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artist: Master Toad
title: Chaos EP Floppy Disk
keywords: lobit, ambient, drone, noise
format: Floppy Diskette
label: Dark Forest Media http://darkforestmedia.bandcamp.com/
When good taste in music meets up with a lobit fetish, things gets excited. But when those two are settled down on a true lovable floppy diskette our enthusiasm goes slightly out of control! Alarm bells start to ring and the inner Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah's sofa comes out! Tongues start to go wild, slime splatters around and joyful rays of happiness rush through the body!
Can you feel it? Good music in lobit on a floppy diskette for sure sets my world on fire and upside down like David Bowie in Labyrinth. Don't you want to touch it? Lick it? Hold it in your fingers and insert it in an authentic floppy drive?
To top it off; it's not your regular piece of good music, it's the…
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Hispanics in the 2008 Election: Texas
Texas's Hispanic population is the second largest in the nation. Nearly 8.4 million Hispanics reside in Texas, 19% of all Hispanics in the United States. There are 3.6 million eligible Hispanic voters in Texas, 20% of all U.S. Hispanic eligible voters.1 This fact sheet provides key demographic information on Latino eligible voters.2 It also contains data on other major groups of eligible voters in Texas, with comparative data for the U.S. All data are from the Census Bureau's 2006 American Community Survey.3
Hispanics in Texas's Eligible Voter Population
- Texas's population is 36% Hispanic, the third-highest Hispanic population share nationally. New Mexico ranks first with 45%.
- Almost 25% of eligible voters in Texas are Latinos, the second-largest Hispanic eligible voter population share nationally. New Mexico ranks first with 38%.
- More than 43% of Latinos in Texas are eligible to vote, ranking 22nd nationwide in the share of the Hispanic population that is eligible to vote.
Characteristics of Eligible Voters
- Texas's Hispanic eligible voters are younger than all eligible voters in Texas—31% of Hispanic eligible voters in Texas are ages 18 to 29 versus 24% of all Texas eligible voters.
- Latino eligible voters in Texas are more likely to be naturalized citizens than are all Texas eligible voters—17% versus 7%. Texas Latino eligible voters are less likely to be naturalized than all Latino eligible voters nationwide—17% in Texas versus 26% nationwide.
- The proportion of Hispanic eligible voters in Texas who have attended college or earned at least a bachelor's degree is lower than the proportion of all Texas eligible voters who have this level of education—37% of Hispanics versus 54% of all eligible voters in Texas.
- The percent of Latino eligible voters in Texas who live in an owner-occupied home is similar to that of all eligible voters in Texas—68% versus 70%.
Characteristics of Eligible Voters in Texas, by Race and Ethnicity
- Latino eligible voters outnumber black eligible voters in Texas by a margin of nearly 2 to 1—3.6 million Latinos compared with 1.8 million black eligible voters.
- Hispanic eligible voters are younger than white or black eligible voters in Texas—31% of Hispanic eligible voters are ages 18 to 29 compared with 20% of white and 27% of black eligible voters.
- Hispanic eligible voters are less likely than other groups of eligible voters to have attended college—37% versus 62% for white and 48% for black eligible voters.
- Hispanic eligible voters are less likely than white eligible voters in Texas to live in owner-occupied homes—68% versus 75%. HHispanic eligible voters are more likely to reside in owner-occupied homes than black eligible voters—68% versus 49%.
- In this fact sheet, eligible voters are defined as U.S. citizens ages 18 and older. Eligible voters are not the same as registered voters. To cast a vote, in all states except North Dakota, an eligible voter must first register to vote. ↩
- The terms "Hispanic" and "Latino" are used interchangeably. References to "whites" and "blacks" are to the non-Hispanic components of those populations. ↩
- The specific data set used to derive estimates contained in this fact sheet are from the University of Minnesota's Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) for the 2006 American Community Survey (1% sample). Information can be found on the following Website: http://usa.ipums.org/usa/. The estimates in this fact sheet are subject to sampling error. Also, estimates in this fact sheet will differ from estimates that may be published by the Census Bureau because of differences between the data used by the Census Bureau and the data it has released for public use. Further information on Census data and on sampling error in the data is available at http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/2006/AccuracyPUMS.pdf. ↩

subset: commoncrawl


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Sully wrote:Nighthawk, rejuvenating EE wars is very large part of keeping people interested in kaw. The current system of events isn't enjoyable yet it's made worse if one is an attack build
I'm with u on all of that. I simply find events boring and no skill needed excepting participation on unloads every hour or more. Doesn't take a genius to figure that much out lol. Being my size i have 40k already and playing out the string. Same place same time same channel next event.....ho hum.


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Paul Taylor is Friends of Europe Fellow, Author of Friends of Europe report "Crunch time: France and the future of European defence" and European Affairs Editor at Politico
Much has changed since France elected Emmanuel Macron as president in May, but a lot has stayed the same.
As predicted in the Friends of Europe report on France and the future of European defence published in April, Macron has expressed a strong desire to pursue European defence integration, both through the European Union's institutions and via bilateral cooperation with Germany. He has reaffirmed France's commitment to NATO, including the integrated military structure, strong bilateral strategic cooperation with the United States (even under the erratic Donald Trump), an active role in international security and achieving NATO's two per cent defence spending guideline by 2024. However, his first steps in office have told a rather different story.
One of Macron's first moves was to shunt widely admired Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian off to the foreign ministry ‒ a promotion in cabinet rank only ‒ and to clear out the powerful team that had helped Le Drian deliver growth in the defence budget and a pipeline of equipment modernisation. Casualties included the head of the arms procurement agency. They had fallen foul of the powerful finance ministry by extracting spending increases badly needed by the severely overstretched armed forces.
The new president's first pick as defence minister, former MEP Sylvie Goulard, was a committed European integrationist and a strong Germanophile, but by her own admission no expert on defence. Some saw this as a signal that Macron wanted to take defence into his own hands. Others saw it as a deliberate downgrading of what was renamed 'the ministry of the armies'. Goulard began by building strong ties to her German opposite number, Ursula von der Leyen, and telling the top brass and the defence industry she expected them to make European cooperation, especially with Germany, their top priority. By all accounts, she met some resistance, notably from the military-industrial complex.
Macron has expressed a strong desire to pursue European defence integration
Goulard lasted only a few weeks before resigning due to a probe into her centrist MODEM party's alleged abuse of European Parliament funds ‒ earmarked for MEPs' assistants but used to pay Paris headquarters staff. She was replaced by Florence Parly, a former Socialist junior budget minister, who knew even less about defence or EU integration, but had a track-record as a cost-cutter.
Far from increasing the defence budget, the government announced in July it would slash €800m in military spending from the 2017 budget ‒ a reduction of more than two-and-a-half per cent in mid-year and the largest cut in any ministry ‒ as part of a drive to meet its commitment to bring the deficit below three per cent of GDP.
When the chief of staff for the armed forces, General Pierre de Villiers, voiced anger behind closed doors to parliament's defence committee and his barrack-room language was leaked to the media, Macron rebuked him publicly in a speech at a Bastille Day eve military reception, saying: "I am your chief." De Villiers resigned the following week and was replaced by a general willing to implement the cut, largely by delaying equipment purchases. Confidence within the armed forces was at low ebb. The President drew criticism, notably from conservative media, prompting him to promise that defence spending would be the only post to rise in the 2018 budget, and to reaffirm his pledge to the medium-term two per cent goal.
Eager for action-man photo opportunities, Macron visited French troops in Mali, and made clear that Paris would maintain its Operation Barkhane against Islamist fighters across the Sahel region, as well as its active bombing and special forces role in the anti-ISIS coalition in Syria and Iraq.
Macron was winched from a helicopter onto a nuclear submarine where he stated his commitment to maintaining and modernising France's nuclear deterrent. He said he would review and adapt Operation Sentinelle ‒ the military presence on French streets to guard public buildings, reassure the public and deter terrorist attacks. But the continued attacks by lone wolf Islamist militants make it hard to reduce the level of alert or take many troops off the streets.
Four months into Macron's presidency, the gap between high ambitions and the reality of actions yawns wide
A joint Franco-German cabinet meeting in July endorsed ambitious plans both for launching 'permanent structured cooperation' (PESCO) on defence in the EU by the end of the year and for a range of armaments cooperation initiatives. Paris and Berlin pledged to develop a joint next generation fighter aircraft, as well as to cooperate on a main battle tank, drones and other weapons systems. Such far-reaching projects have been aborted or come to grief in the past, but there does appear to be political momentum behind this renewed effort, not least because neither country can afford to develop such major systems on its own any more.
Macron's rhetorical commitment to work with European allies was however swiftly contradicted by some of his first diplomatic and industrial initiatives. He summoned the rival leaders of Libya's feuding factions to talks in France without involving Italy, the former colonial power in the North African state and the main recipient of refugees flooding unchecked across the Mediterranean from its shores, or Germany, the ultimate destination of many migrants. The President also announced his intention of nationalising the STX shipyard, which builds warships as well as cruise liners, to prevent it falling under the control of an Italian company. This was seen in Rome, and elsewhere in the EU, as an anti-European act of economic nationalism.
Four months into Macron's presidency, the gap between high ambitions for European cooperation and the reality of spending cuts and headline-grabbing unilateral actions yawns wide. Things may settle down once the president feels he has asserted his authority at home and on the European stage. The real strategic and industrial choices lie ahead. Macron will need to be more consistent in walking the walk of European cooperation, and making the French defence establishment and military industries walk with him, if the Franco-German EU defence initiative is to bear fruit and not produce more disappointment.
Related content:
- Crunch time - France and the future of European defence, by Paul Taylor
- Our event on 6 September: Crunch time - France and the future of European defence
IMAGE CREDIT: CC/Flickr – The White House


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Travel the world with TEFL
Teaching English as a Foreign Language is a fantastic way to travel the world and discover what it's like to be immersed in a different culture. Inspire others to learn the English language while getting paid to support your adventure overseas!
Courses in Milton Keynes
TEFL courses for everyone
We believe that one size doesn't fit all when it comes to TEFL courses. That's why we offer a wide selection of courses to suit every schedule and budget! From 20 or 30 hour classroom training courses to 150 hour combined classroom and online training courses, there really is something for everyone.
TEFL Org is the most highly accredited TEFL provider in the UK, so no matter which course you choose to take, you will receive an internationally recognised TEFL certificate at the end of your training. Most employers look for new teachers to have at least 120 hours of TEFL training so we do recommend our Premier TEFL courses if you want to stand out to TEFL employers!
Every year, we train recent graduates, school leavers, gap year travellers, career changers and retirees to teach English as a foreign language and an impressive 78% of them go on to teach overseas once they qualify.
Upcoming TEFL courses in Milton Keynes
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|Holiday inn
|Start: Oct 12th 2019
End: Oct 13th 2019
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|Good availability
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|Holiday inn
|Start: Dec 14th 2019
End: Dec 15th 2019
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|Holiday inn
|Start: Feb 15th 2020
End: Feb 16th 2020
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Course Location
Location: Holiday inn, 500 Saxon Gate West, Milton Keynes, MK9 2HQ
TEFL courses Milton Keynes
Our 20 hour weekend TEFL course in Milton Keynes provides you with all the knowledge and skills that you need to be able to create, plan and deliver your very own TEFL classes. The classes are fast paced and great fun as you work in groups throughout the course, completing activities and games in order to absorb what you learn most effectively.
Our TEFL course in Milton Keynes is also a fantastic way to expand your contact list by meeting new, like-minded people to share your TEFL experience with!
What's included
FREE hardcopy coursebook
A reference letter from your course tutor
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Course Reviews
Please click on the question to view the answer:
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Q2. How long does it take to find employment as a TEFL teacher once I qualify?
Q3. What will my TEFL Certificate say on it?
Q4. How many people will there be on the weekend TEFL course?
Our approach
It's hands on! During our TEFL Milton Keynes courses our experienced trainers explain and demonstrate where appropriate but we make sure our students get involved as much as possible. The best way to learn to TEFL is to TEFL, so look forward to lesson planning, games and taking part in activities created by other people on the course.
You will create your very own lessons and have the chance to teach your peers. The course will enable you to fully understand how to adapt your lessons to suit different age groups and English levels.
The topics of classroom activities vary greatly from lesson to lesson, so no matter what your educational/professional background, you will have something interesting to bring to the course.


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This year's GOTJ lineup keeps getting fresher and fresher as the bombs continue to drop!
Ohhhhh shit! This is something that I personally have been waiting for for a minute now!
Metal queens The Butcher Babies have been added to the Whoopstock lineup! Peep the flavor straight from ICP's socials:
Start a muthafuckin pit! Murderous metal wicked vixens of the world stand up, and get ready to welcome the infamous BUTCHER BABIES to the Juggalo Family! Making their GOTJ debut, the Queens of Metal are bringing it live and in effect as only they can! But don't let their striking beauty fool you–dazzling but deadly metal mayhem awaits as the blood rains down from the sky as you enter their Butcher shop of horrors! Get ready for the ride of your life as the first ladies of hardcore take the wheel and lead you on a death ride! Hop in! You don't have anything to be afraid of, do you? Muhahahaha! #Whoopstock
Who's ready to enter the butcher shop muddafackoos?!
DAAANG. Let me recap for a second… So now that makes it: ICP's Hell's Pit along with a full ICP set, The Full Psychopathic Records roster, Killjoy Club, Tech N9ne, Esham, Yelawolf, Hopsin, Immortal Technique, CKY, RA the Rugged Man, Attila, Seed of 6ix, Kingspade, JellyRoll, Mac Lethal, the Butcher Babies, and mad throwback Whoopstock tribute swag on top of that?
What the fuck. This lineup is insane. Cop yo tickets today at JuggaloGathering.com!
The countdown to Whoopstock continues!
from Faygoluvers https://ift.tt/2HRO4dw


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Sanctuary Staple Pant
Designed, printed & handmade locally in Australia.
This swimsuit is made from LYCRA® XTRA LIFE™ containing Econyl®, a fibre made using ghost nets and waste from landfill.
- Premium recycled and sustainable Italian Lycra
- Handmade in limited numbers
- Exclusive hand-painted watercolour textile print
- Features watercolour feathers of Australian native birds
- Seamless and fully lined with premium lining
- Hardware Free
- Full Coverage
- Model is wearing a size 8
- Soft and durable - Two-way stretch - Shape retention - Chlorine resistant - Excellent UV protection
For all orders placed before 10am AEDT, we endeavour to process the same business day. Orders placed after 10am AEDT will be processed the next business day. For more info on deliveries, please check out our Shipping page.
Shapes in the Sand is dedicated to customer service and ensuring that you are completely happy with your purchase. If you are not 100% satisfied with your purchase, you can return it for a full refund or exchange. For more info please check out our Returns page.


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The Apostolic Fathers, the earliest extant Christian writings outside the New Testament, are a primary resource for the study of early Christianity. These writings provide significant and unparalleled insight into the Christian movement during a critical transitional stage in its history. more
Hermas was a well-to-do freedman who lived in Ancient Rome. He was a brother of Pius, Bishop of Rome about the middle of the 2nd century. He was an earnest simple-minded Christian, with little education or culture, but typical, no doubt, of many in the Church of his day. Some later writers confuse him with the Hermas mentioned in Romans xvi, 14.


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Property Type:
Lot or Land
Coming Soon
Available Soon: Lots 18,19,23,25 and 26
View Plat PDF
South Tyler's newest development in sought after Tyler ISD, Jack, Three Lakes, Robert E. Lee school district. Membership to the new Tyler Tennis and Swim is included with ownership. Houses to start in the $140's/sqft.


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Wine Glass Happening
Installation dimensions variable
wine glasses, water, folding tables
Done in collaboration with Ryan Hinkel and Maggie Manzer
Over 50 wine glasses filled with water were arranged underneath Philadelphia's abandoned Reading Viaduct so that nearby gallery goers and random passersby could participate in a unique sonic event. Done in collaboration with Ryan Hinkel and Maggie Manzer. For a detailed account of the event:
Filmed by Ted Passon
Edited by Mike Fleming


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The Hotel Association of Rajnandgaon shall celebrate the occasion of Earth Hour 2018 by switching off unnecessary lights at all the hotels in Rajnandgaon. Many hotels shall also be conducting small functions to create awareness in support of the global movement to switch off and give up non-essential consumption of the planet's resources.
© 2018 WWF-India. All Rights Reserved.


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In the Coptic Christian village of Dalga in Egypt, Muslim Brotherhood members and their backers have instituted Islamic law, complete with the Koran's mandated jizya tax on unbelievers, according to author Raymond Ibrahim. The jizya tax, according to Ibrahim, was instituted historically to pay Islamic masters "'with willing submission and while feeling themselves subdued' to safeguard their existence."
There are 15,000 Coptic Christians in the area paying the tax. Fr. Yunis Shawqi said that the cost varies between "200 Egyptian pounds per day [and] 500 Egyptian pounds per day." Families who do not pay are physically assaulted. Syrian rebels are also instituting the jizya tax in certain areas they control.


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My maker starter lab setup suggestions
What should you get to start making with electronics? Maker.io recently published a good list. While I agree with much of it, I'd make some changes. So here, then, is my suggestions for setting up a starter lab, as well as ideas for upgrading later.
Basic setup
- Electronics needs …


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- Research article
- Open Access
Bivariate segmentation of SNP-array data for allele-specific copy number analysis in tumour samples
- David Mosén-Ansorena1Email author and
- Ana María Aransay1
© Mosén-Ansorena and Aransay; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2013
- Received: 3 July 2012
- Accepted: 28 February 2013
- Published: 5 March 2013
SNP arrays output two signals that reflect the total genomic copy number (LRR) and the allelic ratio (BAF), which in combination allow the characterisation of allele-specific copy numbers (ASCNs). While methods based on hidden Markov models (HMMs) have been extended from array comparative genomic hybridisation (aCGH) to jointly handle the two signals, only one method based on change-point detection, ASCAT, performs bivariate segmentation.
In the present work, we introduce a generic framework for bivariate segmentation of SNP array data for ASCN analysis. For the matter, we discuss the characteristics of the typically applied BAF transformation and how they affect segmentation, introduce concepts of multivariate time series analysis that are of concern in this field and discuss the appropriate formulation of the problem. The framework is implemented in a method named CnaStruct, the bivariate form of the structural change model (SCM), which has been successfully applied to transcriptome mapping and aCGH.
On a comprehensive synthetic dataset, we show that CnaStruct outperforms the segmentation of existing ASCN analysis methods. Furthermore, CnaStruct can be integrated into the workflows of several ASCN analysis tools in order to improve their performance, specially on tumour samples highly contaminated by normal cells.
- Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Array
- Allelic Ratio
- Bivariate Case
- Affymetrix Platform
- Minkowski Distance
Two chief genetic instabilities associated to tumoural cells are genomic copy number alterations (CNAs) and somatic loss of heterozygosity (LOH) events, which represent a deviation from the normal allele-specific copy numbers (ASCN). Both imbalances have been reported to affect the expression of oncogenes and tumour-suppressor genes [1], and therefore, the accurate characterisation of ASCNs in tumoural samples is critical in order to identify candidate cancer-related genes, to discriminate cancer types [2] and to understand tumour initiation and complexity [3].
Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays of Illumina [4] and Affymetrix [5] platforms allow screening for ASCNs at high resolution and throughout the whole genome by providing measures for the log R ratio (LRR), which reflects the total intensity signals for both alleles, and the B allele frequency (BAF), which is the relative proportion of one of the alleles with respect to the total intensity signal. Both LRR and BAF signals are required for a complete characterisation of ASCNs since they provide complementary information. Yet, although each combination of copy number and allelic ratio has an expected LRR value and a specific BAF pattern, these signals can be blurred due to experimental probe-specific noise and by autocorrelated [6] and dye [7] biases, respectively.
In the study of ASCNs over tumour samples with SNP arrays, three additional issues need to be considered. First, there is a LRR baseline shift that depends on the ploidy of the sample. Second, tumour biopsies can be contaminated with normal cells, whose genotypes are mainly diploid, which make the LRR and BAF signals to shrink and converge towards those of a diploid state proportionally to the degree of contamination [8]. Third, tumours can be composed of several subclones, this is, subpopulations of cells that harbour specific alterations along with the shared ones, which makes LRR and BAF signals even more complex [9]. The second and third tumour-specific issues, together with the experimental noise and biases, affect the ability to correctly delimit regions with different ASCNs. Therefore, inferring change-point locations from tumour samples requires mathematical models whose performance is affected as little as possible by these issues.
Two approaches are used for the detection of ASCNs in tumour samples on SNP arrays, both of which inherit from methodologies applied to aCGH. The most recurrent approach is based on a combination of a hidden Markov model (HMM) and an expectation-maximisation (EM) algorithm. OncoSNP [10] and GPHMM [11] are two recent HMM-based tools validated on Illumina data which, in contrast to previous methods [12-14], are capable of estimating both normal cell contamination and LRR baseline shift. Most existing HMM-based methods, including the two aforementioned ones, integrate the LRR and BAF signals into the same model, which confers them more change-point detection power. Yet, the pre-established levels of HMMs are not prepared to characterise the observed continuous mean levels that arise due to the presence of multiple subclones [9, 15]. Additionally, HMMs require parameterisation on region probability and length, which vary among samples and are not known a priori. Arguably due to the aforementioned issues, in a recent method comparison [16] HMM-based methods were outperformed by a change-point detection method. For this reason, we propose tackling the problem of ASCN analysis from a change-point-based stand.
Methods based on change-point detection algorithms are typically comprised by segmentation followed by a calling step [17, 18]. This approach does not assume pre-established signal levels and does not require parameterisation of a priori knowledge. Two change-point-based approaches for unpaired tumour samples that use both LRR and BAF signals have been developed: GAP and ASCAT. PSCBS [19] also falls into this category, but it only works on coupled tumour samples and does not automatically estimate normal cell contamination. In the segmentation step, GAP segments the LRR and BAF signals independently and merges the change-points with those that come from the detection of LOH germline regions in BAF. On the contrary, ASCAT performs a single bivariate segmentation instead of two univariate segmentations, because the integration of the signals into the same formulation can increase the power to detect dimmer joint changes and reduce false positives. However, the extension from the univariate to the bivariate case is not trivial and depends on the characteristics of the considered segmentation approach, which may fall into one of two broad categories: boundary-based and region-based (see [20] for an analogue distinction in image segmentation).
In the boundary-based differential approach, change-points are seen as inflection points, this is, places where the first derivative has local extrema. Only local information around each point is used to compute the derivative, often resulting in spurious and merged change-points. Multiresolution analysis can be performed by computing the derivative at various window sizes, but region-based approaches are the most adequate to obtain more information for segmentation decisions, although they sacrifice change-point location accuracy. Region-based approaches can be broken down into segment-growing, split-and-merge and global optimisation. Region-growing starts with a number of random single-point regions. Neighbouring points are added to a region if they are similar enough, according to a certain homogeneity criterion; otherwise, a new segment is started. A representative example of split-and-merge is the binary segmentation, which selects as a change-point the position that divides the data into two segments with the most different means. The process is recursively applied to each segment until it cannot be divided into two subsegments with a mean difference that is significant enough. Then, similar regions are merged back together following some pruning criterion. Circular binary segmentation (CBS) [21] is a modification that allows at each step for the detection of one change-point or two, where the subsegment in the middle has a different mean than the other two subsegments. Global optimisation methods try to optimise an objective function, called cost function in minimisation and utility function in maximisation. Some methods, such as the structural change model (SCM) [15, 22], return the actual optimum. Others, namely heuristics, perform a non-exhaustive scan over the combinatorial space of change-points and can thus be trapped into local extrema.
Current change-point detection methods [17-19] are based on region-based segmentation algorithms, which are more adequate for ASCN analysis because finding change-points is more important than establishing their accurate location. More precisely, GAP is based on CBS and ASCAT on bivariate global optimisation. PSCBS, aimed at paired tumour samples, and BAFsegmentation [8] and TAPS [23], which only segment either BAF or LRR, are also based on CBS.
The application of the univariate segmentation methods to the bivariate data from SNP array requires: (i) knowing how the transformation typically applied to the BAF signal influences the applicability of certain segmentation methods and their extension to the bivariate case, and (ii) a mathematical model that generalises the extension from the univariate to the bivariate case. We provide such formalisations, illustrate that the approach taken by ASCAT is a specific case of the bivariate generalisation and discuss why there are more suitable formulations of the bivariate segmentation for ASCN analysis. Then, we show how the bivariate framework is applied to the SCM model in order to achieve CnaStruct, a method that outperforms the segmentation of existing approaches.
BAF transformation and characterisation
The resulting imBAF is not homoscedastic for two reasons: (i) the homozygous band resembles a mixture of a point mass function and a truncated normal distribution with lower variance than its heterozygous counterparts; (ii) the distribution of the heterozygous band, when near the 0.5 axis, is truncated due to the mirroring and thus has lower variance. Nevertheless, homoscedasticity violations seem to be sufficiently small so as to not impact segmentation performance of the approaches we assessed (CBS and SCM).
Non-polymorphic probes yield missing values on the BAF variable. Additionally, the transformation of BAF into imBAF generates more missing values, all of which can be easily removed for the application of univariate segmentation approaches. However, the removal of missing values on bivariate approaches typically implies the exclusion of the corresponding LRR observations and, thus, loss of information. Therefore, missing values should be either handled by the segmentation method or imputed, which can be easily done through interpolation. In general, we observed that constant interpolation is more adequate for change-point detection than linear interpolation, because this latter inserts values that lie between imBAF bands, distorting the profile.
Bivariate segmentation
The model
where k = 1…n indexes the observations of the variable z, t1…ts+1 parameterise the borders of the S segments, μ s is the mean value of the s -th segment and ? k are the residuals.
where lr,s and lb,s are the number of non-missing observations of a segment s present in the LRR and imBAF variables, respectively.
where θ establishes constraints for the number of segments and the maximum allowed segment length. This last constraint reduces computational time complexity from O(n2) to O(nl) [15].
Because this is a fitting problem, Minkowski distances of order p < 1, which model the interaction between the variables as a decay function, are appropriate (Figure 2B). Such approach makes a pair of strong-weak fits result in a lower cost than two average fits, given the same linear combination of residual errors. In other words, it promotes the detection of strong mean shifts albeit in a single variable, such as transitions between segments with same allelic ratio but different copy number. The weighting coefficient β parametrises the relative contribution of the imBAF variable to the cost function. For a balanced contribution, its value should quantify the ratio of informative observations in each variable and the relationship between their signal-to-noise ratios. While the standard deviation is around 6 times larger on LRR independently of the sample data, the expected mean changes depend on the amount of LOH regions and the diversity of copy numbers among other sample factors. The tests we have performed on synthetic data suggest establishing a weighting between variables of β = 1, and show that a Minkowski distance of order of p = 1/4 captures very well the interaction between the variables.
Model selection
Data can always be fitted better by increasing the number of change-points S, so there is a need to find the optimal S. An option is the use of penalised log-likelihoods [22].
where N is the number of observations, S is the number of segments, δ determines the best segmentation with S segments and k = 1. Huber et al. [15] discuss that log-likelihood penalisation overestimates the number of change-points in transcriptional data. In SNP-array copy number data, we found the BIC-penalised log-likelihood to be a satisfactory model selector, but it can be adjusted depending on the desired sensitivity required for downstream analyses.
We built a CnaStruct R package that is freely available at http://web.bioinformatics.cicbiogune.es/cnastruct. The segmentation function is based on the one included in another R package, called tilingArray [15]. Maximum segment length and the number of maximum segments are parameters inherited from such function. The order of the Minkowski distance and the weighing constant between variables are also parameterised, with p = 1/4 and β = 1 set as the default values. Finally, CnaStruct allows the selection of k in the information criterion (default is k = 1, BIC), in order to alter the number of located change-points.
Results and discussion
We evaluated the performance of CnaStruct against the two latest HMM-based methods (GPHMM [11] and OncoSNP [10]) and the two change-point detection methods (ASCAT [18] and GAP [17]) that use both LRR and BAF variables.
All the assessed methods can handle Illumina data, so we evaluated them on the benchmarking dataset from Mosén-Ansorena et al. [16], which simulates data from this platform. The dataset considers five characteristic tumour alteration patterns (near-diploid, near-triploid, near-tetraploid, LOH-enriched and complex) and contains one hundred samples per pattern. Fragments with copy numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 with and without somatic or germline LOH spanning 10, 20, 40, 80 or 160 SNP probes were included and samples were generated at four percentages (0, 25, 50 or 75%) of non-tumoural cell contamination. Longer regions were not included because no major performance differences were expected from the longest considered region on (see Discussion for rationale on this matter). For a more detailed description of the datasets, see Mosén-Ansorena et al. [16].
A true change-point was considered recalled if at least one predicted change-point falls within a window of 3 probes from it, a threshold that is wide enough to recover most of the correct predictions in the benchmark dataset. Furthermore, from such window on, between-method differences do not vary significantly. Given that GAP outputs the result of merging three segmentations, the calculation of the specificity does not penalise repeated calls of the same change-point in order not to deflate its specificity.
The default parameterisations in OncoSNP and ASCAT are aimed to the detection of longer regions than the ones included in the analysed synthetic samples, so, in order to account for parameterisation differences and keep further comparisons fair, we replaced the default sensitivity-related values with those that achieved the best combination of specificity and sensitivity in the corresponding ROC curves. Such combination is called F-measure, the harmonic mean of specificity and sensitivity. However, notice that the traditional F-measure gives the same importance to both measures, which may not be adequate, as it has been noted that sensitivity is preferable over specificity [17]. Certainly, regions with the same allele-specific copy number can be merged a posteriori after excessive segmentation, but missed region borders cannot be recovered if too few change-points have been detected. Hence, long regions are easily identified regardless of parameterisation, but delimiting short regions requires high sensitivity. Because of this, (i) if a posteriori region merging is applied, parameterisations (of the same method) that prioritise sensitivity achieve better results on shorter regions while having similar results on longer ones (see Additional file 1 for an example), and (ii) CnaStruct's downstream improvement is expected to be greater with respect to ASCAT, which mainly delivers lower sensitivity, than with respect to GAP, which delivers lower specificity.
Although we only assessed CnaStruct on Illumina-like data, we ran it in combination with GAP, ASCAT and TAPS on samples from either the Illumina or Affymetrix platform (Additional file 4). Visual assessment (see Additional file 5) shows a good performance, although ASCAT fails at the calling step on the sample with 53% of normal cell contamination. Furthermore, we hypothesise that the improvement with respect to existing methods for the Affymetrix platform is even greater than on the Illumina counterpart, given that the noisier profile of Affymetrix SNP-array data is more appealing for the bivariate segmentation and current methods for Affymetrix data, including GAP, only perform univariate segmentation. Particularly, TAPS [23] is an ASCN analysis tool for the Affymetrix platform whose change-point detection step consists on a simple CBS segmentation over the LRR variable, whose baseline shift is not automatically estimated. Still, when compared to GAP, it delivered a better performance [23]. Given that, as the authors state, the CBS segmentation in TAPS can be replaced by other approaches, we propose the combined use of CnaStruct and TAPS (see Additional file 2) for ASCN analysis on the Affymetrix platform. Given a proper construction of LRR and BAF, we believe that CnaStruct is a sensible segmentation method for high-throughput sequencing (HTS) ASCN analysis too, where, at the moment of writing, the only method that uses BAF [25] does not perform bivariate segmentation.
We have first identified the issues that arise on segmentation due to imBAF characteristics, namely high value missingness and heteroscedasticity. Although such transformation had already been described, no literature existed on how imBAF's peculiarities affect segmentation, and more specifically bivariate segmentation.
Then, we have introduced and formalised the bivariate segmentation of SNP-array data for the characterisation of ASCNs in tumour samples. The formalisation generalises the problem and describes the extension from the univariate to the bivariate case, so further univariate methods can eventually be extended to the bivariate SNP-array case through such mathematical framework. With an appropriately selected Minkowski order, the generalisation considers the interaction between variables and their common features, but it is still capable of retrieving changes in a single variable. Thus, the proposed segmentation approach offers an intermediate stand between univariate approaches (e.g. CBS in GAP), which do not include the information available from both variables in the same model and are prone to skipping changes common to the two variables, and bivariate approaches with p = 1 (e.g. ASCAT), which overestimate the effect of variable interaction and tend to obviate single changes. The advantage of bivariate segmentation is more evident in low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) scenarios, such as high degree of normal cell contamination and samples with high noise levels, where joint variable information reduces the chance of false positives and the promotion of single-variable changes avoids the reduction of recall rates. Additionally, in comparison to the univariate approach, duplicated estimation of change-points is avoided.
CnaStruct exemplifies the benefits of bivariate segmentation with adequately selected Minkowski order and outperforms existing methods at change-point detection on synthetic data. Besides, when coupled with the pattern recognition processes of GAP or ASCAT, the new workflows improve the downstream ASCN analysis in comparison to their original counterparts and the rest of compared methods. Notably, given its performance under the low contrast situations produced by high normal cell contamination levels and intra-tumour heterogeneity, CnaStruct should greatly improve allele-specific copy number characterisation in samples extracted from tumour biopsies, which are typically highly contaminated with normal cells, and in samples from advanced tumours, which are expected to present greater intra-tumour cellular heterogeneity.
DMA is supported by the Government of Navarra, Spain through the grant "Ayuda predoctoral para realizar una tesis doctoral y obtener el título de doctor (Plan de Formación y de I + D 2010/2011)". AMA and the research expenses are supported by the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade of the Government of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country (Etortek Research Programs 2010/2012) and from the Innovation Technology Department of the Bizkaia County.
Authors' Affiliations
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This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


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Dominic Monaghan answered questions from fans about his childhood idols, roles in the trilogy "The Lord of the Rings "and the TV series" Lost»(Lost), as well as future plans.
When you decide to become an actor?
I was six or seven years old when I first saw a picture of " Star Wars: Episode 5 – The Empire Strikes Back . " With the " New Hope "I met later.It turns out that I saw the trilogy in the wrong order. After awhile, I saw the movie " Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark "and was struck by the fact that Harrison Ford appears in the images on the screens of two iconic characters. I asked my father as possible, and he told me about the work of the actors. Therefore, by the age of seven, I firmly decided that I wanted to act in films.
It is true that in confirmation you even took the name in honor of the hero of "Star Wars"?
I wanted to pick Khan, but the parents were told that the name should be in the Bible. Chewbaccathere, of course, also to be found. We had to stay at Luke.
Working with what actors you have the most pleasant memories?
I call Viggo Mortensen and Ian McKellen . They are true professionals, who in each scene laid out a hundred percent. Viggo struck me that fully accustomed to the role. He even went to sleep in the woods to feel Aragorn.
Did you enjoy filming in New Zealand?
I love this country. I have associated with it a lot of pleasant memories. If I have children, I'll be happy to move to New Zealand.
How long have you been there?
Passed for nearly fifteen years since the start of filming of "The Lord of the Rings." We recentlyBilly Boyd returned to New Zealand, visiting places familiar to us. The tavern "Prancing Pony" is always a lot of tourists, and we arranged them a surprise, opening for them the doors of this institution. Billie joked that on the second floor we have rooms in which we live, when the jobless.Fans of the film were happy to see us. We even work a little bartenders.
Reconsider whether you trilogy?
I do not like to watch movies with your participation. In my head always climb the idea that in some scene could have played better. Sometimes remembers how I felt on the day of shooting … maybe reconsider trilogy with their grandchildren or nephews. While not risk spend 12:00 at the screen, not to become the Howard Hughes .
How did you get the role of Meriadoc?
My agent called me to break the news about the beginning of the casting in this project. Father used to read to us, "The Lord of the Rings", so I was familiar with the work of John R. R. Tolkien . While I played a skinhead in the theatrical production in London. His head was shaved, wearing the bruise under his eye, and I myself in those days was a severe chill. On hobbit I frankly did not look like. I auditioned, but I was sure that I will not give up the role. Casting director said that should come later, David Bowie , so I decided to stay and look at him. Do not know who he could play. I think he auditioned for the role of Gandalf, but he would have made of a great and Elrond. Many actors claim to participate in the trilogy … Sean Connery was offered the role of Gandalf, and Russell Crowe could play Aragorn. I heard that Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke were close to getting roles. Anyway, after a while I was in France during the shooting of the TV series. My agent called me with the news thatPeter Jackson wants to meet with me, but I have to fly to Los Angeles or even in New Zealand. Of course, I was ready to travel. But soon the agent called back and said that it is not necessary to fly anywhere. The filmmakers were willing to offer me a role without additional meetings.
Would you prefer to live in Middle-earth or on the Island?
In Middle-earth, because there live magic heroes. Shire is just gorgeous. Nobody would want to leave this world. On the Island, if you remember, everyone was trying to get out.
Do you still communicate with other performers roles hobbits?
Sure. When Billy arrives in Los Angeles, it is necessary to live in my house. Sometimes I manage to see Elijah Wood and Sean Astin . Now everyone is busy with their own affairs, but if we find ourselves in the same city, be sure to try to find time to meet.
In which of the recent movies and TV shows would you like to withdraw?
In " Game of Thrones »(Game of Thrones). Speaking of movies, I dream to get a role in " Star Wars: Episode 7 . "
You were the only bright spot in the movie " X-Men: The Beginning. Wolverine "…
Nice to hear, but do not think Hugh Jackman would agree with this approach. I liked the acting in this movie. Hugh, being a big Hollywood star, proved a great guy with whom to communicate easily. I was happy to work with him.
Which of your heroes close to you in spirit?
Perhaps Charlie from "Lost." He's a nice guy and very similar to me. Charlie made mistakes, but he had a good heart. I think that people could identify with this hero, because he was an ordinary man.
Who came up with that on the fingers Charlie were pasted patches?
Creators have said that my character should have any injuries after the crash. They did not want me there were no scratches. So we decided to wrap the fingers patches. JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelofoffered to write on them the words of four letters. I thought, and decided that FATE will look most appropriate. But then it turned out that matching words are not so much, and we abandoned the idea to change them often.
From working on the project which have the most unpleasant memories?
The film " Soldiers of Fortune , "a role in which performed Christian Slater , Ving Rhames and Sean Bean , we filmed in Ukraine. The director had no idea what he wants, but because the picture has turned weak. The hotel in which we lived was horrible. Actors could return from filming at eight o'clock, and room service ended a few hours earlier. And while I still had a broken leg …
Fans of the series "Lost" farewell tour waiting Driveshaft …
Do Driveshaft and first-round then was not … I would not mind touring this group. Working with Neil Hopkins , who played in the series of my brother, I have the most pleasant memories. We had decided that the reference Driveshaft will reverence tribute band Oasis, which we are fans.
Tell us about your new project, The Hundred Code ?
This buffet series, which I'll be shooting in May. I'll play a New York cop who goes to Stockholm to investigate crimes of a serial killer. My hero has to work in a completely unfamiliar circumstances. I would describe this project as a mixture of films " Seven "and" Lethal Weapon . "


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Members: Alexis Gideon, Michael O'Neil
Princess began in Chicago in 2004 - the culminating project of 7 years collaboration between Alexis Gideon and myself. We played extensively Chicago for 2 years, and toured the US on multiple trips. Though we took this project must more seriously than the rest, it fell to the same fate the Good Time Band Band or Planet Springsteen, ultimately ending in 2006 when I moved to Brooklyn and Alexis moved to L.A. The self-titled album Princess was released on Sickroom Records in 2005. The follow-up record Love, Tiffany was recorded, but never quite finished, mastered or released...
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Capitol Pressroom
Aug. 19, 2013: Governor Cuomo, Larry Levy, NYSAC, fracking
August 19, 2013
Susan Arbetter speaks with Gov. Andrew Cuomo about the week ahead.
Many Long Islanders have often seen the New York City mayor as their mayor because, beyond New York City, many NYC mayors are major figures in the suburbs and in Albany. But Mayor Bloomberg may leave a lighter footprint than his predecessors. Hofstra's Executive Dean for the National Center for Suburban Studies Larry Levy joins us to discuss what Mayor Bloomberg's legacy will look like outside New York.
NYSAC Executive Director Stephen Acquario discusses what a drop in the tax cap from 2 percent to 1.66 percent could mean for counties.
Under the Surface author Tom Wilber discusses the need for getting more data before New York makes a decision on fracking and the infrastructure projects already in the works, like the Constitution Pipeline and Inergy's natural gas storage project in Seneca Lake.◄ Back to PodCasts


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Can you believe Christmas is this weekend?!I certainly can't! It has come way too fast for me this year. I didn't even get all my decorations up this time, so it's a good thing there's one every year haha! Anyway, I'm here to share with you a creation I made for Paper Nest Dolls using "Avery with Bear Friend" . This is one of the few Christmas cards I made this year. I'm hoping to make many more for next year! Anyway, I hope that you like it, I'm really happy with how it turned out!
I colored the image with my copics as usual and added some distressing and die cuts to accent the image, along with a sentiment. The patterned paper is from Doodlebug's "Sugarplums" and "Polar Pals" lines from last Christmas-- it is sadly no longer available. The die cuts I added are from Cottage Cutz and La La Land Crafts.
I hope that you liked my project today! I didn't write down the copic combos I used but they are in the R, RV, B, and BG family for most of it and of course E's for hair and teddy :). Thank you again for stopping by! Don't forget to enter some creations of your own over at Paper Nest Dolls "Anything Goes" Challenge this month!


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When you care to do something, you want to do something; be willing to do something.
To be interested in something; inclined to do something.
(Opposite) To NOT care to do something means that you do not want to do something; have no need of something; have no wish to do something.
1. Mr. President, would you care to comment on the recent issue on racism?
2. I don't really care to see James right now.
3. Would you care to join me for a drink tomorrow night?
4. I don't care for compliments at a time like this!
don't care, don't give a damn, could care less, emotionless, flat, have no need of something, have no wish to do something, have no use for, indifferent, unaffiliated, unattached, uncommitted, unconcerned, uninvolved


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You are here
Korea Food Trading
When Jeffrey Min immigrated to Canada, the Korea-native had aspirations of starting a tofu factory, but what he found was a much larger opportunity. Min identified a gap in eastern Canada's Asian food market, and therefore decided to deliver food products from across the Pacific to Asian consumers looking for familiar brands.
Min moved from British Columbia to Ontario to start up Galleria Supermarkets, which sparked the inception of Korea Food Trading (KFT), an importer and distributor aimed at bringing a wide range of Asian products to the Canadian provinces. "Min established KFT in 2002, but the original company [MWF Trading] dates back to 1987," shares Sam Kim, director of KFT. "Before KFT, we were a small importer and distributor, but when Min came in he wanted to shake things up a bit."
And Min shook things up; he set out to target both Asian consumers and the non-ethnic food market. "We started to try to introduce Korean and other Asian food products to non-Asian businesses and diversify our customer base," explains Kim.
Today KFT operates six locations, including a sister company throughout Canada, with distribution concentrated in the greater Toronto area. Additionally, the company also ships across the country.
"From Ontario to British Columbia to Nova Scotia, we offer local deliveries," notes Kim. "We started out as just a trading company, but we've also opened a new retail location and a second, third and fourth are in the works in Mississauga. We're also looking to expand our warehouse and distribution square footage."
From Noodles to Octopus
KFT advertises more than 10,000 products in a 48-page monthly catalogue that encompasses over 14 major Korean brands. The company services ethnic and mainstream big-name retailers, such as Wal-Mart, Costco, Loblaws, Sobey's, Metro and Highland Farms.
"Our most popular products are grocery items and snacks, such as instant noodles, drinks, condiments and spices," notes Kim. From coarse sea salt to seaweed, vegetable and beef dumplings to fish sauce, oysters and octopus, Oriental-style noodles and even pickled radish, KFT delivers the best of Asia to Canada.
The company sells traditional items, such as black beans, soybean paste, curry powder, soba noodles and all forms of rice used in meal preparation. However, KFT also sells a variety of fun, unusual items to the western world, including banana-flavored milk, instant peanut snacks, specialty cookies and chocolates.
Bringing Asia to Canada
"Non-ethnic customers aren't accustomed to the taste, smell and look of the products so we've had to really work to break into the non-ethnic market," explains Garth Mercer, director of national accounts for KFT, in a news release. "The challenge is how to get a national Korean brand to mean something to the mainstream Canadian consumer."
Part of delivering Asian foods to the non-ethnic market is accessibility, because the majority of Canadian consumers cannot read the product labeling. KFT has partnered with suppliers and major retailers to develop packaging that better suits the Canadian market.
"Consumers need to see the products all the time and everywhere," adds Mercer. "It builds a sense of trust. With national retailers, consumers are more apt to become familiar with products. Every time they go for a shopping trip they come closer and closer to trying something new."
Mercer says it's a lesson in patience. "Commercializing Asian products in the mainstream doesn't happen overnight," he says. "It's a process and an educational experience for both us and our retail partners. It takes time to build an offering that resonates."
Nonetheless, KFT has made great progress over the last three years. "We're getting there," adds Kim. "We're doing four or five times the business we were when KFT first started and we're now supplying products to major nationwide retailers in addition to Chinese and other Oriental markets."
KFT is doing so much business that Kim says the company needs room to grow and is set on future expansion. "We need more room for distribution and warehousing," he notes. "A new 150,000-square-foot warehouse and two new retail locations are in the works."
Even with a slow economy, Kim says KFT continues to see an interest in ethnic foods. "Oriental food markets and restaurants, including Japanese and Thai, have grown rapidly over the last couple of years, because they generally offer healthier food choices," he shares. "If it's unique, flavorful and healthy, it's a win-win."
Through patience, expert marketing and education, KFT has grown to become one of the largest in Canada's Asian foods market. From package design to store manager education, Korea Food Trading is engaging all of the participants in the food chain and delivering traditional Asian products to a non-traditional audience.


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The Christmas Tree Bonfire already once-rescheduled for tonight (Jan. 10) has again been postponed due to weather by the Washington Volunteer Fire & Rescue folks, who were to cosponsor the town of Washington's second-annual event. It's now set for 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 17 at the Avon Hall pond. More details here.
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text: 2015, column, Girls Talk, talk, tolerance Girls Talk #21 – There's No Place For Haters 20/11/2015 No Comments It seems like nowadays there's only one thing to be very proud of: Tolerance. This little word made me write and say so many things and it seems like a lot of people from our generation just don't care anymore. Continue Reading


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Day 16: Drive & Stay from Leh to Alchi
Drive from Leh to Alchi
The drive from Leh to Alchi is relatively easy and not as spectacular as the Manali-Leh route. Somewhat gentler terrain comes as a relief and its beauty has a compelling attraction of its own. The journey to Kargil is 231km with some flat stretches on a good tarmac road and can be completed in a day (8 hours driving time). However, unless you are tired of sightseeing, or in a tearing hurry to get home, the journey is best broken into two parts. Although logically you would expect to stop at Lamayuru, we recommend staying at Alchi (only 64km from Leh and a quarter of your journey), or a well-appointed camp on its outskirts. Lamayuru has limited accommodation of the most basic type while Alchi has good places to stay and eat at reasonable prices – and the clincher of course is its beautiful location by the river!
If you are keen on sightseeing, another reason to make Alchi the night halt is the gompas you can visit en route to it on the first day: Phyang Monastery, Basgo Monastery and Likir Monastery. The next day you can see Alchi and Rizong Gompas before continuing on, past Lamayuru Gompa, on to Kargil via the Fatu La and Namika La passes.
Leh to Alchi: The Journey
Phyang Monastery
The first stop on your journey, after a late, relaxed breakfast, can be the monastery at Phyang. It is located four kilometers off the main highway and is 21km out of Leh. Built in the fifteenth century by the founder of the Namgyal dynasty, the gompa is at the head of a side valley, above a quaint village. Belonging to the Red Hat sect, the central statue in the Dukhang is one of the Amitava, flanked by Avalokiteswara and Tilopa. It is not a hot spot for tourists but it is an active monastery, famous for its Tse-Dup festival held in July/August.
Gurudwara Pathar Sahib
Your next stop can be at Gurudwara Pathar Sahib that lies on your route, 25km out of Leh. This is most un-gurudwara like in its outward appearance and resembles a mini-army camp – not surprising since the army maintains it!
According to legend, in 1517 when Guru Nanak was on his way back after a two year journey to Nepal, Sikkim and Tibet, he stopped and spent time here. The inhabitants of the area complained of being tormented by a 'rakshas' who lived on top of the hill. Guru Nanak is said to have gone into deep meditation and his power thwarted the rakshas' attacks on the locals. Frustrated rakshas decided to eliminate this threat to his domain and rolled a huge rock down the hill, straight at Guru Nanak Ji. Thrilled at his victory, he descended and placed his foot on the rock to roll it over, discovered that it had taken on a wax like character and molded itself around his foe! Finding his own foot now entrapped in the rock, begged Guru Nanak's forgiveness and vowed to serve the very people he had hitherto tormented.
The Gurudwara holds the rock with the imprint of Guru Nanak's sitting body and is visited by people of all the faiths.
Magnetic Hill
The next stop is not one to be missed – around 5km further, you will find a sign on your side of the road that reads "Magnetic Hill". Park your vehicle, turn off the engine, release the brake and you will find yourself moving uphill for a good 10ft or more, without any external assistance! The explanation for this gravity-defying feat is something as mundane as an optical illusion but you be the judge!!
The Confluence Indus & Zanskar Rivers (Sangam)
Five kilometers further, you follow the Indus running through a deep gorge, and emerge to view a dramatic confluence of the muddy Indus with the sparkling blue Zanskar (Remarkably, in September you find the Indus clearer than the Zankar!). The confluence occurs just short of Nimmu (36km from Leh), that has the inevitable rash of dhabas for visiting tourists but not much else to mark it.
Basgo is the next village en route and is only 6km from Nimmu. One cannot fail to notice the remains of an impressive fort on the hillside and a series of dilapidated chortens towards the end of the village. Basgo was used as one of the royal residenses between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the fort was considered impregnable, having survived a three-month siege by the combined Mongol – Tibetan army in the seventeenth century. You can drive up to the two surviving gompas, which lie just below the fort. The higher, Chamba Lha Khong gompa, is better preserved and was consturutced in the sixteenth century by King Tashi Namgyal's son (Chamba is the Ladakhi word for Maitreya). The Serzang (Gold and Copper) Gompa was built in the next century and has a richly carved doorway and a large Maitreya statue whose head is only visible by climbing up to the gallery.
A short drive ahead of Basgo is the turnoff to Likir Gompa, which towers over a village of the same name. The 5km road completes a half circle leading to the top and provides great views, from different angles, of the stark white cluster of buildings and recently built golden Buddha statue reaching towards the heavens. Founded in the eleventh century under the direction of Tibetan Monks, it was taken over by the Gelugpa order in the fifteenth century. The present structure dates back to the eighteenth century, having been rebuilt after a devastating fire.
Returning to the main road, the turn off to Alchi village is only 2km ahead. After crossing the Indus, a steep winding road ascends 2km, past a collection of chortens, to the picturesque village of Alchi. Its location, the beauty of its gompa and the availability of comfortable accommodation is rapidly making Alchi quite a favourite of tourists. Unlike other gompas you actually walk downhill through the village to the unassuming entrance to the Chos-kor (religious enclave) – a complex of five unique temples surrounded by a white mud wall with a patchwork of cultivated fields alongside. It is a charming walk winding past village homes midst apricot trees, with channeled water gurgling alongside as you approach the Dharma Chakra Monastery. A path to the right leads past two large and a row of small prayer wheels, down to the river where you can sometimes spot deer drinking on the opposite bank at dusk. At the entrance are three chortens with vivid paintings on the inside walls and ceiling. Just beyond the entrance is the library containing rare manuscripts and a statue of Avalokiteswara.
Distances: Leh to Alchi
|Destinations en route Leh to Alchi
|Leh – Phyang
21 km
|Leh – Pathar Sahib
25 km
|Pathar Sahib – Nimmu
10 km
|Nimmu – Basgo
06 km
|Basgo – Saspul
19 km
|Saspul – Likir
05 km
|Saspul – Alchi
04 km
photo credit: Bino Caina Alchi via photopin (license)


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Arlington Ruby
We are a fortnightly meetup that sometimes talks about Ruby. Topics are usually Ruby-related, but not always. Most of our members write Ruby code, but not all of them.
We also like to hang out at Northside Social.
You should come hang out.
We're often on the DCTech Slack, channel #arlingtonruby
TweetsTweets by @arlingtonruby
Arlington Ruby wants you and the community to grow so we've built a program to do just that.
Our mentorship program is invite only. That means you have to know someone to get in. More precisely someone has to know you, which means you need to be involved in the community.
Here's how it works:
For 6 months the expectations are:
- The mentor and mentee will meet at least once weekly
- The mentor and mentee will meet in person at least once monthly
When 6 months is over, the mentee is expected to:
- Give a full presentation at a local relevant group (Perhaps at Arlington Ruby)
- Find another person whom you think will benefit from the program and suggest a mentorship
- For 3 months following, be a greeter at Arlington Ruby meetings by finding new people and introducing them to others
Your full commitment is for 9 months although you may continue in a new mentorship with another mentor after your 6 month commitment.
This is designed to help grow your skills and grow the community. It is designed for developers at any level. What you do and learn in the course of your mentorship is up to you so take advantage of it.
Mentorship relationships are suggested by mentors for other mentors/mentees to start. For example, if Allison thinks Brad could use a mentor, it's her job to suggest one but she can't do it herself. This helps us ensure that the community stay connected and get to know each other.


text:
The PR Team of Intel is trying to hide from Chipzilla
To help put Intel's allegations into context. Intel and other technology associations have been made informed of new security research reporting software analysis methods that, when used for malicious plans, have the potential to badly gather sensitive data from computing devices that are working as designed.
By the way, here's what The Creator of Linux kernel Linus Torvalds had to say about this: "I think somebody inside of Intel needs to really take a longspun hard look at their CPUs, and actually acknowledge that they have issues preferably of writing PR blurbs that say that everything operates as designed.
"Is Intel essentially saying 'we are dedicated to selling you shit forever and ever, and never fixing anything'?"
What Intel defined as "software analysis methods," security researchers describe thus: "Meltdown reveals all security assumptions given by the CPU's memory separation capabilities."
"Meltdown" is the nickname given to a side-channel attack on memory separation that affects most Intel chips since 2010, as well as a few Arm cores. Intel's chips may be "producing as designed" but it is this processor design that's the issue; based on the analysis that has been published, the modern design is inadequate and insecure.
Meltdown on Intel CPUs and the Arm Cortex-A75 leaves normal applications to read defended kernel memory, allowing them to steal passwords and other secrets. It is easy to misuse, but easy to patch and workarounds to kill the vulnerability are possible for Windows and Linux, and are already in macOS High Sierra, for Intel parts. There are Linux kernel patches prepared for the Cortex-A75.
There's also extra security flaw named Spectre that affects, to varying degrees, Intel, AMD, and Arm. Depending on your CPU, Spectre provides normal apps to potentially steal data from other apps, the kernel, or the underlying hypervisor. Spectre is hard to exploit, but also difficult to fully patch and is going to be the true stinger from all of this.


text:
Better Text Replacement with CSS
Apr 16, 2009
There are several methods for rendering non-web fonts (eg. Cufón and sIFR). Both are tedious to set up and implement. The easiest alternative is the good old image-instead-of-text trick, but that's not good for SEO, even with alt tags.
There is a way to have SEO text AND use an image as the text. With a little CSS trickery, you can easily achieve the desired effect. Worth noting, however, is that this method is really only good for non-dynamic, fixed width text (such as headings). It's not practical for blocks of text.
The first thing you need is an image for the text you want to replace (and yes, I'm using Comic Sans):
Now for the html code that we'll be working with:

My Heading

The CSS does all the work.
.replace { display:block; height:0; overflow:hidden; font-size:0; letter-spacing:-1em; text-indent:-1000em; } .heading { width:135px; padding:26px 0 0 0; background:url('/images/custom_header.png') no-repeat 0 0; }
First, we make the h1 virtually invisible via CSS by assigning a height and font-size of 0. Then we make sure it's invisible in all browsers by setting the letter-spacing and text-indent. The heading class has a top-padding which creates just enough space to show the image, which we set as the background. Super easy and effective!
You'll notice that I made two classes. I use the replace class as a global for the styles that are common to all replaced text, then the heading class has the unique styles.
Tagged: csstutorialtext replacement


text:
Your everyday food,
That looks like a million,
Tastes like a million!
Tastes like a million!
If I had a day to live,
And had to wish my last meal,
It wouldn't be a fancy Thin Crust Pizzas,
Not even those Sushi Wraps,
It would be a plate full of PaniPuri,
May be a dollop of butter under the fiery PavBhaji.
A nibble of crisp Cheese Grilled Sandwich,
Half an Idlli dunked in golden goodness.
A wedge of the famous ChopsueyDosa,
And bite of my favorite CholeKulchas.
Small serving of Bhurji with Rumali,
And some DalChawal made by Ma.
A Thepla rolled into a pipe,
And Some chilled Lassi to wash it all down.
that's all for the mains folks,
As I am trying to keep it light.
For the desserts,
I'd like some Rabri with piping hot Jalibies,
A Kulfi and make it Pista.
Brownie smeared with gooey goodness,
And scoop of Madagascar vanilla to keep it company.
Mom's famous GajarHalwa,
And some Malpua dripping with Ghee.
Rasmalai with all its succulent goodness.
A hot GulabJamun and that's all that I can eat.
A hot GulabJamun and that's all that I can eat.
Can't afford to look bloated on my last day
So I'll end it with a truffle
So I'll end it with a truffle
Finishing it off with a paan to aid digestion,
Correction, make that chocolate paan :)
So what if it's my last meal,
You better server it in style.
Though my meal choices are not pretentious,
But that shouldn't stop you from laying a spread fit for the Queen.
Reminding me of the beautiful life 'Ive had,
And the infinite possibilities that lay ahead of me.
That's how I'd describe,
What would yours be??
This post is a part of a blogging activity hosted by Indiblogger and Borosil.


text: Duran Duran Concert at Jimmy Kimmel 09/29/2015 We managed to get tickets to the sold out Duran Duran concert at the Jimmy Kimmel show the day before the concert so I was thrilled! They were always one of my favourite bands as a teenager so I was delighted that I would finally get to see them. We arrived at the venue at 4pm and the concert was scheduled to start at 6:30 and we planned to start lining up at 5pm. we waited in the alley along with about 10 other people including paps and pros and not long after the band walked out of the


text:
Book Description
Another deliciously humorous tale about everyoneÂ's favourite Elephant and Piggie. Product Description.
The optimistic Piggie and the pessimistic Elephant are back in their eighth adventure. In Are You Ready to Play Outside?, Piggie can't wait to go and play in the sunshine. But will a rainy day ruin all the fun?


text:
Hi! My name is Lori and I live in a very small SW Missouri town with my husband, Scott, and our 2 sons, Matthew and Shane. We also have a daughter, Abby, who is married to her high school sweetheart and they have a one year old baby girl named Ada, that I get the pleasure of babysitting through the week.
I started scrapbooking about 16 years ago and I haven't looked back since. Nothing relaxes me any more than spending time in my scrap room. I love looking back on all that has happened and preserving those memories! I would call my scrappy style clean and simple, but lately I have really been having fun adding more layers to my layouts.
You can find me at My Happy Life any day of the week. I would love for you to stop by!
My name is Michele. I've been working with Karen here at LM first as a Designer since 2011. Can't believe it. Then she asked for some more permanent help... and I of course said yes... and became a blog Co-Owner about a year 3 years ago. I love seeing this blog grow and transform and see new followers weekly.
I am also currently a designer for Sketches in Thyme.
I have been married for 15 years Have a Daughter and Son, 5thd and 8th grade. They love school, reading and are sports enthusiasts! You name it, they probably play it. I am a pretty busy cheerleader Mom as well as a Coach for son's soccer team with my Husband.
I also work very part time as a Pricing Coordinator for a big retail company. "Retired" from my full time Executive job in 2008 when my Husband and I decided it was more important for me to be home.
I've been scrapping since 1988. But really didn't get serious about it until 1999. I went to my first Stampin' Up party and was hooked.
My style is whatever I am in the mood for. I know so many different techniques, but a lot of time will just keep it clean and simple with clean lines, but love paper layering, for I really just like to get the story down on paper and into my albums.
I also make cards. Lately doing some special projects for friends has kept me pretty busy.
I live in the great Pacific Northwest where I am an avid hiker, waterskier, beach goer, former snowskier and soccer player. I love a good book, movie, board games and we can't forget good ol' reality TV.
So much more to learn as we all share our scrapping layouts for the next 6 months. You can find more on my blog Michele's Scrappin' Memories and More..
Hi I am Tina. I am so excited to be here today. Thank you to Lasting Memories for giving me the opportunity. I live in South Williamsport, PA. I am married to a wonderful man now 21 years between the 2 of us we have 8 kids, 17 Grandkids, 1 Greatgrandkid and another on the way :) We are the owners to 1 fur-baby too, Buddy an Australian cattle dog (Blue Heelers) and has been part of our lives since 2004. I'm a mold ejection laborer employed through a temp agency.
I started scrapbooking in 2007 when 2 coworkers/friends took me to my first crop, one of the girls said all I needed to bring was the pictures and anything special to go with them, she provided me with my first album and I had access to her supply of paper. I fell in love with the hobby that day and have been doing it since, that year for Christmas they gave me my first tote-bag kit that I still use when going to crops. I love to scrap in my Scrapcave (scraproom) it gives a chance to relax and enjoy the process of preserving memories. I scrap, make cards, smash and project life.
You can find me at Tina's Scrap Corner I look forward to meeting you all soon :)
I have been happily married to hubby for 13 yrs this coming August, but together for 23 this coming June! Two amazing kids, Andrew (19 this June) and Ashleigh (14 this past Oct). We had a lot of changes in our household these past few months! After being home for 17 yrs, I decided to go back to working full time - mornings at a church office and afternoons/evenings at an Optometrist office. I am totally loving it! Hubby changed jobs after being with the same boss for YEARS (best decision ever!) Andrew started University so living away from home and Ash started high school. A LOT of changes and adjustments so my scrapbooking really took a hit. I am going to work hard at getting back to a routine and in my craft room!
I have been crafting for many years. I started out as a CM consultant, then went to my first CTMH party and was hooked. I've been a consultant with them since 2007 :) A very close friend and I co-host 3 retreats a yr and I use that time to get ahead on my layouts!
We are a very animal friendly home .. we have 2 cats and 3 dogs .. our newest addition being little Ace, a boston terrier/pug cross for our daughter this past Christmas. Life is a little hectic, but I wouldn't change it for a thing!
I am not a chronological scrapper - I am seriously all over the map lol and I work with whatever I have within reach. I love to challenge myself, I have a hard time with sketches (tend to do a lot of tweaking!) and sometimes I sit and stare at a page for what feels like hours before I get that "That's IT!" feeling of the final touch. I have turned one of the kids old bedrooms into my craft room, love it! Now I just need to organize it (Yikes!)


text:
A gunman threatened a terrified shop worker during an armed raid at a newsagents.
Two men - one of them carrying a firearm - burst into the L&C Bedford News on Galsworthy Road in Southey Green and demanded cash from a member of staff behind the till.
No one was hurt but a quantity of cash and alcohol was taken.
The incident happened on Saturday, March 12, at 9.50pm but police have only just released details. Detectives have now issued CCTV images of a man they are tracing in connection with the crime.
Detective constable Lindsey Fishwick said: "As part of an extensive investigation we have so far explored a number of lines of enquiry and are now appealing to find this man as we believe he could hold vital information.
"Although no one was hurt in the incident this has been extremely traumatic for the victim and anyone who may have any information is asked to contact police."
Contact police with information on 101 quoting incident number 1346 of March 12.


text:
It is now 12 weeks till the Leaving Cert and its safe to say i'm freaking out . The mock results were painful and I realised despite various attempts to study I know litrally an astonishing amount of usless information regarding each subject . Is it too late to get 500 points ?
I'm in the same position! My course was 520 last year and I din't come close in the Pre's 🙁 I've decided to just cut the crap and get stuck in, it's all we can do really! I made out a list of everything I need to know for each topic and am just about to make a study timetable based on that to help me focus! You have to be realistic, don't schedule 3 hours study on a Monday if you know you're gonna get loads of homework that day etc. I'm scared too but we don't have a choice!
Im in the same boat!! panicking big time but I think the best idea is just to get really stuck in now till june! only another few weeks and it will all be over! 😀 Im just trying to keep in mind how bad ill feel if i know i could have done better, and how good ill feel if I get my course! it will definitely all be worth it in the end! we wont even remember how horrible these twelve weeks were when were in college having the time of our lives next year! just keep positive and keep studying!!!
i got 480 in my mocks but panicking as i need at least 540.
i am only realising we have bout 6wks until orals and my teachers have done absolutely nothing.
i am fluent in irish and haven't done any prep.tink i should start writing up answers.
where did the year go?
only 12 weekends left.
i have decided 2 stop doin hw as it is a waste of time. tink i'll start goin 2 library at lunch time 2 do oral. any tips for french and irish oral prep.
good luck wif study. i can't imagine opening my letter and not getting 500. it would be the most awful feelin.
btw if da rest if u r panicking like me mayb should go to institute of education revision course. went at Xmas was excellent goin bck at easter
We have a system for learning maths based on video tutorials, covering Project Maths Strands 1 and 2. You can get a free trial to see if you like it, it includes lots of algebra videos which help you put a good foundation in place.
You can also follow us on Twitter @TheMathsTutor to find out about promotions. Have a look, we think you will like our approach to Project Maths.
don't be panicking.!! it's ONLY THE MOCKS.!! i failed 3 of my mocks and i'm not freaking out, i know i need to work harder and thats what i'm doing, its not too late to get more points just put the work in and the results will show in august 🙂