text:
Dr Gruenenfelder is presently affiliated with Applied Neurobiology Group, Department of Cell Science, Institute for Comparative Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
You have full text access to this Open Access content
Lymphoma-Associated Polymyositis in Dogs
Article first published online: 22 SEP 2009
DOI: 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2009.0391.x
Copyright © 2009 by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine
Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine
Volume 23, Issue 6, pages 1293–1298, November/December 2009
Additional Information
How to Cite
Neravanda, D., Kent, M., Platt, S.R., Gruenenfelder, F.I., Shelton, G.D. and Schatzberg, S.J. (2009), Lymphoma-Associated Polymyositis in Dogs. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 23: 1293–1298. doi: 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2009.0391.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 27 OCT 2009
- Article first published online: 22 SEP 2009
- Submitted November 26, 2008; Revised May 6, 2009; Accepted August 5, 2009.


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Kevin goes up on stage and talks about many diverse topics, most of them decided by the audience. Funny, never boring, Kevin's answers are usually on the spot and detailed enough... Read morePublished 18 months ago by Simon Bergeron
For people who tell it like it is. Kevin Smith is one of the greatest speakers of our time. There is no P.C. babble restrictions here. Read morePublished on June 4 2004 by Tommy J. (M.W.F.S.)
I have read the draft of the Superman script that he wrote and oh, he was so wrong to do it. He treated Superman like some horney teenager, even Tim Burton who later passed on the... Read morePublished on May 24 2004 by D.W. Smith
He had me rolling in the aisles. I feel like I have been friends with him forever. I was always a big fan of his movies, now I am just a big fan.Published on April 12 2004
Smith shows off his intellect and comedic sides in this set, certainly a night well spent. I watched the dvds one at a time, waiting between the two. Read morePublished on Feb. 26 2004 by Jacob Lipsey
I found Kevin incredibly funny in these shows. I class him from a directing point of view much like Quentin Tarantino, great dialogue but not necessarly a great director. Read morePublished on Jan. 31 2004 by "blaggers"
Received the DVD as a Christmas gift, by far the best gift you could give to anyone that enjoyed Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, or Jay and Silent Bob SB. Read morePublished on Dec 30 2003 by K. Kaczmarek
If you're like me and you own the collections of the movies and cartoons that Kevin Smith & Jason Mewes have done, this is a needed addition. Read morePublished on Dec 20 2003 by Michael Murdock

subset: commoncrawl


text:
States Headed For Post-Stimulus 'Cliff'
Federal stimulus programs that funneled billions of dollars to state governments are winding down, and states around the country are facing "big holes" in their budgets, according to a new report from the National Conference of State Legislatures.
A few other highlights from the report:
At the moment, Illinois has by far the biggest deficit of any state, relative to its overall budget; the state's deficit is 47 percent of its budget. Arizona is a distant second at 9.7 percent.
Eighteen states reported that Medicaid or other health care programs were over budget.
Officials in 17 states are concerned about the revenue outlook for the remainder of the current fiscal year. That's isn't as bad as last November, when officials in 30 states were were worried.
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OUYA: A $99 Android Linux Game Console
Published on 10 July 2012 10:10 PM EDT
Written by
Michael Larabel
112 Comments
In the hours today while being pre-occupied with Debian-related matters in Nicaragua, a new Android-based sub-$100 Linux game console received over one million dollars in funding from the community.
As the latest Kickstarter success, there is now
the OUYA project
. The project had a goal to raise $950,000 over 30 days, but in less than 24 hours they have already raised $1.763 million USD and that number is still quickly climbing. OUYA comes down to being a $99 video game console that runs Android and contains only free (as in beer) software. OUYA will be an open design that developers can target and take advantage of all the features of a modern TV. There's also a "word-class controller, console, and interface."
The OUYA project was already brought up today
within the Phoronix Forums
. It's an interesting open game console design, but will likely be trumped in the coming year by something much more interesting. Anyhow, those interested in learning more about OUYA can see the video embedded below.
112 Comments
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And too few insights gleaned from them
Bacterial Quid Pro Quo
August 19, 2013|
Pseudomonas aeruginosa gather swarming speed at the expense of their ability to form biofilms in an experimental evolution setup.
August 19, 2013|
Pseudomonas aeruginosa gather swarming speed at the expense of their ability to form biofilms in an experimental evolution setup.
August 13, 2013|
Pluripotent cells can help regenerate tissues and maintain long life—and they may also help animals jumpstart drastically new lifestyles.
June 21, 2013|
Princeton scientists and engineers create a stunning collection of scientific images better suited for a gallery than a lab meeting.
June 21, 2013|
On the gene patent decision; a high-res human brain model; bats' influence on moths mating calls; toxicants threaten brain health; platelet-driven immunity
June 17, 2013|
Nobel Laureate Jerome Karle has passed away at age 94.
June 12, 2013|
Researchers identify the signaling program that enables finger and toenail stem cells to direct digit regeneration after amputation.
June 7, 2013|
In avian species, a gene induces programmed cell death during development in the area where a phallus would otherwise grow.
June 3, 2013|
Researchers use atomic force microscopy to produce stunning images of a molecule reconfiguring its atomic bonds.
June 1, 2013|
Scientists create nontoxic pH nanosensors to assess viability of transplanted therapeutic cells.
June 1, 2013|
In the fruit fly, the ability of neural stem cells to make the full repertoire of neurons is regulated by the movement of key genes to the nuclear periphery.


text:
I have a Python project with mutiple extension modules written in C, which talk to a third-party library. However, depending on the user's environment and options some modules should not be built, and some compiler flags should be enabled/disabled. The problem is that I have to build the list of extension modules before I call setup(), and ideally I'd like to use a distutils.Command subclass to handle the user options. Right now I have a few options:
Require a "python setup.py configure" command be run before building the modules, store the information in a pickle file, and use it to generate the extensions list next time the script runs. This is how my project currently works, which seems quite silly.
Manually scrape options out of sys.argv and use them to build the list. This is not a long-term solution because I will eventually want to run some scripts to check the settings before building.
Subclass build_ext from distutils, do my configuration in the beginning of the run() method (possibly also using options sent via (2)) and directly modify self.distribution.ext_modules before building. I'm afraid this may confuse setuptools, however, as it may assume the list of extension modules is fixed when setup() is called. It also means that when setup() is called with a command other than build_ext the list of extension modules is empty.
Is there a preferred way to do this?


text:
Seth Rogen may want to look into getting a vaporizer.
You nearly cause a nuclear war and suddenly you're the bad guy.
Netflix vs. hackers.
Which is sort of like being a really tall midget.
$650 is a lot of money if you're the type of guy that scalps movie tickets.
It sucks that we caved in to "terrorist" threats, but why couldn't North Korea have come after these films as well?
You don't have the right to risk your life like this, George.
If only they'd changed his name to Ken Jong-un.
This likely won't dissuade the next assholes from making an idle threat and getting their way.
But what becomes of their glorious enlightened leader?
Well, Sony DID make a comedy about killing their leader.
Maybe North Korea wouldn't be so intent on blowing us up with nuclear weapons if they actually took the time to watch The Interview. The latest trailer paints a much…
It's their way of apologizing.
They're changing the military uniforms on the soldiers, and maybe a scene where Kim Jung-Un's face melts off in slow motion.
Which is weird, because North Korea really liked 'The 40 Year-Old Virgin Who Adores The Supreme Leader'.
I couldn't think of worse spies if I tried. Which I haven't.
The Apatow 9000 moviemaking program has spit out this random combination of actors for a film.
Use your words, guys.


text:
Garage rock band Cage the Elephant is doing double duty when its in Milwaukee Sept. 29.
The Kentucky band was already confirmed to play a free show at the Exclusive Company, 1669 N. Farwell Ave., at 7 p.m. Now comes news that it will also be playing a free show at the Rave Sunday.
But the only way you can get tickets is to win them. And the only chance for winning them is to listen to WLUM-FM (102.1) and sign-up at the Rave's contests page.
The shows are part of a promotional push for the band's forthcoming album "Melophobia," out Oct. 8 on RCA Records.
Facebook: fb.me/piet.levy.18


text:
News and Events
One Year Later, Employee's Daughter Returns to Hospital to Thank Doctors, Nurses
June 23, 2015It was almost a year ago when Lori Brandes was settling in on a Sunday night, preparing for the work week ahead, and she received a "trauma alert" on her mobile phone. She wasn't surprised -- but she was shocked 15 minutes later. A UMC Brackenridge social worker called to say Brandes' daughter had just been in a car accident and was unconscious at the hospital....
Dell Children's Medical Center Named Top Performer in Environmental Stewardship
June 19, 2015Dell Children's Medical Center won the most prestigious environmental achievement award given by Practice Greenhealth, which honors efficiencies and environmental stewardship while improving patient safety and care. Dell Children's also was among the 10 U.S. hospitals honored for the Water, Energy and Green Building categories....
Tomorrow's doctors are being trained right here in Central TexasExplore our Graduate Medical Education Programs.
Physician OpportunitiesContact us about physician opportunities.
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September 19, 2015
Seton Health Plan CHIP and STAR MedicaidLearn more here
Apply online OR
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text:
CRL conducts in-depth research on the extent and impact of predatory lending, to provide useful information to consumers, community advocates, and policymakers alike. We also share our market and legal knowledge with advocates and policymakers across the nation interested in reforming lending practices.
By Publication TypeAny | Comment Letters | Policy & Legislation | Research | Testimony
- Banking Regulators Should Withdraw Consent Orders on Illegal Servicing
Published: Apr 6 2011 Issue: Mortgage Lending
CRL joins more than 50 national organizations in urging federal banking regulators to withdraw consent orders that allow mortgage servicers to escape any serious consequences for illegal business...
- Auto Lending Abuses in Dealer-Financed Loans
Published: Apr 6 2011 Issue: Auto Financing
Predatory practices in auto financing cost consumers billions of dollars every year. Finding a good deal is no longer based on the quality of the car or the creditworthiness of the customer, but...
- Federal Reserve Mortgage Lending Rules - Amicus Brief from CRL and NCLC Opposing TRO and Preliminary Injunction
Published: Apr 4 2011 Issue: Mortgage Lending
CRL and the National Consumer Law Center filed an amicus brief supporting the Federal Reserve's opposition to a TRO and preliminary injunction that would prevent new mortgage rules from going into...
- Joint Letter to Regulators Against High-Downpayment Requirements
Published: Mar 16 2011 Issue: Mortgage Lending
CRL joins key housing groups in urging federal regulators to avoid setting arbitrary mortgage downpayment requirements.
- Don't Mandate Large Down Payments on Home Loans
Published: Mar 1 2011 Issue: Mortgage Lending
Recent proposals call for requiring prospective homeowners to make a 10-20 percent down payment when purchasing a home. This is seen as "getting back to the way mortgages were made in the 1980s." ...
- Are There Government Barriers to the Housing Market Recovery?
Published: Feb 16 2011 Issue: Mortgage Lending
CRL testifies that the biggest barrier to housing recovery is continuing foreclosures that could be stopped. Mortgage servicers are foreclosing unnecessarily, and the government has not yet used...
- Consumer Financial Protection Agency will Help American Families and our Economy
Published: Feb 7 2011 Issue: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Consumer spending comprises 70% of the U.S. economy, so restoring consumer confidence and demand for products is vital to creating jobs. This is more likely to happen if consumers know that the...
- Wall Street, Not Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Led the Toxic Mortgage Market
Published: Jan 26 2011 Issue: Mortgage Lending
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were prohibited from buying subprime mortgages. Five key facts showing why we can't blame the foreclosure crisis on Fannie and Freddie.
- Joint Letter to Regulators on Elements of "Qualified Residential Mortgages"
Published: Jan 25 2011 Issue: Mortgage Lending
A diverse group of national civil rights, labor and consumer organizations writes regulators to share their views with respect to the regulation of securitizers of residential mortgage loans.
- Joint Letter to Regulators Urging a Broader Definition of "Qualified Residential Mortgages."
Published: Jan 14 2011 Issue: Mortgage Lending
CRL and other advocates join mortgage industry leaders in urging regulators to carefully consider how they define mortgages that will be exempt from certain rules. An overly narrow definition could...
- Comments to the Federal Reserve Board on Proposed Regulations Under the Truth in Lending Act [Regulation Z; Docket No. R-1390]
Published: Dec 23 2010 Issue: Mortgage Lending
The National Consumer Law Center ("NCLC") respectfully submits the following comments on behalf of its low income clients, as well as Americans for Financial Reform, California Reinvestment...
- Implementing Mortgage Rules for Financial Reform: Recommendations for Defining "Qualified Residential Mortgages" and Formulating Lending and Servicing Standards
Published: Dec 21 2010 Issue: Mortgage Lending
Implementing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act: Letter from CRL and allies with specific recommendations for mortgage and servicing standards, including how to define...
- Summary of Key Provisions (Mortgage Originations) in Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
Published: Dec 1 2010 Issue: Mortgage Lending
Detailed description of provisions in Title XIV: "Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act" Subtitles A-C: Mortgage Originations
- Military and Payday
Published: Nov 22 2010 Issue: Payday Loans
Military and Payday: Congress acted to protect military families from this predation by including a measure in the Defense Authorization Act of 2006 that prohibits payday and title lenders from...
- Robo-Signing, Chain of Title, Loss Mitigation and Other Issues in Mortgage Servicing
Published: Nov 18 2010 Issue: Mortgage Lending
Senior policy counsel Julia Gordon testifies before a House Financial Services subcommittee on robo-signing and how to use all available tools to address the foreclosure crisis.
- HAMP, Servicer Abuses, and Foreclosure Prevention Strategies
Published: Oct 27 2010 Issue: Mortgage Lending
Julia Gordon, CRL Senior Policy Counsel, testifies before the Congressional Oversight Panel on HAMP, servicer abuses and foreclosure prevention.
- Foreclosure as a Last Resort
Published: Oct 21 2010 Issue: Mortgage Lending
States are in a strong position to stabilize the housing market and prevent unnecessary foreclosures, and the best tool available is mandatory loss mitigation.
- Joint Letter Urging OCC to Curb Overdraft Abuse
Published: Oct 13 2010 Issue: Overdraft Loans
The Center for Responsible Lender added its signature to a letter from national consumer organizations asking the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to adopt stricter overdraft...
- Comment Letter on FDIC's Proposed Overdraft Guidance
Published: Sep 27 2010 Issue: Overdraft Loans
CRL and other consumer advocates filed a comment letter with the FDIC supporting most aspects of the agency's proposed guidance on overdraft. The groups also made recommendations on how the agency...
- Joint Letter in Support of FDIC Overdraft Proposals September 2010
Published: Sep 27 2010 Issue: Overdraft Loans
CRL and a cross-section of civil rights, labor, consumer, housing, community, business, and sustainable and responsible investor groups sent a joint letter to the FDIC expressing support for...


text:
|Project Name
|Price (USD)
|Project Name
|Price (USD)
|JAVA --- Send an email using a socket
|Using Java and a Windows platform, write a program to send an email using Sockets. You may not use a
|PHP, Java, Engineering, Software Architecture, Software Testing, MySQL
|Mar 18, 2004
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|Camera Autofocus using JPG
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|C Programming, Linux, Computer Graphics, Imaging
|Sep 26, 2013
|Sep 26, 2013Ended
|Fix PHP socket script
|I've created a simple client/socket app based on this script: http://code.google.com/p/phpsocketdaemon/...firewall. I'm using the free version of Zend Server (PHP 5.3/Windows 7) 5.6.0 SP1 It does send a string...attached image test.jpg) but then the client crashes with this error message: "A non-blocking socket operation
|Mar 17, 2012
|Mar 17, 2012Ended
|socket programming
|...com/Articles/2477/Multi-threaded-Client-Server-Socket-Class 1. The client needs to be turned into...function that can be used to download and save an image 6f. a function that explode or splits a string ...application low for the client side as I will be using this on some of my older machines.
|.NET, C++ Programming
|May 28, 2012
|May 28, 2012Ended
|Socket programming
|...program which send and recieves data via 2 socket connection, TCP/IP and UDP. Data has to be send and recieved...the two sockets simultenously. i.e UDP need to send send/recieve data in text format namely username, password...valid response comes from the server, the TCP will send/recieve a stream of voice data. The connection would
|PHP, Engineering, iPhone, Android, Software Architecture, Blackberry, Software Testing, MySQL
|Mar 29, 2003
|Mar 29, 2003Ended
|socket programming.....
|This is 1 project with multiple socket programs. The instructions are pretty straight forward. I'm...these can be done in shell script format). 1. Using the Windows XP PRO or Linux RedHat and language...bps). Report all interface status changes. 2. Using Windows XP PRO or Linux RedHat, use a cross-over
|PHP, Java, Linux, Engineering, Software Architecture, Software Testing, MySQL
|Feb 10, 2004
|Feb 10, 2004Ended
|socket programming
|...server architecture. creating socket, using select(). bind(),listen(),send(),receive() gethostname()
|PHP, Javascript, Wordpress, CSS, HTML
|Feb 18, 2014
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|Apr 25, 2009
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|...assignment will use a dbm datbase, client-server socket communication and Perl feature of program submission...form will be sent to computer 1 and computer 1 will send the form to computer 3, i.e. to browser. When you
|PHP, Perl, Engineering, Software Architecture, Software Testing, MySQL
|Nov 28, 2001
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|TCP/IP socket programming in C
|...uploaded from the client in a number of data frames using the stop-and-wait protocol with Positive and Negative...to the FS server using the FS address printed on the server screen. b. Upload an image file to the FS...acknowledgment. Simulate the transmission errors by using random number generating function. (Optional: To
|C Programming
|Apr 21, 2009
|Apr 21, 2009Ended
|hex data to image jpg
|...pictures and it send the data by gprs. So i need to convert the data that send to a jpg file, to save...Example of the data that send is on the txt file, and the picture that data is on the jpg file. lower bid win
|Java, Photography, GPS
|May 21, 2013
|May 21, 2013Ended
|340817 Vector a JPG Image
|I need a jpg image to be vectored and resized to 640 x 480. I want one vector to be the done of the...the whole image and one other vector image of the logo. I have uploaded the jpg. This should be a very...easy job for quick cash. If you can send me a sample vector of the image and it is high quality I will accept
|Graphic Design, Anything Goes
|Aug 7, 2009
|Aug 7, 2009Ended
|PDF or JPG to HTML
|I have a JPEG image or a PDF file that i need to transpose to HTML/CSS it has to look exactly the same...the option to fill in the blanks using HTML the page its to be send by fax. it has to look exactly the
|Website Design, Graphic Design, Photoshop, CSS, HTML
|Aug 12, 2012
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|Convert jpg to vector graphic
|...freelancer to convert jpg image to a vector graphic. Needs to be recreated using CMYK 2 COLORS ONLY. Preferably...File is attached as low resolution example. Will send actual file as larger PSD file.
|Photoshop, Illustrator
|Jan 3, 2010
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|SVG to PNG and JPG image
|...attached sample SVG, we need SVG to PNG and JPG image using PHP. please submit bid if you already done
|Nov 6, 2013
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|Resize image (*.JPG)
|...implement in our current project. For example we have image sized 1000x400 pixela and need to be resized to... Images will be used for web. We go have BMP, jPg, GIF formats to be resized. Original Project is...bidders on Monday Oct 3, 2005 4:56:26 PM: Re image resize project: Re. picture size: Fe it will be
|PHP, C Programming, Visual Basic, .NET, Windows Desktop, Engineering, Software Architecture, Software Testing, Website Testing, Microsoft, MySQL, Amazon Web Services, Assembly, Website Management, Web Hosting
|Sep 27, 2005
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|Rotate .jpg using eVC for Pocket PC 2002
|...produces a .jpg image in memory as a string buffer. It can be directly written to a .jpg file. There...There is a problem. The .jpg file is rotated 90 degrees to the right. Since the application is a digital camera...don't have time to wait for you to try. If you can send me the code the same day that I accept your bid
|PHP, C Programming, Windows Desktop, Linux, Engineering, Software Architecture, Mac OS, Software Testing, Chrome OS, Microsoft, MySQL, UNIX, Visual Arts
|May 15, 2002
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|Decrypt JPG image
|Find out how these JPG images are encrypted. This app is saved using an Android app. I will release...milestones only after you found the real way how image was encrypted. I will share images after bids
|C Programming, .NET, Engineering, Algorithm, Cryptography
|Dec 13, 2014
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|easy jpg image
|Hello, I need an image, very easy, I have a mock up already. It is a small image, I need someone to...in the image, the image has 2 sizes, approx 120 x 177 and approx 150 x 222. Because the image is small...as I have the image template already. If you are serious about this project, send me a private message
|Banner Design, Logo Design
|Jan 4, 2014
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|Convert .jpg to Vector Image
|...done to the attached image: White background removed The "noise" in the image removed (if you zoom...on the attached jpg, you'll notice it is very "unclean" around the edges of the image with random pixels) ...completed, I need the image turned into a vector image as I'll be using the image on signs, postc...
|PHP, Graphic Design, Logo Design, Photoshop
|Mar 20, 2013
|Mar 20, 2013Ended


text:
Is now canceled. Craptacular.
Is now canceled. Craptacular.
Putting the Duh in Floriduh.
and the Sat crit is as follows:
10am = cat5's and first-timers
11am = all masters 35/45/55
noon = pro/1/2/3/4
They are expecting very small turnouts after the RR cancellation and last weekends pathetic Sugarloaf attendance (record lows)
more info is here www.floridacycling.com
I guess Ocala is the last race then.
A P-1234 crit though? That sounds only slightly less dangerous than the course last weekend.
>the Sugarloaf race being the (arguably) hardest race of the year
>in one of the hottest regions of the country
>in the hottest region of the State
>during the hottest time of the year
>during the hottest time of the day (first race started at 11:00 a.m.)
>at the end of a particularly grueling race season which saw about 30% more FPS races than at any time in the recent past (and many of those extra races were scheduled in the hottest parts of June, July, and August when normally the Florida race schedule takes a breather).
It has been a long, sweltering, difficult season and many of us are beat up, worn out, burnt out, travelled out, spent out, trained out, and whipped.
I know, I know, "No Whining". But honest-to-God, my HTFU wristband burst into flames Saturday afternoon while climbing Sugarloaf. I can show you the scar on my wrist.
Be the Bike
Trust me BL, I understand why the attendance was poor compared to past years. I've been through a lot of meetings discussing what to do about the fall schedule over the past two decades.
Understandable that St Joes got canxed.
Can't be losing your shirt as a promoter and expecting the wife to understand how your personal checking account just went belly-up.
Of course getting my guys out of bed before the crack of noon on a Sunday is kind of tough.
I'm the world's forgotten boy. The one who's searchin', searchin' to destroy.
I'm the world's forgotten boy. The one who's searchin', searchin' to destroy.


text:
"Where Fillmore County News Comes First"
Online Edition
Tuesday, July 7th, 2015
Volume ∞ Issue ∞
- 5:19:55, Jul 7th 2015 - Let's talk - What about the sports down there. Remember what happened to the stewart ... [Read More]
- 5:36:12, Jul 1st 2015 - - And on the News they show the female pitcher hits the girl up at bat. Lol668 ... [Read More]
- 2:59:22, Jun 28th 2015 - livin' the dream - 1. Ordered all federal agencies to undertake a study and make reco ... [Read More]
- 9:36:21, Jun 27th 2015 - SV80 - To Jeez: Anybody who denies global warming or any other scientific propositio ... [Read More]
- 5:41:48, Jun 26th 2015 - Remark1976 - Maybe? Do you realize that when a building referendum for a new scho ... [Read More]
- 2:35:48, Jun 26th 2015 - Jeez - "Let's say that you receive a diagnosis from nine different oncologists (cance ... [Read More]
- 2:33:37, Jun 26th 2015 - Jeez - "Let's say that you receive a diagnosis from nine different oncologists (cance ... [Read More]
- 1:26:30, Jun 26th 2015 - Kim Wentworth - @ grehl- all you libs talk and talk about gun control and taking and ... [Read More]
- 12:37:22, Jun 26th 2015 - Kim Wentworth - @ SV80- 1) the whole idea of a set in stone time table is silly, acc ... [Read More]
- 10:30:23, Jun 26th 2015 - SV80 - Kim Wentworth: Let's take your points one by one. (1) "you set your foreig ... [Read More]
Have you ever been injured while shooting off fireworks?
Judge warns attorneys in zoning case to �come prepared� to trial
Fri, Nov 7th, 2003
Posted in Features
Posted in Features
Judge Robert Benson on Tuesday, presiding at a pre-trial hearing in the civil case between Fillmore County versus Eli and Matti Sla-baugh, chastised lawyers from both sides to �come prepared� when the case goes to trial on December 10 in Chatfield.
Fillmore County is suing the Slabaughs to prevent them from occupying a house they built off of County Road #23 near Canton. Eli Slabaugh built the house, despite being turned down for a building permit by Zoning Administrator Norm Craig. Craig had ruled that the house site was too close to a nearby rock quarry and did not comply with Fillmore County Zoning setback requirements. In February 2003, Judge Benson denied a summary judgement filed by Fillmore County stating that �there was a genuine issue of fact in the case and goes to the issue of whether or not the defendant (Eli Slabaugh) was denied equal protection.� Benson�s comments came after he had asked the two lawyers in the case if things had been resolved or whether they were prepared to proceed to trial. Acting Fillmore County Attorney Pat Oman told Benson that the matter had not been resolved, saying that there remain two unresolved issues. The first is estoppel, where the plaintiff contends that they were told by the Zoning Office that the site was good to build on. The second issue has to do with the plaintiffs wanting the zoning ordinance vacated because they believe it is being applied in an arbitrary and capricious manner. Benson then asked whether the two sides had tried mediation. Oman replied that he �didn�t notice� that mediation was called for. Jeffrey Schiek, attorney for Slabaugh, told the court that he was �open to mediation and that his client was willing to push back the trial date.� Benson replied, �I am not inclined to push back the trial because the two of you have ignored that part of the scheduling. The case was heard in January and it is now November.� Benson then asked Oman who he intended to call as witnesses. Oman said that he would call Eli and Amos Slabaugh and Mr. Norman (sic), referring to Zoning Administrator Norm Craig, but was unsure beyond that. Schiek told Benson that he had only learned last Thursday about the hearing. Benson replied, �That�s surprising since your office was notified on March 10, 2003 about the pre-trial hearing.� Schiek said that he intended to call an expert witness that could testify about the exact location of the quarry in relation to the Slabaugh house. Benson gave both attorneys until the end of business on Friday, November 7, to give to the court their Witness List and Exhibit List. �There appears to have been a minimum of preparation on this file on either side. If we are going to have justice in this case you are going to have to come prepared,� a clearly disappointed Benson told Oman and Schiek. The pre-trail hearing lasted about 15 minutes.


text:
Bell's brilliance romances sold-out GPAC
Over the last few years, violinist Joshua Bell has carefully shaped his image to bank on what we shall call the "romance of the violin."
The fiddle — equally at home in the parlor of a Viennese countess, on the wooden deck of a frigate bound for the New World or under the starry sky of a gypsy encampment — is a versatile and timeless instrument.
Bell perpetuates the mystique in his numerous recordings, including the music for the film "The Red Violin," which documents a violin's adventures across the centuries, or on his hit records such as "The Voice of the Violin" and the "Romance of the Violin," which offer perfectly lovely melodies for evenings at home by candlelight.
At 40, Bell is rich, unmarried, has the looks of a Bloomington farmboy (he is a native Hoosier) and the technique of a sage, which is why Saturday night's sold-out concert at the Germantown Performing Arts Centre was a study in the romance of the Bell.
For one, only a classical musician of his stature can build a youthful fan base from sentimental favorites such as "O mio babbino caro" — tunes covered by more overtly populist players like Nigel Kennedy or André Rieu — and then not have to play any of the hits in a recital.
Indeed, Bell's program was thoughtful and serious, spanning several hundred years, four countries, and various styles. He opened with Tartini's famously difficult Sonata for violin and continuo in G minor, also known as "The Devil's Trill."
Playing entirely from memory, he performed the Baroque masterpiece with the kind of clarity of tone and precision that makes a difficult, oft-recorded work seem downright tame.
He jumped ahead two centuries and over to Russia for Prokofiev's brooding Violin Sonata No. 1 in F minor. Bell nailed the weighty, angular beginning, and had a spectacular finish in the fast-moving finale.
After intermission, he tackled the 1887 "Four Romantic Pieces for Violin and Piano" by the Czech composer Dvorak. Delicacy and refinement defined the playing, nice enough to be hung in a museum.
Saint-Saens' Violin Sonata No. 1 was the evening's French piece, and again, technically pristine.
It's that polished air of romance that bothers me about Bell. His music is so polite, clear and rehearsed, that it goes against every novelistic conception I have of romance — a passionate, uncertain, occasionally messy thing.
I would have given an extra $10 to know why he chose those four pieces, and what they meant to him. The brilliantly warm tone radiates from a musical sphinx.
In his performance, there is no hint of Heathcliff, nothing of the daredevil or tightly-wound dynamo. Some players seem to put their hearts on the line with every concert — walk the tightrope, so to speak. Bell is all certainty, his music uncannily solid. Bell is confident of the standing ovation and the long line of autographs to follow. He promises a perfectly crafted musical experience, but perhaps not a deeply moving one.
— Christopher Blank:
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Critical Section
Sunday, 06/28/15 12:10 PM
I love it
I've been reading a lot about space lately - Ashlee Vance's Elon Musk biography, which is excellent, by the way, a must-read for all of you (!), and Robert Zubrin's The Case for Mars, also excellent, despite having first been written in 1996 and updated in 2011, both following on Andy Weir's wondeful The Martian - and I'm struck by the moving timeline between Science (what we know how to do today) and Science Fiction (what we wish we could do tomorrow).
Friday, 06/26/15 12:30 PM
Spent yesterday coding and the evening sailing (on my rejuvenated C-15). What could be better? In the meantime:
At part of my Bitcoin investigations, I've been perusing the writings of Nick Szabo, inventor of Smart Contracts. (In case you're interested, I've translated his IEEE presentation on this subject from WordPerfect Presentations (!) into PDF...) Among other things, Nick is rumored to *be* Satoshi Nakamoto.
Nick has a blog called Unenumerated, and comments on a very underrated invention. (Hourglasses) For a longer treatment of the same subject, see A Measure of Sacrifice, in which the measure of time is seen to be important as a measure of investment and created value.
Nick has a blog called Unenumerated, and comments on a very underrated invention. (Hourglasses) For a longer treatment of the same subject, see A Measure of Sacrifice, in which the measure of time is seen to be important as a measure of investment and created value.
This is pretty depressing; 62 years of congressional cooperation in a single GIF. The red and blue dots represent congresspeople, and the lines indicate "cooperation", as measured by voting the same way on pending legislation.
It is interesting to speculate, what has caused this decrease in cooperation? There are no doubt many reasons, but I suspect mass media is the biggest factor. Politicians on both sides have been polarized...
Apropos: John Hindraker on Politics in the Era of Symbolic Liberalism. John posts from a right-wing stance, but it can equally be argued from the other side. Appearances have become far more important than actions.
It is interesting to speculate, what has caused this decrease in cooperation? There are no doubt many reasons, but I suspect mass media is the biggest factor. Politicians on both sides have been polarized...
Apropos: John Hindraker on Politics in the Era of Symbolic Liberalism. John posts from a right-wing stance, but it can equally be argued from the other side. Appearances have become far more important than actions.
Also apropos (or at least, related), James Lileks: The only reason Apple pulled Civil War apps from the store was fear of the Internet. That is to say, fear of appearances. "The loud people may complain. The company would have to explain. An explanation would be seen as a justification."
Note: they have not yet pulled WWII apps, despite the undoubted symbols of hatrid (swasticas etc) present...
Note: they have not yet pulled WWII apps, despite the undoubted symbols of hatrid (swasticas etc) present...
Philip Greenspun considers Apple Music: A good reminder not to listen to computer scientists. "Certainly nobody predicted that a company such as Apple would be able to take 30 percent of the recording industry's revenue because the record companies were incapable of setting up their own servers." How interesting, right?
To more fun matters ... Have you see this? Remove cat before flight. I love it! (Such a classic cat move, right?:)
Brad Feld wonders Why isn't PGP built into Gmail? Yeah, good point. In fact, why isn't PGP standard everywhere? I've been having a discussion with friends which *might* lead to IP, and we're having it on Slack instead of email, to keep it private.
Jeffrey Zeldman: Deep Tweets No 613664902180413440. "Usability testing doesn't reveal problems in your product so much as it uncovers arrogance in your thinking." Indeed.
landing rockets
Thursday, 06/25/15 10:59 PM
From SpaceX: the Why and How of Landing Rockets. Seriously cool, both the content and the fact that this company chooses to share this kind of information about what they are doing, and why. The article includes this amazing video of their last attempt, which was -> <- this close to being successful:
Their next attempt is on Sunday, as part of an ISS resupply mission; I'll be watching live and rooting for them!
Monday, 06/22/15 09:23 PM
Working away on several fronts... and blogging...
Love this drawing by Escher, "Drawing Hands", aka the C Compiler. One of my very favorites from one of my very favorites. (Found via the Flight feature, in this post from 2003, regarding a Google Doodle which celebrated Escher's birthday...)
Hunter Thompson, on Finding your Purpose. I think this is legit, but even if it isn't, it's great.
Scott "Dilbert" Adams: the famous quote I never said. In which the distinction is made between Art and Design.
Interesting book review on Ars Technica: Digital Gold (how Silicon Valley and Wall Street arrived at a new gold rush called Bitcoin). I'm super intrigued by Bitcoin. {Thanks for the feedback on Bitcoin 101, and stay tuned for Bitcoin 102 :) }
Apropos Bitcoin: A space lawyer explains how we'll forge a civil society off Earth. There will be blockchain.
Apropos Bitcoin: A space lawyer explains how we'll forge a civil society off Earth. There will be blockchain.
Google confirms acquisition of Agawi, with technology for streaming native mobile apps. I think this just makes all kinds of sense, the "find in App store and then download" model is so broken. Mobile needs a "click address and run" model just like web pages.
Route 50: Driving America's 'Loneliest Road'. "There are no points of interest. We don't recommend it... We warn all motorists not to drive there, unless they're confident of their survival skills." Sounds compelling, somehow.
Could not agree more with Glenn Reynolds, who links Facebook tries yet again to un-screw-up the News Feed, and comments "why not roll it back to the way it was in 2009?" *Everyone* I know just wants to see all the posts from all their friends, in chronological order.
Snoop Dogg for CEO of Twitter. Click through, it's not such a terrible idea. "The most important decision I've made in business? The choices of people I have around me." Well, yeah.
The new, new economy is a little weird: AirBnB is now worth more than Marriott. I get the value of services like Uber and AirBnB that connect consumers to people with excess capacity, but the service itself doesn't seem like it would be as valuable as the capacity. This feels frothy...
From Inhabitat: Unique and Spectacular Staircases. They are both! Yay. (So, Scott Adams, are these Art or Design? :)
Galapagos: island animals
Thursday, 06/18/15 10:58 PM
A beautiful advertising campaign for the islands of Galapagos, from Ecuador, showing the islands imagined as large animals.
I already had the Galapagos on my bucket list, this might bump the position up a little :)
Wednesday, 06/17/15 08:25 PM
The Ole filter makes a pass...
So, apparently the Warriers have captured the NBA title. And I have apparently successfully avoided the entire basketball season, college and pro. Not sure why that happened, but I'm not sorry. Huh.
NASA says we're headed for Jupiter's moon Europa. Excellent, a fine choice. Next stop after that can be Titan :)
Canada, tomorrow's superpower. Hmmm, feels like that needs a question mark. They definitely have natural resources, good government, and a good culture. But what about the financial resources to defend themselves? Seems like geography is helpful, but so is their big brother to the South...
Moments, a new Facebook App for privately sharing photos. Fascinating idea, can't wait to try it. I've often thought this would be useful...
This is just beyond weird: Invitation to a microaggression. "The University of California, headed now by former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, has gone insane with political correctness. The confirmation comes via its new 'faculty training guide,' which has conveniently listed some microaggressions to be avoided in the classroom, including: 'I believe the most qualified person should get the job.'" This pendulum has most definitely swung too far to the left.
I love this: in defense of Farenheit.
You must watch this: massive excavator assembles hot dog. Somehow, this is an ad for gas station hot dogs, not how damn good of a job that excavator is doing.
Finally! The FDA says you can have your amphibious folding plane. To infinity, and beyond!
two kinds of people
Wednesday, 06/17/15 08:19 PM
I love this blog: 2 kinds of people*. Subscribed!
Here are some excellent examples:
* I'm tempted to note, there are 10 kinds of people, those who understand binary, and those who don't ... but I won't.
VS 2013: we can all agree on ugly
Tuesday, 06/16/15 11:20 AM
I just installed Microsoft Visual Studio 2013. Man, is it ugly.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,
but we can all agree on ugly
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,
but we can all agree on ugly
This "flat" trend in computer user interfaces where we have primary colors, no shading, no affordances, no visual features of any kind has to have bottomed out now, right? Hopefully the pendulum will swing back and we can have pretty user interfaces that are easier to use again.
I have been messing around with Bitcoin, as you know, and decided it would be "fun" to build a full Bitcoin node from scratch. The latest version for Windows, as checked into Github, uses VS2013, so I figured why not install it. (My everyday version of Visual Studio is 2010.) So I did. And so I hate the way it looks.
Here's VS 2013, in all its flat glory:
For comparison, here's Visual Studio 2010, open on the same project:
See what I mean? There is shading, the buttons look like buttons, the scrollbars look like sliders, etc. VS2010 was not only better looking, but easier to use. For further comparison, here's my previous go-to version, good old VS2005:
I will say that VS2008 was an improvement over VS2005, but only by a little. (I did like the window interface of VS2005 better than the tabbed interface of VS2008, but that's another story.) And going even further back, here's Visual Basic 6, part of the version of Visual Studio which was released in 2000:
Yep, that fifteen-year-old user interface is better looking than VS2013. Blech.
Even the VS2013 icon is ugly! Check out the icon evolution at the top of this post. I'm surprised they didn't just use a purple rectangle, but maybe that will come in VS2015.
Monday, 06/15/15 11:57 PM
A great day, as me and my good friend Mark performed "geriatric surgery" to extend the life of my 36-year old racing sailboat... and meanwhile, let's see what else is going on:
This is so real (and actually kind of funny): Jerry Seinfeld and the Progressive Comedy Pause. "Tell a joke to a liberal. Between your punchline and his laughter, there is a Progressive Comedy Pause. In this second or two, the liberal will process the joke to make sure he is allowed to laugh..." Hehe :)
Consider who turned the crazy machine up to 11?
Although perhaps not that funny, because: liberals are the most easily offended and the least tolerant.
Consider who turned the crazy machine up to 11?
Although perhaps not that funny, because: liberals are the most easily offended and the least tolerant.
Consider this cartoon; I think it's funny, but perhaps a Progressive would have to think about it for a while to decide whether they're allowed to laugh. Go ahead, you know you want to...
O'Reilly: Consensual Reality. "We're on the cusp of an era in which each of us perceives the world around us differently because of technology." Yep, and Visual Search is going to be a big part of it.
9to5 Mac wonders Will the launch of Apple Music mark the beginning of the end for Spotify? Hmmm... well you already know what I think.
This is way cool: Tesla-approved drone flyover of the Gigafactory. Wow.
Paul Ford: What is Code? A delightful rumination that manages to hit a bunch of nails on the head. Read it when you have a few minutes to ponder.
Why 82,000 is an extraordinary number. A little nerdy, but who doesn't love numerology?
Good news from Apple: webkit content blockers. Aka, we'll finally be able to have "Adblock for IOS". If you ever surf on an iPad you immediately discover your desktop Adblock protects you from a whole world of crap.
And finally, a better kind of selfie stick. I love it!
the canals of LA
Monday, 06/15/15 11:47 PM
Did you know Los Angeles used to have a bunch of canals? Check it out: The Lost Canals of Venice of America. Most of that area is now Marina Del Rey...
Amazing ... who knew?
flag day
Sunday, 06/14/15 11:01 PM
Today was Flag Day, did you celebrate? I did, by putting up a flag on our garage ... and then going sailing; ended up in a great match race with a long time friend. Perfect.
Meanwhile, it's all happening...
How cute is this? An announcement from a friend and his wife: "announcing a new addition to the group ride". Awww...
For you, and so I can find it later: GPSVisualizer.com. The perfect way to "see" a ride once you have a GPX file for it. Either a ride you've actually ridden - from the GPX file generated by your GPS - or a ride you're planning - from RideWithGPS.com, etc. Very cool.
And speaking of ride visualizations, I've been watching the Criterium Dauphine, and ITV4 (a UK television channel) have a great way of showing a ride route in 3D. Check this out! Makes me think perhaps I could take a GPX file and figure out how to actually print the ride visualization on my 3D printer. Stay tuned :)
By the way the Dauphine was a great stage race this year; congrats to Chris Froome for winning, and to Tejay Van Garderen for making it close.
By the way the Dauphine was a great stage race this year; congrats to Chris Froome for winning, and to Tejay Van Garderen for making it close.
Are you ready for The Martian, the movie? I've raved about the book already - yes, you *must* read it - but now, looking at the trailer, this looks like it's going to be excellent. Ridley Scott is the Director, by the way.
Meanwhile, in the real world, the Philae lander has woken up! YAY. You will remember, this is the little guy who landed on Comet 67/Churyumov seven months ago. He landed on his side and ran out of power, but scientists were hopeful that as the comet orbited closer to the sun he'd rebuild power and wake up. And this has apparently happened!
No word on what shirts the scientists were wearing when this happened :)
No word on what shirts the scientists were wearing when this happened :)
More space: Seven things to know about the New Horizons visit to Pluto. Excellent!
The perfect picture from the International Space Station. Astronaut Terry Virts had been trying to take this picture of the Egyptian pyramids for 200 days, on his last day in space, he got it. Wow.
bicycle day
Sunday, 06/14/15 10:52 PM
You will have seen, last Thursday was Meg's graduation, but last Friday was equally as important; the fourteenth anniversary of Bicycle Day, the first day following Meg's open heart surgery in 2001 that she was allowed to ride a bike again. I was just going through some old posts celebrating this, and wow, how those years have flown by.
This is a picture of me and Meg on the original bicycle day, off to take a ride :)
everything inflation
Sunday, 06/14/15 10:42 PM
I just noted Meg's graduation last week, which was awesome :)
Also impressive was the incredible "everything inflation" on display. In her class of 570 students, 104 had 4.0 averages, and there were 35 valedictorians. Roughly half of the kids graduating wore academic distinction sashes. And the administrators literally bragged about how few kids failed to graduate. Huh?
Ah ... when I was a kid ... getting a 4.0 was incredibly hard, only two students in my whole school were able to do it (I did not). There was one (1) valedictorian. And if you didn't pass all your classes, you simply did not move on to the next grade, no muss, no fuss.
I think that was better.
Meg graduates!
Sunday, 06/14/15 09:46 PM
And so last Thursday Megan graduated high school, yay! Our last one, now an "adult" and off to college... quite a moment.
There were the usual speeches, and as usual the students were a lot more interesting than the administrators. I've just recently re-read The Most Human Human (great book!), and it struck me that indeed it is surprise which makes things interesting, and surprise was the difference between the students' speeches - which tended to focus on more specific things I didn't know - and the administrators', which were just blah blah blah platitudes about the students moving on to change the world.
Anyway in Megan's case I have no doubt that she *is* moving on to change the world; anyone who knows Meg knows this.
Anyway in Megan's case I have no doubt that she *is* moving on to change the world; anyone who knows Meg knows this.
I couldn't be more proud of her; smart, self-confident, funny, beautiful, and interesting, in the sense of always being surprising, always having a new point of view, a new approach.
As I think about Meg's graduation, I think about all the other kids who graduated from her high school, and all the other high schools which had graduations. So many people, all going through this critical transition from kids to adults. For many of them it was one of the most important days in their lives so far, and they will no doubt remember them forever.
Having blogged for so long, I can also now remember Alexis' graduation, now four years ago, and Jordan's graduation, now (gasp!) eleven years past. It does indeed bring tears to my eyes rereading those reports and reliving those days.
Bitcoin 101
Friday, 06/12/15 05:08 PM
Everything you always wanted to know about Bitcoin, but were afraid to ask...
<post type=informational alt=reference>
A little while ago, amid all the Bitcoin hype of 2013, I opened a Coinbase account, and I bought one (1) bitcoin. In the meantime I have read a bunch about Bitcoin, and occasionally I've sent a few Satoshis* to a friend to get them interested (or because they were already). I thought I kinda sorta knew how it all worked; there was this blockchain that functioned like a giant ledger in the sky, distributed over thousands of computers... and I thought it was cool. But I was wrong; I didn't know jack, and it is way cooler than I thought.
Like a lot of things, you only know what you don't know when you try to explain it. A friend asked me some simple questions and I could not give simple answers. What is a bitcoin? What is a bitcoin wallet? What is a bitcoin address? How do the keys work? What's all this about mining bitcoins? Etc.
After digging around a little, I've learned a little. And here's what I've learned.
Introduction to Bitcoin
Introduction to Bitcoin
During the early 2000s an informal group of theorists explored ways to exchange value online, without using any central authority. In a typical value exchange system, there is a trusted intermediary which validates transactions. In the case of most currencies the intermediary is a government, but it could be any organization. The goal of these discussions was to develop a system which substituted computational difficulty for trust, enabling a completely decentralized implementation.
In October 2008 a groundbreaking paper was published by Satoshi Nakamoto, entitled Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. This paper is simple, only nine pages, and cleanly explains the entire mechanism of Bitcoin. There is little math and I highly recommend it to interested readers. Quoting from the abstract:
A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. Digital signatures provide part of the solution, but the main benefits are lost if a trusted third party is still required to prevent double-spending. We propose a solution to the double-spending problem using a peer-to-peer network.
A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. Digital signatures provide part of the solution, but the main benefits are lost if a trusted third party is still required to prevent double-spending. We propose a solution to the double-spending problem using a peer-to-peer network.
The Bitcoin concept was analyzed and subjected to every kind of scrutiny. An open-source reference implementation was created called Bitcoin-Qt, today called Bitcoin Core, and ported to common platforms such as Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. The network grew like wildfire, and the rest is history :)
I'm going to start with keys, because that seems like a good place to start. Keys are used for encrypting information, "locking it" so that it cannot be accessed without having the key. Bitcoin is based on public-key cryptography, which uses pairs of keys. You can use either key to encrypt information, "locking it", and then you use the other key to decrypt it, "unlocking it" and making it available. Anyone can generate a key-pair anytime, and you can have as many as you want. One key in each pair is the public key, and the other is the private key. You can freely share your public keys, but you generally keep your private keys ... private.
So how are keys useful? Suppose you want to send some information to Alice, and you want to keep anyone else from seeing it. You can encrypt the information with Alice's public key. Since only she has the private key, only she can decrypt it. Now suppose you want to send something to Alice, and you want her to know it came from you. You can encrypt the information with your private key. Since Alice (and everyone else) has your public key, she can decrypt it, thereby verifying that your private key was used to perform the encryption. This is often referred to as signing the information, since it is like adding your [unique] signature. When information is exchanged online both of these things are often done together. You might send information to Alice, encrypted with her public key and signed with your private key. She decrypts the message with her private key to access it, and with your public key to verify it came from you.
Okay, the next concept is hashing. This is the process of taking a big piece of information and making a unique small piece of information from it. (The result of hashing is sometimes called the digest.) There are various mathematical ways of doing this. For any given information, the digest can be easily computed and is always the same. It is difficult to work backwards, however; given a digest, you cannot easily figure out the original information. You have to try all the possible original values one by one, computing the hash values, until you find the right one. Most of the time this would take so long it is literally impossible.
Bitcoin uses a particular hash algorithm called SHA256, which has 256-bit digests. That means there are 2256 possible digest values; for comparison, there are approximately 281 atoms in the universe.
Bitcoin Addresses
Bitcoin Addresses
When value is exchanged in the Bitcoin system, there is a sender, a receiver, and an amount. To receive value, the receiver generates a key-pair. The public key is hashed and encoded as a 35-character string called a Bitcoin address. An example of an address is: 1HizFzbRj9nxa3ErX2fjTRsYRReRhkJ5Jr. (This is an address for me, if you would like to send Bitcoin to this address, please do :) Bitcoin addresses are sometimes displayed as QR codes, as shown at right. (That's my address, again.)
Bitcoin addresses are a destination for value. They are public, they are anonymous, and they are characteristic of one particular receiver. They can be permanent, but it is generally recommended that receivers create new addresses every time they receive value, to preserve their anonymity. Note that it is not possible to determine the public key from the address, since it is a digest. It is possible to verify that a given public key corresponds to the address, by re-hashing the key.
A transaction is a transfer of Bitcoin value from a sender to a receiver. A transaction is generated by the sender, and contains one or more inputs and one or more outputs, along with the Bitcoin address of the receiver. The inputs are references to outputs from previous transactions. The outputs are Bitcoin addresses to which the inputs' value are to be transferred.
I know this is a bit vague, bear with me, I'll explain more in a minute. The key concept is that each transaction simply builds on previous transactions. Alice sends you Bitcoin, and you receive an output. You send Bitcoin to Brian, and you pass the output you received from Alice to Brian as an input. Brian sends Bitcoin to Criss, and she receives the output you sent to Brian. And so on... there are just transactions, with inputs, outputs, and destination addresses.
You might be wondering, how are transactions validated? (Put another way, what prevents malicious or fraudulent transactions from being created?) When a sender creates a transaction, they sign it with the private key for each input. (The private key that is paired with the public key used to create the address at which the input was received.) The public key for the corresponding output is stored in the previous transaction, and is used to authenticate the signature. This validates that the sender is the current "owner" each of the inputs, and is authorized to transfer them.
Okay, here's where it gets a bit weird. What *is* a bitcoin? A bitcoin has no physical or digital existence. It is purely a chain of transaction records.
So, what is a bitcoin "worth"? Like anything, it is worth what others are willing to pay for it. The exchange rate between Dollars and Bitcoins has fluctuated wildly, but is currently around $230/BTC. (BTC is the abbreviation for one bitcoin, there are also mBTC = thousandths of a bitcoin , uBTC = millionths of a bitcoin, and Satoshi* = one hundred millionth of a bitcoin.)
So what does it mean to "own" a bitcoin? It means you have possession of a key-pair which corresponds to the address to which the bitcoin was last sent. Having the key-pair means you can send the bitcoin to someone else.
And the key question (n.p.i.), where do bitcoins come from? (Put another way, what is at the start of the transaction chain for a given bitcoin?) Stay tuned, I'll talk about mining in a minute. But first let's talk about the blockchain which makes all this possible.
The Blockchain
The Blockchain
The central innovation of Bitcoin is the concept of a blockchain which records every transaction, ever**. The entire blockchain is public, and every "full node" of the network has a complete copy. Because everyone can see every transaction, there is no need for trust. A dishonest node will be "out voted" by honest nodes. In addition the reward for being an honest node generally exceeds the possible benefit of being dishonest.
As the name implies the blockchain is a sequence of blocks. Each block contains a time-sequence of individual transactions. The size of blocks is variable, but currently limited to 1MB. A bitcoin node generates a new block every 10 minutes. (We'll talk about what "generates" means a little later.) An average transaction is about 400 bytes, which means the network as a whole is limited to about 40 transactions per second. Increasing the maximum size of blocks and therefore the maximum system transaction rate is under discussion.
As noted above, a transaction is a transfer of Bitcoin value. When a transaction occurs, the sender of value broadcasts the transaction to the network of nodes. Each node that receives it validates the transaction and stores it in a new block which it is assembling. When the block is full or if ten minutes have elapsed since the start of the block, it is added to the blockchain. Each block contains a hash of the previous block, ensuring the integrity of the chain.
Nodes in the bitcoin network are doing a lot of work - they have to receive transactions from senders and validate them, performing a lot of computationally expensive cryptographic math in the process. Why do the work? There is a reward for creating new blocks: a node which creates a new block gets new bitcoins! The first transaction in each block sends a reward to a bitcoin address owned by the node. This is the start of the transaction record for new bitcoins, and it is the way new bitcoins are created. The process of generating blocks and receiving new bitcoins as a reward is called mining.
Hmmm... I can hear you thinking... What would keep anyone from operating a node and mining new bitcoins? Well, nothing. And in fact, everyone who is running a "full node" on the system is doing exactly this. But...
With many nodes in the system, and multiple nodes receiving the same transactions, what's to prevent many, many duplicate blocks from being added? And what keeps the number of new bitcoins from exploding? There is a mechanism which makes creating new blocks harder. Inside each block is a nonce, a value which means nothing and can be arbitrarily chosen. A node creating a new block must chose a nonce which makes the digest created by hashing the block smaller than a threshold value. The node has to try each possible nonce in turn, perform the hash, and check the value. The nonce inside bitcoin blocks is 32 bits, which means there are 4 billion possibilities. There is no mathematical shortcut to this, there is a lot of computational work to create a new block and earn new bitcoins as a reward.
As the network gets larger and more nodes are trying to create blocks, the maximum hash threshold gets smaller, making the computational work harder. The target is to create a block every ten minutes. Every time 2016 blocks have been created, the nodes cooperatively agree on a new threshold. As more nodes join the network, blocks are generated more quickly and the threshold is lowered, making creating new blocks more computationally difficult. The competition is intense. Some organizations have built huge datacenters full of specialized computer hardware just to mine bitcoins.
When bitcoin was first launched, the reward for creating a new block was 50 bitcoins. Every time 210,000 blocks are created, the reward is halved. The current reward is 25BTC. It is projected that in mid 2017 the reward will be halved again, to 12.5BTC. After 21 million bitcoins have been generated - projected to occur in 2024 - that's it, there will be no more. The value of each bitcoin will probably appreciate over time, and if you believe that, you might feel owning bitcoins is an investment.
Transaction Fees
Transaction Fees
As described above, as nodes receive transactions and assemble them into blocks, they are paid for their effort with new bitcoins. But as mentioned, the difficulty of generating blocks keeps increasing, and the reward keeps decreasing, and will eventually be zero when all bitcoins have been mined. So another mechanism exists to reward nodes, transaction fees.
Bitcoin fees are the hidden ugly reality of what is otherwise a beautiful idea. This is where the rubber really hits the road, because if fees are too high the payment network won't be used. And weirdly for a payment system, the sender pays the fees, rather than the receiver. (Of course, the receiver could agree to accept a lower payment amount to cover the transaction fee, but that's … complicated.) The fees are typically small, but typically nonzero.
The Bitcoin network has a few rules around fees.
sum(value * age) / size
Sparing you the details, if a transaction priority is high enough it can be free. The target is any transaction worth at least 1BTC which is at least one day old can be free. Otherwise you pay .0001BTC per 1,000 bytes, rounded up.
sum(value * age) / size
sum(value * age) / size
Sparing you the details, if a transaction priority is high enough it can be free. The target is any transaction worth at least 1BTC which is at least one day old can be free. Otherwise you pay .0001BTC per 1,000 bytes, rounded up.
As you can see, ugly. When the sender sends a transaction, it must precompute the fee, and then the transaction is sent with a proposed fee amount. Each miner node which receives the transaction can accept the transaction and send the fee to itself, or refuse the transaction. You can try sending a zero-fee transaction (ZFT) and see if someone accepts it, and currently it is likely that someone will, but they don't have to. If you send a fee according to the rules above, then they must accept it. If you request a ZFT it can take longer to be confirmed in the blockchain because many miners may pass on accepting it.
As an experiment I've sent myself bitcoins requesting a ZFT, and they are typically confirmed within 15 minutes. So currently it can be done. However it is likely that over time ZFTs cannot be counted upon.
This brings me to the final subject of my '101" overview, Bitcoin wallets. A wallet is software which performs three functions:
When Satoshi Nakamoto first released the "reference implementation" in early 2009 (now called Bitcoin Core), it included a simple wallet, and that version is still around today with a few polishes. There are tens of others now, some for desktops (Windows and Mac OS and Linux), some for mobile platforms (IOS and Android), and many which are web-based (running on a server hosted by others, providing a web UI). You can use a Bitcoin wallet without knowing any of the details described above, and if you're interested I definitely encourage you to do so.
So where do you get Bitcoin? You can buy some using dollars or some other government-backed security, from a Bitcoin exchange, or you can exchange something of value with someone who sends you bitcoin in response. Or you can get some "free" at a Bitcoin faucet, which are websites that distribute tiny amounts of Bitcoin, generally in exchange for your contact info or attention. (Faucets were started as a way to seed the use of Bitcoin, but these days they aren't needed for that anymore and tend to be scam-ish, so be careful!)
And what do you do with Bitcoin once you have it? You can buy things with it, pay people for services, or even hold onto it as a somewhat speculative investment. Or you could send some to me, at the address above :)
* A Satoshi is the smallest unit of bitcoin which can be exchanged, one hundred millionth of a bitcoin.
** Where "ever" means since January 2009, when the first Bitcoin transaction occurred. The first "real" transaction didn't occur until May, 2010, when Laszlo Hanyecz bought a pizza for 10,000 BTC.
Thanks for reading, your comments / corrections / amplifications are most welcome!
Fairly recent posts:
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two kinds of people
VS 2013: we can all agree on ugly
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everything inflation
Meg graduates!
Bitcoin 101
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me me click me
June gloom?
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extra time
Tuesday, 05/26/15 07:26 PM
Friday, 06/26/15 12:30 PM
landing rockets
Monday, 06/22/15 09:23 PM
Galapagos: island animals
Wednesday, 06/17/15 08:25 PM
two kinds of people
VS 2013: we can all agree on ugly
Monday, 06/15/15 11:57 PM
the canals of LA
flag day
bicycle day
everything inflation
Meg graduates!
Bitcoin 101
the Apple music mess
awesome Ceres flyover
re Caitlin
Sunday, 06/07/15 06:26 PM
beautiful Grimm reality
mixed mates (NY 5/18/15)
Saturday, 06/06/15 05:26 PM
whining about wine point inflation
magic storefront
SciPunk nostalgia
me me click me
June gloom?
Saturday, 05/30/15 10:38 PM
extra time
Tuesday, 05/26/15 07:26 PM
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Love Scotland Fairygirl - & your pics remind me why
RB - that doesn't sound nice at all - hope you get it sorted today - I'm a bit funny about my eyes being messed with too.
Wonky - have you found a good nursery or GC in your neck of the woods? I have some favourites a bit further north from you but always pleased to hear of some new places to go and check out
Justin can you also clarify if we're talking about seedlings or cuttings / other vegetative propagation?
I think Dove and I are both assuming seedlings....
Everybody - please - just step away - now
Dovefromabove wrote (see)
Looks like we're back to the 'good old days' elsewhere I've flagged stuff up to Daniel and the Mods - hopefully nothing will flare up too much before they've had time to have a look.
Looks like we're back to the 'good old days' elsewhere I've flagged stuff up to Daniel and the Mods - hopefully nothing will flare up too much before they've had time to have a look.
Well done Dove. I had a bet with myself how long it would be before some of the old phrases & problems started cropping up. I won! I owe myself 10 bob
Hello Phil & welcome to the forum
I had a lean-to greenhouse at the back of my garage at my previous house. I suppose I could have used it as a garden room but - as Welsh Onion says - the number of days when the temperature was perfect for just sitting in it with a book & glass of wine were few & far between.
In the winter it was nice & sheltered for working (even sitting) in - but always with a coat on and it was insulated with bubble wrap. In the summer the ventilation needed tweaking several times a day to keep the temperature within a comfortable range.
As an alternative - do you have a suitable spot in the garden for a summer house? That would be cheaper than an extension and you could orient it to avoid prevailing winds / take advantage of the evening sun etc. I think you can even get one that rotates - so you can track the sun / shade / shelter as you prefer.
I inherited a 20yr old honeysuckle which was very leggy, full of mildew and just one huge untrained bird's nest. It was yellow & white & highly fragranced (name n/k).
I bit the bullet and cut it really hard back (6 - 12"), gave it a feed & put in some plastic support netting. It was back to the original size (but a much better shape) within a year. I think I attacked it in early spring - lost most of the flowers for one year but it had a whole season to grow away before any frosts.


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A vibrant original oil on canvas by Italian artist Luigi Paollilo, this painting measures 28 x 36 inches, c. 1910, signed l.r. "L. Paolillo", framed. Known for his seascapes and genre scenes, Paollilo exhibited his work widely in Italy and Europe; he also spent many years traveling in the western hemisphere, from Argentina to America.
Lithograph, image size, 8 3/4 X 7 1/2 inches, pencil signed
Ink drawing, 1953, image size 10 5/8 x 7 5/8 inches.