text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Dec 28, 1999
|Filing date
|Dec 19, 1996
|Priority date
|Dec 19, 1996
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|R. Victor Klassen, Steven J. Harrington, Thyagarajan Balasubramanian, Ricardo L. de Queiroz
|Original Assignee
|Xerox Corporation
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (7), Non-Patent Citations (4), Referenced by (61), Classifications (13), Legal Events (10)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This invention relates generally to the processing of compressed digital images, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for accomplishing the color correction of a compressed image so as improve the efficiency of processing of the color image.
The following related applications are hereby incorporated by reference for their teachings:
"FAST PREVIEW PROCESSING FOR JPEG COMPRESSED IMAGES," Ricardo L. de Queiroz, application Ser. No. 08/537,056, filed Sep. 29, 1995; and
"METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING OF A JPEG COMPRESSED IMAGE," Ricardo L. de Queiroz, application Ser. No. 08/721,130, filed Sep. 26, 1996.
The present invention is directed to improving the efficiency of color correction operations. In particular, this invention capitalizes on the need to store digitized images in a compressed format, and incorporates color correction with compression or decompression operations so as to accomplish certain aspects of color correction on compressed images in a computationally efficient manner.
Data compression is required in data handling processes, where too much data is present for practical applications using the data. Commonly, compression is used in communication links, to reduce the transmission time or required bandwidth. Similarly, compression is preferred in image storage systems, including digital printers and copiers, where "pages" of a document to be printed are stored temporarily in precollation memory. The amount of media space on which the image data is stored can be substantially reduced with compression. Generally speaking, scanned images, i.e., electronic representations of hard copy documents, are often large, and thus make desirable candidates for compression.
The present invention has application to both lossy and lossless compression schemes. The DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform), a variable-length encoding standard, disseminated by the JPEG committee, is a lossy compression scheme which reduces data redundancies based on pixel to pixel correlations. The Lempel-Ziv scheme is for lossless compression, including for example, the LZW scheme described in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,302 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,814,746 patents. Like LZW, the Huffman scheme and other lossless compression equivalents are capable of compressing data without any loss of image data, albeit typically at a compression ratio that is lower than that for lossy compression. Generally, an image does not change very much on a pixel to pixel basis and therefore has what is known as "natural spatial correlation". In natural scenes, correlation is generalized, but not exact. Noise makes each pixel somewhat different from its neighbors, but the natural spatial correlation enables not only the compression of digital image data, but the performance of certain image processing operations on the compressed data. Contrariwise, in synthetic graphics and computer-generated text, the correlation tends to be much higher, with colors limited to a small set. The limited set of colors and high correlation make these image types good candidates for lossless compression, at possibly higher compression ratios than those achievable with lossy compression schemes.
Heretofore, a number of patents and publications have disclosed image compression and color correction, the relevant portions of some may be briefly summarized as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,408,425 to H. S. Hou, issued Apr. 18, 1995, hereby incorporated by reference for its teachings, discloses a processor and method of computation for performing a discrete cosine transform.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,31 9,724 to S. M. Blonstein et al., issued Jun. 7, 1994, teaches an apparatus and corresponding method for compressing still images while remaining compatible with a JPEG transformation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,275,413 to Sakamoto et al. discloses a color space transformation where information is placed into lookup tables and stored in a memory--where the lookup table relates input color space to output color space. Sakamoto teaches a "unit cube interpolation unit" having known vertices. The lookup table is commonly a three dimensional table since color is typically defined with three variables.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,376 to Harrington teaches the conversion of input device signals Rs, Gs, Bs, generated by an image input terminal, to colorimetric values Rc, Gc, Bc, the colorimetric values being processed to generate address entries into a lookup table to convert them to Cx,Mx,Yx,Kx colorant signals or any multi-dimensional output color space, which includes but is not limited to CMYK or spectral data. Values not directly mapped may be determined using tetrahedral interpolation over a hexagonal lattice where the lattice is formed by offsetting every other row in at least one dimension.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a method for performing color correction of a compressed digital image, comprising the steps of: retrieving from memory a compressed unit of image data; partially decompressing the compressed unit to produce a partially decompressed unit representing part of the information describing a region of the image in a first color space; performing color correction on the partially decompressed unit to produce a corrected unit in the first color space; subsequently decompressing the entire corrected unit to produce decompressed, corrected image data; and converting the decompressed, corrected image data into a second color space image for rendering.
One aspect of the invention deals with a basic problem in digital image processing systems--the memory and computationally intensive operations of image processing, particularly color correction. This aspect is further based on the discovery of a technique that alleviates this problem. The technique accomplishes the color conversion of an image segment or block while it is in a digitally compressed form--produced by lossy or lossless compression operations.
This technique can be implemented, for example, by the modification of basic JPEG or LZW compression engines, where correction operations are performed on the compressed image data (compressed units). Accordingly, the technique has application to any number of systems, including digital printers and copiers where there is a requirement to provide color correction of the digital image. A machine implementing the invention can include a data or image processing system having the capability of image compression. The techniques and system described herein are advantageous because they are efficient and result in the ability to accomplish basic image processing with little additional hardware or processing as compared to other memory intensive approaches.
FIG. 1 is a generalized block diagram of an exemplary printing system providing an embodiment for the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating the operations and resultant data for a generalized embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a flow chart depicting the various processing steps in a JPEG image system operated in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is an illustration of the zigzag scanning path employed to vectorize the coefficients in a DCT coefficient matrix;
FIG. 5 is an illustration of the regions of the DCT coefficient matrix employed for various embodiments of the JPEG image compression process depicted in FIG. 3; and
FIG. 6 is a flow chart depicting the processing steps of a lossless compression system operated in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention.
The present invention will be described in connection with a particular lossy (i.e., JPEG) compression embodiment, however, it will be understood that there is no intent to limit the invention to the embodiment described. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
For a general understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals have been used throughout to designate identical elements. In describing the present invention, the following term(s) have been used in the description.
The term "data" refers herein to physical signals that indicate or include information. When an item of data can indicate one of a number of possible alternatives, the item of data has one of a number of "values." The term "data" includes data existing in any physical form, and includes data that are transitory or are being stored or transmitted. For example, data could exist as electromagnetic or other transmitted signals or as signals stored in electronic, magnetic, or other form. An "image" is a pattern of physical light. An image may include characters, words, and text as well as other features such as graphics. An image may be divided into "segments," each of which is itself an image. A segment of an image may be of any size up to and including the whole image.
An item of data "defines" an image when the item of data includes sufficient information to produce the image. For example, a two-dimensional array can define all or any part of an image, with each item of data in the array providing a value indicating the color of a respective location of the image. An item of data "defines" an image set when the item of data includes sufficient information to produce all the images in the set.
A "pixel" is the smallest segment or region into which an image is divided in a given system. As used herein, each pixel value is a set of color space coordinates in a "color coordinate form" of an image, the color coordinate form being a two-dimensional array defining the image.
A "memory" or "storage medium" is a physical medium that can store data. Examples of data storage media include magnetic media such as hard and floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical media such as laser disks and CD-ROMs; and semiconductor media such as semiconductor ROMs and RAMs.
A "data unit" or "unit of data" is an item of data that a processor can access or otherwise operate on as a unit. For example, an eight-bit byte is a data unit in many data processing systems. A "block" of items of data is a number of items of data that form a sequence. For example, a block or segment of an image would include data or signals representative of image pixels within a defined region of the image. As used herein a region may be a single pixel in size or may consist of a plurality of pixels.
An operation "encodes" or "compresses" items of data, when performing the operation on the items of data produces different items of data from which the encoded or compressed data items can subsequently be recovered. The operation that recovers the encoded or compressed data items is "decoding" or "decompressing." When the operation is "lossy", the decoding or decompressing operation only recovers data that is approximately the same as the original data.
An "image input terminal" (IIT) is a device that can generate or receive an image and provide an item of data defining a version of the image. A "scanner" is an image input device that receives an image by a scanning operation, such as by scanning a document. Other image input terminals include facsimile machines and computer graphic workstations.
An "image output terminal" (IOT) is a device that can receive an item of data defining an image and provide the image as output. A "display" is an image output device that provides the output image in human viewable form and a "printer" is an image output device that renders the image on a substrate in human viewable form. The visible pattern presented by a display is a "displayed image" or simply "image."
Color correction in digital images is an image processing operation comprising two steps: a correction from 3-D device independent color space (e.g., YCr Cb, RGB, XYZ, or L*a*b*) to a 3-D device dependent color space; and then a conversion to CMYK comprising under-color removal (UCR), gray-component replacement (GCR) and linearization processes. It will be appreciated, however, that for some devices, not all of the processes in the second step are required. For example, three color devices do not need the UCR/GCR stage Typically, the two color correction steps are accomplished in a single operation using a three-dimensional look-up table carrying out three-dimensional interpolation such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,376 to Harrington. However, the color correction process may also be represented as the combination of two phases: a 3-3 color space correction (e.g., RGB-R'G'B') followed by a device-dependent color space transformation operation (e.g., R'G'B'-CMYK for four color devices). The ability to separate the color correction process into these two steps forms the basis for the present invention, where the more difficult of the two steps, namely the first color correction, can be accomplished on the compressed digital data so as to significantly expedite the overall correction process. The advantage being that the 3-3 color correction operation may be performed on only part of the information using a compressed data format. For instance, the correction process is preferably accomplished by a digital printer that receives the print data in a compressed format.
Turning now to FIG. 1, displayed therein is a block diagram of a digital printing system 50 in which the present invention finds particular use. System 50 includes an image input terminal (IIT) 52 that may include any number of image sources such as a color scanner 54 or storage medium (disk) 56 suitable for generating or otherwise providing a digital document 58. A digital document containing an image is the output of the IIT, and is provided to image handler 60 that forms a part of the printing system. Image handler 60, while preferably providing additional functionality, includes an electronic subsystem (ESS) for carrying out the image processing and compression operations in accordance with the present invention.
In a JPEG compression embodiment, image handler 60 includes an image blocking circuit 62 capable of dividing the digital data representing the image into a plurality of M�M blocks or segments. In one embodiment, the blocking operation may be accomplished by a windowing or cropping circuit that enables the transfer of data comprising one or more M�M blocks of data from the input document to an M�M data buffer. The image blocking operation preferably operates to identify segments of 8 pixels by 8 scanlines for each of the three color separations. Once stored in a data buffer that is part of the image processing circuit, the data is next operated on by the JPEG compression circuitry depicted as block 64. In block 64, the data may be operated on using various compression operations associated with the JPEG compression standard to accomplish the compression of the image data within a block. As will be described with respect to the following figures, certain aspects of the JPEG compression operation are preferably performed in conjunction with the image compression operations represented by JPEG compression block 64.
Once compressed, the M�M block of data is then preferably processed by image processor 66, where the first phase color correction of a block is accomplished. Image processor 66 may be a software driven process operating on a CPU within the image processing system, or it may be a specialized piece of hardware. The output of the image processor 66 is a coded or compressed unit of data that is either subsequently stored in electronic precollation (EPC) memory 70, depicted in the figure as a disk, or further decompressed at JPEG decompression block 68 before undergoing the second phase color correction at image processing block 72.
A concise discussion of the JPEG compression standard may be found in the Encyclopedia of Graphics File Formats, by J. D. Murray and W. vanRyper, pp. 159-171 (1994, O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.). Further description of the JPEG standard may be found, for example, in JPEG Still Image Data Compression Standard, by W. Pennebaker and J. Mitchell, 1993 (Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York) or Discrete Cosine Transform: Algorithms, Advantages and Applications, by K. Rao and P. Yip, 1990 (Academic Press, San Diego).
As depicted in FIG. 1, IOT 74 is preferably a raster output scanning (ROS) print engine including a laser driving circuit 76 that controls or modulates laser 78 in accordance with decompressed, color corrected digital data produced by image processor 72, which may also operate in conjunction with various aspects of image processor 66. One or more lasers in the ROS-based IOT 74 is used to illuminate or expose a photoresponsive member 84 by reflecting the laser generated light beam off of the plurality of surfaces found on rotating polygon 80 so as to create, by scanning, a latent image on member 84.
Once the latent image is produced, it would be developed in accordance with any of a number of methods known to those skilled in the art to produce a visible image. It will be further appreciated that the digital image data may be employed to drive or otherwise control any number of image output terminals, particularly color output devices where the data representing an image typically includes at least four color separations (e.g., cyan, magenta, yellow and black) each processed and stored as a separate image plane or in luminance-chrominance form to further reduce storage requirements.
Having described the general operation of a printing system employing the present invention, attention is now turned to specific details of the operation of the compression and decompression blocks (64 and 68) working in conjunction with image processors 66 and 72. With reference to FIG. 2 there is depicted a flow diagram illustrating the various processing steps in which processing of the image data is accomplished. Initially, compressed image data in the form of a digital document 100 comprising a plurality of coded or compressed units (representing the compressed color image in a three-dimensional color space such as YCr Cb), is provided to partial decompression block 102. Partial decompression block 102 is intended to partially decompress the coded units. For example, in the preferred JPEG image compression embodiment depicted in FIG. 3, the coded units are decompressed into a series of discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficients using: (a) a variable length (Huffman) decoding operation 200 ; (b) an N�N sub-block extraction operation 202; followed by (c) an inverse DCT operation 204, performed only on the N�N sub-block of coefficients. The result of the partial decompression step is a partially decompressed image 104, including the DC coefficient and possibly AC coefficients as well, as will be described below.
It will be appreciated that the DCT coefficients within the partially decompressed image data 104 may be processed using color correction or adjustment operations, particularly applied to the DC and low order AC terms. These terms may be processed using matrix-based or tetrahedral interpolation operations on the N�N coefficient set to accomplish the color correction for the DC and low order AC terms, with the understanding that the higher order AC coefficients will have little impact on the perceived color of the block.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the partially decompressed data is provided to the first phase color correction block 108 where tetrahedral interpolation processing is performed to complete the color correction transformation. Recognizing that the most visually significant information is represented in the first few coefficients for each DCT block (the DC component indicating the average color), this data serves as the basis for the first color correction transformation. The color correction operation may be generally characterized as a function that maps a set of device independent or visually based color coordinates, for example, YCr Cb to a corresponding set of device coordinates Y'Cr 'Cb '. Due to the complex nature of this function, it is usually implemented as a three dimensional (3-D) lookup table with 3-D interpolation. It is important to note that the color correction function does not change the orientation of the color space (in this example, a luminance dimension Y, and two chrominance dimensions Cr, Cb). Rather, it alters the coordinate locations in the color space to reflect the characteristics of a particular device. The color correction function is applied to an image corresponding to the sub-matrix of DCT coefficients.
Further reference with respect to color correction transformation can be found, for example, in "Principles of Color Reproduction," J. A. C. Yule, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, New York, 1967 (see p. 267-268). In a preferred embodiment, the proposed color correction method uses a fraction of the coefficients in a compressed block (i.e. N�N coefficients out of the original M�M coefficients) to directly generate the color corrected image.
As described by de Queiroz in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/537,056, previously incorporated by reference, computational efficiency is improved by matrix processing of only a portion of the DCT coefficients. It will be appreciated that the techniques described by de Queiroz et al. may be similarly applied to processing DCT coefficients to accomplish color correction.
More specifically, let the description for the DCT coefficients of a transformed block of 8�8 pixels of a single color separation in the transform coder JPEG) be: ##EQU1## The description of the N�N lowest frequency coefficients is: ##EQU2##
The color correction process is preferably applied only to a subset of N�N coefficients. These coefficients are obtained by inverse transforming the N�N lowest frequency DCT coefficients using an N�N inverse DCT. If the DCT of size N�N is given by the N�N matrix CN whose entries are: ##EQU3## where, α0 =1/√2, αi>0 =1, the N�N pixels used for color correction are obtained by performing the following matrix multiplication, wherein fast equivalent implementation methods may be applied. ##EQU4##
The N�N samples zij are used as input for the color correction process. The block with N�N color corrected samples is denoted by the samples xij. The image can be either decompressed or recompressed. In the latter case, the DCT coefficients are restored to their original form by applying a forward DCT of size N�N. Hence, ##EQU5## The new coefficients yij are used to replace the old ones in the original block, prior to the full 8�8 inverse DCT.
For example, if N=2, the DCT is defined as: ##EQU6## so that the samples for color correction are obtained as ##EQU7## which are color corrected obtaining xij. Accordingly, the samples to be applied as a replacement in the original block are found as ##EQU8##
Once the first phase color correction transformation has been accomplished at step 108, the data is again partially decompressed, but now is in the form of a device-dependent color space 110. In the JPEG compression embodiment, depicted in FIG. 3, the partially decompressed, device-dependent data is then integrated or merged (block 208) with the remaining, unprocessed DCT coefficient data before being completely decompressed as represented by complete decompression block 112 in FIG. 2 and inverse DCT compression block 210 in FIG. 3. Once fully decompressed data 114 is obtained as the result of the complete decompression operation 112, the decompressed data is passed to the second phase color correction, block 118. This phase performs a simple color space conversion to the printer signals, C, M, Y, K. For example, if the first phase color correction is a mapping from device independent YCr Cb to device dependent Y'Cr 'Cb ', then the second phase maps device dependent Y'Cr 'Cb ' to the printer signals CMYK. This would be accomplished in several steps, all of which would be substantially simpler than the first phase color correction. First, a 3�3 matrix may be used to map Y'Cr 'Cb ' to CMY as follows: ##EQU9## where Corr. Coeff represents the coefficients of the 3�3 matrix.
In block 118, the device-dependent data is further processed in accordance with well-known techniques to produce data representing a plurality of color separations, preferably at least three, for rendering by a color image output device such as a printer. Processing the data includes the processes of under color removal (UCR), where a CMY component of the image is subtracted, along with gray component replacement (GCR) where the subtracted CMY is replaced, in part, by a K component. Moreover, the second phase processing may include linearizing the color separations or similar processing to adjust the tonal reproduction of the output image produced in response to output data 120 (e.g., CMYK).
In summary, the process of FIG. 2 first accomplishes a YCrCb to Y'Cr'Cb' transformation in the DCT domain. The result of this transformation leaves the low order DCT terms in a color space that is compatible with the high order terms (which have not had any processing done to them). Then in a subsequent transformation of the fully decompressed data a simpler form of correction is employed to convert from Y'Cr'Cb to CMY or CMYK, which is good enough since the low order terms have already been converted to a form for which the simpler conversion is sufficient.
Also depicted in FIG. 2 is an optional series of operations 130 that would be carried out in accordance with yet another alternative embodiment. In optional section 130, the partially decompressed data 110 may be recompressed and stored, block 132, and subsequently retrieved and partially decompressed, block 134. The intent of the alternative embodiment is to generally represent those operations that might be employed if the image being processed were not going to be immediately rendered by an output device. For instance, in the JPEG image compression embodiment, the recompression and store operation would take the partially decompressed device-dependent data, merge it with the remaining DCT coefficient data, recompress the merged DCT data (e.g., Huffman encoding) and store the data as a compressed JPEG image. Subsequently, when the image is to be rendered, it is retrieved and decompressed completely, resulting in decompressed data 114 which may be further processed as previously described with respect to the second phase color space transformation. In yet another alternative embodiment, the operations depicted in FIG. 2 may be accomplished during the compression of a color image so as to produce a compressed image for storage as described with respect to the optional operations 130.
FIG. 2 depicts a generalized color correction system operating on compressed digital images, and is not specifically limited to color correcting JPEG compressed images as represented by FIG. 3. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the operations depicted in and described with respect to FIG. 2 have application in alternative lossy compression schemes as well as lossless compression schemes. For example, an alternative embodiment may apply aspects of the present invention to LZW-compressed images as will be described in more detail with respect to FIG. 6. Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that aspects of the present invention may be applied to compressed images (a) during decompression, (b) during compression, or (c) as a separate process carried out on previously compressed images which are subsequently recompressed.
Color correcting a compressed color image having been generally described, attention is now turned to FIGS. 4 and 5 where further details of the JPEG compressed image embodiment are illustrated. In particular, FIG. 4 depicts the order in which quantized coefficients are re-scanned in accordance with the zigzag (diagonal) path employed in JPEG compressed images. As is well-known to those skilled in the art, the DC coefficient is represented in the upper-left corner 250 of the 8�8 coefficient matrix, and is surrounded by the lower order AC terms. In one of the JPEG image embodiments of the present invention, denoted as 1�1, only the DC coefficient 255 is employed in the color space transformation operation (Phase I), as shown in FIG. 5. For example, color facsimile compression/processing might only require that the transformation be done on the DC term. Other embodiments, denoted 2�2 and 3�3 are also depicted in FIG. 5, with the coefficient sets 260 and 265, respectively, included in the color space transformation operations previously described.
Empirically, it has been observed that there is little difference between the 1�1, 2�2 and 3�3 alternatives. The most noticeable impacts on a rendered color image occur in those regions where the higher order terms are large enough to make a significant contribution to the block, for example, edges where there is a significant hue change and to a lesser extent edges where there is a chrominance change.
The adaptive alternative, also depicted at the bottom of FIG. 5, is designed to employ a variable-sized set of DCT coefficients in the first phase color correction operation. In particular, the coefficients are first analyzed to determine a block size 270 that may be based upon the relative values of the first nine (3�3) DCT terms or the relative location of the terms in color space (e.g., based upon DC color average). Depending upon the relative sizes of the low order terms or color space location, the number of terms to be employed may be modified.
The present invention is intended to reduce the number of processing steps and/or hardware necessary to provide color correction, particularly with respect to pre-compressed images. In order to demonstrate the advantages of such a system, relative to a "standard" tetrahedral-interpolation system, an analysis of the mathematical operations carried out for each of the alternatives was conducted. For a color correction operation combining phases I and II, the "standard" tetrahedral interpolation approach yielding four color separations requires (19 lookups+2.5 comparisons+14 additions+12 multiplications+2 shifts) times 64 pixels per 8�8 block of JPEG compressed data. The resultant number of operations is represented in the first row of Table 1. The respective number of operations is also depicted for each of the three determinable alternatives, listing the total number of operations for phase I and phase II processing and the percentage reduction in the total number of operations with respect to the "standard" method.
TABLE 1*__________________________________________________________________________ Look-Ups Comparisons Additions Multiplications Shifts"Standard" 1216 160 896 768 128__________________________________________________________________________1 � 1 719 40.9 131 18.8 459 48.8 9 98.8 68 46.92 � 2 764 37.2 138 13.8 508 43.3 36 95.3 80 37.83 � 3 855 29.7 151 6.3 595 33.6 81 89.5 84 34.4__________________________________________________________________________ *For each operation, the (average case) number of operations per block fo the first stage is shown in the left subcolumn, and the number for the second stage is shown in the right subcolumn. The standard method has onl one stage.
The lossy compression embodiment of the present invention having now been described, reference is made to FIG. 6 where a flowchart depicting the steps of a lossless embodiment is found. Typical lossless compression schemes generate sequences of symbols and codes. By transmitting compact codes, indicating indirectly which previously seen symbol is to be used, lossless schemes achieve data compression. In particular, the LZW and other lossless compression algorithms would be modified to treat as symbols, pixels (defined by 24-bit values i.e., representing 3 color separations) rather than bytes. Some forms of lossless compression, e.g. pixel-based run-length encoding, already treat pixels as symbols, and would therefore not require any modification. By losslessly compressing using 24-bit symbols as depicted by step 310, the "symbols" can be color corrected (Phase I) once and then the corrected "value" can be employed for any subsequent occurrence of the same symbols. This approach would reduce the number of operations that need to be applied to accomplish color correction of losslessly compressed images, since the operations would be applied only to a portion of the data in the compressed file, which should contain less data than the uncompressed file.
As illustrated in FIG. 6, the lossless compression operation 310 employs 24-bit symbols. Strings of these symbols are stored in a string table 312. During compression of image data, the system maintains a current prefix, which is a string known to be in the string table, and which contains the last few symbols seen on the input. Each time a 24-bit pixel value is received, if the current prefix with that symbol added is still a string in the table, the current prefix is changed. Otherwise, the table is updated, and the encoding for the current prefix is sent, followed by the new symbol (step 314 ). It will be appreciated by those familiar with Lempel-Ziv compression schemes that the compression operations in region 300 of FIG. 6 are modified primarily to accommodate 24-bit symbols. Data compressed in this way may be stored, or transmitted on a low-bandwidth channel, but in the context of this invention it will be eventually displayed and/or printed.
Prior to display or printing, the compressed data may be further processed to accomplish color correction (either phase I transformation alone or phase I and II transformations concurrently) in an efficient manner as represented by the steps in region 302 of FIG. 6. In particular, the encoded representation of a 24-bit symbol is retrieved at step 330 and a determination is made at step 332 as to whether the symbol is found in string table 340. If not, the symbol is transformed using phase 1 color correction as described above to produce the color corrected value which is then stored in the string table. The corrected value is then substituted for the original value in the compressed file. In this way the corrected value will be employed by any subsequent decompression step to losslessly reproduce each subsequent occurrence of the encoded symbol. Because a symbol need only be converted once, the number of color conversion operations is substantially reduced. It is reduced by a factor somewhat larger than the compression ratio, since only a fraction of the compressed file needs to be converted.
A lossless compressed file for which only a 3-3 conversion has been applied would generally require exactly the same amount of space to store after conversion as before--the symbols do not change size. Another alternative is to perform a 3-4 conversion (i.e. the complete color conversion) to the symbols in the compressed file, and generate a new file, which now takes more space than the original file due to the increased number of bits required to represent the larger (4-color) symbols. It will be appreciated, however, that the additional space is only required for the storage of the 4-color symbols, and not for the encoded representations thereof. Yet another alternative is to perform a complete conversion (3-3 or 3-4, depending on the device), and then complete the decompression operation using the updated table, rather than re-writing the compressed file.
Also depicted in FIG. 6 is an alternative operation, step 350, where the 3-3 color corrected images could be further processed to produce the fourth color (e.g., black) separation. While this alternative operation is not required if the transformation step of is employed, it would be necessary if only a 3-3 transformation is accomplished and four color separations are required for rendering.
Other lossless compression schemes also separately describe the color values and where they are used so that the color values need not be expressed at every individual occurrence. In run-length encoding, for example, a color value is stored along with the number of successive pixels having that color value along a scan line. To perform color correction on the compressed image format one must apply color correction to only the color values while leaving the run lengths unchanged.
Huffman encoding makes use of the fact that some data values (e.g. some colors) are likely to occur far more often in an image than others. Huffman encoding uses a set of codes for the image values, where short codes are used for frequently occurring values and longer codes for the infrequently occurring values. A dictionary matching codes to values is constructed. This dictionary allows the original values to be recovered from the codes. When Huffman coding is applied directly to the image data (and not some already compressed form), the dictionary contains the mapping of code values to colors. To color correct the compressed form one need only apply the correction process to the color values in the dictionary.
In general, one need only conduct whatever partial decompression steps are required to reveal the color values for the compressed image. One need not complete the decompression by determining where within the image the color values belong. The color correction can then be applied to the revealed color values. The resulting partially decompressed image can then be either recompressed or fully decompressed as desired.
In recapitulation, the present invention is a method for color correcting digital images that have been at least partially compressed. In a preferred embodiment, aspects of the color correction are carried out on the compressed image data to improve computational efficiency. One of a number of alternative methods is employed to accomplish the color correction on lossy or losslessly compressed images. The two phase process accomplishes the first phase of color correction on compressed image data in conjunction with compression or decompression operations. A second phase of the color correction (color space transformation) is applied subsequently to the completely decompressed image data. Accordingly, the technique has application to any number of color imaging systems, including digital printers and copiers where there is a necessity to color correct compressed digital images.
It is, therefore, apparent that there has been provided, in accordance with the present invention, a method and apparatus for color correcting a compressed digital image. While this invention has been described in conjunction with preferred embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims.
|Cited Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|Jul 3, 1979
|Jun 23, 1981
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|Dec 19, 1996
Owner name: XEROX CORPORATION, CONNECTICUT
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:KLASSEN, R. VICTOR;HARRINGTON, STEVEN J.;BALASUBRAMANIAN, THYAGARAJAN;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:008377/0968
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text:
50% of the population on the Pine Ridge Reservation is under the age of 18. We believe that this is our community's biggest asset. We help develop them as movement builders and leaders. We look to them for solutions to our community's biggest challenges. We engage youth to develop their healthy living skills, to increase their fluency and understanding of Lakota language and culture, and to nurture their participation in the community. Youth have many ideas about how to create a better future, but they also need space to enjoy being kids, and we provide the opportunities for them to dedicate time to both.
Nick Hernandez
Matt Rama

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Joshua & Sons Men's JS-41-YG Sparkling Mechanical Multi-Function Strap Watch
A true treasure hunter from NY snagged this deal before you could.
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Marketed By :
LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing
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Kamal Books International
Delivery in :
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The teaching of African literature has been the subject of debate in African universities and globally. Indeed the very term African Literature has been a bone of contention for the academic community for many decades in the last century. By bringing together researchers from literature and other related disciplines, Professor Chesaina aims at correcting the erroneous view that literature is a discipline in which a few individuals are masters of the art and therefore have the right to dominate. This book makes a significant contribution to the teaching of African literature in the 21st century by offering diverse perspectives on theoretical, methodological and practical levels.


text:
The 7 Steps to Making a Good Coffee With an Espresso Machine
There is an art to making a good espresso. Many people who thought they are experts at making great coffee with espresso machines failed to realize that becoming a great coffee maker is not just about making superb coffee, it's all about following the "due process".
You will need the following items to make a good espresso at home using an espresso machine:
- Good espresso machine – the DeLonghi EC155 is a good one but there are many options out there.
- Good quality beans which are fresh (if you don't want to grind your own beans, you can buy them ground already – but for pure freshness, I recommend grinding your own)
- Grinder (optional)
- Tamper
- Filtered water – Ensure the water is filtered properly. A bottled water might be the best.
Now let's move on to the meat of this article.
7 Steps to Making the Perfect Espresso
Making the perfect espresso is more of an art, than a science. Practice makes perfect, but by following these 7 steps, you will be well on the way to making the perfect espresso….
1) Do Proper Research
Research which coffee beans you like the best. Believe it or not, the tastes of different coffee beans can vary greatly due to the different types of roasts that are out there.
2) Grind your own beans
Like most things, quality equipment usually means a quality end product – so do not buy a cheap grinder as they can ruin your coffee. The consistency of the coffee should be like sugar – if it is too fine, then the brew takes too long to brew, resulting in burnt coffee. YUK!
3) Correct Amount of Coffee
Use the correct amount of coffee – 7 grams is advised for a single shot. Although some would say 6 grams is perfect.
But some espresso machines do waste some coffee during brewing, so I always recommend you use 7 grams as opposed to the 6.
4) Pack the Grind Properly
Pack the grind into the filter holder and lightly press using a tamper (you want the coffee evenly packed). A tamper is used to pack the grinds to a density that will provide the right amount of resistance against the water going through the grind.
5) Lock The Filter Handle Tight
Tightly lock the filter handle in the machine and place a warm up underneath it.
6) That Filtered or Bottled Water
Use filtered water that is not boiling!! Fill the espresso machine with filtered cold water – the espresso machine will heat the added water to the right temperature.
7) Start the machine
If your machine is automatic, it will switch off at the perfect time, however, if your machine is manually run, then this is the important step.
The key is knowing when to stop the machine from running. It should take about 5 seconds for the first drops of coffee to come out, but about 25 seconds (depending on the machine) to make a single serve.
Some coffee machines do take up to 8 seconds for the first drops to come out. But be it as it may, once you see the first drop, stay on constant alert for other drops.
The coffee should drip out slowly, appear reddish brown in color with a thick crema. If the crema is starting to appear clear (as it is coming out of the machine), stop the machine immediately.
Your coffee has finished brewing. You can now enjoy your very well made coffee.
That's all!
If you like your coffee black, simply add hot water to your espresso shot.
Alternatively, if you like your coffee with milk, simply add milk that has been warmed with a frother.
Most importantly, once your coffee has been brewed, for the best flavor, you must drink it immediately.


text:
Colours of the sea
Dive deep and soak yourself completely into the aqua trend that's ruling the roost this season. Trupti tells you how to adapt this trend for your beautiful eyes and make a fashionable splash.
Feel blue
Embrace the ocean-inspired trend on your eyes with blue synonymous with the the ocean. Apply a thick stroke of Blue Cosmos, a beautiful blue liner shade from the Lakmé Absolute Forever Silk Liner range on your upper lids. To further accentuate the surreal effect, overlap it with a sprinkle of Lakmé Fairy Blue Bell Dust on the shade. Define your lower lids with Electric Violet, a deeper shade of blue and get ready to create ripples!
The green glory
Get the exotic mermaid-like appeal with aquamarine green on your eyes. Opt for Day Queen, a deep green shade from Lakmé Absolute Eye Chromatic Baked Shadows on your peepers. For extra chutzpah, apply a touch of Lakmé Absolute Moon Lit Highlighter near your brow. Sign off with Lakmé Eyeconic kajal and mascara for a rich contrast and you're all set for some runway glam.
Oceanic oomph
Take inspiration from the myriad hues of the underwater world and recreate it on your pretty peepers! On the inner corner of your eyes, apply Jaded Mint, an emerald green hue from the Lakmé Absolute Forever Silk Liner range. On the other half, go all dramatic and apply the lighter shade of Day Shimmer from the Lakmé Absolute Eye Chromatic Baked Shadows collection and create a winged effect at the end of the outer crease. For an extra glam factor, don't forget your falsies!


text:
Himalayan Candles, combines beautiful, eternal fragrances with vintage art and traditional artisan hand-making skills.
The company was founded in 2004 by Julia Leaphart, a venture that started in her kitchen as a way to connect with a childhood spent in a small town in the foothills of the Himalayas, combined with a need to earn a living for herself and her young daughter. Julia began by pouring candles into sourced wooden containers and selling them at local antique shows and craft fairs. The company grew from there as it found its niche selling high quality artisan candles.
Each candle is poured by hand using a natural soy wax blended with high quality essential and fragrance oils, whilst cotton wicks ensure a clean and even burn. All candles are handmade and packaged in Decatur, Georgia. The containers used are unique and handmade, and can be reused once the candle has burned away. Amongst the delightful fragrances available are Peony, Anise & Black Pepper, Ancient Philosophy, Grapefruit Pine and Tobacco Bark – each is a complex mix of layers designed to evoke memories of a particular time and place.
Containers vary from artisan traditional hurricane lampshapes, made from tall-bubbled glass, to powder boxes, decorative vintage style replicas of antique powder puff containers made from glass with etched metal lids in two finishes. With a silver finish or a tree bark copper finish each is designed to cast a warm glow when lit. Choose from ornately decorated silver floral or a copper peacock design; each is finished with a hand-dyed silk ribbon. A wooden candle tray hand hewn from mango wood is a beautiful addition to any home plus any of the other styles available. Burn-times range from twenty to 160 hours.
© 2016 Himalayan Trading Post. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Enesco Ltd.
January, 2017
© 2017 Enesco Ltd.
Registered In England
No 2137296


text:
Stewardship Community on Facebook
... whilst our forum is being updated and if you are a facebook user, please talk to us on our facebook page .... Not sure what facebook is? Check out these links:
Newbies guide to Facebook (August, 2007 CNet News)
N.B. No personal information is passed from Facebook to this website through social plugins like those above and below. Facebook state:
"None of your information – your name or profile information, what you like, who your friends are, what they have liked, what they recommend – is shared with external sites you visit with a plugin. Because they have given Facebook this "real estate" on their sites, they do not receive or interact with the information that is contained or transmitted there."


text:
|File size:
|Date added:
|22 Aug 2015, 00:27
|Operating system:
|Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, IOS
|Total downloads:
|Downloads last week:
|Product ranking:
|Download now
What's new in dOWNLOAD THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA MOVIE 2004 FREE the Minecraft Windows 10 Edition Beta - App downloadable of the Week. See more, alongside the release of Windows 10 last week Microsoft also slipped out another title a tiny little game called Minecraft Windows 10.Windows 10 upgrade, the Sims Life Stories. Where we review the most important news of last is week - Windows 10 upgrade, angry Birds. Twitter, related videos, five Nights at Freddy's 4, welcome life back to the Softonic Roundup, angry Birds 2, and - News Roundup.
Advertisement, questions and answers, the Sims Life Stories downloading music, music, Mathematics, Cooking, Bittorrent, mp3, downloading, P2P, mus, Status, solved, answers: 1 answer cannot translate without context. Answer how can i download matlab 7.10 version.
Minimum system requirements: Operating System: Mac OS X, hard Disk Space: 3 GB of free space. Sim City 4 Deluxe edition on Origin is unpatchable and incompatible with popular mods life by Jon Riggall @jonathanriggall, additional Requirements, downloadable if you buy Sim City 4 Deluxe Edition from Origin one of a number of digital stores selling the game. CPU Processor: Power PC G4, or Intel Chipset. See more. Memory:256 MB, cPU Speed: 1.0 GHz, g5,


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How to Make Easy Spicy Baked Eggs (Shakshuka)
This gorgeous little number is a breakfast that will definitely warm your cockles! Spicy Baked Eggs (commonly known as Shakshuka) is a wonderfully cheap and simple dish to make without compromising at all on flavour or satisfaction. A spicy tomato & pepper base topped with a beautiful runny egg, thi…
By: KitchenMason
Categories: Uncategorized


text:
home page change Of PhpFox website
This project received 7 bids from talented freelancers with an average bid price of $7 USD / hour.Get free quotes for a project like this
Project Budget$2 - $8 USD / hour
Total Bids7
Project Description
If you can change home page of website in phpfox please bid.
Home page containing. Sign Up, sign In form. Everything is there you just need to replace it with new layout. I have png file of design.
Total task
1> Create design.
2>Change Home page.
Experience with Phpfox is must.
Budget is $80.
If you will give desired output. We have more work on it.
Skills Required
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- Forbes
- The New York Times
- Time
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Work at UH Advertisement
- The position is full-time, general funds and tenure track to begin Aug 1, 2017, pending availability of funds and position clearance. Review of applications will begin April 3, 2017 and continue until the position is filled.
- Teach undergraduate, graduate, and executive courses in various areas of Information Systems, as needed, in particular, in the areas of cybersecurity, information security, and privacy.
- Conduct research, engage in scholarly activities.
- Participate in university, college, department and other service activities.
- PhD in Information Systems or closely related field from a college or university of recognized standing.
- Minimum of 4 years in rank of Assistant Professor at a college or university of recognized standing.
- Evidence of teaching quality and effectiveness in undergraduate and graduate business classes in Information Systems topics.
- Record of research excellence in the Information Systems field as indicated by refereed research publications in top IS journals, sufficient enough to secure tenure in a leading public research university.
- Evidence of ongoing research productivity through works-in-progress and professional service to the IS field such as conference or journal editorial roles.
- Professional work experience in business or in information technology field
- Evidence of securing external research grants
- Professor Bo (Sophia) Xiao, Search Committee Chair; firstname.lastname@example.com
The University of Hawaiʻi is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution and is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of race, sex, gender identity and expression, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, disability, genetic information, marital status, breastfeeding, income assignment for child support, arrest and court record (except as permissible under State law), sexual orientation, domestic or sexual violence victim status, national guard absence, or status as a covered veteran.
Employment is contingent on satisfying employment eligibility verification requirements of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986; reference checks of previous employers; and for certain positions, criminal history record checks.
In accordance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, annual campus crime statistics for the University of Hawaii may be viewed at: http://ope.ed.gov/security/, or a paper copy may be obtained upon request from the respective UH Campus Security or Administrative Services Office.


text:
your wedding video.
it has been a dream in the 2016 pipelines that we are finally going public with...
we now offer Videography !
clients can now pair our style and approach of photography with a video of the same stock.
we are personally drawn to good feels over good tracks, which is why at this stage we don't offer audio of speeches/ vows. short-film length videos also don't really appeal to us - there are plenty of extremely talented folk who offer this and do an incredible job.
what we offer is a 3 - 4 minute video, full of the best parts of your day, to a sweet track.
we tell the story of your wedding in a way that is honest, emotive and timeless.
we are offering an introductory price until March 2017.
if this sounds like you, drop us a line.


text:
The last day of the JMM, as Anna mentioned in her post, is the unceremonious end to a whirlwind affair. At least I was able to attend two amazing talks and say goodbye to a few people.
First, I attended Robert Devaney's MAA retiring Presidential address, on Cantor and Sierpinski, Julia and Fatou: Crazy topology in complex dynamics. In this talk, Devaney showed us three examples to illustrate a Theorem. The theorem read "Planar topologists are crazy." It was cool to see, through progressions of pictures, how one builds a Cantor bouquet, indecomposable continua, and Sierpinski curves. I recommend you read his article on the AMS Notices from January 2004 for more details related to the talk and all the pretty pictures. These examples were varied in that in some cases (like with the Knaster continuum) the dynamics is simple but the topology is not at all understood, whereas with Sierpinski curves, one gets many examples of Julia sets that are the same topologically but very different dynamically, and classifying the dynamics is still very difficult. He ended with a Corollary: Yes, planar topologists are crazy, but I sure wish I were one of them. My favorite quote, however, came from my friend Michelle Manes who was sitting next to me: "I hope David (her husband) gets me a Cantor bouquet for Valentine's day."
After this great talk, and a very delicious Mole enchilada lunch, I headed back to the Convention Center for my last talk of the JMM. This was the NAM Claytor-Woodard lecture, given by the awesome Talithia Williams, on A Statistician's Guide to Becoming Your Body's Expert. Edray Goins, newly-minted NAM President, introduced Williams and mentioned that this annual lecture is meant to highlight achievement by up-and-coming African American mathematicians. He also pointed the audience to this page on UPenn's website, which tells the stories of Dudley Woodard and William Claytor, two pioneer African American mathematicians.
Williams' lecture was very lively and interesting, and also pretty inspiring. I thought it was powerful how she got us to think about how Statistics can be used to understand our bodies and our health (intro stats class title idea: "Our Statistics, Our Selves"). If you think about it, these days we all collect data: miles you run, steps you take, calories you ate, blood pressure, how you sleep, your body temperature (especially for women trying to conceive). But you can use this data, for example, to improve your performance in a squash game, as in one of the many examples Williams shared. She also mentioned that different ways to interpret and even graph data might be useful for different things. But just as it was interesting to us to see this very natural application of statistics, Williams mentioned that this could be a real gateway for students into mathematics. There is indeed a lot of research on inclusive pedagogies, and how making the mathematics relevant to the person can increase participation from underrepresented groups and reduce math anxiety and stereotype threat. I thought this was the most exciting part of the talk, and I'm already thinking about how to include these ideas in a course (I wasn't really kidding with the title above). At the end of the lecture, Goins offered Williams a plaque recognizing her work and contributions to mathematics. And one last cool thing, Williams gave a TED talk on the topic, so go watch it.
After this, I quietly disappeared and headed to the airport, back to real life and all that. According to the JMM newsletter, there were 6000 registered participants, and I hope you had safe travels back. Remember the Alamo, and to get your sweetie a Cantor bouquet on Valentine's Day. Until the next one.


text:
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East Windsor Worker Category :Full-time Regular Job Class SUMMARY: ? Perform responsibilities under general and direct supervision of Divisional Vice President ? Provide therapeutic patient care based on current diagnosis and past medical history ? Manage the overall leadership3/6/2017 East Windsor, NJ Save This Job
Freehold, Freehold, NJ, US Worker Category :Part-time Regular Job Class JOB DESCRIPTION ? PHYSICAL THERAPY AIDE SUMMARY: ? Perform responsibilities under general and direct supervision of Director of Rehabilitation, Senior and Staff Physical Therapists ? Provide clinical and3/6/2017 Freehold, NJ Save This Job
Forked River Worker Category :Full-time Regular Job Class SUMMARY: Perform responsibilities under general and direct supervision of the Chief Clinical Officer Provide therapeutic patient care based on current diagnosis and past medical history Manage the overall leadership and3/6/2017 Forked River, NJ Save This Job
Feb 22, 2016 General Description We are looking for a self motivated and enthusiastic person to join our team. The person filling this position will perform packaging and characterization of semiconductor laser diodes/modules and detectors. Support engineering in equipment setup2/26/2017 Cranbury, NJ Save This Job
Purpose of this position is to support current sales and marketing needs for technical and related deliverables. Provide technical answers to questions on use of optoelectronic devices and cameras by working with Princeton Lightwave engineers Assist customers in building test2/26/2017 Cranbury, NJ Save This Job
Princeton Lightwave seeks a Senior Optoelectronic Package Design Engineer. Responsibilities include the concept development, detailed design, prototyping and transfer to manufacturing of active devices like high power laser diodes, discrete and arrayed photodetectors, and high2/26/2017 Cranbury, NJ Save This Job
Princeton Lightwave is a leading provider of short wave infrared, and geiger mode LIDAR solutions. We have openings for engineers with excellent firmware and hardware engineering skills. Responsibilities span design and new product development for our camera and instrumentation2/26/2017 Cranbury, NJ Save This Job
Princeton Lightwave is looking for exceptional candidates to take on an engineering position within the manufacturing operations of the company. The position reports to the Director of Manufacturing, and involves state-of-the art, high quality manufacturing of 3D imaging camera,2/26/2017 Cranbury, NJ Save This Job
Princeton Lightwave, a rapidly growing photonics company with outstanding technology and products, develops and manufactures optoelectronic components and sub-systems that serve a diverse set of customers in defense, medical, industrial sensing, and telecommunications markets. We2/26/2017 Cranbury, NJ Save This Job
Princeton Lightwave develops and manufactures cutting edge opto-electronics products for defense, medical, industrial, telecommunications and automotive markets. We are looking for exceptional candidates to take on a leadership position within the manufacturing operations of the2/26/2017 Cranbury, NJ Save This Job
Computer Vision Engineer General Description Computer vision engineer for real-time data processing of point clouds generated from Geiger-mode LIDAR systems. Candidates should possess a broad technical knowledge of software development in areas related to computer vision, machine2/26/2017 Cranbury, NJ Save This Job
PharmaSeq, Inc., a well-funded biotech company located near Princeton, NJ, is developing microchip tagging and fluorescence-based diagnostic technologies and is looking for talented people for its Software Team. Description: PharmaSeq currently has an open position for a Software2/25/2017 Monmouth Junction, NJ Save This Job
We are currently seeking a skilled and highly motivated individual to work in an engineering laboratory dedicated to the development of analytical instrumentation. The individual will work in a multidisciplinary team environment including engineers, scientists, and software2/25/2017 Monmouth Junction, NJ Save This Job


text:
About This Game
- Summary
- Specifications
- Features
- Game Editions
In Nemo's Underwater World of Fun, Nemo and his father are together again, but Marlin wants his son to become a better swimmer. You must help Nemo navigate the games in the Super Swim Challenge and earn the title of Super Swimmer. As in Finding Nemo, you get to interact with characters from the movie, and when you earn five prizes in each segment of the challenge, you get to watch a brief film clip that relates to the game. In the final test, Nemo must avoid a series of obstacles and collect all of the singing scallops before time runs out.
- Minimum Requirements
- Windows 98/2000/Me/XP
- Pentium II 266 MHz
- 80 MB hard disk space
- Supported Functions
- Number Of Players: 1
- Memory Card
- Designed for boys and girls 4+; Play as the film's key characters - Nemo, Marlin, and Dory; Seven fun games and activities based on the settings and characters from the film including Bruce, Crush and the Tank Gang; Features film clips that capture the fun and hilary of the movie.
Finding Nemo: Nemo's Underwater World of FunPublisher: THQRelease Date: 2004MSRP: 13.99 USD
Help us solve the toughest (or most puzzling) game puzzles and challenges.
Our attempt to answer issues which most commonly occur on IGN's wikis.


text:
Graduate Business Development Executive
Graduate Business Development Executive
Sector: Finance
Location: Bank (Central London)
Salary: £21,000 - £23,000 (£45,000 OTE + Benefits)
Start date: ASAP
This client is a global financial firm with exciting international opportunities seeking intelligent, ambitious and money-motivated graduates to help further progress their current expansion programme. With over 15 years' experience this firm boats one of the most reputable names in the financial world. Extensive training is provided to all new employee's to ensure they are effectively prepared to perform the role to highest expected standard.
The role will entail selected graduates to develop new business through sourcing and communicating with clients at a financial director level. Performing initial introductory and follow up consultation calls to establish client needs. Obtain examples of previous currency transactions in order to complete currency audits. Arrange and perform sales presentations outlining our effective brokerage solutions.
This is a multi-national organisation with offices in London, New York, Dubai, Zurich and Monaco and hires on a truly international scale. This company very much embellishes the 'work hard, play hard' ethos and has some extremely high quality incentives such as -
- Annual International holidays
- Uncapped Commission
- Monthly Incentives
- Michelin * Lunch Clubs
- 2.2 or higher from a Russel Group University
- Preferably a Recent Graduate, however not essential
- Desire for quick Career Progression coupled with a Competitive Nature
- Proactive Sales Experience is preferable, however not essential
If you want to fast track your career and you can face challenges head on then apply today by sending you sending your CV to Jack Smith


text:
International Briefs; Big Singapore Deal For Beverage Maker
Published: June 27, 1995
The First Capital Corporation, controlled by Quek Leng Chan, a Malyasian financier, bid 542.7 million Singapore dollars ($388 million) yesterday for the rest of the beverage maker Yeo Hiap Seng in one of Singapore's biggest takeover offers. The unit making the bid, Camerlin Private Ltd., is 100 percent owned by First Capital. Camerlin agreed yesterday to issue new shares to three Singapore concerns, after which First Capital will own 40 percent and the others 20 percent each.
Until yesterday, Camerlin had less than 25 percent of Yeo Hiap Seng stock, the Pepsi bottler in Singapore. Thus, it was not obligated to make a general offer under Singapore law.


text:
Pepper, Fish
- Plants grow to 2 feet
- Fruits grow to 3 inches
- Plants and peppers are variegated
- Medium hot pepper
- 80 days from transplant
Nineteenth century African American heirloom first offered by William Woys Weaver in the 1995 SSE Yearbook. Weaver's grandfather received the seeds in the 1940s from Horace Pippin of West Chester, PA. Two-foot tall plants have beautiful variegated foliage; 3" long fruits are striped and colorful. Traditionally used in oyster and crab houses around Chesapeake Bay. 80 days from transplant. Medium hot.
Learn to Grow it
You should start plants indoors 8-12 weeks before the last frost date for transplanting them into the garden. Plant them outdoors 2-4 weeks after your last expected frost.
Plant your seeds 1/4-1/2 in. deep in soil trays or pots. Transfer them to 3-4 in. pots when their true leaves appear. When transplanting, bury seedlings up the stems up to their leaves.
Make sure that your soil is well fertilized as this crop is a heavy feeder and takes a lot of nutrients from the soil. Consider adding compost to the soil the year before you plant.
These plants prefer warm weather and soil so they should be grown when temperatures are over 68 degrees F.


text:
Discllaimer: Llamas llove to llie about llegally owning llovely tellevision shows.
Spoilers: Not particularly.
Summary: McGee needs a ridiculous favor from Ziva.
Tony sat at his desk, feet up, wondering who the jackass was who had changed the end of Daylight Savings. And why no one had bothered mentioning it to him. It did explain why the Eagles' game had started at the bizarre hour of 2PM on Sunday afternoon, but… Actually, it was kind of nice being the only one in the bullpen; he could sit, doing nothing but enjoying his peppermint hot chocolate without the risk of being yelled at or mocked for enjoying a peppermint hot chocolate. So what if the coffee guy thought it was a girly drink. Jerk lost his tip by saying so. And it wasn't like it was a cosmopolitan or fuzzy navel or something. It was in a solid cup, so you couldn't even tell it was topped with whipped cream and pink and white sprinkles! Well…at least there were no marshmallows in it. Hey, marshmallows would be a pretty good addition. The next time he was at that coffee shop, he could tell that coffee jerk that his girlfriend, no, his wife had really liked the peppermint hot chocolate and wanted to know if there was any possibility of marshmallows. The only problem with the plan that he could foresee was finding a wedding ring to make the wife story believable. Coffee guy probably hadn't noticed he wasn't wearing one today, especially since he'd picked up his drink with his right hand. This was so going to work. Maybe if he reversed his college ring, assuming it still fit, he could convince…
Tony tossed his empty cup into the garbage and tried not to look excited that the elevator was opening. He was not going to be voluntarily showing up at the office an hour early at any time in the near future. Why was his head not this unpredictably manic when he was at home alone? Maybe he should keep a spare DVD or six in his desk for occasions like this. He didn't recognize the person behind a giant bouquet until they were almost in the bullpen. "McGee, what's with the flowers?"
"Um…" McGee's gaze darted around the room, doing everything but making eye contact. "What flowers?"
"Probie, anybody ever told you what a terrible liar you are?"
"Don't prove my point for me or anything."
McGee sighed dramatically before setting the bouquet on the desk across from Tony. "They're for Ziva."
Tony swung his feet off his desk as panic settled in a cold gastrointestinal lump. Then he remembered inviting Ziva to a play a nice dinner a week from now over a month ago. "Either you're getting a jump on her birthday or…early Chanukah gift?" He approached Ziva's desk to get a better view of what looked like a seriously expensive bunch of flowers wrapped in cheap cellophane. "Do people give flowers as a traditional thing? I always wondered, y'know, because with the eight crazy nights it must get expensive…"
McGee cut him off, "They're a thank you gesture."
His interest piqued, Tony made a grab for the bouquet and got a palmful of thorns for his trouble. "For what?"
"For a favor I'm planning to ask her."
Nursing his scratched hand, he muttered, "Lotta roses in there for a…wait a sec. Ziva hasn't done this favor for you yet and you're bringing her flowers?"
"You're trying to bribe Ziva into doing something you don't think she'll do!" Tony sauntered back to his seat, feeling slightly less bad for not picking up a second peppermint hot chocolate as a surprise for his partner this morning; it would have been cold by the time she arrived anyway, plus it would have screwed up his story for the coffee guy tomorrow. He decided he really should have gone for the large instead of the medium. In the meantime, McGee was slinking toward his own desk, so Tony resumed his relaxed position with his feet up. "Geez, McGreen Thumb. Unless you're asking her to help you pick out a more flattering tie, I think you'd have more luck with a bottle of wine and a knife."
McGee took the time from slipping out of his coat to look appalled. "If you had to ask Ziva for a favor you'd get her drunk and threaten her?"
"What? No! I mean that's what I'd give her as a bribe, if I needed one. Not that I'd need to bribe her to get her to do me a solid."
"Do you a solid? Do people really say that?"
"Solid what?" Tony grinned at Ziva as she looked at them both questioningly. "And why are there flowers on my desk?"
"McGee's trying to butter you up," Tony offered, as McGee seemed unable to get past anything but vague stammering.
She picked up the bouquet and looked at it carefully. "I do not see any butter with these. And why are you trying to put…" she scrunched up her nose in a way Tony found surprisingly alluring, "put butter on me, McGee. It sounds kinky."
"Hinky," McGee muttered.
"Oh no, I think she got that one right. I seem to remember her saying she likes Honey Dust," Tony suggested, reveling in McGee's deepening blush. "Or I know this place you can get this chocolate body paint that really, well, it's fun and, uh…" Ziva's unblinking stare was starting to make him wonder if the heat in his own cheeks had reached a point where it was visible. "Well, you can…with the chocolate…and it tastes…like, uh, chocolate, so…"
"Hm." She was suddenly much closer than he'd realized, leaning over his desk. "You smell like chocolate."
"Right, well…" He brushed some papers off his desk into his wastebasket to cover his peppermint hot chocolate cup, even though he suspected she had been through some kind of Moussad breath identification training. "We're not talking about me right now. We're talking about McGee and his unsolicited flowers, uh, and dairy products."
"I still do not understand why butter is…"
"Can we drop the butter?" McGee interrupted her.
"Hey, have you ever noticed that when you drop toast on the floor it always lands butter-side down so it picks up the maximum amount of floor crud?"
"Tony, can you…go away so I can talk to Ziva?"
"Oh, I don't think so, Probie. Anything you wanna say to Probie, Jr., you can say in front of me."
McGee found a whole new shade of red that made Tony worry some kind of catastrophic cardiovascular event was imminent. "DiNozzo…"
"I already saw the flower-bribe. What could possibly be worse?"
"My cousin Stacey is getting married."
"And what? You're mourning the six-toed, duck-billed children that might have been?"
McGee turned away and said to the partition, "I need a date for the wedding."
"And you think…" Tony tried unsuccessfully to contain his laughter. "Ziva, are you hearing this?"
To his surprise, she was flipping through a planner. "When is it, McGee?"
He kept his eyes down, but turned with an uncomfortable smile. "Two weeks from Saturday in the afternoon."
"Hm." Tony waited expectantly, hoping to hear an excuse up there with hair-washing, but he was disappointed. "All right. I will have plenty of time to find a dress before then."
Quelling his first instinct to offer to help her pick out a dress, maybe hang out in the fitting room while she tried a few on to help out with zippers and smoothing out wrinkles and…yeah. The continuing conversation in the bullpen faded into the background as he delved into his imagination. She'd need lingerie to wear under it and that Victoria's Secret catalogue that had arrived two nights ago was fresh in his mind. What color would it be? That red and black set he'd seen on page five could work. He tried to picture her in all red, but the dress in his head was determined to stay on his bedroom floor while she modeled the bra and panties, which was fine by…oh, not good office thoughts. In fact, given how women seemed to respond to weddings, McGee's bedroom floor could be… wait, was that why McGee's smile had suddenly gotten so big and smug? "No!"
Ziva raised an eyebrow. "You do not have to get so excited. I do not think my choice of prime rib over lemon chicken is something that should upset you."
Tony ran a hand through his hair, trying to crush the thoughts back into his head. He turned to McGee, saying somewhat resentfully, "Don't you know any other women, Probie?"
"Not like…" McGee's blush returned as he mumbled the rest of his thought inaudibly.
"Didn't quite hear you there."
Making a face Tony associated with ripping off a band-aid , McGee launched into a rapid explanation, "Look, my cousin Greg is a stockbroker in New York and he always shows up to every family event with some model from Italy or Brazil or somewhere and just once I would like to…I can't bring some stranger to meet my family and I can't go through another reception where I only get to dance with my mom, my sister, my spinster Aunt Muriel and the most desperate bridesmaid," he finished, taking a deep breath.
"So your plan is to counter 'foreign model' with 'crazy Israeli'?" After a not-so-surreptitious ogle, Tony added with a grin, "Yeah, that might work. My only regret is that I won't be there to see it. Unless…does your sister have a date for this shindig?"
"You are not dating my sister."
"Aw, c'mon, not even as just a little one-off thing?"
"She did say you were much cuter than Tommy," Ziva volunteered supportively.
"Tony, you can't go with my sister."
"I'm not trying to seduce her, McGuardian. I just can't see another perfect chance to meet la famiglia McGeelia so opportunely. And they'll get to meet the senior agent you can't stop telling them about."
"Gibbs will be coming as well?" Ziva asked as McGee sat at his computer and ignored them.
Her self-satisfied smile reminded him why he was so eager to invite himself to McGee's cousin's wedding, so he let the jibe go. "I'm fun at weddings, Probie. I've got great stories, I look good in a suit and I'm not too proud to do the Electric Slide after a few drinks. A few more and I'll even do the Chicken Dance."
"I thought you were trying to convince McGee why you should come rather than remind him why he would prefer not to have you there."
Tony lowered his voice so only Ziva, who was perched on the corner of his desk, could hear him. "You really want to be stuck in some poorly decorated Elks Club hall with a clan of McGeeks for a whole afternoon? You know you'll be happy to have me there when the conversation turns into an argument about Star Wars or something."
"I am sure McGee's family is perfectly pleasant."
"How sure?"
"As sure as I am that I can survive a Saturday afternoon without you."
He frowned. "Well, can I see the pictures at least?"
"Sarah says okay," McGee suddenly announced through gritted teeth.
Ziva was the one to ask, "What?"
"I saw her online, so I IM'd her to tell her about Tony's dumb idea and she…you're really going to go to this wedding with my sister?"
Tony was focused on Ziva as he answered, "Absolutely. So…what are you planning on wearing?"


text:
July 10, 2008 - Industry News
ArvinMeritor has entered into an agreement to acquire Trucktechnic, a remanufacturer and distributor of commercial vehicle disc and foundation brakes and components, based in Liege, Belgium
The American Trucking Associations announced an online video channel for communicating the trucking industry's critical issues to members, legislators, regulators and the public
Kentucky Trailer announced plans for the relocation of its custom manufacturing facility in Louisville to a 240,000-square-foot facility in Jefferson Riverport International (Riverport)
Atlanta-based RoadLink, a private independent intermodal logistics service provider, announced the purchase of Vancouver, Wash.-based international intermodal trucking service provider American Freight Systems
ArvinMeritor expects to see stronger financial results in the third fiscal quarter and full fiscal year
Transportation interests from all points of the compass staked their positions on truck sizes and weights at a July 9 hearing before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. It was the first public encounter over this complex and difficult issu
July 9, 2008 - Industry News
The Freight Transportation Services Index rose 1.9 percent in May from its April level, the largest monthly increase since January, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Tags: Economy
Two of the nation's busiest interstates will receive $11 million, more than $5 million each, in federal support for innovative strategies to reduce the frustration of truckers looking for parking on congested routes
Tags: Highways
July 8, 2008 - Industry News
In response to the Ontario government's decision to pass a speed limiter bill, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association will file a formal Notice of Intent challenging the legality of the legislation
Commodity prices that have as much as doubled in the past six months have led Navistar International to increase prices on International trucks, effective immediately. Price increases will vary by model, topping at $1,600 per truck
The U.S. Army Reserve and Con-way Freight launched a public-private partnership that will allow both organizations to recruit, train and employ individuals interested in both serving the nation and pursuing a career in the commercial freight transportation industry
Workhorse Custom Chassis, Union City, Ind., has restructured its sales and marketing operations while appointing Jim Gavaghan to the newly created position of vice president of sales for both commercial and RV chassis
DeBoer Transportation, Blenker, Wis., announced an 7 cent increase in the pay package for owner operators
July 7, 2008 - Industry News
The Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association announced Emmert International, Clackamas, Ore., won its Hauling Job of the Year Awar
Arsenault Associates of Burlington, N.J., launched a fuel efficiency initiative for its Dossier fleet maintenance management software solutions with a goal of achieving an average fuel cost reduction of 10 percent for fleet customers
Schneider National of Green Bay, Wis., is expanding into the local and regional bulk hauling arenas.
After actually showing a decline for the month of June, diesel prices roared back with a vengeance last week to a new record high, with the national average retail price jumping more than 8 cents a gallon
Tags: Fuel and Oil
When Canada's agency responsible for transportation regulations last week released six studies on the implications of mandating speed limiters for trucks, it played up the environmental benefits while downplaying some of the negatives
A Pennsylvania state lawmakers says a controversial plan to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike is dead in the water, according to published reports
The Conference Board's Employment Trends Index fell again in June, continuing a decline that began in July 2007 and suggesting more job losses in the coming months
July 6, 2008 - Industry News
The National Association of Show Trucks along with Kirskey & Assoc presented the 2nd West Michigan Truck Show / Industry Expo late last month in Muskegon, Mich
Tags: Events
MCT Transportation of Sioux Falls, S.D., a truckload carrier of general commodities for products requiring refrigerated services and dry goods, recently expanded operations to include a new West Coast produce division
Daily Express, Carlisle, Pa., has added an Empty Mile Fuel Surcharge Assistance program for its owner-operators
The U.S. Department of Energy and the Swedish Energy Agency are providing a three year grant to the Volvo Group in a combined amount of $18 million for the development of hybrid technology and drivelines for alternative fuels
July 3, 2008 - Industry News
Azure Dynamics, Oak Park, Mich., has signed its first Sales & Service agreement with Palmetto Truck Center allowing them to sell Azure's Balance Hybrid Electric E450 commercial vehicle
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text:
HONG KONG — Asian stock markets were mostly lower Thursday after news of a big buildup in U.S. oil stockpiles depressed crude prices and shares of energy companies.
KEEPING SCORE: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.2 per cent to 19,283.65 as a weaker yen lifted shares of exporters. South Korea's Kospi dipped 0.1 per cent to 2,093.31 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.1 per cent to 23,522.78. The Shanghai Composite index in mainland China slid 0.8 per cent to 3,215.47 and Australia's S&P ASX 200 shed 0.3 per cent to 5,741.20. Benchmarks in Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia also lost ground.
EXCESS ENERGY: Oil reserves grew by 8 million barrels last week, far more than analysts expected, according to a report by the Energy Information Administration. The news triggered a sell-off in energy-related shares and oil futures, with benchmark U.S. crude losing $2.86, or 5.4 per cent , to close at $50.28 a barrel, its biggest drop in more than a year. Prices had stabilized by early Thursday afternoon in Asia, with crude oil adding 32 cents to $50.60 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 43 cents to $53.54 a barrel in London.
ANALYST INSIGHT: "It's pretty bad. A 5 per cent drop in the oil price is very significant. It even has an impact on the stock market as well," said Margaret Yang, an analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore. "The overall performance of U.S. indices was dragged down by the energy sector and the same thing is happening" in Asia, she said. Shares of Japan Petroleum Exploration slid 1.7 per cent while PetroChina, China's biggest oil producer, slumped 2.2 per cent and Sinopec, the country's largest refiner, tumbled 3.3 per cent . Australia's Woodside Petroleum lost 1.2 per cent .
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 114.55 yen from 114.33 yen. The euro slipped to $1.0532 from $1.0539. The greenback gained ground after an upbeat U.S. jobs report boosted expectations that the Fed will raise interest rates at its next policy meeting on March 14-15. The private ADP survey found that U.S. businesses last month added the most jobs in three years, in a healthy sign for the world's biggest economy.
WALL STREET: Major U.S. benchmarks fell for the third day in a row. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dipped 0.2 per cent to 2,362.98. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.3 per cent to 20,855.73. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.1 per cent to 5,836.55 as health care and technology companies moved higher.
Kelvin Chan, The Associated Press