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Enjoy powerful multispeed vibrations with the waterproof Toy Joy Neo Vibrator which measures 7 inches in length with an insertable length of 6 inches. The rounded end allows you to keep hold of the vibrator easily as it moves through the gears. The 1.25-1.5 inch wide shaft comes with a bulbous end which is perfect for vaginal and g-spot stimulation while the smaller stimulator's curved tip enables simultaneous clitoral pleasures. 2 AAA batteries included. Available in Pink and Purple.
The translucent purple Dazzling Dong is a mighty 8.5 inches long and 1.75 inches in diameter. Sculpted to fulfil and perform, this huge dildo comes with a lifelike penis head, pulsating veins along the length of its shaft and a ball sack base which makes it much easier to keep hold of for anything from gentle to more intense thrusts. Which an insertable length of 7 inches, this mighty dong is bound to satisfy even the most powerful sexual urges! Available in Purple.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Summary: Education, Research, Patient Care, and Community Service Spring 2008 PhysicianHasWorldwideVision|Prognosis:ClinicalExcellence|BurnCenter u n i v e r s i t y o f c a l i f o r n i a , s a n d i e g o UC San Diego's history has been characterized by growth and change, new ideas, and bold initiatives. The rapid evolution of this campus as an internationally respected university is unparalleled in modern times, and UCSD Health Sciences has played a major role in the University's rise as a top-ranked academic institution. The School of Medicine, the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and the Medical Center system of patient services epitomize UCSD's local impact, national influence, and global reach. Our reputation as a leading research institution is well known and validated again with the U.S. News and World Report's "America's Best Graduate Schools" 2009 rankings. In this annual nationwide survey, the UCSD School of Medicine is the fifth leading public
Source: Abagyan, Ruben - School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California at San Diego
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Item: JDEXL12010P
This is a 10-pack of the Daddario 9-42 nickel wound electric guitar strings. D'Addario is one of the oldest and the largest manufacturers of fretted instrument strings in the world.
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Find over 200 print-friendly fact sheets about heart disease and related health topics.
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) means that the symptoms you have before your period starts—like breast tenderness or irritability—are so bad that they interfere with your life.
Last Revised: October 9, 2012
Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review: Sarah Marshall, MD - Family Medicine & Kirtly Jones, MD - Obstetrics and Gynecology
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
To learn more visit Healthwise.org
© 1995-2012 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.


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PGP Mobile System Requirements
Article:TECH149440 | | | Created: 2009-05-28 | | | Updated: 2011-02-06 | | | Article URL http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH149440 |
This article details the system requirements for PGP Mobile 9.10.
Built on proven encryption and key management services, PGP Mobile provides flexible encryption to meet the data protection and sharing needs of a mobile enterprise. With PGP Mobile, entire data volumes, archives, directories, or individual files can be encrypted. Incoming and outgoing email can be encrypted or decrypted, signed or verified.
System Requirements
PGP Mobile is supported on the following operating systems and devices:- Windows Mobile Professional Edition, version 6.0 and 6.1
Note: PGP Mobile is only supported on professional editions of Windows Mobile. |
PGP Mobile is supported on all screen resolutions supported by the Windows Mobile version in both portrait and landscape formats.
PGP Mobile supports external storage cards (for creating new PGP Disk volumes, creating PGP Zip files, and so on).
- PGP Universal Server 2.9 or 2.10.
- LDAP authentication (for enrolling users to the PGP Universal Server).
- Microsoft Exchange Server (required for messaging):
- Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 SP 2
- Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 SP 1
Note: Be sure you have applied the required service packs to your Microsoft Exchange Server. |
Legacy ID
Article URL http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH149440
Terms of use for this information are found in Legal Notices


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The qnx.fuse.ui.progress package provides progress indicator functionality. The progress indicator provides temporal feedback during time-consuming or processor-intensive operations.
Interface | Description | |
IProgress | The interface for components that show progress. |
Class | Description | |
ActivityIndicator | The ActivityIndicator class provides visual progress feedback to the user during time-consuming operations. | |
PercentageBar | The PercentageBar class shows activity progress by percentage. | |
ProgressBar | The ProgressBar class shows the progress of a task or operation: The ProgressBar class provides the temporal feedback functionality for the API. | |
ProgressBarStates | Avaliable states for the ProgressBar and PercentageBar components. |


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Diogenes and the Citizen-Hacker of Global Democracy
There are no files associated with this record.
Title | Diogenes and the Citizen-Hacker of Global Democracy |
Author | Stockwell, Stephen Edward |
Publication Title | Sites of Cosmopolitanism : Citizenship, Aesthetics, Culture |
Editor | David Ellison & Ian Woodward |
Year Published | 2005 |
Place of publication | Brisbane |
Publisher | Centre for Public Culture and Ideas |
Abstract | The classical Greek philosopher, Diogenes was the first person on the historical record to describe themselves as cosmopolitan and his work has relevance for today. As the global economy adapts new communication technologies to spread its influence, it is shifting power away from the representative institutions of nation states. The question arises as to the nature of any possible global democracy that could moderate this emerging economic power and the consequent ethos of its citizenry. It has been noted elsewhere that the hacker, arguing for new human rights in an environment of all-encompassing global technology, is the prototype for the citizen of global democracy. This paper argues that a return to Diogenes and his critique of Greek citizenry provides some useful insights for the putative citizen hacker of global democracy. Diogenes' cynic philosophy is much more than the sarcastic disbelief in human goodness that cynicism has come to mean today. Diogenes' opposition to convention and servitude and his support for self-sufficiency and free speech suggest some key characteristics for the citizen-hacker and point to possible paths towards cosmopolitan democracy. |
Peer Reviewed | Yes |
Published | Yes |
Publisher URI | http://www.griffith.edu.au/arts-languages-criminology/centre-public-culture-ideas |
Copyright Statement | Copyright remains with the author 2005 Griffith University. It is posted here with permission of the copyright owner for your personal use only. No further distributions permitted. |
Conference name | Sites of Cosmopolitanism : Citizenship, Aesthetics, Culture |
Location | Brisbane |
Date From | 2005-07-06 |
Date To | 2005-07-08 |
URI | http://hdl.handle.net/10072/2435 |
Date Accessioned | 2006-03-16 |
Language | en_AU |
Research Centre | Griffith Centre for Cultural Research; Centre for Creative Arts Research |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Subject | PRE2009-Political Theory and Political Philosophy |
Publication Type | Conference Publications (Full Written Paper - Refereed) |
Publication Type Code | e1 |
Please use this identifier to cite this record: http://hdl.handle.net/10072/2435
Griffith University copyright notice
Unless otherwise indicated, works by Griffith University Scholars are © Griffith University. For further details, please refer to the University's Intellectual Property Policy.


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- 800.878.7323
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Used Hardcover
Ships in 1 to 3 days
More copies of this ISBNThis title in other editionsThe Loud Book!by Deborah Underwood
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:BANG! CRACKLE! BOO! Just as there are different kinds of quiet, there are alsoand#160;different kinds of loud: good louds (HOORAY!), and bad louds (CRASH!), and accidental louds that make youand#160;the center of attention (BURP!). and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Loud Book presents all these kid-friendly noisesand#160;in a way that is sure to make readersand#160;CHEER! Now in a padded board edition just perfect for little hands. Pair this with its equally entertaining (but quieter) The Quiet Book. Review:"The colors are a bit brighter and the type is set all in caps, but this sequel to The Quiet Book stars the same gang of fuzzy creatures and is every bit as charming. Many of the 'louds' are found in school — there's 'WALKING-TO-SCHOOL SONG LOUD' and 'BURP DURING QUIET TIME LOUD.' Playful details abound; the bowling bear who makes a strike ('GOOD CRASH LOUD') in one panel is seen bowling on a fuzzy TV screen in the next. A father rabbit who's watching TV hears a dreadful noise in the kitchen ('BAD CRASH LOUD'); careful inspection reveals that the small rabbit sitting on top of the television is reading The Quiet Book. Liwska's artwork, as always, is noteworthy for its depth and warmth. The expressions on the faces of her animals convey community, even intimacy; they often appear to have been deep in conversation just before being interrupted by a deafening crash. Fans of the first book will be delighted to extend their bedtime reading time with the second, and they'll welcome the chance to pump up the volume. Ages 4 — 8. (Apr.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright PWxyz LLC)
CRACKLE BOO Just like there are lots of quiets, there are also lots of louds: Good louds (HOORAY ) and bad louds (CRASH ) And louds that make you feel like you are the center of attention (BURP ). The Loud Book compiles all these kid-friendly noises from morning to night, in a way that is sure to make readers CHEER Synopsis:The much louder companion to the bestselling Quiet Book is now available inand#160;aand#160;cozy padded board book edition! Synopsis:There are many kinds of quiet: Quiet can be delicate. Quiet can be thundering! Quiet can be sweet, and cozy, and can most definitely help you fall asleep. With kid-centric descriptions and irresistible artwork, this gentle picture book explores all the different quiets that can fill a childs days from morning to night. Synopsis:In the misty mountains a little panda bear climbs tall trees, munches sweet bamboo, and curls up in his favorite perch to sleep. It is just right—until Mother Panda goes looking for a snack and Little Pandas nap is disturbed by something unexpected. What was it that his mother told him he should do? This is the perfect story to reassure little ones that parents always return. About the AuthorRenata Liwska lives and works in Calgary, Canada, with her illustrator husband, Mike. Her childhood memories are of growing up in Warsaw, Poland. What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
Other books you might likeRelated SubjectsChildren's » Animals » Animal Stories » General Children's » Concepts » General Children's » Concepts » Sounds Children's » Picture Books » A to Z Children's » Picture Books » General Children's » Sale Books |


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Sridharan, A and Prakash, K (2003) Self weight consolidation: compressibility behavior of segregated and homogeneous finegrained sediments. In: Marine Georesources and Geotechnology, 21 (2). pp. 73-80.
Self_Weight_Consolidation_Compressibility.pdf Restricted to Registered users only Download (159Kb) | Request a copy |
Soil sediments formed during sedimentation will be either segregated or homogeneous in nature, depending upon the prevailing depositional environment. These sediments initially undergo self weight consolidation. The article reports information about the compressibility characteristics of soft sediments at very low effective stress levels due to self weight as a function of clay mineralogy.
Item Type: | Journal Article |
Additional Information: | Copyright of this article belongs to Taylor & Francis. |
Keywords: | Clays;Clay Mineralogy;Compressibility;Fabric/structure Of Soils;Sedimentation; |
Department/Centre: | Division of Mechanical Sciences > Civil Engineering |
Date Deposited: | 17 May 2007 |
Last Modified: | 19 Sep 2010 04:35 |
URI: | http://eprints.iisc.ernet.in/id/eprint/9748 |
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The state Capitol Christmas tree was officially lit up Wednesday night. It has about 10,000 lights and is decorated with hundreds of ornaments created by kids and adults with disabilities.
The views expressed are not those of this site, this station or its affiliated companies. By posting your comments you agree to accept our terms of use.blog comments powered by Disqus


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Mar 17-31 | Data Analytics Using Excel |
Apr 1- May 4 | Project Management |
Jun 6 and 7 | GMAT Review |
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Fire Breaks Out on Occupied School Bus in Fla.
Firefighters battled a blaze on a school bus Tuesday afternoon in front of the American Airlines Arena.
Moments after they left school, a bus carrying eight schoolgirls became an inferno. A bus driver was forced to pull over on Biscayne Boulevard and evacuate the school bus.
"First, there was this awful smell, and the bus driver said, 'OK, fire, fire -- everybody get out,'" said student Enid McCoughlin. "So he came behind and he opened the fire escape door in the back and we all filed out and within minutes, it was up in flames."
"It was screaming, yelling, crying, laughing -- every emotion, I guess, because we didn't know how to express it," said student Grace Hill.
Students credit the bus driver, as well as firefighters and police officers, for the fact that no one was injured.
"(The driver) said, 'Fire, fire,' and that's when we saw the smoke coming from the front. And then we moved and we got out really quick," said student Madeline Caceres.
Parents rushed to the scene, relieved to see that their children were safe.
"Apparently, the bus driver managed to get them out just in time. He let them out the back door like he's supposed to and got them out, so the guy's a real hero," said parent Robin Hill.
Fire investigators said they planned to examine the bus's maintenance log to see if work was done on the bus or if it had problems recently.
"Life is a really fragile thing. It's really fragile, and you're here one minute and you could be gone the next," Robin Hill said.
Copyright 2009 by Post-Newsweek Stations. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed


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Specially crafted for normal to dry skin. Our soothing cucumber and Sage towelettes remove makeup, cleanse, and tone in one easy step, leaving skin naturally clean without the need for rinsing.
Note: A 50-item monthly quantity limit is in effect on all Burt's Bees products. No more than 50 of each product may be purchased by one customer each calendar month.


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When I think about the Apache Software Foundation, I usually think of the flagship project and serving Web pages, but there's a lot more going on over at the ASF besides the ubiquitous HTTP Server. Case in point, the project recently released PDFBox 1.0, a Java library for working with PDF documents. The PDFBox project […] The Apache Software Foundation (ASF) may stop releasing new versions of the older 1.3 and 2.0 series of its flagship Web server product with most development now focused on the 2.2 series. The Apache HTTP server project is one of the most successful and popular (the most popular Web server on the Internet since 1996, […] |
Copyright © 2015 FreeSoftNews - All Rights Reserved |


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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Edmondsley | |
Edmondsley shown within County Durham
OS grid reference | NZ237490 |
Unitary authority | County Durham |
Ceremonial county | County Durham |
Region | North East |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | DURHAM |
Postcode district | DH7 |
Dialling code | 0191 |
Police | Durham |
Fire | County Durham and Darlington |
Ambulance | North East |
EU Parliament | North East England |
UK Parliament | North Durham |
Coordinates: 54°50′06″N 1°37′55″W / 54.835°N 1.632°W
Edmondsley is a small village in County Durham, England. It is situated a few miles south-west of Chester-le-Street, near the villages of Craghead and Sacriston.
Coal mining once provided the village's main source of employment, but the last mines in the area had closed by the mid-1980s.
Edmondsley has one primary school, and a Post Office. Until recently there was also a public house, the Fleece, but this closed in 2007.
Notable people[edit]
The professional footballer and trade unionist Thomas Burlison, Baron Burlison (1936–2008) was born in Edmondsley.[1]
- ^ "Obituaries: Lord Burlison: GMB and Labour stalwart". The Independent. Independent News and Media. 2008-05-23. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
External links[edit]
Media related to Edmondsley at Wikimedia Commons
This County Durham location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |


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Ktown, LA, CA
Best meal I ever ate:
At Palisade in Seattle, with a close second to Dahlia Lounge
My current drink of choice:
Lucien Albrecht Cuvée Balthazar Pinot Blanc
I really wish I could:
eat Pizza Frites again one day
My "Go-to" dinner party dish:
Really great brownies
My favorite comfort food:
Fried chicken!
My top 5 favorite restaurants:
In NYC: Gramercy Tavern, Pearl Oyster Bar. In Seattle: Palisade, Dahlia Lounge. In LA: t.b.d.
My most tattered cookbooks:
Betty Crocker, The Brownie Experience


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recipe reviews for:
"The sweet and spicy sauce here punches up traditional toothpick-ready meatballs."
Cooking Level: Expert
My Profile | Cooks I Like Reviews | Photos | Recipes | Menus | Blog
Cooking Level: Intermediate
A simple tortilla topped with Mexican fillings gives you a burst of spicy flavor.
Flan, churros, tres leches cake? We have these and so many more. It's fiesta time!
Great recipes and cooking tips! For a limited time, get a year of Allrecipes Magazine for $5.99.
See how to make the best party meatballs.
See how to make sweet and spicy cocktail meatballs.
Learn how to make Swedish meatballs for appetizers or as a main dish.


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I'm a universal lover
Annyeong! I'm __ year old female who's heart stays young.I like doing nothing. Half of my heart belongs to Lee Eunhyuk [super junior]. 2/8 of the remaining half is for Kim Bum. Another 2/8 is devoted to Lee Min Ho. The reamining parts belong to...I'm still looking for someone..lol. I also like SNSD, WG and 2ne1. |
looking for something?
about this blog
I'm gonna be posting works here (not daily basis). I'm not apro so you may not find high-quality and award winning works here. I might also post WORKS that ARE MADE by OTHERS. Proper credits will be given. I would really be happy to hear what's in your mind. So please type in your comments or suggestions in the comment box. Thank you for visiting. Come again!
Lee Min Ho wallpapers (with Goo Hye Sun)archives
Design: doughnutcrazyIcon: lonelygirl<--yours truly |
Lee Min Ho wallpapers (with Goo Hye Sun)
Still can not get over with this craze. Result: I ended up doing some lee min ho wallpapers (1280x800)Grab them! Lol *click the pictures to zoom* **I'll be posting today's birthday celebrant [ Ryeowook ]wallpapers in my next post and I don't know when will it be. Hahahaha. Labels: Boys Over Flowers, Geum Jandi, Goo hye Sun, Gu Jun Pyo, Lee Min Ho, wallpaper |


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Download Research Tools
The following is the first of three blogs on the contributions of the Microsoft Research Asia Joint Lab Program (JLP), which recently celebrated its tenth anniversary. The JLP brings together the resources of Microsoft Research and major Chinese universities, facilitating collaboration on state-of-the-art research, academic exchange, and talent incubation. This blog focuses on the Microsoft-Harbin Institute of Technology joint lab (Microsoft-HIT; officially the China Ministry of Education–Microsoft Key Laboratory of Natural Language Processing and Speech, Harbin Institute of Technology).
Think of countries that have more than one official language. Which ones come to mind? Canada, with two official tongues? Switzerland with four? How about China, which has no less than eight official languages and more than 50 unofficial but widely spoken indigenous tongues. Each of these languages is cherished as a cultural treasure in China, but the multiplicity of minority languages seriously impedes economic, technological, scientific, and educational exchanges between minority groups and the Mandarin-speaking Han, who make up a majority of China's population.
Resolving this linguistic tangle is exactly the sort of challenge that prompted the creation of the Microsoft Research Asia Joint Lab Program (JLP), and it is the research focus of Microsoft-HIT. Since 2004, Microsoft-HIT researchers have published over 500 academic journal papers and, during just the last five years, presented more than 30 essays at such high-level events as the ACM-SIGIR Conference and the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI).
The fruits of this labor can be seen in a Microsoft-HIT project called Minority Language Machine Translation. The project's goal is to bridge the linguistic and cultural gulfs that separate different ethnic and national groups, both in China and around the world, and, potentially help preserve endangered minority languages. The project prototype is based on Microsoft Research's Microsoft Translator Hub, a platform for machine translation between different languages. Utilizing the Microsoft Azure cloud-computing service, the prototype allows users to upload language and translation data and thus build a repository of lexical and grammatical information that can facilitate bilingual translation. While the work to date has focused on machine translation between Mandarin, English, and Uyghur, the underlying principles can be applied to translating between any two languages.
But this project isn't the only focus of Microsoft-HIT. The joint lab also aims to serve as a talent incubator, mentoring the young researchers who will be the leaders of tomorrow. Microsoft-HIT not only employs a large number of the university's faculty and graduate students, it also holds an annual summer seminar on natural language processing. Since 2004, the summer seminar has provided more than 2,000 students an opportunity to develop their skills and laid the foundation for advanced research in language processing and speech technology.
Professor Sheng Li, seen here at the 2014 Microsoft Research Asia Faculty Summit, was instrumental in establishing the Microsoft-HIT joint lab.
Although the Microsoft-HIT joint lab dates from 2004, it antecedents stretch back to last century, when, during the 1990s, Microsoft Research Asia worked with Harbin Institute of Technology professor Sheng Li to set up a laboratory on machine translation. In 2000, it became one of the first labs in the Microsoft Research Joint Lab Program and in 2004, the Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE) accorded official recognition to this joint effort, designating it as a MOE-Microsoft Key Laboratory.
Professor Li, who is still deeply involved in the joint lab, credits it with having provided valuable experience to many young faculty members and promising students. He notes that many of these talented researchers have gone onto careers in related industries, but that a significant number choose to stay in the joint lab as either HIT professors or Microsoft researchers.
With the past 10 years of this program as a guide, we look forward to the next decade and beyond, confident that the Microsoft Research-HIT joint lab will foster even greater talent cultivation and research collaboration.
—Tim Pan, Director of University Relations, Microsoft Research Asia,
Learn more
Big data—that buzzword seems to dominate information technology discussions these days. But big data is so much more than a clever catchphrase: it's a reality that holds enormous potential. We now have the largest and most diversified volume of data in human history. And it's growing exponentially: approximately 90% of today's data has been generated within the past two years. The exploding science of big data is changing the IT industry and exerting a powerful impact on everyday life.
But what should big data science be, and where is it headed? These are the fundamental questions that have prompted Tsinghua University and Microsoft Research Asia to work together to establish a pioneering graduate course on Big Data Foundations and Applications. Turing Award winner and Tsinghua professor Andrew Chi-Chih Yao spent more than eight months developing the course, which launched in September 2014.
Turing Award winner and Tsinghua professor Andrew Chi-Chih Yao
Solidifying knowledge through academia-industry cooperation
On October 9, Hsiao-Wuen Hon, managing director of Microsoft Research Asia, delivered the course's first lecture. Dr. Hon stressed that the importance of big data lies not only in its value in academic research but also in its application to real-world problems, which, he said, is why the academia-industry cooperation represented by the course is so critical.
"One of our purposes in launching this course with Tsinghua is to introduce Microsoft's ideas to students, to let them get to know us better," he explained. "Meanwhile, our top professional researchers can deepen their understanding of big data while teaching the students. So the course is not just about enhancing the students' understanding of big data; it's also about solidifying the researchers' knowledge of big data."
Hsiao-Wuen Hon, managing director of Microsoft Research Asia, delivered the course's first lecture.
Echoing the importance of the industry-academia connection, Professor Yao remarked, "Big data is an epoch-making subject. It has influenced all the other disciplines, including computer science and information technology. We should not only focus on the scientific research. Education development is also a new trend. "
Leading the forefront of big data science
Wei Chen, a senior researcher at Microsoft Research Asia, has been a visiting professor at Tsinghua University since 2007. He has helped design and launch several entry-level courses at Tsinghua, and he is a strong proponent of the new big data course.
"We certainly don't expect this course to become a platform for its product promotion. Instead, it is being established to provide students with cutting-edge knowledge, to get them engaged in research and technology development, and to foster their ability to do research and experimentation," he said.
Wei Chen, senior researcher at Microsoft Research Asia, talks with student.
Professor Chen pointed out that while the course will provide an academic understanding of big data, it will also introduce students to real-life cases of Microsoft big data research and applications. In addition, students will have the opportunity to conduct experiments using Microsoft Azure, the company's cloud-computing platform. He believes these practical, hands-on components distinguish this class from other big data courses.
Feeding the talent pipeline
Microsoft Research has a long tradition of collaborating with universities and has undertaken several initiatives to nurture the next generation of talented researchers. Since 2002, for instance, Microsoft Research Asia has hosted over 4,000 interns and carried out projects with more than 40 universities and institutes. The new big data course comes directly out of that tradition, and both Microsoft Research and Tsinghua University have high expectations for this collaboration. Professor Yao probably put it best, saying, "I believe this world-class course will give students a comprehensive understanding of big data and its knowledge structure, helping them reach their goals in future jobs and research."
—Kangping Liu, Senior Research Program Manager, Microsoft Research Asia
Halloween 2013 brought real terror to an Austin, Texas, neighborhood, when a flash flood killed four residents and damaged roughly 1,200 homes. Following torrential rains, Onion Creek swept over its banks and inundated the surrounding community. At its peak, the rampaging water flowed at twice the force of Niagara Falls (source: USA Today).
While studying the flood site shortly afterwards, David Maidment, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Texas, ran into an old acquaintance, Harry Evans, chief of staff for the Austin Fire Department. Recognizing their shared interest in predicting and responding to floods, the two began collaborating on a system to bring flood forecasts and warnings down to the local level. The need was obvious: flooding claims more lives and costs more federal government money than any other category of natural disasters. A system that can predict local floods could help flood-prone communities prepare for and maybe even prevent catastrophic events like the Onion Creek deluge.
Soon, Maidment had pulled together other participants from academia, government, and industry to start the National Flood Interoperability Experiment (NFIE), with a goal of developing the next generation of flood forecasting for the United States. NFIE was designed to connect the National Flood Forecasting System with local emergency response and thereby create real-time flood information services.
The process of crunching data from the four federal agencies that deal with flooding (the US Geologic Survey, the National Weather Service, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency) was a burden for even the best-equipped physical datacenter—but not for the almost limitless scalability of the cloud. Maidment submitted a successful proposal for a Microsoft Azure for Research Award, which provided the necessary storage and compute resources via Microsoft Azure, the company's cloud-computing platform.
Today, NFIE is using Microsoft Azure to perform the statistical analysis necessary to compare present and past data from flood-prone areas and thus build prediction models. By deploying an Azure-based solution, the NFIE researchers can see what's happening in real time and can collaborate from anywhere, sharing data from across the country. The system has also proved to be easy to learn: programmers had their computer model, RAPID (Routing Application for Parallel computation of Discharge) up and running after just two days of training on Azure. Moreover, the Azure cloud platform provides almost infinite scalability, which could be crucial as the National Weather Service is in the process of increasing its forecasts from 4,500 to 2.6 million locations. Of course, the greatest benefits of this Azure-based solution accrue to the public—to folks like those living along Onion Creek—whose property and lives might be spared by the timely prediction of floods.
—Dan Fay, Director: Earth, Energy, and Environment, Microsoft Research


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Amortization is the monthly recalculation of principal and interest that takes place as you gradually pay down the principal of your mortgage. The portions of the payment that go to principal and interest change with every payment because interest is charged only on the portion of the principal that remains unpaid. The calculations are fairly straightforward and can be done on paper, or with a simple calculator.
Items you will need
- Mortgage statement
- Calculator
Step 1
Consult your mortgage statement to find your annual percentage rate, or APR, and the principal balance on your loan. The principal balance is whatever you borrowed, less the amount you have paid back. The APR is your interest rate.
Step 2
Divide your APR by 12 to get your monthly interest rate. For example, using an APR of 5 percent, 5 divided by 12 is 0.4166.
Step 3
Divide the result by 100 to convert to a decimal; in our example, 0.4166 becomes 0.004166.
Step 4
Multiply your APR in decimal form by the principal balance to compute the amount of interest you will pay in the current month. For example, a principal balance of $232,000 multiplied by 0.004166 equals an interest payment of $966.51.
Step 5
Subtract the interest amount from your contractual monthly payment, not counting the escrow portion of the payment, to see how much will be applied against the principal. For example, $1,342 minus $966.51 leaves $375.49 for principal reduction.
Step 6
Subtract the principal payment from your total principal to get the amount of money on which you will pay interest next month: $232,000 minus $375.49 leaves a principal balance of $231,634.51.
Photo Credits
- Jupiterimages/Creatas/Getty Images


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Cheap Flights from Las Vegas to Texas
Did You Know?
There are 306 nonstop flights from Las Vegas to Texas.
The quickest nonstop flight from Las Vegas to Texas lasts 1:35.
The largest aircraft flying nonstop from Las Vegas to Texas is the Boeing 757 with 182 seats.
Las Vegas connects with 10 cities within Texas nonstop.
45,646 seats are available per week to fly direct from Las Vegas to Texas.
The longest nonstop flight between Las Vegas and Texas is 1,233 miles.
There are 306 nonstop flights per week from Las Vegas and Texas on medium sized aircraft.
Las Vegas has 40 medium haul flights nonstop to Texas each week.
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hahahaa love it :D
also animals have humor. . thanks for the fav.
yes i can see it in your pic :D thank you for making me smile :D
hehe, a very charmates laugh *lol* nice shot
as mysterious as the mona lisa?? thanks for the fav.
Oh, Mona Lisa's smile looks out of bitterness But he laughs lovely here I could kiss him
I'm afraid he has a bad breath.
before he gets a mouthwash
Do you think he has Mick Jagger's lips, and therefore want to kiss him?
hehe, no I only kiss my husband and cute animals
does he has Mick Jagger's lips than?
I love your photo!
You're welcome :)
I like his haircut ... awesome and wonderful shot
he looks a bit like Johnny Rotten...
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YOUNGSTOWN - The Schwebel Baking Co., on Tuesday halted production at its Midlothian Boulevard plant.
According to the paper's news partner, WKBN Channel 27, the action came after listeria bacteria was discovered on the premises during a scheduled environmental assessment.
In a press release, the company said that as a precautionary measure it is voluntarily withdrawing any potentially affected products.
Article Photos
Schwebel's white bread was removed from the shelves at Sparkle in Lisbon. (Salem News photo by Deanne Johnson)
Exactly which products may be affected were not listed in the release, but a check of the two grocery stores in Lisbon, Sparkle and Save-A-Lot, showed that all white bread had been removed from the shelves.
There was still wheat bread available.
To check if a loaf of bread is possible affected, Channel 27 reported, people can check the "Best Used By" section of the bag. If it begins with an A, the television station said, people can return the bread and get a refund.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, listeria is a bacteria which can cause serious infection and especially affects the elderly, newborns, pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems.
Among the symptoms are fever and muscle aches, sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms.
Channel 27 spoke to Vince Bevacqua, a Schwebel spokesman, who said only certain strains of listeria can cause serious infections, and officials are not sure what type of strain was present at the bakery.
No other Schwebel bakeries are impacted by this suspension.


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I, the complainant in this case, state that the following is true to the best of my knowledge and belief. Code Section (15 U.S.C. § 1), Offense Description (Price-fixing) This criminal complaint is based on these facts: Please see the attached affidavit of Deborah S. Bond, Special Agent, Fedearl Bureau of Investigation. (Approved as to form ____ Jacklin Chou Lern, Trial Attorney)
AFFIDAVIT OF SPECIAL AGENT DEBORAH BOND I, Special Agent Deborah S. Bond, U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), being duly sworn, state as follows: INTRODUCTION 1. My investigation has revealed that there is probable cause to find that Homy Hong-Ming Hsu (a/k/a/ Homy Hsu) did fix the prices of aftermarket auto lights with his competitors in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1. BACKGROUND AND EXPERTISE OF AFFIANT 2. I am an FBI Special Agent in the San Francisco Division of the FBI, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, 13th Floor. I have been assigned to this Division since September 2005. I have approximately twenty-four years of experience working on white collar cases and have almost four years of experience working on antitrust cases. In my tenure as a FBI Special Agent I have investigated numerous criminal cases involving white collar crime, public corruption, heath care fraud, and antitrust. 3. Following my training at the FBI Academy, I received hundreds of hours of training in various aspects of criminal investigation and attended classes and seminars dealing specifically with white collar prosecution. CHARGE 4. I make this Affidavit in support of an Arrest Warrant and a Criminal Complaint. The information set out below establishes probable cause to believe that: a. Beginning no later than in or about November 2001 and continuing to until in or about September 2008 ("relevant period"), Homy Hsu and others fixed the prices of aftermarket auto lights. b. During the relevant period, Homy Hsu was Vice Chairman and head of sales at Eagle Eyes Traffic Industrial Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "Eagle Eyes"), an entity organized and existing under the laws of Taiwan, the Republic of China, and with its principal place of business in Tainan, Taiwan, Republic of China. During the relevant period, Eagle Eyes was a producer of aftermarket auto lights and was engaged in the sale of auto lights in the United States and elsewhere. Aftermarket auto lights are incorporated into an automobile after its original sale, usually as repairs following a collision, but also as accessories and upgrades. Lighting components include items such as headlights, taillights, fog lights, turn signals, brake signals, and reflectors. Aftermarket auto lights are sold through U.S. distributors to aftermarket auto lights wholesalers, retailers, and automotive repair shops. c. During the relevant period, Homy Hsu participated in a conspiracy with other persons and entities engaged in the manufacture and sale of aftermarket auto lights, the primary purpose of which was to fix the price of aftermarket auto lights sold in the United States and elsewhere. In furtherance of the conspiracy, Homy Hsu engaged in conversations and attended meetings with representatives of other major aftermarket auto lights manufacturing firms. During such meetings and conversations, agreements were reached to fix the price of aftermarket auto lights to be sold in the United States and elsewhere. Homy Hsu was also aware of the existence of the conspiracy among the employees and officers of Eagle Eyes, and that these employees and officers were engaged in conversations and attended meetings, with representatives of other major aftermarket auto lights manufacturing firms. Homy Hsu was aware that during such meetings and conversations, agreements were reached to fix the price of aftermarket auto lights to be sold in the United States and elsewhere. Homy Hsu was a manager or supervisor in the conspiracy, which involved at least five participants. f. During the relevant period, aftermarket auto lights sold by one or more of the conspirator firms, and equipment and supplies necessary to the production and distribution of aftermarket auto lights, as well as payments for aftermarket auto lights, traveled in interstate and foreign commerce. The business activities of Eagle Eyes and coconspirators in connection with the production and sale of aftermarket auto lights that were the subjects of the conspiracy were within the flow of, and substantially affected, interstate and foreign trade and commerce. g. Acts in furtherance of this conspiracy were carried out within the Northern District of California within the last five years. Auto lights that were the subjects of the conspiracy were sold by one or more of the conspirators to customers in this District. CONCLUSION 5. Based on the above information contained in this Affidavit, I believe there is probable cause to believe that Homy Hsu violated 15 U.S.C. § 1.


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A key witness in an alleged human trafficking case was earning £2,000 a week as a prostitute in Belfast to fund her medical studies, the High Court has heard.
Lawyers for one of the men charged after a series of raids also rejected claims he was involved in running a major vice-ring.
Malcolm McNeill (46), agreed to sign rental agreements for flats in Belfast without knowing they would be used as brothels, his barrister said. Defence counsel Joe Brolly told the court: "This case is replete with hyperbole, smoke and mirrors, and a lot of it is propagandistic nonsense."
Scotsman McNeill, a coach driver from Forest Avenue, Hamilton, faces charges of trafficking, controlling prostitution for gain, brothel keeping and converting criminal property. He was denied bail by a judge who referred to his alleged major part in the suspected operation.
McNeill was arrested with former business associate Stephen Craig (33), of Albert Road, Clydebank, during police swoops in September.
Craig is accused of the same offences, while two women have also been charged in connection with the alleged racket.
Police believe gang members suspected of trafficking women to work as prostitutes in Belfast amassed over £2m in assets.
They allegedly spent £54,000 on newspaper advertisements for brothels in the city, and another £10,000 on the travel costs of bringing in women and transsexuals to work in them.
Crown lawyer Barry Valentine opposed McNeill's release due to his alleged role in setting up and leasing at least three properties to be used as brothels.
Mr Valentine said: "These human trafficking victims have been put in fear of the applicant and his associates."
Much of the prosecution case is based on the evidence of two women who claim they were made to work as sex slaves by the gang.
Mr Brolly claimed the alleged trafficking and controlling vice network appeared to be nothing more than two prostitutes working in one flat.
The barrister said one of them, identified only as Witness A, was a medical student at a leading Scottish university. He told the court she had been working part-time to fund her studies and was earning £2,000 a week.
The second woman, Witness B, is Bolivian woman who worked as a call girl in London before coming to Belfast, the court heard.


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February 14, 2013 Calculating Your Destiny Aries Daily Horoscope
You may feel driven to expand your field of vision by taking chances today. A bold mood and a confident stance can serve you well, giving you the inner strength you need to look danger in the face while pursuing your ambitions. These developing qualities can manifest themselves as a need to initiate new projects or a more open-minded outlook where risks are concerned. If, however, you still feel intimidated by calculated risks that ask you to move beyond your usual comfort zone, you may have to analyze your fears before moving forward. As you address your trepidation directly today, you will likely find it easier to take the leaps of faith that will help you reach your goals.
For more information visit dailyom.com
This article is printed from DailyOM - Inspirational thoughts for a happy, healthy and fulfilling day.
© 2004-15 DailyOM - All Rights Reserved
No portion of this site can be reprinted without express permission


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by JustLuxe.com
City Guides >
So not only have people developed an actual sport out of the "Harry Potter" books fantastical athletic game, there's actually a world cup for the event. The Quidditch World Cup VI is ran by the International Quidditch Association (yup, that's real too) and one of the participating teams is none other than the University of Miami. So, ESPN, when is this going to get televised? I need this in my life. Now.
When Sean Beloff read the first Harry Potter book at age 8, he found himself wishing he could fly on broomsticks and play Quidditch, the fantasy series fictional team sport.
A dozen years later, his wish has become true, in a way. He doesnt fly, but hes playing the game nonetheless as captain of the University of Miami Quidditch team. And this weekend, hes leading the way as UM competes against 59 other teams at the Quidditch World Cup VI in Kissimmee.
When I was a kid, I always thought how cool it would be if Quidditch could actually be real, said Beloff, 20, a political science and international studies student.


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Note: To protect the privacy of our members, e-mail addresses have been removed from the archived messages. As a result, some links may be broken.
Artystyc3_at_TeacherArtExchange Date: Tue May 14 2002 - 18:29:23 PDT
Melissa- Help him see the differences. Compare a good example with his work . Ask him to evaluate the two and compare and contrast the qualities he sees. He'll learn from his own evaluation and hopefully -he'll "see the light". Patti in Fl.


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Acquire the fundamentals of the Korean language and culture to function socially at a basic comprehension level. Start with the building blocks, such as the mastery of the Hangul and Korean alphabet.
Required textbook: Seogang Korean 1A book, workbook and CD.
Seogang Korean 1AISBN 9788976995728Amazon
Workbook:ISBN 89-7699-573-2Amazon
Panther Bookstore carries our books in limited quantities. Call ahead for availability.
Also available online: hanbooks.com
This is a noncredit enrichment program. Progress and courses completed with UWM-SCE Languages are marked by Continuing Education Units. CEUs are not transferable to college or university transcripts.
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Hadrian (76-138)
A Roman emperor of Spanish provincial background, Hadrian (reigned 117-138) was an accomplished military leader and administrator who helped stabilize the Roman Empire. Today, however, he is known primarily for his passionate love and inordinate mourning for a young Bithynian named Antinous. After Antinous drowned on a journey down the Nile in October 130, the emperor declared his paidika, or beloved, to be a god and founded a city in his honor, Antinoopolis in Middle Egypt. (After surveying the site in 1798-1801, one of Napoleon's engineers calculated that there must have been 1,344 Doric columns supporting the porticos that lined the two main streets.) Devotees of the new god propagated cults, with temples, altars, priests, libation and sacrifice, mysteries and initiations, oracles and miracles. Cities organized festivals and games to commemorate him. Between 133 and 137, thirty-one Greek cities possessing minting rights issued coins bearing his portrait (143 issues are known). To meet an enormous demand, Graeco-Roman craftsmen may have produced as many as 2,000 bronze and marble statues and busts of the youth (some 115 of them survive), as well as uncounted numbers of reliefs, medals (to be worn around the neck as talismans or amulets), cameos, and gems. The image of Antinous, immediately recognizable, established the last great ancient type of male adolescent perfection. Even Christians, hostile to both his apotheosis and his morals, conceded that Antinous's beauty was unsurpassed: "What Ganymede was more fair," asked the implacable Tertullian, "or dearer to his lover?" When Antinous died, Hadrian "wept for him like a woman." Apart from this unmanly outburst and the extravagance of his commemorative mourning, deplored by conservative Romans as signs of unseemly erotic excess, the emperor's passion for the beloved youth infringed no rule of Roman masculine behavior or sexual propriety. Hadrian was a brave, resourceful soldier and an intrepid hunter of bears, boars, and lions. He bore cold and bad weather with stolid endurance. He was bearded and dressed simply. He allowed no ornaments on his sword belt or jewels on the clasp. His sexual taste, like that of Trajan, a cousin of his father and his predecessor as emperor, was predominantly for teenage boys, though ill-wishers accused him also of affairs with grown men (adultorum amor) and of adulteries with married women. He had no children. He often said that had he been a private citizen he would have sent away his ill-tempered wife Sabina. His love for Antinous was exceptional not because the lovers were male or because Antinous was a teenager and Hadrian the "grey-haired prince," but for its obsessive intensity. What can still surprise us is turning a favorite into a god and the ease and range of the cult's acceptance, among townsmen and in the countryside alike, in both the Greek-speaking East and the Latin-speaking West--more evidence, were any needed, that in the second century boy-love continued to be a commonplace, non-exclusive alternative to love of women. Hadrian was a patron of the arts and a lavish builder. A dozen of his epigrams survive. Since the eighteenth century, historians have likened his reign to a golden age. More recently, he has been the subject of a celebrated historical novel, Marguerite Yourcenar's Mémoires d'Hadrien (1951). |
zoom in Hadrian.
Related Entries | |||||||||||||
arts >> Overview: Classical Art social sciences >> Overview: Greece: Ancient literature >> Overview: Greek Literature: Ancient arts >> Overview: Patronage I: The Western World from Ancient Greece until 1900 literature >> Overview: Roman Literature social sciences >> Overview: Rome: Ancient arts >> Overview: Subjects of the Visual Arts: Ganymede arts >> Overview: Subjects of the Visual Arts: Nude Males literature >> Pessoa, Fernando literature >> Yourcenar, Marguerite |
Bibliography | ||
Birley, Anthony R. Hadrian, the Restless Emperor. London: Routledge, 1997. Historia Augusta, Vita de Hadriani. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1921. Lambert, Royston. Beloved and God. The Story of Hadrian and Antinous. New York: Viking, 1984. Yourcenar, Marguerite. Mémoires d'Hadrien. Paris: Librairie Plon, 1951; Hadrian's Memoirs. Grace Frick and Marguerite Yourcenar, trans. New York: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, Inc., 1954. www.phil.uni-erlangen.de/~p1altar/photo_html/portraet/roemisch/kaiserzeit/adoptivkaiser/antinoos/antinoos.html |
Citation Information | ||||
Author: | Rice, Eugene | |||
Entry Title: | Hadrian | |||
General Editor: | Claude J. Summers | |||
Publication Name: | glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture |
Publication Date: | 2004 | |||
Date Last Updated | May 19, 2005 | |||
Web Address | www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/hadrian.html | |||
Publisher | glbtq, Inc. 1130 West Adams Chicago, IL 60607 |
Today's Date | ||||
Encyclopedia Copyright: | © 2002-2006, glbtq, Inc. | |||
Entry Copyright | © 2004, glbtq, inc. |
This Entry Copyright © 2004, glbtq, inc. www.glbtq.com
is produced by glbtq, Inc., 1130 West Adams Street, Chicago, IL
60607 glbtq™ and its logo are trademarks of glbtq, Inc. |


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text:
Kirkland's names Sears exec president, coo
March 22, 2006
-- Home Textiles Today,Jackson , Tenn. – Kirkland 's has named recent Sears Holdings executive Catherine David president and coo. David was senior vp and general manager of Sears Essentials, Sears Grand and The Great Indoors.
Prior to Sears, she was president of The Burnes Group, a former division of Newell-Rubbermaid, and had served as a merchant and operations executive at Target Corp., including a stint as vp and general manager, target.direct.
At Kirkland 's David will lead the search for a new gmm. Robert Alderson will continue as ceo and as a member of the board. Wilson Orr, an independent director since 1996, has been elected chairman of the board.


text:
We offer discount to nonprofits, government agencies, and federal contractors
The AILA Career Center offers more than access to the best possible industry candidates.
AILA Doc No. 11071962 | Dated July 19, 2011 | File Size: 55 K
Download the DocumentEOIR press release announcing the immediate suspension of one attorney, and the final orders of discipline given to two others, for violations under the Rules of Professional Conduct for immigration attorneys and representatives.
[[To print the PDF on this page please use the print function in the PDF reader.]]
Cite as AILA Doc. No. 11071962.
Open the DocumentAmerican Immigration Lawyers Association
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Washington, DC 20005
Copyright © 1993-2015
American Immigration Lawyers Association.


text:
Merumeru's volunteer soldiers
122,453pages on
this wiki
this wiki
Merumeru's volunteer army | |
General information | |
Founder(s) | |
Leader(s) |
Merumeru |
Members |
Headquarters | |
Historical information | |
Formed from |
Volunteers |
Date founded | |
Other information | |
Era(s) |
An army of volunteer soldiers served under Captain Merumeru during the Battle of Kashyyyk in 19 BBY.[1] When word spread across Kashyyyk that a Separatist Droid Army would soon be invading Kachirho, Wookiees from all across the planet rushed to the coastal city's defense.[2] Merumeru's volunteer soldiers fought on the ground during the battle, and were one element of a much larger Wookiee force that also included aerial vehicles. Clone troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic and several Jedi Masters fought alongside the Wookiees.[3]
- Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (PhotoComic)
- Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith: Illustrated Screenplay (First appearance)
- Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith The Visual Dictionary
- Star Wars Chronicles: The Prequels
- Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- Merumeru in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
Notes and referencesEdit
{{Interlang |pl=Ochotniczy oddział kapitana Merumeru


text:
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Anthropology of Cyberspace Review of Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet. New
York: Simon and Schuster, 1995. $25.00; London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1996.
�18.99. Pp. 347 It is refreshing to read a book about computers and the internet in
which Bill Gates has only one entry in the index, and Steve Jobs has none. This isnt
a yet-again tale of the triumph of the nerds. Sherry Turkle is an academic at MIT, a
psychoanalytically-informed psychologist and a sociologist of science and technology.
These qualifications help make her learned, but they dont account for Life on the
Screen being fascinating, well-written and troubling. It is better to think of her as
she was described in a recent New Scientist feature (27 April) as an anthropologist
of cyberspace. Her question is: Who are we and who are likely to become as computers
play an increasingly important part in our lives? Although I disagree fundamentally
with her final destination, I think its the best book yet on what computers and the
net mean for our lives and our culture. There has been a big change in the question since she wrote an
important book about computers a decade ago. We were then coming to see the computer as The
Second Self (her title). Now the relationship is more intimate and becoming even more
so. One way of putting the possible end point of the trajectory is that it will be part
and parcel of the self or - as she suggests - selves. Her topic is as fundamental is it gets: the nature of identity in a
culture of simulation, the lived meaning of a culture of simulation, the nature of the
real in a culture of simulation (pp. 235, 267-8). All are sorely in doubt. Most of the book is not about the internet at all. It explores recent
developments in esoteric fields such as artificial intelligence, computer simulation of
life and the ways of thinking about life and the machines which are involved in these
fields of research. She tells a good story about each of these issues, including the
debate between mechanical and emergentist forms of explanation, but her reviews of these
developments are in the foothills of her approach to her main goal. What she really wants to know is whether or not computers and the
elaborate games people play on the internet can serve as laboratories for postmodernism,
the currently fashionable theory which says that all coherence is gone in culture,
knowledge, philosophy and personal identity. She says that Computers embody
postmodern theory and bring it down to earth (p. 18), that they are moving us
from a modernist culture of calculation to a postmodernist culture of simulation
(p.20) The computer is the symbol and tool of postmodern politics (p.243).
The internet has become a significant social laboratory for experimenting with the
constructions and reconstructions of self that characterise postmodern life. In its
virtual reality we self-fashion and self-create. What kinds of personae do we make? What
relation do these have with what we have traditionally thought of as the "whole"
person? (p.180) The heart of her argument lies at the pinnacle of her explorations of
the boundaries between living and non-living, person and machine: the interrelations
between the machine and the self. She tells some gripping, funny and touching tales about
virtual games called MUDs and MOOs. A MUD is a Multi-User Dimension, a cyberspace version
of Dungeons and Dragons, and a MOO is a MUD Object Oriented, a text-based virtual reality
site that allows people to connect to the same place at the same time. They are completely
unlike conventional internet relay chat rooms (IRCs) in that they allow the manipulation
of and interaction with cyber-objects in addition to just chatting with other people. They
are virtual worlds, and more and more of us are disappearing into them: castles, seduction
parlours, battlefields, Nintendos for kids cleverly disguised as grown-ups. In MUDS and MOOs people can be whomsoever they like. They change their
genders, their degree of assertiveness, their sexual predilections at will. Anything goes
- from flirtation to cross-dressing to virtual rape and weird fetishisms. She ponders this
phenomenon at length and gives some fascinating case studies, one of a young man who was,
in RL (the net abbreviation for Real Life) ill and unable to exercise much. In the MUD he
became a dashing young man, called Achilles, wooed and won a lovely lady, married her on
the net ,and other members of the MUD game had a wedding party in Germany, while the
virtual husband was languishing in America. The result was not, however, an increase in
confidence. He felt devastated by the gap between his game self and his real self. Another of her examples is a person who did gain confidence from roles
he played on the net. He treated it as a transitional space, one where he could play and
develop at the same time by taking on some major responsibilities in administering the
MUD. She tells other stories of constructive use of experimentation with identifies during
MUDs. The one which struck me most forcibly was a woman who had lost a leg in an accident.
In her MUD game, she played a woman who had lost a leg, i.e., on the computer.
What she learned from doing this enabled her to gain self-awareness and self-confidence
and to move on to meeting people, including potential partners, off screen or, as true
internet addicts say only half-self-mockingly, on RL, as if real life
was just another net channel (p. 186) The idea of a unified self is at the heart of our concepts of self and
responsibility. Its what the novel and the judicial system are about, to name but
two. It is under all sorts of threats in the current world of changing careers, no jobs,
few long relationships, threats of plagues, pollution and low sperm counts and all the
things which make us nostalgic about earlier times. An alternative to asserting
dogmatically that there is unity or reaching in a fundamentalist way for a belief
system - whether religious or opportunistic or wonky - is to embrace the idea of a
fragmented self (p. 258), accept that there is nothing beyond simulation and surface and
go for what a guru of postmodernism, Frederic Jameson, has called
depthlessness and the waning of affect. I think this is a counsel of despair and the question about computer
games and all the wonderful things your PC and my Mac can do for you and me is whether we
are being taken toward better relationships and values both on and off screen or whether
we are being seduced into a space which is evasive, escapist and infantile. Turkle says
practically nothing about the huge domain of pornography, about email forums and bulletin
boards, about the use of the net for business, militias and knowledge. These are not her
chosen topics. But identity is, and I think that in her zeal to show us the fascination
and the fit between the net and postmodernism, she has not been conscientious
enough about the moral and political issues the net raises. I think they are important and
scary and need to be discussed at length and by people who have been there. Im on the net much of the time, but I havent yet reached
the desperation she calls head-banging, where the only way out of obsessive
net addiction is to set up for a new password and then bang your forehead on the keyboard
several times, thus generating a random password which is irrecoverable. Bye-bye Dungeon;
bye-bye Dragon, hello RL. Internet email forum posting from Bob Young, 4 May 1996 I have recently read and reviewed (for the British edition of _Wired_) Sherry
Turkles new book, _Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet_ (N.Y.:
Simon & Schuster, 1995; London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1996), in which she reviews
recent developments in artificial intelligence, computer psychotherapy programs and other
fascinating topics. More importantly from our perspective, she writes from a
psychoanalytic point of view about the concept of identity as affected by computers,
especially internet games (called MUDs - for Multi-User Dimensions and MOOs - for MUD,
Object Oriented), in which people are able to adopt virtual identities in a cyberspace
version of Dungeons and Dragons. For example, they may change genders, cross-dress, adopt
sexual mores contrary to their RL (Real Life) norms. The first chapter and the last third of the book are devoted to the question of
identity in what she calls a culture of simulation. She quite explicitly
connects her reflections to the debate about postmodernism, which is psychoanalytically
interesting, because it challenges the idea of a unitary ego or - more loosely - the
notion of a coherent self. In my opinion, this is where she gets carried away and loses
contact with one of the axioms of object relations: that there are damaged objets and
part-objects but these are always based on the unity of an underlying process. Putting it
another way, on the continuum between role-playing and multiple personality disorder, we
can find way-stations of various kinds and even one called (Winnicottian) false self, but
there is no such thing as a person without a fundamental unconscious process in which
object relations are centred and undergoing a continuous process, if often of deeply
disturbed vicissitudes. There is a rhetoric about, largely associated with postmodernism and arguments that
sexual orientations and gender identities are chosen or constructed. I think it is facile,
and I think Turkle - in spite of all the reasons one should admire her research and ideas
- falls for it. Here is a passage from a research paper on Constructions and
Reconstructions of the Self in Virtual Reality (the title of which makes my point): There is a lot of excitement about virtual reality. In both the popular and
academic press there is enthusiasm and high expectation for a future in which we don
gloves and masks and bodysuits and explore virtual space and sensuality. However, from a
point of view centered on the evolution of our sense of self and self-definition there is
reason to feel great excitement about where we are in the present. In the text-based
virtual realities that exist today, people are exploring, constructing, and reconstructing
their identities. They are doing this in an environment infused with a postmodern ethos of
the value of multiple identities and of playing out aspects of the self and with a
constructionist ethos of "Build something, be someone." And they are creating
communities that have become privileged contexts for thinking about social, cultural, and
ethical dilemmas of living in constructed lives that we share with extensions of ourselves
we have embodied in program. Watch for a nascent culture of virtual reality that is paradoxically a culture of
the concrete, placing new saliency on the notion that we construct gender and that we
become what we play, argue about, and build. I think this is about surface phenomena, that the concept of identity is central to the
psychoanalytic perspective and that she has fallen for a trendy dimension of the
postmodern celebration of surfaces, something which is offered as liberating but is
fundamentally cynical and inimical to the maintenance of a moral order and a concept of
person which is necessary for there to be a hope for humankind. There is a voluntarism in
the rhetoric of some tendencies of the womens movement and among some advocates of
dissident sexualities which I find psychoanalytically naive. (Please do not mis-read me: I
am not impugning anyones civil rights. Nor am I being a Canute about nature or
biologism. Much of my work in the history and philosophy of science is in the camp of
social constructivism, and I am a devoted admirer of Donna Haraway and her work.) I
dont want to make this posting even longer, so Ill just say that I have argued
in opposition to postmodern concepts of identity from the point of view of object
relations theory in essays at my home page which are listed in an essay (also there)
called Primitive Processes on the Internet. Here are some references to her
work, including interviews where she elaborates what she says in the book. By the way, in
spite of my criticisms, I think its an excellent book and immensely
thought-provoking. High Priestess of Cyberspace by Nathan Cobb _Boston Globe_ 11 Nov. 1995 http://nytsyn.com/live/Features1/320_111695_145236_28232.html Sex, Lies and Avatars A Profile by Pamela McCorduck _Wired_ April 1996, pp. 106-10, 158-64. Life at the Interface Interview by Liz Else Howard Reingold interview with Sherry Turkle: http://www.well.com/user/hlr/texts/mindtomind/turkle.html
Sherry Turkles Home page: http://www.mit.edu:8001/afs/athena.mit.edu/user/s/t/sturkle/www/Turkle-HomePage.html
Constructions and Reconstructions of the Self in Virtual Reality gopher://home.actlab.utexas.edu:70/00/conferences/3cyberconf/selfinvr.txt
The Human Nature Review � Ian
Pitchford and Robert M. Young - Last updated: 28 May, 2005 02:29 PM
| Human Nature | Books and Reviews | The Human Nature Daily Review | Search | |


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I got suckered this morning and lost everything! It's worse than the Nigerian scam or the Spanish Prisoner!
Posts Tagged 'joke'
Fonzie Scheme
Friday, July 10th, 2009Online Shopping Readiness Test
Thursday, July 9th, 2009Have you got your driver's license? Have you got your Shopping cart license? then you need to take the test!


text:
A bumpy boat ride
Trip Start
Mar 14, 2006
Trip End
Mar 15, 2007
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Esperance Traveler Motel
Mackenzie's Island Cruises are a family company operating in the area (towing services as well as Tourism cruising) for over 50 years offering day cruises through some of the 105 islands of the magnificent Recherche Archipelago. We cruised aboard the new luxurious MV Seabreeze II, a 24 metre purpose built catamaran licensed to carry 164 passengers in superb comfort. With three viewing levels, including a top deck with 360 degree views, and, as they said, we would be even closer to nature than ever before. We enjoyed a full commentary during the viewing of wildlife in its natural environment:
The morning started out with a cruise 'round the Esperance Bay and some interesting facts about it. The Esperance Port Authority is an agency of the Government of Western Australia, operating under the Port Authorities Act 1999, and oversees the operations of the Port of Esperance. The Port has grown significantly in the last decade. It is the largest nickel concentrates exporting Port in the southern hemisphere and is the gateway to world markets for Australia's principal nickel mining region. With the completion of a $54 million port upgrade project in February 2002, Esperance became the deepest port in the southern Australia, capable of handling Cape Class vessels (they have to go round the Capes and can not go through the canals) up to 180,000 tonnes, plus fully loaded Panama class vessels up to 75,000 tonnes. As a result of this development, iron ore exports through the Port are expected to total 8 million tonnes per year by 2007. The Port is also a major grain exporting hub and handles bulk imports such as fuel and fertilizers. Esperance Port is expected to handle 160 ships and more than seven million tonnes total throughput of trade in 2006. Mackenzie's Tug Service has, I believe, three tugs capable of handling the larger Cape class vessels. The company took delivery of a new tug Shoal Cape in October as some vessels now use two tugs instead of three.
The fellow running the catamaran really knew his stuff and told us about the Port (3 berths for deep sea ships; one for grain exports, one for metal imports and another for mineral exports) tugs (huge with a turning radius of its length within about 7 seconds) and ships (one was the third largest in the world I think - called a Cape ship as. Apparently a new company is opening up a new mine - nickel, I think, just outside of Esperance (we saw it as we drove in to town, about 30 K out) and needs sulfur as part of it's refining process before loading and it is getting it from, guess where, Vancouver.
On the trip we went 'round Esperance Bay we saw everything from great swimming beaches to rocky outcrops which only birds and sea life inhabit. As the sea was fairly choppy, we saw wonderful breakers and blue, blue waters though it was a somewhat grey and expected to get rougher as the day went on. We turned towards Charlie and Cull islands where there is a light beacon to help mariners navigate. On some of the islands in the Bay until the 50's or so, sheep and goats were raised by Dan Mackenzie; sheep were taken off but goats remain they are feral. There are about 80 of them and increasing. The islands are very good to grow things on as the bird guano is great fertilizer.
There are also colonies of Australian Sea lions and Cape barren geese here: we also saw oystercatchers and shags (cormorants) as we bounced by in the sea. The sea really got kinda rough as we passed from those islands on to the next (Thomas and Gunton) and while I like to be outside, it was not a lot of fun outside. A couple who did stay outside got absolutely soaked.
On one of the Islands (Gunton, I think), there are a couple of sea eagles - beautiful birds - who came down to feed in the water right in front of us. All right, the crew did throw a couple of fish out to them. They are lovely birds with huge wingspans. They apparently next on the Island and I was able to get a couple of very nice photos. After curving around Seal Rock (One of the favourite spots to view NZ Fur Seals, Australian Sea lions and cormorants in close proximity to each other) we landed on Woody Island.
This was the highlight of the morning. It was a 1 hr (approx) stay and included morning tea (incl in cost) at the new Visitor Centre. At one time, Woody as well as the other 100 or so islands in the Bay were imposing peaks on an extended coastal plain. As the climate warmed, the sea rose and gradually claimed the plain, isolating each peak in its turn. Around 8,000 years ago a land bridge that linked Woody Island rot hew mainland was submerged and the island became an ark for the wildlife that remained.
As an optional activity, I took a half hour short guided walk to Twiggy's Landing. On the island top walk I read that the islands of the Recherch� Archipelago are extraordinary places. Resisting tumultuous waters, salt spray and fierce winds, they rise above the sea. Despite enduring such forces, island habitats are fragile. Limited in size and clinging to only a thin mantle of soil, these habitats are vulnerable to physical and ecological disturbances. We were encouraged to stay on the paths to avoid damage to this fragile environment.
Winding through a mosaic of coastal scrublands and stands of tall trees, the Island Top Walk reveals a surprising diversity of habitats... each with its characteristic suite of birds, lizards, and other tiny creatures. A short walk to a hillside lookout provides sweeping views to the mainland and islands of the archipelago. We did not see much there as the weather was really closing in.
The ride was very rough and I think if the boat had not been so large and powerful, we would have been in trouble and I would most definitely been sick. We saw some barely visible outcroppings called Devil's Rocks which had waves just pounding over them. They looked very dangerous.
We spent an hour or so on Woody Island - named this because it has about 4 meters of good growing soil and many trees most of which are eucalypts. There were lots of bird life as well including wrens, finches, gulls, honeyeaters and silver eyes. Dan Mackenzie used to have sheep here as well. Also there is a cove called Twiggy's Cove named after his dog that was initially lost overboard many miles away. Somehow, miraculously, she swam ashore and went wild for about 3 months, living on local lizards, birds, water, and was not found for some time. Also there is a sunken ship out there which sank on her maiden voyage carrying fertilizer; much damage from leaked oil. It is now used as a dive wreck but we could not see it as the weather is now getting really quite bad. The trip back from Woody Island to Esperance was very rough and I felt rather ill; however, the "sea bands" I bought to combat nausea really did work. Also, one of the crew spent some time during the journey chatting to me which took my mind of it a bit.
We got back to Esperance about noon and the weather had really worsened. I continued updating my journal most of the afternoon.
About 7 I headed out between the rain showers, for dinner. The only place close by was the Esperance Traveler's Motel. The caf� there had an event on but they had a pub attached. I did not know what it was called but shortly found it to be a "Skimpy's". I had never heard of Skimpy bars before. The waitress had on gold tabs over her nipples, a pair of purple underwear which rode up her bottom and a mauve scarf around her waist. That's all. It was rather a surprise and I did not quite know where to look; however, the beer and burger were okay. I also met a gal from town (formerly from Kalgoorlie) called Melanie and her boyfriend, a boilermaker called Russ. Between the waitress and the clientele, it gave me rather a flavour of Esperance.