal courthouse in Amarillo. Amarillo Globe-News
Amarillo Globe-News
Amarillo’s federal judge ordered suspended JetBlue Capt. Clayton F. Osbon to undergo a mental competency test to determine if he can stand trial.
U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson’s Wednesday order said federal marshals will transport Osbon, 49, of Richmond Hill, Ga., to
an undisclosed federal medical center. Prosecutors and E. Dean Roper, Osbon’s attorney, agreed to the exam Wednesday after a government motion said events described in a FBI affidavit “establish a likelihood that Osbon may be suffering from a mental disease or defect.”
Osbon’s test will determine whether he understands the charge against him and can assist his attorney in a defense, according to Robinson’s order.
Roper has declined to comment.
JetBlue Flight 191 made an emergency landing March 27 in Amarillo after Osbon raced screaming about the cabin, pounded on the cockpit door and shouted incoherently about Sept. 11, 2001, and al-Qaida, an FBI affidavit said. Co-pilot Jason Dowd, 41, of Salem, Ohio, became concerned about Osbon’s behavior, locked the captain out of the cockpit and guided the jetliner to Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport, the document said.
The aircraft was bound to Las Vegas from New York. None of the flight’s 141 passengers and crew members, who restrained Osbon at Dowd’s request, was seriously hurt.
Building a plausible case around a defendant’s mental instability during the alleged offense is crucial in these cases, said Ronald Goldman, a pilot and lead aviation disaster attorney at Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman in Los Angeles.
“It’s not just that he willed it, but that he had some cognition that allowed him to appreciate what he was doing,” Goldman said. “Did he have any reasoning power when he did it?”
Goldman said a temporary insanity defense has a “checkered history” because it is difficult to sell in court. But prosecutors still face a heavy burden to prove Osbon was capable of understanding his actions.
“That is specific to that time and those actions,” Goldman said. “He could be perfectly controlled now, but at the moment, the defendant could say he didn’t know right from wrong.”
Federal Aviation Administration records show Osbon, a 12-year JetBlue pilot, underwent a medical screening in December and was licensed as an airline transport pilot and a flight and ground instructor. His only medical restriction was a requirement that he wear corrective lenses.
The FAA requires pilots older than 40, like Osbon, to undergo checkups every six months, but those tests are principally physical. Doctors rarely inquire about pilots’ mental health, and even if those questions are asked, pilots might be reticent, fearing they could lose their license to fly, pilots and aviation experts have said.
While federal regulations include some safeguards during medical evaluations, the potential blemish on a professional record can likely affect specific mental health reporting, Goldman said.
Pilots are “supposed to notify the FAA when they seek treatment and list every medication (they’re) on,” Goldman said. “But who’s checking to make sure that’s correct? We still have stigmas to it, so people don’t want to disclose they’re under some care for a mental health issue. We have our FAA examination, but should we have a component that does some psychological testing to try to screen out mental instability?”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
• Comment
Comments (4)
Add comment
Comment viewing options
Sort Comments
chaosgirl 04/04/12 - 04:32 pm
Exactly what should happen.
Ashlybee120 04/05/12 - 09:32 am
MRI /ct scan
I still think the poor guy had a brain something or another. I know the Drs probably did an MRI, but maybe not. The media seems to be attacking this man as a crazy loon and maybe they didnt. Dont be so quick to jump to conclusions.
chaosgirl 04/05/12 - 04:25 pm
I feel in my heart that he felt everyone was in danger, as he was never physically violent towards any of the passengers. I think he had a psychotic moment, for what ever reason (maybe something medical) but he must have felt real danger. When one is delusional, you cannot convince them their thoughts are incorrect, and they have no way of knowing they are incorrect. I feel really bad for this guy, it seems he felt like they were being threatened by terrorists and he had no control over it. His anxiety level must have been overwhelming.
logicrules 04/07/12 - 10:30 pm
Drug or Alcohol tests
In the excitement did anyone think to take drug or alcohol tests? Its likely that something brought on his actions; and with the spate of pilots drinking before flights why was no mention made of any immediate tests that all others would be subject to?
This guy is piloting for 12 years and suddenly snaps with no apparent cause, yeah right!
Back to Top
Get Spotted®
Skip to News
« back
next »
WT Lady Buffs and St. Edwards Basketball | http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2012-04-04/feds-seek-mental-test-jetblue-pilot | dclm-gs1-119610001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.079237 | <urn:uuid:6264b4ec-1607-4c31-9860-b48ea7667060> | en | 0.842549 | 15,699 reputation
bio website
location Washington, DC
age 46
visits member for 3 years, 5 months
seen 5 hours ago
I am an avid Android user. I started with the original Motorola Droid, moved to a Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and am now using a Moto X. My first tablet is a Nexus 7 (2012).
Here are my top 5 apps:
1. Gmail
2. Google+
3. Feedly
4. Pocket
5. Pocket Casts
Had my first serial-upvote event on 2012-09-28. The second the next day. The third on 2014-02-09. My first serial-downvotes event was on 2014-02-28. | http://android.stackexchange.com/users/267/al-e?tab=activity&sort=posts | dclm-gs1-119630001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.041688 | <urn:uuid:8a127fa8-59ad-4772-aad9-e75e94981040> | en | 0.934296 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
The Wiki page on Grapheme–color synesthesia says:
... one recent study has documented a case of synesthesia in which synesthetic associations could be traced back to colored refrigerator magnets.
Wiki points out that this might be an individual case, but let's assume that synesthesia is something you can train. Let's further assume that everybody is more or (most of us) less a synesthesist.
Can the level of synesthesia be measured by the following test:
1. You are shown a sequence of colored characters, i.e. number and letters, or the characters shown are placed on a colored background.
2. After that you are asked to give the sequence.
Should there be a measurable statistical effect in remembering the sequences when they are colored in your specific color scheme?
share|improve this question
Isn't this a question of the validity of a proposal for a test of whether synesthesia can be found to occur in varying degrees in people, even below the level of conscious awareness? I like the idea, but I don't think one needs to assume in advance that everyone is a synesthesist, let alone that it can be trained. – Nick Stauner Jan 29 at 0:47
@nick if you don't need to assume your synesthety to provide an answer, go ahead... – draks ... Jan 29 at 21:25
Sorry, no, I don't know enough about this to provide an answer; just hoped to help clarify a bit. My intuition is that you could do a test like this, and its outcome wouldn't require those prior assumptions. If I'm right, that would probably make the test even more interesting, because it might then help you test hypotheses about those ideas rather than require that you assume them a priori! Unfortunately, I can't really back that up. – Nick Stauner Jan 29 at 21:31
@nick let's see if there are experts around that can help. I thought about coding an app for my tablet to test myself. Any suggestions? – draks ... Jan 29 at 21:47
I only suggest you make it compatible with Android 2+ so I can try it! :D – Nick Stauner Jan 29 at 21:50
show 2 more comments
Your Answer
Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question. | http://cogsci.stackexchange.com/questions/5545/is-recall-for-an-appropriately-color-coded-string-of-symbols-a-good-measure-of-l | dclm-gs1-119760001 | false | false | {
"keywords": "a sequence"
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.236962 | <urn:uuid:aaf018f3-23a8-40c1-b2a0-b6c3793d665e> | en | 0.94758 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
So I've just finished making about a liter of hot chocolate (lets ignore why for a minute here), and I've stored it in my refrigerator, inside a plastic bottle that was once used to store orange juice. Although I cleaned and rinsed the bottle as well as I could before using it, the hot chocolate has taken on an orange-y aftertaste. It's by no means inedible, but unwelcome nonetheless.
Is there any way to remove/mask the flavor? I'd hate to have to throw all this out.
share|improve this question
add comment
1 Answer
There is probably no universal means. Don't store strongly flavored liquids in plastic bottles you would like to reuse.
In the specific case of hot chocolate, it is ammenable to a number of strong flavors which may mask the odd orangey aftertaste. I would recommend re-heating it with a pinch of cayenne pepper (really; hot pepper and chocolate go nicely), and perhaps a couple of cardamom pods if you enjoy their unique flavor.
share|improve this answer
Would cinnamon work? I just happen to have a lot of that on hand. – cornjuliox Oct 16 '13 at 16:13
Its pretty strongly flavored; you could try it. If you like orange and chocolate you could also try orange zest. – SAJ14SAJ Oct 16 '13 at 16:16
add comment
Your Answer
| http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/37655/how-to-remove-unwanted-aftertaste-from-food | dclm-gs1-119780001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.02329 | <urn:uuid:9dc97f6b-2299-469a-8a26-b6774dc819ba> | en | 0.86035 | material, as cotton or straw, used to pad something.
something added unnecessarily or dishonestly, as verbiage to a speech or a false charge on an expense account.
the act of a person or thing that pads.
1820–30; pad1 + -ing1 Unabridged
1 [pad]
a soft, stuffed cushion used as a saddle; a padded leather saddle without a tree.
Zoology. a pulvillus, as on the tarsus or foot of an insect.
a lily pad.
Rocketry. launch pad.
one's living quarters, as an apartment or room.
one's bed.
a room where people gather to take narcotics; an addicts' den.
a list of police officers receiving such money.
Electricity. a nonadjustable attenuator consisting of a network of fixed resistors.
a handle for holding various small, interchangeable saw blades.
Metallurgy. a raised surface on a casting.
verb (used with object), padded, padding.
to expand or add to unnecessarily or dishonestly: to pad a speech; to pad an expense account.
verb (used without object), padded, padding.
to insure the proper forging of a piece.
on the pad, Slang. (of a police officer) receiving a bribe, especially on a regular basis.
1545–55; orig. special uses of obsolete pad bundle to lie on, perhaps blend of pack1 and bed
2 [pad]
a road horse, as distinguished from a hunting or working horse.
a highwayman.
British Dialect. a path, lane, or road.
verb (used with object), padded, padding.
to travel along on foot.
to beat down by treading.
verb (used without object), padded, padding.
to travel on foot; walk.
1545–55; (noun) < Middle Dutch or Low German pad path (orig. argot; hence, apparently, “highwayman” and “horse”); (v.) < Middle Dutch padden to make or follow a path, cognate with Old English pæththan to traverse, derivative of pæth path; defs. 1, 8 perhaps represent an independent expressive word that has been influenced by other senses Unabridged
Cite This Source Link To padding
World English Dictionary
pad1 (pæd)
1. a thick piece of soft material used to make something comfortable, give it shape, or protect it
2. a guard made of flexible resilient material worn in various sports to protect parts of the body
3. stamp pad, Also called: ink pad a block of firm absorbent material soaked with ink for transferring to a rubber stamp
4. notepad, Also called: writing pad a number of sheets of paper fastened together along one edge
5. a flat piece of stiff material used to back a piece of blotting paper
6. a. the fleshy cushion-like underpart of the foot of a cat, dog, etc
b. any of the parts constituting such a structure
7. any of various level surfaces or flat-topped structures, such as a launch pad
8. entomol a nontechnical name for pulvillus
9. the large flat floating leaf of the water lily
10. electronics a resistive attenuator network inserted in the path of a signal to reduce amplitude or to match one circuit to another
11. slang a person's residence
12. slang a bed or bedroom
vb , pads, padding, padded
13. to line, stuff, or fill out with soft material, esp in order to protect or give shape to
14. (often foll by out) to inflate with irrelevant or false information: to pad out a story
[C16: origin uncertain; compare Low German pad sole of the foot]
pad2 (pæd)
vb (when intr, often foll by around) , pads, padding, padded
1. (intr; often foll by along, up, etc) to walk with a soft or muffled tread
2. to travel (a route) on foot, esp at a slow pace; tramp: to pad around the country
3. a dull soft sound, esp of footsteps
4. archaic short for footpad
5. archaic, dialect or a slow-paced horse; nag
6. (Austral) a path or track: a cattle pad
[C16: perhaps from Middle Dutch paden, from padpath]
padding (ˈpædɪŋ)
1. any soft material used to pad clothes, furniture, etc
2. superfluous material put into a speech or written work to pad it out; waffle
3. inflated or false entries in a financial account, esp an expense account
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History
1554, "bundle of straw to lie on," possibly from Low Ger. or Flem. pad "sole of the foot." Meaning "cushion-like part of an animal foot" is from 1836 in Eng. Generalized sense of "something soft" is from c.1700; the sense of "a number of sheets fastened together" (in writing pad, drawing pad, etc.) is
from 1865. Sense of "take off or landing place for a helicopter" is from 1960. The word persisted in underworld slang from early 18c. in the sense "sleeping place," and was popularized again c.1959, originally in beatnik speech (later hippie slang) in its original sense of "place to sleep temporarily." The verb meaning "to stuff, increase the amount of" is first recorded 1827, from the noun; transf. to expense accounts, etc. from 1913. Padded cell in an asylum or prison is from 1862 (padded room).
"to walk," 1553, probably from M.Du. paden "walk along a path, make a path," from pad, pat "path." Originally criminals' slang, perhaps of imitative origin (sound of feet trudging on a dirt road).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
pad (pād)
1. A soft material forming a cushion, used in applying or relieving pressure on a part, or in filling a depression so that dressings can fit snugly.
2. A fatty mass of tissue acting as a cushion in the body, such as the fleshy underside of a finger or toe.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
pad definition
1. n.
a place to live; one's room or dwelling. : Why don't you come over to my pad for a while?
2. tv.
to lengthen a piece of writing with unnecessary material. (See also padded.) : This story would be better if you hadn't padded it with so much chitchat.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw-Hill Education.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Abbreviations & Acronyms
1. packet assembler/disassembler
2. pressure anomaly detection
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
They are all constructed on heavy lines with thick padding which becomes
water-soaked in the rainy season.
players wore in the post-war period.
Elsewhere there are evidences of padding, staginess, and even pompousness.
Much more unusual is the foam padding covering the floor.
Copyright © 2014, LLC. All rights reserved.
• Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature | http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/padding?qsrc=2446 | dclm-gs1-119820001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.025367 | <urn:uuid:9096f199-f6d3-4ced-a451-12f4a0939625> | en | 0.81567 | Cart (Loading....) | Create Account
Close category search window
Application of neural networks to signal prediction in nuclear power plant
Sign In
Formats Non-Member Member
$31 $13
Become an IEEE Member or Subscribe to
IEEE Xplore for exclusive pricing!
close button
puzzle piece
Learn more about:
IEEE membership
IEEE Xplore subscriptions
3 Author(s)
Kim, W.J. ; Dept. of Nucl. Eng., Korea Adv. Inst. of Sci. & Technol., Taejon, South Korea ; Soon Heung Chang ; Lee, B.H.
The feasibility of using an artificial neural network for signal prediction is studied. The purpose of signal prediction is to estimate the value of the undetected next-time-step signal. In the prediction method, which is based on the idea of autoregression, a few previous signals are input to the artificial neural network, and the signal value of next time step is estimated from the outputs of the network. The artificial neural network can be applied to a nonlinear system and has fast response. The training algorithm is a modified backpropagation model, which can effectively reduce the training time. The target signal of the simulation is the steam generator water level in a nuclear power plant. The simulation result shows that the predicted value follows the real trend well
Published in:
Nuclear Science, IEEE Transactions on (Volume:40 , Issue: 5 )
Date of Publication:
Oct 1993
Need Help?
| http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?reload=true&arnumber=234547 | dclm-gs1-119970001 | false | false | {
"keywords": "m gene"
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.20605 | <urn:uuid:e8101fb4-071c-4c1b-aea3-8caec18e3a32> | en | 0.98767 | In Machine, a woman deals with loss in a world of biomechanical immortalityS
In this excerpt from new novel Machine, by Jennifer Pelland (Apex Publications), a woman named Celia with a troubled past has just lost her wife because she's chosen to become a bioandroid. Celia lives in a future of underground surgeries, bio-mechanical implants, and posthuman politics. In this chapter we begin to glimpse all the ways humanity has been changed by biotech — and how it hasn't. Later in the novel, things will get even weirder when Celia tries to recover from her loss by experimenting with bioandroid sex games . . . to get a taste, we've got chapter one of Machine for you right here.
Cover art by Katerina Zagustina
Machine: Chapter 1
Thursday, October 18, 2092
When Celia opened her eyes, Rivka wasn't there.
A white-spectacled technician looked down at her and said, "Sorry about the company." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, and she followed the gesture with her gaze and saw a pair of hospital security guards flanking the room's closed door. "There was another incident this week."
She struggled up onto her elbows. "Can you tell them to please let my wife in?"
He winced. "I'm really sorry, ma'am, but she's not here."
The chill in her bones felt so real that it took her a moment to remember they were now fake.
"I need you to stand for a couple of tests."
She couldn't feel any difference in her body as she sat up and planted her bare feet on the cold tile floor. Her muscles felt the same, her weight felt the same, her center of gravity felt the same. If she didn't know better, she'd think the hospital had done nothing at all and that she'd just awoken from a light nap.
Either way, Rivka should have been there.
The tech put her through a battery of physical and mental tests to make sure that her mind had integrated properly with her new body, then he gestured toward a curtained-off corner of the room where a pile of clothes awaited her. Once she was dressed, the security guards delivered her to the office of Dr. Kenneth McElvoy, the patient relations administrator for the program. "It's good to see you again, Ms. Krajewski," he said, smiling at her through an orange beard that had seemingly gotten fluffier over the past week. "How are you feeling?"
"What happened?" she asked.
His smile vanished. "The Hartford clinic was firebombed. There haven't been any threats against our facility, but we've stepped up security anyway, just as a precaution. Don't worry-patient safety is very important to us."
She'd meant what had happened with Rivka, but she couldn't bear to ask again.
Dr. McElvoy adjusted his glasses. "So, like I asked, how are you feeling?"
Celia looked down at her hands, hands that looked just like her old ones, all the way down to the small scar on her palm from a childhood fence-climbing incident. She'd known the reproduction would be exact, but still, it startled her to see how perfectly they'd recreated every little flaw. "Everything feels the same."
The smile came back. "Just like we promised."
"Just like you promised."
Why wasn't Rivka here? It wasn't like her to be late, and now of all times...
Celia worried at her lower lip with fingers that felt just as warm as before. Maybe the hospital had asked her to stay home for her safety, what with the Hartford attack. No, someone would have said so if that were the case.
"Here's your glasses," Dr. McElvoy said, handing her the copper half-frames. "Let's give your new biometrics a quick test."
She put them on and made sure the bone conduction pads were tucked behind her ears. She felt the light sting behind one ear as the frames attempted to verify her identity by sampling this body's unique chemical signature, now that she no longer had DNA. She then pressed the tips of her thumb and index finger together to activate the microscopic fingerdots just below her skin and turn on the glasses. The holographic lenses sheeted down at half-opacity and showed her home screen. In the upper right corner, her private message box had the Commonwealth of Massachusetts symbol flashing over it. That meant an official court document was waiting for her.
She didn't dare open it.
"Everything seems to be working," she said.
"Good. Now..." Dr. McElvoy leaned forward, elbows propped on his desk. "During your intake interview, we discussed how crucial it was to have a strong support system in place, especially during these first few difficult days. I'm concerned that your support system seems to have, well, vanished."
"But, Rivka..."
Dr. McElvoy frowned at her through his beard. "She's not here, Ms. Krajewski."
The message box seemed to flash even brighter. Celia felt her body go cold, and pressed her fingers together again to shut down her lenses.
"Do you have any close friends to stay with?"
"My friend Trini's out of the country. She's it, really."
"You shouldn't be alone right now, Ms. Krajewski."
She wouldn't be, because everything was going to be fine with Rivka. Maybe she was having another heart-to-heart with her rabbi. Or it could have been work. With the money they'd paid for this procedure, she couldn't blame Rivka for feeling the need to try to rake in a big bonus this quarter.
"Tell you what. I'll see about getting a security officer sent home with you, just to be safe-"
"No," Celia blurted. "I don't want a stranger in my house."
"I'm not trying to scare you, but you and I both know that this isn't the safest time to be one of our patients. Hartford took us all by surprise, but really, it shouldn't have. In other parts of the country-"
"My townhouse shares walls with the neighbors on both sides. I'll be safe. Honestly, the walls are so thin that you can hear-"
"You shouldn't be-"
"Please, don't make me spend the night with a stranger."
He stared at her for a long moment, then softened. "If you insist. But I'm going to have a private security detail drive by your house for the next few days. Don't worry-they'll be discreet. We'd never do anything that would publicly connect you to the program."
"Fine," she whispered.
"So, who else knows about your procedure?"
"I told Trini, and Rivka told her rabbi. And I had to tell my boss and the HR department. Taking a week off at this time of year-"
Dr. McElvoy held his hand up. "Of course. And I'm sure they understand the importance of keeping your new status confidential. So, I've got you set up for daily check-in sessions this week. Call my office if you need anything tonight, and if not, I'll talk to you tomorrow morning at eight." He stood up and held out his hand, and Celia took it reluctantly, submitting herself to the handshake out of sheer politeness. "Congratulations on the successful procedure. We'll have you back in your own body in no time."
Celia had the sinking suspicion that for Rivka, it was already too late.
The security guards had her wait a moment before escorting her out of the bioandroid wing and into an empty hallway. "It's better if no one sees you leave," one of them explained. When they hit a more populated part of the hospital, the two men faded back into the crowd. She let the hospital computer guide her to her car, climbed into the sky blue two-seater, pressed her thumb against the ignition pad, and let out a pent-up breath as the car started. There was no visible difference between this body and her old one. None at all. The car couldn't tell the difference, the tiny DNA metrics pads on her glasses couldn't tell the difference, not even Celia could tell the difference.
So why wasn't Rivka here?
No, she was just stuck working on a particularly tricky account. All Celia had to do was open her mail and she'd see that. The legal message was just…
She'd feel better once she was home and saw that everything was okay.
She put the car into gear, and her glasses flashed a message from the hospital suggesting that she mirror her windows before leaving the garage, as the protesters might be filming people entering and leaving the building. So she did. She exited the garage and stopped at the base of the ramp to stare at them as they knelt in prayer on the sidewalk next to their "Souls Cannot Be Replicated" banner.
That's what the protests in Hartford had looked like only a week ago.
Her glasses helpfully offered links to more information on the aftermath of the Hartford incident, the latest manifestos issued by radicals in the bioandroid protest movement, and the fastest route from Cambridge to Waltham given current traffic conditions, but she waved them all away.
The message icon taunted her.
She turned her glasses to drive mode to clear the lenses, and drove home.
* * *
Celia knew the truth even before she entered the house.
She turned into the driveway, her townhouse's garage door opening automatically for her car, and as she looked up, she saw that the plants were gone from the kitchen window.
Their two-car garage was empty.
Celia took a deep breath and stepped out of the car. If she stayed in the garage, she could pretend that Rivka had gone out to run an errand. That she'd pulled the plants onto the kitchen table so she could do a little pruning. That the procedure hadn't changed anything between them. That everything was going to be all right.
If only she could stay here forever.
She squared her shoulders and forced herself to walk through the door. As she stepped into the laundry area, she saw that the litter box was gone.
She stared up the stairs in trepidation. There was a hollow where her heart had been, and a small part of her brain marveled that this body was so perfect that even grief felt the same. She swallowed down the lump of fear that was swelling in her throat and started up the stairs. At the top, she hesitated, one hand on the cold metal knob, before forcing herself to open the door and get it over with.
The photo wall was peppered with gaps. One of the matched easy chairs was gone. The artwork that Rivka's brother had painted as his wedding gift was missing, leaving a bright white rectangle on the wall where it once had been.
On the mantelpiece directly below that rectangle was a note. A paper note.
She crossed the room in slow-motion, as if the air had turned to molasses, and saw herself reaching out to pick the note up.
"I'm so sorry. I can't cheat on my wife by living with her machine copy. - Rivka."
The numbness fled and was replaced by pain. With shaking hands, Celia put the little yellow note back where she'd found it and made her way up to the bedroom, trying to ignore all the things that were missing along the way: the plants, the linen dining table runner, Rivka's bureau. The hope chest at the foot of the bed was gone, and in its place was a small stack of sheets and blankets. Celia pulled her childhood afghan out of the pile, climbed onto the bed, and curled up under the blanket to cry.
* * *
She should never have looked her father up in the genebanks. If she hadn't, she'd still be married.
Of course, if she hadn't, by the time they'd discovered and diagnosed the genetic time-bomb lurking inside of her, it would have been too late to do anything about it. It was a particularly nasty mutation of early-onset Alzheimer's, one that only two people in the genebanks were recorded as having: her, and her father.
But she had looked him up. Less than a week after her mother's funeral, Celia had petitioned the genebanks to identify her biological father-the father who had never known that she existed, the father who her mother had steadfastly refused to name. All Celia knew was that she was the deliberate souvenir of her mother's affair with a married man. "He has a wife, and by now, a family," her mother would say. "It's best not to trouble him."
The genebanks identified him as Warren Dunlop. He'd died less than a month after Celia had been conceived, just three days after his strange memory lapses had been officially diagnosed. The doctors had said they wouldn't be able to find a cure for him until after even more irreversible brain damage had set in, so he had shot himself in the head. Since the mutation was unique to him, and since he was registered as having no progeny, the case was closed on his disease.
And then Celia's records were legally tied to his, and the case was opened again.
There was still no cure, because there'd been no reason to try to find one, and the diagnosis was the same-in the time it would take to come up with the gene therapy to correct the condition, Celia would suffer irreparable brain damage. But thirty-seven years after her father received his diagnosis, Celia had two advantages that he didn't.
First, the disease hadn't yet struck her brain.
Second, there was now a stopgap available.
An android duplicate was created of Celia's body, a duplicate that looked and felt identical to the original, even for the wearer. The contents of her brain were transferred to this new body and her biological body was put in stasis. When the cure was finally developed, it would be applied to her biological body, then her new memories would be reintegrated into it and the android body retired.
Celia had had to petition a judge for a special waiver to get into the program. Dunlop-Krajewski's Alzheimer's, as her condition had been dubbed, wasn't technically deadly. Access to replacement bodies was strictly controlled, and they were only doled out to those suffering from terminal, incurable diseases. Celia's neurologist had argued that while Celia's body wasn't in any mortal danger from her disease, her mind certainly was. The waiver had been granted quickly.
The replacement body and the program to support it weren't cheap. Insurance paid for some of it, but due to the controversy of the program, the bulk of the funds came out of Celia and Rivka's house fund. For the entire seven years of their marriage, they'd been saving up to buy a real house out in the suburbs, somewhere where entire city blocks weren't taken up with rows upon rows of townhouses and apartments.
And if Celia had just gone into stasis and not insisted on a replacement body, then she might have woken up in that house. But how could she have willingly walked away from her marriage for years to lie unconscious in a stasis tube, waiting to be revived, when there was this miraculous alternative? And how could Rivka have expected her to?
Oh, Rivka had brought up plenty of tough questions about the procedure, sure, but Celia had assumed that she'd simply been trying to make sure that they really understood what they were getting into.
"What if the brain transfer is buggy?"
"What happens if the new body breaks?"
"What if the protesters find out what you are?"
"Do you think you'll be able to handle living with the knowledge that you're only a copy of the real you?"
Rivka only played devil's advocate when she didn't like something. Celia should have known. She should have-
Celia pressed her lips in a tight line and touched her index finger and thumb together to activate her lenses and all ten of her fingerdots. She tapped her index finger on the holographic projection to produce a cursor, and froze with it just under the flashing message icon. She closed her eyes, then flicked her finger up. There, at the top of the list, was a message with a legal flag.
A tap of her finger opened it.
The divorce was already final. Pursuant to the divorce laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Rivka Nomi Ben-Ur had been granted a unilateral divorce from Celia Isoke Krajewski on the grounds that by having more than 51 percent of her body medically altered or replaced, she was no longer the same person her spouse had married.
Celia pressed her fingertips together to shut off her glasses and placed the frames on the one remaining bedside table. She pulled the tatty afghan tightly around her, let out a long breath, and walked across the room to the full-length mirror.
The face that stared back at her looked exactly like her own. Same warm beige skin, same honey-colored eyes and dark tan spiral curled hair that was always just a little too springy to manage. Same lips that were halfway between her mother's skinny Polish/Irish lips and the full African lips from her father's picture. The same lips that Rivka used to trace with her finger-
No, not the same lips.
Machine lips.
She looked the same. She even felt the same. But she was just a machine copy of the woman Rivka loved.
And she was alone.
You can pick up a copy of Machine from Apex Publications or your favorite bookseller. | http://io9.com/5892369/in-machine-a-woman-deals-with-loss-in-a-world-of-biomechanical-immortality?tag=books | dclm-gs1-120000001 | false | false | {
"keywords": "gene therapy"
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.072319 | <urn:uuid:8db53c43-68a3-4d4c-9739-89cd97800162> | en | 0.848917 | , Volume 32, Issue 5, pp 379-395
Sequence analysis and phylogenetic reconstruction of the genes encoding the large and small subunits of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase from the chlorophyllb-containing prokaryoteProchlorothrix hollandica
Purchase on Springer.com
$39.95 / €34.95 / £29.95*
Rent the article at a discount
Rent now
* Final gross prices may vary according to local VAT.
Get Access
Prochlorophytes similar toProchloron sp. andProchlorothrix hollandica have been suggested as possible progenitors of the plastids of green algae and land plants because they are prokaryotic organisms that possess chlorophyllb (chlb). We have sequenced theProchlorothrix genes encoding the large and small subunits of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (rubisco),rbcL andrbcS, for comparison with those of other taxa to assess the phylogenetic relationship of this species. Length differences in the large subunit polypeptide among all sequences compared occur primarily at the amino terminus, where numerous short gaps are present, and at the carboxy terminus, where sequences ofAlcaligenes eutrophus and non-chlorophyllb algae are several amino acids longer. Some domains in the small subunit polypeptide are conserved among all sequences analyzed, yet in other domains the sequences of different phylogenetic groups exhibit specific structural characteristics. Phylogenetic analyses ofrbcL andrbcS using Wagner parsimony analysis of deduced amino acid sequences indicate thatProchlorothrix is more closely related to cyanobacteria than to the green plastid lineage. The molecular phylogenies suggest that plastids originated by at least three separate primary endosymbiotic events, i.e., once each leading to green algae and land plants, to red algae, and toCyanophora paradoxa. TheProchlorothrix rubisco genes show a strong GC bias, with 68% of the third codon positions being G or C. Factors that may affect the GC content of different genomes are discussed. | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF02101278 | dclm-gs1-120080001 | false | true | {
"keywords": "genome, bacteria"
} | false | null | false |
0.018133 | <urn:uuid:6ab6ca3f-c120-4f4b-8561-06e213fc8096> | en | 0.912432 |
Re: Update protocol and dataset description
From: Lee Feigenbaum <lee@thefigtrees.net>
Date: Sun, 07 Aug 2011 13:47:08 -0400
Message-ID: <4E3ECF9C.3080500@thefigtrees.net>
To: Andy Seaborne <andy.seaborne@epimorphics.com>
I went and tried to find the last time we discussed this. I believe it
was here:
In which you asked:
> I'm not sure what &default-graph-uri= and &named-graph-uri= mean for
> an SPARQL Update request.
> I can see this applying to the pattern part only (c.f. USING) for
> Anzo/Glitter -- is that the intent?
and I replied:
On the protocol teleconference, we discussed that they would define the
RDF dataset against which graph patterns are evaluated -- a la USING and
USING NAMED, as you say below.
In response to that, you suggested:
My other reading was a protocol argument for WITH.
Would better names be:
-- same as WITH
-- same as USING
-- same as USING NAMED
Something to make it clear it is not the graph store being affected for
the "using" ones.
For what semantics, in a query request, there is only one query and only
one possible dataset description. But in an update request there can be
several operations, some with WITH, some without, and some with USING
some without.
Do the parameters override all the operations? This makes more sense to
me but it does seem like a choice point in the design - anther choice
would be override if there were no USING etc and keeping if an explicit
USING, despite that being different to query but query is different
because it can't have mixed combinations in one request.
There wasn't any further discussion then. I agree this is confusing,
because of the fact that it affects the RDF dataset but not the target
graphs. And the interplay with WITH is unclear as well.
The use case is similar to query. For example, in Anzo we use SPARQL
Update requests often either as manual ways to update the store or as
automated rules. We retarget the update requests from one dataset (set
of graphs) to another by changing these parameters (well, in our case,
we have a named dataset extension, but it's the same idea).
What do you think of your January suggestion to use different parameter
names here -- using-graph-uri and using-named-graph-uri?
Finally, I don't understand your point #4 below. Could you explain?
On 8/5/2011 3:58 AM, Andy Seaborne wrote:
> The update protocol allows default-graph-uri and named-graph-uri in
> update requests.
> I'm not sure this is a good idea:
> In query, it's used to retarget or set the target dataset of a single
> query, overriding FROM/FROM NAMED. Typical use is in web forms to set
> the target of the query for a general query processor, one that does not
> have any implicit dataset.
> 1/ Update is not the same - an update request is several operations,
> some of which might have USING/USING NAMED and others don't.
> Use default-graph-uri and named-graph-uri for the update dataset
> collapses the USING/USING NAMED so changing the update request so that
> different operations no longer see different datasets.
> overridden as it looses something of the update structure.
> 2/ Query is stateless - update is state changing. Retargetting a query
> (maybe for testing) causes no state change. Update is state change so
> retargetting needs to be done by setting up a different service.
> the graph store. In query it defined the target (RDF dataset) and in
> update it does not define the overall target.
> 4/ The Update Langauge doc does not have the facility to have a
> different dataset for the WHERE clause to the graph store. [1]
> Could someone provide the use case for this feature and why it should
> Andy
> [1]
Received on Sunday, 7 August 2011 17:47:58 GMT
| http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-rdf-dawg/2011JulSep/0130.html | dclm-gs1-120100001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.079314 | <urn:uuid:986eea78-6e77-455c-8eab-a279e8dbe9af> | en | 0.921899 |
Charles E. Carroll (
Thu, 28 Aug 1997 15:49:15 -0500 (CDT)
Message-Id: <>
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 15:49:15 -0500 (CDT)
In-Reply-To: <> from "Chris Maden" at Aug 28, 97 02:40:57 pm
From: "Charles E. Carroll" <>
>The WIP is half-baked. For starters, it was unnecessary since the Any
>Browser Initiative already existed (and thanks, Mike for the new URL).
But I think there's a problem with the Any Browser Initiative as
well. Specifically, with the word "Any." What about browsers
that don't support current HTML standards? If I write a browser
which doesn't support <h1>, and I get 3 people to use it, does that
mean that people who support the Any Browser Initiative have to go
back and remove all <h1>'s from their pages? Yes, it's absurd.
But if they don't, then it's not really an Any Browser Initiative,
is it?
that many tables can be made Lynx-friendly with appropriate use
(Ironically, it seems to be the tables which are there only
for presentation (which, I must confess, I do write sometimes)
which are easiest to make Lynx-friendly, and those which actually
contain tabular data are much harder.)
But supporting an "*Any* Browser Initiative" suggests that any
single browser can hold us hostage to an old standard, and make
any attempts to create new HTML tags futile. I have at least
a few pages which are valid HTML 3.2, but cannot be said to
be compatible with any browser until Lynx supports tables.
Ultimately, there has to be a balance between the extremes of
every browser designer creating his own proprietary tags, with
no interoperability between browsers, and a stagnant HTML which
never introduces new features. This is one of the purposes of
W3C, to find that balance. The Any Browser Initiative ties us
too closely to the "stagnant HTML" extreme.
Disclaimer #1: I'm not anti-Lynx. Quite the opposite: when
I first discovered the web in early 1994, I used Lynx exclusively,
and I still use it occasionally. I even like it, for the most
part. And I realize that it's written and upgraded purely on
a volunteer basis. And that creating a tables interface for
a text-only browser is a quite difficult task. I'm not
blaming Lynx designers. I'm just saying that I won't be
held to HTML 2.0 because that's all that Lynx supports.
(And to give credit where credit is due, Lynx handles forms
very nicely, and writing that part can't have been easy, either.)
Disclaimer #2: All the above is IMO. | http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-html/1997Aug/0360.html | dclm-gs1-120120001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.147393 | <urn:uuid:f9af3fa3-30ff-4cef-b9cd-4ee4b24b580c> | en | 0.9369 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
Prove that in any set of $n+1$ positive numbers not exceeding $2n$ there must be two that are relatively prime.
share|improve this question
This is an old problem. Without giving too much away, have you thought about how you could definitely tell that two numbers are coprime? And maybe the bounds you are given may suggest using the pigeonhole principle? I think this is one you should work at before asking it. – Mark Bennet Jul 2 '11 at 20:34
add comment
4 Answers
In some circles at least this is as famous as the question of what is the sum of the first $n$ positive integers. It is often called the Posa Problem, because it was the problem that Erdos asked of the (then) 12 year-old Lajos Posa upon first meeting him. According to Erdos, Posa solved it in about $30$ seconds, all the while eating a bowl of soup. An account of this story is here; there must be a more primary source somewhere.
P.S.: I have some colleagues who work in the branch of mathematics -- additive combinatorics -- for which this result is basically page 1. When I by chance mentioned this problem to one of them, she replied, "Yes, and there is also one integer which divides another." Try that one too!
share|improve this answer
add comment
Two numbers must be consecutive.
I read this years ago in a book about Erdos. Here's the page.
share|improve this answer
Your answer appeared as I was finishing mine up. Indeed, I have read the book you cite (as well as another, similar Erdos biography that came out around the same time). It's interesting to note that the story as it is told in Schechter's book is isomorphic but not identical to the story as it is told in the link in my answer. – Pete L. Clark Jul 2 '11 at 22:55
add comment
Throw out the 1, since if it is on your list, then $gcd(a,1)=1$, and you are done. If not, you will necessarily have to choose two numbers in the list that are one unit appart, by the pigeonhole principle. Now show that if you have two consecutive numbers a,a+1, with a>1, your numbers must be relatively prime. (Hint: your linear combination is all-ready for you.)
EDIT: It also follows that the sequence contains a pair $(a,b)$ such that $a|b$; we choose the terms to try to avoid a pair (a,b), by choosing $\{ n,n+2,n+4,...,2n-2\}$ as WOLG the even terms (i.e., we assume n is even), and $\{n+1,n+3,...,2n-1\}$ as the odd terms , so that the smallest multiple (i.e., by 2) of any of the chosen elements is strictly-larger than $2n$ (this shows that n+1 is the best-possible bound). But this only uses up n of the terms in the sequence. So we must choose some term 'b' strictly smaller than $n= \frac {2n}{2}$. But , since $b<n$, there must be a multiple 'c' of b in the set $\{n,n+1,....,2n-1\}$. Then b|c.
Trying to make the argument more precise: basically, given 2n, we argue that if n-k is the largest number in the collection $\{a_1,..,a_n\}$ of n+1 elements out of $\{1,2.,...,2n\}$, then we must remove some elements to avoid having a pair $(b,c)$ with $b|c$, but the crux is that we must remove "too many" elements to avoid having a pair $(b,c)$, after which we cannot have a total of $n-1$ elements in our sequence. Say, e.g., that $n-1$ is the smallest element of our set $\{a_1,..,a_{n+1}\}$. Then we have $(2n-(n-1)+1)=n+2$ numbers between $n-1$ and $2n$ to select our sequence of n+1 elements from. But if we select the number b=$n-1$ for our set, we cannot select its multiple c=$2(n-1)$. So we must throw out $2(n-1)$, and we are left with $n+1$. Then we must keep $n=(n-1)+1$ together with $ \{n,n+1,...,2(n-1)-1,2(n-1)+1,2n\}$ , to have a total of $n+1$ terms in our sequence. But that means that $n$ and $2n$ will both be in the sequence, and $n|2n$. The argument generalized for $n-k$ being the largest element chosen in $\{a_1,..,a_n\}$
share|improve this answer
Yeah, it becomes pretty easy if excluding 1. – Robert Jul 2 '11 at 21:05
add comment
This follows from the pigeonhole principle. Consider the set of first $2n$ numbers. You can create $n$ subsets of co-primes as $\{2k-1,2k\}$ for $1\leq k \leq n$. It is easy to see that these will be coprime (their difference is 1, so their GCD is 1). Now you have $n$ pairs of coprimes, and amongst any $n+1$ numbers in this range, atleast two will be a coprime pair.
Note: I have followed the definition to allow $(1,2)$ to be a coprime pair.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| http://math.stackexchange.com/questions/49080/to-prove-there-exist-two-relatively-prime-numbers-in-a-finite-set/49115 | dclm-gs1-120210001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.145431 | <urn:uuid:7ccbf902-7e46-4d25-a166-36cefc9062db> | en | 0.865973 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
This question is a follow-up from About Goldbach's conjecture.
As $N_{2}(n)=\sum_{r\leq n}1_{\mathbb{P}}(n-r)1_{\mathbb{P}}(n+r)$, Chebotarev's theorem allows to write:
$$\dfrac{N_{2}(n)}{\pi(n)}\sim \dfrac{N_{1}(n)}{\varphi(P_{ord_C(n)})}$$
So that
$$N_2(n)\sim \pi(n) \dfrac{N_{1}(n)}{\prod_{2\lt p\le \sqrt{2n-3}}(p-1)}$$.
One can easily show that $$N_{1}(n)={\prod_{2\lt p\le \sqrt{2n-3}}(p-2)}\prod_{p\vert n \\ p>2}\dfrac{p-1}{p-2}$$.
Thus one gets
$$N_{2}(n)\sim \pi(n)\dfrac{C}{\log\sqrt{2n-3}}\prod_{p\vert n \\ p>2}\dfrac{p-1}{p-2}$$ and, through the prime number theorem:
$$N_{2}(n)\sim \dfrac{Kn}{\log^{2} n}\prod_{p\vert n \\ p>2}\dfrac{p-1}{p-2}$$ with $K>0$.
As $N_{2}(n)$ is the number $G(2n)$ of couples $(p,q)$ such that $p+q=2n$, $p\leq q$, $p$ and $q$ primes, this shows that
I have been told on a French maths forum that Hardy and Littlewood rigorously proved that if such a $K$ exists, then its value is such that their conjecture sometimes knowns as "extended Goldbach's conjecture" is true. Would you have a reference where this proof is given?
Thanks in advance.
share|improve this question
add comment
1 Answer
up vote 2 down vote accepted
This is from Section 4 of Hardy and Littlewood's "On some problems of partitio numerorum III: On the expression of a number as a sum of primes" 1923 Acta Math. 44: 1–70.
share|improve this answer
Thank you but I can't access. – Sylvain JULIEN Aug 4 '12 at 21:56
Is there no library that would do an interlibrary loan for you? – Gerry Myerson Aug 4 '12 at 22:57
Finally, I could get the whole article. Thank you again. – Sylvain JULIEN Aug 5 '12 at 11:58
I removed the link given in the answer, as it (inadvertently I suppose) was the link through some proxy of some specific institution, which as such is useful for hardly anybody and might rather cause confusion. – quid Aug 5 '12 at 12:38
That was indeed inadvertent. I replaced the link with a generic link to the Springerlink access point (paywalled).This, however, should work on many institutions networks. – Mark Lewko Aug 5 '12 at 17:20
add comment
Your Answer
| http://mathoverflow.net/questions/103968/about-extended-goldbachs-conjecture | dclm-gs1-120230001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.024711 | <urn:uuid:06c744ef-e992-482f-85e7-486c04e54cf1> | en | 0.989497 |
Dunn's wife gave birth to a son on Saturday in Miami.
Loria holds team meeting following sleepless night
BOSTON -- Marlins owner and CEO Jeffrey Loria couldn't sleep after the team's 15-5 loss vs. the Red Sox on Wednesday night and decided he needed to personally speak with the club on Thursday.
The Marlins held a team meeting in the clubhouse before taking batting practice for the series finale vs. the Sox. The meeting lasted roughly 15 minutes.
Nevertheless, Miami lost to Boston, 6-5, on Thursday night to fall to 4-14 in June. The Marlins have lost 13 of their past 15 games.
What did Loria tell his team?
"I wanted them to look back at when they first started discovering that they liked baseball and they discovered that they could play baseball and then they discovered that they could play it really well," Loria said. "And then they could become professionals and what it meant to them, to start thinking about that for a few moments each day.
"I went on from there to talk about this is the best team that I've ever been involved with and that I believed in them and they are capable of doing a lot of successful things this year."
It was the Marlins' second team meeting this month. Manager Ozzie Guillen also held a team meeting during the club's homestand prior to its six-game road trip.
"Like I say, bad teams have meetings and good teams win games," Guillen said. "You have to have meetings when you have to have meetings. I will only have a meeting if I see someone not trying."
So do these meetings actually work?
"To me it doesn't matter," Guillen said. "Maybe for the players, yes. Why not? I look at the meeting as just to try to get them going and make sure everybody is positive and goes about their business the right way."
Loria was calm and collected during the meeting, according to Marlins players.
"It was relaxed," said outfielder Giancarlo Stanton. "We understand what's going on and what we need to do. It's a lot easier said than done right now."
Loria isn't giving up on the team, despite its 33-37 record.
"I'm not angry with anybody," he said. "There are ups and downs in this business. I still have enormous faith in everybody. The talent level is enormous."
But does the team's president believe his message got through to the players?
"Most of them are pretty intelligent. We're very careful about who we bring here. I think they heard," Loria said. "It may resonate with a few guys, it may resonate with many. But eventually they'll think about it. Finally, I can't hit for them, I can't field for them and I can't pitch for them but I do my part."
Buck sits out series finale night after cramping
BOSTON -- John Buck was held out of the Marlins lineup on Thursday after leaving Wednesday's game with cramps. With another unseasonably hot day at Fenway Park on tap for the series finale vs. the Red Sox, the catcher was given the day off.
"He's just got cramps, his legs are a little sore," said manager Ozzie Guillen. "He wasn't going to play today no matter what."
Buck was removed in the ninth inning of Wednesday's 15-5 loss after his legs and back cramped.
After he homered over the Green Monster in the seventh inning, Buck felt discomfort in his back. He said he drank two Pedialytes before the game to battle dehydration on a humid day, but still cramped late in the contest.
"If I didn't have that I would have cramped in the fourth inning," Buck said on Thursday. "I feel good now."
Brett Hayes started in Buck's place and hit ninth in Guillen's lineup. | http://miami.marlins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120621&content_id=33713356¬ebook_id=33713360&vkey=notebook_mia&c_id=mia | dclm-gs1-120270001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.063396 | <urn:uuid:100396a1-2128-466f-9fd2-9f672427d94f> | en | 0.894106 | Ditch the folder system
iOS 7 4
Today's iOS home screen limits the number of apps per screen and also the number of apps that can go in a folder. So the user is left to manually organize each "screen" of their device. That can quickly get difficult and confusing if that user has a lot of apps.
My tweaked apps screen serves up more flexibility around organizing them. Imagine each screen represents a category of apps. When apps are downloaded from the App Store, they go to a default app category on the phone, but users can move them to alternate or custom categories. (Swiping sideways navigates between categories.) This removes the need for "folders" completely, which can limit how apps can be organized.
@FortuneMagazine - Last updated May 13 2013 08:34 AM ET
Join the Conversation
25 most popular iPad apps of all time
Apple's iTunes Store is nearing 50 billion ? billion! ? downloads. Here are the most-downloaded tablet apps ever.
| http://money.cnn.com/gallery/magazines/fortune/2013/05/13/ios-7-redesign.fortune/4.html | dclm-gs1-120280001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.156918 | <urn:uuid:8f044911-7cc2-41a2-963f-fb2879217a54> | en | 0.955945 | Submitted by psvitamanfan 475d ago | opinion piece
5 Reasons Why The PC Is The Worst Platform To Game On
Chris of The Games Cabin writes: There are those who will only ever game on their beloved PC, those who insist a console is the only way to play, and the rest of us who don't mind what we play on, as long as we have some fun.
I come from the latter group of people, I don't care if I'm playing a full HD game on a massive TV or some Super Mario on an ancient Gameboy. My problem is that one of my favourite platforms is being ruined, and to me it's all because of the following five points. (PC)
TheLyonKing + 475d ago
For some games pc is much better but am not a really hardcore gamer and I game to relax do I like picking up a controller and lazing in my sofa, really is about preference.
Welshy + 475d ago
I'm just going to flip my comment from the pro-PC version of this and put it here...
Pc's do one thing and cater to a certain group, consoles bridge the gap and cater to others.
Those who want a PC, by all means go enjoy it. Prefer consoles? That's cool too, just go have fun on your chosen platform!
These articles will never be balanced because what is "better" in the eye of the beholder and completely down to the individual.
BattleAxe + 475d ago
@ TheLyonKing
Steam is bridging the gap between hardcore PC gaming and Consoles. Now that Steam has come out with "Big Picture" mode, you can use a 360 controller to control the user interface just as seamlessly as the XMB or LIVE.
Most games that get released on PC have 360 controller support built into them already, so the whole experience is pretty much the same as what you can do on consoles. You even get a friends list and cross game chat through Steam, and its all free.
I'm still on the fence as to whether or not to buy a next gen console, especially since the games on PC are cheaper, you will always have 98% backwards compatibility and the graphics are better.
ATi_Elite + 475d ago
The Glorious PC Gaming Master Race!
Wow I just posted on another PC vs. Console thread 2 minutes ago! So i'll use the same post!
I grow old and weary of these dumb articles!
unapersson + 474d ago
I used to game solely on PC but mostly gave it up for the PS1/2/3 when it largely became Windows only. However with Steam on Linux and various Kickstarter projects that may change with the next console transition.
So how does that only apply to consoles? Are pc's allergic to sofas?? I don't get logic like yours but many people say that generic comment.
I am pretty sure pc had hdmi before consoles did.
People who talk like that just scream noob.
Do you realize I as a pc gamer have a way better browser than you that works with a controller?
Funny how the world works.
I have my pc experience and your console experience.
We probably use the same controller.
You only have one option.
Just saying that applies to all console gamers who want that option & freedom not just you.
I enjoy the same preference as you when I feel like it.
Not saying pc is better just some facts. Also I love my ps3.
#1.3 (Edited 475d ago ) | Agree(1) | Disagree(1) | Report | Reply
Muffins1223 + 475d ago
Pathetic reasons...most ports are decent and piracy is bad for developers not really gamers( i dont pirate) and controls are good for all games but racing and 3rd person ones sometimes.Controls for fps are much better on pc.And "Computers Are A Pain In The Arse" Please just shut the hell up.Its going to be a pain in the ass for you because your an idiot 12 year old.
Kurylo3d + 475d ago
you do realize that 360 controllers can be plugged into the pc to be used. I do it all the time, batman arkham city is better on the pc for one.. uses directx11 with tesselation... game looks far superior to consoles... So this guy sounds like someone just looking for hits by spewing nonsense and trolling.
Rex_Aeternae + 475d ago
I completely agree with you I just want to put out there that ps3 controllers can be used as well (if for instance, you have a ps3 and not an Xbox 360) and a ps3 controller can be used to emulate and Xbox controller using the software anyway.
Abriael + 475d ago
I've seen at least 20 articles like this, and ALL of them were pathetic.
xursz + 475d ago
can't help but laugh every time i see one of these "5 Reasons...." articles.
iistuii + 475d ago
"Take MW3, no controller support " lol. Try using a controller on a PC multiplayer game, you'd get completely owned. Stupid reason.
Smashbro29 + 475d ago
This guy is so stuffed.
StrawHatPatriot + 475d ago
Keyboard and mouse give you way more control for shooters... I like how he neglected that
unapersson + 474d ago
The keyboard gives less fluid movement and the mouse has a tendency to turn shooters into a twitchy point and click, so I still prefer using a controller.
StrawHatPatriot + 474d ago
An analogue stick drastically makes it harder to aim and shoot quickly enough. I will give you that about fluid movement though.
Series_IIa + 475d ago
I use my 360 controller on 70% of the games I play, just multiplayer fps games which need precision I use k&m... So controls are not an issue and piracy is an issue yeah, but so is buying second hand console games which is basically the same thing, denying devs and publishers of money.
Ports can be pretty poor... Same again on console though, 1 always gets preferential treatment, they are not always ports too they can be developed on the side of each other and one version can still turn out to be worse or better than the rest.
And if you set up your PC right and look after it, it won't be a pain in the arse.
I say try both, if you prefer console gaming and what that has to offer then stick to that, but if you like to tinker with settings and mod games then PC is the way to go... Modding and tinkering is not everyones cup of tea which is why consoles are so popular.
#8 (Edited 475d ago ) | Agree(4) | Disagree(0) | Report | Reply
Dasteru + 475d ago
KB+M is vastly superior to controllers but to each their own i guess.
As for the people that do prefer controllers, Just DL a free keymapping program like joytokey. It allows you to individually map controller buttons and analogs to KB keys and mouse movements, it even allows sensitvity and deadzone adjustments on both of the analogs individually. Making all games fully compatible whether they natively support it or not.
As for understanding a PC's guts and assembly. a 5min youtube video will tell you everything you need to know. It is actually quite easy (90% plug and play)
I didn't know anything about the inside of PC's either before i built my first rig. a few youtube video's later and i was ordering parts off of Newegg. took me about an hour to build it. been 2.5 years now and its still running like butter, never had any problems with it.
DERKADER + 475d ago
"There’s so many different graphics cards, processors, GPU’s, CPU’s, monitors (still no idea what one of these is) that when I look at the back of the box and peek down to the system requirements, I just say “fuck it” and take it anyway. A simplified method would be much appreciated, but I don’t think we’ll see one."
Some people are just dumb. He honestly doesn't know what a monitor is yet has he nerve to write an article claiming PC the worst platform. He is basically saying PC is inferior because he isn't smart enough to understand it.
AllroundGamer + 475d ago
i mostly play on the PC now even tho i have an xbox and a ps3 sitting next to each other :) and i only play FPS games with mouse/keybord, for everything else i use the gamepad, so when someone says it's just more comfortable to play on the console on the couch i say they probably don't know how to connect their PC to a HDTV and to use a freaking gamepad :D
2pacalypsenow + 475d ago
For me playing on a Consoles is much more convenient BUT..
1. I dont agree on .Some are bad ports 95% of them are better than the console versions
2. piracy doesn't affect the gamer.Developers raise prices so they can get more money , Do you think if someone built a full proof anti piracy system thats 100% secure do you think games would lower in price??
3. DRM i agree with the online always on thing is crap.
4.Control are i agree wiht a little but most games you can play with a PS3 and xbox 360 controllers, I personally dont like using the keyboard because i get confused and mess up sometimes(i dont have a Gaming Keyboard)but the game he mentions MW3 which is a FPS is made to be used with a keyboard and mouse
5.If you are a Gamer on Pc you know Pc's and most True Pc gamers Build their own computers and know a little about how they are made.
It seems that this article is written for kids since he mentions Little 10 year old timmy like 3 times and the guy who wrote the article knows nothing about Gaming on a computer and its too hard for him
#12 (Edited 475d ago ) | Agree(3) | Disagree(0) | Report | Reply
sjaakiejj + 475d ago
Games wouldn't be at the price they are on now if piracy hadn't been a factor. Much like fuel prices though, or prices in general, taking piracy away now would not result in lowering of prices, as the damage has already been done, the price is already this high, and nobody's going to want to decrease it.
But price isn't the only thing that's affected by piracy - it's release dates as well (if the game releases at PC at all these days). Developers are very cautious with the platform due to absurdly high piracy rates.
#12.1 (Edited 475d ago ) | Agree(0) | Disagree(0) | Report | Reply
dennett316 + 475d ago
Games prices have remained the same since the days of the Genesis/Megadrive and the SNES. Possibly NES, but I really don't remember how much NES prices were in the UK.
It cost me £40 to get Sonic 2 on the Megadrive (an era with a distinct lack of piracy), just like it would have cost me £40 to get any 360 or PS3 game nowadays on release day, if I didn't actually shop around online for the best deals and get them even cheaper than that. Piracy has nothing to do with games prices today....nothing at all.
I will agree that piracy has affected the PC platform somewhat, you only have to see the makers of Crysis focus on the console market more than the PC one for evidence of that. But even then, the 360 has a high degree of piracy and we don't see the devs abandoning that platform in favour of the (until very recently) more secure PS3 platform.
fossilfern + 475d ago
I like all the tinkering you can do with PC games if they allow you. I love digging through an .ini file of a game and making it look better and perform better!
lashes2ashes + 475d ago
I feel imersion is way better with consoles so that's why I don't play on pc. Plus I don't like spending 10 minuts trying to remember what button does what lol. I have been gaming since nes so a gamepad feels like a part of me and using a mouse and keyboard feels like I'm trying to write left handed while drunk.......and blindfolded lol
swishersweets20031 + 475d ago
Articles like this still wont change my mind about building my own computer instead of going ps4/xbox/wii u come tax time :p
#15 (Edited 475d ago ) | Agree(2) | Disagree(0) | Report | Reply
iamgoatman + 475d ago
Had a laugh at the last reason. So a negative of PC gaming is that YOU'RE too dense not to know how a PC works? Genius.
Wulfstan + 475d ago
This guy is a buffoon.
TheRealSpy + 475d ago
The fact that he has to preface every point he makes with "go ahead and insult me," kinda repudiates every argument he has.
JKelloggs + 475d ago
For having an opinion? Ok.
StrawHatPatriot + 475d ago
Really, you don't know what that screen that use the computer on is called? (hint hint, its called a monitor)
psvitamanfan + 475d ago
i think you're missing the joke...
Hassassin + 475d ago
This article is stupid (as well as the writer?)
PC is better, but consoles are a better deal cost/time wise. Consoles are can be played by a 4 year old... and that is the real market (nintendo understood that).
dennett316 + 475d ago
Which is better, console or PC? Don't care, I have both. My PC is connected very easily to my HDTV through HDMI, and I use a 360 pad for most games other than FPS games.
My PC offers me the option to customise games if I want to and better graphics by default, as well as cheaper prices on big titles and great bargains on Steam games that I can't get on console.
My PS3 and 360 offer me games that don't appear on PC, and are more hassle free. If a game is available on all 3, I can weigh up the pros and cons of each and choose the best option - not all PC ports are equal, and that can and does sway my decision.
Is one platform better than the other? No, they all simply offer different means to an ultimate end...playing games and having fun. There is no better, only different. It's the games that count, not the lumps of circuitry you play them on.
It's why I'm also getting a Wii U despite all the whining from some about it's relative lack of power - I just don't care about that, I want to play Nintendo games in HD with the new control schemes and multiplayer options that the tablet screens afford. All these articles whining about the FPS and the speed of the CPU....who gives a crap other than websites who enjoy the hits such debates start, and those who seemingly get joy from measuring their technological dick against those who play games on a different platform they do?
mortalrage + 475d ago
"Worst article ever!!!!"
josephayal + 475d ago
Pc To play what? Diablo?
Bladesfist + 474d ago
Take a look at steam, look at all the exclusives... Yup that is more than all 3 consoles combined. That is 10 years of games with backwards compatibility.
Dogswithguns + 475d ago
PC can be the best platform ever. if only people like it more.
JasonXS12 + 475d ago
First there was an article on 5 best reason to play on PC and now 5 reasons why pc gaming sucks. Looks someone was angry and decided to make a counter article.
d3nworth1 + 475d ago
No its actually the same guy. Scroll down to who wrote the post.
kalkano + 475d ago
1) PC is capable of greater graphics. If you disagree with this statement, you're either not paying attention, or you only care about winning an argument. Consoles get the same technology as PC. But, they get that same technology many years later.
2) Consoles get more exclusive games. Duh. More people game on consoles, so more companies make games for consoles. Again, if you disagree with this statement, you're either not paying attention, or you only care about winning an argument.
3) You can mod on PC. I don't think anyone will argue with this. It may be possible on future consoles. But right now, it's not.
I won't state this one as a fact, but I'm pretty sure it's true: PC gaming is more expensive. The day that the new consoles are released, if you go buy a new PC with the same specs, you're going to pay more. Why? Well, you'll need to buy an operating system, a monitor, a keyboard and mouse, and a few other things, that a console doesn't need. PCs need to do more than consoles.
Dasteru + 475d ago
2011: http://www.gamespot.com/for...
2012: http://www.gamespot.com/for...
2013: http://www.gamespot.com/for...
Already 35 announced PC exclusives for 2013 and its still 2012.
Who isn't paying attention? lol
#25.1 (Edited 475d ago ) | Agree(2) | Disagree(0) | Report | Reply
kalkano + 475d ago
There were repeats of games listed across the years in those links.
This link is for consoles, and spans from 2006 to present (current gen cycle). I couldn't find a similar list for PC...sue me...lol
By the way, I prefer to play on PC, when I have a choice. I'm just stating the obvious, because some statements that are constantly made in these arguments, make me facepalm every time.
Dasteru + 475d ago
Yeah i noticed a few repeats in there also for games that were delayed but it was only a few, out of the whole there were still far more PC exclusives over the past 2 years than for 360 or PS3.
As for the list you just linked to.
PS3 exclusives since launch: 109
360 exclusives since launch: 166
PC exclusives since 2009: 147
I couldn't find any lists for PC exclusives prior to 2009 so no clue how many more there were for the first 3 years after the 360 and PS3's launch. fairly sure it was alot more than the 19 needed for a tie with the 360. also note that the list i linked to for the PC is only the ones that have been submitted to the page by site members and also doesn't include most indie titles which number in the hundreds.
#25.1.2 (Edited 475d ago ) | Agree(1) | Disagree(0) | Report
kalkano + 475d ago
Yeah, the wiki I linked was also incomplete. Maybe the disconnect on this issue, is the type of game that is being discussed. Because, the PC has tons of "casual" exclusives, that console gamers wouldn't care about (although, so does Wii).
unapersson + 474d ago
So why are people complaining about (and often buying) substandard console ports rather than ignoring them and concentrating on the PC exclusives?
RickHiggity + 475d ago
First three are valid points. 4 and 5 are personal issues. I mean I'm capable of using a keyboard and mouse, and I find computers fairly easy to use (because I wasn't born in the damn 50s). Can't speak for everyone though I guess.
Zha1tan + 474d ago
1. Most games on PC are bad ports? lol what? do you even PC exclusive? do you even indie game? Do you even steam Greenlight? There is more exclusive games on PC than any other platform....Just because you havent heard of them does not mean they dont exist and are not good games.
2. Why is a 10 year old being used as an example here? Its very easy to pirate games on console and it has gotten far less technical to the point were a 10 year old could follow the guides.
3. DRM is really blown out of propportion, fair enough you should be able to play your game at all times whenever you want but such is modern consumerisim that we dont own any game, we merely permanently rent the software from the company. They effectively still own it. But PC without internet connection in 2012? ...really what would be the point in that and as for travelling....NEVER ever stay at travel lodge...terrible comfort, food & service and anywhere that doesnt offer free wifi these days is not worth paying to stay.
4. Keyboard and a mouse is like any other control method, my dad can play PC games but not controller based games. There no mystical thing stopping you its because you are to damn lazy to be bothered to give a new control method grow on you.
I dont know what the problem was, when I first played on PC I was a fumbling mess and got killed left right and centre on MP games and I couldnt deal with close range shooting, after sucking it up for a week it felt natural to me and after a month I was just as good as any other player. If you were a PC gamer and had never touched a controller the same would be true.
5. Upgrade your cooling, get a good closed ear headset. I dont know about you but xbox 360s and PS3s sound like wind trubines next to me compared to my PC.
Lack of knowledge is no excuse, The meaning of GPU can be found by simply googling....there is a wealth of information out there and massive amounts of tutorials on how to do "flashy" things like overclocking, modding etc.
You can get your money back if a game does not run properly on your PC if its a digital copy as far as I know, metro didnt run for me on my PC because it blatantly runs like crap on nividia cards and I got a refund for it. There is demos out there but games companies these days seem to want people to pirate their games judging by the fact they NEVER release demos. Would it really hurt ubisoft to release a demo of assassins creed 3 so we could see its an unoptimised piece of crap like II? Demos do alot more for PC games and if they did them you would see piracy rates fall because me and more than a few of my friends pirate as a demo to see how the game runs/plays. Its like they have something to hide if they dont release a demo.
What could be much more simplified than stating how much VRAM is needed? BF3......1GB of VRAM for recommended....so common sense dictates you need a card with 1GB of VRAM or over...
Really this article was just an excuse for lazyiness and a complete unwillingness to solve easy problems...im sorry not knowing what a GPU is? There was one or two valid points about travelling and one other thing but a majority of it is very easily solved or just a simple fact of getting used to.
#27 (Edited 474d ago ) | Agree(0) | Disagree(0) | Report | Reply
Add comment
New stories
RT Podcast #262
2m ago - RT Partycasts with Onnit and Joe Rogan | Tech
Recap for the Week of March 3rd, 2014
Let's Play Minecraft - Episode 94 - UnMonuments Men
2m ago - The AH lads and gents are on a mission: to destroy paintings in Achievement City in Let's Play Mi... | PC
Fails of the Weak Volume 182
2m ago - Geoff and Jack bring you this week's Fails of the Weak in Halo 3, Halo 4, and Halo Reach! | Xbox 360
Bungie Weekly Update - 03/14/2014
| http://n4g.com/news/1126596/5-reasons-why-the-pc-is-the-worst-platform-to-game-on | dclm-gs1-120310001 | false | true | {
"keywords": "assembly, mouse"
} | false | null | false |
0.083729 | <urn:uuid:6bb701dd-586d-4a9b-8959-07d2bd0d3e90> | en | 0.949216 | Submitted by shodan74 355d ago | opinion piece
In light of the disappointing sales performance of both Resident Evil 6 and Dead Space 3, survival-horror enthusiast Mark Butler argues that publishers are making a grave error by trying to attract Call of Duty fans. (Call of Duty, Capcom, Culture, Dead Space 3, EA, PC, PS3, Resident Evil 6, Xbox 360)
NYC_Gamer + 355d ago
This is what happens when publishers listen to focus groups instead of gamers
#1 (Edited 355d ago ) | Agree(32) | Disagree(1) | Report | Reply
GamerElite + 355d ago
Damn right
rezzah + 355d ago
Follow the devs who don't follow CoD. Even those who are forced to do so may not allow it to stain their main ideas.
The effect of CoD if mostly MP, this is good news for me because SP won't be heavily effected (if at all).
3-4-5 + 354d ago
Focus group made up of non gamers.
They are chasing the " this it hot now " audience and soon enough COD type games won't be "cool".
Why even try to make a watered down version of a game that nobody wants ?
Bimkoblerutso + 355d ago
Don't know how many times developers have to see their games ran into the ground before they realize this. CODheads don't want to play COD-inspired games....they want to play COD. They want to play it so bad that it can essentially be released dozens of times with minor changes, but if it has COD in the title, that is all that is required.
Summons75 + 355d ago
couldn't agree more, you'll get so much more money giving gamers and fans what they want, need, and making things unique and interesting.d
DaReapa + 355d ago
Very nice piece. Sadly, the stove is never too hot for publishers. And as a result, they won't quit this practice until the next iteration of a "COD crowd" is forged from the masses by means of another game.
HarryMasonHerpderp + 355d ago
This article is spot on.
The thing is most COD players are interested in COD and COD alone, they don't care about Dead Space or Resident Evil because they don't need to.
They are perfectly happy playing the same franchise every year.
Making you're survival horror series more action orientated is not attracting anyone and only results in losing you're core fanbase.
#5 (Edited 355d ago ) | Agree(13) | Disagree(0) | Report | Reply
Dms2012 + 355d ago
They need to learn that in trying to appeal to everyone, you end up with a mediocre game. Its like when you mix every color on your pallet, you end up with brown.
JCENAdaBest + 355d ago
I'm glad Dead Space 3 and RE 5/6 sucked... These publishers needed to learn the hard way. As if RE4 and DS 1/2 didn't make enough money!! They still had to make their games shitter to get more money - hard lesson but hopefully they will learn and come back with the game we all want.
josephayal + 355d ago
Nothing can beat COD
rezzah + 355d ago
From a business point of view, Maybe nothing (for now?)
From a passion point of view, many games have accomplished this. Look to the games that are unique and try to be innovative with new sequels or series.
Sticking to the same formula until it runs dry is fear of losing profit, not passion.
Edited for missing word.
#8.1 (Edited 355d ago ) | Agree(2) | Disagree(0) | Report | Reply
USMC_POLICE + 355d ago
Look at socom Sony's best online title with countless fans. They made socom 4 like cod and we all hated it. Now zipper is closed and so com is gone. Its quite sad
DEATHxTHExKIDx + 355d ago
they need to stop trying to be something there not.
HonestDragon + 355d ago
It's like I always say: There's an audience for everything...unfortunately. In the case of publishers trying to turn their games into these COD inspired action fests, I totally agree.
Completely true. I just played Dead Space 3 and I couldn't be even more disappointed. The first two were great, but this installment just sucked out everything that made Dead Space a great horror game. No revenue system, two weapon limit, lack of suits, universal ammunition, and practically no genuine horror.
Resident Evil 6 is the same thing. The whole sequence where Chris and his team are in that city fighting BOWs with firearms practically felt like Gears of War 3. The narrative of Resident Evil 6 was pretty much lackluster and haphazard. It's so tacked on that it really had no business to exist other than to milk the series one more time.
Mainly because they are too busy rage-quiting or stroking their egos to their "skills" in any and all COD games. Plus, nothing can replace COD in their eyes. Everything else is imperfect to them.
Unfortunate, but true. Anyone remember the good ol' days when Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, and Spyro the Dragon were heralded as some of the best games around? Yeah, those were good days indeed.
"But the starker reality is that CoD’s impressive following is driven primarily by a huge level of interest from individuals who, frankly, couldn’t give a sh*t about other games."
Again, unfortunate, but true. This is especially considering that quite a number of said individuals are kids that look exactly like the one they have pictured there. Kids are always looking into what's popular and want to be cool, so they practically bribe or annoy their parents into buying them COD. Then parents complain of how violent it is and the media gets wind of it and starts the vicious cycle all over again. Argh! *tears hair out*
Then you have those adults who play nothing but first person shooters (primarily COD, Battlefield, Medal of Honor, and Halo). While Halo isn't a modern military shooter (and I much rather play that), the other games I listed are just first person military shooters. They really have nothing going for them in the long run other than intense action, chest pounding, juggernaut stamping realism.
And that's the problem. This sort of thing just caters to the uneducated masses of gamers that like the least common denominator of entertainment and don't delve into other prospects merely because it doesn't have guns and explosions. Same could be said of sports gamers who would much rather play football on television rather than with an actual football with real friends and family, but I digress.
This is one of the unfortunate realities of this generation and one that I hope becomes a thing of fiction in the next. I would very much like to see developers let their creativity grow and publishers have the courage to support that so innovation may thrive. Hopefully that will be the case.
#11 (Edited 355d ago ) | Agree(5) | Disagree(0) | Report | Reply
Magnus + 355d ago
Publishers and creators should be not turning a great solid franchise into something they are not. If you want a game that appeals to the COD fans create a new franchise. Changing an existing franchise into something its not hurts the fans of the franchise and it also ruins the franchise to the point where people won't buy it. Only franchises I can think of with EA that would come close to COD is Battfield and Medal of Honor. As far as I know Capcom has nothing they should rebuild Dead Space and Resident Evil from the ground up and support those fans first.
#12 (Edited 355d ago ) | Agree(1) | Disagree(0) | Report | Reply
Hudahudahuda + 355d ago
Yet they refuse to copy one of the things they do right, 60 FPS
ShaunCameron + 355d ago
Call Of Duty is right now what Super Mario Bros. was in the 1980's and 90's, and Grand Theft Auto in the 2000's. A cultural force to be reckoned with. Not much new under the sun.
And I do agree with the article. The reality is there are lot of people that only care about whatever's popular and little else and are content with it.
IWentBrokeForGaming + 355d ago
Publishers need to FORCE the COD audience into accepting other/better/diverse playing expierences than just FPS...
I feel a Developers games only are as good as the Original Vision expressed in the product. If they design to what their vision of the product is and not the vision of whats "popular" to others... I feel they produce BETTER games in those instances!
Don't EVER sacrifice vision/quality to strive for a rediculous milestone!
Add comment
New stories
Bungie Weekly Update - 03/14/2014
Titanfall Review | Gameliner
Basement Crawl Review (PS4)
Win a PS4!
Related content from friends | http://n4g.com/news/1216130/publishers-are-chasing-the-call-of-duty-audience-and-its-a-big-mistake | dclm-gs1-120320001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.020133 | <urn:uuid:46755b67-9ac6-4ff9-bd4f-c113b69a8030> | en | 0.960708 | Spain Recession Deepened Slightly in 1Q - Bank of Spain
By Art Patnaude
MADRID--Spain's central bank said Tuesday the recession in the euro zone's fourth-largest economy deepened slightly in the first quarter, with the economy contracting 2% on the year, but it added that the pace had slowed since the end of last year.
In the first official estimate of first-quarter economic performance, the Bank of Spain said the economy likely contracted 0.5% from the previous quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the economy shrank 0.8% from the previous quarter, and 1.9% on an annual basis.
The central bank said that inflation started on downward path in the first three months of 2013, following slowing energy price increases. The consumer price index rose 2.4% on the year in March, compared with a rise of 2.9% in December, the central bank said.
Initiatives launched by the Spanish government during the first quarter were expected to help stimulate job creation, it added. This comes at a time when over a quarter of the population remains unemployed.
The National Statistics Institute, or INE, will release economic figures next Tuesday, in the first such data for the quarter from the Spanish government.
Write to Art Patnaude at | http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20130423-702372.html | dclm-gs1-120370001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.124269 | <urn:uuid:9296fa49-f066-41b9-b299-7e4d9dbaa40c> | en | 0.973722 | Should All Public Bathrooms Offer Free Tampons to Women?
Free tamponsFree tamponsNancy Kramer, the Columbus, Ohio, woman behind the movement Free the Tampons, wants to see a world - before she dies - where every women's bathroom in America is stocked with free tampons and pads accessible to whoever needs them. What drives her in this quest is a desire to prevent women who get their periods unexpectedly from having to deal with the embarrassment and humiliation of not having the supplies they need. When I first looked at her Free the Tampons website and watched her TEDx talk, I chuckled. Sure, free tampons and pads in every bathroom would be nice, since no one likes to shove a wad of toilet paper in their underwear and carry on until they can buy supplies somewhere. But I kept worrying that her argument about women not knowing when they might get their periods might undermine her case. Since women don't know when they might start bleeding and end up bleeding through their clothes in their office chair (as a woman in one of Kramer's anecdotes about why free tampons are necessary did), what good would free tampons in a bathroom several feet away do? It's too late at that point, the damage is done.
Still, Kramer says, free supplies are inexpensive for companies and restaurants to have on hand (she pays less than five dollars annually to stock her business), so why not have them? It's hard to argue against supplying women with such a simple, cheap comfort, even if it is easy for women to keep a personal emergency stock on hand. After a lifetime of "rolling my own" in the face of emergencies, I finally started keeping a tampon tin in my purse. But what about those moments when you don't - or can't - have your purse on you, as is the case with some high school students who aren't allowed for various reasons. Why make those students travel to the nurse's office for supplies, Kramer says, when they could just be kept in the girls' bathroom? After all, a girl with her period isn't sick, she says.
Related: 20 things ALL women do but hate to admit
Kramer's points are compelling, but while listening to her TEDx talk, I kept thinking of the need for free period products as a luxury issue, rather than a feminist one. That is until I watched this interesting Huffington Post Live chat with Kramer, Jodi Stevens of and Sheila Hollender of Sustainable Health Enterprises and the co-founder of Seventh Generation. Each of them in turn talked about how the inability to access sanitary feminine hygiene products is a problem in third world countries and amongst the poor in America that keeps women from work and school, as well as causing bladder infections and diseases like cervical cancer. Kramer argues that female inmates need free tampons as well because many of them can't or won't use the little money they earn in jail to buy feminine products from the commissary, so they use makeshift pads and end up getting sick as a result, costing tax payers more money than if they were supplied with the products from the start.
But there's an even bigger issue here, too, and that's the environmental impact of feminine hygiene products like pads and tampons, as Hollender pointed out toward the end of the HuffPo chat. She says, "I would love to ask these amazing women who are working so hard to get these tampons into the hands of girls and women who can't afford it, I would really like to have them take the time to think about how a tampon is made, because the tampons that are made by the giant manufacturers are really full of additives that we don't need inside our bodies. So while you're having the conversation about tampons, it would be great to think about how tampons are made and what the alternatives to regular tampons are, such as organic cotton tampons."
In response, several commenters on the HuffPo chat mentioned the environmentally-friendly-yet-hygienic nature of menstrual cups or cloth pads, with one woman chiming in, "Instead of hiding a storehouse of products away so our female children don't need to feel embarrassed, why can't we just make this a normal topic of conversation about it not being a big deal? The problem isn't access, it's culture. Additionally, products like the softcup by Instead and the Divacup last longer, are safer than most tampons and are easy to rinse and reuse, eliminating the need [for] this entire endeavor. The only obstacle again, is a woman's comfort with her body. SO LET'S TEACH THIS!" In the end, her anonymous voice may be the most powerful one of all. Is giving women worldwide access to tampons and pads an important feminist issue? Or should we start teaching everyone how to use menstrual cups instead?
- By Carolyn Castiglia
For 15 ridiculous crafts made with tampons, visit Babble!
25 vintage ads that scream SEXISM
10 things a mother should NEVER say to her daughter
15 terrifying methods of birth control - you put what WHERE?! | http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/public-bathrooms-offer-free-tampons-women-155700989.html | dclm-gs1-120510001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.203849 | <urn:uuid:02bc412b-842c-4b34-8a5e-137a61ccc537> | en | 0.960295 | Forgot your password?
Comment: Pay good money to get there, but be bad at it? (Score 1, Insightful) 253
by Stolpskott (#46344001) Attached to: Blizzard To Sell Level 90 <em>WoW</em> Characters For $60
Paying to skip the whole boring leveling process is going to be a wet dream for a lot of impatient wannabes. But from my experience with MMOs based on leveling skills, you pretty much need to go through the leveling process to get to know the class, limitations, effective playstyles, rotations, and so on. Starting at max level is going to mean that you know nothing about the character class, so you will be a waste of a group/raid slot.
Cue lfg messages where the caller asks for members who have not bought their max level character...
Comment: Significantly less... but there is a reason (Score 1) 270
by Stolpskott (#46343969) Attached to: How much time do you spend gaming compared to 10 years ago?
10 years ago, I was on "gardening leave" for 6 months from a job, and once that leave finished, I got a very generous severance package. So for about 9 months in 2004, I was able to do whatever the hell I wanted with my time. Aside from a couple of "walkabout" vacations across Europe and the US, I had no trouble at all spending 12 hours a day playing games. Fun times... grinding toons in my favourite MMO at the time, usually depopulating Nym's Stronghold on Lok looking for a decent set of vibromotors... fun times.
Comment: Me = competitive, women = social? (Score 2) 320
by Stolpskott (#46285295) Attached to: E-Sports Gender Gap: 90+% Male
My first instinct was to think that the competitive nature of e-sports would be more likely to attract men than women, as men are "naturally" more competitive when playing games, while women (in my experience) tend to play games either to socialize or relax. It is a very broad brush to paint the two sexes with, but as we are basically looking at a sub-section of men (those who are interested in playing or watching e-sports) versus an entire gender (women, specifically why are there not more of them playing/watching e-sports) any comparisons are going to be a bit disingenuous.
However, I suspect that a large percentage of people who chose not to declare their gender in the survey are doing so out of a sense of privacy, rather than a desire to hide the "fact" that they are women... unless they are also attending the venue where the survey is taken while wearing androgynous clothing designed to mask their gender, and expect to be pounced on like an antelope surrounded by a pack of hungry lions if there is even a hint of femininity (disturbingly, that is probably not far from the truth in some cases).
Comment: Re:"educational" is not "fair use" (Score 3, Informative) 268
Quoting from 17 U.S.C 107:
the nature of the copyrighted work;
Comment: Their sandpit, their rules (Score 1) 573
by Stolpskott (#46171065) Attached to: HTML5 App For Panasonic TVs Rejected - JQuery Is a "Hack"
If you are having problems getting past this one (idiotic) App reviewer, then unless you have already gone through a successful app review process with another reviewer whom you can use for a second opinion or have an escalation point to request an appeal, then you have only two choices that I can see - give up on the idea, or rewrite the app without using jQuery (either by self-coding all of those elements, or taking the bits of jQuery that you need and packaging those separately.
Comment: Re:Devils Advocate (Score 1) 385
by Stolpskott (#46160291) Attached to: HP To Charge For Service Packs and Firmware For Out-of-Warranty Customers
Lets say you sell something you warrant to work for three years. Some four years later, there's some kind of security flaw - why should the company not need some extra funds to develop a fix? To my mind this change is something that will lead to better support for older products, because you can keep on paying and demanding fixes for your payments...
Let's say that I buy a brand new HP product, and then inside of 1 month I notice a bug in the firmware. It doesn't stop the system working, because that server is not hosting anything on its secondary RAID array other than a set of backup disks that I can put on a different controller (i.e. it causes a problem, but I have an easy and 100% effective workaround). However, I report the bug to HP. On that server, I download all available firmware updates and apply them as they are released.
3 years later, that system is out of warranty but I now need to start using that secondary disk array, and HP has now released a firmware patch to fix the bug that I reported when first using the system.
In this case, the "different controller" happened to be a RAID card that had been purchased for a different project which was on-off-on-off- and then finally back on, so we had to purchase another RAID card, which was a smaller expense than swapping out the entire HP server for one with different firmware (the other option we had).
At the time we had this issue, we could just download the patch from HP for our now out-of-warranty system. Under this new policy, we could not have done so.
If companies fix their firmware issues in a timely fashion, my problem does not arise. As it is, I can see a huge demand on Torrent sites for HP firmware updates coming up, or contract network professionals trying to build up firmware libraries through companies that do maintain their HP service agreements.
Comment: Step one, do not criticize. Step 2, document. (Score 3, Informative) 308
by Stolpskott (#46140591) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: What Do You Do If You're Given a Broken Project?
Comment: Re:munis are broke (Score 4, Informative) 430
by Stolpskott (#46119311) Attached to: Kansas To Nix Expansion of Google Fiber and Municipal Broadband
munis didn't fund wars... nice try though
Maybe not... but spending by Munis is also not responsible for the vast majority of US public debt. As of 2012 (the latest year-end I can find data for without logging into Bloomberg and compiling the data):
US local government debt as a percentage of GDP was around 7-8%.
US state government debt as a percentage of GDP was around 19-20%.
US federal government debt as a percentage of GDP was a touch over 120%.
So, by far the biggest contributor to US public debt is the US Federal Government, and by far the biggest single-ticket item of its expenditure is military spending ($700 Billion per year in direct contract awards), with massive spending on the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The most thorough study that I can find public reference to is by Brown University, which puts the cost of troop deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan and logistical support in Pakistan, plus domestic spending on debt interest to service that cost, at something over $6 Trillion so far, and that is only since 2003.
The study itself does not seem to be publicly available on the interwebs - Crawford, Neta and Catherine Lutz. "Economic and Budgetary Costs of the Wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan to the United States: A Summary". Costs of War. Brown University.
But you can check out the Wikipedia article to get the basics: Financial cost of the Iraq War
Seeing as the current US Federal Debt burden is somewhere between $17 and $17.5 Trillion, the "non-War" debt burden is still a not-inconsiderable $11 Trillion, but the annual Military Gravy Train in the US dwarfs the rest of the debt components.
Comment: Bring in the IRS... (Score 0) 62
by Stolpskott (#46054509) Attached to: Searching For Dark Matter From Deep Under an Italian Mountain
Comment: Re:rubber-necker woot-woot (Score 1) 276
And if they tell you you're going to be safe, more than once, you're going to die.
Even worse, never, ever, agree to wear a red shirt and beam down to a planet with them. You probably have a better chance of survival by playing Russian Roulette with an automatic pistol...
Comment: Re:Basic Math (Score 1) 259
by Stolpskott (#46044569) Attached to: Up To a Quarter of California Smog Comes From China
Ok, so here's what doesn't make sense. If they're saying 25% of the smog came from china, then only 1.3% of the total smog is from goods produced for export to the US. On the other hand, if they're really saying that what they're saying, and 25% of total smog is from US goods, that means 470% of the smog in total is form China.
5. I'm really tired and I missed something. But I don't think I'm that tired.
The article is a bit whiffy when it comes to the figures, but the bit you are missing is that it is not just the smog from goods produced for export to the US that is making its way over to the US. If it was, that would be an interesting irony... I do not think it helps that the article seems to be at the same time trying to discuss the amount of pollution generated by Chinese manufacturing of goods for export to the US, while also discussing the amount of smog "exported" from China to the US. Those things are very easily confused.
So some of the smog generated by China that makes its way over to the US was generated by manufacturing processes for goods not destined for export to the US. :)
by Stolpskott (#46022113) Attached to: Linus Torvalds: Any CLA Is Fundamentally Broken
I was wondering how much Linus knows about Conjugated Linoleic Acids.
Quite a bit, it seems. After all, he has been able to analyse the CLAs produced by several other sources and determined that they are broken. So he must know as much or more about them than the FSF and Apache biochemists who produced the Acids for those organisations... although why the FSF and Apache Foundation would need or want such materials is beyond me...
Comment: You'll get lots of stupid questions post-interview (Score 1) 692
by Stolpskott (#46012651) Attached to: Blowing Up a Pointless Job Interview
First, you would be surprised how inter-connected a lot of these HR departments and technical team are - people moving from one company to another, or simply talking to each other about "asshat" candidates is very common.
I find that is more of a problem in smaller countries and specialized industries, such as the banking sector in Stockholm or Oslo... less of a problem in London or New York.
However, the rule is, as always, keep it professional in the interview. If you get the feeling that the role or the people or the company are not for you, explain to the interviewer calmly and rationally that you are not getting a good feeling about the situation, thank them for their time and wish them luck in filling the position. Then make your way out of the office and be thankful that you have only wasted an hour or two of your time. Certainly, that is not as satisfying as making a snarky comment, but you will find that all the pre-prepared snarky comments you walked in with are not appropriate for the situation, and all of the appropriate snarky comments you can come up with on the spot are insufficiently snarky to correctly encapsulate your sarcasm.
Plus, if you think the interview questions are stupid, wait until you meet the users. Asking stupid questions in the interview is a good way of weeding out the people who will be incapable of suppressing the urge to strangle the third user who asks a mortifyingly stupid question.
Comment: Re:NoScript (Score 1) 731
by Stolpskott (#45992513) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Are AdBlock's Days Numbered?
6. Company loses potential customers to competitors.
7. (Competitors) Profit!!!!
Comment: Re:Double bind (Score 1) 1431
by Stolpskott (#45974413) Attached to: Man Shot To Death For Texting During Movie
An armed society is a polite society. When you know someone is probably able to kill you (justified or not), you tend to be much more polite to them. Take away people's ability to restrain rude fucks, and the rude fucks run riot through the life you're trying to live.
An armed society (with concealed carry) is a society in which the individuals fear other individuals because they might be carrying a gun. "This person might be carrying a gun so they can kill me, so I need to fear them."
Fear leads to one of two impulses - fight or flight. Flight, and the guy runs out of the theater. Fight, and the guy pulls his own gun because he feels threatened, and you have another Trayvon Martin incident, but with a few more witnesses and the possibility of a stray shot wounding or killing innocent bystanders.
Politeness comes from mutual respect, not from fear. Respect has nothing to do with guns, but with tolerance and empathy. Both needed to show a bit more tolerance and empathy for the wishes of the other, but neither did so one is now dead and the other will almost certainly spend the rest of their life in prison at the taxpayer's expense. Doesn't exactly sound like a win-win for the "Right to bear arms" lobby.
| http://slashdot.org/~Stolpskott/firehose | dclm-gs1-120550001 | false | false | {
"keywords": "candida"
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.077806 | <urn:uuid:3a9b752f-7c13-490b-b771-3e732dc8a39a> | en | 0.944801 | Forgot your password?
Bitcoin Exchange Flexcoin Wiped Out By Theft 704
Posted by timothy
from the in-the-movie-version-it'll-be-the-feds dept.
MtGox Files For Bankruptcy Protection 465
Posted by Soulskill
from the all-about-the-bitjamins dept.
Stack Overflow Could Explain Toyota Vehicles' Unintended Acceleration 664
Posted by timothy
from the go-ahead-ask-your-car-a-question dept.
New submitter robertchin writes "Michael Barr recently testified in the Bookout v. Toyota Motor Corp lawsuit that the likely cause of unintentional acceleration in the Toyota Camry may have been caused by a stack overflow. Due to recursion overwriting critical data past the end of the stack and into the real time operating system memory area, the throttle was left in an open state and the process that controlled the throttle was terminated. How can users protect themselves from sometimes life endangering software bugs?"
Comment: Technical solution for a social problem (Score 4, Insightful) 478
by wired_parrot (#46277241) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Anti-Camera Device For Use In a Small Bus?
You're asking for a technical solution to a social/political problem. The only feasible solution is to make sure your policy is clearly explained and understood to all who board the limo-bus, and then strictly enforcing it by expelling anyone caught with a camera. Sure, you won't be able to monitor people 100% of the time, but if you're strict with enforcement people won't risk taking snapshots. It will probably be more effective than any technical solution which would be expensive and easily circumvented.
And if the owners of the limo-bus are really that worried about photos onboard, the simplest solution would be for everyone to deposit their electronic devices into a bag, and they can then recover their devices after leaving the limo-bus.
My guess though is that your policy is likely to lose your limo-bus company customers, so the owners better make sure whether enforcing it is worth the cost.
Comment: Re:Really good question (Score 1) 326
by wired_parrot (#46250201) Attached to: NSF Report Flawed; Americans Do Not Believe Astrology Is Scientific
I imagine most just don't know what "Astrology" means off the tops of their head, and they probably think it's some scientific term for astronomy
All pseudo-science tries to utilize scientific sounding jargon in an attempt to sound more credible.
Therefore, if we are to to better educate Americans to prevent them from falling prey to pseudo-science mambo-jumbo, it is equally important to sharpen their vocabulary skills. Those who push astrology deliberate try to capitalize on it's perceived confusion with astronomy. Astrologers would probably look at the fact that the majority of people confuse it with astronomy as a positive. We shouldn't take any consolation that this may be an explanation for the survey findings, and instead look at how to better educate young Americans.
Comment: Either conclusion is troubling (Score 2) 326
by wired_parrot (#46249157) Attached to: NSF Report Flawed; Americans Do Not Believe Astrology Is Scientific
So you're saying that it's not that Americans are prone to believe in pseudo-science, but that they lack basic English comprehension skills? Even if I were to believe that this unscientific internet study with a small sample size somehow trumps the observations of the National Science Foundation's wide ranging academic study, the conclusions derived are equally troubling. It's not that they're scientific illiterate - they're simply illiterate! Either conclusion indicates a serious deficit in US education standards, and rather than trying to justify the survey results away, we should be looking at ways to improving American education standards. If they can't distinguish between astronomy and astrology I'd be worried about their English vocabulary.
Submitted by Hugh Pickens DOT Com
+ - Dead Reckoning For Your Car Eliminates GPS Dead Zones 3
Submitted by cartechboy
+ - CERN Wants a New Particle Collider Three Times Larger Than the LHC-> 1
Submitted by Daniel_Stuckey
Link to Original Source
+ - Quarks Know Their Left From Their Right->
Submitted by sciencehabit
Link to Original Source
+ - Major Internet Censorship Bill Passes in Turkey -> 1
Submitted by maratumba
Link to Original Source
Comment: It's a civil rights issue, not a privacy one (Score 1) 510
by wired_parrot (#46015577) Attached to: Senator Dianne Feinstein: NSA Metadata Program Here To Stay
If it is to be done, it needs to be done in a way that respect's people's civil rights.
Supporters of the NSA spying program have been rephrasing the concerns with it as a privacy rights issue. The concerns with it go deeper than that: fundamentally it is a violation of the constitutional and civil rights afforded by law. Reframing it a privacy issue is a dishonest way of downplaying the serious constitutional violations that the NSA is infringing upon.
Comment: Re:Sensationalist headline is Sensational (Score 1) 292
by wired_parrot (#45986403) Attached to: Thousands of Gas Leaks Discovered Under Streets of Washington DC
Typically these leaks are very small and are no danger to the public, which is why they are allowed to persist.
It's not about the danger of explosion from these leaks; it's about the large volume of methane escaping from these small leaks around the country. Given that methane is a potent greenhouse gas (20x more than CO2), the volume of leaks so far detected would make natural gas a dirtier fuel than even coal! The implications to national energy policy should be of concern to the public.
Comment: Global warming, not explosions is the concern (Score 4, Informative) 292
by wired_parrot (#45985915) Attached to: Thousands of Gas Leaks Discovered Under Streets of Washington DC
It's not about the danger of gas explosions ; larger gas leaks that pose safety concerns are usually addressed if they are detected. It's about the thousands of small leaks, that the gas industry often ignores as being too small to pose any risk. In this the second link is very informative: not only are these small leaks killing trees and vegetation in the vicinity of where they occur, but collectively they are leaking a large amount of methane into the atmosphere that contributes to global warming. And given that methane is 20 times more potent as a greenhouse gas, it means if the estimates of the leaks were to be correct, natural gas would actually be worse for global warming than coal. This would have powerful implications for US energy policy, given that natural gas is being sold as a cleaner burning fossil fuel, when the leaks completely undermine it's "clean" premise.
| http://slashdot.org/~wired_parrot/tags/creepy | dclm-gs1-120580001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.042218 | <urn:uuid:09bbcd4a-0168-4da4-9122-a93a56a9e201> | en | 0.732866 | 1. Summary
2. Files
3. Support
4. Report Spam
5. Create account
6. Log in
Main Page
From autokey
Jump to: navigation, search
This Wiki will eventually contain a full manual for AutoKey. For now, we have some basic information that should help get you started.
Online Manual
Personal tools | http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/autokey/index.php?title=Main_Page | dclm-gs1-120590001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.583829 | <urn:uuid:d9b2dd49-faa7-4b17-a2c7-c8ee81171abc> | en | 0.899043 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
This problem arose in a module I'm writing, but I have made a minimal case that exhibits the same behaviour.
class Minimal[T](x : T) {
def doSomething = x
object Sugar {
type S[T] = { def doSomething : T }
def apply[T, X <: S[T]] (x: X) = x.doSomething
object Error {
val a = new Minimal(4)
Sugar(a) // error: inferred [Nothing, Minimal[Int]] does not fit the bounds of apply
Sugar[Int, Minimal[Int]](a) // works as expected
The problem is that the compiler manages to figure out the inner parameter for Minimal (Int), but then sets the other occurrence of T to Nothing, which obviously does not match apply. These are definitely the same T, as removing the first parameter makes the second complain that T is not defined.
Is there some ambiguity that means that the compiler cannot infer the first parameter, or is this a bug? Can I work around this gracefully?
Further information: This code is a simple example of an attempt at syntactic sugar. The original code tries to make |(a)| mean the modulus of a, where a is a vector. Clearly |(a)| is better than writing |[Float,Vector3[Float]](a)|, but unfortunately I can't use unary_| to make this easier.
The actual error:
inferred type arguments [Nothing,Minimal[Int]] do not conform to method apply's type parameter bounds [T,X <: Sugar.S[T]]
share|improve this question
add comment
2 Answers
up vote 8 down vote accepted
This isn't a Scala compiler bug, but it's certainly a limitation of Scala's type inference. The compiler wants to determine the bound on X, S[T], before solving for X, but the bound mentions the so far unconstrained type variable T which it therefore fixes at Nothing and proceeds from there. It doesn't revisit T once X has been fully resolved ... currently type inference always proceeds from left to right in this sort of case.
If your example accurately represents your real situation then there is a simple fix,
def apply[T](x : S[T]) = x.doSomething
Here T will be inferred such that Minimal conforms to S[T] directly rather than via an intermediary bounded type variable.
Joshua's solution also avoids the problem of inferring type T, but in a completely different way.
def apply[T, X <% S[T]](x : X) = x.doSomething
desugars to,
def apply[T, X](x : X)(implicit conv : X => S[T]) = x.doSomething
The type variables T and X can now be solved for independently (because T is no longer mentioned in X's bound). This means that X is inferred as Minimal immediately, and T is solved for as a part of the implicit search for a value of type X => S[T] to satisfy the implicit argument conv. conforms in scala.Predef manufactures values of this form, and in context will guarantee that given an argument of type Minimal, T will be inferred as Int. You could view this as an instance of functional dependencies at work in Scala.
share|improve this answer
Yes, this solution works fine in my case. It is also cleaner than Joshua's solution (sorry Joshua!). Can you explain why Joshua's solution works, then? – Dylan Apr 27 '12 at 18:37
Answer updated to give an explanation of why Joshua's solution also works. – Miles Sabin Apr 27 '12 at 20:05
add comment
There's some weirdness with bounds on structural types, try using a view bound on S[T] instead.
def apply[T, X <% S[T]] (x: X) = x.doSomething works fine.
share|improve this answer
Great, this works, but surely there should be no difference between the approaches? Taking a view in this case is just casting to a superclass, isn't it? Does this mean that this fix is just a workaround for a bug in the compiler? – Dylan Apr 27 '12 at 1:22
Ah, now I see, S is not a superclass - it is just a view (in a sense). So a view bound is more appropriate, despite not being required in most cases. – Dylan Apr 27 '12 at 18:09
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10343244/why-doesnt-type-inference-work-here/10347307 | dclm-gs1-120610001 | false | false | {
"keywords": "vector"
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.995157 | <urn:uuid:afffb304-0445-4369-97d1-15151eedeec3> | en | 0.908881 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
1. What is the difference between a Coons B-Spline and a Bezier Spline?
2. Should I say "Bezier Spline" or "Bezier B-spline"? What is the right term?
I've read some articles about it, but they usually discuss both of these types of spline together, so I have it a little messed up and don't know what info belongs to what type of curve.
share|improve this question
add comment
Your Answer
Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question. | http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10753492/what-difference-is-between-a-coons-b-spline-and-a-bezier-spline | dclm-gs1-120620001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.376451 | <urn:uuid:324a8360-002c-4151-a2ba-9ca8f4140212> | en | 0.715429 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
Is there a way how to include LaTeX formulas in javadoc generated by Netbeans? I found following taglet: http://users.informatik.uni-halle.de/~grau/LaTeXlet/index.html
It requires modifying javadocs arguments...
-taglet latexlet.InlineBlockLaTeXlet -taglet latexlet.BlockLaTeXlet -taglet latexlet.InlineLaTeXlet -tagletpath path/to/the/jar/LaTeXlet.jar
how can I do that?
share|improve this question
seen this? stackoverflow.com/questions/5236513/… – gigadot May 28 '12 at 11:49
yes, but I don't know where should I specify arguments for javadoc. is it in project properties? – Tombart May 28 '12 at 20:35
add comment
Your Answer
Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question. | http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10783917/latex-mathematics-in-javadoc-generated-by-netbeans | dclm-gs1-120630001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.551036 | <urn:uuid:eef7ba00-7e21-486d-8381-34323c6c5b4e> | en | 0.910472 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
Question: How would one write a function to check and return whether or not a string (NSString) contains a valid zip code worldwide.
Additional info: I am aware of RegEx in iOS. However I am not so fluent at it. Please keep in mind this should accepts anything valid in any country as true.
US - "10200"
US - "33701-4313"
Canada - "K8N 5W6"
UK - "3252-322"
Edit: Those who voted down or to close the question, please do mention why. Thank you.
share|improve this question
I have not voted down. But I guess that it was because the question shows no research. Re-read the FAQ for StackOverflow for good info on how to ask questions that people will not vote down. :) – Almo Jun 29 '12 at 14:38
add comment
3 Answers
up vote 3 down vote accepted
Matches Canadian PostalCode formats with or without spaces (e.g., "T2X 1V4" or "T2X1V4")
Matches all US format ZIP code formats (e.g., "94105-0011" or "94105")
(^\d{5}(-\d{4})?$)|(^[ABCEGHJKLMNPRSTVXY]\d[A-Z][- ]*\d[A-Z]\d$)
Matches US or Canadian codes in above formats.
UK codes are more complicated than you think: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postcodes_in_the_United_Kingdom
share|improve this answer
Canadian postal codes are often written with a -, too, as in T2X-1V4. – Steven Fisher Jun 28 '12 at 4:48
@StevenFisher - updated – Ωmega Jun 28 '12 at 11:02
Thank you, it is very complicated indeed. – Byte Jun 29 '12 at 14:24
I think you want ( |-):? for the Canadian postal code separator. That allows a single space, dash, or nothing. – Steven Fisher Jun 29 '12 at 16:05
add comment
Each country that uses postcodes/zip codes usually has their own format. You are going to be hard-pressed to find a regular expression that matches any worldwide code!
You're better off adding a country picker that determines the regular expression (if any) to be used to validate the zip code.
As an aside, the postcode you have given as a UK example is not correct. A decent UK regex is:
share|improve this answer
why you are expecting lowercase characters in postal code(s)...? – Ωmega Jun 27 '12 at 16:22
The regular expression is to validate the content of the postcode, not necessarily the format the user entered it (upper/lower case). I would always test the regex against the user's input after transforming it to lowercase. If you want the user to definitely enter the postcode in upper case, you could amend the regex, or use various other methods to enforce it (UITextField delegate methods etc). At the end of the day, the UK postcode is considered valid regardless of case. – Ian L Jun 27 '12 at 16:42
I see you are from UK, I was just curious, as I have family in UK, I have been doing business with UK companies, but I never ever seen lowercase UK postal code. Thanks for sharing... – Ωmega Jun 27 '12 at 16:55
I can certainly understand the comment, as UK postcodes are almost always displayed as uppercase, but being in lowercase would not technically make it invalid as to reject it. – Ian L Jun 27 '12 at 17:51
Thank you lowercase too is valid in my case. +1 for your time. – Byte Jun 29 '12 at 14:27
add comment
I suggest you don't do this. I've seen many websites that try to enforce zipcodes, but I've never seen one get it right. Even the name zipcode is specific to the US.
In other words:
- (BOOL)isValidZipCode: (NSString *)zip {
return YES;
I was originally going to write [zip length] > 0, but of course even that isn't guaranteed.
share|improve this answer
I actually put in a dummy of something like what you have written here. Sadly, that creates too many false positive. But thank you for trying. – Byte Jun 29 '12 at 14:25
Good luck. I think what you're trying to do might be achievable, as long as you use custom regexes for each country and spend the effort necessary to test every country's algorithm. Seems like this is something Apple should do. – Steven Fisher Jun 29 '12 at 16:00
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11230446/ios-valid-zip-code-check/11230715 | dclm-gs1-120640001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.688376 | <urn:uuid:40fafc18-d370-47ef-b5c4-ed4fc5cfdee3> | en | 0.822522 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I'm using express in nodejs.
The following code seems to render my partial and respond it DIRECTLY to the client.
How can my dynamicHelper RETURN the rendered partial to the layout template instead of sending it to the client
menu: function(req, res) {
// The following
return res.partial(
__dirname + '/views/partials/menu', { locals: {
nodes: asap.config.menus[key]
share|improve this question
add comment
1 Answer
Since express and connect new versions you can't as it would call res.send() twice. I'm working on a commit to fix this issue. I hope to finish it soon and then we will see if TJ will merge it.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5451605/how-can-i-render-a-partial-in-dynamichepler/5452048 | dclm-gs1-120700001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.297531 | <urn:uuid:921073b5-d34e-4c60-95fb-11c072fdf107> | en | 0.86387 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
What's the most efficient way to select multiple entities by primary key?
public IEnumerable<Models.Image> GetImagesById(IEnumerable<int> ids)
//return ids.Select(id => Images.Find(id)); //is this cool?
return Images.Where( im => ids.Contains(im.Id)); //is this better, worse or the same?
//is there a (better) third way?
I realise that I could do some performance tests to compare, but I am wondering if there is in fact a better way than both, and am looking for some enlightenment on what the difference between these two queries is, if any, once they have been 'translated'.
share|improve this question
Well, thats indeterminate, usually not a huge number, but would like to be able to support large numbers in a scalable fashion. – Tom Nov 12 '11 at 22:25
add comment
2 Answers
up vote 46 down vote accepted
Using Contains in Entity Framework is actually very slow. It's true that it translates into an IN clause in SQL and that the SQL query itself is executed fast. But the problem and the performance bottleneck is in the translation from your LINQ query into SQL. The expression tree which will be created is expanded into a long chain of OR concatenations because there is no native expression which represents an IN. When the SQL is created this expression of many ORs is recognized and collapsed back into the SQL IN clause.
This does not mean that using Contains is worse than issuing one query per element in your ids collection (your first option). It's probably still better - at least for not too large collections. But for large collections it is really bad. I remember that I had tested some time ago a Contains query with about 12.000 elements which worked but took around a minute even though the query in SQL executed in less than a second.
It might be worth to test the performance of a combination of multiple roundtrips to the database with a smaller number of elements in a Contains expression for each roundtrip.
This approach and also the limitations of using Contains with Entity Framework is shown and explained here:
Why does the Contains() operator degrade Entity Framework's performance so dramatically?
It's possible that a raw SQL command will perform best in this situation which would mean that you call dbContext.Database.SqlQuery<Image>(sqlString) or dbContext.Images.SqlQuery(sqlString) where sqlString is the SQL shown in @Rune's answer.
Here are some measurements:
I have done this on a table with 550000 records and 11 columns (IDs start from 1 without gaps) and picked randomly 20000 ids:
using (var context = new MyDbContext())
Random rand = new Random();
var ids = new List<int>();
Stopwatch watch = new Stopwatch();
// here are the code snippets from below
var msec = watch.ElapsedMilliseconds;
Test 1
var result = context.Set<MyEntity>()
.Where(e => ids.Contains(e.ID))
Result -> msec = 85.5 sec
Test 2
var result = context.Set<MyEntity>().AsNoTracking()
.Where(e => ids.Contains(e.ID))
Result -> msec = 84.5 sec
This tiny effect of AsNoTracking is very unusual. It indicates that the bottleneck is not object materialization (and not SQL as shown below).
For both tests it can be seen in SQL Profiler that the SQL query arrives at the database very late. (I didn't measure exactly but it was later than 70 seconds.) Obviously the translation of this LINQ query into SQL is very expensive.
Test 3
var values = new StringBuilder();
values.AppendFormat("{0}", ids[0]);
for (int i = 1; i < ids.Count; i++)
values.AppendFormat(", {0}", ids[i]);
var sql = string.Format(
"SELECT * FROM [MyDb].[dbo].[MyEntities] WHERE [ID] IN ({0})",
var result = context.Set<MyEntity>().SqlQuery(sql).ToList();
Result -> msec = 5.1 sec
Test 4
// same as Test 3 but this time including AsNoTracking
var result = context.Set<MyEntity>().SqlQuery(sql).AsNoTracking().ToList();
Result -> msec = 3.8 sec
This time the effect of disabling tracking is more noticable.
Test 5
// same as Test 3 but this time using Database.SqlQuery
var result = context.Database.SqlQuery<MyEntity>(sql).ToList();
Result -> msec = 3.7 sec
My understanding is that context.Database.SqlQuery<MyEntity>(sql) is the same as context.Set<MyEntity>().SqlQuery(sql).AsNoTracking(), so there is no difference expected between Test 4 and Test 5.
(The length of the result sets was not always the same due to possible duplicates after the random id selection but it was always between 19600 and 19640 elements.)
Edit 2
Test 6
Even 20000 roundtrips to the database are faster than using Contains:
var result = new List<MyEntity>();
foreach (var id in ids)
result.Add(context.Set<MyEntity>().SingleOrDefault(e => e.ID == id));
Result -> msec = 73.6 sec
Note that I have used SingleOrDefault instead of Find. Using the same code with Find is very slow (I cancelled the test after several minutes) because Find calls DetectChanges internally. Disabling auto change detection (context.Configuration.AutoDetectChangesEnabled = false) leads to roughly the same performance as SingleOrDefault. Using AsNoTracking reduces the time by one or two seconds.
Tests were done with database client (console app) and database server on the same machine. The last result might get significantly worse with a "remote" database due to the many roundtrips.
share|improve this answer
I am starting to think that ideally, from a performance point of view, this type of query is something that should simply be avoided. – Tom Nov 13 '11 at 1:11
@Tom: I did some tests, see my Edit. – Slauma Nov 13 '11 at 1:46
@Tom: I've done a test number 6, see my Edit 2. Yes, avoiding this situation in the first place seems a good strategy. But sometimes you might just need such a query and can't circumvent it. My conclusion is more: Sometimes using raw SQL makes sense or is even a MUST for performance reasons with an ORM like Entity Framework. – Slauma Nov 13 '11 at 13:09
@Tom: +1 for your question now, I forgot it. Because I learned a lot and it helped me to detect a serious performance bottleneck in an own application. Thanks for the question :) – Slauma Nov 13 '11 at 13:25
Great answer and research. A super minor note, but you can build the list of IDs in Test 3 in one line like this: string values = string.Join(", ", ids); – ThisGuy Dec 29 '13 at 7:56
show 2 more comments
The second option is definitely better than the first. The first option will result in ids.Length queries to the database, while the second option can use an 'IN' operator in the SQL query. It will basically turn your LINQ query into something like the following SQL:
FROM ImagesTable
WHERE id IN (value1,value2,...)
where value1, value2 etc. are the values of your ids variable. Be aware, however, that I think there may be an upper limit on the number of values that can be serialized into a query in this way. I'll see if I can find some documentation...
share|improve this answer
Thanks, is this the way to go then do you think? Or is there an alternative approach? – Tom Nov 12 '11 at 20:52
@Tim: This is definitely the way to go. As long as you're on EF 4+, you can use this, and get a single fetch to the db... – Reed Copsey Nov 12 '11 at 20:55
I think this is the way to go - I am not aware of a better approach. I'll see if I can find that size limit documented somewhere. If it exists, you can just divide ids into chunks of an appropriate size. If your collection of ids is known to be small, you may even be able to just ignore the issue. I believe the limit is something like 512 or 1024... – Rune Nov 12 '11 at 20:56
Hmm, can't find that upper limit documented anywhere. Maybe I am mistaken and it only applied to Linq2SQL. I'll upvote anybody who documents (possibly, the lack of) that upper limit :-) – Rune Nov 12 '11 at 21:05
There's no limit in EF since it converts it to a non-parameterized IN expression (column IN (val1, val2, val3, ...)) whereas LINQ-to-SQL parameterizes all the IN values (column IN (@p1, @p2, @p3, ...)) and so you hit the 2100 parameter limit pretty quickly. – Allon Guralnek Nov 12 '11 at 22:19
show 4 more comments
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/8107439/entity-framework-4-1-most-efficient-way-to-get-multiple-entities-by-primary-key/8108643 | dclm-gs1-120710001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.795316 | <urn:uuid:c12962e9-18d2-4b9b-800c-49b50d3a78f8> | en | 0.831304 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
uint64_t length = 0x4f56aa5d4b2d8a80;
uint64_t new_length = 0;
new_length = length + 119.000000;
printf("new length 0x%"PRIx64"\n",new_length);
new_length = length + 238.000000;
return 0;
With the above code. I am adding two different double values to a unsigned 64-bit integer.I am getting the exact same result in both the cases.The output of the program is show below
new length 0x4f56aa5d4b2d8c00
new length 0x4f56aa5d4b2d8c00
I would expect two different results but that is not the case.I have also tried type-casting the uint64_t value to a double as in
new_length = (double)length + 119.000000;
But this too doesn't seem to help.Any idea on what might be the problem?
share|improve this question
possible duplicate of Why is this true? – In silico Mar 7 '12 at 3:49
add comment
2 Answers
up vote 3 down vote accepted
Floating point arithmetic is not precise. As numbers get bigger, the accuracy of lower digits is reduced.
0x4f56aa5d4b2d8a80 is a Very Large Number.
What is happening in
new_length = length + 119.000000;
Is that length + 119.000000 is getting cast to a double, to do the addition. That double is rounded, rather dramatically, because it's so large. It is then cast again to the integral type uint64_t when it is assigned to new_length.
When you call
new_length = length + 238.000000;
It happens that the rounded result ends up being the same.
What you really want to do is
new_length = length + (uint64_t)238.0;
That will give you the answer you want. It will initially cast the double to an integral type, which is added precisely.
share|improve this answer
Floating-point is precise. You can repeat the same experiment over and over and get identical results. Those results may not align with your expectations based on your experience with the real numbers, but they are certainly precise. – Stephen Canon Mar 7 '12 at 17:37
add comment
Since you adding a floating-point operand, both operands are implicitly cast to double and the addition is done using floating-point arithmetic.
However, double doesn't have enough precision to exactly hold either of the following values:
0x4f56aa5d4b2d8a80 + 119.0 (requires 63 bits of precision)
<-------------------63 bits of precision---------------------->
0x4f56aa5d4b2d8a80 + 238.0 (requires 62 bits of precision)
<-------------------62 bits of precision--------------------->
Standard IEEE double precision only has 53 bits of precision.
The result is that both of them get rounded to the same final value of:
0x4f56aa5d4b2d8c00 (53 bits of precision)
<-----------------53 bits of precision-------------->
If you want to avoid this rounding, you should avoid floating-point arithmetic altogether by casting the operands to integer. (or just using 119 and 238 instead)
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9595496/adding-a-double-value-to-an-unsigned-64-bit-value-yields-weird-results/9595553 | dclm-gs1-120730001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.114933 | <urn:uuid:1633896e-ccec-4934-8f1a-39b34ad2db33> | en | 0.929045 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
I know of usual HTTP proxys and Socks proxys (Socks 4 / Socks 5 - where the main difference as far as I know is the support for DNS resolution via proxy).
Both variants more or less "pass the data through" in its original form. So if the target site is HTTPS encrypted, of course the connection will be encrypted. Same goes for Socks proxys.
However what I would like to do is to encrypt the communication between the proxy server and the client regardless whether the communication between the proxy server and the target server is secured or not.
The only software that comes to my mind which does this is TOR (The onion router), however it does much more and is not really what I want.
I am aware of VPN solutions. However I would prefer something which does not need to be configured on that layer of the OS (no extra devices, drivers, software etc.). It would be good if it would be supported by major browsers out of the box.
You may thing of the use case of sitting on a very insecure network (for example a public WIFI) where everyone can sniff your traffic.
You want to securely (however only securely from that wifi) visit a webpage which is only reachable via insecure HTTP.
Now you can connect to the proxy securly and futher insecurly to the website, however this part is out of the insecure wifi.
share|improve this question
add comment
2 Answers
up vote 1 down vote accepted
Squid proxy server supports incoming proxy connections on an SSL encrypted port with the https_port directive.
However, support in browsers is limited currently. You can use a proxy.pac script with Chrome which can contain an https server for a proxy. This is pretty easy to setup, and there are many howtos on the net.
If your proxy server supports ssh, then you could just use an ssh tunnel for the first part. Suppose your proxy server listens on port 3128, then this will establish a tunnel to the proxy:
ssh -L3128: [proxyserver]
Then all you need do is configure your browser to point to a proxy server on and you'll use your remote proxy with the first part encrypted. The above command is command line, but putty and all other ssh clients support this, you just need to figure out the configuration.
share|improve this answer
the ssh tunnel is what i am actually doing at the moment ;) hwoever squid looks promising! – Joe Hopfgartner Dec 6 '12 at 13:33
add comment
Consider PPTP VPN. It can be connected from any modern OS without any additional software. I use it with Windows, Linux and iOS. There is a dozen of PPTP VPN providers such as 'Proxpn'. And it is not so hard to start the PPTP server by yourself.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| http://superuser.com/questions/515572/is-there-any-proxy-standard-software-which-encrypts-the-conneciton-between-clien | dclm-gs1-120800001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.02705 | <urn:uuid:cfa923a7-2dd5-436d-9ec0-a677c19d0038> | en | 0.925468 | Take the 2-minute tour ×
How do I upgrade a Windows 8 machine without a network connection to Windows 8.1?
share|improve this question
You should be able to use go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=271128 and the key contained in the accepted answer to this questionr: superuser.com/questions/661261/windows-8-1-fresh- install-with-windows-8-licence in order to do this. After your upgrade is finished you will have to change the license back to your Windows 8 installation described by the accepted answer here superuser.com/questions/650019/… When I can provide an answer that isn't all links I will post an answer. – Ramhound Oct 17 '13 at 17:42
I don't think any of you have noticed that using the ISO, we lose all non-metro-applications. It's just as if we did a refresh: we have to reinstall all non-metro-apps afterwards. Yes, I tried it, only metro-apps survive this type of upgrade. There is no way shown to upgrade it offline and achieve the same as with the online upgrade. While on my first 2 win8 pro it did not work (as described before), on the other 4 it worked. A little irritating, yes. All actions were the same. So I assume, the upgrade procedure is not 100% stable. – Hagen Oct 28 '13 at 20:54
add comment
2 Answers
Download a Windows 8.1 ISO (when you have access to it via MSDN/Technet), mount it inside Windows, run the setup.exe and select "upgrade".
share|improve this answer
What would I put for the serial number? – Mehrdad Oct 17 '13 at 19:28
@Mehrdad - I already answered this question through a comment. – Ramhound Oct 17 '13 at 23:07
@Ramhound: Yup I saw, thanks! – Mehrdad Oct 18 '13 at 0:17
Issue with this to be aware of that MSDN/technet is not meant for production. MSDN is for development & TechNet is for testing. So if you have a retail key, it isn't the supported methods for this. – Robert MacLean Dec 23 '13 at 20:51
MSDN/Technet is the only way to get clean ISOs. – magicandre1981 Dec 24 '13 at 6:18
add comment
Microsoft suggest you to use this third-party solution.
share|improve this answer
add comment
Your Answer
| http://superuser.com/questions/661340/how-to-upgrade-windows-8-to-windows-8-1-offline | dclm-gs1-120810001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.945245 | <urn:uuid:d1d9c4c7-2153-4eeb-8b66-be76242620d9> | en | 0.977856 | John Hawkins
Recommend this article
10) ...Health care would be much cheaper and more efficient because you could buy insurance across state lines; we'd have tort reform, health care savings accounts, and tax credits for health care would go to individuals instead of companies, which means that you wouldn't lose your insurance if you lose your job.
12) ...Legal immigration would be faster, cheaper, and much more efficient. We'd also be selecting new American immigrants based on merit instead of rewarding people for breaking our laws or allowing them to come here because their son or cousin already managed to become a citizen.
13) ...English would be the national language.
14) ...People would look at you like you’re an idiot, as they should today, if you suggest that the Constitution is a living document. You'd also see a lot more Constitutional amendments because the Supreme Court would stick to the law as written unless it was amended.
18) ...Not only would there be no gay marriage, we'd be taking steps to strengthen marriage -- like getting rid of no-fault divorce and it would be acknowledged that a mother and a father would do a better job of raising kids than any other combination.
20) ...Kids would start out school with the Pledge of Allegiance and a daily prayer.
21) ...We'd have school vouchers so that we could introduce competition into our school systems and allow all parents to send their kids to the same kind of schools that the rich do today. We'd also spend a lot more time teaching kids reading, writing, arithmetic, history, and economics and spend a lot less time worrying about their self-esteem.
22) ...You wouldn't have terrorists, communists, and people who hate America teaching at our universities.
23) ...Racism would practically be non-existent, there would be no need for the NAACP, LA RAZA, or Affirmative Action and people would, "not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Recommend this article
John Hawkins
| http://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2012/08/03/25_examples_of_what_america_would_be_like_if_we_were_all_christian_conservative_tea_partiers/page/2 | dclm-gs1-120830001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.020811 | <urn:uuid:938cc59d-6aeb-451c-baf8-cfe554e3797d> | en | 0.976537 | Motorsports - Patrick first woman to take Daytona 500 pole
Danica Patrick will start from the Daytona 500 pole position after posting the fastest qualifying speed for the Great American Race on Sunday and becoming the first woman to take the pole for a NASCAR Sprint Cup event.
Patrick, who ran a partial Sprint Cup program last year, signalled she was ready to race full-time against the big boys of American stock car racing by clocking 196.434 mph (316.11 kph) around Daytona International Speedway.
Four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon joined Patrick on the front row for next Sunday's race, joking afterwards that he was at least the fastest man.
Patrick's top speed was the fastest qualifying effort at Daytona since 1990.
"I'm just the driver, this is a team pole," she told reporters after her qualifying effort. "I was a little bit nervous.
The remainder of the 500 field will be set in a pair of qualifying races scheduled for Thursday.
The qualifying triumph marked another in a growing list of firsts for Patrick, who became the only woman to win an IndyCar race in 2008 before jumping to NASCAR, the United States' most popular motor sports series.
Janet Guthrie had the previous best qualifying performance by a woman when she qualified ninth for Cup races at Talladega and Bristol speedways in 1977.
After posting the fastest times in Saturday's practice, all eyes were on Patrick as her number 10 Chevrolet took to the sun-kissed super speedway.
The eighth driver of 45 attempting qualify for next Sunday's race, Patrick held her nerve and could not hide her delight at holding onto top spot.
While winning the Daytona pole is a career highlight for Patrick, starting from first on the grid will not be a new experience.
She started from the pole position for three races during her IndyCar career and last season started first in a Nationwide Series race, NASCAR's second tier series.
"Any experience is good experience," said Patrick.
Already one of America's best known athletes, Patrick is sure to be in the spotlight for during the buildup to next Sunday's main event.
The popular driver, who is as well known for her GoDaddy sponsorship, racy commercials and photo shoots, has made tabloid headlines for her romance with fellow NASCAR rookie Ricky Stenhouse.
"He's never been another number out there, he has been someone who has helped me and someone who has given me a lot of advice," said Patrick, who could well battle Stenhouse for rookie of the year honors.
"(He is) somebody I have a lot of respect for, someone I have always given a lot of room and been very fair and he does the same for me." | http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/motorsports-patrick-first-woman-take-daytona-500-pole-224713551.html | dclm-gs1-120870001 | false | false | {
"keywords": ""
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
0.018609 | <urn:uuid:3ea78628-9bce-487e-b1a3-ce160b3025b1> | en | 0.982281 | Giving Up the Ghost
A Memoir
Hilary Mantel
A John Macrae Book
It is a Saturday, late July 2000; we are in Reepham, Norfolk, at Owl Cottage. There’s something we have to do today, but we are trying to postpone it. We need to go across the road to see Mr. Ewing; we need to ask for a valuation, and see what they think of our chances of selling. Ewing’s is the local firm, and it was they who sold us the house, seven years ago. As the morning wears on we move around each other silently, avoiding conversation. The decision’s made. There’s no more to discuss.
About eleven o’clock, I see a flickering on the staircase. The air is still; then it moves. I raise my head. The air is still again. I know it is my stepfather’s ghost coming down. Or, to put it in a way acceptable to most people, I “know” it is my stepfather’s ghost.
I am not perturbed. I am used to “seeing” things that aren’t there. Or—to put it in a way more acceptable to me—I am used to seeing things that “aren’t there.” It was in this house that I last saw my stepfather, Jack, in the early months of 1995: alive, in his garments of human flesh. Many times since then I have acknowledged him on the stairs.
It may be, of course, that the flicker against the banister was nothing more than the warning of a migraine attack. It’s at the left-hand side of my body that visions manifest; it’s my left eye that is peeled. I don’t know whether, at such vulnerable times, I see more than is there; or if things are there that normally I don’t see.
Over the years the premonitionary symptoms of migraine headaches have become more than the dangerous puzzle that they were earlier in my life, and more than a warning to take the drugs that might ward off a full-blown attack. They have become a psychic adornment or flourish, an art form, a secret talent I have never managed to make money from. Sometimes they take the form of the visual disturbances that are common to many sufferers. Small objects will vanish from my field of vision, and there will be floating lacunae in the world, each shaped rather like a doughnut with a dazzle of light where the hole should be. Sometimes there are flashes of gold against the wall: darting chevrons, like the wings of small quick angels. Scant sleep and lack of food increase the chances of these sightings; starving saints in Lent, hypoglycemic and jittery, saw visions to meet their expectations.
Sometimes the aura takes more trying forms. I will go deaf. The words I try to write end up as other words. I will suffer strange dreams, from which I wake with hallucinations of taste. Once, thirty years ago, I dreamed that I was eating bees, and ever since I have lived with their milk-chocolate sweetness and their texture, which is like lightly cooked calves’ liver. It may be that a tune will lodge in my head like a tic and bring the words tripping in with it, so I am forced to live my life by its accompaniment. It’s a familiar complaint, to have a tune you can’t get out of your head. But for most people, the tunes aren’t the preludeto a day of hearty vomiting. Besides, people say they pick them up from the radio, but mine are songs people don’t really sing these days. Bill Bailey, won’t you please come home? Some talk of Alexander, and some of Hercules. My aged father did me deny. And the name he gave me was the croppy boy.
Today, the day I see the ghost, the problem’s just that my words don’t come out right. So I have to be careful, at Mr. Ewing’s, but he understands me without any trouble, and yes, he remembers selling us the cottage, seven years ago, is it really so long? They were years in which perhaps half a million words were drafted and redrafted, seven and a half thousand meals were consumed, ten thousand painkillers (at a conservative estimate) were downed by me, and God knows how many by the people I’d given a pain; years in which I got fatter and fatter (wider still and wider, shall my bounds be set): and during seven years of nights, dreams were dreamed, then erased or reformatted: they were years during which, on the eve of the publication of my seventh novel, my stepfather died. All my memories of him are bound up with houses, dreams of houses, real or dream houses with empty rooms waiting for occupation: with other people’s stories, and other people’s claims: with fright and my adult denial that I was frightened. But affection takes strange forms, after all. I can hardly bear to sell the cottage and leave him behind on the stairs.
Late in the afternoon, a migrainous sleep steals up on me. It plants on my forehead a clammy ogre’s kiss. “Don’t worry,” I say, as the ogre sucks me into sleep. “If the phone wakes, it will ring us.” I knew the migraine was coming yesterday, when I stood in a Norfolk fishmonger choosing a meal for the cats. “No,” I said, “cod’s too expensive just now to feed to fish. Even fish like ours.”
I hardly know how to write about myself. Any style you pick seems to unpick itself before a paragraph is done. I will just go for it, I think to myself, I’ll hold out my hands and say, c’est moi, get used to it. I’ll trust the reader. This is what I recommend to people who ask me how to get published. Trust your reader, stop spoon-feeding your reader, stop patronizing your reader, give your reader credit for being as smart as you at least, and stop being so bloody beguiling: you in the back row, will you turn off that charm! Plain words on plain paper. Remember what Orwell says, that good prose is like a windowpane. Concentrate on sharpening your memory and peeling your sensibility. Cut every page you write by at least one third. Stop constructing those piffling little similes of yours. Work out what it is you want to say. Then say it in the most direct and vigorous way you can. Eat meat. Drink blood. Give up your social life and don’t think you can have friends. Rise in the quiet hours of the night and prick your fingertips and use the blood for ink; that will cure you of persiflage!
But do I take my own advice? Not a bit. Persiflage is my nom de guerre. (Don’t use foreign expressions; it’s elitist.) I stray away from the beaten path of plain words into the meadows of extravagant simile: angels, ogres, doughnut-shaped holes. And as for transparency—windowpanes undressed are a sign of poverty, aren’t they? How about some nice net curtains, so I can look out but you can’t see in? How about shutters, or a chaste Roman blind? Besides, windowpane prose is no guarantee of truthfulness. Some deceptive sights are seen through glass, and the best liars tell lies in plain words.
So now that I come to write a memoir, I argue with myself over every word. Is my writing clear: or is it deceptively clear?I tell myself, just say how you came to sell a house with a ghost in it. But this story can be told only once, and I need to get it right. Why does the act of writing generate so much anxiety? Margaret Atwood says, “The written word is so much like evidence—like something that can be used against you.” I used to think that autobiography was a form of weakness, and perhaps I still do. But I also think that, if you’re weak, it’s childish to pretend to be strong.
Sell Owl: the decision came with us, crawling through the Friday evening traffic on the M25, and navigating the darkness of Breckland settlements with their twisted pines and shuttered houses. We had done this journey so many times, looping past the center of Norwich on the fringes of industrial estates, slowing at the crossroads among West Earlham council houses: lamps burning behind drawn curtains, no one in the streets. As you cross the city boundary the streetlights run out, the road narrows. You creep forward into that darkness which is lit only by the glittering eyes of foxes and farm cats, punctuated by the flurry of wing beats and scurrying of busy feet in the verges. Something unseen is eating. Something is being consumed.
As you enter the small town of Reepham you turn by the church wall, bashed and battered by many long vehicles, into the marketplace empty of cars. The King’s Arms is still burning a light, the big doors of the Old Brewery are closed and its residents padding upward to their beds. Turning uphill from the square, you park on the muddy rutted ground at the back of the cottage, unloading in the dark and mostly in the rain; your boots know the puddles and slippery patches, the single dark step and the paving’s edge. Sometimes it is midnight and winter, the cold sucking the virtue from a torch beam, diffusing the lightinto an aimless dazzle. But just as feet know the path, fingers know the keys. Fifty yards from the Market Place, there is no light pollution, no urban backwash to pale the sky; no flight path, no footfall. There is starlight, frost on the path, and owls crying from three parishes.
You sleep well in this house, though if you are here on a weekday morning the trucks and tractors wake you at dawn. Their exudates plaster the roadside windows with a greasy, smearing dirt. The country is not clean or quiet. Through the day hydraulic brakes wheeze as truck drivers come to a halt at the bottom of the hill, at Townsend Corner. But when they say town’s end, they mean it. Beyond the police station, beyond the last bungalow—that is to say, in less than a quarter of a mile—the town becomes open fields. The next settlement is Kerdiston. Its church fell down several hundred years ago. It has no street names and indeed, no streets. Even the people who live there aren’t sure where it is. Its single distinguished resident, Sir William de Kerdeston, moved to Reepham after he died, and lies in effigy on his tomb, resting—if that is the word—in full armor and on a bed of pebbles: his shoulder muscles twitching, perhaps, his legs flexing, every year as we reach the Feast of All Souls and the dead prepare to walk.
When we bought the cottage it had no name or history. It was a conversion of buildings that might once have been a house, or not; most likely it was some kind of agricultural storeroom. At some point early in the 1990s, a Norwich builder knocked four flats and two cottages out of its undistinguished structure of old red-brown brick.
In the winter of 1992-93 we were scouring the county for a weekend place. We went to the coast and deep into the heartland, always keeping in mind the long journey from Berkshireand our need to settle, for weekends, close to my parents, who had retired to Holt. Studded into our Barbour raingear, driving our scarlet BMW, we were a sight to gladden the eyes of any country estate agent. We would see their faces light up, only to assume their habitual gray glaze when we introduced them to our stringent budget and our high requirements. We wanted nothing tumbledown, nothing picturesque, nothing with a small but containable dry rot problem. And nothing too remote, as I might want to stay there alone, and I am myself too remote and nervous and irritable to drive a car. We wanted a shop and a pub, but most Norfolk villages are straggling depopulated hamlets, with a telephone box, if you’re lucky, to mark their center. All the same, we thought there was a home for us somewhere in the county. I’d just won a book prize, so we had unexpected cash to pitch in. Norfolk wasn’t fashionable then. People thought it was too far from London, and it didn’t have what urbanites require, the infrastructure of gourmet dining and darling little delis; it had pubs that served microwaved baked potatoes with huge glum portions of gravy and meat, and small branches of Woolworth in small towns, and Spar groceries in larger villages, and waterbirds, and long reaches of shingle and sea, and a vast expanse of painter’s sky.
By this stage we knew Norfolk fairly well. I had first come to the county in 1980, to stay with friends who were themselves newly settled in a Broadlands village. My own home was in Africa, but my marriage was breaking up. A wan child with a suitcase—an old child, at twenty-eight—I went about to visit people, to stay for a while and drift away again, ending up always back at my parental home, which was then still in the north. I seemed to be perpetually on trains, dragging my luggage up flights of steps at Crewe, or trying to find a sheltered place on the windswept platforms of Nuneaton. As I traveled, I grew thinner and thinner, more frayed and shabby, more lonely. I was homesick for the house I had left, for my animals, for the manuscript of the vast novel I had written and left behind. I was homesick for my husband, but my feelings about my past were too impenetrable and misty for me to grasp, and to keep them that way I often began and ended each day with a sprinkling of barbiturates gulped from my palm, washed down with the water from some other household’s cup. When you take barbiturates at night your dreams are blank and black, and your awakening is sick and distant, the day in front of you like a shoreline glimpsed from a pitching ship. But this is because you need some more. After an hour, you feel just fine.
My Norfolk host was a woman I had known in Africa. Her husband was working abroad again, and she didn’t like to be alone in the country dark. If our strained expatriate lives had not brought us into contact, we would never have been friends; after a while I realized we weren’t friends anyway, so I got on a train in Norwich and never came back. But our long drives about the county, lost in winter lanes, our limp salads in village cafés, our scramblings in overgrown churchyards, and our attention to the stories of old people had made me think deeply about this territory, and want to write a novel set there. After some years, this was what I did.
We had been separated for no more than two years when my ex-husband came to England, changed. I believe people do change; there’s no mileage, really, in believing the opposite. I also had changed. I was living alone. I was sick with a chronic illness, swollen by steroid medication, and a cynic in matters of romance. Of Freud’s two constants, love and work, I now embraced just one; I was employed six days a week at two illpaid jobs, days in a bookshop and nights behind a bar, and I got up at dawn to write my journals and stabilize my body for a venture into the world. I kept notes for future books; at that time, 1982, I had published only one short story. I had given up barbiturates. I don’t remember exactly when I stopped, or what I did with the endless supply of tiny pills from the big plastic tub I’d brought from Africa. Did I tail them off? Stop them cold? I don’t know. In view of the claims I will later make for my memory, this causes me concern. Perhaps they brought their own oblivion with them, each rattling little scoop of pinheadsized killers. Since then I have always been addicted to something or other, usually something there’s no support group for. Semicolons, for instance, I can never give up for more than two hundred words at a time.
Whether I was fit, that summer, to make a rational decision—well, who ever knows about that? It seemed that what I had left, with my ex-husband, was more than most people started with. So we got married again, economically, at the registrar’s office in Maidenhead, with two witnesses. It was September, and I felt very ill that morning, queasy and swollen, as if I were pregnant; there was a pain behind my diaphragm, and from time to time something seemed to flip over and claw at me, as if I were a woman in a folktale, pregnant with a demon. Nothing, except for having to get married, would have got me out of bed, into my dress, into my high heels, and into the street. The registrar was kindly, and wished us better luck this time around. There was no ring; as the size of my fingers was changing week to week, I didn’t see the point, and it is possible, also, that I didn’t want to resume the signs and symbols of marriage too quickly. We had lunch in a restaurant in Windsor, in a courtyard overlooking the river. We had champagne. A witness took a photograph, in which I look hollow-eyed, like a turnip lantern. This is how—I have to shake myself to say it—I have been married twice: twice to the same man. I always thought it was a film-people pursuit, or what peroxided football pool winners used to do, dippy people destabilized by good fortune. I thought it was what people did when they had stormy temperaments; it was not an enterprise for the prudent or steadfast. Though perhaps, if you’re prudent and steadfast past a certain point, it’s the only reasonable thing to do. You would go on getting married and married to that person, marrying and marrying them, for as many times as it needed to make it stick.
In mid-January 1993 we made our headquarters at the Blakeney Hotel, a flint ship sailing the salt marshes. We were equipped with sheaves of property details, most of them lying or misleading. For two days we drove the lanes, crossing houses off as soon as we saw their location or exterior. I was recovering from a bad Christmas—bronchitis and a lung inflammation—and I had no voice. But voice was not necessary, only an ability to peer at the map in fading light and at the same time monitor faded fingerposts, leaning under the weight of Norfolk place-names. At five on a Sunday afternoon, in near-dark, we were up to our calves in mud somewhere east of East Dereham, a stone’s throw from an ancient crumbling church and a row of tumbledown corrugated-iron farm buildings, trying to find a track to a forlorn little cottage at the end of a forlorn little row. We gave it up, sat disconsolate inside the scarlet monster, and turned our minds to the M25.
When we returned, still in bitter weather, I had got my voice back and we had narrowed our search. Often, when I was staying with my friend from Africa, we had come to Reepham to shop, and I had looked up at the long Georgian windows of the Old Brewery. It was a pub and small hotel, an elegant redbrick building with a sundial and that Latin inscription which means “I only count the happy hours.” By the time I returned there, ten years on, Reepham had a post office, two butchers, a pharmacy, as well as a telephone kiosk: a hairdresser, one or two discreet antique dealers, a busy baker’s shop which sold vitamins and farm eggs and organic chocolate, and a greengrocer-florist called Meloncaulie Rose. A well-arranged town square was surrounded by calm, wide-windowed houses, and a jumble of cottages tumbling down Station Road. There was no longer a station, though in Victorian times there had been two, and twelve beer-houses, and a cattle market. There had been three churches, but one of them burned down in 1543 and was never rebuilt; the history of the town is of a slow decline into impiety and abstemiousness. On a January day, after I became a resident, a huddled old lady beckoned me from her doorway and looked across the deserted Market Place to the church gates. “What do you make of it?” she said. “More life in the churchyard than in the street today.”
The people of Reepham and the surrounding villages gather in the post office on a Saturday morning. They discuss rainfall—“not enough to wet a stamp,” I once heard a man say. They talk about whether they have put their heating on, or switched it off, and about nonagenarian drivers who crawl the lanes in their Morris Travellers. They are not inhospitable. They don’t make a stranger of you till you’ve lived there for twenty years. They don’t in fact make much of you at all. People once employed on the land are now quite likely to work at a computer terminal. They don’t know you, but they don’t mind that. They’re live and let live. They used to greet each other with “Are you all right?” a question with a unique Norfolk inflection, but they don’t do that so much as they did. They go into their houses early on Christmas Eve and lock the doors. They leave their windfall apples and overproduce of vegetables outside their doors in baskets, for anyone to take, and sell bunches of daffodils for pennies in the spring.
When we went to see the house, the builder’s debris was still in it. We stood in its unfinished rooms and imagined it. We imagined it would be ours. It was cheap, and a minute from the Market Place. At midnight, we left our room at the Old Brewery and walked to the gate: or to where the gate would be. We wanted to see it again, in privacy and silence. As we stood, hunched into our coats on a night of obdurate cold, the tawny owl called out from the tree.
Later we had a plaque made to say “Owl Cottage,” with a picture. But the man did a barn owl, canary yellow and thin, with creepy feet like the feet of a rodent.
It’s a strange phenomenon, the “second home.” Like the second marriage, it’s not something that I ever associated with myself. I thought it was for rich people who drove up prices in the Cotswolds. I never felt guilty about Owl Cottage; there was hardly a queue for it, with its tiny backyard and weekday traffic noise. We hoped that buying it would be the first stage of a permanent move to Norfolk. Getting into our car, the BMW and its less flashy successors, I would imagine this was the final journey and that we were traveling in convoy with the removal van: that we were leaving the southeast behind forever. When I played this game, I would smile and my shoulders would relax. But then we would grind to a halt, at the sight of some carnage or disaster on the M25, and I would have to acknowledge that it was just another short, fraught weekend trip, and that the change in our lives would have to be earned.
For a time, we would visit every two or three weeks, our two cats traveling with us. Released, squalling, from their cage, they would race through the rooms, bellowing, feet thundering on the wooden stairs, driving out the devils only cats can see. Exhausted, they would take to their basket, while we climbed the stairs to a room papered the pale yellow of weak sunshine: better people already, calmer, kinder. On Saturday morning we would make a leisurely circuit of the Market Place, shop to shop, talking to people, posting our parcels, filling my many prescriptions, buying meat for our freezer. In the afternoon we would drive up to Holt to see my parents, with a bag of scones or a cake, some flowers, a book or two; then on Sunday my parents would drive to Reepham, and we would have lunch at the King’s Arms or eat something cold at home: Cromer crabs, strawberries, Stilton. Then it was time to pack the car and go. Routinely, as we left, there was a small ache behind my ribs. I only count the happy hours.
My mother was a tiny, chic woman with a shaggy bob of platinum-colored hair. She usually wore jeans and a mad-colored sweatshirt, but everything she wore looked designed and meant; all the time I’d known her, since first I’d been able to see her clearly, she’d had that knack. My stepfather was younger than she was, by a few years, but he had undergone a coronary bypass, and his brown, muscular body seemed wasted. “Frail” was not a word I would have associated with him, but I noticed how his favorite shirt, soft and faded, clung to his ribs, and his legs seemed to consist of his trousers with articulated sticks inside. Once a draftsman, he had taken up watercolors, trying to fix onto paper the troubling, shifting colors of the coast; earlier in life, he would not have been able to tolerate the ambiguities and tricks of the light. Passion had wasted him, and anger; no one had given him a helping hand, he had no money when money mattered, and he was chronically exasperated by the evasions and crookedness of the world. He was honest by temperament; the honest, in this world, give one another a hard time. He was an engineer. He wrote a small, exact, engineer’s hand, and his mind was subdued to a discipline, but inside his chest his heart would knock about, like a wasp in an inverted glass.
I had been six or seven when Jack had first entered my life. In all those years, we had never had a proper conversation. I felt that I had nothing to say that would interest him; I don’t know what he felt. Neither of us could make small talk. For my part, it made me tense, as if there were hidden meanings in it, and for his part … for his part I don’t know. My mother thought we didn’t get on because we were too much alike, but I preferred the obvious explanation, that we didn’t get on because we were completely different.
Now, this situation began to change. Since his heart surgery, Jack had shown a more open and flexible personality than ever in his life. He had become more patient, more equable, less taciturn: and so I, in his presence, had become less guarded, more grown-up, more talkative. I found that I could entertain him with stories of the writers’ committees I sat on in London; he had been a man who sat on committees, before his enforced retirement, and we agreed that whatever they were for ostensibly, all committees behaved alike, and could probably be trusted to transact one another’s business. On that last afternoon, a bright fresh day toward the end of March, I hung back as we crossed the Market Place, so that my husband and my mother would walk ahead, and I could have a moment to tell him some small thing that only he would like. I thought, I have never done that before: never hung back, never waited for him.
He seemed tired when we got home after the meal. One of the cats, the striped one, used to lure him to play with her on the stairs. Until recently, he had loathed cats, denounced them like a Witchfinder General; he claimed to shrink at their touch. But this tiny animal, with her own strange phobias, fright shivering behind her marzipan eyes, would invite him with an upraised paw to put out his hand for her to touch; and he would oblige her, held there by her mewing for ten minutes at a time, touching and retreating, pushed away and fetched back.
That last Sunday, when she took up her stance and invited him to begin, he stayed on the sofa, smiling at her and nodding. I thought, perhaps he is sickening for something: flu? But it was death he was sickening for, and it came suddenly, death the plunderer, uncouth and foulmouthed, kicking his way into their house on a night in April two or three hours before dawn. The doctor came and the ambulance crew, but death had arrived before them, his feet planted on the hearth rug, his filthy fingerprints on the pillowcase. They did their best, but they could have done their worst, for all it availed. When everything was signed and certified, my mother said, and the men had gone away, she washed his face. She sat by his body and because there was no one to talk to she sang in a low voice: “What’s this dull town to me?/Robin’s not near/He whom I wished to see/Wished for to hear …”
She sang this song to me when I was small: the tune is supersaturated with yearning, with longing for a lost love. About six o‘clock she moved to the phone, but all her three children were sleeping soundly, and so she received only polite requests to leave the message that no one can ever leave. On and on we slept. “Where’s all the joy and mirth/Made life a heaven on earth?/O they’re all fled with thee/Robin Adare.” About seven o’clock, at last, one of my brothers picked up the phone.
You come to this place, midlife. You don’t know how you got here, but suddenly you’re staring fifty in the face. When you turn and look back down the years, you glimpse the ghosts of other lives you might have led. All your houses are haunted by the person you might have been. The wraiths and phantoms creep under your carpets and between the warp and weft of your curtains, they lurk in wardrobes and lie flat under drawer liners. You think of the children you might have had but didn’t. When the midwife says, “It’s a boy,” where does the girl go? When you think you’re pregnant, and you’re not, what happens to that child that has already formed in your mind? You keep it filed in a drawer of your consciousness, like a short story that wouldn’t work after the opening lines.
In the February of 2002, my godmother Maggie fell ill, and hospital visits took me back to my native village. After a short illness she died, at the age of almost ninety-five, and I returned again for her funeral. I had been back many times over the years, but on this occasion there was a particular route I had to take: down the winding road between the hedgerows and the stone wall, and up a wide unmade track which, when I was small, people called “the carriage drive.” It leads uphill to the old school, now disused, then to the convent, where there are no nuns these days, then to the church. When I was a child this was my daily walk, once in the morning to school and once again to school after dinner—that meal which the south of England calls lunch. Retracing it as an adult, in my funeral black, I felt a sense of oppression, powerful and familiar. Just before the public road joins the carriage drive came a point where I was overwhelmed by fear and dismay. My eyes moved sideways, in dread, toward dank vegetation, tangled bracken: I wanted to say, stop here, let’s go no farther. I remembered how when I was a child, I used to think I might bolt, make a run for it, scurry back to the (comparative) safety of home. The point where fear overcame me was the point of no turning back.
Each month, from the age of seven to my leaving at eleven, we walked in crocodile up the hill from the school to the church to go to confession and be forgiven for our sins. I would come out of church feeling, as you would expect, clean and light. This period of grace never lasted beyond the five minutes it took to get inside the school building. From about the age of four I had begun to believe I had done something wrong. Confession didn’t touch some essential sin. There was something inside me that was beyond remedy and beyond redemption. The school’s work was constant stricture, the systematic crushing of any spontaneity. It enforced rules that had never been articulated, and which changed as soon as you thought you had grasped them. I was conscious, from the first day in the first class, of the need to resist what I found there. When I met my fellow children and heard their yodeling cry—“Good mo-ororning, Missus Simpson,” I thought I had come among lunatics; and the teachers, malign and stupid, seemed to me like the lunatics’ keepers. I knew you must not give in to them. You must not answer questions which evidently had no answer, or which were asked by the keepers simply to amuse themselves and pass the time. You must not accept that things were beyond your understanding because they told you they were; you must go on trying to understand them. A state of inner struggle began. It took a huge expenditure of energy to keep your own thoughts intact. But if you did not make this effort you would be wiped out.
Before I went to school there was a time when I was happy, and I want to write down what I remember about that time. The story of my own childhood is a complicated sentence that I am always trying to finish, to finish and put behind me. It resists finishing, and partly this is because words are not enough; my early world was synesthetic, and I am haunted by the ghosts of my own sense impressions, which reemerge when I try to write, and shiver between the lines.
We are taught to be chary of early memories. Sometimes psychologists fake photographs in which a picture of their subject, in his or her childhood, appears in an unfamiliar setting, in places or with people whom in real life they have never seen. The subjects are amazed at first but then—in proportion to their anxiety to please—they oblige by producing a “memory” to cover the experience that they have never actually had. I don’t know what this shows, except that some psychologists have persuasive personalities, that some subjects are imaginative, and that we are all told to trust the evidence of our senses, and we do it: we trust the objective fact of the photograph, not our subjective bewilderment. It’s a trick, it isn’t science; it’s about our present, not about our past. Though my early memories are patchy, I think they are not, or not entirely, a confabulation, and I believe this because of their overwhelming sensory power; they come complete, not like the groping, generalized formulations of the subjects fooled by the photograph. As I say, “I tasted,” I taste, and as I say, “I heard,” I hear: I am not talking about a Proustian moment, but a Proustian cine-film. Anyone can run these ancient newsreels, with a bit of preparation, a bit of practice; maybe it comes easier to writers than to many people, but I wouldn’t be sure about that. I wouldn’t agree either that it doesn’t matter what you remember, but only what you think you remember. I have an investment in accuracy; I would never say, “It doesn’t matter, it’s history now.” I know, on the other hand, that a small child has a strange sense of time, where a year seems a decade, and everyone over the age of ten seems grown-up and of an equal age; so although I feel sure of what happened, I am less sure of the sequence and the dateline. I know, too, that once a family has acquired a habit of secrecy, memories begin to distort, because its members confabulate to cover the gaps in the facts; you have to make some sort of sense of what’s going on around you, so you cobble together a narrative as best you can. You add to it, and reason about it, and the distortions breed distortions.
Still, I think people can remember: a face, a perfume: one true thing or two. Doctors used to say babies didn’t feel pain; we know they were wrong. We are born with our sensibilities; perhaps we are conceived that way. Part of our difficulty in trusting ourselves is that in talking of memory we are inclined to use geological metaphors. We talk about buried parts of our past and assume the most distant in time are the hardest to reach: that one has to prospect for them with the help of a hypnotist or psychotherapist. I don’t think memory is like that: rather that it is like Saint Augustine’s “spreading limitless room.” Or a great plain, a steppe, where all the memories are laid side by side, at the same depth, like seeds under the soil.
There is a color of paint that doesn’t seem to exist anymore, that was a characteristic pigment of my childhood. It is a faded, rain-drenched crimson, like stale and drying blood. You saw it on paneled front doors, and on the frames of sash windows, on mill gates and on those high doorways that led to the ginnels between shops and gave access to their yards. You can still see it, on the more soot-stained and dilapidated old buildings, where the sandblaster hasn’t yet been in to turn the black stone to honey: you can detect a trace of it, a scrape. The restorers of great houses use paint scrapes to identify the original color scheme of old salons, drawing rooms, and staircase halls. I use this paint scrape—oxblood, let’s call it—to refurbish the rooms of my childhood: which were otherwise dark green, and cream, and more lately a cloudy yellow, which hung about at shoulder height, like the aftermath of a fire.
GIVING UP THE GHOST Copyright © 2003 by Hilary Mantel | http://us.macmillan.com/BookCustomPage_New.aspx?isbn=9780805074727 | dclm-gs1-120920001 | false | false | {
"keywords": "blast"
} | false | {
"score": 0,
"triggered_passage": -1
} | false |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.