text:
Ranked #1 Children's Hospital by U.S. News & World Report
MyPatients provides referring primary care providers with secure access to their patients' information.
Boston Children's has launched the world's 1st program dedicated to offering hand transplants to children who qualify.
Innovation insider is a semi-monthly e-newsletter analyzes innovations at Boston Children's, other academic medical centers and from industry.
Read the latest blog by a Boston Children's doctor, clinician or staff member.
Support the hospital with a donation that helps kids get the care they need.
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Watch more videos from Boston Children's
The Cleft Lip and Palate Center at Boston Children's Hospital cares for children and adolescents with cleft lip and/or cleft palate. Seeing more than 575 patients each year, the program is one of the largest and most experienced in the world when it comes to cleft lip and/or palate diagnoses, treatment and follow up care.
Proper cleft lip and/or palate treatment often requires the skills of many specialists. Our multidisciplinary team includes plastic and oral maxillofacial surgeons, dentists, otolaryngologists, speech-language pathologists, audiologists, psychologists, social workers and clinical geneticists with the pediatric expertise needed to get your child on the road to recovery.
In addition to patient care, our team is involved in innovative scientific research to benefit children and adolescents born with cleft lip and/or cleft palate.
Program basics
As one of the largest Cleft Lip and Palate programs of its kind, we provide a wide range of diagnostic, treatment and follow-up services for cleft lip and/or cleft palate. Services include:
Our team includes:
This multidisciplinary team works together to address the individual needs of each patient and family in treating and managing cleft lip and/or palate.
Excellence in pediatric plastic and oral surgery
The Cleft Lip and Palate Center is part of Boston Children's Department of Plastic and Oral Surgery—one of the largest and most active pediatric plastic surgery centers in the country. Each year, the department cares for more than 16,000 infants, children, adolescents and young adults and performs more than 2,300 surgical procedures. Our clinical specialties include:
Among the conditions we routinely care for are:
Our department also co-directs a state-of-the-art, 2,500-square-foot research laboratory. We are currently examining facial growth patterns and surgical outcomes for children with cleft lip and/or palate and conducting a study of quality, safety, cost and comparative effectiveness of cleft treatments.
Other departmental research focuses include angiogenesis and tissue regeneration and cranioplasty and bone healing.
The future of pediatrics will be forged by thinking differently, breaking paradigms and joining together in a shared vision of tackling the toughest challenges before us."


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Posts tagged motorola xoom
News Phones Carriers Apps Games Calendar Podcast Video: Which tablet breaks easier – Galaxy Tab, Motorola Xoom, or iPad 2?
Jun 8th
Posted by admin in Android User Tips
Those device-breaking videos show up online from time to time, bringing a hefty amount of gut-wrenching entertainment to all of us who choose to watch them. Well, today we have a rugged competition between the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab, the Motorola Xoom, and the iPad 2. Though as a gadget lover it still hurts to watch the video, today's video is a bit more beneficial to the consumer since it promotes the purchase of warranties/insurance (SquareTrade Warranties).
How many times have we thought that purchasing device insurance isn't necessary? The factory warranty is there after all, right? Well, I can tell More >
News Phones Carriers Apps Games Calendar Podcast Is Verizon's "Droid" branding helping or hurting?
Apr 18th
Whether you are aware of it or not, and completely regardless of whether or not you believe it, the Motorola Droid on Verizon Wireless saved Android. More accurately, it saved Andy Rubin, or at least his job, after the G1 underwhelmed and failed to impress many. It's release, coupled with the release of Android 2.0, launched Android into the foreground of the tech community, encouraging manufacturers, developers, and eventually users to flock to the OS. I can't help, despite how important a contribution the Droid moniker and device was to "the cause" if it's still necessary. Android has seen explosive More >
Nvidia Android 3.0 Driver Support In Doubt For Select Tegra 2 Tablets
Apr 13th
A new report claims that NVIDIA has announced they will not offer the necessary Android 3.0 Honeycomb driver update to earlier versions of the companies popular Tegra 2 SoC processor. Lots of Android tablets currently being offered could be endanger.
The Tegra 2 chip which is a pretty old chip (by industry standards) and it has been offered in three versions thus far. Now only the two oldest versions are not getting Android 3.0 driver support Betelgeuse and Harmony (both codenames). The third and newest version of Tegra 2 named Ventana will get the updated Android 3.0 drivers.
Motorola XOOM Review
Apr 2nd
Motorola's big launch of CES 2011 and the first Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet on the market, the Motorola XOOM has a lot to live up to. In its haste to reach Verizon shelves, the XOOM could seem a little half-baked; it doesn't get Flash Player support for another few weeks, and won't have 4G until an update sometime in Q2. Still, as the iPad has shown, there are undoubtedly benefits to being first out of the gate, and there's undoubtedly plenty on offer. Can the XOOM bypass pricing skepticism? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.
Hardware and Performance
Motorola's More >
Android Honeycomb and apps: Win or fail?
Apr 2nd
Android 3.0 tablets are set to hit the UK left, right and centre in 2011 but there's one glaring issue affecting all of them at the moment.
Google may have done a lot of work with Android 3.0 Honeycomb. It certainly looks good, has everything you'd expect from a tablet operating system, in terms of features, and has taken centre stage on some of the most exciting tablets we've ever seen – the Motorola Xoom, LG Optimus Pad and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.
Thing is, there's one big stinking elephant in the room when it comes to Android 3.0. So what More >
Google Holding Onto Android Honeycomb Source Code Indefinitely
Mar 30th
To the dismay of Android developers everywhere, Google's Android team has announced that they will withhold the tablet OS Honeycomb's, source code for an indefinite period of time. The move has prompted some criticism, since Android is supposed to be an open platform. The decision, however, is both a blessing and a curse. Hackers, rooters, home brewers and enthusiasts will have to wait for an official Honeycomb version to flash to their rooted tablets, but when that day arrives it will mean we have a much more stable version to play with than the preview version 4 making the rounds More >
Motorola XOOM (Verizon) Android 3.0 tablet review
Mar 24th
Posted by admin in App Review
The Motorola Xoom, is the first android 3.0 tablet to hit the market, we already gone through our first hardware impression of the device, you can read it here. But I can tell you I do like the hardware is solid overall and worth complement to the OS. So what makes the Xoom different from other tablet and what sets it apart. Two things, its the first Android 3.0 Tablet, so it sets the standard for other to follow, and a good one at that . A solid camera hardware finish feel good, device as a sturdy feel in the hands, More >
Wi-Fi only XOOM on sale March 27 for $599
Mar 21st
Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (MMI) announced this week that its XOOM will now have a Wi-Fi edition in the U.S. beginning March 27. Some of the retailers offering the 10.1-inch HD tablet powered by Android 3.0 Honeycomb include Amazon, Best Buy, RadioShack, Costco, Staples, Walmart, and some Sam's Club locations. The 32 GB tablet has an MSRP of $599.
"Motorola XOOM is a truly innovative tablet – its design, coupled with being the first tablet to have Android 3.0, results in a user experience that is one-of-a-kind," said Dan Papalia, vice president of retail sales for Motorola Mobility. "We are now continuing More >
Android Gingerbread HTC Flyer UK Pre-order Available
Mar 18th
If you reside in the United Kingdom and have a hankering to own the new Android Gingerbread tablet out of the HTC stable, the HTC Flyer, which is reportedly due release sometime in April, you might like to know you can now pre-order the device.
According to an article over on T3, the first retailer to offer the Android HTC Flyer for pre-order in the UK is Clove although the tablet does come with quite a hefty price in tow, 600 quid inclusive of VAT.
However that £600 is not an official price from HTC so apparently that hefty asking price will be altered More >
MOTOROLA XOOM Wi-Fi is available for sale to the U.S. market
Mar 17th
Motorola has announced sales of its Tablet PC, MOTOROLA XOOM Wi-Fi edition in the U.S. on 27 March at an MSRP of $ 599 for 32 GB version.
recall the technical specs:
- Operating System: Android 3.0 (Honeycomb)
- Dimensions: 249.1 h167, 8h12, 9 mm
- Weight: 730 gr.
- Display: 10.1-inch, a resolution of 1280×800 pixels
- 1 GHz dual-core processor NVIDIA Tegra 2
- Communication: 3.5 mm, micro USB 2.0 HS, Corporate Sync, Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR + HID
- Supported audio formats: AAC, AAC +, AMR NB, AMR WB, MP3, XMF
- Supported video formats: 720p zapis/1080p playback (including streaming More >

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Great Ocean Road Surf Tours, Alistair Lawson
- Address
- 106B Surf Coast Hwy, Torquay VIC 3228
- Contact
- Mr Alistair Lawson
- Phone
- 03 52613730
- After Hours
- email@example.com
- Website
- http://www.gorsurftours.com.au
Deer control trial for a healthier Alpine National Park
27 Jul 2015
Parks Victoria, in partnership with the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (SSAA) and the Australian Deer Association (ADA), have begun a three year trial deer control program to limit environmental damage deer are causing in the Alpine National Park. This trial is the first of its kind in the park…
What's on
What's on for 2015-2016 at Albert Park
1 Jul 2015 12:00am - 30 Jun 2016 12:00am
A wide variety of events are held at Albert Park throughout the year. Events range from fun runs and sporting tournaments to other community events. See the full calendar here.
Hooded Plovers Naturewise Experience
29 Jul 2015 8:30am - 31 Jul 2015 5:30pm
On this exclusive Naturewise trip you will be working alongside Parks Victoria Rangers and conservation experts on a critical Hooded Plover habitat restoration projects including hands-on removal of sea spurge, establishing photo monitoring points, and recording data on any Hooded Plover activity. You will also experience the best of the…
GMBC Winter NFF 2015, Round 8
31 Jul 2015 6:00pm-8:30pm
Round 8 of GMBC Winter NFF 2015 series. MTB trails in use in Kurrajong.
Healesville/Coranderrk Walk: Learn about Wurundjeri history & Coranderrk Mission
3 Aug 2015 2:00pm-4:00pm
During Wurundjeri Week, Wurundjeri Council will be running various tours on Wurundjeri Country to educate the public on different aspects of Indigenous and Wurundjeri culture. Coranderrk Mission still holds great significance to the Wurundjeri people as well as tribes of the Kulin Nation. Discover how it came about, the people…


text:
Ice halts Duke operations despite preparations
On Friday, ice descended on campus, frosting roads and sidewalks and disrupting business as usual.
A sign was posted on a door in the Flowers building warning students that the wooden deck of the Bryan Center Plaza was slippery due to ice. Yet, despite proceeding with caution, many students fell as could be seen on the Duke PlazaCam. By Sunday morning, sand—which had been put down around campus to give pedestrians more traction on the slippery sidewalks—had been tracked into every building. The buses were shut down late Friday night through Saturday morning, due to poor road conditions. No traffic accidents occurred on campus during the storm, Emergency Coordinator Kyle Cavanaugh said.
Numerous events were canceled: The Nasher Museum of Art event celebrating the 50th anniversary of racial integration at Duke was postponed to a yet-to-be determined date; Sweet Night in Durham, an "unlimited dessert" fundraiser for the Duke Cancer Institute, was moved to Sunday night; and the night's showing of Hoof 'n' Horn's Cabaret in Sheafer Theater was completely called off.
The weather also disrupted student plans as some social events were canceled, and the ice made driving difficult.
"I'm kind of a local—I'm from Charlotte—so I haven't thought much about it since this [type of weather] is pretty typical, " junior Caroline Seng said.
But Seng noted that her parents were planning to visit her over the weekend and had to delay their plans for a day due to the icy conditions.
But the University had been bracing itself for the winter weather since Wednesday of that week.
"We are constantly monitoring the weather, and we have direct access to the National Weather Service," said Kyle Cavanaugh, Duke's emergency coordinator.
Duke has an Emergency Management Severe Weather Operations team, he said. The team has around 40 members and draws its membership from different groups, including the Duke University Health System, Duke University Police Departmetn, Parking and Transportation, Student Affairs and Facilities Management. Starting Thursday night, they began "pre-treating" the roads with a product that helps prevent snow or ice from sticking to the ground.
Later Friday night, the Emergency Weather Operations team instituted the severe weather policy in response to beginning of the storm. Under the policy, services essential to campus residents or hospital patients are maintained, but other employees are permitted to leave.
The University's attempts to mitigate ice-related issues were inadequate on Central Campus, said sophomore Kelly Daus.
"Basically, they didn't sand Central at all," Daus said. "Our parking lot was literally an ice sheet, and our stairwell doesn't get any sun so it was iced over all weekend long."
Daus said she fell down the stairs in her Alexander Street apartment complex over the weekend and noted that she hopes administrators would pay more attention to students living on Central Campus.
Senior Alex Ong, who lives off campus, said she had problems commuting over the weekend because of the ice, although she said she is not sure what the University could have done to help in her situation.
Although Duke's campus was one of the concern of the group, the Emergency Weather Operations team also deals with DUHS's responses to weather conditions. One of the primary concerns was whether the hospitals and clinics could be staffed, Cavanaugh noted.
The storm was costly for Duke as well—although Cavanaugh could not give an exact total expense, he cited many costs: pre-treating roads, laying down sand, employing contract help and paying overtime for staff working due to the severe weather policy being in effect.
"We're fortunate in North Carolina that we don't have many of these storms," he said.


text:
Hotel Novocastrian, located in the ever evolving, historic east end of Newcastle. Walking distance to two stunning beaches, foreshore and boardwalk restaurants and hotels, and the CBD.
Choose a room:
Large family rooms to give you space, and keep all the little one's together without breaking the budget. Suited for 2x Adults and 2x Children.
- 2nd and 3rd Floor Rooms
- Shower over bath
- Larger Rooms
- Contact us to discuss bedding options!
Perfect for the business traveller who needs space to work and space to relax.
- 3rd and 2nd Floor Rooms
- 1x Double Bed
- Some rooms with balcony
- Some rooms with partial ocean views
Our superior rooms on the third floor offer wonderful views over the city and harbour of Newcastle, and partial ocean views.
- 3rd Floor Rooms
- Best Views: City and Harbour (front facing)
- Queen Bed
- Balcony
- Adjoining room options available


text:
Hang tight!
Recipe by elanaspantry.com
"I find this to be the perfect time of year for carrot cake. It's an ideal dessert for cookouts, picnics, and graduation parties. Enjoy!"
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3 cups
almond flour
2 teaspoons
celtic sea salt
1 tablespoon
ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon
baking soda
1 teaspoon
ground nutmeg
1/2 cup
agave nectar
1/4 cup
grapeseed oil
3 cups
grated carrots
1 cup
1 cup
Absolutely delicious! One of the best carrot cakes I've had and there was no way you could tell it was gluten free! I went exactly by the recipe and wouldn't change a thing. I used a recipe from one of my cook books to make the cream cheese frosting.
This makes a great dense cake, no wheat flour or sugar. I didn't have grapeseed oil so use canola which seemed to work fine. The cake stuck to the pan so I would use parchment paper or something on the bottom of the pan the next time. I frosted it with simple neufchatel cheese sweetened with agave syrup and a teaspoon or two of vanilla extract.
12 Ratings
I made major modifications after reading the comments - here is what I did
Used Quinoa flour - I find that this is the best for baking
Added 3/4 cup of buttermilk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
The cake was light and fluffy but tasted super bland - next time 1 cup of Agave and 2 teaspoons of nutmeg and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon but ladies Quinoa is the way to go when baking and if you want light add buttermilk with baking soda, baking powder and salt in equal parts
This is an amazing recipe. I substituted walnut oil & olive oil for the grapeseed oil and cut down on the cinnamon. It was wonderful. I used a cream cheese frosting that included butter, cream cheese & homemade powdered sugar (because it is corn free. Next time I would experiment by adding a little crushed pineapple but as this recipe stands it is fantastic. As for the complaint that this cake is too salty or dense you could decrease the salt to 1 tsp. or eliminate all together and increase the baking soda to 2 tsp. The cake is dense because of the lack of flour. You could also very easily turn this recipe into a bar pan recipe. I also dusted the top with crushed walnuts. Enjoy!!!
I was looking for a cake for my daughter's 1st birthday party that was made with almond flour and no sugar, and this one came up. After thinking about the frosting, and not wanting to use dairy, I decided to try some major modifications. I made an apple cake instead using the amounts listed, but only using the almond flour, celtic sea salt, baking soda, eggs, and grapeseed oil. I substituted plain apple sauce for the agave nectar. Apple sauce was also the "icing". I used Fugi apples. It turned out great! It was moist and had a good flavor. I got multiple requests for the recipe. I will definately try the carrot cake down the road.
Gets extra bonus for being without flour. Too salty for me-I will use much less salt next time I make it.
This carrot cake is very moist. I followed the recipe, added 1/2 tsp ginger and omitted the walnuts. I also decorated the cake with sliced almonds. Our guests were asking for seconds! Thank you for sharing such a great gluten-free recipe!
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
A Memorial Day Carrot Cake Recipe
Serving Size: 1/12 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 12
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 401
Calories from Fat: 251
With our 2,700+ chicken breast recipes, you'll never serve the same old chicken again.
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Delicious recipes, party ideas, and cooking tips! Get a year of Allrecipes magazine for $7.99!
Watch how to make a 5-star carrot cake recipe.
See how to make a sweet, moist and rich cake with cream cheese frosting.
Make this sinfully rich carrot cake--and sit back and enjoy the compliments.


text:
Little Umbrella I was inspired to draw a little cartoon of my sister (who is staying with me at the moment).
I asked my boyfriend to show me how to recreate it digitally and finish it off. I love what he's done, and I'm going to try and convince him to give me Illustrator lessons!
Thanks for the inspiration Liz, I love your work!


text:
The HTC EVO Design 4G for Sprint has popped in an official press shot for the device. The EVO Design was formerly known as the HTC Kingdom and will also be headed to US Cellular under the Hero S title. The device will feature a modest 1.2GHz single-core Snapdragon, 768MB of RAM, 4-inch qHD display, 5MP rear/1.3MP front facing cameras and running on Android 2.3.3. Given the fact HTC has cut back on many of the higher-end specs we've come to expect on devices like the EVO 3D, I would imagine this device will be priced right a lot less. This will make the EVO Design 4G stand out for Sprint shoppers on budget. Still no word on release date but with a leaked press shot — we don't imagine it could be too far now.
[Via Pocketnow]
Continue reading:
- FreedomPop will give you free cellphone servi
- HTC EVO 3D and EVO Design 4G to get Ice Cream
- Rumor: HTC EVO Design 4G coming to Boost Mobi
- More Sprint Devices Receive Security Updates
TAGS: HTC Evo Design 4G


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A system and method for detecting and tracking an object is disclosed. A camera captures a video sequence comprised of a plurality of image frames. A processor receives the video sequence and analyzes each image frame to determine if an object is detected. The processor applies one or more classifiers to an object in each image frame and computes a confidence score based on the application of the one or more classifiers to the object. A database stores the one or more classifiers and vehicle training samples. A display displays the video sequence.
1. A method for detecting one or more objects belonging to the same object class comprising the steps of:
a) receiving a video sequence from a video camera comprised of a plurality of image frames;
b) applying one or more component classifiers to detect components of objects in an image frame in the video sequence, wherein the component classifiers include classifiers for detecting object components of different sizes at multiple scales;
c) computing a confidence score based in part on the response from the one or more component detectors;
d) repeating steps b) and c) to detect components of objects belonging to the same object class in additional images frames in the video sequence; and
e) accumulating confidence scores from the component detectors to determine if an object is detected,
wherein said method is adapted for detecting moving and stationary objects from a moving video camera.
2. The method of
identifying the detected components to be an object of a particular object class.
3. The method of
4. The method of
if an object is detected, outputting a detection signal and object position.
5. The method of
testing geometry constraints on a spatial arrangement of detected components in an image; and
applying whole-appearance classifiers an image patch that contains the detected components and which is aligned according to the position of the detected components.
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performing an online adaptation to adapt a classifier structure to an online pattern.
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applying a dynamic switching strategy to direct the detector to take appropriate weak classifiers as discriminants according to auxiliary information about the online pattern.
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restricting an area of search in each subsequent image frame based on the location of the object in a current image frame.
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determining the optimal classifier scale based on a distance between the object and a camera detecting the object and camera parameters.
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48. A system for detection and tracking an object comprising:
a camera for capturing a video sequence comprised of a plurality of image frames;
a processor for receiving the video sequence and analyzing each image frame to determine if an object is detected, said processor applying one or more component classifiers to detect components of objects in each image frame and computing a confidence score based on the response from the one or more component detectors and the result of additional validation, wherein the accumulated confidence scores is inferred from confidence scores across multiple frames using a recursive filter; and
a database for storing the one or more classifiers and object training samples,
wherein said system is adapted for detecting moving and stationary objects from a moving video camera.
49. The method of
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means for testing geometry constraints on a spatial arrangement of detected components in an image; and
means for applying whole-appearance classifiers an image patch that contains the detected components and which is aligned according to the position of the detected components.
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performing an online adaptation to adapt a classifier structure to an online pattern.
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applying a dynamic switching strategy to direct the detector to take appropriate weak classifiers as discriminants according to auxiliary information about the online pattern.
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means for tracking a detected object over subsequent image frames.
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means for restricting an area of search in each subsequent image frame based on the location of the object in a current image frame.
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means for determining the optimal classifier scale based on a distance between the object and a camera detecting the object and camera parameters.
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93. A method for detecting one or more objects belonging to the same object class comprising the steps of:
a) receiving a video sequence from a video camera comprised of a plurality of image frames;
b) applying one or more component classifiers to detect components of objects in an image frame in the video sequence, wherein the one or more component classifiers include overlapping component classifiers, and wherein component classifiers are defined by discriminant features and decision rules which are learned through boosting;
c) computing a confidence score based in part on the response from the one or more component detectors;
d) repeating steps b) and c) to detect components of objects belonging to the same object class in additional images frames in the video sequence; and
e) accumulating confidence scores from the component detectors to determine if an object is detected,
wherein said method is adapted for detecting moving and stationary objects from a moving video camera.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/457,056 filed on Mar. 24, 2003 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/490,332 filed on Jul. 25, 2003 which are incorporated by reference in their entirety.
The present invention is directed to a monocular vision system and method for vehicle detection and tracking for the purpose of driver assistance, and more particularly, to a system and method for vehicle detection and tracking using component-based detectors with boosted discriminants.
Machine-vision-based obstacle detection and tracking is an important component in autonomous vehicle systems. In a typical driving scene, the obstacles include vehicles, pedestrians and any other objects that are either moving or rising above the road plane. The purpose of obstacle detection is to separate moving objects from the driving scene, the obstacles including vehicles, pedestrians and any other objects that are either moving or rising above the road plane. Such information is required by a number of automotive applications, e.g., adaptive cruise control, forward collision avoidance and lane departure warning. By fusing the results of detecting and tracking individual objects, it is possible to achieve sufficient perception of the driving environment.
A number of approaches have been developed to address vehicle tracking and detection. One category of obstacle detection methods uses motion analysis. The true motion vectors of the road plane resulting from camera motion are estimated from camera parameters, position and ego velocity. When an object is violating the planarity assumption, a significant difference between the optical flow vectors calculated from consecutive frames and the true motion vectors (i.e., motion parallax) is detected, which indicates the appearance of an obstacle that is either moving or rising above the road plane. Other approaches group the optical flow vectors into clusters and track with a Kalman filter. With a calibrated camera and estimate of ego-motion, one approach can detect and distinguish between moving objects and stationary but elevated objects. In yet another approach, the clusters of flow vectors are further grouped into parallel lines on the rear face of an enclosing box, which correspond to the rear bumper of moving vehicles on the road plane.
Ego-motion recovery is also used to track vehicle position. Planar motion models are used to describe the 2D image flow of road plane resulting from camera motion. Image measurements that violate the rigid motion assumption and structures above the road plane are considered outlier and excluded from ego-motion estimation. In yet another approach, the motion analysis is extended to automatically detect multiple planes from sparse optical flow information.
Obstacle detection methods using only motion information are sensitive to image noise and illumination changes. In addition, the detected obstacles cannot be classified by motion information alone.
In another approach, a 3D polyhedral model is used to detect and track vehicles in a surveillance setup. A vehicle is described in a 2D view sketch composed of edge segments specified by their length parameters. This approach requires previous knowledge of ego-motion and camera calibration. When the camera parameters and ego-vehicle velocity are not available, motion analysis is no longer sufficient for vehicle detection because there is no way of knowing the true image flow describing the road plane.
In another known approach, distant cars are detected and validated through horizontal and vertical edge detection, aspect ratio check and template correlation. If camera parameters are available, the distance of the detected cars from ego-vehicle can be estimated through the perspective projection model. In some instances, the detection starts from feature selection and tracking. Tracked features are grouped into clusters corresponding roughly to different objects in the scene. Vehicles are identified and validated through edge finding. A simple vehicle classification scheme is introduced based on the aspect ratio to distinguish cars, SUVs, pickups and trucks. In other approaches, a probabilistic model is introduced to model the strength of the edges around the vehicle boundary. Vehicle detection is implemented by locating bounding boxes from edges and verifying the vehicle presence with the edge model. The extended Kalman filter is used to track the detected vehicle.
A second category of vehicle detection algorithms treats the detection as a two-class pattern classification problem involving the vehicle class and the non-vehicle class. Instead of using the empirical descriptions for the vehicle class, these algorithms use a classification function to tell if an image patch contains a vehicle or not. Through an offline training process, the best classification function with minimum classification error is learned from a number of vehicle and non-vehicle examples. The training process takes into account the variation of vehicle appearance within the training examples. Compared to the empirical vehicle model with edges, shapes and templates, the training and classification approach produces more reliable detection results.
In one approach, a vehicle detection algorithm is implemented in two steps: multi-scale driven hypothesis generation and appearance-based hypothesis verification. Appearance-based hypothesis verification verifies the hypothesis using wavelet feature extraction approach and Support Vector Machines (SVMs) as classifiers. In another approach, a Support Vector Tracking (SVT) method is introduced, which integrates the SVM classifier into an optical-flow based tracker. Instead of minimizing an intensity difference function between consecutive frames, SVT maximizes the SVM score such that the detection results have the highest confidence scores in the corresponding video frames.
In these approaches, the classifier response is computed over a neighborhood region around the vehicle position detected from the previous frame. The location with the highest response is considered the vehicle position in the current frame. The focus of such detection methods is to build an accurate and efficient vehicle detector (classifier). Tracking is considered a process of data association that links the detection results from individual frames to a temporal trajectory.
Even though all of these different approaches exist, there is a need for a method for detecting and tracking vehicles that has high performance and low complexity. Since the calculations required for vehicle detection and tracking must be made in real time, complex calculations are not feasible. Yet, in order to acceptably track a vehicle, the accuracy of the detection method must be high.
A system and method for detecting and tracking objects is disclosed. A camera captures a video sequence comprised of a plurality of image frames. A processor receives the video sequence and analyzes each image frame to determine if one or multiple objects are present. The processor applies one or more component classifiers to sub-regions in each image frame and computes confidence scores based on the application of the one or more component classifiers to the sub-regions. A database stores the one or more component classifiers. A display displays the video sequence. The one or more component classifiers are trained separately offline using training images of objects components and non-objects images.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in more detail, wherein like reference numerals indicate like elements, with reference to the accompanying drawings:
The present invention is directed to a system and method for appearance trajectory-based vehicle detection and tracking. Initially, the detection process takes place over a number of video frames to identify the presence of one or multiple vehicles in the scene. Once the hypothesis of a vehicle presence is validated with sufficient confidence, tracking takes over to follow the vehicle throughout subsequent frames. It is to be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention can also be used to detect and track other objects such as, but not limited to, pedestrians, bicycles, motorbikes, traffic signs or other objects which may be found in a street environment. For purposes of explanation, the present invention will be described in the context of vehicle detection and tracking.
Unlike the vehicle detection in a still image, in an automotive vision system, vehicles in front of the ego-vehicle appear in multiple frames. The information of vehicle appearance and vehicle motion should work in a collaborative way to ensure robust and reliable detection and tracking. Motion information has the ability of associating vehicle appearances along the temporal axis. With temporal data association, the detection becomes more robust against the sudden degradation of vehicle appearance in an isolated frame. On the other hand, a well-trained vehicle detector helps to verify the tracking results with a confidence score.
In contrast to vehicle detection in still images, vehicle detection over image sequences detects temporal trajectories of vehicle appearances. Appearance trajectory is used to describe object appearances in multiple frames. Let (At,xt) denote the appearance and its position in frame t. An appearance trajectory over frames 1 to t is defined by {Ai,xi}i=1 t. There are many appearance trajectories in an image sequence.
In general, the majority of the trajectories in an image sequence are not from vehicles. In fact, most of them are invalid in the sense that the temporal association is incorrect. The task of detection is to find the appearance trajectories that are caused by vehicles. This is an integrated detection problem in an extended domain A×M, where A is the collection of appearances {A1, . . . At} and M is the collection of trajectories {x1, . . . , xt}.
Various classifiers can be adopted as the vehicle detector. In the following example a Bayesian detector is derived. Using p and q to denote respectively the Probability Density Functions (PDFs) of the vehicle class and the non-vehicle class, the Bayesian detector is expressed as a likelihood test between two density functions,
The relation in (2) indicates that the appearance trajectory can be detected in a sequential manner. An initial likelihood test Lt is used to detect the vehicle candidates in frame 1. As more image frames are captured, the likelihood accumulates over time. At time t, Lt gives an accumulated confidence score of how likely the trajectory under detection is caused by a vehicle. If this accumulated score is sufficiently high, the confidence level is high enough to claim that a vehicle appears in the sequences. If the accumulated score is sufficiently low, it is very likely that the current trajectory is not caused by a vehicle and can be safely discarded. If the scale of a vehicle appearance is too small, it means that the vehicle is too far away from the camera. Such a trajectory may also be dropped because the scale exceeds the range of robust detection.
The appearance detector can be implemented with local features representing various components of the vehicle, such as the corners and the horizontal and vertical boundaries. Additional parameters can be introduced into At to represent the occlusion condition. When multiple trajectories are detected, their relative positions in frame t can be inferred from {At,xt}. Thus, the occlusion condition can be inferred for each detected vehicle.
Once a vehicle is detected with high confidence, vehicle tracking is performed, by locating the vehicle in a local area around the vehicle position in the previous frame using the appearance detector. The confidences scores from previous frames are propagated to the current frame and an accumulated score is computed for the current frame.
In accordance with the present invention, detection and tracking are carried out on both frame-level and track level. On the frame level, trained classifiers are used to detect new vehicle appearance from individual frames. On the track level, vehicle trajectory is detected and tracked by accumulating detection results over multiple frames.
To train the classifiers, a plurality of samples (e.g., hundreds to thousands of samples) of vehicles are collected from video sequences and images containing vehicles in order to define training samples 202 for the vehicle class. An initial set of background image samples are also collected as the training samples for the non-vehicle class. A boosted training method 204 is used to learn initial classifiers 206 from these training samples 202. The classifiers are evaluated on a validation set. Misclassified samples in the validation set are put into training database to retrain the classifiers. This procedure is repeated for multiple rounds.
In accordance with the present invention, the boosted training method 204 identifies the features that best separate vehicle patterns from non-vehicle patterns. These features are chosen to define the classifiers 206. Features are designed to describe local structures of vehicle patterns, e.g. horizontal, vertical edges and corners, across various spatial location and scales. A number of discriminant features and decision rules are selected by a training algorithm so that a cost function evaluated on the training data is minimized. Different classifiers are trained for different components and different scales. A separate classifier is trained for the entire vehicle appearance using vehicle samples aligned according to the component positioning and non-vehicle samples. Classifiers 206 learned in training are used to detect vehicles in each video frame. Given an image patch, the chosen features are computed from the image. Based on the feature values, the classifier outputs a confidence score that indicates the confidence in the pattern being a vehicle. By accumulating the confidence over multiple frames, track-level vehicle detection is achieved.
In vehicle detection, a strong classifier is defined by a number of weak classifiers and each weak classifier is derived from a feature. There are a variety of features designed for vehicles. Some examples of vehicle features are shown in
To efficiently compute these features, integral images are implemented. An example of an integral image 602 is illustrated in
Given an image pattern I, a number of features v1(I), . . . , vn(I) are extracted from I. Each feature vi defines a weak classifier ƒi(vi). There are four types of decision functions ƒ 702, 704, 706 and 708: step function pulse function with different thresholds and parities as illustrated in
The decision from the strong classifier f is defined by the weighted sum of the decisions from weak classifiers:
The weights used in detection are normalized weights:
Due to change of views and the variety of vehicle designs, severe pattern variation exists in vehicle appearance. For instance, the appearance of compact cars, trucks and utility vans looks very different from each other. For an object class with large variation, very few features can be effective for all the different appearances in terms of correct classification. A common approach to deal with complicated appearance class is to design separate classifiers for different subclasses. Nevertheless, the computational complexity would multiply. For efficient and accurate detection, an online adaptation strategy is used to cover large variations by a single classifier.
The key idea of online adaptation is to adapt the classifier structure to the online pattern. A dynamic switching strategy is used to direct the detector to take appropriate weak classifiers as discriminants according to auxiliary information about the online pattern. Thus, different classifier structures may be used in detecting different appearances inside the object class.
To cope with the variations in vehicle geometry, component based object detection is adopted in the algorithm to reduce the effect of misalignment. To detect a vehicle, four overlapping component classifiers are employed to detect the bottom-left (BL), bottom-right (BR), top-left (TL) and top-right (TR) corners 810, 812, 814 and 816 respectively as illustrated in
The VehicleDetect modules 904 and 906 comprise the main function where each image frame is processed through three steps: tracking ("track") 1002, detection ("detect") 1004 and assembling results ("assemble") 1006 as illustrated in
Knowing camera parameters, i.e. pitch, roll, yaw angles, camera location regarding the road plane as well as internal camera parameters, it is possible to determine the correspondence between the size of object appearance and the location of the object in the image field through 3D homogeneous coordinate transform and projective geometry. In other words, vehicle appearance with certain size can only appear in a limited area of the image. Thus, a valid detection area is defined for each classifier scale.
Since the computation is too intense if detection is performed in all scales for every frame, a scheme of alternate scanning along the scale dimension is adopted. For each frame, detection is performed in only one scale, and the detection scale alternates among all available scales. For instance, in the current implementation, the classifiers are trained at three scales: 32, 40, 50, and the detection is carried out in the following manner: in frame 1, vehicles of size around 32 are detected; in frame 2, vehicles of size around 40 are detected; in frame 3, vehicles of size around 50 are detection; and so on. To detect vehicle appearances that are larger than the classifier scales, we perform the same detection in reduced resolution image. For instance, in embodiment of the present invention, classifiers with three different scales are applied to three different resolution scales, leading to effective scale coverage as 32, 40, 50, 32×2, 40×2, 50×2, 32×4, 40×4, 50×4.
Referring back to
The purpose of detection 1004 is to detect new appearances that are different than those established tracks. Scale alternate scanning is adopted to cover multiple scales. Referring to
Principal component detection is performed in the following way: at every spatial location, a confidence response is computed through component detection. The corresponding component classifier is used to evaluate the response. Thus, a complete response map is obtained for the principal component. Values in the response map indicate the confidence that a principal component appears at the corresponding locations. Local maxima of the response map with confidence values above a threshold are considered potential candidates for the principal components. Next, we continue to detect the remaining components for the accepted local maxima. If all detected components produce sufficiently high confidence, and they satisfy the geometric constraints, a whole-appearance detector is applied to further verify the candidate. The whole-appearance detector identifies the entire appearance of non-occluded vehicles or partial appearance such as the lower part or upper part of occluded vehicles. The final confidence is defined as the weighted sum of confidence from component detectors and the whole-appearance detector.
Most of the computation comes from generating response maps. To reduce computation, additional consideration is given to the response maps. First, due to the intensity changes around corners, the local areas tend to have a relatively high variance in intensity. Therefore, a low-cost variance check is performed at all spatial locations before computing response maps to rule out low variance areas. If the variance is very low, the local area is not considered as a candidate and the confidence is not computed. Second, response maps are computed through a coarse to fine sampling scheme as illustrated in
As a final step, tracking and detection results are assembled 1006. Results from the same object are merged. This process is repeated for every object that is detected and determined to be a vehicle.
In accordance with the present invention, a number of function keys are specified. Separate classifiers are trained for different components and different scales. It comprises a number of features and their associated decision functions. The classifier response is defined as a weighted sum of the decisions from individual features. All the classifiers are loaded from classifier files, which record the information of what and how many features are used, the type of decision functions as well as their weights.
Having described embodiments for a method for detecting and tracking vehicles, it is noted that modifications and variations can be made by persons skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that changes may be made in the particular embodiments of the invention disclosed which are within the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Having thus described the invention with the details and particularity required by the patent laws, what is claimed and desired protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.
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Directed by John Famiglietti
Director of Photography Matt Lloyd
Edited by Luke Lynch and John Famiglietti
Produced by The Funk Brothers
Copyright Lovepump United / City Slang, 2010
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by Pat Franklin
Allah is a coward – he's afraid of a sick old lady! Muslim followers of Allah threw a 78-year-old woman in jail. Why? Well, she was a believer in Jesus Christ. Allah and followers must be so frightened of Jesus that even a sick old woman is a threat to them, such a terrible threat that she has to be silenced and thrown in prison.Â
Wow, how can anybody with half a brain stay in that evil religion? It is a scourge to the world, a cancer. I call upon any muslim who can still think halfway in a straight direction to come out of that religion this very day. How can you follow a 'god' who wants old ladies thrown in jail just because they do not believe in him? It is time to get real and renounce that false god, and cry out to the true God, the Lord Jesus Christ, for mercy and forgiveness.
The lady who was jailed was Giti Hakimpour. Iranian police searched her apartment and confiscated some of her things. If those things included a Bible, I just hope that they will read it and have their eyes opened to the truth.
Giti was frail and recently had a knee operation. She needed special care. But Islam is heartless. After intense pressure internationally, Giti was released after enduring three days in one of their jails.
Giti was not alone. Iranian police have been sweeping through the country arresting Christians.
You can read all about it on the Barnabus Fund website http://www.barnabasfund.org/Iranian-Christians-rounded-up-in-sweep-of-arrests-across-the-country.html
Of course, whatever happens to us Christians, we win! If they let us alone, we can worship the true God in peace.  If they persecute us, Jesus told us to rejoice, because our reward is great in Heaven! And if they kill us, we go straight to be with Him in Heaven, and He promises a crown, the Crown of Life, to all who are martyred because of their faith in Him. A no lose situation!
In the meantime, I am so angry that Giti was caused one moment's pain, and that my brothers and sisters in Christ are being persecuted in muslim countries.  And I am doubly angry at our foolish leaders like George Bush, who said on TV that we 'all worship the same god.' No we do not!
As for Obama, I always thought he was a muslim, and he proved it by bowing low to the King of Saudi Arabia.  He says he isn't, but you can't go by what he says; after all – he's a politician.
And, if any muslim reads this – I do not hate you! I love you enough to tell you the truth, truth that can save you from Hell and open the door of Heaven wide for you! You can this very day turn your life around by putting your faith in Jesus Christ. He loves you; He died as a sacrifice for your sins, but you will only get the benefit of that if you believe in Him and follow Him! Let's face it, Allah has never done you any good! But Jesus will if you trust Him.
Ask Him to show you the truth. Here is a good prayer: 'Dear God, I don't know what to believe. I don't want to be bad. I want to be good. I don't want to go to Hell. I want to go to Heaven. Some people say one thing; some people say another thing. I want to know the truth! Please show me the truth and help me do whatever You want me to do!'
You can look at our Table of Truth: Islam versus the Bible, Â on the left hand side of the home page, or you can just click on the link to it http://www.thefreepressonline.co.uk/news/4/1457.htm
You can get a Bible and read it, but you may find it hard to understand without a teacher. If so, pray to God, the true God – and ask Him for a teacher to help you understand the Bible. He will help you. He loves you. He has made a way for you to go to Heaven – through faith in Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. Jesus took all your sins on Himself, and shed His holy blood as a sacrifice to pay the penalty of your sins. The Bible tells us there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood, because sin is so terrible that it carries the death penalty. Our blood was not good enough to pay the price; only Jesus' holy blood was good enough to atone for the sins of the world.
Now, if we put our faith in Jesus' sacrifice, we reap the benefit of it. He takes our sins; we get His righteousness. It is the bargain of all time. He takes our punishment; we get to go straight to Heaven!
Compare that with Islam.  Even Muhammed on his deathbed said he did not know what Allah would do to him when he died. He had no assurance of salvation at all, and indeed he did not receive it!
Jesus said: 'If you believe in Me, you HAVE eternal life.' John's gospel chapter 6:47. Today is the day of salvation. You can put your faith in Jesus Christ today.
- Alan adds: Islam is just one of the false faiths exposed in detail in the book Pat and I jointly wrote: Cults and Isms: True or False? We would like every believer to have a copy and have cut the price on our webshop to make it affordable to all. I am also available to speak to any church in America or Britain which wants to know the truth about Islam, Catholicism, Mormonism or any of the other deceptions that are sending billions of people to hell. It's time to get informed!


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My Story: 5 Cheap Beauty Tips
contributed by Sabrina
Related Articles
Homemade Masks and Scrubs
Stock Your Bathroom on the Cheap
Spa Beauty for Pennies
Here are 5 ways that I spend less on elixers and potions.
- Make your own sugar or salt scrub by combining cane sugar or Epsom salts with olive, safflower, or sweet almond oil. Add 5 to 20 drops of essential oil like lemon, lavender, rose or any combination of oils you enjoy. Mix in a bowl, apply and enjoy baby soft skin.
- Next time you pick up avocados on sale, mash one. With a few tablespoons of honey, apply it on clean hands or face and let it soak for fifteen minutes. Rinse and feel your soft skin.
- Lipstick stubbies nagging you? A lip brush helps you extend it to the last luscious drop.
- Enjoy fragrance but hate the retail price? Online discounters like PerfumeEmporium.com, Scentiments.com and eBay carry current designer and hard-to-find discontinued favorites. Or join a makeup review and discussion site like MakeupAlley.com and swap for decants and scents.
- Here's a classic but often forgotten tip. Shave with conditioner instead of shaving cream. It softens the hair, moisturizes the skin, and does not clog the razor. However, if you love cream, buy the standard men's version. It's usually a dollar cheaper and works the same.
"My Story" is a regular feature of The Dollar Stretcher. If you have a story that could help save time or money please send it by email to email@example.com.
Take the Next Step
- More great ways to let your radiance shine on our "Beauty on a Budget" Pinterest board
- Create Spa-Quality Products for Fun or Profit at The Handcrafter's Companion
Discuss "Brandy's Secrets to Beauty" in The Dollar Stretcher Community
If you enjoyed this article you might also want to check out:
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Share your thoughts about this article with the editor. Just Click Here and tell us what's on your mind.
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Posted at: 05/26/2013 8:28 PM
Updated at: 05/26/2013 11:19 PM
A bizarre incident in Rochester Sunday afternoon landed two people, including a four year-old child, in the hospital.
Police are still trying to figure out the details of what exactly happened, but here is what we do know.
Investigators say one person was on an ATV with two other people who had dirt bikes when the ATV was hit by a van on Princeton Street.
That's when police say a fight started and someone involved in the incident fired off gunshots.
Officers tell News10NBC the ATV driver then went into a house to get a shotgun and fired at the van. Police say the van then circled around the block, fired at that house and then took off, hitting two people who were injured.
The two people hit were taken to Strong Hospital with minor injuries.
Officers did say one person was taken into custody so far. Police are still looking for another suspect.


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Accommodations near Hlavne Square are listed below sorted by distance (closest at the top). Explore our hotels to find accommodations near Hlavne Square (in Bratislava Castle - Hrad Slovakia) for your leisure or business trips.
We sell the best motels and hotels close to Hlavne Square so you can review the discounted Bratislava Castle - Hrad Slovakia hotels/motels below and securely reserve the perfect hotel.
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16 July, 2014@1:38 am
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As one of Revealed Recordings long standing artists, Dannic continues to captivate and excel at his craft with magnificent ease.
After a monumental start to 2014 Dannic takes it further than just captivating ravers out on the dance floor, his recent studio recordings, including his much hyped co-production with Dyro, 'Radical' and most recently 'Anubi,' created with Merk & Kremont.
Back with the long-awaited smash 'Zenith', Dannic infuses his signature blistering sound, with big-room vibes and anticipation-building drops, finally receiving it's full official release, after the track was teased out on previews for last month's impeccable Revealed Recordings Vol. 5 compilation.
Serving as one of the most prominent tracks to receive it's live premier this year, 'Zenith' has dominated main stage sets throughout the festival season since it was debuted by Hardwell in his epic set at Miami's Ultra. With Zenith receiving support from the likes of W&W, Martin Garrix and of course label head Hardwell, it continues to cement his status as some of dance music's hottest property, outside of the booth as well as in. As we delve further into Summer 2014, this monster anthem will undoubtedly receive a rapturous response when Dannic returns to the white isle of Ibiza and beyond, this July.
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|Monday, 17 March 2014 00:00
Hart County Sheriff, Boston Hensley, was notified Saturday that an abandoned 1986 Chevrolet truck owned by the Hart County Fiscal Court had been reported to the Louisville Metro Police Department at an underpass on Dixie Odell Road near the Autumn Lake Mobile Home Park in Louisville. The Hart County Sheriff's Department discovered the truck had been stolen from the Hart County Road Department on County Barn Road in Munfordville on Friday. The investigation also revealed that an inmate from the Hart County Jail on work release to the Hart County Road Department had escaped on Friday. David Bruner, 47 of Harrodsburg, currently has a warrant for ESCAPE 2nd DEGREE – IDENTIFY FACILITY. The Hart County Jail notified the Kentucky State Police dispatch in Bowling Green of the escape, but neither the Hart County Sheriff's Department nor local law enforcement were notified. The Sheriff's Department wasn't made aware of the escape until after the discovery of the stolen truck. It's possible a deputy witnessed the truck in Munfordville around 3:30pm Friday, but at that time, they were completely unaware of any escape or theft.


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Ben Hubbert
Ben Hubbert, co-owner of Champion AC, is a former member of Special Operations in the Air Force, who's now committed to helping San Antonio reduce our community's demands on the energy grid. Visit championac.com or twitter.com/championac or call (210) 699-0022 for more information.
Monthly Archive for December, 2012
More Energy-Efficient New Year's Resolutions
Every year, people around the world use the New Year to turn a new leaf and embark on some life changes. The most popular resolutions are typically to lose weight and save money. But saving money is more than setting aside a few extra bucks to your savings account. Being smart about energy efficiency can […] [Read More]
First Freeze of the Season Expected Tonight
Winter is finally here. San Antonio should see its first freeze of the season tonight, with low temperatures forecasted in the mid to high 20s. This is always the time of year to remind homeowners to protect their pets, plants and pipes. Activate your back-up plan for pets that stay outside. Bring in any plants […] [Read More]


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Rainbow Arts Pride Week
when: Jun 22, 2013 - Jun 29, 2013 at 9:30 am to 4:30 pm
where: Habitot Children's Museum, 2065 Kittredge Street, Berkeley, Ca
cost: $10/Child. $8/Adult. Under 1, free.
ages: 0-5
add to calendar: Google iCal/Outlook
add to my play listSave all your favorite RT finds right here. How cool is that?
the scoop:
Kids can celebrate their pride in all families by making rainbow flags, banners, sculptures and paintings all week in the Art Studio. This events goes through Saturday, June 23.
more info:
Be the first to RSVP


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Parents Lead By Example in Carnage
By Paul Friswold
A New Currency The visual equivalent of "least said, soonest mended" is suggested by this modestly resonant group show which aims to diagnose the current recession's effect on art-making. The three St. Louis-area artists included — Jennifer Wilkey, Bruce Burton and Mike Schuh — enact through their works a kind of expressive triage, taking stock of what's available and making do with remains. Wilkey reimagines a patient's recliner with a finely stitched IV drip. Burton collects carpet swatches, rusted screws, discarded vinyl shapes — among other minute detritus — and re-presents them with new, elusive integrity. Schuh sees the gesture of a black-painted deck of cards, floor-strewn, as a kind of casual portent. The eclectic, disparate and largely un-manipulated materials of these pieces sparely punctuate the gallery in a way that creates a heightened sense of tactile and articulated space. It's as though space itself, along with all other things radically mundane, deserves a fresh value. Economically curated by Cole Root and Amy Blomme to great effect. Through July 19 at Snowflake/Citystock, 3156 Cherokee Street; www.snowflakecitystock.com. Hours: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat.
Chantal Akerman: Moving Through Time and Space An explicit treatment of film as art, this survey of two decades' worth of the Belgian documentarian's work distills the medium to two essential parts: narration and gaze. Projected and screened in truncated swatches in a dark warren of loosely partitioned spaces, Akerman's work appears as a menagerie of endless highways, anonymous passersby and the overlapping cadences of the cigarette-ravaged voiceover of the filmmaker herself. Because two of her films explore canonically familiar American subjects — the culture of the Deep South and the Mexican immigrant experience — the issue of otherness, or how someone else's perspective can transform the well known, becomes saliently relevant. How much, actually, is different when seeing the familiar through another's eyes? Complementing Akerman's work is British artist Carey Young's Speech Acts, a series of pieces capitalizing on the creative potential of call centers, telephone operators and that disembodied voice at the end of a long line that calmly leads you through the nebulous airspace of critical questions and their ostensibly revelatory answers. It's an attractive form that suggests perhaps all of us have a need for the ritual of bureaucratic help — as a kind of general panacea, with nothing actually resulting from its use. Through August 2 at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, 3750 Washington Boulevard; 314-535-4660 or www.contemporarystl.org. Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sun.
Built: Kranzberg Exhibition Series Six St. Louis-based artists — Mike Behle, Stan Chisholm, Sarah Frost, Craig Norton, Cameron Fuller and Sarah Paulsen — were chosen to transform the small rooms of Laumeier's gallery space into site-specific installations for this annual exhibition that usually focuses on the work of just one local sculptor. The decision to select artists whose work is not predominantly three-dimensional to expand their practices to fit installation art's all-consuming proportions, and thereby exemplify a current trend, is an interesting idea, if something of an assignment. The resulting work feels equal parts challenging and strained — that is, challenging for the artists to execute, no doubt, but an unnatural extension of their native impulses. Chisolm, Norton and Fuller/Paulsen, for instance, translate their distinct two-dimensional aesthetics in a way that comes across as somewhat stiffly set-like. Frost and Behle struggle to make their pieces cohere more naturally and transcend their disparate consumer materials. As a whole, the show feels like a curious maze of backdrops to actions — particularly all the trials that go along with navigating, or in this case, building, unfamiliar territory. Through September 6 at Laumeier Sculpture Park. 12580 Rott Road, Sunset Hills; 314-821-1209 or www.laumeier.com. Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun. (Outdoor grounds open daily from 8 a.m. to a half-hour past sunset).
Christopher Orr & J. Parker Valentine & Rezi van Lankveld This trio (from London, New York and Amsterdam, respectively) proposes its solutions to the problems of abstraction and novelty in the painting tradition. Orr, whose small canvases possess the shadowed, sepia patina of Dutch Old Master paintings, is figural in his depictions, though utterly elusive in his content. Valentine makes chaotic charcoal marks and pink blush rubbings and assembles the pieces to create jagged lean-to structures that rise to a mere fraction of the human scale. Van Lankveld is thoroughly abstract in imagery, filling a moderate-size board with matte, gray-scale, marbleized paint, but suggestively depictive in spirit: The piece is entitled Listen. The artists couldn't be treating their projects with any more dense a sense of history, seriousness and importance, which makes their work both highly portentous and highly cerebral. Through June 28 at the Front Room of the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, 3750 Washington Boulevard; 314-535-4660 or www.contemporarystl.org. Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sun.
Marcel Duchamp: Chess Master This thorough and engaging re-examination of the father of conceptual art's sudden choice to resign from making art to become a full-time chess player sees Duchamp's ostensible career change as yet another brilliant creative maneuver. Duchamp, who was responsible for some of the most formidable innovations in twentieth-century art — most resonant, the idea that choice-making itself is an artistic act — found chess to be not only a universal language but the ultimate distillation of his fundamental interests: winning, losing and fastidious strategy. The exhibition presents ephemera and art related to the artist's late years as a chess champion, chess writer, chess correspondent and chess aesthetician (even the chessboard and pieces held particular interest for Duchamp and his like-minded contemporaries), the sum of which is an elegant argument for the game's expansive and allegorical merits, as well as the boundless intellectual agility of the ever-clever master himself. Through August 16 at the Saint Louis University Museum of Art, 3663 Lindell Boulevard; 314-977-2666 or www.sluma.slu.edu. Hours: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wed.-Sun.
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We packed up our camping gear and headed for East Gippsland to spend the weekend exploring Fairy Dell, Deptford and the Mitchell River National Park in East Gippsland. The Bureau of Meteorology was predicting thunderstorms along with high UV so we weren't quite sure what type of weather to expect.
Our first stop was the rainforest at Fairy Dell Flora Reserve just out of Bruthen on Deep Creek Road. On this occasion we took the Eleven Mile Road turnoff from the Great Alpine road which was fortunate as a temporary roadside sign warned the road was closed at the Deep Creek Bridge, just after Fairy Dell so there is currently no access from the other end of Deep Creek Road.
As soon as we arrived in the car park Sacred Kingfisher was heard calling. After a brief look around we spotted Varied Sitella, Brown Headed Honeyeater, King Parrot and Wonga Pigeon. We took the left fork of the path which heads up over a small ridge and allows a view down into the rainforest gully on one side and the dry forest higher up on the other side. It wasn't long before we heard a Cicadabird calling. We scanned the tree tops for it and while looking heard another Cicadabird on the other side of the path. They were both calling intermittently so it was difficult to get a location and we eventually got tired of looking and headed up the path.
In the drier sections of the forest we saw New Holland Honeyeater, White-throated Treecreeper, White-naped Honeyeater, Thornbills, Eastern Yellow Robin and Rufous Whistler.
We followed the path down wards into the rainforest in the hope of seeing a Monarch. It was moist and humid under the canopy with mosses, ferns, and creepers growing luxuriantly. The path was very overgrown in places, we brushed our hands on a stinging plant which gave us a few moments of discomfort but luckily there were no leeches. We heard a Superb Lyrebird making an alarm call before seeing it dash across our path. Along the path we also saw Brown Gerygone, Large Billed Scrubwren and Golden Whistler.
Rain, which had been threatening for most of the day, started to fall once we reached the 'Fairydell' so we sat under the rainforest canopy for a while, which kept us dry. While waiting for the rain to stop we heard a Black-faced Monarch calling from within the denser foliage, not far away. We caught sight of two Rufous Fantails as they were passing through and finally a Black-faced Monarch approached us closely to check us out while we were sitting still watching it. After deciding we were of no interest it disappeared into the bush.
When the rain stopped we returned back down the path, keeping an ear out for Cicadabird, but we did not hear them calling again. We did see a beautiful pair of Rose Robins feeding two chicks huddled in the bushes.
After leaving Fairydell we stopped at the newly opened Bullant Brewery in Bruthen for coffee. We marked this down as a good option for lunch and a beer for future trips.
Next stop was to check out the Deptford camping ground. It was about 5pm by the time we arrived, the rain had set in so we had a look around this pretty camping site next to the Nicholson River before we bailed out and headed back to Bairnsdale for motel accommodation.
The next morning we drove to the Mitchell River National Park. Our first stop was the Den of Nargun. When we arrived in the carpark Brush Cuckoo and Rufous Whistler were calling. The day was warm and humid, heading down into the warm temperate rainforest in the river gorge was like stepping into a lost world, with steep cliff faces festooned with overgrown jungle like vegetation. It was difficult to search for birds while navigating the steep slippery steps which led to a waterfall and rock pool behind which lies the Den of Nargun, said to be the home of a mythical beast half human half stone. However, we did see a Satin Bowerbird, Brown Gerygone, Yellow Robin and Silvereye.
After visiting the den we returned by the Mitchell River walk. Along the river we heard a Brush Cuckoo calling, a group of agitated thornbill gave away its location and we were able to see it high in a tree. After crossing the river, the path heads back up the gorge to the car park. At the top we stopped for a while to watch a Peregrine Falcon glide along the cliff top and also noticed a flock of White-throated Needletail to high up to be seen with the naked eye.
Back in the car park a small flock of Musk Lorikeet passed through.
We drove around to the Billy Goat bend campground, from the campground a path leads out to a spectacular view of the Mitchell River. By this time a strong wind had blown up and heavy dark clouds were threatening so we reluctantly made the decision to return to Melbourne.


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danceswithmanypets wrote:The idea of taking an impression of the back is a gjavascript:emoticon(':lol:')
Laughingreat idea except that the back can change with or lack of exercise.
You can probably answer this one yourself, but I just can't resist.
The horses back, and the riders butt are removable from each other. New casts can be made of either (I know my butts a bit wider now than it was at 30)
The mating surface, of course is standardized, and zips together some way, like a sealer strip on a sandwich bag.
danceswithmanypets wrote: I had my saddle re flocked every 6 months when I was schooling Merlin. The saddle fitter would come out to the barn. As the years went by, flocking would be taken away in some areas , more added in areas that previously didn't have alot of flocking.
Merlins shape changed as he developed a top line and then after his tendon injury, stall rest for 3 months, and another 3 months of light , very light turn out, I had to have the saddle re fitted again....to fit him after losing muscle and his topline.
I imagine they could get a better fit with an impression, done every 6 months or so....
They used a flexible curve when they would re flock Merlin's saddle.
Leah, I would like to know more about the bareback pad your looking into...I would like something for Merlin for very light riding.
And I'd like to see someone think more about this casting idea.
Butt to Back. Now there's a catchy name, eh?
I suppose you can see I'm an endless source of amusement and entertainment to myself. I've been known to simply bust out laughing in a silent crowed, with no apologies.
I think even Dakota wonders about my sanity at times. I laugh a lot when I ride. The whole thing is so incongruent to me. What EVER possessed us to climb on a wild animal's back, and then teach him Dressage?
Think about THAT the next time you get your saddle flocked.
Donald Redux


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Edited by Renee Watling, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Contributing Authors: Stefanie Bodison, OTD, OTR/L; Teresa A. May-Benson, ScD, OTR/L; Scott D. Tomchek, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA; and Renee Watling, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Earn .6 CEUs (7.5 NBCOT PDUs/6 contact hours)
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In today's society, approximately 1 in 100 children is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Children with an ASD experience a range of occupational challenges that make providing therapeutic services to them both exciting and challenging. This CEonCD™ is the first of a three-part series that builds on content from the 2010 3rd edition of Autism: A Comprehensive Occupational Therapy Approach and offers occupational therapy practitioners the opportunity to expand their understanding and practice with children on the autism spectrum through building the intentional relationship, using occupational therapy evaluation strategies, addressing sensory integration challenges, and planning intervention for praxis. Highlights also include video clips and strategies that will enhance the provision of evaluation and intervention services.
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Autism: A Comprehensive Occupational Therapy Approach by Heather Miller Kuhaneck, MS, OTR/L, FAOTA, and Renee Watling, PhD, OTR/L, to fully benefit from the content and successfully complete the exam.
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Photos: Truck hits NN power lines
A moving truck pulled down power lines on Morris Drive in Newport News Aug. 21, 2014, knocking out power to a dozen customers.
A moving truck pulled down power lines on Morris Drive in Newport News Aug. 21, 2014, knocking out power to a dozen customers.
The Centers for Disease Control has designed a website that provides a handy, printable list of vaccines each child should have.
We had one thunderstorm develop Thursday morning near Edenton and Hertford. As we go into the midday hours we will see more sunshine with te…
The northbound center and right lanes of Jefferson Avenue are closed as police investigate an accident involving a semi truck.
Chef Bob Hirasawa from Farm Fresh makes chicken-under-a-brick with lemon herb potatoes.
Get in touch with the folks at the Norfolk SPCA to adopt this pit bull mix.
Amy Volk shares her give favorite organizing hacks on The Hampton Roads Show.
Meet Kevin Amon in this week's "I Am Hampton Roads."
Host Seth Meyers talked to us about how he feels to be hosting the show for the first time and who he hopes to see win at this year's show.
Julie Trask from Skin Renaissance in Chesapeake to tell us how Collagen Induction Therapy could help erase the signs of aging.
Police in Newport News are looking for a suspect in connection to a theft from a GameStop.
A Danville woman is facing a list of charges after police say she kicked an officer during her arrest.
The Virginia Aquarium Stranding Response Team says a whale who was spotted in the Elizabeth River this week has died.
A Norfolk Humane Officer was hospitalized Wednesday after being attacked by a dog at an Animal Control Center.
The first episode of Saved by the Bell aired 25 years ago today. Here's a look at the stars, then and now.
Norfolk Police found and arrested a woman accused of stabbing another woman during a fight early Thursday morning.
Convicted Eastern Shore arsonist Tonya Bundick's request for a new attorney was denied Thursday.
A swimming advisory issued Thursday for several Newport News beaches has been lifted, as of Friday afternoon.
A woman started an act of kindness chain that lasted for hours at a Starbucks drive-thru in Florida.
Police in Franklin say a missing 15-year-old girl has been found safe.
Family Dollar is rebuffing Dollar General's takeover bid, citing antitrust issues. The discounter's board remains supportive of its existing…


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When Denise Hoagland looks at the construction looming over her modest seaside house in Long Branch, she sees a tsunami of greed about to engulf her way of life.
Long Branch Mayor Adam Schneider sees something entirely different: A tidal wave of investment that will rescue the city's precious oceanfront from what he says was crime-ridden neglect.
In Long Branch and across the nation, modern redevelopment practices encourage governments to seize people's homes against their will and transfer them to private developers who will build more expensive properties that generate more tax dollars.
Supporters call it an unfortunate byproduct of market economics. Opponents call it an abuse of eminent domain.
Last week, a narrowly divided U.S. Supreme Court called the process of public taking for private gain an issue that - while its wisdom or necessity may be debatable - is absolutely the right of local government, which the majority justices said, has the presumption of being "reasonable."
The ruling was against working-class residents in New London, Conn., who were forced out when their homes were condemned by city officials to make way for a riverfront hotel, health club and offices. It has resonated deeply throughout several New Jersey communities where homeowners are fighting their own eminent domain wars.
In the forefront is Hoagland's little enclave just south of Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park in Long Branch, where 36 homeowners are desperate to save their slice of the American dream from the state's largest coastal development project.
The neighborhood, which was never important enough to have a name, now calls itself MTOTSA, after the three streets that define its limits: Marine Terrace, Ocean Terrace and Seaview Avenue.
The city already has declared these homes "blighted," although they are neat bungalows and ranch houses with solid roofs, carefully tended lawns and flowerpots on porches.
Under New Jersey law, which is more restrictive than federal regulations, towns are allowed to seize only blighted properties for redevelopment. The definition of "blighted" properties has expanded to include not only abandoned or run-down sites but also those that are "underutilized."
The MTOTSA houses have no particular style, although - unlike the nearby townhouses - they are easy to tell apart. There is Hoagland's cottage, with its purple eaves and matching front gate, and the Vendettis' rancher across the street, built in 1960 with used bricks that Carmen Vendetti carried from their winter home in the Down Neck area of Newark.
There is Frances DeLuca's pink asbestos-shingled bungalow on Ocean Terrace, which has been in the family since 1918. The metal chairs on the wide front porch have been there so long that they are now retro chic. And there is the bi-level at the other end of Marine Terrace, with its 10-foot, three-tiered fountain and chain-link fence.
Many of the houses have roses in the front yard and laundry flapping in the brisk ocean breeze out back. Most have a sign in the front window protesting "Eminent Domain Abuse."
What the houses all have in common is that they are low-end ratables, unlike the behemoth townhouse development that has crept up to their front steps.
It is the Long Branch Redevelopment Zone, a $1 billion, multiphase project that includes retail and recreation but is mostly residential - 1,200 units ranging in price from $400,000 for small units with no sea view to nearly $2 million for 2,000-square-foot townhouses overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
Launched in 2002 - but in planning for a decade - the project may very well precipitate a Long Branch renaissance that many thought was long overdue and others believed would never arrive. The mile-long oceanfront face-lift, city officials said, is the linchpin to the sorely needed revitalization of an additional 170 acres in the downtown corridor leading to the oceanfront.
"We're reversing the decline of a city, which is nothing new in the Northeast specifically and the country as a whole," said Long Branch City Administrator Howard Woolley Jr. "The decline started 50 years ago. After (World War II), everybody started moving out of cities. Now that's reversed and people are saying, 'Hey, cities are a place we should pay attention to.'"
Upscale at the Jersey Shore used to mean barnlike Queen Anne cottages with elaborate cedar shingles, fanciful gables and widow's walks. The new wave of affluence, however, has been translated into block after regimental block of towering townhouses that form a wall between Ocean Boulevard and the beaches to obliterate any sight of the ocean for all except those with the bucks to pay for the view.
The centerpiece of the project is Pier Village, a high-end shopping district with a number of specialty restaurants, boutique shops and fitness-spa services. Retail will occupy 100,000 square feet of space. The 320 apartments above the shops will rent for between $1,300 and $3,000 per month depending on the size.
Greg Russo, vice president of Hoboken-based Allied Development Co., the master developer, said half of those rental units have been leased, and contracts have been signed with most of the anticipated 30 retail tenants.
An estimated 95 percent of the 283 townhouses and condominiums under construction in the Beach Front North zone's first phase have been sold, Russo said, and about 140 are actually occupied.
That is, coincidentally, the same number of houses that have already been torn down to make way for earlier phases of the project.
City officials are quick to note that 119 of those 140 homes were acquired by the developers through negotiations with property owners, not through eminent domain, the practice that gives government the authority to take private land for public purpose.
Opponents say it was the implied threat of the use of eminent domain that has forced people to sell.
To date, 21 homes were seized through eminent domain.
Half the homeowners settled through court negotiations or have gone to trial, and about six trials are pending.
In one case in 2003, the $179,500 that the city insisted was fair value for Fred and Dorothy Strahlendorf's home 235 feet from the beach was upped to $500,000 by a jury. In another case that same year, however, a jury decided that another house, 400 feet from the beach, was worth only $168,000. The city estimate was $119,000.
Nobody got their house back.
"Some people are very emotionally tied to their homes. It's a traumatic type of experience," Woolley said. "The decision by the mayor and council is for the greater good of the city to enable us to do this development as we move inland."
Hoagland and her neighbors aren't buying it.
"Whose greater good? The developers? You tell me that they absolutely must have our homes . . . when they already have a billion dollars worth of property on the rest of the oceanfront?" said Hoagland, 38, who has lived at Marine Terrace and Ocean Terrace with her husband and three children for the past 13 years.
The Hoaglands, who say they have been offered $400,000 for their property, are newcomers to the neighborhood. Anna DeFaria, who lives two doors down, has been there 45 years, as have the Vendettis across the street.
"We lived through the slum era, and this is the thanks we get," said DeFaria, 79, whose little bungalow is overflowing with pictures of her four children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, all of whom have spent summers on Marine Terrace.
She said that the developers offered her $350,000 for her house but that she's too old to start a new life somewhere elsewhere. She just wants to stay in her little gray house, work in her vegetable garden and ride her exercise bike next to the window that faces east, out toward the sea.
Many of the old-timers there are Newark natives who bought or built summer cottages in Long Branch when land was cheap. They winterized the cottages and moved down full time when urban renewal and escalating violence hit Newark in the 1960s.
They say they refuse to be pushed out again.
Hoagland and her neighbors say their issue is not money, but an irreplaceable way of life. Two-thirds of the 36 homeowners have grouped together to hire a lawyer, although they were visibly discouraged about legal action following the Supreme Court decision last week.
The dissenting opinions reinforce their fears.
"Under the banner of economic development, all private property is now vulnerable to being taken and transferred to another private owner," Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote. "Nothing is to prevent the state from replacing any Motel 6 with a Ritz-Carlton, any home with a shopping mall or any farm with a factory."
Eminent domain, per se, was not the issue before the court, but rather its use in acquiring land for private owners.
Historically, eminent domain is "a legitimate tool and when used properly and appropriately . . . can be a win-win for everybody," said Sue Burrows, a spokeswoman for sprawl watchdog New Jersey Future.
Burrows added that eminent domain is "often the best option for assembling enough land to do greater good for the community." In the past, however, the process was usually restricted to public works projects, such as utilities, roads and schools.
In the Supreme Court case, however, the dissenting justices noted that the more recent trend in eminent domain has been to take land for private development. O'Connor said the ruling will result in a shift of property away from poor owners in favor of those with "disproportionate influence and power."
By marketing to the upper class, Long Branch is coming full circle.
In its heyday from the 1860s to World War I, this city of 32,000 sandwiched between the even more affluent towns of Monmouth Beach and Deal had been a posh vacation spot for the rich and famous. Seven U.S. presidents summered here at one time or another.
After 1965, when many downtown businesses started moving out to suburban shopping centers, Long Branch fell on hard times and property values started to decline. Hit particularly hard was the oceanfront, where many of the houses became rentals, often for transients, short-term residents and illegal immigrants, said Schneider, who has been mayor there for the past 15 years.
Drugs moved in and crime escalated. Signaling the death-knell for tourism to the oceanfront was a devastating fire that destroyed the boardwalk's pier in 1987, leaving even less to attract vacationers.
Around the same time, plans were in the works to open the Ocean Place Hilton Resort and Spa, which city officials had hoped would be so successful that other developers would want to tie in to the project and improve the beachfront.
But that never happened, Schneider said.
He believes the city's problems were too complicated to be solved by adding a few businesses and rehabilitating the houses.
"You can't do (massive redevelopment) on a patchwork basis," Schneider said, adding that the development agreement is based on the city's promise that it could deliver a contiguous parcel that includes the Marine Terrace neighborhood.
"If we change that now, we're looking at some major legal problems," Schneider said.
With the parameters established, the project took off. The first problem addressed was the perception that the city was segregated from its oceanfront. Ocean Boulevard, a four-lane highway running parallel to ocean, had been built in the 1980s to move commuter traffic more easily through the city.
But it also had the effect of separating the now-decaying beach area from the rest of the city. The boulevard became a bypass for tourists headed to neighboring beaches and the dividing line between the decrepit and the living.
Schneider said he liked that the new redevelopment project included plans for Ocean Boulevard. "What started to convince me the plan could work is you've got to reconnect the oceanfront to the rest of the town," Schneider said. "I said, 'Ahhh, this could work.'"
The dust and noise casting a pall over Marine Terrace attest to the aggressive pace of the construction. Only MTOTSA stands between the developer and completion of Beach Front North.
Frances DeLuca, whose Ocean Terrace house has been in her family since 1918 is one of the few neighborhood residents who can afford to hedge her bet.
The retired Newark English teacher is already building a new house 1 1/2 blocks north of Ocean Terrace. It is, at least for now, out of a redevelopment zone.
Judy Peet may be reached at (973) 392-5983 or jpeet@starled ger.com. MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at (732) 462- 8603 or email@example.com.
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