text:
An intersection camera will help traffic investigators determine how a fatal crash between a pick-up and motorcycle happened late Wednesday on West State of Franklin, according to a Johnson City police supervisor.
The wreck happened around 10:20 p.m. at the intersection of West State of Franklin and West Walnut Street.
Burrell 'Gene' Mitchell, 39, 111 Foster Ct., Johnson City was pronounced dead at the scene.
He was driving a 1993 Harley-Davidson motorcycle and carrying a passenger, Jennifer M. Newman, 29, of the same address.
Mitchell was headed south on State of Franklin as he approached the intersection of Walnut, a 2001 Ford F150 traveling north "suddenly made a left turn into the path of the motorcycle," Johnson City Police Lt. Larry Williams wrote in the wreck report.
Another motorcyclist traveling with Mitchell was able to avoid the truck, but Mitchell could not.
The driver of the pick-up, 19-year-old Seth Green, of Bluff City, told police that he stopped at the traffic light behind another vehicle and the light was a green ball, but then turned to a green arrow.
"The traffic light sequence at this intersection does not turn from a green ball to a green arrow," Williams said.
That intersection is equipped with a red-light camera designed to photograph motorists who run a red light. It will help investigators in this case determine exactly how the crash occurred.
Toxicology results are still pending in the crash, but the police report indicated that Mitchell had been drinking, and witnesses told police the motorcycle was speeding when he hit the truck that turned in front of him.
Burrell was wearing a helmet, but it was a type not approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation, according to police. Newman was wearing a DOT-approved full-face helmet.
She was transported to the Johnson City Medical Center and reportedly treated for a fractured wrist.
A passenger in Green's truck, Kaliegh A. Hall, 18, of Piney Flats, was also transported for a possible injury. A second passenger in the truck, Thomas Roark, 20, of Johnson City, was not injured.
The crash is still under investigation and charges are pending.


text:
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Recently, we have heard constantly about projects and plans that want to regulate the growth of the city defined by their boundaries today, the current POT (land use plan) defines the northern border as a forest reserve, thus defining urban renewal processes in city center as the way to respond to future growth. However, we have´t heard about any plan that aims to build a metropolitan framework for the big city and the surrounding municipalities. City region, Greater Bogotá, etc… A couple of names for a necessity that does not wait.
The situation with Bogotá and towns like Chia, Sopo, La Calera, Cajicá, among others, can be summarized in just one sentence: they are the largest city and satellite settlements or commuter towns. All these occupations, though legal, could be more parlous than what currently happen in places like Ciudad Bolivar or Bosa.
The high cost of housing in Bogota and the proximity with the surrounding countryside are some of the reasons why people -typically higher class – are moving from the city to these places, supported by their own of private cars (of which it is possible to find up to 4 cars per house*).
This results in congestion even in small towns, more demand for roads, pollution and most importantly, the pressure in Bogotá continues to increase until the city organizes a plan that can bring balance to the current city center. Under the current scheme, as you know, always the same amount of people have to travel to the same places at the same times.
In recent news, for example; the controversy about a possible tunnel to La Calera illustrates this situation and also puts an alarm for any possible damage to the fragile ecosystem of the eastern hills and to the water supply infrastructure. Also, what an infrastructure of this kind would do, is to encourage more 'gated type' construction in the eastern hills that are quite deteriorated.
With this background, the urgency would be to establish an interagency committee to coordinate and harmonize the existing norms, both urban and economic (Integration Development Plans, POT's, LOT, RAPE and Royalties Act) this means that if something is planned in Bogota and vice versa it would be taken into account by other mayors and by this way articulate the tone to what we want to happen in the savannah.
The question that remains is that, after a huge amount of specialized forums and studies, when will we see the implementation of any rule of this type? What does it take? The city can´t wait, and this is the moment to get into a discussion of this kind.
*In Colombia we are repeating in the latin way the same mistakes (urban sprawl) that the United States has already recognized as its major failures.


text:
|Posted on January 20, 2013 at 8:10 AM
The Best of the Week:
By Glynn Dillon
Published by Self-Made Hero
This came out in Ocotber of 2012, but I just got ahold of it. I picked this book up on a fluke, thinking it was by Box Brown's new indy company. I flipped through the pages and saw the beautiful art and figured with art like this and published by Box Brown, it's gonna be good. But when I finally sat down to give it a thorough look I quickly realized this was something else. Nonetheless I am glad I picked this up as it was simply amazing. The most perfect comic I have read since Asterios Polyp by David Mazzuchelli. The main character was likeable, but tragic. The art was gorgeous, not a single flaw in any of the panels. Every line, color and tone was right where it needed to be. And the narrative was fluid, impactful and wouldn't let go of me.
This book mixes a heady dose of transcient buddhist philosophies with the very real and sometimes tragic affliction known as OCD. I know at least one person with OCD and I will never look at them the same way again after reading this. The main character of this comic is Nao Brown, a beautiful young girl who struggles every moment of her life with her obsessive compulsions. We are brought into her life, work and lovelife and told a tale so real I kinda think it might be based on a real person. I could be wrong, but the main character became as real as any fictional character could ever be. But because the character was struggling so much with her affliction I kept waiting for the tragic climax, cause you knew it was coming. Eventually Nao meets a man whom she both helps and whom helps her. And then the idea of this story having to end tragicically disappears.
Though I didn't completely like the ending. We got a jump forward in time and then a very vague wrap up of where the main character is at this point in time and how she is mentally. I felt a little cheated after reading this entirely engrossing story about this person to have the story end this way. But despite that lukewarm ending, I completely loved this book.
The Worst of the Week:
I didn't read a single awful comic this week. Hurray!
The Rest of the Bunch:
By Ken Kristianson & MK Perker
This is some goofy shit right here. A title like this is a definite must buy for me. And who knew MK Pekar could do this kind of dark goofy exaggerated cartoony art? I read AIR the comic published by Vertigo comics some years back that he collaborated on and his art was well not so good on that, but on this comic he does an absolutely amazing job. Highly detailed, tons of shadowy black nuance and perfectly rendered hand coloring make this an eye popping book.
Poor Todd, bag always on his head cause he's so ugly, yet he carries with him a constant upbeat naive attitude towards life. Gotta admire the silly innocence in this character. He's kinda like a retarded Charlie Brown. He's the perfect character foil for a lot of weird shit to happen to and around him though and that's exactly what happens in this first issue. I really enjoyed this odd dark comedy. This is good comics right here. Now the ending was a bit weak, as it seemed to just drift off in to it's "to be continued" ending, but it wasn't bad enough to spoil a very good reading experience. Highly recommended.
From Dark Horse Comics
This is an interesting looking comic. Good art, excellent coloring and what I think by the end will be a very interesting story. Yet coming in cold at issue 4 left me heavily confused. I'm not at all sure what is going on nor who's doing what to whom. This is another attempt at diversifying the Vampire genre which is all well and good. The usual fare is worn out, and the cheesy romantic vampire stories are going that way too. EX SANGUINE is trying to bring back the horror to vampires and from what I can tell from this issue, they're doing a good job at it. Except that part where I don't know what means what.
The main vampire characters are being hunted by the cops, I think. The vampire guys are killing people they know because of some book, I think. And some really hot blonde chick is a serial killer, but is trying her best to befriend one of the vampires, I think. I could be wrong on all those points, but that's the general sense I got after reading just this one issue. Even though I was lost story wise, this was still a pretty good read.
All in all if I can get ahold of the collected version once this story is all told I am sure I will get a well told story about a new twist on vampire horror.
By Don Wood
This came out in 2008, but I picked it up just recently on a fluke from my local library. I actually almost didn't read this and was about to take it back because it's due date arrived, but I didn't make it to the library that day and so it sat on my table. Then the next day knowing I had to take it back I flipped through it really quick to see if it was really worth reading and it caught me. I couldn't stop reading it. This was one of those surprisingly good books. The cover doesn't look like much, the interior art is even a bit spotty, but the overally story was a joy to read.
It's by Don Wood, who I guess made his money doing kids book and this is one of his only foray's into the graphic novel format. It's about a family who go to a fictional island to study volcano's. Or so everyone thinks. Actually what happens is our two main characters, Duffy and Sumo are used as bait to lure their mother, a renowned volcanologist into revealing her secret treasure. It's a fast paced action-action-action sort of tale. So there's no lulls to let you get bored.
This is published by Scholastic Books and would be perfect for kids and adults to read. Highly recommended.
By Ryan Inzana
This too was a library find and at first I thought it would be the life story of renowned baseball player Ichiro Suzuki. But it wasn't and was really about a young Japanese/American boy who discovers ancient Japanese gods down a hole in his grandfathers yard in Japan. The story is a beautiful tale about ancient Japanese culture and it's wide array of myths and legends. Our young main character is swept up into godly intrigue and he must do everything he can to escape back to the real world. It's a wonderfully fun breezy tale with fascinating artwork. Ryan Inzana's brush work is awesome. From loose sketchy almost caligraphic brush strokes to tight flourishing lines that rip through the page, showcase an amazing talent I had not heard of till this book.
Originally debuting in 2012 from Houghton Mifflin, ICHIRO is a book I recommend searching for. I will be on the lookout for future work from Ryan Inzana for sure.
By Marvel Comics
Now this was a surprise. From the uncharacteristically for recent Marvel art by Filipe Andrade to a better than average superhero story. Dare I say, this is the type of comic I could see girls reading? From the lack of super-machismo to the strong female characters to the witty playful story this is pretty advanced stuff for the usual superhero fare. I think I will actually read more of this comic on the basis of my experience with this issue.
The one thing that has always bothered me about superhero comics and their base of operations in NYC is brought up large in this story where Captain Marvel and Spider Woman fight a couple of dinosaurs. If you were living in NYC or any city and everyday you lived under the threat of superheroes possibly fighting very real and large dinosaurs, why would you live in that city? So I ask why is NYC of the Marvel universe not a ghost city? Also the huge story error of never explaining where these dino's came from or how they got there was a bit weird. I guess I do realize this is the Marvel Universe where anything can happen, but not ever giving even a weak explanation on why they were there is odd. What's the editor doing? Not checking the story, I guess. Plus the issue ends with Captain Marvel's doctor telling her she's got a tumor in her brain, which I get is trying to ground her, but you know it lacks any kind of punch considering that Dinosaurs just up and appeared out of nowhere without any kind of explanation a couple pages ago, so why would I believe this will have any kind of relevance to a being billed as one of the most powerful beings in the universe (it actually says that on the introductory page).
Anyway, I hope when it comes to superhero books we get more of this type than say the latest Iron Man or Firestorm or Aquaman comic. Cause that shit sucks and this comic didn't. It wasn't great, but it surprisingly didn't suck.
By John Byrne and IDW Comics
Even though the title is awful because it doesn't involve marijuana or getting high in any way on anything as most would assume by reading that cheesy title, this wasn't a bad comic. Why he chose this tile other than some other sci-fi esque title is beyond me, I give it up to the fact he's old and un-hip, I don't know.
John Byrne gives us a relatively decent sci-fi comic about three bulk haulers travelling to the moon Europa to pick up some cargo, except they don't because it's a ploy. That's the mystery, who called them to Europa to pick up some shit that ain't there? Now they're stranded there for a few days till they can refuel. You know in those few days some shit is gonna happen. That's obvious, but I guess the enjoyment is in the ride to see how bad it's gonna get. This actually reads like a demo-script for a pitch to Hollywood. Which isn't necessarily a bad idea considering that John Byrne is way past his prime, could probably use the money to retire on and would be a good ending to a long career if he were to finally get one of his comics made into a movie.
Byrne's art on this is actually not bad considering who he is and where he is in his career. The linework is actually a lot thicker and lush than anything I remember Byrne doing. While the lettering and logo work is awful, the coloring on this is top of the line and helps make this a decent book. I was expecting something much worse honestly considering I haven't read a John Byrne book in about a decade or so. But I imagine if Byrne can pull in 5000-10000 units sold on this book IDW will be happy.
So while I thought this was a decent book overall the last page or particularly one of the last panels kinda freaked me out. Check it...
Yeah that panel where he's put his dick and ass in something. Now he had just finished having sex with some girl and Byrne proceeded to show this panel. I am not entirely sure he's using the toilet. I don't think I ever smile like that when I'm using the toilet. Now if I were getting masturbated by some space machine I would probably smile like this. But this guy had just finished having actual sex, soo...well then he goes back to bed and sees some scarry dude outside his window - end of story.
So yeah, what to make of that ending and that panel in particular I don't know, but looking beyond that anachronism this was a good book overall, I guess. Unfortunately I'm probably going to forever think of that panel in regards to John Byrne's career from here on out. How could I not?
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text:
Audio data and visual data are processed by providing storage devices (211, 212) for storing digital samples which are then read in response to edit events defined by a timeline (352, 353). Active audio tracks are processed in real time and an event, such as a cross-fade, defined by a single track that requires two interacting tracks of material, is identified. The location of events within available tracks is re-arranged so as to reduce the total number of active tracks required during playback. In effect, events are transferred to blank regions of existing tracks, thereby allowing both of the interacting tracks of cross-fades to be read without requiring additional track capacity during playback. In this way, an event defined by two interacting tracks is processed without requiring additional processing capacity.
1. Editing apparatus comprising:
storage means configured to store digital samples;
display means configured to display symbolic representations of edit events within tracks; and
processing means configured to identify an event defined on a single track but requiring two interacting tracks, to identify a blank region of another track at a same position as said event, and to transfer material from one of said two interacting tracks to said blank region thereby allowing both of said interacting tracks to be played without allocating additional track resources.
2. Editing apparatus comprising:
storage means configured to store digital samples;
display means configured to display symbolic representations of edit events within tracks; and
processing means configured to identify additional tracks; identify overlapping events on the same track; move an overlapping event to a different track; identify improved locations for events; and identify a reduced number of tracks for subsequent processing.
3. Apparatus according to
4. Apparatus according to
5. Apparatus according to
6. Apparatus according to
7. Apparatus according to
8. Apparatus according to
9. Apparatus according to
10. A method of processing audio-visual data in which digital samples are read from storage media in response to edit events identified symbolically within tracks, wherein:
event defined on a single track but requiring two interacting tracks is identified;
a blank region of another track at a same position as said event is identified; and
material for one of said two interacting tracks is transferred to said blank region thereby allowing both of said interacting tracks to be played without allocating additional track resources.
11. A method of processing audio-visual data in which digital samples are read from storage media in response to edit events identified symbolically within tracks, including the steps of:
identifying additional tracks; identifying overlapping events on the same track; moving an overlapping event to a different track; identifying improved locations for events, and identifying a reduced number of tracks for subsequent processing.
12. A method according to
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19. A computer system configured with a processing capacity and loaded with executable instructions to perform the steps of:
displaying edit events symbolically in the form of a plurality of tracks;
identifying an event defined on a single track but requiring two interacting tracks;
identifying a blank region of another track at a same position as said event; and
transferring material for one of said interacting tracks to said blank region thereby allowing both of said interacting tracks to be played without allocating additional track resources.
20. A computer system configured with a processing capacity and loaded with executable instructions, wherein said executable instructions are configured such that said system:
displays edit event symbolically in the form of a plurality of tracks;
identifies additional tracks;
identifies overlapping events on the same track;
moves an overlapping event to a different track;
identifies improved locations for events; and
identifies a reduced number of tracks for subsequent processing.
21. A computer system according to
22. A computer system according to
23. A computer system according to
24. A computer system according to
25. A computer system according to
26. A computer system according to
27. A computer system according to
28. A computer-readable medium having computer-readable instructions executable by a computer such that said computer performs the steps of:
displaying edit events symbolically in the form of a plurality of tracks;
identifying an event defined on a single track but requiring two interacting tracks;
identifying a blank region of another track at a same position as said event; and
transferring material for one of said interacting tracks to said blank region thereby allowing both of said interacting tracks to be played without allocating additional track resource.
29. A computer-readable medium having computer-readable instructions executable by a computer such that said computer performs the steps of:
displaying edit events symbolically in the form of plurality of tracks;
identifying additional tracks;
identifying overlapping events on the same track;
moving an overlapping event to a different track;
identifying improved locations for events; and
identifying a reduced number of tracks for subsequent processing.
30. A computer-readable medium according to
31. A computer-readable medium according to
32. A computer-readable medium according to
33. A computer-readable medium according to
34. A computer-readable medium according to
35. A computer-readable medium according to
36. A computer-readable medium according to
This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/055,078, filed Apr. 3, 1998, now abandoned.
The present invention relates to processing audio-visual data in which digital samples are read from storage media in response to edit events defined in a time line.
Traditional video editing involves the copying of video material from source tape onto an edited tape. Sophisticated tape editing equipment is required and the process can be relatively time consuming, given that it is necessary to configure the equipment in order for the video material to be transferred correctly. Furthermore, editing of this type leads to image degradation therefore the number of layers that may be introduced for compositing is limited.
In order to optimise expensive on-line editing equipment, off-line editing systems are known in which compressed video images are manipulated rapidly, by accessing image data in a substantially random fashion form magnetic disc storage devices. Given that it is not necessary to spool linearly through lengths of video tape in order to perform editing of this type, the editing process has generally become known as "non-linear editing". Initially, systems of this type would generate edit decision lists such that the on-line editing process then consists of performing edits once in response to an edit decision list. However, the edit decision list itself could be created in a highly interactive environment allowing many potential edits to be considered before a final list is produced.
The advantages of non-linear editing have been appreciated and high-end systems are known, such as that licensed by the present assignee under the Trade Mark "FIRE" in which full bandwidth signals are manipulated at full definition, without compression.
In a high-end system, it is possible to specify hardware requirements in order to provide a required level of functionality. Thus, systems tend to be designed to achieve a specified level of service; being tailored to suit a user's particular demands. However, as the power of processing systems has increased, along with an increase in data storage volumes and access speeds, it has become increasingly possible to provide sophisticated on-line non-linear editing facilities for more general purpose platforms. However, when working with such platforms the extent to which hardware facilities may be enhanced in order to provide particular functionality is more limited. Consequently, there is a greater emphasis towards providing enhanced functionality by making optimum use of the processing capacities available.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided editing apparatus, including storage means configured to store digital samples; display means configured to display symbolic representations of edit events within tracks; and processing means configured to identify event locations and to move portions of edit events to alternative tracks so as to enhance processing performance.
In a preferred embodiment, the processing means is configured to identify an event defined on a single track but requiring two interactive tracks and to transfer material to one of said interacting tracks to a blank region of another track, thereby allowing both of said interacting tracks to be played without allocating additional track resource.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of processing audio visual data in which digital samples are read from storage media in response to edit events identified symbolically within tracks, wherein an improved event location is identified on a different track, and said identified event is moved to said improved location so as to reduce the overall processing requirement.
FIG. 1 shows a non-linear digital editing suite, having a processing system, monitors and recording equipment;
FIG. 2 details the processing system shown in FIG. 1, including a memory device for data storage;
FIG. 3 shows a typical time-line display displayed on a VDU of the type shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 details audio tracks shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 illustrates an attribute window displayed on one of the monitors shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 illustrates the arrangement of data contained within the memory device shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 7A illustrates the editing of audio data by the system shown in FIG. 1, including a step for the optimisation of tracks for audio playback;
FIG. 7B illustrates the playing of audio data optimised in FIG. 7A, including a step of mixing audio data;
FIG. 8A details the track playback optimisation process identified in FIG. 7, including a step of optimising intermediate tracks;
FIG. 8B details the step of optimising intermediate tracks identified in FIG. 8A;
FIG. 9 details the effect of the optimisation procedures shown in FIG. 8 when applied to the audio data tracks shown in FIG. 3; and,
FIG. 10 details the step mixing audio data identified in FIG. 7.
The invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the previously identified drawings.
A non-linear editing suite is shown in FIG. 1 in which a processing system 101 receives manual input commands from a keyboard 102 and a mouse 103. A visual output interface is provided to an operator by means of a first visual display unit (VDU) 104 and second similar VDU 105. Broadcast-quality video images are supplied to a television type monitor 106 and stereo audio signals, in the form of a left audio signal and a right audio signal, are supplied to a left audio speaker 107 and to a right audio speaker 108 respectively.
Video source material is supplied to the processing system 101 from a high quality tape recorder 109 and edited material may be written back to said tape recorder. Recorded audio material is supplied from system 101 to an audio mixing console 110 from which independent signals may be supplied to the speakers 107 and 108, for monitoring audio at the suite, and for supplying audio signals for recording on the video tape recorder 109. Operating instructions executable by the processing system 101 are received by means of a computer-readable medium such as a CD ROM 111 receivable within a CD ROM player 112.
Processing system 101 is detailed in FIG. 2 and may be summarised as a dual "Pentium Pro" machine. A first processing unit 201 and a second processing unit 202 are interfaced to a PCI bus 203. In the example shown, the processors 201 and 202 are clocked at 233 MHz and these devices communicate directly with an internal memory 204 of one hundred and twenty-eight megabytes, over a high bandwidth direct address and data bus, thereby avoiding the need to communicate over the PCI bus during processing except when other peripherals are being addressed. In addition, permanent data storage is provided by a host disc system 205 of four gigabytes, from which operating instructions for the processors may be loaded to memory 204, along with user generated data and other information. In addition to the host environment, Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) controllers 206, serial interfaces 207, an audio-visual/subsystem 208 and desktop display cards 209 are also connected to the PCI bus 203.
SCSI controllers 206 interface video storage devices 211 and audio storage devices 212. In the present embodiment, these storage devices are contained within the main system housing shown in FIG. 1 although, in alternative configurations, these devices may be housed externally.
Video storage devices 211 are configured to store compressed video data and typically said video data is striped across four, nine-Giga-byte drives. A similar arrangement is provided for the audio storage devices 212 which typically consist of four, four-Giga-byte drives again configured as a striped array. Sufficient bandwidth is provided, in terms of the video storage devices 211 and the SCSI controllers 206, to allow two video streams of data to flow over the PCI bus 203 in real time. Although the video data is compressed, preferably using conventional JPEG procedures, the data volume of video material is still relatively large compared to the data volume of the audio material. Thus, the audio storage devices 212 in combination with SCSI controllers 206 provide sufficient bandwidth for in excess of one hundred audio channels to be conveyed over the PCI bus 203 in real time.
Serial interfaces 207 interface with control devices 102 and 103 etc. via an input/output port 213, in addition to providing control instructions for video tape recorder 109 via a video interface port 214. The video interface port 214 also receives component video material from the audio-visual subsystem 208.
The audio-visual subsystem 208 may include a Truevision Targa 2000 RTX board configured to code and decode between uncompressed video and JPEG compressed video at variable compression rates. A limited degree of signal processing is provided by subsystem 208, under the control of the CPUs 201/202 and audio output signals, in the form of a left channel and a right channel, are supplied to an audio output port 215. Television monitor 106 receives luminance and chrominance signals from subsystem 208 via a video monitor interface 216 and a composite video signal from subsystem 208 is supplied to the desktop display subsystem 209, via link 217.
The system operates under the operating system "Windows NT" and is preferably configured under "NT 4.0". Desktop display 209 includes two VDU driver cards operating in a dual monitor configuration, thereby making the resources of both cards available to the operating system, such that they are perceived as a single large desktop configured with 2048 by 768 pixels. The desktop drivers support video overlay, therefore video sequences from the audio-visual subsystem 208 may be included with the VDU displays in response to receiving the composite signal via link 217. Thus, VDU 104 is connected to VDU interface 218 with VDU 105 being connected to interface 219. However, in operation, the VDUs provide a common desktop window, allowing application windows to be arranged on the desktop in accordance with user preferences.
The editing suite shown in FIG. 1 facilitates timeline editing by displaying timelines on monitor 104, as shown in FIG. 3. Frame numbers 301 to 322 are shown at the top of the display representing timecode for output frames. Individual output frames may be viewed and a particular output frame may be selected by means of a vertical position line 351. Thus, as output images are being displayed, position line 351 traverses across the image from left to right. In its present position, position line 351 is identifying frame 309.
For the purposes of this example, it is assumed that video material and audio material may be processed in real time when accessing source material from a total of two video sources in combination with source material from a total of six audio sources. Many more than six audio sources could be made active but when more than six audio sources or tracks are made active for playback purposes, real time operation cannot be guaranteed. In a video source track, such as track V1 or track V2, source material is identified by a timeline and reference to the selected source material is included within the timeline. Thus, source material is identified in video timeline V1 in which a cut occurs after frame 316 from video source material 352 to source material 353.
During the playing of video source material 352, audio material is being played from audio tracks A1,A2,A3,A4 and A5. After the transition, such that video source material is received from source 353, audio material is received from tracks A1,A2 and A6.
A cut, as illustrated with respect to video track V1, is relatively easy to achieve given that from frame 317 onwards video material is read from source 353 instead of being read from source 352. Edit points are selected in the source material and source timecodes are stored such that the required material is read from its correct position when required in the output stream. In addition to cuts, it is also possible to define a wipe or a dissolve such that, over a transition period, material is derived from two sources with gradual mixing occurring from one source to the other.
In order to provide a coherent editing environment, effects similar to wipes and dissolves may be specified in the audio environment. In a video dissolve, one image is gradually replaced by another at each location throughout the image. Thus, a similar effect may be achieved with the audio signals by gradually decreasing the volume of one source while simultaneously increasing the output volume of another. In audio systems, such a procedure is usually referred to as a cross fade, given that the first source is being faded down while the second source is being faded up.
In the example shown in FIG. 3, an audio dissolve or cross-fade has been specified for audio track A1 by means of an audio dissolve icon 354. From an operators point of view, audio source material 355 is placed into audio track A1 up to an including output frame 316. At frame 317 track A1 cuts to audio source 356, thereby creating a similar transition to that provided for video track V1. Transition effects are then selected and an audio dissolve icon 354 is dragged and dropped at the cut transition between sources 355 and 356.
Thus, the audio output from track A1 still consists of source 355 being played followed by source 356 being played. However, there is no longer an abrupt cut from one source to the other. Instead, source 355 starts to be faded down from frame 313 with source 356 being faded up from this position. Thus, over frames 313 to 320, audio material is derived from both source 355 and from source 356. This requires two input audio streams to be processed and it is not possible for both of these audio streams to be physically supplied to the processing system via audio track A1. In reality, source 355 must be extended from its notional cut position to the end of frame 320, to provide source material for the fade out. At the start of frame 313 source material is required for source 356 and, in order to provide this source material to the processing system, it must be made available by another audio track.
The audio tracks shown in FIG. 3 are detailed in FIG. 4, in which account has been taken of the fact that, during the audio dissolve or cross fade 354, two audio sources are required to be active in order to satisfy the effect specified in audio track A1. During the playback of audio track A1, two audio sources are required over frames 313 to frame 320. This requirement is satisfied if material is replayed via an additional active track. Thus, as shown in FIG. 4, the requirement for input material 356 may be transferred from audio track A1 to new audio track A7. Thus, from frame 313 to frame 320, source material 355 is supplied via audio track A1 with source material 356 being to supplied via audio track A7.
After frame 320, audio source 356 could continue to be supplied via audio track A7, as indicated by outline 401. However, the system only guarantees the ability to play back six audio tracks in real time, therefore it is preferable for source material 356 to be replayed via audio track A1 from frame 321 onwards, so that audio track A7 may be muted. Thus, it is possible for audio track A7 to be rendered active only for the period during which it is required, whereafter the track is automatically muted so as to reduce processing burden. However, over the period of output frames 313 to 320, it is necessary to receive and process audio signals from seven audio tracks; a situation which is likely to result in system degradation.
In addition to representing time line edits as shown in FIG. 3, an attribute window may be selected, and displayed on monitor 105, as shown in FIG. 5. The attribute window allows attributes to be defined for each of the audio tracks. Sliders are presented to an operator on monitor 105 and an operator may adjust these sliders by operation of the mouse 103. A first slider 501 allows the overall volume level of audio track A1 to be adjusted. In addition, a panning slider 502 allows the pan, i.e. stereo position, of audio channel A1 to be selected. The audio channel is also provided with a mute button 503 such that, when selected, audio channel A1 is muted, thereby reducing processing burden.
Thus, for each of the audio tracks it is possible to define attribute data in terms of volume and pan on a frame by frame basis. Alternatively, if required, attributes for volume and pan may be stored at sub-frame definition and, in the ultimate case, volume and pan values could be stored for each individual audio sample. However, in the preferred embodiment, audio attributes, specifically volume and pan values, are specified on a frame by frame basis for each frame period of each audio track. During real time playback, sub-frame volume and pan values are computed for each one sixteenth of a frame using linear interpolation between the attribute values specified by the user at the neighbouring frame boundaries.
Audio samples will generate a click if attenuated too abruptly. Thus, when a user specifies a cut at an event in or out point, the system can be set up so as to automatically ramp up or down to or from the maximum amplitude specified for the track. The user can specify the duration of the ramp in or out, in terms of a percentage of frame length, from zero to one hundred percent. If set to zero, there will be no ramp effect. This situation is suitable for conditions where the track contains only very low level background noise, and no resulting click would be audible. When set to one hundred percent, the ramp is at its slowest, and the audio signal is introduced or faded out slowly enough that no clicks or aliasing artefacts are audible. The sample amplitude factor, that changes in response to the ramp effect being defined in this way, is therefore computed on a sample by sample basis, so that stepping is avoided, and a smooth response is obtained during playback. It should be appreciated that more audio tracks may be processed if said tracks are processed at lower bandwidths. However, in the preferred embodiment, a sampling rate of 48 kHz is used with sixteen bits being allocated to each left and to each right audio sample.
In order to process each audio track, it is necessary to calculate left channel and right channel contributions by performing a multiplication upon each audio sample. Thus, processing units 201 and 202 are required to manipulate samples on a sample by sample basis in order to generate the output data. To facilitate this process, audio data from the audio data store 212 is written to relatively large buffers within memory 204, as shown in FIG. 6. Within the overall system memory 204, instructions for the operating system are stored at location 601. Similarly, application instructions are stored at locations 602 with the locations above 602 being available for the storing and buffering of application data.
Locations 603 provide a first audio buffer with locations 604 providing a second audio buffer. In this way, double buffering is facilitated such that one of said buffers may receive data from the audio store 212 while the other buffer is providing data to be mixed. Thus, data may be written to a buffer efficiently as a substantially constant stream from the storage devices 212 whereafter the data may be accessed randomly from the other buffer.
Mixed data is written to a playback buffer in storage location 605 and this data is then read to provide a frames-worth of mixed data to the audio-visual subsystem 208.
The transfer of data over the PCI bus 203 is effectively interrupt driven and CPU 201 is responsible for bus mastering and for controlling interrupt priorities. However, the operations performed may be visualised in a more systematic way, as illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B.
At step 701 operations effectively remain in a standby mode until the user requests an operation to be performed. At step 702 the user has performed an edit operation that results in a change being made to the event structure of the tracks, and therefore possibly resulting in a change in the way that the tracks can be optimised. As a result of this change, at step 703, the tracks are optimised for playback. The audio visual data stored on storage devices 211 and 212 is in the form of digital samples which are read in response to edit events defined by the timeline shown in FIG. 3. A plurality of active tracks may be processed in real time and the optimisation process is performed so as to mitigate the effect of reading data which has been created as a single track but in actual fact requires two tracks of material to be read. An event of this type, such as a dissolve, wipe or similar audio transition, is optimised by optimisation process 703. Conventionally, upon detecting such a situation, it would be necessary to activate another track and to require the reading of data from the new active track which, in some circumstances, may degrade the operation of the system. However, in the present embodiment, material for one of the interacting tracks is associated with a blank region of another active track thereby allowing both of the interacting tracks to be read without requiring an additional active track. Thus, optimising step 703 consists of optimising track events for conditions such as audio dissolves and reallocating a portion of track material to a blank portion of an already active track, so as not to require a non-active track to be activated. After optimisation step 703, control is directed back to step 701, where the process enters a standby mode of operation until the next event occurs. The sequence of operations illustrated in FIG. 7A does not attempt to fully describe the processes performed by the processing system shown in FIG. 2, as there are many processes being performed in accordance with multitasking protocols under the control of the operating system. What FIG. 7A illustrates, is that optimisation is performed when the user defines a change in data in such a way that it then becomes necessary for a new optimisation to be performed.
As a result of optimisation 703 shown in FIG. 7A, the processes shown in FIG. 7B may be effected with greater efficiency. The transfer of video data from video store 211 to the audio/video subsystem 208 is performed under the control of CPU 201, and the majority of the actual video processing is performed by the subsystem 208. The procedures identified in FIG. 7B are therefore directed towards the processing of the audio data. At step 710, the process is in a standby mode. At Step 711, the user has requested a playback to begin. Optimisation has already been carried out at step 702 in preparation for playback, which then proceeds at step 711. At step 711 data for playback is identified. This includes data already held in local memory 204, but typically will also require access to long term memory storage, such as the hard discs 211 and 212. At step 711, therefore, preparations are made to ensure that data is available with sufficient speed to keep up with demands for real time playback. At step 712, a batch of frames is identified for output. The number of frames selected depends on a number of factors, including overall processor usage, and the size of free memory. Step 712 attempts to ensure that efficient use is made of the available processing resources. For example, if this was not done, it is possible that an attempt would be made to allocate memory resources for data beyond those which are currently available, resulting in a time consuming delay while resources are adjusted. Avoidance of these types of delays is crucial to obtaining real time performance.
At step 713 new data is read from the audio disc 212 and written to buffer number one. At step 714 data is read form buffer number two and mixed so as to write stereo data to the playback buffer 605. At step 715 buffer duties for audio buffer number one and audio buffer number two are exchanged and at step 716 the mixed audio data from the playback buffer 605 is supplied over the PCI bus 203 to the audio video subsystem 208. A question is asked at step 717 as to whether another batch of frames is to be processed and when answered in the affirmative control is returned to step 712. Eventually, the playback will have been completed and the system will return to its standby condition at step 710.
Without optimisation process 703, the dissolve 354 shown in FIG. 3 would result in audio channels being processed as illustrated in FIG. 4. The dissolve 354 may be considered as a portion of the playback during which a tail of source material 355 is being processed in combination with a head of material 356. In order to allocate the material onto individual audio tracks, it would be possible to move the tail of track 355 or to move the head of track 354. By convention, in the present embodiment, tails are retained in their specified tracks and heads are transferred.
Step 702 for the optimisation of tracks for playback is shown in FIG. 8A. At step 801 a question is asked as to whether more than one audio track has been selected for playback. If answered in the negative, no optimisation is necessary. Alternatively, if optimisation is necessary, control is directed to step 802. At step 802, a number of intermediate tracks are generated. The intermediate tracks are never noticed by the user, but are generated for efficient use of processing resources when audio tracks are being played. For a number N of audio tracks defined by the user, 2N intermediate tracks are required, thus an additional N tracks are created in addition to the original user-specified tracks. At step 803 a track is selected from the first N intermediate tracks. On the first pass through the processes illustrated in FIG. 8A, the track selected will be track 0. On the next pass, the track selected will be track 1, and so on, up to track N−1. The selected track number is designated as track M. At step 804 a question is asked as to whether the currently selected track contains a dissolve, or in other words, does the track contain data that in reality requires a pair of tracks during playback. A dissolve has this requirement, as two sources of audio data are combined because it requires two audio tracks to be made available simultaneously. If the question asked at step 804 is answered in the negative, control is directed to step 806. Alternatively, control is directed to step 805.
At step 805, the presence of dissolve material has been identified. The dissolve material comprises two parts: a head portion and a tail portion. The head portion is the material on the track leading up to and including material contributed during the dissolve, and the tail portion is the remaining material on the track including material contributing to the dissolve. At step 805, the head portion is placed on track N+M, and the remaining material, including the tail portion, is placed on track M. In step 805, this is performed for each instance of a dissolve that is encountered on the track. In every case, material is added with attribute data to show which user track the material came from, whether it came from the head or tail of a transition, or neither, as well as other data needed for real time playback.
After step 805, control is directed to step 806, where a question is asked as to whether another track is to be considered. This condition is satisfied when M is less than N, in which case control is directed back to step 803. Alternatively, if all of the original source tracks have been considered, control is thereafter directed to step 807. At step 807 the arrangement of material on the intermediate tracks is optimised, resulting in a reduction in the number of intermediate tracks required during playback. At step 808, empty tracks, resulting from the optimising process at step 807, are deleted. This reduces the processing requirements for playback. At step 809 a question is asked as to whether the total number of remaining tracks is too high to guarantee real time playback. In the present embodiment, this number is six. In an alternative embodiment, the number could be variable, depending upon the other tasks required to be performed by the processing system, for example, the number of video channels being played back. If the number of audio channels is too high, control is directed to step 810, where an audio overload condition is set. Alternatively, it is known that the processor can provide sufficient power to play back the audio tracks in real time, and it is unnecessary to set the audio overload condition. This completes the operations for optimising tracks for playback.
The process for optimising intermediate tracks, indicated at step 805 in FIG. 8A is detailed in FIG. 8B. At step 831 the source track is selected initially as being track one. At step 832, the destination track is selected initially as being track zero. For the purposes of this flow chart, tracks are considered as being numbered from zero to 2N-1, where 2N is the number of intermediate tracks. At step 833, a question is asked as to whether there are any non-black events in the source track. A non-black event contains audio material that is currently activated for playback on a particular track. If answered in the negative, control is directed to step 837. Alternatively, control is directed to step 834. At step 834 the next non-black event in the track is selected. At step 835 a question is asked as to whether it is possible to move the selected event to the destination track. If there is sufficient room on the destination track for the entire length of the selected event, then it is possible to move the event. If the question asked at step 835 is answered in the negative, control is directed to step 833, where another event is considered for moving. Alternatively, control is directed to step 836, where the selected event is moved to the destination track. Thereafter, control is directed back to step 833, where any remaining non-black events on the source track are considered.
If the question asked at step 833 is answered in the negative, and no suitable events remain on the source track, control is directed to step 837. At step 837 the destination track is incremented. At step 838 a comparison is made between the value of the destination track and the value of the source track. If the destination track is less than the source track, control is directed to step 833, where the next destination track can be considered. Alternatively, control is directed to step 839, where the source track is incremented. Thereafter, at step 840, a comparison is made between the value of the source track and the number of intermediate tracks. If these values match, this condition indicates that all the tracks have been considered, and the optimisation process is complete. Alternatively, control is directed back to step 832, where each track in turn, below the value of the source track, is considered as a potential destination track for any events that remain on higher valued tracks. Numerically, the track optimisation proceeds as follows. On the first pass, track one is considered as the source, with only track zero being considered as a destination. On the next iteration, track two is considered as the source, and tracks zero and one are considered as destinations. Next, track three is considered as a source, with tracks zero, one and two considered as destinations. This process is continued for as many source tracks as there are intermediate tracks allocated at step 802. In considering destination tracks in this order, of the lowest going up to the highest, it is most likely to place events on lower numbered tracks. In this way, events are moved, whenever possible, up to lower numbered tracks, and in many practical situations this will result in a number of higher numbered tracks being completely empty at the end of the optimisation process. Furthermore, the algorithm shown in FIG. 8B operates in such a way that the empty tracks will be contiguous. In other words, it will be impossible, at the end of the process, for track four to be empty, and track five to contain events. Instead, there will always be contiguous blocks, so that, for example, tracks zero to four will contain events, and tracks five to twelve will be completely empty. This condition is useful, as it simplifies the process of deleting empty intermediate tracks, as indicated at step 808 shown in FIG. 8A.
The effect of the optimisation procedures shown in FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B, when applied to the condition shown in FIG. 3, is detailed in FIG. 9. Dissolve 354 would be split up at step 805 and at step 807 optimisation would be performed. A gap larger than the length of the dissolve 354 is available in audio track A2, therefore the head of incoming track 356, required for frames 313 to 320, is transferred to audio track 2. Thus, by placing the head of this track in existing audio track 2, it is not necessary to use audio track 7 and all of the required audio data can be replayed in real time through the primary active tracks A1 to A6.
Attribute data for the transferred track is still derived from the attribute track associated with audio track A1. The head of the incoming track has been transferred, and therefore the attribute data available in audio track A1 for frame periods 313 to 320 relates to the tail of outgoing track 355. From frame 321 onwards, attribute data becomes available for the material of source 354. Attribute data for the head of source 354, the audio information which has been transferred to audio track A2 in accordance with the procedures shown in FIG. 9, is derived by interpolating back from values specified from frame 321 onwards. Thus, this allows volume and pan attributes to be calculated for the head of source 354, which are in turn processed with the fading attributes of the dissolve; in order to achieve the required ramping-up of the audio levels as the head of source 356 is played from audio track A2. In all other respects the audio information defined at portion 801 is replayed in the same way as other audio information in accordance with procedures detailed in FIG. 10.
Procedures 714, for mixing audio data read from an audio buffer, are detailed in FIG. 10. In the present embodiment, attributes are defined for each video frame, therefore at step 1001, where the next frame is selected for mixing, attribute data for the frame under consideration is loaded. Output values for the left and right channels are now generated on a sample by sample basis so as to accumulate the required data within playback buffer 605. At step 1002 the left and right accumulator buffers for the duration of the frame are initialised to zero values. At step 1003 the first track is selected. At step 1004 the first sample of the frame is selected. At step 1005 the next left and right samples are read from the track. At step 1006 the left and right output sample values are determined, in response to frame attribute data. At step 1007, these new values are added to the left and right accumulators for that sample number within the frame. At step 1008, a question is asked as to whether any samples remain to be calculated for the current frame. If answered in the affirmative, control is directed back to step 1004, where the next left and right sample pair is considered. Alternatively, control is directed to step 1009, where a question is asked as to whether another track is to be considered for accumulation. If answered in the affirmative, control is directed back to step 1003, where the next track is considered, and steps 1004 to 1009 are repeated. Finally, once all tracks have been considered for the current frame, control is directed to step 1010, where the contents of the accumulator buffers are first clipped, and then copied to the final playback buffers. It can be appreciated that the procedures illustrated in FIG. 10 require significant processing overhead. Thus, by reducing the number of audio tracks which need to be processed in order to supply data to the playback buffer, a significant advantage is provided in terms of releasing processor resource.
The present embodiment has been described on the basis that normal operation is permitted for a certain number of audio tracks whereafter satisfactory processing is not possible if this number of tracks is exceeded. In some applications, a predetermined value for the total number of real time audio tracks permitted may be unspecified and the processing capabilities of a system may be variable depending on the selection of particular requirements. Thus, a user may be able to configure the operation of a system so as to provide optimal operating characteristics for a particular application. Under these circumstances, it may be preferable to optimise the presence of audio dissolves even when relatively few audio tracks have been enabled, on the basis that the number of active audio tracks should always be minimised so as to make processing capabilities available for use on other functions. In this way, further functions may be added to the system and made available when resources permit.
The present invention has been described with respect to the processing of stereo audio tracks. The invention may also be applied to the processing of video or other media tracks. In particular, given that tracks of any media type are represented and manipulated symbolically within the invention, no significant bandwidth restrictions are encountered when applying the invention to media of widely differing types, including high resolution video or film data. Thus, in systems where the number of tracks is limited by processing bandwidth, the invention may be applied advantageously. For example, there may be four or more audio channels per audio track, as is required for surround sound or multi-lingual sound systems. The present embodiment does not automatically result in an optimum arrangement of intermediate audio tracks, although it will usually result in an improvement, and never a degradation in overall system performance. In an alternative embodiment, the process 807 of optimising intermediate tracks, includes steps to obtain an optimal solution. In order to identify an optimal solution, movement of events is prioritised according to their duration. Thus, events which have the longest duration have the higher priority with respect to track movement. In this way, short duration events, which are less likely to overlap, will congregate on tracks with a higher number. A number of passes through this algorithm will enable the optimal solution to emerge, and should not usually result in an excessive extra amount of processing to be performed. The optimal solution is characterised by the condition that the total number of tracks after optimisation is equal to the maximum number of tracks active at any one time, and this is a suitable test for the end condition of the alternative optimisation method.
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text:
Sonia, thank you for the good Christmas wishes and for the lovely card. We have a small tree/shrub here in Florida that looks similar called the Bottle Brush.
Merry Christmas to you.
Sam/Sammy C & C Welcome
Sonia, What a beautiful Christmas Card, We also have a bottle brush tree next door and it brings lots of bees. which is a good thing as I like bees. I received your lovely summery Christmas card which is what I would expect from Down Under.... Hope your Holidays are cool and festive....
Kim, Thank you for the lovely card, with the cookies from last years challenge, I love it looks delicious. your dog is adorable.
Fred: we have two dogs, two cats a parakeet, and fish, does that qualify us for a home on Mars?
It would be nice if we messed up we could simply press 'Ctrl Alt Delete' and start all over
C & C Always Welcome
Sam, the painting on the wall is a watercolor done years ago by a friend and she gave it to me as a gift, I so adore it and the matting is amazing. I will take a picture and post it one day... but today I have to go and get my husband a new sweater and gifts for the dogs and cats.
Fred ~ NO BEARS!!! I still like your landscape; your wet-on-wet trees are especially nice!
Comments and critiques are welcome.
Marsha, love your Christmas display! I'll answer your question here before I forget!! Yes, of course you may copy my Father Christmas! It is not my original design, came from a magazine so there shouldn't be a problem. If I knew where the pattern is, I would send it to you..If I can dig it up, would you like it? I know only too well about the Holiday doldrums. My mood goes up & down 'cause I'm sick of being Suzie Homemaker!!!! Two more days & hopefully I can shut the door, blast the radio and paint!
Sonia this is a wonderful Christmas card! Thanks for sharing. Have a great Holiday!
Sonia, thank you for the wonderful Christmas card with the beautiful Australian wildflowers. I hope you have a joyous Christmas and Happy New Year.
Bonnie C & C most welcome / appreciated
Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday's to all!
Jen your landscape painting using WC's is great, I love the colours. it is beautiful, I love it. Also the sketch of the lady with the pretty smile drinking her tea well done too. A+ for both.
Nealey your wooden Santa is beautiful and I would bring it out each year too you should be very proud of it.
Sonia your wild flower are nice and will make a nice card for someone.
Everyone here has shown their nice display of cards, I also have mine on display on a side table and will keep them for years to come. Thank you for sharing with me your card they have brought joy to me. I'm hoping that you all receive my cards soon and maybe before the 25th there is still one more day.
Good night to all! Joyce
All C & C's always welcome
Blue Ridge Mountains Art Center
Southern Appalachian Artists Guild
My Bears, Ruthie and I would like to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my artist friends
Fred, more wonderfully textured rocks and a radiant, golden light illuminates the tunnel. There must be a vehicle that runs through the tunnel since there are tracks. Interesting, imaginative painting.
Thank you for the wonderful Christmas card. I responded to it in the Challenge thread. Merry Christmas to you and Ruthie and a happy, blessed, healthy and creative New Year.
It is now 12:05 A.M. Christmas day. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas. We are going to my sons for breakfast(stuffed French toast) and to see what Santa left for the girls. It will be a fun time except for all the excess carbs I will ingest. Just the thing a diabetic needs but what the heck. I hope you have as nice of a day as I will. Got to go I have switches to count and coal to stack. Merry Christmas to some good friends.
C and C always welcomed
Charlie Gunn
C&C welcomed
http://www.facebook.com/CharlieGunnArtist My Art Work
Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas.
C&Cs always welcome
Jen C & C's always welcome
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TeamCity 9.1 (Hajipur) EAP
Welcome to the cutting edge of continuous integration!
Hajipur is a codename for TeamCity 9.x.
Current build: TeamCity 9.1 RC1 build 36932 released on July 10, 2015
Download | Changes
This version of TeamCity contains new features, improvements, and multiple bug fixes comparing to TeamCity 9.0
|Please make sure you back up your data (in the existing server from the administration UI or manually) before upgrade!
You also might want to install the EAP version as a trial server.
Newer TeamCity versions usually adjust the data structure and you will not be able to go back to older TeamCity versions once the data is upgraded.
Page: Download Latest


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updated: 10/15/2010 7:16:44 AM
Researchers at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business are looking into how environmental practices can affect the work force. Early evidence gathered in the "Business for the Greater Good" project shows sustainability practices may increase an employee's productivity and job satisfaction. The university is currently working with the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy to survey 1,000 participating dairy farm, processing and retail employees.
Source: Inside INdiana Business
October 14, 2010
News Release
Do human beings find more passion and meaning in working for the greater good � in realizing their jobs contribute more than just profit?
The answer is �yes,� especially with regard to sustainability, according to Ante Glavas, assistant professor of management in the University of Notre Dame�s Mendoza College of Business, who specializes in organizational behavior and is leading a research project called �Business for the Greater Good,� which already has yielded evidence that sustainability�s greatest impact is on employees who work for green companies.
Glavas and his colleague, Associate Management Professor Matt Bloom, have teamed up with the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, which is working to reduce offsetting greenhouse gas emissions from dairy farms and businesses by, among other endeavors, creating sustainable, methane-powered farms.
About 2 percent of U.S. emissions are generated by the dairy industry, and Glavas became interested in applying his research to the project after learning that sustainability was a growth opportunity for dairy, not just a risk factor as it is for many companies facing pressure to go green.
�Sustainability actually is a top driver for increasing sales,� says Glavas, who conducts research in areas of corporate social responsibility, organizational behavior and international management. �They found that a lack of sustainability in the industry wouldn�t negatively affect consumers� love of milk�they mostly care about taste and quality, but people will drink even more milk if they believed it is produced responsibly.�
Farmers, who traditionally have been reluctant to join the green movement, now are beginning to realize cost-saving and value-added opportunities associated with sustainability. New, methane-powered farms reduce or completely eliminate electricity costs, and feeding cows a better diet can create more efficient cows that produce less methane emissions.
Perhaps shoveling manure is more rewarding if it�s being shoveled into a �methane digester� to power a sustainable dairy farm.
Glavas and Bloom are researching this value-added theory, as the dairy industry moves forward with its greenhouse gas reduction projects. They are surveying 1,000 participating dairy farm, processing and retail employees and their spouses to learn more about what motivates them.
�We believe sustainability�s greatest impact could in fact be on employees,� Glavas says. �I have heard the theory validated already by owners of large-scale farms. So, we�re investigating job satisfaction and retention rates. Do employees go above and beyond in their duties because they believe in what the company is doing? We�re finding that people who work for green companies have a pride-in-ownership mentality and are happier and more productive.�
The research also will help Glavas reevaluate basic management theory.
�Management models often are based on the assumption that people only care about profit and work for money,� he says. �We want to understand employees� perceptions of their employers� social responsibility with regard to sustainability.�
Additionally, Glavas hopes to publish next year the first-ever academic review of corporate social responsibility and sustainability.
�It will review all the literature ever done on this topic, which really hasn�t been covered in terms of academic research,� Glavas says. �What really motivates people at work? For some reason, we�re finding sustainability is a motivator people really relate to.�
Source: University of Notre Dame


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Revolutionary Jews from Marx to Trotsky, by Robert Wistrich
On the Left
Revolutionary Jews from Marx to Trotsky.
by Robert Wistrich.
Barnes & Noble. 254 pp. $16.00.
That jews were involved in great numbers in the development of the socialist movements of the 19th and 20th centuries is well known. But it is hard to know what exactly to make of this phenomenon. Does it represent a revolt against Judaism or is it, on the contrary, an expression of Judaism itself, returning to its purest Mosaic essence as a slave-revolt which validated itself by a law of justice? What kinds of Jews became revolutionaries? How did they envisage their own relationship to their Jewishness? (Here we may allow the reservation that part of their attitude may have been unconscious, and even at odds with their conscious attitude.) Is there, in fact, such a thing as a "Jewish revolutionary" or a "Jewish socialist" of a single, uniform type, or were they all so different that generalizations are unprofitable?
While there have been many obiter dicta and short essays on this topic (of which perhaps the most celebrated is Isaac Deutscher's "The Non-Jewish Jew"), there has never been a full-length treatment before Robert Wistrich's absorbing book. Wistrich asks the right questions and gives us the right kind of information. His method is partly a geographical one: he deals with the situation of the revolutionary Jew first in Germany, then in Austria-Hungary, in France, and in Russia. But to offset any possible impersonality in this approach, he also gives us (after a general introduction to each area) biographical treatments of leading figures: in Germany, Karl Marx, Ferdinand Lassalle, Eduard Bernstein, and Rosa Luxemburg; in Austria-Hungary, Victor Adler and Otto Bauer; in France, Bernard Lazare and Léon Blum; in Russia, Julius Martov and Leon Trotsky. These figures are well chosen to set off the different issues and contrasting approaches that are involved, and also to bring out essential similarities.
It might be objected that not all these figures were revolutionaries—Eduard Bernstein, Victor Adler, and Léon Blum were gradualists who believed in working through constitutional means. Yet, as Wistrich points out, they too believed in revolution, the "long revolution," which would eventually change the fundamental nature of society. One might object too that Wistrich has omitted detailed consideration of the leading figures of the Jewish Socialist Workers' Bund, and of socialist Zionism, who were also revolutionaries. The answer is that Wistrich is after all concerned with a certain type of Jewish revolutionary—specifically those who cut their links with the Jewish community under the influence of a vision of internationalism. And, indeed, from the standpoint of human tragedy, this is the most interesting type, and the one which provided the figures who played the great roles on the stage of world politics. Wistrich points out their mistakes and illusions; his sympathies are in fact clearly with the Bundists and socialist Zionists who refused to sacrifice their Jewish identity for the sake of an internationalist mirage. Yet the internationalists were more than just deluded individuals, and if I have any criticism of the book, it is that it does not quite bring out the grounds of their greatness, by which I mean specifically their greatness from the Jewish point of view, for, of course, the greatness of figures like Marx, Rosa Luxemburg, or Trotsky from the point of view of world politics does not need demonstration.
On the face of it, it is certainly not easy to see any Jewish significance in these revolutionary Jews. Quite contrary to the picture often given by anti-Jewish, or even pro-Jewish, writers, they did not in any way identify themselves with their Jewish background. Hitler might point, in confirmation of his notion of a "Bolshevist Jewish menace," to the galaxy of Jewish stars in the history of Communism, but the last thing in the minds of these Jewish leaders was to represent in any way the Jewish community, ethos, or history. In fact, they actively repudiated their Jewish affiliations. Wistrich presents this repudiation with a great wealth of detail, showing for example that the sources of Karl Marx's appalling On the Jewish Question lie in nothing more or less than traditional anti-Semitism. "His image of the Jew was in fact nothing but the classic stereotype of European Christian society, inherited from the Middle Ages and resurrected with new force in the 1840's by reactionaries, radicals, and socialists alike." Marx came from a long line of distinguished rabbis (including Joshua Heschel Lwow), but he had been brought up as a Christian and was utterly unaware of Jewish history or thought. He despised the Jews as a nation of hucksters, and said of them that their god was money. Long before Werner Sombart, he ascribed the growth of capitalism to the "Jewish spirit." So virulent was his attitude toward Jews (in contrast to the friendlier attitude of Engels, the non-Jew) that the question of "Jewish self-hatred" is inevitably raised. Wistrich has some interesting things to say about this topic, to which I shall return.
From Marx onward, the chief characteristic of the Jewish internationalist revolutionary was his repudiation of Judaism and Jewishness. He looked forward eagerly to the cessation of every form of Jewish identity, so that even Jewish socialism was bitterly opposed as "separatist." The Bund, after playing a pioneering role in the development of Russian trade-unionism and socialist organization, was forced out of the Russian Social Democratic party largely by two Jews, Julius Martov and Leon Trotsky. Martov, ironically enough, had been one of the Bund's founders. In those early days he had realized, together with Samuel Gozhansky and Arkadi Kremer, that a Jewish labor movement had to be organized on the basis of the Yiddish language and Jewish identity, not of assimilation. Later, however, under the influence of Lenin, Martov turned against Jewish "separatism" and campaigned ceaselessly against his own creation Still more ironically, it was this anti-Bund policy which later brought about Martov's downfall and possibly even events of a far greater magnitude. For when Martov, as leader of the Mensheviks, came into conflict with Lenin and his Bolsheviks, he sorely missed those Bundist votes which he had driven out of Russian socialist politics. If only the Jew, Martov, had not betrayed the Jewish Bund, the Mensheviks (minority) would have been the Bolsheviks (majority)—and history would possibly have taken a different turn.
Instructive also is the case of Otto Bauer, the influential Austrian Jewish theorist to whom Wistrich devotes a highly interesting chapter. It was Bauer who restored nationalism to a place of respect in Communist thinking, but the only form of it for which he could find no place was Jewish nationalism. This is all the more remarkable in that Bauer did not define nationalism in territorial terms, but in terms of common history and "community of fate." By this definition, it would seem that the Jews should have been the supreme illustration of national identity. Instead, Bauer refused to allow that the Jews were a nation at all; they were merely an economic group of moneylenders thrown up by historical circumstances and having no cultural roots.
There were some Jewish revolutionaries who knew better. The most famous is Moses Hess, whose earliest writings were almost as scornful of Judaism as anything in Marx. After first introducing Marxist ideas to Germany, he went on to become the founder of Zionism there also. Wistrich does not devote a chapter to Hess, probably because his story is too familiar. Instead, he gives us a fascinating chapter about a somewhat similar figure, the too-little-known Bernard Lazare. The part played by Lazare in the movement to exonerate Dreyfus, which would never have got under way without him, deserves eternal honor. He sacrificed personal fame and success in order to help the oppressed Jewish masses of Eastern Europe, and died, worn out, at the age of thirty-eight. Yet Lazare too began as a typical Jewish revolutionary, seeing hope for the Jews only in assimilation, despising the Jewish cultural tradition, or what little he knew of it, and regarding both Westernized and Eastern Jews with unmitigated contempt.
The conclusion to which all this would seem to lead is that the Jewish revolutionaries suffered from "Jewish self-hatred," by which is meant the adoption of anti-Semitic attitudes by Jews. This is plain enough in Marx, Lassalle, and some others, and could even lead, as in the case of the Austrian leader Victor Adler, to complicity in anti-Semitic campaigning. Mostly, however, the anti-Jewish attitudes of the Jewish revolutionaries cannot be regarded as truly anti-Semitic, for they entirely lack the paranoid element of fear of a Jewish world conspiracy. The main feeling they communicated was scorn for what they regarded as the pettiness of the whole Jewish problem. Anti-Semitism itself was regarded as a trivial matter, which would disappear upon the advent of the classless society, and which, in the interim, might even have an occasional tactical usefulness. This attitude was a legacy of the Enlightenment, with its naive expectation of the disappearance of national and cultural differences.
On the subject of Jewish self-hatred, Wistrich's analysis is unfortunately rather hazy. He suggests that it may have been a factor in the formation of the character of the Jewish revolutionary, arguing that revolutionaries in general tended to come from a bourgeois background and were rebelling against their families, and that in the case of the Jewish revolutionaries, this rebellion was intensified by the internalization of society's hostility toward the minority group to which they belonged. True, there was a genuine idealism at work which sought to abolish all divisions among human beings; but there was also, Wistrich points out, a brutal indifference to the rights of minority cultures—an indifference which applied not only to the Jews but to other minority cultures such as the South-Slav peasant cultures of Southeastern Europe.
In my opinion, the psychological argument is an inadequate explanation of all this, as superficial in its way as Isaac Deutscher's in "The Non-Jewish Jew." In that essay Deutscher argued that what was specifically Jewish about the universalism of the Jewish revolutionaries, among whom he included figures like Spinoza and Freud, as well as Marx, Rosa Luxemburg, and Trotsky, arose from the fact that Jews existed on the margins of the great cultures: as the perpetual outsiders, they were enabled to take the universal view of things. Why, then, one is tempted to ask, have not the Gypsies produced the greatest revolutionary thinkers of all? Deutscher failed to derive the impetus of Jewish revolutionaries from anything positive in their background. He was too much of the Enlightenment savant himself to be able to see that, at bottom, the Jewish revolutionaries (including himself) were produced by Judaism.
Wistrich, too, refuses to acknowledge this, largely, I think, because he is over-cautious. He is concerned, rightly, to combat the usual easy equation of Communism and Judaism, made in their different ways by Hitler and Berdyaev, and he goes out of his way to point out the differences between Jewish religious messianism and Communist secular messianism. Yet it is not for nothing that messianism is a Jewish word. It is really an expression of Jewish universalism, or, to put it in another way, of the Jewish passion for unity. Messianism means that history is not a meaningless jumble of events, but rather a patterned unfolding. This position contrasts both with pagan multifariousness and with Christian dualism (in which unity exists only in another world). Jewish oneness is not a denial of multiplicity, but its resolution into unity, with each individual component transfigured and transcended in the unity attained; and this is why there is no contradiction between Jewish universalism and the stubborn Jewish insistence on separate identity.
In a passing comment, Wistrich points out that the Communist internationalist ideal was based on the "imperialism" of Christian internationalism. This observation would have been worth pursuing. The trouble with the Jewish revolutionaries was that they took from Christian tradition not only its stereotype of the Jew, but also its ideal of internationalism. Yet the fervor with which they pursued this ideal, the talmudic rationalism with which they developed it, and the tragic purity with which they followed it unto death, were all distillations of the Jewish tradition which, albeit unconsciously, they carried with them.
Wistrich's valuation of the Jewish tradition, then, is, like Deutscher's, too negative. He sees the Jews as the quintessential oppressed minority, whose survival was more threatened by the Enlightenment than by the plain hostility of old-fashioned enemies. But more important than the Jews' minority status in my opinion is their universalist message which was continued by Marx and his disciples (but also dangerously perverted because of their inability to discern the roots of their own passion). My disagreement with Wistrich, however, does not lessen my admiration for this important and fascinating writer. The book itself will be indispensable for any further study of its subject.


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LOUISVILLE — The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky asks your help to update the Kentucky Health Coalitions Directory, a list of local groups working on health related issues in the Commonwealth.. This first revision of the 2012 directory is designed to identify additional coalitions and update group contact information. More than 140 active coalitions are listed in the Foundation's current Kentucky Health Coalitions Directory.
"These are local residents working on solutions to health issues in their cities and towns," said Susan Zepeda, CEO and President of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. "These groups have differing levels of organization and are pursuing various goals. The Coalitions Directory is a resource for them and allows them to connect with other groups working to make their community a healthier place to live, work, and play."
Of the 143 coalitions are in the current directory, some are increasing access to healthy food and physical activity; others are planning needed screenings and education for people at risk for serious health problems like diabetes and other chronic diseases; yet others are improving working conditions through smoke-free ordinances. These groups represent health change efforts in all of the Commonwealth's 120 counties.
Follow the link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/healthykycoalitions to submit new or revised information to the Coalitions Directory. The Foundation's aim in creating and now updating the directory is to raise awareness of these local efforts and to foster collaboration, build local capacity, provide technical assistance to these groups and celebrate their successes.
About the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky
The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky is a non-profit, philanthropic organization working to address the unmet health care needs of Kentuckians. Our approach centers on developing and influencing health policy, to promote lasting change in the systems by which health care is provided and good health sustained, to:
• improve access to care,
• reduce health risks and disparities, and
• promote health equity.
The Foundation makes grants, supports research, holds educational forums and convenes communities to engage and develop the capacity of the Commonwealth to improve the health and quality of life of all Kentuckians.
For more information, please visit www.healthy-ky.org.


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......as long as your pitchers dont give up 14 hits, son
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What's the GM stand for in Baseball GM ?...General Moron ?
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Grateful Dead music is always good on the road when you're not in a hurry...but something special there is about driving in the wide open spaces of this county listening to American Beauty....What a l more »
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Today's birthday (Jan. 18): You'll hone a talent in the next three months. New methods and levels of relaxation help you get more comfortable and masterful.
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April 1, 2006
Game\ 2\ Box\ Score
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The University of New Mexico softball team dropped a pair of Mountain West Conference games to visiting Colorado State at the UNM Softball Complex today. The Lobos (19-14, 0-2 MWC) lost the first contest 12-7 and fell 9-3 in the second game.
Game 1 (CSU 12, UNM 7)
Julia Kloppe drove in three runs, including a two-run homerun with two outs in the second to propel Mountain West Conference leader Colorado State past New Mexico, 12-7, in the first league game for both teams. UNM (19-14, 0-1 MWC), fell behind 5-0 early, but battled back behind conference RBI leader Kristina Schmallen to tie the game at seven in the fifth inning. CSU (20-9, 1-0 MWC), however, took advantage of seven New Mexico walks to score the final five runs.
After being held to one hit through the first three innings by Ram starter Kim Klabough, the Lobo bats awoke with a four-run fourth. UNM had five hits in the frame, including four straight singles by Lindsey Elcess, Analise Rubalcava, Schmallen and Ashley Allen to cut the CSU lead to one, 5-4.
The Rams got two runs back in the top of the fifth off UNM reliever Jen Mendenhall before the Lobos rallied yet again. Ryanne Hodgins led off the bottom of the fifth with a triple, ripping a line drive over the CSU right fielder's head. Hughes then knocked an 0-2 pitch up the middle to plate Hodgins and Cassie Chavez dropped a perfect bunt single to send Klabough to the dugout.
Relief pitcher Jessica Strickland got Elcess swinging and Rubalcava to ground to second, but missed on a 2-2 pitch to Schmallen, who knotted the game at seven with a single down the left field line, tying the game at seven. Allen followed with a single up the middle to give UNM runners at first and second with two outs, but a stretching Kloppe picked Strickland's throw out of the dirt to nip Lobo catcher Liz Young on a tight play at first.
Mendenhall (5-8) and starter Katie Gregg, who re-entered in the seventh, ran into trouble in the final two innings as the Rams scored five runs on four hits and three walks. Strickland, meanwhile, settled down and held the Lobos hitless in the sixth and seventh to move to 8-7 on the season.
Schmallen went 2-4 at the plate and added two more RBI, moving her up to a tie for fourth on the UNM single season list with 36 this spring. Allen went 3-3 with an RBI and Hughes was 2-4 with two runs scored and an RBI to help power the UNM offense.
Game 2 (UNM 9, CSU 3)
CSU scored three runs in the first inning of the second game, including a two-run homer by Leigh. The Lobos tried to mount a comeback from the early deficit, scoring once in the third inning off a sacrifice fly by Cassie Chavez. CSU tacked on another run in the fifth inning, upping their lead to 4-2, but the Lobos pulled to with one run in the sixth. Kristina Schmallen led off the inning with a double and later scored on an RBI single by Ashley Allen. Allen would later score in an RBI single by Ryanne Hogins, putting the score at 4-3 going into the seventh.
The Rams put the game out of reach by plating five runs in the top half of the seventh for the 9-3 final. CSU has now defeated UNM 16 consecutive times as the Lobos drop back to back games for the first time since late February.
New Mexico will travel to San Diego State and UNLV next weekend for double-headers against the Aztecs and Rebels. UNM's next home game is April 13 at 1:00 p.m. (M.D.T.) against BYU.


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Posted at: 12/10/2012 10:08 PM
Updated at: 12/10/2012 11:27 PM
By: Don Hudson
For 30 years they have entertained people all over upstate New York. But at this moment, The Coupe De Villes ability to perform has been taken away, stolen by a thief who took off with the band's equipment trailer.
Guitar player Tommy Bianchi says that December 6 or 7 someone stole The Coupe De Ville's equipment trailer. Everything was gone. "They took our whole sound system, our light system, guitar amps, bass amps a complete set of drums. Everything we need to work, they took it."
Bianchi says the heist is depressing because it wasn't just equipment, it was years of memories and music. "There were some custom guitar amps in there."
And in the case of drummer George DeMotte, losing his drum set, has been like losing a piece of his heart. "I lost my 14-year-old son in 1985. He had a little blue bunny in his crib. I've always had that on my drums. It's been on my drums for 35 years. It's really hard to deal with that. I don't have that anymore."
DeMotte and Bianchi say despite the setback, the show will go on. And with several gigs coming up, the band has to hurry and replace what was stolen. Meanwhile, their fans and police are hoping to catch the crooks. Fans are monitoring music stores, eBay, Craig's list and more.
"Everybody has been calling. Volunteering their time and services to check out pawn shops."
Offers of support and help have been non-stop.
Bianchi says The Coup De Villes Facebook post about the trailer heist has been shared more than 500 times.
"The phones haven't stopped the emails haven't stopped."
And DeMotte adds the community response has been incredible and humbling.
"I never knew we had this overwhelming like this. I just want to thank everybody."
The trailer was stolen from a parking lot at JD Biker Leather at 788 Howard Drive. The trailer is six feet by eight feet, plain white and has the bands logo on the back and several bumper stickers on it. Any information should be called into the Gates Police Department.
For more on the Coupe De Villes visit their website or the band's Facebook page.


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Nick Anderson
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Posts Tagged «wiretapping»
Snowden reveals his motives, spy training, and patriotism in first US interview May 29, 2014 at 8:30 am
Conducted in secret on Russian soil, an extended NBC interview Edward Snowden revealed more about the man than the controversy he created.
How the US government has spied on almost every American for a decade June 7, 2013 at 1:01 pm
In the last 48 hours, it has come to light that the FBI and National Security Agency (NSA) have direct, government-mandated, warrantless access to servers at Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Skype, and other major internet companies. Furthermore, the NSA also requested — and received — data about every domestic call that's routed through Verizon's wired telephone network.