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About Vienna:
Vienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria and the largest city in Austria with its population of more than 2 million. Vienna is host to many major international organizations, including the United Nations and OPEC. The city is located in the east of Austria and is close to the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. Vienna was ranked first in its annual "Quality of Living" cities in the world and ranked first in a tie with Vancouver, Canada for the world's most livable cities. The city is known as "The City of Dreams" and the City of Music. It attracts about five million tourists a year.
Climate: Vienna has a humid continental climate with warm summers , Spring and autumn are mild and Winters are relatively dry and cold. The average high temp is 26 °C in the month of July and average low temp is -0.5 °C in the month of December.
Places to visit:
Belvedere: The Belvedere is a palace complex in Vienna. Two Baroque palaces the Upper and Lower Belvedere face each other on a sloping hill. Between the palaces lies a formal French garden with fountains, statues and cascades.
Unteres Belvedere: The living quarters of the Prince of Savoy were in the Unteres Belvedere or lower Belvedere. The palace was built from 1716, many of the rooms are open to visitors to the Barock museum, which has a collection of Baroque paintings and sculpture. The palace highlight is the Marmorsaal or Marble Hall, Golden Cabinet, wall murals of grotesques and Orangery, originally built to provide cover for plants during the winter, is now used for temporary expositions.
Oberes Belvedere: At the southern end of the park, at the top of the slope, lies the Oberes Belvedere or upper Belvedere. There are many sculptures that adorn the facade are a reference to the victory over the Turkish army. The palace houses the Sammlung Osterreichischer Kunst, one of the top museums in Vienna. Its collection is mostly focused on artwork from the nineteenth and twentieth century's.
The Palace Garden: It was build in 1725 by Dominique Girard, is a French style garden. he garden is decorated with numerous statues as well as fountains and cascades. The garden has three levels, separated by two large cascades. There is a classical statues of eight muses adorn the lower level while statues along the staircase between the lower and middle part of the garden.
Graben: Garben is one of the most famous streets in Vienna. It is lined with some beautiful buildings in a variety of architectural styles. A monument at the center of Graben commemorates the end of the 1697 plague. Graben date back to the early nineteenth century. The main attraction of the Graben is its several Jugendstil buildings, Baroque Bartolotti Partenfeld palace, house with a black marble facade.
Kunsthistorisches museum: It was opened in 1891. The museum is focus on the works of art that the many Habsburg rulers acquired over the centuries.T he interior of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, designed by Karl von Hasenauer, is spectacular, with large marble columns, monumental staircases and statues .Its collection of paintings, is one of the largest in the world and spans an era from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries with Roman and Greek antiquities. The Kunstkammer houses a collection of sculptures and works of Decorative Arts with some profusely decorated items often made with expensive materials such as ivory, silver or gold.
Staatsoper: It is a state opera house, opened on May 25, 1869. The building is in neo-Renaissance style was designed by August von Siccardsburg and Eduard van der Null. The loggia is beautifully decorated with frescoes depicting scenes from Mozart's 'Magic Flute'. There is a marble fountain on either side of the opera house.
Other major attraction: Austrian Parliament Building, St. Stephen's Cathedral, Stephansplatz, Vienna Secession, Palais Augarten, Albertina.
Food and Beverage: Vienna,is one of the few remaining world capital cities with its own vineyards, were wine is served in small Viennese pubs. The city is famous for its well known dish called Wiener Schnitzel, a cutlet of veal or pork, the finest cakes and desserts.
Regions in Austria
More locations within Wien:


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Patrick Chan
Patrick Chan doesn't appear all that happy with his routine after the... NachrichtenfotoAugust,Bestof,Eiskunstlauf,Eiskunstlauf-Grand Prix Skate Canada International,Ereignis,Fotografie,Fröhlich,Kanada,Patrick Chan,Reporterstil,Routine,Sport,Themengebiet,Topix,Toronto Star,Vertikal,Wintersport,Öffentlicher AuftrittPhotographer Rick MadonikCollection: Toronto Star Rick Madonik/Toronto Star 2013 THORNHILL, ON- AUGUST 18 - Patrick Chan doesn't appear all that happy with his routine after the finish at Skate Canada Summer Skate event in Thornhill, August 18, 2013. The event was held at the Thornhill Community Centre. Chan unveiled this season's Free Program. (Rick Madonik/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

subset: commoncrawl


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http://www.eliterestaurantequipment.com/winco-flame-resistant-mit-17-omf-17.html http://www.eliterestaurantequipment.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/265x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/w/i/winco-omf-13--13--flame-resistant-oven-mitts-24614_xlarge-1_2.jpg OMF-17 Winco
Winco OMF-17 - Flame Resistant Oven Mitt 17"
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Best of News
Yemeni security forces and rescue teams rush to the scene of a... NyhetsfotoFlygplan,Flygplansolycka,Flygplats,Horisontell,Militär,Misslyckande,Människor,Olycka,Olyckor och katastrofer,Organiserad grupp,Pilot,Rädda,Räddningsarbetare,Sanaa,Stridsflygplan,Trygghet,YemenPhotographer MOHAMMED HUWAISCollection: AFP 2012 AFPYemeni security forces and rescue teams rush to the scene of a military plane crash in Sanaa on November 21, 2012, in which 10 people including the pilot were killed as the Antonov jet tried to make an emergency landing when an engine failed, Yemen's defence ministry and an airport source said. The plane crashed in the Yemeni capital's northern neighbourhood of al-Hassaba while trying to land at an air base near Sanaa's main airport. AFP PHOTO/ MOHAMMED HUWAIS (Photo credit should read MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP/Getty Images)


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Homeschool Information Library
HEM's Information Library Index
Teaching and Learning Index
Supplements Are The Key!
This article, by Lois Szymanski, was originally published in the May-June 1995 issue of Home Education Magazine.
I admit it. When I began homeschooling my seventh grade daughter just this year, I was overwhelmed. As a first time homeschooler, I had ordered a curriculum, but workbook after workbook is boring for any child, let alone an adolescent. I can't count the amount of times I pleaded, begged and cajoled Ashley into "getting back to work". A trip to the library, local bookstores, and a teacher supply store, as well as some creative thinking turned things around for me. That's when I found that the key to home education is in the supplements we choose. I knew I had succeeded when officials at our first home school check asked me if I was a teacher. Well, I've never been certified, but I guess I am a teacher... now!
The library is the first great place to search for supplemental material. Not only is there a plethora of materials to choose from, but it is all free! A library offers records, books and videos on a great variety of subjects. For Reading, try to assign a book every week or two. Ashley gets to pick the book with the knowledge that we will be dissecting it, looking for hidden meanings and lessons as well as discussing the impact or "gut reaction" it makes on the reader She has to do a written report after each book as well as several work-sheets (which I design), along the way. Sometimes I guide her choices. For example, when I realized that all of the books she was choosing were similar, (humorous fiction) I assigned a biography. Ashley never reads biographies, so at first she was not happy with my direction! But a trip to the library to see all the choices available changed her mind. A biography written by her heroine, Reba McEntire, had just been released and Ashley was The first ones to check it out!
As a children's book author, I realize the incredible impact books can make, but supplements can be so much more than just books. I already mentioned that Reba is one of my daughter's favorite people. The reason for that is that she aspires to become a country music star. Discovering kareoke, gave us a new avenue to explore when supplementing the subject area of music. Background tapes, (available at most music stores) helped Ashley rehearse songs, then we were off to local establishments offering kareoke. Not only did her music studies become exciting when she began singing in public, but she learned more about poise, stage presence and handling audiences! Add to the curriculum voice and guitar lessons, and her music studies are complete.
As we worked our way through the boring Social Studies packets, Ashley's interest was stirred by the brief information given on rain forests of the world. So we were off to the library again to read book after book on that topic. Then we delved into the scientific side of rain forests. What influences the plant life? A book on experimenting with plants gave us a few activities to do, but simulating our own rain forest with a ten gallon aquarium was even more fun! To do this, we incorporated three subject areas. Science, (it was an experiment), Social Studies, (we were studying the rain forest region) and physical education. For the physical education part we headed into the woods on horseback. There we found mosses and ferns, worms and bugs which we brought home to "plant" in the ten gallon "rain forest". Once the top was sealed with plastic wrap it could not be opened. If the rain forest died, Ashley's experiment would have failed. But in front of her sunny bedroom window, it dripped daily, and all of the plants thrived!
Ashley has collected shells for years, so we worked it into the curriculum. For science, she began to classify the boxes of shells she had already accumulated. For art, science, and just plain fun she created an educational game in which a spinner directed a hermit crab (a mover) in his search for a larger shell. Along the way, four stacks of cards gave out well-researched shell facts. It sure beat the boring work-books! Science became fun!
For my daughter, the most tedious subject of all was math. Books such as, Rapid Math Tricks and Tips (by Edward H. Julius-John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) helped her circumvent boring rituals she did not understand. Finding a faster way to get an answer excited her, It became a game. Money-Smart Kids, and Parents, Too (by Janet Bodnar- Kiplinger Books) covered an area I was interested in, helping her learn to handle money responsibly.
Have you ever thought of the world around you as one giant supplement? I do. When we go on walks, (which is physical education) we take along a great book called The Birder's Journal. Created by Mel Baughma and published by Stackpole Books, the journal is filled with sketches of birds that can be colored. Under each bird is a place to list when and where it was sighted as well as a spot for notes. Using her Peterson First Guides to Birds, (by Roger Tory Peterson- Houghton Mifflin Company) and her Golden Guide to Birds (by Herbert S. Zim and Ira N. Gabrielson- Western Publishing Company, Inc.) she looks up the birds she sees and colors them in. When we go marsh mucking on Assateague Island on vacations, we drag every unknown specimen we find into the naturalist to learn more about it. Then we document our findings on paper and with photographs and keep them in a notebook.
The official that gave us that first home school check was very supportive of our homeschool studies. She said she wished more parents would supplement, instead of relying so heavily on packet work. That's when I realized why things had been going so smoothly at home.
Flower and vegetable gardens in summer become science studies and experiments. Canning and cooking become adventures in home economics. Grocery shopping becomes an adventure in couponing and comparative shopping. Vacations always become learning experiences that turn into reports which are added to our notebooks. There are a world of supplements all around us. Tapping into your child's interests and using exciting supplemental material could make your home school experience fun!
© 1995 Lois Szymanski
HEM's Information Library Index
Teaching and Learning Index


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Redcat Racing CVD Rebuild Kit
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Go to the first, previous, next, last section, table of contents.
This chapter describes routines for performing least squares fits to experimental data using linear combinations of functions. The data may be weighted or unweighted, i.e. with known or unknown errors. For weighted data the functions compute the best fit parameters and their associated covariance matrix. For unweighted data the covariance matrix is estimated from the scatter of the points, giving a variance-covariance matrix.
The functions are divided into separate versions for simple one- or two-parameter regression and multiple-parameter fits. The functions are declared in the header file `gsl_fit.h'.
Least-squares fits are found by minimizing \chi^2 (chi-squared), the weighted sum of squared residuals over n experimental datapoints (x_i, y_i) for the model Y(c,x),
\chi^2 = \sum_i w_i (y_i - Y(c, x_i))^2
The p parameters of the model are c = {c_0, c_1, ...}. The weight factors w_i are given by w_i = 1/\sigma_i^2, where \sigma_i is the experimental error on the data-point y_i. The errors are assumed to be Gaussian and uncorrelated. For unweighted data the chi-squared sum is computed without any weight factors.
The fitting routines return the best-fit parameters c and their p \times p covariance matrix. The covariance matrix measures the statistical errors on the best-fit parameters resulting from the errors on the data, \sigma_i, and is defined as C_{ab} = <\delta c_a \delta c_b> where < > denotes an average over the Gaussian error distributions of the underlying datapoints.
The covariance matrix is calculated by error propagation from the data errors \sigma_i. The change in a fitted parameter \delta c_a caused by a small change in the data \delta y_i is given by
\delta c_a = \sum_i (dc_a/dy_i) \delta y_i
allowing the covariance matrix to be written in terms of the errors on the data,
C_{ab} = \sum_{i,j} (dc_a/dy_i) (dc_b/dy_j) <\delta y_i \delta y_j>
For uncorrelated data the fluctuations of the underlying datapoints satisfy <\delta y_i \delta y_j> = \sigma_i^2 \delta_{ij}, giving a corresponding parameter covariance matrix of
C_{ab} = \sum_i (1/w_i) (dc_a/dy_i) (dc_b/dy_i)
When computing the covariance matrix for unweighted data, i.e. data with unknown errors, the weight factors w_i in this sum are replaced by the single estimate w = 1/\sigma^2, where \sigma^2 is the computed variance of the residuals about the best-fit model, \sigma^2 = \sum (y_i - Y(c,x_i))^2 / (n-p). This is referred to as the variance-covariance matrix.
The standard deviations of the best-fit parameters are given by the square root of the corresponding diagonal elements of the covariance matrix, \sigma_{c_a} = \sqrt{C_{aa}}. The correlation coefficient of the fit parameters c_a and c_b is given by \rho_{ab} = C_{ab} / \sqrt{C_{aa} C_{bb}}.
The functions described in this section can be used to perform least-squares fits to a straight line model, Y(c,x) = c_0 + c_1 x.
gsl_stats_correlation (see section Correlation), it does not depend on the fit.
The covariance matrix for the parameters (c0, c1) is computed using the weights and returned via the parameters (cov00, cov01, cov11). The weighted sum of squares of the residuals from the best-fit line, \chi^2, is returned in chisq.
The functions described in this section can be used to perform least-squares fits to a straight line model without a constant term, Y = c_1 X.
The variance of the parameter c1 is computed using the weights and returned via the parameter cov11. The weighted sum of squares of the residuals from the best-fit line, \chi^2, is returned in chisq.
The functions described in this section perform least-squares fits to a general linear model, y = X c where y is a vector of n observations, X is an n by p matrix of predictor variables, and the elements of the vector c are the p unknown best-fit parameters which are to be estimated. The chi-squared value is given by \chi^2 = \sum_i w_i (y_i - \sum_j X_{ij} c_j)^2.
This formulation can be used for fits to any number of functions and/or variables by preparing the n-by-p matrix X appropriately. For example, to fit to a p-th order polynomial in x, use the following matrix,
X_{ij} = x_i^j
where the index i runs over the observations and the index j runs from 0 to p-1.
To fit to a set of p sinusoidal functions with fixed frequencies \omega_1, \omega_2, ..., \omega_p, use,
X_{ij} = sin(\omega_j x_i)
To fit to p independent variables x_1, x_2, ..., x_p, use,
X_{ij} = x_j(i)
where x_j(i) is the i-th value of the predictor variable x_j.
The functions described in this section are declared in the header file `gsl_multifit.h'.
The solution of the general linear least-squares system requires an additional working space for intermediate results, such as the singular value decomposition of the matrix X.
The best-fit is found by singular value decomposition of the matrix X using the modified Golub-Reinsch SVD algorithm, with column scaling to improve the accuracy of the singular values. Any components which have zero singular value (to machine precision) are discarded from the fit.
Ordinary least squares (OLS) models are often heavily influenced by the presence of outliers. Outliers are data points which do not follow the general trend of the other observations, although there is strictly no precise definition of an outlier. Robust linear regression refers to regression algorithms which are robust to outliers. The most common type of robust regression is M-estimation. The general M-estimator minimizes the objective function
\sum_i \rho(e_i) = \sum_i \rho (y_i - Y(c, x_i))
where e_i = y_i - Y(c, x_i) is the residual of the ith data point, and \rho(e_i) is a function which should have the following properties:
The special case of ordinary least squares is given by \rho(e_i) = e_i^2. Letting \psi = \rho' be the derivative of \rho, differentiating the objective function with respect to the coefficients c and setting the partial derivatives to zero produces the system of equations
\sum_i \psi(e_i) X_i = 0
where X_i is a vector containing row i of the design matrix X. Next, we define a weight function w(e) = \psi(e)/e, and let w_i = w(e_i):
\sum_i w_i e_i X_i = 0
This system of equations is equivalent to solving a weighted ordinary least squares problem, minimizing \chi^2 = \sum_i w_i e_i^2. The weights however, depend on the residuals e_i, which depend on the coefficients c, which depend on the weights. Therefore, an iterative solution is used, called Iteratively Reweighted Least Squares (IRLS).
|c_i^(k) - c_i^(k-1)| \le \epsilon \times max(|c_i^(k)|, |c_i^(k-1)|)for all 0 \le i < p where \epsilon is a small tolerance factor.
The key to this method lies in selecting the function \psi(e_i) to assign smaller weights to large residuals, and larger weights to smaller residuals. As the iteration proceeds, outliers are assigned smaller and smaller weights, eventually having very little or no effect on the fitted model.
gsl_multifit_robust_bisquare type (see below) and is a good
general purpose choice for robust regression.
w(e) = (1 - e^2)^2
and the default tuning constant is t = 4.685.
w(e) = 1 / (1 + e^2)
and the default tuning constant is t = 2.385.
w(e) = 1 / (1 + |e|)
and the default tuning constant is t = 1.400.
w(e) = 1/max(1,|e|)
and the default tuning constant is t = 1.345.
w(e) = 1
and the default tuning constant is t = 1.
w(e) = \exp(-e^2)
and the default tuning constant is t = 2.985.
gsl_multifit_robust must be called first to perform the regression and calculate these statistics.
The returned
gsl_multifit_robust_stats structure contains the following fields.
sigma_ols This contains the standard deviation of the residuals as computed from ordinary least squares (OLS).
sigma_mad This contains an estimate of the standard deviation of the final residuals using the Median-Absolute-Deviation statistic
sigma_rob This contains an estimate of the standard deviation of the final residuals from the theory of robust regression (see Street et al, 1988).
sigma This contains an estimate of the standard deviation of the final residuals by attemping to reconcile
sigma_rob and
in a reasonable way.
Rsq This contains the R^2 coefficient of determination statistic using the estimate
adj_Rsq This contains the adjusted R^2 coefficient of determination statistic using the estimate
rmse This contains the root mean squared error of the final residuals
sse This contains the residual sum of squares taking into account the robust covariance matrix.
dof This contains the number of degrees of freedom n - p
numit Upon successful convergence, this contains the number of iterations performed
weights This contains the final weight vector of length n
r This contains the final residual vector of length n, r = y - X c
When using models based on polynomials, care should be taken when constructing the design matrix X. If the x values are large, then the matrix X could be ill-conditioned since its columns are powers of x, leading to unstable least-squares solutions. In this case it can often help to center and scale the x values using the mean and standard deviation:
x' = (x - mu)/sigma
and then construct the X matrix using the transformed values x'.
The following program computes a least squares straight-line fit to a simple dataset, and outputs the best-fit line and its associated one standard-deviation error bars.
#include <stdio.h> #include <gsl/gsl_fit.h> int main (void) { int i, n = 4; double x[4] = { 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 }; double y[4] = { 12, 11, 14, 13 }; double w[4] = { 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 }; double c0, c1, cov00, cov01, cov11, chisq; gsl_fit_wlinear (x, 1, w, 1, y, 1, n, &c0, &c1, &cov00, &cov01, &cov11, &chisq); printf ("# best fit: Y = %g + %g X\n", c0, c1); printf ("# covariance matrix:\n"); printf ("# [ %g, %g\n# %g, %g]\n", cov00, cov01, cov01, cov11); printf ("# chisq = %g\n", chisq); for (i = 0; i < n; i++) printf ("data: %g %g %g\n", x[i], y[i], 1/sqrt(w[i])); printf ("\n"); for (i = -30; i < 130; i++) { double xf = x[0] + (i/100.0) * (x[n-1] - x[0]); double yf, yf_err; gsl_fit_linear_est (xf, c0, c1, cov00, cov01, cov11, &yf, &yf_err); printf ("fit: %g %g\n", xf, yf); printf ("hi : %g %g\n", xf, yf + yf_err); printf ("lo : %g %g\n", xf, yf - yf_err); } return 0; }
The following commands extract the data from the output of the program
and display it using the GNU plotutils
graph utility,
$ ./demo > tmp $ more tmp # best fit: Y = -106.6 + 0.06 X # covariance matrix: # [ 39602, -19.9 # -19.9, 0.01] # chisq = 0.8 $ for n in data fit hi lo ; do grep "^$n" tmp | cut -d: -f2 > $n ; done $ graph -T X -X x -Y y -y 0 20 -m 0 -S 2 -Ie data -S 0 -I a -m 1 fit -m 2 hi -m 2 lo
The next program performs a quadratic fit y = c_0 + c_1 x + c_2
x^2 to a weighted dataset using the generalised linear fitting function
gsl_multifit_wlinear. The model matrix X for a quadratic
fit is given by,
X = [ 1 , x_0 , x_0^2 ; 1 , x_1 , x_1^2 ; 1 , x_2 , x_2^2 ; ... , ... , ... ]
where the column of ones corresponds to the constant term c_0. The two remaining columns corresponds to the terms c_1 x and c_2 x^2.
The program reads n lines of data in the format (x, y, err) where err is the error (standard deviation) in the value y.
#include <stdio.h> #include <gsl/gsl_multifit.h> int main (int argc, char **argv) { int i, n; double xi, yi, ei, chisq; gsl_matrix *X, *cov; gsl_vector *y, *w, *c; if (argc != 2) { fprintf (stderr,"usage: fit n < data\n"); exit (-1); } n = atoi (argv[1]); X = gsl_matrix_alloc (n, 3); y = gsl_vector_alloc (n); w = gsl_vector_alloc (n); c = gsl_vector_alloc (3); cov = gsl_matrix_alloc (3, 3); for (i = 0; i < n; i++) { int count = fscanf (stdin, "%lg %lg %lg", &xi, &yi, &ei); if (count != 3) { fprintf (stderr, "error reading file\n"); exit (-1); } printf ("%g %g +/- %g\n", xi, yi, ei); gsl_matrix_set (X, i, 0, 1.0); gsl_matrix_set (X, i, 1, xi); gsl_matrix_set (X, i, 2, xi*xi); gsl_vector_set (y, i, yi); gsl_vector_set (w, i, 1.0/(ei*ei)); } { gsl_multifit_linear_workspace * work = gsl_multifit_linear_alloc (n, 3); gsl_multifit_wlinear (X, w, y, c, cov, &chisq, work); gsl_multifit_linear_free (work); } #define C(i) (gsl_vector_get(c,(i))) #define COV(i,j) (gsl_matrix_get(cov,(i),(j))) { printf ("# best fit: Y = %g + %g X + %g X^2\n", C(0), C(1), C(2)); printf ("# covariance matrix:\n"); printf ("[ %+.5e, %+.5e, %+.5e \n", COV(0,0), COV(0,1), COV(0,2)); printf (" %+.5e, %+.5e, %+.5e \n", COV(1,0), COV(1,1), COV(1,2)); printf (" %+.5e, %+.5e, %+.5e ]\n", COV(2,0), COV(2,1), COV(2,2)); printf ("# chisq = %g\n", chisq); } gsl_matrix_free (X); gsl_vector_free (y); gsl_vector_free (w); gsl_vector_free (c); gsl_matrix_free (cov); return 0; }
A suitable set of data for fitting can be generated using the following program. It outputs a set of points with gaussian errors from the curve y = e^x in the region 0 < x < 2.
#include <stdio.h> #include <math.h> #include <gsl/gsl_randist.h> int main (void) { double x; const gsl_rng_type * T; gsl_rng * r; gsl_rng_env_setup (); T = gsl_rng_default; r = gsl_rng_alloc (T); for (x = 0.1; x < 2; x+= 0.1) { double y0 = exp (x); double sigma = 0.1 * y0; double dy = gsl_ran_gaussian (r, sigma); printf ("%g %g %g\n", x, y0 + dy, sigma); } gsl_rng_free(r); return 0; }
The data can be prepared by running the resulting executable program,
$ GSL_RNG_TYPE=mt19937_1999 ./generate > exp.dat $ more exp.dat 0.1 0.97935 0.110517 0.2 1.3359 0.12214 0.3 1.52573 0.134986 0.4 1.60318 0.149182 0.5 1.81731 0.164872 0.6 1.92475 0.182212 ....
To fit the data use the previous program, with the number of data points given as the first argument. In this case there are 19 data points.
$ ./fit 19 < exp.dat 0.1 0.97935 +/- 0.110517 0.2 1.3359 +/- 0.12214 ... # best fit: Y = 1.02318 + 0.956201 X + 0.876796 X^2 # covariance matrix: [ +1.25612e-02, -3.64387e-02, +1.94389e-02 -3.64387e-02, +1.42339e-01, -8.48761e-02 +1.94389e-02, -8.48761e-02, +5.60243e-02 ] # chisq = 23.0987
The parameters of the quadratic fit match the coefficients of the expansion of e^x, taking into account the errors on the parameters and the O(x^3) difference between the exponential and quadratic functions for the larger values of x. The errors on the parameters are given by the square-root of the corresponding diagonal elements of the covariance matrix. The chi-squared per degree of freedom is 1.4, indicating a reasonable fit to the data.
The next program demonstrates the advantage of robust least squares on a dataset with outliers. The program generates linear (x,y) data pairs on the line y = 1.45 x + 3.88, adds some random noise, and inserts 3 outliers into the dataset. Both the robust and ordinary least squares (OLS) coefficients are computed for comparison.
#include <stdio.h> #include <gsl/gsl_multifit.h> #include <gsl/gsl_randist.h> int dofit(const gsl_multifit_robust_type *T, const gsl_matrix *X, const gsl_vector *y, gsl_vector *c, gsl_matrix *cov) { int s; gsl_multifit_robust_workspace * work = gsl_multifit_robust_alloc (T, X->size1, X->size2); s = gsl_multifit_robust (X, y, c, cov, work); gsl_multifit_robust_free (work); return s; } int main (int argc, char **argv) { int i; size_t n; const size_t p = 2; /* linear fit */ gsl_matrix *X, *cov; gsl_vector *x, *y, *c, *c_ols; const double a = 1.45; /* slope */ const double b = 3.88; /* intercept */ gsl_rng *r; if (argc != 2) { fprintf (stderr,"usage: robfit n\n"); exit (-1); } n = atoi (argv[1]); X = gsl_matrix_alloc (n, p); x = gsl_vector_alloc (n); y = gsl_vector_alloc (n); c = gsl_vector_alloc (p); c_ols = gsl_vector_alloc (p); cov = gsl_matrix_alloc (p, p); r = gsl_rng_alloc(gsl_rng_default); /* generate linear dataset */ for (i = 0; i < n - 3; i++) { double dx = 10.0 / (n - 1.0); double ei = gsl_rng_uniform(r); double xi = -5.0 + i * dx; double yi = a * xi + b; gsl_vector_set (x, i, xi); gsl_vector_set (y, i, yi + ei); } /* add a few outliers */ gsl_vector_set(x, n - 3, 4.7); gsl_vector_set(y, n - 3, -8.3); gsl_vector_set(x, n - 2, 3.5); gsl_vector_set(y, n - 2, -6.7); gsl_vector_set(x, n - 1, 4.1); gsl_vector_set(y, n - 1, -6.0); /* construct design matrix X for linear fit */ for (i = 0; i < n; ++i) { double xi = gsl_vector_get(x, i); gsl_matrix_set (X, i, 0, 1.0); gsl_matrix_set (X, i, 1, xi); } /* perform robust and OLS fit */ dofit(gsl_multifit_robust_ols, X, y, c_ols, cov); dofit(gsl_multifit_robust_bisquare, X, y, c, cov); /* output data and model */ for (i = 0; i < n; ++i) { double xi = gsl_vector_get(x, i); double yi = gsl_vector_get(y, i); gsl_vector_view v = gsl_matrix_row(X, i); double y_ols, y_rob, y_err; gsl_multifit_robust_est(&v.vector, c, cov, &y_rob, &y_err); gsl_multifit_robust_est(&v.vector, c_ols, cov, &y_ols, &y_err); printf("%g %g %g %g\n", xi, yi, y_rob, y_ols); } #define C(i) (gsl_vector_get(c,(i))) #define COV(i,j) (gsl_matrix_get(cov,(i),(j))) { printf ("# best fit: Y = %g + %g X\n", C(0), C(1)); printf ("# covariance matrix:\n"); printf ("# [ %+.5e, %+.5e\n", COV(0,0), COV(0,1)); printf ("# %+.5e, %+.5e\n", COV(1,0), COV(1,1)); } gsl_matrix_free (X); gsl_vector_free (x); gsl_vector_free (y); gsl_vector_free (c); gsl_vector_free (c_ols); gsl_matrix_free (cov); gsl_rng_free(r); return 0; }
The output from the program is shown in the following plot.
A summary of formulas and techniques for least squares fitting can be found in the "Statistics" chapter of the Annual Review of Particle Physics prepared by the Particle Data Group,
The Review of Particle Physics is available online at the website given above.
The tests used to prepare these routines are based on the NIST Statistical Reference Datasets. The datasets and their documentation are available from NIST at the following website,
The GSL implementation of robust linear regression closely follows the publications
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The world's most unethical companies have been compiled by Swiss research company Covalence in their 2010 annual review of multinational corporations. The research company examined both quantitative and qualitative data of over 581 companies. These companies were rated using 45 different criteria including a companies human rights record and labour standards.
Most of the companies which made it into the top 10 have a very poor track record when it comes to human rights and they tend to be infamous for their exploitation of workers in third world countries. These corporations have multi-billion dollar annual profits, enabling them to get away with the worst of crimes. The only way to fight the corruption of these companies is to boycott them and to put pressure on our governments to intervene.
(CC) Image by Infoeco
Image by WhisperToMe
The world's second largest oilfield services corporation, Halliburton was granted a no-bid contract to restore Iraqi oil during the invasion of Iraq. This contract was no doubt given to Halliburton thanks to the influence of Former Vice President Dick Cheney, who just so happened to be the former CEO of Halliburton Corp. Whilst in Iraq, Halliburton's subsidiary, KBR, was found to have unfairly overcharged for it's operations by approximately $1.3 billion. On top of the Iraqi corruption, the company was fined for the bribery of Nigerian officials in order to secure oil and gas deals in Nigeria. Halliburton was forced to pay a fine of $559 million.
The Missouri based agricultural company has been named world's most unethical company. The company leads the world's production of genetically modified foods. Monsanto is infamous for unfairly suing farmers who try to grow foods both ethically and organically. If the lawsuit is not ruled in Monsanto's favour, they still achieve their desired results as the small-scale farms become bankrupt due to legal costs. The company is also the creator of the highly poisonous herbicide named Roundup ( a weed killer). This weed killer is both damaging to ecology as well as humans. A 2008 scientific study found Roundup can cause the death of unborn children.
(CC) Image by Cygnusloop99
The cooper and gold company has been accused on infringing upon the land of West Papuans and oppressing their rights. In 1998, a lawsuit was brought against the company accusing Freeport of human rights abuses in West Papua. These abuses included; house arrest, death threats, psychological harassment and surveillance monitoring by the security forces who were employed by Freeport. The lawsuits failed because the district court ruled the alleged abuses were not a violation of the 'law of nations'. The unethical companies mining procedures still continue today, unopposed by laws and officials.
The oil and gas company has been criticised for a variety of environmental and human rights abuses. Chevron has been accused of dumping 18 billion gallons of toxic waste into the Ecuadorian Amazon. Amazonian activists have claimed Chevron ran a campaign of intimidation against them to halt a pollution trial focused on the company. The oil giant has also been involved in human rights abuses with a group of Nigerian protestors campaigning against the company. Two of the protestors were shot by the Nigerian Army who had been transported to the scene by Chevron.
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In 2005 the company attracted criticism for proposing to build a road through one of Ecuador's national parks. To add to this controversy, the oil and gas corporation has been constantly involved in territory disputes with indigenous and local populations who accuse the company of infringing upon their land. The company has in the past created uproar for drilling on claimed Indian territory in Northern Colombia and causing environmental destruction in Ecuador. In the latter case, the Ecuadorian government threw Occidental Petroleum out of the country.
Cigarette manufacturer, Philip Morris is the 5th most unethical company due to it's marketing strategies. In the past the company has targeted children and exploited their vulnerability to addictive habits. The company has also employed underage girls to handout free Marlboro cigarettes to children at clubs and concerts. On top of this unethical marketing, the company issued a report in the Czech Republic saying that premature smokers deaths have 'positive effects' because they save governments money.
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The budget Irish airline is always charging customers hidden costs. The company reportedly does not even allow employees to charge their mobile phones so Ryanair can save electricity costs. Passengers who forget to bring their boarding passes to the airport automatically face a charge of £40 whilst customers wanting to complain via telephone have to pay 5p/min. Passengers who need assistance with booking a flight pay a fee of £1 per minute to call a customer service assistant.
The Swiss agricultural and chemical company profits from marketing genetically engineered agriculture. The companies objective is to dominate the seed market so that all farmers have to rely on Syngenta's seed sales. In 2008, the company was fined by the Environmental Protection Agency for violating federal regulations in some of their facilities and for failing to keep protective equipment away from contaminated areas. A former employee at Syngenta was awarded $2 million in a lawsuit after she was unfairly fired for reporting discriminative behaviour in the workplace.
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Image by Alex Covarrubias
The unethical French oil and gas corporation, Total has a large oil pipeline in Myanmar, built by slave labour. The Burma UK Campaign has criticised the company for playing a crucial role in funding the Burmese military junta. The junta receive between $200 million to $450 million a year from the oil whilst the people of Burma receive nothing but aggravation. The profit made from the pipeline has been spent on funding the juntas military with 10 MIG jets being purchased from Russia. Security forces employed to protect the pipeline have been known to commit horrific human rights abuses.
In 2009, the Mexican mining enterprise ordered private security forces and police to forcibly evict mine workers at the Pasta de Conchos in Mexico after Grupo Mexico had sold the mine to the company, Transportes Signum. Grupo Mexico is also known to violate health and safety laws and in 2007 miners at a mine in Northern Mexico went on strike in protest of these violations. The company continues to ignore the demands of the miners and the strike still continues today.
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By G.W. Schulz
I mentioned yesterday [1] that I'd been downloading older episodes of Frontline [2] from the PBS Web site. The show has three major new episodes coming out next month. But yesterday I didn't get a chance to summarize what I felt were some of the better pieces they'd done over the last few years that contained some cool local angles.
On Sunday night I went back and watched [3] 2004's "Tax Me if You Can," which appears to have been inspired at least in part by David Cay Johston's spectacular tax-beat reporting for The New York Times. Johnston made popular what was long considered a dreadful area of government to cover as a Times reporter – the IRS. We localized [4] some of his more recent reporting for the Times on big IRS layoffs and the estate tax a while back.
Frontline opens its show on tax cheats by focusing on one popular corporate tax-avoidance scheme that's been around for nearly 30 years: li-los, or "lease-in, lease-outs." Major corporate banks like North Carolina-based First Union will approach a small foreign town and say the following: "Hello, small town in Germany. We'd like to make you a deal. We understand you own a train system. We'd like you to lease that train system to us, but only on paper. We're not actually going to touch it. But we're going to tell the IRS that we own it. That way, we can get tax credits for our 'depreciated assets.' What does 'depreciated assets' mean, oh little town in Germany? That means for every year our stuff ages – our trains, our offices, our auto fleet – we're going to ask for a tax break from the IRS. We'll pay you $20 million to 'lease' your train system, but we'll get to write off millions of more dollars in taxes meaning you get some new revenue and we get to post big profits in the form of tax breaks."
Now for the local angle: The same thing happened right here in San Francisco during an attempt a few years ago to generate new revenue for the city. Matt Smith at the Weekly deserves the credit for breaking this meaty story [5] back in 2002 when he disclosed that MUNI had sold one of these "lease-back" agreements to a group of private investors.
Elsewhere, Frontline has nailed a lot of stories covering the war on terror including Cheney's power [6] inside the Bush White House, private contractors [7] in Iraq, the man who knew [8] about 9/11 (produced well before ABC put together their recent controversial miniseries "The Path to 9/11"), run amok drug [9] companies, unbridled corporate greed [10], the Iraq insurgency [11], and one of my personal favorites, predatory [12] marketing consultants.
That last episode I listed, 2001's "The Merchants of Cool," is an incredibly insightful look at how corporate marketing and advertising firms price tag abstract concepts like "rebellion" and sell them to young people eager to feel like they're a part of something. (We're all aware of how corporations target youth with their products, but Frontline does an exceptional job explaining exactly how far MTV is willing to go to climb inside the minds of teenagers.)
Frontline has deftly covered several subjects long before some of Hollywood's more popular documentary filmmakers caught up to the issues. But they just don't seem to have the publicity machine possessed by someone like Robert Greenwald [13].
[1] http://www.sfbg.com/blogs/politics/2006/09/the_quiet_force_of_frontline.html#more
[2] http://www.pbs.org/frontline
[3] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/tax/view/
[4] http://www.sfbg.com/entry.php?entry_id=1354&catid=4&volume_id=147&issue_id=245&volume_num=40&issue_num=46
[5] http://www.sfweekly.com/Issues/2004-01-21/news/smith.html
[6] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/darkside/view/
[7] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/warriors/view/
[8] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/knew/view/
[9] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/prescription/view/
[10] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/regulation/view/
[11] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/insurgency/view/
[12] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/view/
[13] http://www.robertgreenwald.org/


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Information on supports for jobseekers and people who want to start a business
Provided by the Citizens Information Board
Information on the main income supports for jobseekers and on additional benefits you may be able to get if you are unemployed.
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Types of employment, finding a job and contracts of employment.
Information about your employment rights and equality at work.
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What you need to know about tax, PRSI and the Universal Social Charge when you are returning to work.
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Long-term Follow-up Prognosis of Atrophic Gastritis After 3 Years
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- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
Serum pepsinogen (PG) levels are considered reliable markers for progression of atrophic gastritis with a stepwise reduction in the serum PG I level or PG I/II ratio. A combination of serum PG levels and Helicobacter pylori serology are used as a biomarker strategy for detection of individuals at increased risk of gastric neoplasm based on Correa's hypothesis. The investigators aimed to uncover whether this combination method could predict the risk of gastric neoplasms and the progression of chronic atrophic gastritis after 3 years. All the participants will be followed for an expected average of 3 years.
Gastric Neoplasm
Gastric Cancer
Gastric Adenoma
Gastric Atrophy
Intestinal Metaplasia
|Study Type:
|Observational [Patient Registry]
|Study Design:
|Observational Model: Case Control
Time Perspective: Prospective
|Target Follow-Up Duration:
|3 Years
|Official Title:
|Significance of Helicobacter Pylori Infection and Pepsinogen Levels on the Prognosis of Atrophic Gastritis - Observational Study
- Newly developed gastric neoplasm [ Time Frame: December 31, 2013 ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]Newly developed gastric neoplasm
- Degree of gastric atrophy [ Time Frame: December 31, 2013 ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]Degree of gastric atrophy measured by serum pepsinogen I and II levels
- Helicobacter pylori [ Time Frame: December 31, 2013 ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]Presence of Helicobacter pylori infection
Biospecimen Retention: Samples Without DNA
Serum for Helicobacter pylori antibody and pepsinogen levels Gastric biopsy for the diagnosis of intestinal metaplasia, atrophy, inflammatory cells, Helicobacter pylori, and the presence of gastric neoplasm if any.
|Study Start Date:
|January 2010
|Study Completion Date:
|August 2013
|Primary Completion Date:
|August 2013 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
atrophy-/Hp- group
Subjects without Helicobacter pylori infection and without atrophy
Subjects with Helicobacter pylori infection and without atrophy
Subjects with Helicobacter pylori infection and with atrophy
Subjects without Helicobacter pylori infection and with atrophy
Detailed Description:
According to the Correa's hypothesis, the combination method using serum pepsinogen levels and serum Helicobacter pylori antibody would predict the risk and cell type of gastric neoplasm. However, in endemic regions of H. pylori infection such as in East Asian countries (Korea, Japan, and China), most of the aged population are have current or had past H. pylori infection. Therefore, in this study, we are going to uncover whether the risk of gastric neoplasm is significantly higher in the atrophy(+)/H. pylori(-) group followed by atrophy(+)/H. pylori(+), atrophy(-)/H. pylori(+), and atrophy(-)/H. pylori(-) groups. In addition, we are going to investigate whether those slow-growing gastric neoplasms such as differentiated gastric cancers with Lauren's intestinal type and gastric adenoma are more commonly developed in atrophy group following the Correa's hypothesis, whereas rapid-growing gastric neoplasms such as poorly-cohesive carcinoma or undifferentiated gastric cancers with Lauren's diffuse type are more commonly developed in the subjects without atrophy. Taken as a whole, our study result will provide an evidence whether this biomarker strategy are useful for the detection of individuals at increased risk of gastric neoplasm.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years to 90 Years
|Genders Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
|Sampling Method:
|Non-Probability Sample
Asymptomatic Korean adults who underwent serum PG tests, H. pylori serology, and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy on the same day at our center.
Inclusion Criteria:
- Korean adults older than 18 year-old
- Subjects who agreed on serum pepsinogen tests, H. pylori serology, and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy on the same day
Exclusion Criteria:
- Subjects who had past history of gastric surgery
- Abnormal endoscopic or laboratory finding that require further treatment
- Any evidence of malignancy other than gastric neoplasm
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01824953
|Korea, Republic of
|Konkuk University Medical Center
|Seoul, Korea, Republic of, 143-729
|Konkuk University Medical Center
|Seoul, Korea, Republic of
|Principal Investigator:
|Sun-Young Lee, MD
|Department of Internal Medicine, Konkuk Universtiy Medical Center
No publications provided
|Responsible Party:
|Sun-Young Lee, Associate professor, Konkuk University Medical Center
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT01824953 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|Study First Received:
|March 28, 2013
|Last Updated:
|August 15, 2013
|Health Authority:
|Korea: Institutional Review Board
Keywords provided by Konkuk University Medical Center:
Gastric atrophy
Helicobacter pylori
Gastric cancer
Gastric adenoma
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Gastritis, Atrophic
Stomach Neoplasms
Digestive System Diseases
Digestive System Neoplasms
Gastrointestinal Diseases
Gastrointestinal Neoplasms
Neoplasms by Site
Pathologic Processes
Stomach Diseases
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on October 09, 2015


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Morning News Broadcast daily at 08:00 AM Tibet time, the Morning show is a lively mix of regional and world news, correspondent reports, and interviews with various newsmakers and on location informants. Weekly features include Tibetan Current Affairs, Youth, Health, Buddhism and Culture, and shows on traditional and contemporary Tibetan music.
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Buddhism & Culture Host Kunsang Dolma invites Lamas, Geshes and other experts on Tibetan culture to discuss the ideas of Buddhism and its influence on Tibetan life, culture and society. Kunsang la also discusses and plays excerpts from the Dalai Lama's talks to audiences around the world.
Healthy Lifestyle Healthy Lifestyle is a weekly show that features interviews with health and lifestyle experts, and discusses news and information on health matters to enable listeners to make informed changes to their lifestyle.
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You know, it's odd to use the words in the title in something besides the children's game.
Anyway, Simon says,
"I don't understand? If an university is anti-semitic, my guess is that they don't want Israel to exist (I don't know if they ever have published articles writing this, but let's assume they do). Now ADL/Sharon wants the university to shut down. Bob seems to think that it is ok for a university to react, but if Israelites are reacting it is suddenly wrong??! I hereby deny Bob the right to react on my post."
Simon has forbidden me to react to his post. Naturally I will honor his wishes. You have my word as a person who has spent his entire career in politics.
In other words, I lied like a dog.
But Simon's point is correct. Under our established relgiion of Political Correctness one of the thuosand or so Commandments is, "Thous shalt never argue if somebody calls you an anti-Semite."
But I (and I suspect Simon) still adhere to the old religion, which says you have a right to react to anwer any insult.
It's a shame, all that missionary work at public expense and we still haven't been converted.


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Alessandro Blasetti Program
Friday, November 5, 2010, 1:30 p.m.
Theater 3 (The Celeste Bartos Theater), mezzanine, The Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Education and Research Building
Includes the following films:
1860 (I Mille di Garibaldi)
1933. Italy. Directed by Alessandro Blasetti. With Aida Bellia, Giuseppe Gulino, Gianfranco Giachetti, Toto Maiorana. In Italian; English subtitles. 73 min.
Sole (excerpt)
1928. Italy. Directed by Alessandro Blasetti. Silent. 9 min.
Alessandro Blasetti (1900–1987) was a dominant figure in Italy in the late silent and early sound period, which corresponded with the peak of Fascism. He is credited with laying the groundwork for postwar Italian Neorealism, especially in his use of non-actors and location shooting. He was also heavily influenced by the great Soviet directors, particularly in his film 1860, an epic recreation of a major episode in il Risorgimento (the struggle for Italian unification).
In the Film exhibition An Auteurist History of Film
Ticketing policies for film screenings
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Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Digg, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Twitter, Universal Music Group, YouTube
CBS Sports has just released the final tally of their traffic figures for this year's NCAA March Madness, and the results are pretty impressive. Over the course of the tournament, viewers watched a total of 8.6 million total hours of streamed audio and video (a 75% increase over the 4.92 million last year). 7.52 million visitors used the on Demand video player, versus 4.76 million last year. During the Final Four (semifinal) round and championship games, viewers watched 515,000 total hours of content, which was a 51% increase over last year's stats. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/09/viewers-flock-to-cbs-sports-for-march-madness-86-million-total-hours-watched 4/9)
Google and Universal Music Group annouced the upcoming launch of VEVO, a site billed as 'premium online music hub built for consumers, advertisers, and content owners..'. The site, which will launch later this year, will include UMG's catalog of music videos, and will be powered by YouTube's technology. The two companies will share advertising revenue generated by the site. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/09/youtube-and-umg-team-for-vevo-premium-music-service 4/9)
Worldwide visitors to Twitter neared 10 million in February, up 700% in a year, reports comScore. Adults 35 and older are leading the trend. Specifically, 45-54 year olds are 36% more likely than average to visit Twitter, as many businesses sign up to use the service. (Iwantmedia 4/9, http://blogs.usatoday.com/technologylive/2009/04/twitter-traffic-surging.html 4/8)
Some young people are starting to feel conflicted about staying in constant contact through social media outlets. "With Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo and Twitter, young adults struggle to keep up to avoid the consequences — being left out of the loop or becoming irrelevant." (Iwantmedia 4/9, http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090408/ap_on_hi_te/tec_sociability_fatigue 4/8)
Showtime is offering Mixed Martial Arts fans a bit of interactivity with the PPV StrikeForce All Access bout on April 11. Fans who pony up $24.95 will have access to a simulcast video streaming interface providing 5 multiple camera angles. They will also be able to talk smack through a Facebook Connect integration. CDNs BitGravity and Episodic are powering the interactive stream. (Cynopsis 4/9)
VERY impressive. A whole new way to watch a fight with multiple camera angles and side by side Facebook conversations? Way to inspire a community around the sport.
The new Digg search, which Techcrunch wrote about last week with a screenshot, just went live. Small feature change, but it'll have a big impact on Digg usability. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/09/new-digg-search-launches 4/9)
In a new comedic Web video, Zac Efron hosts a star-studded pool party that dissolves quickly when his rude uncle arrives. The Disney "High School Musical" star did the video for FunnyOrDie.com, the video site co-founded by Will Ferrell. (Iwantmedia 4/9, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090408/ap_en_ot/people_zac_efron_video 4/8)
Disney CEO Bob Iger and Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes are at odds about the model for offering television shows online. Disney, which owns broadcaster ABC, plans to make TV shows available for free; Time Warner, which owns cable channels, supports a pay model. (Iwantmedia 4/9, http://www.nypost.com/seven/04092009/business/cast_aside_profit_163624.htm 4/9)
The Internet will overtake broadcast television as Europe's most consumed form of media in June 2010 if current growth trends continue, according to research by Microsoft. Internet consumption in 2010 will average 14.2 hours per week, compared to 11.5 hours a week for TV. (Iwantmedia 4/9, http://www.brandrepublic.com/Discipline/Media/News/897321/European-internet-consumption-overtake-TV-14-months/ 4/8)
YouTube is selling advertisements against about 9% of its video views in the U.S., up from just 6% a year ago. In fact, Google's video site is selling ads against more videos than its nearest competitor — MySpace parent Fox Interactive Media — has total views. (Iwantmedia 4/9, http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=135859 4/8)
The Web's share of advertising dollars will approach 10% this year and will exceed 15% by 2013, says eMarketer. The Web's "inherent trackability" is leading marketers to spend more on Internet ads, while spending less on ads in radio, newspapers and magazines. (Iwantmedia 4/9, http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/news/digital-downloads/metrics/e3ic007c2c7c3c565c8ba683cc66ad4389a 4/8)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: ABC News, Adam Duritz, Boston Globe, Geffen Records, George Stephanopoulos, John McCain, NPD Group, Universal Music Group
Digital-music retailers such as Amazon MP3 are selling full albums — even popular downloads — for as little as 99 cents. "It is the schoolyard crack-dealer approach," a metrics expert said. "We will essentially give it away in order to get you to try it because we think you're going to get hooked, and we think you're going to come back." The Boston Globe (3/18)
Some new releases, including "No Line on the Horizon" by U2 (above), are being priced for a limited time on Amazon MP3 for $3.99. (CBS, Jeffrey R. Staab via Associated Press)
The Counting Crows have ended their eighteen-year label relationship with Geffen Records (now part of Universal Music Group), lead singer Adam Duritz says on the band's website. Duritz says the band will go it alone, saying "the internet opens a world of limitless possibility, where the only boundaries are the boundaries of your own imagination." (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/18/counting-crows-goes-label-free/ 3/18)
Prince is launching a fan subscription service called Lotusflow3r. For $77 a year, subscribers will get exclusive music, video, lyrics, artwork and photos of the musician himself. The site also might offer streaming live performances of Prince — complete with song requests. (Iwantmedia 3/18, http://www.reuters.com/article/musicNews/idUSTRE52H00K20090318 3/17)
More Americans bought digital music last year while the number purchasing CDs declined sharply, says market researcher NPD Group. In addition, nearly half of U.S. teens listen to music on social networks such as MySpace, the study says, up from 37% in 2007. (Iwantmedia 3/18, http://tech.yahoo.com/news/afp/20090317/tc_afp/entertainmentusmusicinternetnpd 3/17)
After being ridiculed by Democrats on the campaign trail for his lack of digital savvy, John McCain participated in a " Twitterview" yesterday conducted by ABC News This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos, a first for the hill. The 72-year old Senator has been relying on the microblogging platform to bend his more than 200,000 followers' ears this month about the excesses of the recently-passed $410 billion federal spending bill. (Cynopsis 3/18)
MTV new-media executive David Gale told the crowd at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, that the network has deals with MSN, Fancast, AOL, Joost and Imeem to distribute programming and video clips online. According to this report, the network also is in talks with online sites such as MySpace.com about possible collaborations. TVWeek.com (3/17)
Chappelle Show veteran Charlie Murphy (Eddie's brother) will star in a new series on Sony's Crackle.com portal beginning Friday March 20, one of four shows debuting on the site this week. Crackle shows are also distributed on YouTube, Hulu, MySpace, AOL, Sling Media, Veoh, VCast, Sprint TV and direct to broadband-enabled Bravia TVs. (Cynopsis 3/18)
CBS' TV.com is making several content deals, bringing its video library to more than 2,000 hours of content. The new content deals with NCAA and Starz Media are in addition to existing agreements with companies including MGM Studios, PBS, Showtime and Sony Pictures Television. (Iwantmedia 3/18, http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/03/tvcom_signs_content_deals_with.php 3/17)
News Corp.'s MySpace is set for some big changes, according to Pali Research analyst Richard Greenfield. Unit parent Fox Interactive Media is seeing costs increase as revenues shrink. The company will have "little choice" but to make significant job cuts. (Iwantmedia 3/18, http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2009/03/17/myspace-pali-sees-big-rev-drop-expects-layoffs/ 3/17)
WPP and Google are teaming up to fund a three-year research program on how advertising in traditional and digital media work together to influence consumer choices. Digital "is young and hasn't had the same amount of rigorous study applied to it" as print and TV advertising. (Iwantmedia 3/18, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123733535930164021.html 3/18)
Comcast's plan to make cable programming available online to subscribers, an initiative that will be called On-Demand Online, will reinforce cable TV's economic model because it will require viewers to pay for top-quality content, according to Karin Gilford, Comcast Interactive Media's senior vice president of Fancast and online entertainment. "We want to bring a lot of content that is not online right now, while still preserving the economic model for the industry," she said. Multichannel News (3/17)
AOL is moving aggressively toward becoming a producer of traditional news, hiring journalists and launching content sites, such as the forthcoming Politics Daily. The company says it aims to create "blue chip editorial brands rising out of the ashes" of newspapers and magazines. (Iwantmedia 3/18, http://www.thewrap.com/article/1921 3/16)
The Diffusion Group has announced new statistics showing that 76% would categorize a widget toolbar on a primary TV set as "valuable." Yahoo!, Intel and Verizon Communications are among the companies making inroads in the TV-widget space. The New York Times/GigaOM (3/17)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: AOL, Cable television, Google, Microsoft, MP3, Time Warner, Universal Music Group, Yahoo
Media companies appear to be losing the battle over illicit digital copies of television episodes and films. Illegal downloading and streaming is increasingly becoming a mainstream behavior. NBC Universal exec Richard Cotton says: "Young people conclude that if it's so easy, it can't be wrong." (Iwantmedia 2/5, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/business/media/05piracy.html?_r=1 2/5)
Doesn't this feel kind of nostalgic? Anyone remember a little Deathmatch called Napster vs. the music business? Hmmmm… The world has a funny little way of repeating itself when the snooze button is depressed.
A high-quality streaming video version of "Slumdog Millionaire" as seen on a secondary site reached through a "link farm" featuring pirated movies.
Media CEOs say they are seeing their audiences move toward free or lost-cost Web video — both television and movies — and away from traditional delivery methods, such as cable television and DVDs. More young people are saying: "All I need is broadband." (Iwantmedia 2/5, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123377977256648981.html 2/5)
With Time Warner reporting earnings yesterday, we now have online advertising numbers for the fourth quarter from the four largest players: Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and AOL. Tallying up their online advertising revenues provides a decent proxy for the health of the overall online advertising industry as a whole, since they represent a majority of those revenues. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/02/05/is-the-worst-behind-us-online-ad-revenues-pick-up-in-the-fourth-quarter 2/5)
Things are not going well for Universal Music Group's in its lawsuit against video-sharing site Veoh. First, the Los Angeles judge, A. Howard Matz, ruled last month that the safe harbor provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act do apply to the case, contrary to UMG's request for summary judgment. On Monday, Veoh scored another point in the preliminary legal sparring that always precedes the main event. The same judge threw out the part of the complaint that named Veoh's investors as defendants in the suit. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/02/04/judge-tells-umg-no-you-cannot-sue-veohs-investors-for-copyright-infringement 2/4)
Microsoft is partnering with entertainment firm BermanBraun Interactive to create a celebrity news site. The creators of the new Wonderwall say it will attempt to "decommoditize" the stream of celebrity images, with a balance of the editorial tone found on TMZ and People.com. (Iwantmedia 2/5, http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/techtracks/2009/02/05/msn_launches_new_celeb_gossip_site_wonderwall.html 2/5)
And here I thought Wonderwall was an Oasis song? Microsoft take down Perez or TMZ? Doubtful.
Online film site Jaman signed a deal with E1 Entertainment to add nearly 3,000 of the studio's titles to its download service including feature films, documentaries, episodic series and classic American TV shows. E1's library includes the works of cinema masters including Jacques Demy, Claude Chabrol, Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette, Eric Rohmer. (Cynopsis 2/5)
The comedians at Team Tiger Awesome have come up with an imaginative spoof of their own for MTV Network's Atom.com to celebrate Oprah Winfrey's recent birthday. Oprah is Dead riffs on just how much the queen of daytime television has come to mean to America. (Cynopsis 2/5)
JuicyCampus, an online hangout for college students to spread anonymous rumors, is shutting down, citing a lack of advertising revenue and funding. Despite expanding to more than 500 U.S. campuses, the site was unable to "muster the resources needed to survive," says CEO Matt Ivester. (Iwantmedia 2/5, http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/02/juicy-campus.html 2/4)
U.S. Web surfers watched 14.3 billion online videos in December, a 13% increase from the month before, according to a study by comScore. YouTube had the biggest gain in viewers, a growth of 49%, and it represented about 41% of the market. TVWeek.com (2/4)
Google Sites once again ranked as the top video property in the U.S. with 5.9 billion videos viewed (a 41% online video market share), with YouTube accounting for more than 99% of all of its videos viewed, according to ComScore's latest Video Metrix report. Fox Interactive Media ranked second with 445 million videos (3.1%), followed by Yahoo! Sites with 330 million (2.3%) and Viacom Digital with 291 million (2.0 percent). Hulu continued its impressive growth trajectory, climbing 6% versus November to 241 million videos viewed. Nearly 150 million U.S. Internet users watched an average of 96 videos per viewer in December. Google Sites surpassed 100 million online video viewers during the month, representing two out of every three Internet users who watched video. (Cynopsis 2/5)
Top U.S. Online Video Properties* by Videos Viewed – December 2008
Property Videos (000) Share (%) of Videos
Total Internet 14,318,722 100.0
Google Sites 5,905,854 41.2
Fox Interactive Media 444,865 3.1
Yahoo! Sites 330,025 2.3
Viacom Digital 290,558 2.0
Microsoft Sites 247,903 1.7
Hulu.com 240,585 1.7
Turner Network 183,948 1.3
Disney Online 148,434 1.0
Source: comScore Video Metrix
*Rankings based on video content sites; excludes video server networks. Online video includes both streaming and progressive download video
Top U.S. Online Video Properties* by Unique Viewers – December 2008
Property Unique Viewers (000) Average Videos per Viewer
Total Internet 149,587 95.7
Google Sites 100,092 59.0
Fox Interactive Media 56,895 7.8
Yahoo! Sites 42,761 7.7
Microsoft Sites 29,534 8.4
Viacom Digital 27,370 10.6
Hulu.com 24,572 9.8
Turner Network 20,499 9.0
Time Warner – Excl. AOL 17,294 2.8
CBS Corporation 14,840 3.7
Source: comScore Video Metrix
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Christmas, Christmas Eve, Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Facebook, Hitwise, Los Angeles, Los Angeles California, Universal Music Group
For those Web companies that comply by it, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is turning out to be their best friend. Last week, Universal Music Group (UMG) was denied a summary judgment by a Los Angeles court in its copyright infringement case against Veoh. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/05/point-veoh-court-upholds-dmca-protections-in-suit-brought-against-it-by-universal-music-group 1/5)
Social networkers seemed to use the holiday break to catch up with their profiles as Facebook saw its highest-ever traffic surge on Christmas Eve, according to Hitwise. The site achieved a 2.18% share of overall US internet visits on Dec. 24 vs. an average 1.42% average for the month of Nov. 2008. Traffic to the site increased 41% on Christmas Eve 2008 compared to 2007 and also increased 41% on Christmas Day 2008 compared to 2007. (Cynopsis 1/5)
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Apple, Microsoft, Sony BMG, Television, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Zune, Zune Pass
Microsoft has added a new twist to its $14.99-a-month Zune Pass subscription service, allowing users to permanently keep 10 songs each month. The move, which is designed to boost subscriber numbers, was coupled with news that Microsoft signed deals to enable it to sell MP3s of music from Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group. MSNBC/The Associated Press (11/20)
3-D video could be the next big thing for HDTV makers, according to a study by Quixel Research. Three-quarters of those participating in the study said they had had a positive 3-D experience recently and nearly half said they would like to do so in the comfort of their own home. TWICE (11/19)
In a good news/bad news scenario for set-top box manufacturers, a new study from ABI Research suggests that global STB shipments will rise to 110 million units by 2012 before beginning a gradual decline after that. The report said STB shipments would begin to dip in about four years because of a number of factors, including the transition to all-digital TV signals, similar technology that increasingly will come embedded in TVs and the rise of over-the-top broadband video providers. ipTVnews (11/19) , Telephony Online (11/19)
Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Android, AppStore, Google, iPhone, Nokia, Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group
Nokia announced their Comes With Music program last month, a media download offering with backing from Sony BMG, Warner Music Group, EMI, and Universal Music Group. The system, along with the Nokia Music Store, has about 5 million tracks currently available and Nokia has announced the Music PC client for easy downloads. You can drag CDs into the application for immediate ripping. Comes With Music streamlines that process by offering unlimited over-the-air downloads your first year of phone ownership – provided you own a CWM handset – and the music remains in your possession after your contract is up. The contract lasts from 12 to 18 months and you enable the service by entering a code that will come with your new phone. (http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2008/10/02/nokias-comes-with-music-on-the-5800-nokias-attempt-to-out-itunes-itunes 10/2)
Qik has announced that its video streaming software will come pre-installed on Nokia's just-launched 5800 XpressMusic touchscreen phone – the first deal of its kind for the still-young startup. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/02/qik-to-come-pre-loaded-on-new-nokia-phone 10/2)
Google has posted some more information about how search has been integrated into the first Android-powered phone, the T-Mobile G1, which goes on sale October 22. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/02/is-search-the-best-user-interface-for-mobile 10/2)
News is in the eye of the beholder. CBS is catching flak over inappropriate content users are uploading via its new citizen journalist iPhone app CBSeyemoblie, reports AdAge. The COO of BrandContent, the ad agency which powers advertising on the service, discovered multiple photos and videos of various unsavory acts. CBS promises to redouble its effort to police the uploads. (Cynopsis 10/2)
In iPhone news, Adobe is ready to finally release a version of Flash for the iPhone if it passes the App Store screening process, according to AppleInsider. (Cynopsis 10/2)
Who needs a Nintendo Wii when you've got an iPhone? The Social Gaming Network, which released a Wii-like golfing game for the iPhone two weeks ago, has now followed up with a bowling game. As with iGolf (which has already been downloaded more than 900,000 times), iBowl uses the iPhone's accelerometer to detect a player's swing. You can twist your wrist to give the ball spin or direct it to the pins. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/02/from-the-makers-of-igolf-comes-ibowl-just-dont-drop-that-iphone 10/2)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Arts, CBS, Electronic Arts, Internet radio, Radio broadcasting, Rosario Dawson, Universal Music Group, YouTube
To support the release of two portable media players Dell is working on launching its own online media outlet to rival iTunes, reports BusinessWeek. Utilizing the technology it acquired when it purchased wireless content delivery platform Zing, the idea is to allow content to be purchased and played on multiple devices without a computer. Dell is now in the process of attempting to strike deals with many of the same content providers that supply iTunes. (Cynopsis 8/18)
Some major media companies are having a change of heart regarding pirated video on YouTube. CBS, Universal Music, Lionsgate and Electronic Arts have stopped prodding YouTube to remove their unauthorized clips and started selling advertising against them. (Iwantmedia 8/18, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/16/technology/16tube.html 8/16)
NBC today rolled out the new online sci-fi series Gemini Division, available on NBC.com and Scifi.com. The show, which consists of 52 "Webisodes," is backed by NBC's digital division and features movie star Rosario Dawson, who plays an NYPD vice cop investigating the murder of her boyfriend, who turns out to be a form of artificial life known as a SIM. (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=19&entry_id=29224 8/18)
Click below to watch the first 2 webisodes.
Pandora made a bold political statement today, saying they'd likely shut down rather than continue to pay exorbitant fees to play music to listeners of its massively popular service. Radio stations pay different rates depending on how they broadcast music. Terrestrial stations (normal FM/AM stations) pay nothing, a tribute to their powerful corporate parents with limitless lobbying budgets. Satellite stations pay approximately 1.6 cents per hour per listener. By 2010, Pandora and other Internet radio stations, which have few lobbying resources, must pay 2.91 cents. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/16/perhaps-pandora-must-be-our-sacrificial-lamb 8/16)
As someone who had a former career in radio, I have to say, artists and labels are completely in the wrong on this one. Labels wine and dine Program Directors (those who schedule the music in rotation) in hopes that their music gets aired. Now, as the audience shifts online, they want companies to pay to play their music? I'm sorry. Did I miss something? Oh that's right, this rigidity is exactly what continues to cripple the music industry. Terrestial radio = music promotion. So shouldn't it follow that online radio also = music promotion. Music label desperation = unwieldy regulation. If I (music label) can't make money on it, no one will! Sounds like a sad case of domestic abuse. Here's my open note to music labels: anything that helps your audience discover your artist is a good thing, especially if in this case, a direct link can be established between the song and the online store that sells the song (i.e. iTunes). Back in the day, listeners would call incessantly to ask the name of the song I just played so that they could purchase the song later. The direct online link poses an easier discovery method and one that should lead more often to a legitimate sale. And one more thing, the Pandoras of the world aside, those that really feel the burn of this legislation are small independent stations like the gem that is KCRW (Santa Monica, CA station).
A new site called SportsFanLive from LA-based Sports Media Ventures takes some of the most infectious social networking components – polls, messaging, betting, and mapping – and uses them to create a hang out for die hard sports fans. The interface is entirely customizable based on what teams you like (and hate.) (Cynopsis 8/18)
AppVee rates each iPhone application based on a variety of factors depending on the type of app. For entertainment applications, for example, apps are rated on ease of use, features, frequency of use, interface and usefulness. User ratings are also collected and placed alongside the official AppVee review. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/16/great-review-site-for-iphone-apps 8/16)
Facebook launched a new ad unit combining multimedia with user commenting, notes Inside Facebook. An ad for the new Ben Stiller comedy Tropic Thunder (the weekend's top movie) was the first to take advantage of the new format, offering users the option to launch a video trailer, view a review blurb of the movie from Rolling Stone or add and forward comments to friends. (Cynopsis 8/18)
IFC.com unveiled all 7 episodes of Pushing Twilight, the first scripted web series to come out of its Media Lab Studios division created to identify and incubate budding filmmaking talent. The show is based on a trailer submitted by Creator Steven Sprinkles and writer Stu Chait in the Red Bull After Hours contest. (Cynopsis 8/18)
Why are web series now synonymous with awful? I couldn't even force my way through the first episode. At this point, I think a web series this awful seems to discredit the entire online content genre.
Nextflix told Reuters it is up and running again after last week's distribution snafus and is promising to issue a 15% refund to the customers who were effected by the problems (estimated to be about 1/3 of its 8.4 million subscribers.) (Cynopsis 8/18)
Tinker Bell, one of Disney's most popular classic characters, never spoke a word in the studio's 1953 "Peter Pan" movie. But that will soon change. Tinker Bell is being recast in the hope of launching a new billion-dollar franchise aimed at young girls, with her own online community. (Iwantmedia 8/18, http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008120426_tinker18.html 8/18)


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If you haven't already heard, AOL is once again leading the industry in making available their knowledge and systems to legitimate senders
When there is a problem delivering your message to its destination you receive an error message included in the mail returned from AOL's system. The following information will give you more details on the meaning of the error message and the steps you can take to solve the problem.
Moving forward, priority will be given to requests that come through their online tools.
FBL Modification/Deletion Request Tool: Any requests regarding FBLs should be made here.
RTR/RLY/DNS Block Removal Request Tool: This form is for mail administrators only. Telnet and nslookup results from the IPs in question are required to submit this form.
HVU Inquiry/Removal Tool: Anyone receiving an HVU error can submit a support request here. HVU blocks occur when you try to send email with a blocked URL to AOL users. This form will help you identify which URL is blocked and to request removal of the block.
Other information requests: We recognize that not all support requests will fit nicely into one of the buckets above, and this page is where you can tell us about any other issues you experience while sending mail to AOL users. We do not guarantee that you will receive a response to an inquiry placed using this form. If you are being blocked, please use the appropriate tool. Submitting an unblock request on the "Other" tool is the slowest way to resolve your issue.
Don't Just Send, Deliver!


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Mission Statement:
"To Improve the Quality of Life for Individuals with Disabilities, Through the Provision of Suppport Services Which Assist People in Living and Working Independently In the Community"
Community Living Services provides services for people to live independently in their own homes. All the services are geared toward assisting people to develop and maintain the skills needed to live in a fully integrated and individually fulfilling fashion. To achieve this, CLS provides training,counseling, and advocacy that will aid people in making independent choices and live the best possible life they choose.
CLS specializes in providing services for people in all age groups and areas of life. Since each person is unique, CLS sets up the services for every person on a case by case scenario.
Children Services Adult Services Vocational Services


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We know we consume. We know others consume. But, it is nearly impossible to visualize what that joint consumption looks like as a whole or what kind of an impact it has on our environment.
An artist in Seattle, Chris Jordan, has found a shocking way to depict the sheer immensity of our consumption. The pictures are somehow pleasing, even beautiful, but the devil is in the details.A closer look reveals horrific sights and what a disaster we are creating. The figures are mind-bending:
Now, see what it looks like. It's scary.
Published by shashwat.nagpal in The Microtelecom Revolution Blog
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IDC analyst Aloysius Choong predicts that mobile phone sales in India will grow by 19% this year.
Both Economic Times and Financial Express report that mobile phone sales in the Asia Pacific region excluding Japan are set to grow an annual 10% to 400 million units in 2008.
The current mobile penetration rate in India is 20%. In China, the rate is 40%.
The Pyramid research report "The Next Billion: How Emerging Markets Are Shaping the Mobile Industry" says:
"India, not China, will add the most to the next billion."
– Pyramid Research
October 2007
We believe they're right.
Read more: Economic Times / Financial Express
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Biofuels are a hot topic. And rightfully so. Recent research has indicated that farmers prefer biofuels instead of edible crops because of the high yields – resulting in food shortages. But there's more.
CNN recently reported that "energy crops destroy natural forests that actually store carbon and thus are a key tool in the fight to reduce global warming."
Ecologist Joseph Fargione continued the same thread in a Scientific American article, saying that "Any biofuel that causes land clearing is likely to increase global warming."
Wall Street Journal's "Environmental Capital" blog notes that "Ethanol appears to come with a higher greenhouse-gas price tag than previously thought — higher, indeed, than fossil fuel."
And there's more reading, like "Climate Change and Energy – The True Cost of Biofuels" at nature.org, and "Land Clearing and the Biofuel Carbon Debt" + "Use of U.S. Croplands for Biofuels Increases Greenhouse Gases Through Emissions from Land-Use Change" at sciencemag.org.
There's seldom smoke without fire. We predict that the combustion engine will go bust sooner than later. Seems like our planet sure wouldn't mind.
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Mobile phone subscriptions increased 100 fold between 1990 and 2002. Despite this massive increase, the largest uncovered territories on the 1990 map remained the largest on the 2002 map.
Why? Simply because focus has been on expanding coverage in urban, high-density areas. And because the appropriate infrastructure has been lacking.
Growth has continued exponentially since 2002, but billions are still unconnected for the same reasons. This is exactly what Microtelecom will change.
Have a look at the map: Cellular Subscribers 2002 »
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From Business Week, Sept 24 2007:
"A mobile phone can dramatically improve living standards by saving wasted trips, providing information about crop prices, summoning medical help, end even serving as a conduit to banking services… A growing body of evidence suggests that access to communications boosts incomes and makes local economies far more efficient."
Couldn't have said it better ourselves!
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The forward-thinking state government of South Australia released a new solar "feed-in" legislation last year which allows home-owners with solar panels to receive double-credit for the power they feed into the grid.
Essentially, the government will buy back any excess energy that private solar cells produce.
The new legislation has resulted in the Adelaide Solar City initiative, which encourages citizens to go green, or rather, yellow. And make an extra buck while lowering environmental impacts.
We salute this initiative, and hope others will follow!
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Futurist Ray Kurzweil predicts that in 20 years, the world's energy needs will be covered entirely by solar – saying that there is 10,000 times more sunlight than we need.
Currently, sustainable energy sources like wind and solar only address around 1 percent of our insatiable thirst for energy, but this is sure to change as new technology like nano-engineered materials for solar panels starts maturing.
VNL is already pioneering the field of solar applications with WorldGSM™ – the world's first entirely solar-powered GSM network.
Learn more about solar energy: read the full article at livescience.com
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Award Barcelona Base station Biofuel Cleantech communicasia Diesel Energy Event Fuel Globalwarming Green Growth GSM GSMA India Infrastructure innovation Interview Microfinance Microtelecom Mobile Mobile World Congress MWC Network networks News Oil Phone Photo Power press Rajiv Mehrotra Rural Singapore Solar Solar powered Sustainability Telecom The Microtelecom Revolution Blog Trade Show Village VNL wireless WorldGSM


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What is a Personal Retreat?
For people with experience of silent meditation retreats at Gaia House or elsewhere and with an established meditation practice, an extended period of solitary meditation is an excellent way to develop one's practice, deepen one's understanding and foster greater self-reliance. Gaia House offers a rare opportunity to undertake an independent silent Personal Retreat in a supportive environment with regular guidance from respected international teachers.
Personal retreatants are responsible for your own practice within the structured routine of the House. Personal Retreats (of one week or longer) are supported by weekly meetings with a teacher – these are considered essential to maintaining your well being as part of the residential community at Gaia House. Personal Retreats are undertaken and continued subject to approval by a Gaia House teacher.
Personal Retreats can range in length from two days to three months or longer. The Hermitage Wing is available for Personal Retreats of one week or more. Personal Retreats shorter than a week are available only between scheduled Group Retreats and are usually based in the main house.
The November Solitary Retreat offers the opportunity for up to a month of independent practice supported by a community of other dedicated retreatants. Regular teacher interviews and Dharma talks are offered, and guidance is available in Insight Meditation (Vipassana), Tranquillity (Samatha) Meditation, Loving-kindness (Metta) and the other Brahma Viharas. See the Group Retreat Programme for further information.Who can apply for a Personal Retreat?
Anyone interested in a Personal Retreat should complete a Personal Retreat Application Form, which must be approved by a Gaia House teacher. You may be asked to undergo additional Group Retreats before embarking on a Personal Retreat.
Each day routinely includes an hour's work period in the morning. This is an invitation to contribute to the well being of the House and its occupants and enables us to keep our charges low.
Personal Retreatants are encouraged to engage in sustained formal meditation (sitting, walking, standing etc.) and to approach all activities as opportunities for meditative awareness and the development of continuity of practice, as the primary focus of the day.
Long term Personal Retreatants are also welcome to join the Dharma talks offered to Group Retreatants. A sign up sheet is put on the Hermitage notice board shortly before each Group Retreat.
Personal retreatants commit to observing our Code of Conduct, including the Five Precepts, which for Gaia House Retreatants are interpreted as:
- Refrain from taking life and harming living creatures
- Refrain from taking that which is not offered
- Refrain from expressions of sexuality
- Refrain from unnecessary speech and respect the silence within the House and grounds
- Refrain from the use of alcohol, cigarettes and drugs (unless for medical reasons)
- All retreatants are asked to contribute one hour of work per day to the house.
- Interviews with Teachers for Long-term Retreatants:
- Personal Retreatants staying for one week or longer, commit to meeting with a teacher at least once a week.
- As soon as possible after the beginning of Personal Retreats, an Induction Interview is arranged in which the nature and outline of the retreat is discussed.
- Regular interviews are offered and retreats may continue only with the agreement of your teacher(s).
- Personal Retreatants staying for less than one week are not guaranteed an interview but may sign up if there is a free space.
- Continuity and steadiness are essential factors in the deepening of meditation.
- Retreatants are asked to participate for the full retreat booked.
- Retreatants are also requested to commit themselves fully to Gaia House and stay within the immediate vicinity of the House and grounds. You are welcome to walk in the nearby peaceful countryside.
- If you need to leave your retreat for any unexpected or urgent reason, please discuss this with your Teacher and inform a Coordinator.
Retreats FAQ: Please read through the Frequently Asked Questions about the practical side of coming on Retreat at Gaia House. If your queries are not answered on this website, please contact us, and we will be happy to help.
Through letting go of the familiar world of words we give ourselves space from the complexity of personal interaction, and can come to see our mind and its activity more clearly. Insight into the way things are arises through experiencing life directly, rather than through language and concepts. This direct seeing is the foundation for inner peace, wisdom and compassion.
Retreatants are requested to commit to maintaining silence throughout the House and grounds, apart from essential communication with teachers and Coordinators. More about silence.
The Retreat Application Form asks questions about your personal and medical history, including meditation and retreat experience. This confidential information is necessary so that our teachers can assess your preparedness for what will be a unique and profound experience, and your ability to negotiate the demands of a Personal Retreat.
Please read through the Booking and Cancellation Policy, before making your booking.
Do not make travel arrangements until your place has been definitely confirmed.
Bursary Places:
Gaia House supports 12 bursary places per year for personal retreatants undertaking a retreat of 90 days. Bursary places begin annually on 1st January, 1st April and 1st October.
To apply for a bursary supported place, please get in touch with Gaia House to find out when the next places are available, and complete the on-line Personal Retreat Application Form.
Retreatant Support Fund:
If you need financial help to come on retreat, please apply to the Retreatant Support Fund (RSF).
Retreat Rates for 2015:
|Personal Retreats (and extra nights for Group Retreats) from 1 – 30 nights:
|£41 per night
|Personal Retreats longer than 30 nights; the nightly rate will be reduced from night 31 onwards to:
|£31 per night
|Calculate the cost of your retreat with the Personal Retreat Cost Calculator
|Bursary: Subsidised 90-day Personal Retreat:
|Retreatant Support Fund (RSF) Rate:
This highly subsidised rate is available to anyone who cannot afford the Standard or Supported Rate, via a short application process.
This rate may be used for up to 30 days of either Group or Personal Retreats in any one calendar year.
If your circumstances are such that you do not feel able to afford even this reduced rate, please contact us to discuss what you might be able to afford, as we are keen that costs do not prevent anyone from coming on retreat to Gaia House.
|50% of Standard Rate