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Date of Stay: May, 2013
The nightly rate reflects a Passport America discount. This campground is outstanding. For us, it was just an overnight stop, but it is a place where we would be tempted to stay longer. Access from the interstate highway was simple. The pull-through sites were long and large. This is a fairly new place. The sites were well maintained and the utilities worked well. Our view was of beautiful golden mountains. The dog park was small, but instead of dirt, gravel or sand, it was covered with bright green grass. The staff could not have been friendlier. All overnight stops should be this good.
Date of Stay: April, 2013
The office staff was friendly and welcoming. We used the laundry room and it was nice. The sandy dog park was big enough for dogs to actually run. The utilities worked fine. There were a lot of facilities that we did not use: swimming pool, golf course, spa, etc. Had we used those facilities this review might be more positive, but I doubt it. In our five years of full-timing, this is the worst park we have experienced. The site was narrow. The asphalt patio certainly smelled like asphalt, but it was in extreme disrepair --- cracked, uneven, patched with soft asphalt. Repairs (much needed) started every morning at 7:00 a.m. with a parade of noisy equipment rumbling down the street in front of us: back hoe, ditch witch, etc. One early evening a nearby fire hydrant malfunctioned resulting in a stream of water that was not fixed until the next morning. Our view was of a row of cabins and the cleaning crew who did little, but sit on golf carts and smoke cigarettes. We were surrounded by permanent residents who were for the most part unfriendly and in some cases a little scary. "Good mornings" from us were mostly returned with a stare, and nothing else. The last day we were there, a lady chastised me for not placing my garbage bag in the correct location. We counted a dozen beer cans on one site that had just been tossed on the ground. The gate to the dog park was opened one day to bury some kind of pipe. It remained open (difficult to close) for three days. Trash blew around the entire property. There was no effort to clean it up. There was no effort to clean anything up. We left a day early, and should probably have left earlier than that. On the way out the marked exit, the hitch on the back of the motor home banged into the road surface so hard that the entire motor home shook. We will never stay here again.
Date of Stay: July, 2012
The $20 rate is for a monthly rental and does not include an additional charge for electricity. I am hesitant to write this review for fear of not being able to find a spot the next time we want to visit. This place is what all RV Parks should be. We were parked in the best site we have ever had in a private park. Huge. No hassles. Level. Excellent hookups. The staff members were very friendly and extremely helpful. The enclosed dog park was big enough for our medium sized dogs to actually run. Lots of places to walk dogs on leashes. Our site, even with great shade, had a clear view of the southern sky so our satellite worked well. Our Verizon coverage was OK, but we did hook up our booster. The wildlife in the area wander through the campground every day. Such a great place to sit on a lawn chair and enjoy nature. Our huge site was on a terraced hill with beautiful landscaping. Our fire pit was actually a couple steps down from the site on a separate terrace. This is our favorite private campground from five years of RVing. We have already reserved a site for next year.
Date of Stay: June, 2011
The scenery both in and out of the campground area is beautiful, Green and soothing. The sites are large and easy to negotiate. Lots of space behind the sites to spread out. The restrooms and showers were clean and nice. We had a couple concerns. The community fresh water access near our site was non operational. Our main concern was the ticks. We attempted to take a hike, but had to return after 15 minutes and then spent 45 minutes removing ticks from our dogs and ourselves. Ticks were also prevalent at the campsite. We were constantly checking ourselves to see if new ones latched on. We kept our dogs inside after we realized the extent of the problem.
Date of Stay: May, 2011
This is a really nice park for adults. The roads and sites are paved. Each site has a large concrete patio. Full hookups for $23 is a deal. Our site had a great view of Scotts Bluff National Monument. We did not expect to find anything this nice here.
Date of Stay: May, 2011
Great place for an overnight stop. Very well maintained. Clean and comfortable. Good space between the pull-through sites. Friendly manager in the office. Lots of green grass. There are no amenities to speak of here, but the Cabela's main store and national headquarters is in the complex. Restaurants across the street. A little expensive. If we had, had a Cabela's card it would have been cheaper. Easy to get one in the store if you want to park in the parking lot first, get the card in the store, and then drive to the campground.
Date of Stay: May, 2011
Free for a one night stop. Can't beat that. The spaces are essentially parallel parking. We spent one night during Memorial Day weekend so it was kind of crowded. We were lucky to get a spot. Several units pulled in and out later in the day as the park was full. Lots of green grass, a huge public pool, and a museum in the adjacent park.
Date of Stay: May, 2011
This is a nice park for an overnight stay. The young owner was friendly and helpful. Lots of green grass at the sites.
Date of Stay: May, 2011
What an isolated gem! We spent several days here while visiting Big Bend. The entire town complex was a high-end resort that is under new ownership. Since we visited in the very off-season, we did not expect everything to be operating, but were pleased to find that it was. There is no shade: good for our satellite, but the views are spectacular. The resort across the street is really cool: shops, bakery, restaurant, saloon. The golf course was closed due to freezing damage, but it is being restored and it is amazing. The pool area is landscaped and beautiful. Still some restoration to do, but this was much better than any of the options in nearby towns. A temporary manager was on site to register us. The active manager dropped by our site to say hello when he returned to town. We would definitely stay here again.


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3 persons, 1 extra
Cosy family room with two single beds with the option of adding two more extra beds. The extra bed is an armchair bed. The room also has a chair with a table, desk and TV.
There is a charge of NOK 300 for an extra bed.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Mon-Fri: 7am-1am EST / Sat-Sun: 7am-11pm EST
ApplianceMaytag Washer
Level of DifficultyEasy
Time to do repair30 - 60 mins
Age of Appliance1 - 4 years
Wrench setPliersSocket set
88 out of 97 people found this instruction helpful
First I unplugged the washer and removed the back cover plate of the washer. I drained the pump and drainage lines. I then removed the two hose clamps and removed the connecting hoses. I removed the electrical connection. I loosened the three mounting bolts holding the mounting plate holding the pump. Once out, I could remove the pump from the plate and replaced it with the new part. I remounted the mounting plate, attached the hoses and clamps. I reattached the electrical connection and the back plate to the washer. The Maytag is well designed and the parts are easy to reach. At least from this experience, the machine was designed with efficient repairs in mind. This is a sign of a well made machine.
Help other customers find the most helpful instructions.
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Part Number: PS2037270
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The PartSelect logo is a Registered Trademark of Atlantic Laundry Centres, Ltd.
Copyright © 1999-2015 , Eldis Group Partnership. All rights reserved.


text:
I hope you will help spread this information far and wide via Facebook and Twitter (drop my avi name if you do Retweet: My avi name (OccupyGreed) is censored from all twitter hashtag and search streams, so very few get to see my tweets that are looking for information. You have my consent and permission to copy/drop my twitter avi/paste and publish. It would be good to NOT loose this information.
You may also copy and publish this information without citing me. I'm just trying to help people understand our dire circumstances and how we got to this place. And it is dire. I know this is long, but please read it and share with others.
Keep Standing UP! I am proud of all who bravely do.
UPDATE: This article was written in February, 2011 before OWS emerged. I have edited and updated, providing some additional information.
THE TRUTH is unsettling; however, we MUST know how we got to where we are. We must know The Plan being used to strip us of our freedoms by those who are using the word FREEDOM to hoodwink us. Please don't be hoodwinked. Please take the time to read this well-cited article.
Tired of feeling like you are in the dark, sensing the world is heading towards a precipice yet your powerless to stop it? Feeling like your superglued to an orb spinning out of control?
Below are some snippets that connect the threads of an 80 year plan that haven't been completely connected by others. The Kochs + The Family + The John Birch Society. A very clever plan to grasp the world for the few, while squeezing dignity and even life from the many.
A specific faux Christian Plan has been spread and taught to politicians, dictators, corporate leaders, pastors, mullahs, power players. Special attention and lots of financing are poured into youth training worldwide to create vessels of power. David Bahati was chosen by the Family to be a Ugandan vessel of power, for example.
Secret Five (5) Key Men cells are in place. For a chilling wake-up, reality check, Google: Stalin "five man cells" Forming "Five man cells" is a very old and effective organizing technique.
The same message is taught to all religious persuasions forming this worldwide Web of Power and Influence called The Family, a seemingly cynical reference to the Mafia.
What is the core message? Jesus Plus Nothing.
In a process called Reconciliation, US Senators open the eyes of Muslim Dictators and Mullahs. Senators have helped them see the power of recognizing this truth. After all, Jesus is mentioned in the Koran over 100 times. This all done in secret, of course. On the surface, the media portrays the dramatic discourse of divisions.
Click here to read Doug Coe's Speech. Doug is the Key Man of The Family. Rick Warren is one of many Pastors teaching leaders worldwide. The Family are also teaching the same, quite frankly, frightening justifications to his followers worldwide :
You will find that, 80 years ago, in response to FDRs safety nets and unions gains, Abraham Vereide (founder of The Family), Fred Koch (a Vereide associate and one of the John Birch Society founders), many Politicians, Oil Men in particular, Pastors, and Industrial Leaders, began working quietly to end any/all Unions and Social Safety nets and to privatize utilities and government services.
This is a worldwide network so vast it's mindboggling. Who are some of these people? How are they globally organized? Read these eye popping lists. The Technocrats:
List of American Financial Masters of the Universe and the European Masters of the Universe.
How are the threads connected?
This diary is organized as follows:
A Preface, hopefully to inspire us to action.
Overview of the History of Labor and Social Security
The 80 Year History of The Family, the theocratic underpinnings
Fred Koch's History, and The John Birch Society
A Plea for Us to Get Organized and Act
Lots of References to back up the diary.
Who seems to be winning in this world?
I call the whole bunch The Scrooge Class. They are the haves that have fought to keep theirs, take yours, and send your kids off to their profitable wars and booty gains.
All was well for The Scrooge Class until 1929. Not so well for American workers.
Lots of elderly people simply died of hunger and neglect. It was the American way for the poor, especially those with no children.
Rats infested a lot of housing in big cities. Status quo.
And most of the wealth was in the hands of about 1% of the population. The same as now.
It was a dog-eat-dog world just like it is becoming again. Today hundreds of thousands of Americans who followed all the rules are unemployed, some for a few years now. They are America's nouveau poor.
The Scrooge Class 80 year secret, stealthy plan to eliminate the gains our grandparents made to form unions to improve labor in America, that list of the Masters of the Universe above, are in a full court press to take us back to the horrors of 1800s and early 1900s.
In the US, their "Right to Work" ploy is working, and we are ALL the losers if we don't stand up and fight like our grandparents did. "Right to Work" is a euphemism for the "Right to pay low wages with no benefits."
The poverty rates in America today are worse then they are in Egypt:
40% of Americans earn less that $20,000 a year!
50% earn less than $26,000 a year!
And 72% earn less than $42,000 a year!
Here's proof of the deplorable state of income for most Americans in 2009:
The Scrooge Class has kept wages in America flat for 30 years!
Sure, in the beginning of the 20th Century there were horrible labor struggles and many workers were shot in cold blood by corporate hired goons or state militia.
And, sure, big business/wealthy had no problem working American children in sweat shops for 10 hours a day, 6 days a week, even to death.
And, yes, the wealthy Americans didn't seem overly concerned as wave after wave of immigrants came here to work in their sweat shops for barely enough to survive on.
Yes, a cursory knowledge of labor in America proves over and over again, that the top 1% are happy to have, and have little regard for those millions who make their wealth possible.
The Workers or The Masses
In 1929, many responsible for the suffering and injustice for millions of people got their just desserts. They lost everything.
The world turned upside down. The Depression exposed just how thin the safety net for a majority of Americans really was and, worse, just how heartless and uncaring those with wealth and access to political power could be.
After a long struggle, FDR was able to wangle a modicum of security for Americans workers, the disabled, elderly, and mothers and children left behind when Dad died.
PLEASE listen to the speech FDR gave to WAKE PEOPLE UP. When you listen to his words, you will find that this speech is 100% relevant to the state the majority of Americans, and for that matter workers throughout the Western world, find themselves in. THIS IS THE SPEECH WE NEED TO HEAR!
The People forced FDR's hand and Social Security Act of 1935 became law. Click here to read the SSA of 1935. It's short and to the point..
Labor won many of its battles. Unions were created to stand up for workers rights.
The War Against Labor and Social Safety Nets Was Launched.
THE 80 YEAR HISTORY OF "THE FAMILY", the theocratic underpinning of the so-called, world-wide AUSTERITY MOVEMENT.
1930's: Abraham Veriede, the founder of "The Prayer Breakfast organization now known as The Famly" began to organize an anti-Union battle in the Northwest. He taught a new religion to America's CEOs, politicians, and the wealthy here and abroad. A Jesus justified assault on unions, social safety nets, fair wages, and human dignity. A world-wide power grab was launched. (There is an in depth report by a controversial writer, Wayne Madsen. I trust readers to use discernment here: EXPOSÉ: THE "CHRISTIAN" MAFIA)
The War: The Masses vs The Masters .
Emphasis mine
Harper's Magazine broke the story in 2003, but few realized the global impact of The Family.
The Family was founded in April 1935 by Abraham Vereide, a Norwegian immigrant who made his living as a traveling preacher. One night, while lying in bed fretting about socialists, Wobblies, and a Swedish Communist who, he was sure, planned to bring Seattle under the control of Moscow, Vereide received a visitation: a voice, and a light in the dark, bright and blinding.Their goal: A Proto-Fascist (Business run) Government, Union Free Country, Privatized Education, and the End of Social Safety Nets all in the Name of Jesus and Freedom.
The next day he met a friend, a wealthy businessman and former major, and the two men agreed upon a spiritual plan. They enlisted nineteen business executives in a weekly breakfast meeting and together they prayed, convinced that Jesus alone could redeem Seattle and crush the radical unions.
They wanted to give Jesus a vessel, and so they asked God to raise up a leader.
One of their number, a city councilman named Arthur Langlie, stood and said, "I am ready to let God use me." Langlie was made first mayor and later governor, backed in both campaigns by money and muscle from his prayer-breakfast friends, whose number had rapidly multiplied.
As Vereide recounted in a 1961 biography, Modern Viking, one union boss joined the group, proclaiming that the prayer movement would make unions obsolete. He said, "'I got down on my knees and asked God to forgive me... for I have been a disturbing factor and a thorn in Your flesh.'" A "rugged capitalist who had been the chairman of the employers' committee in the big strike" put his left hand on the labor leader's shoulder and said, "'Jimmy, on this basis we go on together.'"
Vereide and his new brothers spread out across the Northwest in chauffeured vehicles (a $20,000 Dusenburg carried brothers on one mission, he boasted).
Vereide organized Prayer cells throughout the US, Europe, and even in Asia/Middle East. Doug Coe continued his work and The Family boldly broadcasts The National Prayer Breakfast each year.
There are prayer groups in every State Legislature, groups in every town in America, and within corporations.
Matthew Lyons outlines some missing threads of how The Family operates in his article: A powerful review of Jeff Sharlett's book, The Family, by Matthew Lyons
This is beyond the scope of Sharlet's work, but he does offer helpful bits and pieces, as when he notes traditionally strong ties between the Family and the oil and aerospace industries (19), or Family-organized seminars for executives in oil, defense, insurance, and banking (22).For those of you who haven't read Sharlett's book, you can find much of it online:
All of that is broadly consistent with previous accounts of capitalist support for the Christian Right. (See, for example, Mike Davis, Prisoners of the American Dream (Do Read the Epilogue), or Thomas Ferguson and Joel Rogers,Right Turn: The Decline of the Democrats and The Future of American Politics, published in 1986.)
I highly recommend reading the Chapter called "The F Word", beginning on page 114, for a more detailed account of how and why The Family was launched by Vereides.
Within this Chapter, the connection between Vereides "religion", big business/wealth class, and politics was merged to become what I call The Scrooge Class Juggernaut of today: The Family.
Is it a stretch to say that Fred Koch, father of the now infamous "Koch Brothers" was associated w/Vereide? I think not. Fred was one of the biggest oil men at the time Vereides organized The Scrooze Class around his teachings of how Jesus could work for them. Fred also spend YEARS IN Stalin's Russia where he found his wealth selling his OIL Technology.
Is it possible Fred learned, first hand, how to organize "Crowd Control" there? This is a shuddering thought, especially because Wall Street Private Equity firms were busy last year buying up their own Private Armies like Blackwater and Dyncorp as well as gun and bullet manufacturers.
And PRESTO, manufacturer of those Father's Day Griddles you may own, recently bought up the manufacturer of those Flash Bombs we've seen the Oakland Police launch at protesters. In fact, the majority of PRESTOs income is now made with War and Crowd Control products.
Here are some snippets about Fred Koch, the father of the now infamous Koch Brothers, and one of the Founders of the John Birch Society, whose message is echoing through the Tea Bag Party candidates, funded by Fred's sons today:
His beginnings and influence in the Soviet Union, Iraq, South Africa, other countries, and Kansas Two pages of Fred Koch writings titled: A Business Man Looks at CommunismAnd it is well-known that Henry Ford was greatly admired by Hitler because of Ford's outspoken anti-semetic writings and his industrial prowess.
This same businessman was accused of steeling oil/$$ from Native Americans for years according to this Senate investigation.
1961 News article re: Fred Koch, "a high ranking member of John Bircher Society": Bircher Warns America of Massive Conspiracy
1964 News article: Koch Answers Drew Pearson "Smear Job"
This 1964 article is a great read, as Koch spells out his business associations with Stalin's Russia. He also mentions Ford Motor Company and others also doing business w/Stalin in 1929, 30, and 31.
Abram(Abraham) Vereides taught Henry Ford, too.
Fred Koch also had ties, through his family, with the Nazis according this this article:
So it is NO stretch of the imagination that Fred Koch was associated with The Family.
Read this list of past and present members of The Family of both Political Parties.
The John Birch Society began in 1958.
By that time, Veriedes had penetrated all the big corporations, especially the oil industry, as well as legislations in every state/county/town and had expanded world wide, especially in Europe/Germany.
I believe we underestimate the depth and breadth of the combined success of those who combined their money, power, and religious persuasion to undermine a very wonderful, albeit historically short period of American History:
The Ozzie and Harriet America: Post WWII - 1980
The American tax rate was very progressive, a man's wages supported his family, housing was affordable, workers had rights to paid vacations and medical insurance/care.
Good grief, even Nixon insured housing cost fairness. Well, we see what that got him.
Based on the now known history of Veriede's work, thanks to Sharlett and others, we now know that, the minute the ink dried on the Social Security Act, The Scrooge Class began concocting the antidote:
Use/twist religion to enroll wealthy people w/promises of forgiveness and King-like worthiness AND use religion and its wedge issues to enroll the religious masses to vote against their own best interests.
In 1958 as Civil Rights heated up, members of The Family launched The John Birch Society. The Birchers were forced underground but they never stopped working. I will share that, when I moved to a Red State in 1991, I was invited by an associate to join The John Birch Society.
And they are winning. Again, look at the Map of Governors above.
There are now 22 States with "Right to Work" laws.
Look around. Millions unemployed. Millions for more than 99 months. Millions were lured into buying homes and millions have lost those homes and any money they had invested in them. Pension funds were gambled away on Wall Street. The boomers 401Ks nearly vanished.
The money didn't disappear. Where did it go? Who has it now? How will they use it.
Private Equity Funds, with the help of Too Big To Fail Banks, and even Michael Chertoff went on a buying spree last year. Private Equity Funds now own their own armies, gun manufacturers, bullet makers, and any/all of the accoutrements of military support.
For instance, Why would a Private Equity fund, Bank of America, and Michael Chertoff work together to buy the now infamous Blackwater?
And what do we taxpaying, nouveau poor masses get? $700 billion in TARP bailout for the very same banks refusing to finance small business and foreclosing millions of homes, each with a family tossed out into a country with no good paying jobs for most. The very same banks financing Private Equity Firms' purchases of a war machine.
Alive, well, and thriving. And probably excited about all the new privatization opportunities as the Middle East Dictators topple, one by one.
They belong to all political parties, their theocratic goals have infiltrated our military, and have our Supreme Court Justices attending and speaking at their Planning Meetings.
80 years of brainwashing works. The Tea Party is their spawned movement. Religious leaders have been psy-opping their sheep for decades in concert with one another.
Is HUGE. It meets in Davos, it has hundreds of Think Tanks, Foundations, Publishing houses, and, well, Jesus Plus Everything needed to usurp democracy and even freedom.
And most of the states now have GOP governors fully trained and indoctrinated who are financially supported by The Scrooge Class, the Koch Brothers being the most infamous these days. But they are just the tip of a very huge iceberg.
The social safety net is at risk of being shredded as deficit hawks, fully trained and indoctrinated, lie.
Kansas is the home of the Koch Family.
Kansas is also the home ofending pensions for state workers. How proud the State Legislators of Kansas must all be.
How far down the rabbit hole must we fall before people here and abroad say ENOUGH?
WHERE IS OUR ORGANIZATION that even comes close to
There is a glimmer of hope. We have a tool to help us organize at www.u
You can create an organizing event in your area HERE
Find courage if you haven't already. Find a group you are comfortable with and work to spread truth and influence the hearts and minds of those who have been led astray by their pastors and politicians.
PLEASE VOTE, don't buy into the VOTING DOESN'T COUNT disinformation being spread. It's a ploy to rob you even more.
The decades of vitriol and fear directed at liberals morphed progressives and the militarized power of conservatives (Blackwater, Cerberus, Veritas, The Carlyle Group), could be some reason for concern, do you think?
Not convinced that The Family has any power with our leaders?
Check out this research. Sharlett's book is full of world leaders under The Family's tutelage. However, here's an on line trail you might enjoy. What would Doug Coe have to say to George Bush about Sudan?
Here's a reference to a letter from Doug Coe to George W Bush re: Somalia, from the library table of contents. Page 114.
Google "Doug Coe" "The Clinton Library"
Google "George H W Bush" "Doug Coe
Google "Ronald Reagan" and "Doug Coe"
About the Council for National Policy I think you will find ample cross-connections between politicians and corporations in this secret organization.
Past/Present Officers & Prominent Member Profiles PART 1 ~ A - G
Past/Present Officers & Prominent Member Profiles PART II ~ H - M
Past/Present Officers & Prominent Member Profiles Part III ~ N - Z
The Family's Veriedes and Coe's records within the Billy Graham library.
The Federalist Society , the organization that Clarence Thomas 'drops-in' to speak at meetings hosted by the Koch Brothers. Also affiliated and located throughout the US and even Europe.
Papers of James Edwin Orr - Collection 355
VII. Douglas Coe. Boxes 512-540.
Among the materials in this section are correspondence on most aspects of the Foundation's work; minutes of the boards of various fellowship organizations; briefing letters sent to Core members about fellowship activities; Core planning materials; file on the formal organization of Prison Fellowship; materials on retreats Coe participated in; files on the various international trips he took, plans for a worldwide call to prayer including among other Presidents Jimmy Carter and Daniel Moi and Pope John Paul II.Tea Party Financiers Owe Their Fortune to Josef Stalin
Transcript: Thom Hartmann asks Chris Hedges, have we witnessed the 'Death of the Liberal Class'? 9 Nov '10
A great analysis of the Market Manipulation on Wall Street.
The Scrooge Class Juggernaut is widespread, deeply rooted, and extremely well financed.
However, they are few compared to the MASSES.
Most of us here have lived during The Golden Years of American history, which has been unravelling since 1980s.
UNIONS: We owe a huge amount of thankfulness and appreciation for the thousands of Americans who fought The Scrooge Class in the first few decades of the 20th Century. We have reaped the rewards of their fight. Many, many died doing so. Had they not risked everything to carve out fairness for workers via unions and civil disobedience, our lives would have looked quite different.
CIVIL RIGHTS: We owe a huge amount of thankfulness and appreciation for all those who gave their lives ending the heinous Jim Crow policies that dogged this country for most of the 20th Century.
WOMENS RIGHTS: We owe a huge amount of thankfulness and appreciation for all those who gave their lives to improve equality and fairness for women.
The list can go on.
The conclusion is that our children, grandchildren, and theirs are facing a much bleaker life then we enjoyed IF WE DON'T TAKE SOME RISKS.
If we continue to be quiet, quietly suffering, we will hand our progeny to a future much like that of the 1800s and the early 1900s, except they will have more technology to take their jobs and a privatized military/police force to keep them in line.
IT'S TIME TO STAND UP and end the Plans of The Scrooge Class Juggernaut.
I hope that a few in each state with find the courage to use the USUNCUT Event Calendar to create an Event or start or join the OWS group in your area.
It can be simple. Create the event to contact you if they are interested in meeting and helping to organize. Begin.
Of course, be smart about it.
Only meet in public places, don't get into a car with a stranger, make sure your family knows where you are going, share phone numbers/email addresses of your contacts w/family members, etc.
But please find the courage to start something that will allow progressives of all organizations in your area to gather together so that the strength of each progressive group can be strengthened by coming under one umbrella.
If you click here you can read more about the huge potential gained by coming under one umbrella.
Hopefully, we have learned from history and can avoid the mistakes of others. We can identify and root out those who would, for personal gain of money and/or power, try to takeover. Leadership can represent the interests of all, as long as that leadership is accountable to the people. Secrecy must end.
LASTLY, unless the facts presented above are not enough to compel you to DO SOMETHING to push back
Listen to this Rick Warren speech given to youth around the world.
Warren's speech is a snippet of the same speech used by The Family. Click on this link to view a full transcript and/or listen to both Warren and Coe's speeches.
Share this with your friends so they will wake up to the harmful zealotry being used to stir up blind faith following Christian youth here and everywhere.
Ask them to Be Not Fooled.
The intent of Warren, Coe, The Family, the Koch Brothers, ALEC, The John Birch Society, and the Right Wing, DINOs, and TEA PARTY is to hand our freedoms to a Theocratic Proto-Fascist/Corporation "governance". Hitler was a Christian, too.:
There is a temptation for the conversation to devolve into arguments of Religious beliefs and/or to bash religion in general and some specifically. In the context of The Scrooge Class Plan, this is a waste of our time. Religious arguing and intolerance actually feeds into the Scrooge Class Plan as it divides instead of unites.
May I, with love, recommend we each Hold onto our personal beliefs and be tolerant of others, K? This isn't a religious war.
This is a rerun of the oldest war on earth.
The WAR between the HAVES WHO WANT TO RULE and ENSLAVE (the 1%) and who drove these jets to Romney's private Park City retreat recently:
And THE REST OF US, the 99%
The HAVES are amoral, cruel, heartless, vengeful, and potentially violent.
The Rest of Us, for the most part, don't mind working our 40 hours a week for nothing more than a decent home, healthy food, adequate clothing, community safety, a good education for our children, and the ability to live with dignity until we die.
We are not getting these needs met in larger numbers every year.
The STUPID HAVES can easily provide these things and still have money to burn.
So, how else can we conclude that their theocratic fascist follies are based on something much more sinister than GREED?
Speaking of Greed, here's where the UBUR RICH meet regularly to learn how to be more UBURLY RICH.
You have become familiar with TIGER 21. Tiger 21 is relatively new, charges a $30,000 membership fee, and is where the Already Uberly Wealthy go to teach the Nouveau Uberly Wealthy and, through intimate seminars invite the Nouveau Uberly Wealthy to invest HUGE amounts in whatever is being exclusively offered to Tiger 21 members. Bain Capital presents at Tiger 21, for example.
TIGER 21 is a secretive group. Tiger 21 has taken this section off of their webiste, but I saved it before it was removed. Here's their Confidentiality Statement:
Each TIGER 21 member must honor the TIGER 21 rules of confidentiality, which require:.
• Absolute confidentiality with respect to any information a member learns
about another member's net worth, financial affairs or income.
• Absolute confidentiality with respect to any private or non-public information
with respect to the investments of another member. This includes the
agreement not to engage in the trading of any public securities based on
any confidential information that a member gains through involvement in a
TIGER 21 group.
Each member agrees not to compete against any other member for any investment the member learns about through the disclosures of that member
Everything in this article is disconcerting, imo; however TIGER 21 concerns me in a lot of ways. It is growing rapidly, and now beginning to go global. It looks like its a gathering place where the uber rich and plan together how to become uberly richer. They literally bring all their financial information to the meetings and let the other members see everything there is to see. That could easily open the door to insider trading....just saying.
I'll be interested in your take.
I hope you will help spread this information far and wide. The media has told pieces of the story, but they haven't pulled it all together that I can find.
If you click here you will find the list of my articles from 2008 - Present. I cover a huge range of subjects; however, I am careful to provide open source citations with what I present.
We are on the precipice of Change, for better or worse?
Without you, it can be for the worse so join up somewhere to do good.
AT THE VERY LEAST, VOTE IN 2012 LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT, it may.
Roberts Invited Citizens United Before SCOTUS Because He Wanted To: Activism
Everything about Citizens United is fubarred.THE INVISIBLE HANDS: See Who Is Really Running the World
Chief Justice Roberts literally invited Citizens United before the Supreme Court and broadened the scope of Citizens United because he wanted to.
Justice Stevens writes, in his Citizens United dissent:
...the majority decides this case on a basis relinquished below, not included in the questions presented to us by the litigants, and argued here only in response to the Court's invitation.
The details of how our constitutional rights to freedom are at risk are found here:
Carrying a Bible, Wrapped in a Flag, Wearing a Lapel Pin: Facts for Fending off Fascism
THE MAIN REASON I AM PUTTING THIS DIARY TOGETHER IS TO PROVIDE JOURNALISTS AND CONCERNED CITIZENS WITH A RESOURCE FOR THE LAWS and DOCUMENTS I HAVE FOUND that lay the groundwork for some frightening scenarios if POWER rests in the wrong hands.Truth about the "manufactured housing crisis here:
The 10 Step: Choreography of the Housing Crisis, Collusion by All
This is a complete record of evidence, to date, to support the allegation that the housing boom was a fraudulent plan that begin in 1996. A choreographed disaster.Wall Street Banks Secretly Build The World's Largest Private Army
Some of you know that I have been researching and writing about this for over 2 years. A bit of what I have reported is just surfacing in the news, even though I constantly contacted them and provided information. Others have picked up a lot of the foreclosure information, which is helping. But the A-Z story needs to be told. I have the details.
Erik Prince's XMas Gift: A Buyer for Xe/Blackwater, SOLD to Private Equity Company
Private Equity Firms Own War Contractors: DynCorp
Who is Buying Up American Firearms? Dan Quayle, Cerebrus
The homeland security industry is currently the fastest growing sector of the U.S. economy


text:
Looking for a Used Regal in your area?
CarGurus has 8,186 nationwide Regal listings starting at $988.
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1986 Buick Regal Overview
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Buick Regal Questions
1986 T Type Regal - Fbi Undercover; Unique Modifications
I was recently looking for a Buick GNX and ran across an ad for a 1986 Buick Regal T-Type with the following description of the rear suspension; "... the rear lower control arms being boxed, and inst...
I Need A Vacuum Hose Diagram For My Buick Regal 307 V8
I need a vacuum hose diagram for my 1986 buick regal 307 V8. I've searched high and low, ordered the haynes manual and they didn't have it in there, and the diagram was ripped off of the car. I chec...
86 Buick Regal T-type W/ Idle Issues
Runs fine, except when stopped, the car idles erratically, jumping up and down in rpm's every few seconds, sometimes shutting off completely. I already replaced the idle air control valve. Any other ...


text:
Posted on How Much can a blade affect a miter cut.
#1 posted 10-11-2012 06:07 PM
Another important effect is whether there is damage to the blade.
If, for instance one edge clipped a hidden nail or staple and got chipped at some time in the past.
-- Michael :-{| Don't anthropomorphise your tools, they hate it when you do that.


text:
Employment Summary Reports
Our graduates work in the private and public sectors, in positions in law firms, business, academia, the state and federal judiciary, government and public interest. Individuals pursue law degrees for reasons as diverse and unique as the individual seeking the degree. While a majority of our graduates choose to practice as attorneys, others elect to use the legal knowledge and skills they acquired at Toledo Law in professional roles outside the legal field.
Employment information, as reported to the American Bar Association, is below. This information was collected in the nine months following graduation for each respective class.
Employment Summary for 2014 Graduates
Employment Summary for 2013 Graduates
Employment Summary for 2012 Graduates


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Lead Found In Lip Gloss
April 29, 2013
One Iowa mom was surprised when her child tested positive for high levels of lead. She was even more surprised when she found out the source – lip gloss.
Topics: Health Medical Pharma, Human Interest, Lips, Anatomy, Cosmetics, Gloss, Labello, Lip gloss, LIP, Linguistics, Visual arts, Interior design, Optics


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The scripts have been updated and there is *finally* a new theme – I've been super busy but updates will resume shortly!
Sep 12th: Updates: Scripts + New Layout
Faith | Categories: Updates | Comments Off on Updates: Scripts + New Layout
Dec 25th: 2010: Happy Holidays!
Faith | Categories: Featured, Updates | 2 Comments
Just a flyby post to let you all know how much JBF appreciates it's visitors, and wishes you the happiest, merriest, safest and warmest of holiday seasons — and a very happy new year!
Tags: Tags: Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, Happy New Year


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Real bookmark for a real book. Yes, e-readers are fantastic and we would be lost without them, but - - - - some books need to be read in their paper versions!!!A dolphin leaps from the top, waves and water life are deeply cast on the pewter below. Sapphire blue Swarovski Crystals hang from the end. The bookmarks are approximately 3 inches long.Imagine opening a Jane Austin, or a Jules Verne and slipping this gorgeous bookmark between the pages after immersing yourself in far off times and places. That is luxury!FREE GIFT WRAP. Each piece of jewelry is wrapped in tissue paper and enclosed in an organza bag.
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Oreimo 2 Complete Collection Limited Edition Anime DVD Review | Fandom Post
285d ago - Just how far will Kyousuke and Kirino go? What They Say: Kyousuke brings Kirino home from Ame... | Anime
Oreimo Season 1 Collection Review [Capsule Computers]
921d ago - Luke Halliday of Capsule Computers writes: "Oreimo is an anime that you more of less can make... | Anime
Oreimo Season 1 Collection Review | Otaku Study
925d ago - Living in the shadow of his talented younger sister, Kyousuke Kosaka conducts a normal lifestyle... | Anime
T-ono | Oreimo (DVD) Review
1008d ago - "When I first heard of Oreimo, I thought to myself, "yet another series that I must keep from wat... | Anime
Filmwatch Contest Details
Now - Come celebrate the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron with us on Filmwatch and win cool prizes. | Promoted post
iAX Review: "Oreimo: Limited Edition Complete Box Set" (DVD)
1321d ago - iAX: "Kyousuke Kosaka's 14-year old sister Kirino is the perfect teenage girl in almost every way... | Anime
5 stories found


text:
The present invention addresses the issue of jitter compounded by clock drifting in streaming media applications. In addressing jitter, the present invention attempts to recover the desired (de-jittered) arrival time at a gateway even if there is a frequency difference between the clocks of the original media source and the gateway. The desired arrival time is used with the addition of a constant to schedule the packet delivery time for delivery to a user via a network. Each packet arriving at the gateway contains an arrival timestamp. Using packets, which also contain sending time stamps, the invention determines the delivery time for each packet.
1. A system for reducing jitter and clock drifting in streaming media, said system comprising:
a) a gap difference calculator configured to calculate a difference between two timestamps;
b) a gap difference smoother operatively connected to said gap difference calculator and configured to reduce variation of delay between packets;
c) a slope estimator operatively connected to said gap difference smoother and said gap difference calculator and configured to detect a frequency difference between two clocks; and
d) a delivery time calculator operatively connected to said gap difference calculator and said slope estimator and configured to output a deliver time for a packet.
2. The system of
3. The system of
4. The system of
5. The system of
6. A method for reducing jitter and clock drifting in streaming media said method comprising the steps of:
a) accepting an arrival timestamp and a sending timestamp for a current packet;
b) utilizing said arrival timestamp and said sending timestamp to create a relative gap difference and a sending time gap, for said current packet;
c) utilizing said relative gap difference to create a change in gap difference;
d) utilizing said change in gap difference and said sending time gap to create an estimated change in gap difference; and
e) utilizing said sending time gap and said estimated change in gap difference to create a delivery time.
7. The method of
i) combining said rival timestamp with the arrival timestamp of the packet immediately previous to said current packet, to create an arrival time gap;
ii) combining said arrival time gap with said sending time gap to create a time gap difference; and
iii) combing said time gap difference with the previous value of said relative gap difference to create said relative gap difference.
8. The method of
9. The method of
i) combining said relative gap difference through the use of a first filter with the smoothed gap difference of the packet immediately previous to said current packet, said smoothed gap difference of the packet immediately previous to said current packet being modified by a second filter, said combining resulting in a smoothed gap difference for said current packet; and
ii) combining said smoothed gap difference for said current packet with said smoothed gap difference of the packet immediately previous to said current packet to create said change in gap difference.
10. The method of
i) modifying said sending time gap by a previous slope to create said estimated change in gap difference;
ii) combining said estimated change in gap difference with said change in gap difference to create an error value;
iii) modifying said error value by a parameter to adjust tracking; and
iv) combining the output of step iii) with said previous slope to create a current slope value.
11. The method of
12. A system for reducing jitter and clock drifting in streaming media, said system comprising:
a) means for calculating a gap difference;
b) means for smoothing a difference, operatively connected to said means for calculating a gap difference;
c) means for estimating slope, operatively connected to said means for calculating a gap difference and said means for smoothing a difference; and
d) means for calculating a delivery time, operatively connected to said means for calculating a gap difference and said means for estimating slope.
13. The system of
14. The system of
15. The system of clam 12 wherein sad means for estimating slope accepts as input a change in gap difference and a sending time gap and utilizes said gap difference and said sending time gap to provide as output an estimated change in gap difference.
16. The system of
The present invention relates to the issue of jitter combined with clock drifting in streaming media systems such as Video on Demand (VoD).
Streaming media systems such as Video on Demand (VoD) provide streaming media to a viewer. Streaming media may be a movie, television show or other multi-media information. Streaming media may be transported over a variety of mediums such as coaxial cable or satellite. Further, streaming media may be sent in a variety of formats such as MPEG over the Internet. Regardless of the format in which the streaming media is transmitted, it will be broken up into "packets". Each packet provides a portion of the transmission.
In order for a receiver of the transmission (e.g. a digital television) to properly decode and display the transmission, the packets must arrive in order and on time. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. As the packets of a transmission traverse the path from transmitter to receiver, the spacing between the packets may be altered. The delay between the spacing of blocks is referred to as jitter. A more precise definition of jitter is provided by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), namely:
When a real time application, such as a digital television, receives packets of information, the packets are displayed as they are received. However, if a new packet arrives while previous packets are still being displayed, it is necessary to buffer the new packet. Buffering requires the use of a high speed storage device, which adds to the cost of the display device. Conversely, if a packet arrives too late, there is an interruption in the display of the transmission, which is obvious and annoying to the viewer.
To add further complexity, a transmission may contain multiple "streams" of information, for example one stream for each movie and one stream for each set of commercials. The combining of multiple streams into a single transmission is known as multiplexing. By its very nature, multiplexing introduces jitter. By placing packets from one stream between packets from another, time delays and thus the possibility of jitter, are introduced. Further, jitter may be introduce in non-multiplexed environments if packets are not managed properly.
There is thus a need for a simple and cost effective solution to reduce jitter in a streaming media environment. The present invention addresses this need.
Referring now to
The example of IP network 104 and HFC network 108 is provided for illustration only, it is not the intent of the inventors to limit the use of the present invention to a specific protocol such as IP or a specific delivery method such as HFC. They serve simply as examples to aid the reader in understanding the present invention.
HFC is a telecommunications link in which optical fiber cable and coaxial cable comprise different portions of a network carrying content such as VoD. By way of example, VoD system 100 may use fiber optic cable from video gateway 106 to a plurality of serving nodes (not shown) located near decoders 110 and then use coaxial cable from the serving nodes to connect with decoders 110. An advantage of HFC is that the high bandwidth of fiber optic cable may be provided to a user without having to replace all existing coaxial cable.
Gateway 106 also provides remuxing, transrating or transcoding of the input from IP network 104, which is typically in the MPEG-2 transport format.
The term "mux" is a short form for "multiplexing". Multiplexing simply means combining a number of signals over a single connection, such as multiple telephone calls over a single wire. Video source 102 may multiplex signals before transmitting them to gateway 106. Gateway 106 may "remux": the signals before sending them on. Remuxing, is simply the step of demuxing (i.e. undoing the step of muxing) and providing a newly multiplexed signal. The step of remuxing, is typically performed to ensure that the signal received from IP network 104 is properly distributed to HFC network 110. Once demuxing has been completed, gateway 106 may transrate or transcode the packets of the stream received. Transrating refers to a change in the content of the stream, typically achieved by reducing the information transmitted. Transcoding refers to a change in the format of the packets in a stream, for example from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4.
For video decoder 110 to play back the video transmission from video source 102 smoothly and continuously, the delay between video source 102 and video decoder 110 must be constant. However, this condition cannot be automatically satisfied in VoD system 100 if no corrective measures are taken due to the following reasons:
1. Although the delay between gateway 106 to decoder 110 may be regarded as constant, the connection from video source 102 to the gateway 106 is dependant upon IP network 104 so jitter will be introduced; and
2. The actual clock frequencies used for a timestamp reference running at gateway 106 and video source 102 may be different although both of them should typically run at a common clock speed, such as 27 Mhz.
The arrival time of a video packet at gateway 106 cannot be utilized to schedule the transmission of the packet to HFC network 108 as the arrival time may be subject to jitter introduced by IP network 104. To solve the problem of scheduling transmission of packets to HFC network 108, some protocols can be employed, such as time stamping each video packet at video source 102 as they are transmitted. Scheduling of output from gateway 106 to HFC network 108 may be achieved by utilizing the timestamp of video source 106 plus a constant delay at gateway 106, to avoid the jitter-contaminated arrival time at gateway 106.
Such a scheme works well if the clocks at video source 102 and gateway 106 run at exactly the same frequency. However, if they run at different frequencies, it will eventually break the smooth and continuous playback on decoder 110 due to buffer underflow or overflow. The exact time when it will break depends on the difference of the clock frequencies, the less the difference, the longer the smooth and continuous playback can be. In most cases, the playback can go ahead without any problems for several hours but problems will most likely show up after one day.
The present invention attempts to recover the desired (de-jittered) arrival time at gateway 106 even if there is a frequency difference between the clocks of video source 102 and gateway 106. This desired arrival time is then used with the addition of a constant to schedule the packet delivery time to HFC network 108.
Each packet arriving at gateway 106 may contain a sending timestamp which can either be the Program Clock Reference (PCR) timestamp embedded in an MPEG-2 transport stream or the Real Time Transport Protocol (RTP) timestamp attached in the IP packet if RTP protocol is used. MPEG-2 refers to a portion of the standards for high quality video transmission developed by the Motion Pictures Expert Group (MPEG). The set of MPEG-2 standards is catalogued by the International Standards Organization (ISO) as ISO 13818. RTP is used to send data in one direction with no acknowledgement. The header of each RTP packet contains a time stamp so the recipient can reconstruct the timing of the original data, as well as a sequence number, which lets the recipient deal with missing, duplicate or out-of-order packets. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) describes RTP in RFC 1889. The International Telecommunication Union employs RTP in the multimedia communications standard H.323.
Each packet arriving at gateway 106 has attached to it an arrival timestamp. Thus, some packets may have both a sending timestamp and an arrival timestamp. Using these two timestamps, the present invention tries to determine the delivery time for each packet.
Once the delivery time for a packet having a sending timestamp is correctly calculated, the delivery time for a packet without a sending time stamp can be linearly interpolated based on the sending timestamp bearing packets which precede and follow the packet without a sending timestamp. Thus, the present invention considers only packets, which contain a sending timestamp and an arrival timestamp.
Referring now to
Gap difference calculator 152 takes as input arrival timestamp ta(n) 160, and sending timestamp ts(n) 162 for the current packet "n". Gap difference calculator 152 computes the relative difference of arrival time stamp 160 and sending time stamp 162 using the first packet received in a transmission as the base and outputs the relative gap difference d(n) 164 as input to gap difference smoother 154. Gap difference calculator 152 also computes sending time gap ds(n) 168 as input to delivery time calculator 158.
Gap difference smoother 154 removes high frequency variation of any delay caused by jitter. Any low-passing filtering (LPF) method can be employed here for that purpose. As those skilled in the art will recognize, examples of such low-passing filtering include, but are not limited to, Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filters, Infinite Impulse Response (IIR) filters, or a nonlinear LPF like median filter or minimum filter.
The output of gap difference smoother 154 is change in gap difference df(n) 166. Change in gap difference df(n) 166 and sending time gap ds(n) 168 are input to slope estimator 156. Slope estimator 156 detects the slowly changing slope caused by the frequency difference of the clocks running at video source 102 and gateway 106. Estimated change in gap difference dfe(n) 170 is output from slope estimator 156 as input to delivery time calculator 158. Delivery time calculator 158 combines the delay caused by sending time gap ds(n) 168 with estimated change in gap difference dfe(n) 170 and the delivery time of the previous packet to calculate a delivery time td(n) 172 for the current packet ("n").
If the frequency difference between video source 102 and gateway 106 is positive or negative, delivery time td(n) 172 may speed up or slow down respectively at gateway 106. This adjustment is achieved by tracking the slope in the df( ) versus ds( ) curve, i.e. the values of change in gap difference df(n) 166 and sending time gap ds(n) 168. This adjustment is based on the following facts:
1. within a relatively short time window, the clock frequency difference can be regarded as a constant; and
2. for any two consecutive packets, the change in gap difference df(n) 166 and sending time gap ds(n) 168 should be proportional, with the ratio (slope) fluctuating around a slowly changing average value. If the clocks at video source 102 and gateway 106 run at the same frequency, this average value should be 1 with no change in slope, otherwise it will be a value a little less or greater than 1 which will result in a non-zero slope change.
In the present invention the previous ratio (slope) and the sending time gap ds(n) 168 are utilized to estimate the arrival time for the current packet. According to error between the actual (smoothed by LPF) arrival time and the estimated arrival time, the present invention knows whether the estimation is too big or too small and can adjust the ratio accordingly. For example, if the error is a positive number, then the estimation is less than the real value, and the ratio (slope) is increased. Similarly, if the error is a negative number then ratio (slope) is decreased. The actual increment or decrement of the ratio (slope) is achieved by multiplying the error by a constant. The process of adjusting the ratio is described in detail in the description of
The detail for each of the four sub-blocks 152, 154, 156 and 158 will be described by mathematical equations and Digital Signal Processor (DSP) signal flow graphs which utilize the symbols in the following Legend 1.
Referring now to
As shown in
The sending time gap ds(n) 168 is:
The difference between arrival time gap da(n) 180 and sending time gap ds(n) 168 is time gap difference das(n) 184 which is calculated as:
The relative gap difference d(n) 164 between arrival time gap da(n) 180 and sending time gap ds(n) 168 with respect to those of the first (0-th) packet will be:
The reason for utilizing the 0-th packet follows. The present invention deals with two issues, namely clock drifting and jitter. Since clock drifting is a very slowly changing process, if a comparison is made between the current packet to recently incoming packets, it is not possible to distinguish any noticeable drifting since the drifting is concealed completely by the jitter. However, by utilizing the 0-th packet as a base, over time, the drifting becomes more detectable.
The present invention does not utilize equation 11) directly, as arrival timestamp ta(n) 160 will increase over time and at some point it will wrap around and become non-distinguishable with the arrival timestamp of the 0-th packet (ta(0)). The same will occur with sending timestamp ts(n) 162 and the sending timestamp of the 0-th packet (ts(0)). Thus the present invention utilizes packet n and packet n−1 to do the computation as they are distinguishable.
Gap difference calculator 152 provides as output:
Referring now to
Relative gap difference d(n) 164 is smoothed by a Low Pass Filter (LPF) such that:
The change in gap difference df(n) 166 between two consecutive packets is:
Referring now to
Packet slope estimator 156 takes as input change in gap difference df(n) 166 and sending time gap ds(n) 168.
If clock frequencies at video server 102 and gateway 106 are drifting away from each other slowly, then change in gap difference df(n) 166 should be approximately proportional to sending time gap ds(n) 168 in a reasonably long time period. For example if one were to plot a 2-dimensional df( ) versus ds( ) graph over all values of n, it should approximate a straight line, the slope k(n) 202 should fluctuate slightly around a value. Assuming the previous slope is k(n−1) 204, then previous slope k(n−1) 204 may be used to modify sending time gap ds(n) 168 to create estimated change in gap difference dfe(n) 200. Thus:
The slope k(n) 202 can be initiated to be k(0)=0, which signifies that the two frequencies of the clocks of video source 102 and gateway 106 are initially assumed to be locked without drifting.
Comparing the estimated change in gap difference dfe(n) 170 and the change in gap difference df(n) 166, yields the error (i.e. the difference) e(n) 206:
If error e(n) 206 is positive, it means the change has been underestimated and the slope should be increased. Conversely, if error e(n) 202 is negative, the change has been overestimated and the slope should be decreased. Thus the slope is adjusted by:
This value of the constant "b" is the step that controls the adjustment speed. The value of "b" can be determined based on considerations for convergence time, tracking resolution, and stability. Being adjusted this way, over time, the ratio (slope) will converge to a certain value, and the delivery time at video decoder 110 can be calculated. Thus the jitter can be removed. Experimentation has shown that typical values for "b" are around 10^(−9). In one implementation the value of 2^(−28) which is 3.725*10^(−9) was found to be acceptable.
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
The delivery time td(n) 172 to output the n'th packet to HFC network 108 (see
The present invention permits a VoD transmission to run an arbitrarily long time without play back disruption on the user (video decoder 110) side caused by buffer underflow or overflow. The present invention achieves this by tracking the difference between the clocks of the video source 102 and the gateway 106.
The present invention requires very moderate computation and can be implemented with fixed-point arithmetic either in software or hardware. For the processing of each packet only one multiplication, one shift and a few additions and subtractions are required. No division operations are needed.
Although the disclosure of the present invention utilizes Video on Demand (VoD) as an example, it is not the intent of the inventors to restrict the present invention to VoD systems. The present invention may be utilized in any form of streaming media that needs to address the issue of jitter compounded by clock drifting. The present invention is applicable to any streaming media that requires synchronization between source and destination. This includes multicast video, multicast audio, streaming video/audio, multimedia gaming, or multimedia conferencing. The types of networks that may be used include IP, MMDS, LMDS, satellite distribution, local video distribution network, ATM, SONET/SDH, fixed/mobile wireless, and Ethernet/firewire.
Although the invention has been described with reference to certain specific embodiments, various modifications thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as outlined in the claims appended hereto.
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Tyler Seguin, Bruins rookies take ice for third day
|09.14.10 at 10:22 am ET
WILMINGTON — After spending Monday in Bolton for the Bruins' annual charity golf tournament, we're back here at Ristuccia Arena for the third day of rookie practices. The same lines appeared to be out there as Sunday's opening session in the first hour, with a shuffling occurring for the second session during special teams drills. Here's how they looked:
Jamie Arniel – Tyler Seguin – Jordan Caron
Jared Knight – Joe Colborne – Max Sauve
Yannick Riendeau – Craig Cunningham – Ryan Spooner
Tyler Randell, Joe Pleckaitis, Antoine Rousel, Lane MacDermid and Walker Wintoneak rotated in and out during special teams drills.
The Bruins changed things up a bit and moved their noon captain's practice up to before the rookie skate, meaning the vets are done for the day. Stay with the Big Bad Blog for what the rookies have to say Tuesday, their last day here before moving it to the Garden for a couple of games against Islanders rookies on Wednesday and Thursday.
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- Seth Griffith Fitting in on the First Line with the Boston Bruins
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- Bruins' Patrice Bergeron Records 500th Career Point
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- Looking at Bruins Defensive Pairings Without Chara


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If you've dropped out of high school, or are disappointed with the in-person high school experience, you are not alone. Many people in this country see high school as a chore, and as more of a social project than a way to actually learn anything. That's why more and more people are switching to online high schools and universities, because it's all about the learning and enrichment of the individual, not the day-to-day politics of a high school environment. Thousands of people have already made the switch, and at our online academy, we have boasted not only a high graduation rate, but have heard excellent feedback from our students about how an online school not only helped them focus more on their classes, but gave them more responsibility, better critical thinking skills, and they now stand a chance at getting a better career out there in the work environment with their high school diploma or GED obtained through our programs.
Russet Hills Academy is almost too good to be true for a lot of people. We're a fully accredited online high school with different programs to suit a number of different students. Whether you're choosing to attend online school because you don't want the in-person high school experience, or because you need to obtain your GED for career advancement or personal ambition, we've got a program that will work for you. Best of all, with an online academy, you can go at your own pace. Yes, that means no deadlines, no due dates, no pop quizzes, and no waking up early in the morning for classes. You can roll out of bed after a late night the night before and do some homework or studying, or get some of those quizzes done when you get off work. Everyone's brain functions on a different schedule, and that's part of why we see so much success – we allow you to work when it works for you.
If you're ready to say goodbye to unnecessary lectures, and the daily grind of your normal high school, we ask that you consider online high schools and Russet Hills Academy to help broaden your horizons and shape your better future. If you'd like to get a better idea about the degrees we offer, take a look around our website and see if there's a program that works for you. Our variety is part of what has made us one of the most popular online high schools in the country. If you're interested about tuition costs and how to make the payments, please check out our 'Tuition & Financial Aid' section. Finally, when you're ready to apply, we have a quick, no-hassle application process that can all be done online. Send in the form, and you'll get a response about your eligibility in no longer than two weeks. So take charge, and take control of your own life and your own education, and let Russet Hills Academy shape your way to the life you want to lead, and the high school experience you want to have.


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What do the metals calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, copper, and iron have in common?
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Every one of these elements can react with oxygen to form an oxide or if oxygen and water are present, a hydroxide. For example, iron and oxygen chemically combine to form rust, or iron oxide. Sodium will burn in oxygen to form sodium peroxide. Because all metals to an extent will react with oxygen, most are not found in a pure state in nature, rather, they are found in a compound usuallly as an oxide. When a copper structure like a statue, or when found as an architectural element on a building is seen, it is usually green due to the fact that you are looking at copper oxide. Therefore, the answer is that all of the elements react with oxygen.
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text: GamesBeat Popular places to play mobile games: in the car and on the toilet February 10, 2011 3:17 PM Dean Takahashi 0 Enterprise companies tackle mobile marketing automation slightly differently—and that's why they're on top. Register today for this free VB Insight webinar with AEG's VP of Social and Marketing on May 28th. Everyone assumes that people play mobile games while they're on the run, but the reality is that mobile game users are seven times more likely to be playing a game in the restroom of their own home than they are to be playing in an airport. Travis Boatman, vice president of worldwide studios for EA Mobile at Electronic Arts, spoke at the Dice Summit, the elite game industry conference in Las Vegas, where he talked about the major myths about mobile games. Here are the myths described by Boatman, an 11-year veteran of mobile games: 1. Myth: People play mobile games on the run. The truth is that 47 percent of the time, users play mobile games while at home. At home, they can more easily download games over their own wireless networks. About 12 percent of the time, users play games during a commute. About 1 percent of the time, users play games in an airport. Users play mobile games in the restroom about 7 percent of the time, play at work 14 percent of the time, play at school 3 percent of the time, and play in other places for the remaining 4 percent. 2. Myth: The top mobile games are all casual. Casual games are snacks, where you play for a short time while waiting in line. But Boatman said that at different points in history, casual games have dominated the top games on mobile platforms. But hardcore games are an under-served market on the iPad, iPhone and other smartphones today. Hardcore games such as Epic's Infinity Blade and EA's DeadSpace have shot to No. 1 on the iPhone and iPad, showing that users appreciate hardcore titles as well. 3. Myth: One size game fits all platforms. But mobile game platforms are multiplying and splintering. Quite often when phone makers change screen resolutions or screen sizes, they force changes in game development. Developers have to adapt by making many versions of their games to run on all the relevant platforms. Android in particular is causing a big splintering. 4. Myth: Brands don't matter. EA, of course, believes that brands rule, since it has launched titles such as Need for Speed — a racing game brand familiar to hardcore gamers — to great success on the iPhone. Over time, Boatman pointed out, the number of brands in the top ranks of the mobile game charts are based on brands. Right now, eight of the top 25 iPhone games are brands. 5. Myth: This is as good as it gets. Boatman says the mobile game industry will be far different in three years and will make huge progress.


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About 25 tons of peaches which had been sitting in refrigerators following a flurry of canceled orders by Russian importers have been distributed to the countrys correctional facilities, the Federation of Prison Workers (OSYE) said on Thursday.
In a statement, OSYE acknowledged the impact of Moscows food embargo on Greek farmers and thanked them for their gesture.
Brussels has already allotted 33 million euros in compensation for peach and nectarine farmers hit by the ban.


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A few manual rain gauges in two locations – that was all Chennai's meteorologists had, all this while, to measure the volume of rainfall received in the city. Officials of the Meteorology Department themselves have observed that residents in many parts of the city might not relate to the amount of rainfall recorded in Nungambakkam or Meenambakkam considering the sheer size of the city and variation of rainfall in different localities.
All this is set to change as the city got its first automatic rain gauge at Sathyabama University on Thursday. With this facility and nine similar ones that will be set up in two weeks, the department would now be able to collect accurate data and also improve weather forecasting services.
The other rain gauges will be installed on the premises of educational and research institutions and government offices in Taramani, Guindy, Padur, Kolapakkam, Poonamallee, Chembarampakkam, Puzhal, Avadi and Kattupakkam.
Inaugurating the facility worth Rs.3 lakh in the presence of University chancellor Jeppiaar, Y.E.A. Raj, Deputy Director General of Meteorology, Regional Meteorological Centre, said a denser network of automatic rain gauges would help understand the weather conditions better.
The facilities would have sensors to measure rainfall, humidity and temperature that collect data every hour. People would be able to access the information within one or two hours in www.imdaws.com. The department is also in the process of setting up 65 more automatic rain gauges across the State as part of the first phase of modernisation project. Work has started on 10 such projects in other districts. An automatic weather station would have sensors to measure six parameters, including wind direction, speed and pressure. After Ennore, Nungambakkam and Madhavaram, Meenambakkam too will soon have such a station. The facility, installed with the support of Indian Space Research Organisation, is now being operated on a trial mode.
The locality, which houses Chennai Airport, would also soon get a Doppler weather radar for aviation weather surveillance. Officials said there were hitches in acquiring land in Pallavaram for the past two years due to problems in identifying ownership of space. R. Suresh, Director (in-charge), Aerodrome Meteorological Services, said "We now depend on the data from the radar on Rajaji Salai. Ideally, we need such a facility within five or six km radius to monitor wind shear and other parameters for a comprehensive report for airlines operation."
Keywords: manual rain gauges, Meteorology Department


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The Office of Research and Economic Development was established in 2005 to link research from the four University of Missouri campuses with emerging and existing firms across the state and around the world. Working closely with the chief research officers and chancellors from each campus, this office also serves as a conduit to local, state and federal agencies to ensure research results aid the growth of the Missouri economy.
Items in MOspace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.


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HOUSTON - Houston police are investigating a carjacking involving taxi cab on the northside of town.
A taxi driver said he picked up a male passenger near downtown shortly after midnight Tuesday.
The man told the driver he wanted to go to the Greenspoint area, so they got on the North Freeway northbound. Soon, however, the passenger asked the driver to stop at the Fiesta store on Airline Drive at Lyerly Street.
When the driver stopped, he said the passenger attacked him and then kicked him out of the vehicle. The passenger then took off with the cab.
There was an unknown about of money in the gab.
The taxi company tried to track the vehicle with GPS, but police were not able to locate it.
The driver was not seriously injured.


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Draw distance really sucks... do this! *pics included*
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call me Nano
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 517
Re: Draw distance really sucks... do this! *pics included*
Sorry guys for beeing unspecific here. You create a file called system.cfg and open it with notepad, there you just paste the settings i provided and save it in the crysis main folder and thats it...
Agenkay, all 4 pictures where taken at Veryhigh settings, you can see from the colorgrading for example. Only thing that is changed is the config with those settings in it. And ofcourse there is performance impact when using this config, there is pretty much more grass, bushes, stones, trees and stuff to render, i also changed some LOD settings so furhter away objects and stuff have greater quality, also the distance sprites are pushed away even further away and the sprite quality is cranked up lol...
I cant really say how much this will impact on the performance, try it out and report back here
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Royals Organization Report
The call came sooner than the Royals had planned for Billy Butler, but with the offense struggling and the team 10 games below .500 entering May they decided they could wait no longer.
The call came sooner than the Royals had planned for Billy Butler, but with the offense struggling and the team 10 games below .500 entering May they decided they could wait no longer.
That Chris Lubanski was hitting .303/.378/.530 for Double-A Wichita could portend a big season for the 2003 first-round pick (fifth overall).
If not for the Arizona Fall League, lefthander Neal Musser would likely not have been added to the Royals' 40-man roster during the offseason.
High Desert taught Billy Buckner a hard but valuable lesson.
In 2005, first baseman Justin Huber won the Texas League batting title with a .343 average and was named MVP of the Futures Game. Now he seems to be a forgotten man.
Tyler Lumsden said he was half asleep in his hotel room last July in Huntsville, Ala., trying to get a brief nap before going to the park with his Double-A Birmingham teammates. "I got woken up with a lot of phone calls," Lumsden said.
Kurt Mertins, not Alex Gordon or Billy Butler, had the highest batting average in the Royals farm system last year.
Don't pay too much attention to Ryan Braun's minor league record last year. The September callup went a combined 1-8 with Double-A Wichita (1-6) and Triple-A Omaha (0-2).
The pitcher of the year at Rookie-level Idaho Falls last season was lefty Rowdy Hardy—an undrafted senior sign—despite a roster that included four college righthanders drafted in the first eight rounds.
Nick Van Stratten is one of the most talented athletes in the Royals system.
Louie Medina's scouting report on righthander Joakim Soria was "almost too good to be true." Medina saw Soria make two starts in the winter Mexican Pacific League and recommended the Royals select him in the major league Rule 5 draft, which they did with the second overall pick from the Padres.
John Mizerock is back managing. Mizerock, who was Baseball America's Minor League Manager of the Year in 1999 after taking Double-A Wichita to the Texas League title, will manage the Royals' high Class A Wilmington affiliate in 2007.
Brent Fisher impressed coaches and hitters with a deceptive fastball and a good changeup.
After getting away from the speed-first approach, the Royals added several speedsters in this year's draft.
Righthander Jarod Plummer's year began with the Dodgers in Vero Beach and ended as a Royals prospect playing winter ball for West Oahu in Hawaii Winter Baseball.
Shortstop Irving Falu, Royals player of the year at high Class A High Desert, has developed into one of the Royals' top middle-infield prospects.
An end-of-season look at the organization's Best Player, Best Pitcher and player to Keep An Eye On.
Carlos Rosa re-established himself as a prospect in 2006, going 8-6, 2.53 in 24 starts at low Class A Burlington. He held opponents to a .240 batting average, struck out 102 in 139 innings and earned an end-of-the-season promotion to high Class A High Desert.
With the Royals moving prospect Justin Huber to the outfield at Triple-A Omaha and Kila Kaaihue struggling this season at Double-A Wichita, the Royals' cupboard was bare for first base prospects in the high minors. They addressed that by acquiring Ryan Shealy, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound power-hitting first baseman, in a four-player trade with the Rockies.
New GM Dayton Moore is trying to rebuild the farm systems bare cupboard of pitching.


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ON MOST DAYS I WAS YELLOW 698. When I opened the door for you to climb into the back seat of my cab, that's all you knew about me. Okay, you knew my name—assuming that you glanced at my license—but you didn't know if I was driving Houston's streets on two hours' sleep, if I had a handgun tucked under my seat, if I was a paroled felon, or if I planned to cheat you.
If you happened to get into Yellow 698, you were relatively lucky. I wouldn't cheat you, I didn't own a gun, and I'd never been arrested. But usually I had had very little sleep. To keep the cash flowing at home while I got my fledgling advertising agency off the ground, I drove a cab. The job was dangerous, the hours long, the wages low, and the social status somewhere just below shoeshine boy. But I was my own boss of my own business.
Indeed, every cabdriver is his own boss, his competition every other cab in town. As with any other business, the better he plays the game, the greater his rewards. He who plays poorly is driven from the ranks by economics, as in any enterprise. Yet therein lies the appeal: no schedule, no time clock, no one to answer to. Cab driving is perhaps the only business a person can operate with little initial capital, and though the potential profit may be modest, it offers anyone who has the gumption a chance to prosper or fail by virtue of his own talent and guile—an opportunity that in this century has become the privilege of a relative few. Cabdrivers may be viewed as the lowest of the working class, but they are working for themselves, a point of pride few of their passengers can claim.
In theory, anyone can drive a cab. To get a license in Houston, you must have a valid Texas driver's license, pass a written test to show you know twenty popular addresses, take a simple physical exam, and be free of warrants within the city. But practically speaking, you also need a medallion, the permit that allows the operation of one vehicle, and that is harder to come by. The city charges a $400 nonrefundable fee when you apply for one or more medallions. Applications are accepted only in even-numbered years, and not every application is approved, because the streets can handle only so much taxi traffic. Medallions can be resold or leased after a short waiting period, and they bring as much as $10,000 apiece on the gray market from independent drivers who have given up hope of obtaining one from the city.
So what was it like to drive a cab? Here was a typical day. 4:00 p.m. It's an unbearably hot summer afternoon, and I'm looking at empty skies above Hobby Airport—a great place to begin, since it's close to my house and I can usually get a decent fare there. I picked up my cab an hour ago from Yellow, which leased me both the medallion and the cab for $92 a day; my goal for my 24-hour shift is $10 per hour, or a profit of about $120 after I pay for gas. Only 130 cabs are ahead of me in the staging area, which is encouraging; usually there are more like 300. The wait for my first fare will be only a couple of hours—not the three and a half hours typically encountered here, and far better than the average waiting time of five hours at Intercontinental. Drivers pass the time by playing chess, cards, and dominoes in the two-room portable building that occupies one corner of the cyclone-fenced asphalt lot. They are self-segregated: African Americans in the large room, Hispanics in the small one, Nigerian immigrants at the picnic tables outside, Caucasians wandering about.
We all know one another by face and cab, but rarely by name. Cabbies share the camaraderie of community—one will leap to help another start his car or come to his aid in an emergency, and experienced drivers will generously share tricks of the trade with rookies like me. I question a group of drivers about the most direct route to the Galleria from Hobby. "Forty-five to Fifty-nine?" I ask. "No, no, you take the loop, man," replies a cabbie who emigrated from the Virgin Islands a year ago. He looks like a thug, yet he is one of the nicest people I've met. "It's a big loop, man," he says with a big, white, slightly mischievous smile. "You take the loop, they think it's the straight way there, but it's four, maybe five more dollars on the meter."
Cabdrivers know the shortest route to almost any point in the city and are required by city ordinance to take it, but they rarely do. The city imposes, through a system of fare zones, flat-rate maximums from the airports to various areas of the city, and no driver wants the meter to show an amount lower than the flat rate. Stories of how to milk an extra few bucks from a customer are rampant, some qualifying as hack folklore. The most outrageous involves a driver who took an out-of-towner to his destination via the entire 610 Loop, circling the city. As the story goes, the customer eventually became suspicious but was assured by the straight-faced cabbie that there were two Astrodomes in Houston.
Cab rates in Houston, by the way, are not the lowest in the country, but they're far from the highest. Hacks here charge $1.50 when you get in and then either $1.50 per mile or per five minutes. Meters only charge time and mileage simultaneously when the cab is traveling below five miles per hour. Remember that the next time you accuse a cabbie of driving leisurely to pad the fare.
"Never tell anyone you once drove a cab," advises another driver at the airport. "You'll never get another job." I believe him. Most customers, and most administrative personnel at Yellow, treat


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Missile Defense Laser Beam Test Fails
The Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency (MDA) said on Thursday that a converted Boeing 747 equipped with a powerful laser failed its test of shooting down a mock enemy ballistic missile.
An MDA spokesman said that preliminary indications are that the so-called Airborne Laser Test Bed tracked the target's exhaust plume but did not hand off to a second, "active tracking" system as a prelude to firing the high-powered chemical laser.
"The transition didn't happen," he said. "Therefore, the high-energy lasing did not occur."
Boeing is the prime contractor of the project, while Northrop Grumman supplies the high-energy laser and Lockheed Martin Corp. has been developing the beam- and fire-control systems.
Last year, Defense Secretary Robert Gates scaled back the program into a research experiment.
About $4 billion has gone into it since Boeing won the contract in 1996. The system is designed to focus a super-heated beam on a pressurized part of a boosting missile long enough to cause it to fail.
President Barack Obama asked Congress for $98.6 million for the fiscal 2011 for all of the Defense Department's directed energy research, including the Airborne Laser Test Bed.
The flying raygun is a potential part of a layered U.S. ballistic missile shield against weapons that could be fired by countries like Iran and North Korea. Pentagon planners initially envisioned for the aircraft to shoot down ballistic missiles near their launch pads.
"The reality is that you would need a laser something like 20 to 30 times more powerful than the chemical laser in the plane right now to be able to get any (safe) distance from the launch site to fire," Gates told the House of Representatives Appropriations Defense subcommittee last year after scaling it back.
The technology is now being tested by other potential missile-defense applications.
The U.S. spent $10 billion every year to build a barricade against missiles that could be loaded with chemical, biological or nuclear warheads.
The MDA said that officials would investigate the cause for the "transition failure" that occurred during the Airborne Laser system's test.
"The intermittent performance of a valve within the laser system is being examined," the statement said.
The system successfully shot down a target ballistic missile in February in the first test.
Pentagon and Boeing officials said the initial success demonstrated the potential use of directed energy against enemy ballistic missiles shortly after they launch.
The second test, which was conducted on September 1st, was designed to double the distance between the 747-400F aircraft and the target to about 100 miles.
However, the MDA said it ended early when corrupted beam control software steered the high-energy laser slightly off center because of communication problems.
Lehner said the range of the most recent test was "the same as the successful February experiment."
He said the MDA still considered directed energy "in some form" to have a lot of potential for missile defense.
The system carried a price tag of $1 billion to $1.5 billion for each aircraft before Gates canceled a second aircraft in June 2009.
Image Caption: YAL-1A Airborne Laser in flight with the mirror unstowed.
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