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Beijing, Oct 8, 2012 - (ACN Newswire) - With just over four weeks until the Digital Asia Festival kicks off, the organisers have announced that over 600 entries from 14 countries have been received into the 2012 awards.
Preliminary judging has commenced ahead of the Festival with 25 jurors, 12 of which will head for the final stage at the Grand Millennium Hotel in Beijing to judge Media and Sector entries into categories which include Mobile, Viral Advertising, Media Innovation, Best Use of Social Media, Gaming, Online PR, Travel/Entertainment & Leisure, Financial Services and Corporate Information. The judging criteria will be based on Strategy, Creativity & Innovation, Execution & Results.
The jury will be led by Matias Palm-Jensen, European Chief Innovation Officer, McCann Erickson. Making up this year's jury are:
Preliminary and Final Stage Judging in Beijing:
- Amy Chen, Director of Digital Marketing, Coca-Cola, China- Benjamin Condit, Digital Partner, Mindshare, China- Manny Fernando, President, Megamobile, The Philippines- Andrew Knott, Vice President Digital, McDonald's APMEA, Singapore - Matthew Lumb, Brand Building Integrated Communication, Asia, P&G, Asia- Ryuji Mitsuishi Banderas, Director of Digital Strategy, Beacon/Leo Burnett Tokyo, Japan- Rudi Ramin, Platform Lead Asia, Kraft Foods Asia Pacific- Patrick Rona, President of Tribal DDB APAC and Chief Digital Officer of DDB Group Asia Pacific, DDB, Asia Pacific- Sandipan Roy, Regional Strategy Director, Isobar Asia Pacific, China - Lee Smith, Chief Executive Officer Platforms and President, Annalect, Omnicom Media Group APAC, Singapore- Susana Tsui, Vice President, OgilvyOne Worldwide, Asia, Hong Kong
Preliminary Judging:
- Melissa Bell, Marketing Director, Volkswagen Group, China - KiKi Chen, Managing Director, MediaLand Digital Strategy, Taiwan- Valerie Cheng, Executive Creative Director, JWT, Singapore - Joel Clement, Regional Creative Director Asia, Saatchi & Saatchi, Thailand- Damien Cummings, Regional Marketing Director, Digital & Social Media, Samsung Asia, Singapore- Christer Eriksson, Regional Planning Director, R/GA, Asia Pacific- James Hacking, Vice President, Blue Current, Hong Kong- Navin Kansal, Group Creative Director, Grey Digital, China - Seong Ng Heok, Executive Creative Director, EuroRSCG, Malaysia- Yoo-Shin Lee, Creative Director, Cheil Worldwide, Korea- Leigh Reyes, President & Chief Executive Officer, Lowe + Partners, The Philippines- Olly Taylor, Chief Strategy Officer, Host, Australia- Wendy Walker, Chief Marketing Officer, iiNet, Australia- Daniel Wright, Digital Creative Director, Colenso BBDO, New Zealand
Commenting on the appointment of this year's jurors, Myriam Coupard, Festival Director of the Digital Asia Festival, says, "The digital communications field is one that is fast-paced and working across multiple platforms from social media to mobile. The 2012 jury is an incredibly strong collective of experts from this area who have the expertise to identify those entries that are forward-thinking, ground-breaking and worthy of winning a Digital Asia Award."
The two-day Festival, taking place across 7 and 8 November, will see an unmissable series of content and networking opportunities which will conclude with the Awards Ceremony, where the jury's chosen winners will be revealed and honoured on stage. www.digitalfestivalasia.com can be visited for further details on the Festival and information on how to register to attend.
About Digital Asia Festival
The newly launched Digital Asia Festival, incorporating the well-established Digital Media Awards, is a learning, networking and celebration of the best that Asia's digital marketing industry has to offer. Now in its sixth year, the awards continue to showcase and honour the expanding digital media and entertainment industries. At a time when digital expertise has never been more important, the Digital Media Awards offer clients, agencies and media owners the chance to display their digital offering. The Digital Asia Festival presents a compelling programme of seminars, digital showcases, networking and awards and offers a great platform for brands and the online community to reach into new media and markets. The Digital Media Festival is organised by Lions Festivals and Haymarket Media Asia. For more information, please visit www.digitalasiafestival.com.
Source: Digital Asia Festival
Amanda Benfell PR & Press Manager Digital Asia Festival Tel: +44 20 7728 4040 E-mail: email@example.com URL: www.digitalasiafestival.com
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So the winter months saw the Elysians teaming up again with Maya Youssef, virtuoso kanun player, for a beautiful concert at St John the Evangelist in Oxford, presented by Late Junction's Max Reinhardt and featuring pieces from Syria, Azerbaijan and Egypt and some improvisation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bwx00IX08do&list=UUlACKVwNy8ZaqBQoiiUJV7A&index=1&feature=plcp
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Mobileye's advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) recognize cars, bikes, motorbikes and pedestrians, and can help motorists operate their vehicles more smartly and safely and even warn them of an impending accident.
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"In 10 years every new car in the world will include ADAS," predicts Isaac Litman, CEO of
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Shashua co-founded Mobileye in 1999, motivated by his research in computer vision and machine learning, together with the understanding that the automotive market will lean heavily toward sensor-based safety systems in the future.
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The company developed its first-generation system-on-chip, the EyeQ1, at its R&D center in Jerusalem's Har Hotzvim high-tech industrial park, launching the revolutionary product in 2007. Initially it was marketed to leading vehicle manufacturers BMW, General Motors, Volvo and Nissan.
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"The development process is a long one. Adapting the system to a particular vehicle takes two to five years, but we can already retrofit 65% of cars on the road."
Mobileye's forward collision monitor feature at work
Mobileye's standard ADAS functions include lane departure warning (notifies a driver if the vehicle is about to deviate from its lane), vehicle detection for radar vision fusion (based on algorithms that recognize all motorized vehicles from motorcycles to trucks), forward collision warning (alerts the driver of a potential collision risk), headway monitoring (recognizes vehicles in the same and adjacent lanes), pedestrian detection (warns about static and moving pedestrians up to 30 meters away), intelligent headlight control (automatically raises and lowers the high beam so as not to blind oncoming or preceding traffic) and traffic sign recognition to help drivers obey local traffic instructions.
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"Why do you need airbags in your car? Because they can save your life in the case of an accident. You may only use it once in your driving career -- but that's enough."
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text:
Type: Bug
Status: Closed
Priority: Major
Resolution: Fixed
Affects Version/s: None
Fix Version/s: 3.0
The following unit test:
@Test public void testBug() { final UnivariateRealFunction f = new UnivariateRealFunction() { @Override public double value(double x) { return Math.exp(x) - Math.pow(Math.PI, 3.0); } }; UnivariateRealSolver solver = new RegulaFalsiSolver(); double root = solver.solve(100, f, 1, 10); }
fails with
illegal state: maximal count (100) exceeded: evaluations
Using "PegasusSolver", the answer is found after 17 evaluations.
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- is related to
MATH-599 Re-implementation of Secant-based root finding algorithms
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The problem was due to the fact that at some point, the update formula always gave the same value: Nothing was being updated and the loop went on until the number of evaluations was exhausted.
I've committed a tentative solution in revision 1154614.
- I'm not sure that it doesn't have any adverse side-effects on the bracketing property.
- It is quite probably not a pristine "regula falsi" algorithm anymore.
Please review.
Anyways, for the function that triggered the problem (see "testIssue631" in "RegulaFalsiSolverTest.java"), the (modified) RegulaFalsiSolver takes 3624 evaluations (versus 17 for PegasusSolver). We should probably add a word of warning in the class Javadoc.
I just got back from a 3 week vacation, so I couldn't reply earlier.
The documentation for the RegulaFalsiSolver states: "Unlike the Secant method, convergence is guaranteed by maintaining a bracketed solution." While this is theoretically true, in this case it is not so, because (if I understand correctly) only a single bound is updated repeatedly, and the update is too small to matter (has no effect), due to the double representation.
The change you propose (which is difficult to see as you also change other things in the same commit) is to modify x0 and f0 if the new value of x and x1 are equal. As I see it, this changes the algorithm, and it is no longer the Regula Falsi method as known from literature. I'm therefore against this change.
The problem that is identified in this issue is very similar to the well-known problem of the Regula Falsi method: it converges very slowly for certain problems, due to one side being updated all the time, while the other one stays the same. The Illinois and Pegasus algorithms solve exactly this problem, and are well-documented in literature.
I therefore think it would be better if the RegulaFalsiSolver kept it's original implementation, and for this problem the Illinois or Pegasus method should then be used instead.
The other changes (if statements to switch with default, extracting bound switch statements, etc) can be kept, if you wish.
The suggestion to add a warning to the Secant and Regula Falsi solvers that this is a possible problem, and the solution (use Illinois or Pegasus), would indeed be a good idea. In general, adding a note that the Illinois and Pegasus algorithms perform better, would be a good idea regardless of this issue.
Once more, to be clear, I don't think this issue is a bug. It is a result of the limited convergence of the Regula Falsi method combined with the implications of limited double precision. The limited convergence of the algorithm is a property of the algorithm, and should in my opinion not be changed. I also don't think that trying to work around the limited double precision would be a good idea.
> (which is difficult to see as you also change other things in the same commit)
Sorry, but I didn't hit the solution right away, i.e. before changing those two additional little things to make the code clearer (for me)...
The only actual change is that the REGULA_FALSI enum was not used (i.e. with the switch little change, the corresponding case would have been empty) whereas now it contains the update of x0 to avoid an infinite loop.
The other (cosmetic) change was to take these two statements
x1 = x; f1 = fx;
out of the previous if and else blocks, as they were duplicated there (which made me wonder whether it was a bug that they were not different).
You say
> [...] convergence is guaranteed [...]
> [...] it converges very slowly for certain problems, [...]
> [...] The limited convergence of the algorithm is a property of the algorithm, [...]
All the above imply that one expects that the algorithm can find the solution.
However, in this implementation, it can't.
Therefore there is a bug, somewhere.
I agree that it is a limitation of double precision. But, IMHO, leaving the code as-is is not a good idea because because it leads to the impression that the "Regula Falsi" mathematical algorithm can fail to converge, which is not correct (IIUC).
Therefore, we could add a comment stating that the implementation with limited precision can fail to converge but that would be akin to saying to users: "Here is a code, but don't use it."
Personally, I would prefer to say: "Because of limited precision, the implementation can fail to converge. In those cases, we slightly modified the original algorithm in order to avoid failure."
All the above imply that one expects that the algorithm can find the solution.
However, in this implementation, it can't.
Therefore there is a bug, somewhere.
Here, the bug is in the algorithm itself, not in the implementation.
it leads to the impression that the "Regula Falsi" mathematical algorithm can fail to converge, which is not correct (IIUC).
It is correct. Regula Falsi fails to converge, or rather it can take a too large number of iteration to converge. This is exactly this behavior that has lead to the construction of other algorithms like Illinois or Pegasus. These two algorithms try to detect the case when the same end of the interval is always updated, and the other end remains unchanged. Once they have detected this, they slightly change the value at one end to trick the linear evaluation into choosing a value that is very likely to have the required sign to update this other end. In fact, in many cases depending of the sign of the curvature near the root, as soon as one end is very close to the root the linear interpolation will always remain on the same side of the root and hence will update this end.
I agree with Dennis here, the change needed to ensure convergence is not tool long is to choose a better algorithm, such as Illinois, Pegasus ... or the nth order bracketing solver I recently added. Regula Falsi should remain the reference Regula Falsi, just as secant and Brent should remain the reference ones.
"fails to converge" and "large number of iteration to converge" are completely different things.
The documentation says: "convergence is guaranteed". Is that false?
Moreover, for the function reported in this issue, the problem is not that it takes a large number iterations, it is that the loop is literally infinite because at some point, nothing changes anymore.
Stated otherwise: If implemented with larger/infinite precision, would it converge?
In the affirmative, then in my opinion it means that the plain "Regula Falsi" method cannot be implemented with double precision (or that its convergence properties are not as stated in the docs) or that there is a bug in the implementation.
In the former case, why keep something that will never be used (as we'll warn users that they should use "Pegasus" or "Illinois" but certainly not "RegulaFalsi")? IMHO, we could just state in the docs that "RegulaFalsi" was not implemented because it is demonstrably less efficient and sometimes fails to work.
A less radical alternative would be to keep the test I've inserted in the code (at line 186) and throw a MathIllegalStateException if it passes. The previous behaviour (infinite loop) is a bug in CM.
The documentation says: "convergence is guaranteed". Is that false?
It depends on what is called convergence.
If convergence is evaluated only as the best of the two endpoints (measured along y axis), yes convergence is guaranteed and in this case it is very slow. This is what appears in many analysis books.
If convergence is evaluated by ensuring the bracketing interval (measured along x axis) reduces to zero (i.e. both endpoints converge to the root), convergence is not guaranteed.
The first case is achieved with our implementation by using the function accuracy setting. The second case is achieved with our implementation by using relative accuracy and absolute accuracy settings, which both are computed along x axis.
I fear that there are several different references about convergence for this method (just as for Brent). So we already are able to implement both views.
Without any change to our implementation, we reach convergence for this example by setting the function accuracy to 7.4e-13 or above, and it is slow (about 3500 evaluations). The default setting for function accuracy is very low (1.0e-15) and in this case, given the variation rate of the function near the root, it is equivalent to completely ignore convergence on y on only check the convergence on the interval length along x.
I think we should either stick with the standard implementation of Regula Falsi or drop the class altogether. Different rootfinders are going to perform better / worse for different functions and parameter values and I don't think it is a good idea to try to modify our implementations of the algorithms to try to work around their shortcomings for problem instances for which they are not well-suited. It is much better to stick with standard algorithms, document them, and leave it to users to choose among implementations.
Regula Falsi is not a good general-purpose rootfinder, but it does perform well for some problems (or parts of problems) and the original submission was a working implementation, so I would say revert the changes and keep it.
I understand what you say. But however you put it, there is a bug; if not in the implementation, then in the API. It is not expected behaviour that something which must be changed (function accuracy threshold) to ensure correct behaviour (avoid an undetected infinite loop) is not a mandatory parameter.
To debug this, I started by raising the absolute accuracy threshold (the first default parameter, thus the first obvious thing to do) to 1e-2 and was stunned that I couldn't get anything after 1000000 iterations!
Therefore I maintain that, at a minimum, we put a line that will detect the infinite loop and raise an exception identifying that problem and not let the user wait for "TooManyEvaluationsException" to be raised, as that will induce the unaware (me) to just allow more evaluations and try again.
This solution does not corrupt the algorithm; it just adds protection.
I disagree with your statement about setting accuracy. All of this is configurable and if not set, you get the (documented) defaults. This is all documented. If the documentation is not clear, then we can improve it. A user who applies Regula Falsi to the problem instance being examined here will end up maxing iterations. I see no problem with that and in fact I see it as correct behavior (given the documented execution context of the algorithm).
How can it be correct to have an infinite loop?
The problem is not slow convergence, which you can overcome by allowing more iterations.
It is too low function value accuracy which you cannot overcome by allowing more iterations. Thus my point: We must raise the appropriate exception (the doc for which will state that it can happen if the function value accuracy is too low for the implementation to provide a result).
[My comment starting with "I understand what you say." was an answer to Luc. I hadn't read Phil's previous one which was posted while I was writing mine.]
I agree that it is better not to change the standard algorithm, as I indicated in my first comment.
The fix which I'm proposing is not an algorithm change, it is an implementation detail similar to the many hundreds checks performed in CM. Just it is not a precondition test. It adequately indicates that something went wrong and can help the user figure out what it was. It makes the implementation more robust.
The original implementation, for the "problem instance being examined here", would find the root with absolute accuracy lower than 10e-12 after 3560 evaluations (note: using the default value of 1e-6).
In fact, the root was found, at the required accuracy, after around 2200 evaluations.
That does not sound like correct behavior.
The problem is that, "x0" never being updated, the convergence test always fails... until we reach the limitation of double precision, which entails an infinite loop.
In fact my fix should not be necessary, as things have gone awry before it would apply, but there is a bug to fix nonetheless.
Is there actually a possibility of an infinite loop in the code? Looks to me like the max evaluations bound will stop the while loop, so there is no potential for an infinite loop. Apologies if I am misreading the code and the loop can fail to terminate, in which case I agree this is a problem. (As a side note, from a style perspective, I prefer to explicitly bound loops to avoid this kind of uncertainty. The natural hard bound here is the evaluation count.)
Trying to detect when a sequence of iterates has gotten "stuck" and is destined to hit max iterations without converging is walking down a path that I think is unwise for us and users. I see no reason not to stick with the standard impl here, which is nicely documented in the original submission. Trying to workaround numerical problems in simple algorithms and change contracts to include these workarounds is asking for trouble - both for us and users. In a simple case like this, it is much better to just stick with the documented algorithm, which should in this case (again unless I am missing something) end with max evaluations exceeded, which is the right exception to report.
I surely hope that your last post is not an answer to mine from 23:46.
I'll try to answer here in case it was in reply to my previous one (23:06).
Of course, the code will not run forever because of the "maxeval" bound.
But it will run for a time that depends on the value of "maxeval" with no added benefit! From a certain point, the loop is like
while (true) { // Do nothing useful, just count! ++count; if (count > maxeval) { throw new TooManyEvalutationsException(maxeval); } }
from a style perspective, I prefer to explicitly bound loops
From an OO style perspective, the reuse of the "Incrementor" is better, and you don't have to rewrite the same "test and throw exception if failed" boiler plate code each time there is such a loop.
Trying to detect when a sequence of iterates has gotten "stuck" and is destined to hit max iterations without converging is walking down a path that I think is unwise for us and users.
I see no reason not to stick with the standard impl here
A busy idle loop is a compelling reason IMO.
Trying to workaround numerical problems in simple algorithms and change contracts to include these workarounds is asking for trouble
The trouble is there with the current implementation. I'm not criticizing the contribution but this issue shows that it should be made more robust.
Also, the documentation about "convergence is guaranteed" can lead to a false sense of security.
Moreover, is the "regula falsi" a mathematical algorithm (with a guaranteed converge property if computed with infinite precision) or a numerical one, which this issue proves that it cannot guarantee convergence? In the former case, CM's (numerical) implementation is not strictly "regula falsi" and there would be no such thing as respect for an original/standard implementation if we can make it more robust.
I've already indicated that the fix does not change the contract; it stops the busy idle loop as soon as it is detected and reports that it won't do any good to increase the number of iterations. That's obviously more robust.
Now, if you were answering to my 23:46 post, I'd be glad to read an explanation of why the first paragraph describes expected behaviour.
I don't understand.
When it was created, the maxIteration threshold was exactly designed for this purpose: get out of infinite loops. It was later renamed maxEvaluation but the purpose is still the same: don't get stuck. The reason why we get stuck is irrelevant. This limit is simply a safety limit, not a tuning parameter that user are expected to raise once they hit it hoping they will converge later on. If they could raise it later, then they should set it to an appropriate value at once. Hitting it implies computation failed. Regula falsi just like any algorithm can fail if applied with the wrong parameters or to the wrong function (in fact, even with a good setting of function accuracy, it fails to converge if we require a bracket selection on the side that does not move).
Also detecting one bound is not updated is what Illinois and Pegasus are designed to do.
So I think we should completely get rid of regula falsi and only keep the better algorithms.
I think we should completely get rid of regula falsi and only keep the better algorithms.
That was my first idea. And that would be the simplest one, the safest one, and the only viable one as I can't seem to state clearly enough that
- Problem 1: When the doc says "guaranteed convergence", the algorithm should provide the answer.
- Problem 2: When the (absolute) accuracy threshold is set to 1e-6, and the correct root is found (after 2200 iterations) within the requirements, it should be returned, instead running idle and finish with an exception
The reason why we get stuck is irrelevant.
But why? If we can be more precise on the cause of failure, why not do it?
This limit is simply a safety limit, not a tuning parameter that user are expected to raise once they hit it hoping they will converge later on.
In principle, some possible use would be to compare the efficiency of different methods where the main criterion would be a time limitation (assuming that the function evaluation time overwhelms the of the root solver algorithm time). Thus with the function that triggered this issue:
- If you set maxeval to "3000", then both "Pegasus" (17 evals) and (a fixed) "RegulaFalsi" (2200 evals) would fill the bill.
- If you set maxeval to "1000", then "Pegasus" will be the only winner.
+1 for removing it altogether, and include somewhere the reason for it not being implemented in CM.
I am OK removing Reg Falsi, but stand by comments above that it is a very bad idea to hack standard algorithms and agree with Luc that maxing iterations is the correct behavior in the case we have been discussing. It is kind of pathetic that the compromise is to drop the impl; but in this case I don't see it as a real loss, since I can't think of any examples where Reg Falsi would be preferable to one of the other solvers - other than for educational purposes.
May I please know why it is OK that a bit of code does loop counting and repeatedly computes the same thing!
You insist that I'd be "hacking" whereas I've indicated 3 or 4 times that there is no hack: just a test that will exit the loop as soon as it detects that the algorithm has failed. Why is it not understandable that the busy loop could last for a long time? The function is potentially evaluated millions of times at the same point. What if the evaluation is costly? Imagine the computation running for days, only to discover that it could have been be stopped after a few seconds. Is that robust code and good advertising for a library? It is one thing to expect that there are unknown bugs in CM, but refusing to fix a known one is so obviously wrong...
And may I please know why it is OK that an algorithm that finds the right result does not return it.
I had been trying to provide alternatives to the removal, but I can't do much more if nobody answers the above two questions.
You just have to run the code and print "x" and "x1" to see what is going on!
May I please know *why it is OK that a bit of code does loop counting and repeatedly computes the same thing!*
We didn't say that. We said that regula falsi is a standard bad algorithm. We said that very smart people have enhanced it 40 years ago and the enhanced versions are known and already implemented in Commons Math. These algorithms are not blind loop counters and they insert smart target shifts that prevent the behavior we observe here. These algorithms not only detect the problem, they fix it! They allow convergence along x. They allow selection of the side of the root.
The function is potentially evaluated millions of times at the same point.
The maxEvaluations is already here to prevent this, and in fact now this max number is even mandatory in the solve method (you placed it if I remember correctly). So the function is called millions of time only if the users wishes so by setting the maxEvaluations to a number in the range of millions.
And may I please know *why it is OK that an algorithm that finds the right result does not return it.*
If the user asked for a convergence in x or for a convergence on y on the side that is stuck, then no, the algorithm did not find the right result. One of its bounds converged but the users asked for something else.
You just have to run the code and print "x" and "x1" to see what is going on!
We know exactly what is going on! We know the algorithm is stuck. We know why it is stuck. We know why it did not detect it is stuck. We know it will finally hit the safety maxEvaluation threshold that is just waiting for that. And we know that removing all these problems is done by using other algorithms which are already there.
Regula falsi is doomed. It is an algorithm used for educational purposes, or for comparison purposes, not something suited for production use. It is just like Euler for ODE (and by the way we did implement Euler for ODE and we don't recommend users to use it as we also did implement better algorithms that were also designed by smart mathematicians decades ago).
So the function is called millions of time only if the users wishes so by setting the maxEvaluations to
a number in the range of millions.
No, the user should not expect that any algorithm will go on a single iteration more than necessary.
This is a plain bug.
Why do you see that a test such as I proposed (exit the loop early) is wrong while CM (and any good program) is full of tests to ensure that you don't do useless computations?
This has nothing to do with "regula falsi", it is robustness in the face of limited precision.
However, if you insist that the bug (failing to detect that it is stuck) is really an integral part of the algorithm, then removing it is not a "pathetic compromise", it is the only right thing to do!
This is a pointless discussion. Gilles, you obviously don't share the views that Luc and I have on implementing standard algorithms or even what the meaning of a numerical algorithm is. Some algorithms perform well for some classes of problems and not others. There is an art to choosing the right algorithm for the problem instance at hand. If we modify our implementations to try to work around shortcomings of the algorithms we implement, then we are not implementing the standard algorithms, and we need to document exactly what it is that we are implementing, because in this case we are actually making it harder for users to choose (because we are not longer advertising standard numerics). This is what I meant when I said it is both harder for us (because we have to document the hacks and non-standard contracts) and users (because the standard numerical analysis theory that they may be using to choose among implementations will no longer apply). It is, IMO, a "pathetic compromise" to drop the implementation because we can't agree on what it means to implement the algorithm. So be it. Lets drop it and resolve this issue as "fixed."
Gilles, you obviously don't share the views that Luc and I have on implementing standard algorithms
That's simply not true.
I was the one pointing out that standard algorithms should have precedence: Please recall that it was considered fine that "Levenberg-Marquardt" and "Brent" would be, unknowingly to the user, "twisted" to perform non-standard convergences check.
In those cases, there was the risk that the result of the algorithm would not be the same as the reference implementation.
In this case, there is no such thing as deviating from standard numerics! It was just a matter of throwing the right exception. So: "The algorithm fails? Let's tell it sooner rather than later."
Very interesting question that you ask: "what it means to implement the algorithm". But please note that I asked it several posts ago[1], and an answer would have helped sort out this discussion. What is your definition?
[1] 08/Aug/11 07:24
Could you please leave out dismissive qualifiers such as "pointless" and "pathetic" (and, elsewhere, "silly") and stick to more or less objective arguments?
That will certainly help keep the conversation tone to a courteous level.
Thanks for stating in full details what you meant by "convergence" in this case. However, it is still a "post-mortem" description.
Do you really expect that the average user of the CM library (a.o. me and the original reporter of the issue) to be able to figure out that "obvious" explanation just by getting a "TooManyEvalutationsException", setting the along-x accuracy threshold to a ridiculously high value and still getting the same exception?
If just for educational purposes, don't you think that it is more instructive to get a specific hint that the algorithm is stuck, rather than hit the ultimate fail-safe barrier much much later, and then download the source code and sprinkle the code with "println" statements to do forensic analysis?
I tried to handle this issue out of respect for a real user who reported an issue that would have looked suspicious to many CM users. [How many of them would be experts in numerical analysis?]
You do not do me a favour by removing this algorithm; I don't want it to be a compromise (pathetic or not). If you prefer to keep it, I don't care anymore. But, in that case, you should have answered to Axel Kramer to go and read some books on numerical analysis.
Gilles, I apologize for tone of comments.
The discussions for this issue have left me with a lack of overview, so I'll (try to) objectively summerize the discussions above:
The problems are:
- Regula Falsi states it always converges, but the implementation doesn't.
- The main loop may continue, even when it no longer makes any progress, and subsequently ends with a TooManyEvaluationsException exception.
The cause of both problems is:
- The limited/finite precision of the Java double type.
Proposed solutions:
- The patch from revision 1154614, which modifies the Regula Falsi algorithm.
- Consensus seems to be that this change, which modifies the algorithm, is undesireable. We should keep the original algorithm.
- Detect that the algorithm no longer makes progress and throw an exception, instead of continuing the loop which no longer makes progress.
- This is just earlier detection of the algorithm getting stuck.
- We could throw the TooManyEvaluationsException exception, that continuing the loop would also get us.
- The class only states "Exception to be thrown when the maximal number of evaluations is exceeded.".
- The exception message only states: "illegal state: maximal count (100) exceeded: evaluations"
- Both may benefit from more extended documentation/messages.
- We could also throw an other exception that more clearly states this issue (NoMoreProgressException, AlgorithmStuckException, ...?).
- It could for instance mention that changing the function value accuracy may be a solution, or asking for a different kind of solution?
- Add documentation to the Regula Falsi algorithm that it is not intended to be used for actual problems, but only to compare algorithms, for testing, educational purposes, etc.
- Add documentation to the Regula Falsi algorithm that users should use Illinois or Pegasus instead, which should outperform the algorithm for most if not all problems.
- Add documentation to the Regula Falsi algorithm that it theoretically converges, but the implementation may not, due to the limited/finite precision of Java's double type. This will result in an exception (or 2 if we also do solution number 2).
- Remove the Regula Falsi algorithm, and document why it is not included/implemented.
- This seems to have been accepted as a last resort solution only.
Other notes:
- The following problem was also indicated: a solution is found after a certain number of iterations, but the algorithm does not return the solution (it does not terminate)
- This should only happen if the user asked for a different solution. That is, there are several accuracy parameters, as well as an allowedSolution parameter.
- If the solution requested by the user is found, it should return the solution immediately, otherwise it is a bug.
New notes:
- I think the Regula Falsi algorithm does not state a fixed convergence criteria: it is left to the user to decide on one.
- When I implemented the algorithm, I think I copied the convergence checks for Brent.
- I subsequently modified the convergence criteria when I added the allowedSolution parameter.
My personal opinions on the proposed solutions:
- (1) Revert part of 1154614, so get the original algorithm back. The other changes of that commit, that don't change the actual algorith, can stay.
- (2) If we keep the algorithm, earlier detection would be nice. Not sure which exception to throw in these cases.
- This would result in a single 'if' that detects that the new approximation is the same as the previous one, and we thus no longer make progress, in which case we throw the exception earlier, instead of later.
- (3-5) If we keep the algorith, all 3 documentation extensions would be a good idea.
- (6) If possible, keep the algorithm, and don't remove it.
New issue:
- TooManyEvaluationsException currently seems to use LocalizedFormats.MAX_COUNT_EXCEEDED("maximal count (
{0}) exceeded"), but maybe should use LocalizedFormats.MAX_EVALUATIONS_EXCEEDED("maximal number of evaluations ({0}
) exceeded") instead?
Thanks for the neat summary!
- (1) Revert part of 1154614, so get the original algorithm back. The other changes of that commit, that don't change the actual algorith, can stay.
Done in revision 1157185.
- (2) If we keep the algorithm, earlier detection would be nice. Not sure which exception to throw in these cases.
- This would result in a single 'if' that detects that the new approximation is the same as the previous one, and we thus no longer make progress, in which case we throw the exception earlier, instead of later.
+1 (my position in the "07/Aug/11 20:28" post)
As suggested there, the exception could be "MathIllegalStateException" but with a clear message stating that the algorithm is stuck. Or maybe a new subclass of it which we could call "NumericalPrecisionException" or even a general-purpose "ImplementationException".
[...] all 3 documentation extensions would be a good idea.
About the "new issue", the message string:
"illegal state: maximal count (100) exceeded: evaluations"
contains everything:
- error type: illegal state
- failure description: maximal count (100) exceeded
- context: evaluations
I proposed to use this approach (combining message items with the "addMessage" method of "ExceptionContext") in order to reduce the number of messages in the "LocalizedFormats" enum. Too many of them are just slight variations on a same theme.
contains everything
I agree. I was just wondering why a message that seems to be exactly the same as the exception was not used, as it kind of looked like it was created just for this purpose...
I proposed to use this approach (combining message items with the "addMessage" method of "ExceptionContext") in order to reduce the number of messages in the "LocalizedFormats" enum. Too many of them are just slight variations on a same theme.
Ah, so then the MAX_EVALUATIONS_EXCEEDED is just a remnant of the past that should be eliminated, by replacing it everywhere by the more general MAX_COUNT_EXCEEDED?
Yes. In the file "LocalizedFormats.java", I've started to write
/* keep */
after each enum that is supposedly to be kept. All the others are still to be examined for redundancy with another one, or the possibility to create something close using the "multi-item" approach.
The 'ticket631.patch' file is my attempt to resolve this issue with a solution (or maybe I should call it a compromise?) that is satisfactory for all people that participated in the discussions for this issue, without having to remove the Regula Falsi algorithm from Commons Math.
I changed the following:
- Added early detection of no longer making progress ('getting stuck'), and documented it.
- I used ConvergenceException for this, as it seems to fit... Do we want a custom error message with it?
- Extended RegulaFalsiSolver documentation to indicate:
- that the algorithm should not be used for actual problems.
- that Illinois and Pegasus are improved versions and should be prefered.
- that the implementation does not guarantee convergence, while the algorithm theoretically does.
- Extended IllinoisSolver and PegasusSolver documentation to indicate that they don't suffer from the RegulaFalsiSolver's implementation/convergence issues.
Please comment on whether this patch is an acceptable solution/compromise, and if not, why it is not.
Committed (with minor additional Javadoc fixes) in revision 1164474.
Leaving open until confirmation that ConvergenceException is the right one to use. I thought that we could make a difference between theoretical and implementation convergence failures. But it might not be worth introducing the distinction just for this one case, especially since it is quite clear clear now that the class should not be used.


text: Furry Thief Can't Win (YouTube link)The video title calls him a ferret, but commenters called him a short-tailed weasel, a white weasel, an ermine, and a "smelly meat slinky." Whatever the little guy is, he's having a hard time getting out the door with his big stolen roll! -via Buzzfeed Comments (5) Commenting is closed.


text:
Things to see and do - Tiradentes
Leaving for Brazil
Nearby hotels
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Santissimo Resort from460 BRLBook
Solar da Ponte from725 BRLBook
Solar da Ponte :
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from : 725 BRLBook
Solar da Ponte is a charming country house situated in the historical area Tiradentes. It offers luxurious Mineiro interiors, an outdoor pool and sauna and free WiFi. The picturesque rooms at Solar Del Ponte have flowered upholsteries and pretty wooden furniture, and some have an impressive 4-poster bed. All are equipped with air conditioning, an LCD TV and minibar. A breakfast buffet with fresh warm breadrolls, oven-baked cornbread and marmalade is served daily overlooking the gardens. Afternoon tea is also served, featuring regional cookies, cakes and cheese bread. Guests can relax with a drink from the bar in front of the fireplace. Solar da Ponte is 10 km from the Sao Joao Del Rey city, and 750 metres from the picturesque Santo Antonio church. Free parking is available.
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text:
I've been lax on discussing Travelle Wharton's retirement. I don't
intend disrespect - he was good, and he served here in Carolina for a
long time (I believe, 4th most starts all time for the team?). It's a
shame to see another long-tenured player skating out early - officially,
the fourth OL to retire this offseason. Granted, only Wharton and
Jordan Gross are truly significant, and it's tough to know that the team
won't have them as their LT/LG combo.
Wharton's Carolina history makes for a nice story, and his time with the
Panthers is great - but we all know of all that.
On a team with a significant youth presence (finally - after hearing for
years about "building through the draft", there are finally significant
contributors under 27), I'm now somewhat concerned about the veteran
side of that presence. Leadership, experience. It's not that Carolina
doesn't have it - and I'm OK with the 2007 vintage of two of Carolina's
three offensive leaders this year (Greg Olsen, Ryan Kalil), or the
supplement that's added by Jason Avant (2006) and Jerricho Cotchery
(2004). I'm very comfortable with what the youth of Cam Newton and Luke
Kuechly provides, too.
But what you got with Wharton, compared to some of the youth? Just a
known steadiness. Wharton, like many others lost in the last two years
that came from the mid-2000s, were veteran soldiers, now somewhat
casualties to Carolina's salary cap woes. On average, would you find a
Travelle Wharton (metrically, one of the better guards last year
leaguewide) worth $1 million? Now add in the loyalty that comes with a
guy like that saying he's willing to play for you and only you. In an
NFL culture that's been within free agency for twenty years, staying
around is a big deal. It's undervalued.
That's not to say that's the only thing that Carolina used when choosing
not to consider Wharton for another year. Certainly, they wanted more
solidarity at guard than last year, where they used a full ten players.
Wharton's pretty dependable, but he's not young. This would be year 11.
And they've found some value in drafting linemen high and hoping they
can just fit in. They've done it in each of the last three years.
But for that amount, Wharton could've provided a lot of value. It also
provides the value of holding off on that pick for another year. I'm
not suggesting they should've definitely kept him, and not picked Trai
Turner. That pick seems to be working out just fine. I'm just
lamenting the lack of choice.
Similarly, I fully expected Dwan Edwards to be cut this year. $1.2
million savings, free and clear. Doesn't seem like a lot for a veteran
DT who would probably be starting most places, and honestly, only injury
took him off the start last year (since the team had Colin Cole starting
over the much more able Kawann Short - Short played twice the number of
snaps but never started). Edwards might return to starting, who knows,
but his presence is valuable and useful. For all the quality of the
outside rush, Edwards is the only one that can add the exprience of
having been a good NFL pass rusher inside. Cole certainly can't. DL
coach Eric Washington is top flight, but he hasn't been that guy as a
player either (which is fine). Edwards can teach the youth some things,
and still provide his snaps.
It's no different than how a young Mike Rucker learned from Reggie
White, who he credits for teaching him how to be a pro. Rucker taught
Julius Peppers, Charles Johnson. Johnson taught Greg Hardy. That's how
you hand down information. That's history, culture.
It's simply the idea that Carolina might not be able to afford $1.2
million for a veteran backup that impacts its best unit. Or choosing
not to afford $1 million for potentially its weakest.
I love the concepts Dave Gettleman has brought in regarding low-cost
mercenaries and slowly working its way out of cap hell. But there's
something to be said for a Travelle Wharton, with nothing left to prove,
willing to put the body on the line for not much money, almost out of
just loyalty.


text:
WASHINGTON – Rusty, the National Zoo red panda who made headlines earlier in the week for his great escape, apparently managed to leave his enclosure with help of the tree canopy in his exhibit.
Smithsonian National Zoo officials say in a news release that a team of Zoo experts and animal care staff members did a thorough assessment of the red panda enclosure.
They inspected the facility using recent photos and security footage.
"Based on that review Zoo staff conclude it is highly likely that Rusty left his enclosure during the night of Sunday, June 23 or early morning Monday, June 24 through the tree canopy in his exhibit," Zoo officials say in a news release.
They say several factors contributed to Rusty's escape.
Rain last Sunday morning lowered the limbs of the tree in his exhibit which shortened the space between the trees and the edge of the enclosure.
As well, the bamboo on the edge of the exhibit was bent over due to the rain, creating a bridge.
Zoo officials believe that given Rusty's climbing abilities, he left the exhibit with help of a makeshift bridge created by overlapping tree limbs and bamboo.
Officials did not find any red panda tracks outside the exhibit so they cannot determine the exact route Rusty took.
To prevent any future escapes, the Zoo has done several things to ensure Rusty and the other red panda, Shama, are safe in their enclosure:
Follow @WTOP on Twitter.
Recipes that will make your mouth water.


text:
While numerous children's books have been written about Jackie Robinson, this is the first dedicated to another pioneering ballplayer, Larry Doby, who joined the Cleveland Indians 11 weeks after Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Doby became the first African-American player in the American League and, in 1948, he helped the Indians win their first World Series in decades. Crowe (Mississippi Trial, 1945) tells the story of the first game in that World Series matchup through the excited first-person narration of Homer, a young baseball fan who, having been told he can't play on his local Little League team, is looking to Doby to prove "that our people are just as good in baseball--or anything else--as whites are." Homer and his parents listen to the game over a newly purchased radio, but readers have a better seat, thanks to Benny's (The Listeners) atmospheric acrylic paintings, which shift between closeups of the ballpark action and Homer's family's elated reactions at home. A straightforward but nonetheless inspirational story of barriers being broken down, one slow step at a time. Ages 6-10. (Jan.)[Page ]. Copyright 2011 PWxyz LLC
Gr 1-4--Eleven weeks after Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier with the National League's Brooklyn Dodgers, Doby signed with the Cleveland Indians, in the American League. While his achievement has not been as celebrated as Robinson's, the need for him to succeed was just as important. It validated Robinson's Rookie of the Year accomplishment, proving that he wasn't a fluke, and that African-American players could succeed in baseball just as well as white athletes. Doby's story--and particularly his 1948 season with the World Champion Indians--is seen through the eyes of Homer, an African-American child who is crazy about baseball. He, too, faces disappointment when his Little League coach tells him he can't play because he is black (an abruptly cruel moment in an otherwise uplifting book). Homer and his father follow Doby's every move, fully aware of the history they are witnessing. It is the familial context that gives the book its punch. Period details, such as hurrying to the local drugstore to listen to the World Series games on the radio, combine with play-by-play drama to flesh out a compelling story. Benny's acrylic paintings focus on the characters--Doby, Homer, his mother and father--placing them in the spotlight at various moments. A compelling look at one of the game's trailblazers.--Kara Schaff Dean, Walpole Public Library, MA[Page 92]. (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.


text:
My hero is my father Jerry Edwin Shenefield. He began serving his country at the age of 18 right out of high school. Shortly after my mother became a part of his life and they had my little brother and I. My dad is a hard working man who does everything possible to keep his family and his country safe. He has been deployed numerous times and missed many thing in my life but I know that it was to keep us safe.
My dad now works for the Maritime civil affairs and security training command, he has been working there for about a year now. All together my dad has spent 22 years serving this country. Just about two days ago we were given the news that he will be deployed to Afghanistan for a year. He will be leaving in June of this year, while flying back and forth before, then for training. I feel that recognizing him as a military hero would be an amazing thank you right before he leaves.


text:
Topic: Kongregate Multiplayer Games / [Crazy Fairies] Someone hacking Market
Hey guys,
I've forwarded this to the appropriate part of the team to see if someone is, indeed, botting items.
Regarding your request to see who bought an item, can you give me an argument for it? It could easily be abused and once your item's gone there's no getting it back. So, how would you use it?


text:
Magnificent Irrelevance
Democrats hitch their wagon to a burnt-out star.
What an odd choice by Debbie Wasserperson Schultz, chairwomanperson of the Democratic Party. With all the consequential things going on in America and the world, why invite such an inconsequential personage as Charlie Crist to speak on the final night of the Democratic convention? Why such a lightweight by any measure, just before such heavyweights as the Democrats have? Can the party be that hard-up for speakers?
I guess the charm for Democrats is that Crist, who was a RINO during his single term as Florida's governor, and then became an independent because he couldn't keep up with Marco Rubio in the Republican Senate primary in 2010, has endorsed Obama for re-election and has said a bunch of glowing, downright fantastical stuff about him. Veteran Charlie-watchers in Florida expect Crist to register Democrat and run in 2014 against current Republican governor Rick Scott, who is more popular than dandruff, but barely. Republican to Democrat cross-dressing is rare these days, so this was undoubtedly Charlie's ticket to speak.
Crist's six-minute witnessing for Obama was mostly fluff, as his speeches mostly are. There were the usual clichés about "common sense solutions" and "finding common ground" with no specifics about which solutions or what common ground on what. Crist wore out these dreary tropes in the 2010 Senate race and lost to Rubio by 20 points.
And Democrats should be skeptical about the few designative things he did say. Crist has a long history of saying one thing before doing something else, and holding such fluid positions on issues that it's a challenge for him to remember where he stands on anything on any given day.
Crist stiffed Florida Republicans who had donated to his Senate campaign in 2010 by bolting the party, turning in his remaining conservative positions in for new liberal ones, and running against Rubio as an independent. This after saying repeatedly, including once on Fox News Sunday in late winter of 2010, that he would not leave the Republican Party and run as an independent. Crist is well and truly loathed among the conservative Republican base in Florida for these high jinks. And Florida Democrats have no reason to believe Crist won't stiff them as well when he finds it expedient to do so.
Charlie dragged Ronald Reagan in on his makeover scam, quoting, in reverse, the old cowpoke's explanation of why he became a Republican. "I didn't leave the Republican Party -- it left me," Crist said. He even trotted out that recent canard that even the normally acute Jeb Bush has fallen for, that "Ronald Reagan would have been too moderate, too reasonable for today's GOP."
Those paying even minimal attention are entitled to wonder about Crist's conversion. Take a look at some of the things Crist was saying, not years ago, but in 2010 when he was trying to out-conservative Rubio in the Republican primary: Crist continually referred to himself as a "Ronald Reagan conservative." He said he thought Sarah Palin was a great VP pick. After catching flack for saying he was for Obama's 786 billion stimulus slush fund, he said he was against it and said Obama was a profligate spender. He said he was pro-life and pro-gun. "You can't get more conservative than me," he said at campaign stops.
Barely two years later, Crist is whooping up a party that is anti-gun, incontinent in its spending, and considered Sarah Palin a threat to the republic when she was on the Republican ticket. He's hamming it up about how the very positions he held two years ago are now "extreme."
Florida Republicans are having fun at Charlie's expense. Rubio, who whomped Charlie in the 2010 Senate race, joked that Charlie is "running out of parties" to join. Republican Party of Florida Chairman Lenny Curry called Crist "a crass opportunist" who is little more than a "political ladder climber." One who can't decide which ladder to climb.
"You can't make up Charlie Crist," Jeb Bush said on a recent appearance on Fox Business News. "He's unique. He's organized his life around his personal ambition and ran in a primary where he was the odds-on favorite, but didn't offer a compelling reason to be elected to the Senate. Marco Rubio cleaned his clock and beat him in the general and now he's trying to find a way to get back into the political game."
There is some evidence that Florida Democrats don't believe that Charlie is born again. Even if he is, they aren't keen on letting him start at the top. Several party luminaries have said there are plenty of "real Democrats" available to run against Scott in 2014.
Former State Senator from Gainesville, Rod Smith, now chairman of the Florida Democratic Party, who wasn't even told Crist would be speaking at the convention, told the Miami Herald, "If he wants to join our church, he'll be welcome in the congregation, but that doesn't mean he'll be preacher. He might not even be the choir director. He'll have a lot of 'splainin' to do."
So perhaps Charlie's excellent new political arrangement is not a true marriage, but just a six-minute late summer romance. Even so, what was Debbie Wasserperson Schultz thinking?


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How to Stitch Cotton Into Your Portfolio?
Among the questions investors now face: How much rally is left in cotton since skyrocketing 171% already in a year? Among the variables to consider are weather, demand and how much more land gets devoted to cotton. Analysts point to better and worse ways to play this commodity.


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Virginia Air Board rebukes Cuccinelli
Virginia's Air Pollution Control Board issued a symbolic rebuke Friday of state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's plan to challenge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's attempt to regulate greenhouse gases.
The seven-member, governor-appointed citizen board directed its chairman, Hullihen Moore, to tell the EPA that Cuccinelli is not acting on their behalf. The move holds no legal ground.
"We just thought it was appropriate to state our views," said Vivian Thomson, one of four board members to approve the resolution. She was joined by Moore, Bruce Buckheit, and Sterling Rives.
(AP Photo)
Cuccinelli's detractors, including Democratic lawmakers in Richmond and environmental activists, argue the challenge is a waste of time and money. Cuccinelli, meanwhile, contends the EPA based its decision on flawed science and that regulations would hurt Virginia's economy.


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Posts Tagged 'studio'
At Work: Griffen Hollow Studio Joins a Collaborative Workspace
Alex Traxler was just about to close on a space to house his growing business, Griffen Hollow Studio, when a friend mentioned he should come take a look at sharing a space he had near the south end of The Ohio State University. "I struck up a conversation asking Andrew Kern if he wanted to split...March 14th, 2014 | At Work | Read More
At Work: Converting an Old Garage in German Village into a Salon
If you frequent Schiller Park, you have probably noticed that Head of the Park Hair Salon has left the building on the corner of Stewart and City Park Avenues. In 2011, after 28 years of leasing that space, owner and hair stylist Mindy Coffey became aware of a unique property, decided to purchase that...February 19th, 2014 | At Work | Read More


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What is Movie News After Dark? Sometimes it likes to think that it is a carefully constructed Rube Goldberg machine constructed by a popular rock band that quickly became on online sensation. It also sometimes thinks that it's a world famous traveling circus of puppets. Sadly, it's just a nightly column of movie news and interesting links. Sorry.
Have any of you seen a recent picture of actor Jonah Hill? He looks odd, to say the least, having lost a great deal of weight. Is it me, or does he look like a nerdy white version of President Obama? Slightly unrelated is his being cast in Neighborhood Watch alongside Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller.
Perhaps Universal Studios is becoming wise right before our eyes. Or they are running out of money. Either way, they seem to be canceling movies left and right these days. First they axed The Dark Tower, which didn't sit well with most people. They also killed Gore Verbinski's planned Clue remake and his proposed Bioshock adaptation. Now they're making the right choice and killing the McG directed Ouija movie because, well, who the hell wants to see that, anyway?
NBC has purchased the rights to a television drama set in the "golden age" of the 1980s professional wrestling boom — you know, when the likes of Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant were making it big. It will be exec. produced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jerry Bruckheimer. The only question that remains is whether the show will pay homage to the real wrestlers, like Roddy Piper, or whether it will be set in that universe with new and unique characters. Either way, it should be interesting.
Man of many unique talents Clifton Collins Jr. has joined Pacific Rim, joining Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Charlie Day and others in Guillermo Del Toro's allegedly massive robots vs. aliens flick.
Below you will find the latest teaser poster for Underworld: Awakening, which looks a lot like posters from all the previous Underworld films. Except for the date, of course. And the fact that it was created by a Deviant Art user (thanks to Brad Brevet for the heads up).
And because that was completely and utterly underwhelming, have a gander at this totally rad Ghostbusters poster courtesy of FuckYeahMoviePosters:
It would be terrible of us to completely overlook the great Twitter meme of the day, as encouraged by Toy Story 3 director Lee Unkrich — who, as it stands, is one of the few filmmakers who utilizes social media to connect with fans even when he doesn't have a film to promote (I'm looking at you, Jason Reitman). Today's big ordeal was #RejectedToyStoryTitles, including my personal favorite, Bring Me the Arm of Buzz Lightyear. Awesome. Please share your own favorites in the comments below.
According to new reports, there could be more changes on the way for the Star Wars trilogies when they hit Blu-ray next month. However, many of the new changes should be far less controversial than those George Lucas made in the 90s — color timing is being corrected, cleaning is being done to eliminate ghosting and the arms of puppeteers are being removed from certain original trilogy scenes. Not all bad. Then again, digital Yoda is coming back, so there's that.
L.A. based Splendent Media has signed a deal to represent the worldwide rights to 69 projects from legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, meaning that a bunch of remakes of his greatest works could be on their way soon enough. At Movies.com, the ever-astute David Ehrlich lists 3 Kurosawa films that could be remade and 3 that shouldn't be touched. It's hard to argue with his logic.
Legendary East, the Asia-focused spin-off of Legendary Pictures, is busy lining up its first film: an epic called The Great Wall with director Ed Zwick (The Last Samurai) attached. Most interesting about this project is that it comes from an original story from Legendary exec. Thomas Tull and World War Z author Max Brooks. Okay, you have my attention, even though this is a story about how a giant wall was built.
In honor of Anne Hathaway's critically panned British accent in One Day, Life has compiled a list of the worst accents in movie history. To say the least, they have a killer lead with Kevin Costner. That's where every "bad accents" list should start.
For those just itching to get a fix on The Hunger Games, a first look clip will debut at the MTV VMA's on Sunday, August 28. Which brings up an interesting question: they still play music videos on MTV?
We end tonight with the most charming thing you'll see all week, OK Go covering the theme song from The Muppets Show alongside a few special guests. Based on this, I promptly downloaded Muppets: The Green Album, a collective of modern talents and timeless Muppet songs, and my life was improved. Yours will be too, should you decide to buy it.


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locker room amenities
cardio theatre
pro shop
equipment orientation
fitness assessments
parking at capitol hill
Our locker rooms are spacious, light and immaculately clean. We offer bath towel service as well as soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, deodorant and hairspray. Relax in the Dry Sauna, steam away your cares in the Steam Sauna* and soak the stress away in the Jacuzzi*.
*Amenities vary by location
Certified massage therapists are on hand to provide Swedish; deep tissue ; sports massage; Shiatsu & Table Thai; and Prenatal.
60 Minute Session
$92 for members; $107 for non-members.
Prenatal massage is $115 for members; $125 for non-members
90 Minute Session
$125 for members; $140 for non-members
Prenatal massage is $150 for members; $160 for non-members
Appointments are made at the front desk.
Children that are 3 months to 11 years old are welcome in our babysitting area. Our babysitting staff has gone through extensive screening and reference checks as well as training for child CPR and First Aid. A 7:1 adult to child ratio is maintained. Fees are $4 per hour, $6 for 1.5 hours, 2 hour maximum per child, per day. Discounts available for multi-session pack purchases. Reservations are highly suggested and are made through the front desk.
* Capitol Hill only
You can analyze your muscular and cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, body fat percentage, and more through a personal trainer. This consultation can also help you set fitness goals and help determine an appropriate fitness program. For a fee of $35 you can make an appointment by contacting Ed Ingebretsen email@example.com or directly through a Personal Trainer in the club.


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The Daily Ed: September 27, 2012
It's Christmas in September at Supreme Court (Tacoma News Tribune)
Peter Callahan writes, "The Washington Supreme Court courtroom Tuesday was lousy with lawyers representing the state attorney general and some of our toniest law firms."
Seattle mayor to push for downtown school in South Lake Union (Seattle Times)
Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn is looking to make a deal with downtown developers in order to secure space for a elementary school.
Student debt stretches to record 1 in 5 households (Bellingham Herald)
Data from the Pew Research Center found that student debt is up 15 percent from 2007.
Minorities unequally disciplined in high school (Chicago News Tribune)
Looking at federal and city data, the Chicago News Tribune found that Black students are more likely to be reported to the police for disciplinary issues than White students.
Students in trouble often cooperate — even if they don't need to (Chicago News Tribune)
"Edwin Yohnka, spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, is troubled about what he sees as a blurring of lines at school, with administrators and school resource officers — who are certified law enforcement officers on campuses — jointly involved in handling discipline cases."
Report calls on schools to adopt digital media within 5 years (Education News)
A report from the State Education Technology Directors Association says that schools switching over to from textbooks digital media is beneficial academically and economically.
Fewer than half of 2012 high schools grads ready for college (Education News)
A report by the College Board found that only 43 percent of high school students "met the standards that correlate to a high likelihood of college success set out by the SAT College & Career Readiness Benchmark."
Thursday Bonus: Dog vs. Dog Stroller Races
The only thing that would have made this video better is if they would of played "Grease Lightning" in the background.
Posted in: BlogLeave a Comment (0) →


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40,414pages on
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this wiki
The Sigma Erandi system was a planetary star system. This system was located in the Alpha Quadrant.
When the USS Enterprise-D purchased hytritium needed on Beta Agni II from Kivas Fajo in 2366, Fajo told the crew that the next closest source of hytritium was Sigma Erandi, but he could not guarantee they had any on hand. The system was also three weeks away from the Enterprise's current position, so the USS Grissom, the Starfleet vessel closest to Sigma Erandi, was informed to stand by in case more hytritium was needed. (TNG: "The Most Toys")
The Sigma Erandi system appeared in the starchart Data and Picard were studying in Stellar Cartography in 2371. (Star Trek Generations, display graphic)
The star chart seen in "Generations" depicted the location of planets, stars, and star systems in the Alpha Quadrant. Based on the dimensions of the circles used to mark locations on the star chart seen in "Generations", this system was located relatively far to the USS Enterprise-D.


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Sapphire HD4830 512MB Review
Reviewed by: ajmatson
Reviewed on: December 2, 2008
Price: $114.99
With the flux of video cards hitting the market this year how do you choose what is the best for you? In these hard economic times companies are realizing that there is a large market for mainstream cards with the best bang for the buck. Sure there are blazing fast cards but for the price are they really justifiable? ATI has recently released the HD 4830 GPU targeted at the budget conscious user that wants the power to run today's games with no problems. Based off of the much respected HD 4800 series RV770 GPU the HD 4830 does not take its job lightly. Sapphire has taken their proven products and made an HD 4830 card ready to take on any opponent you encounter on the battlefield.
The Sapphire HD 4830 has the same memory type and bus as the HD 4850 with a reduced number of shaders and a slower core clock. Will this make a huge difference in the performance compared to its bigger brother or will the performance be close enough to justify a slower card? Also will the performance be enough to steal the mainstream market especially with a very catchy price point? To find out let's take a good look at the Sapphire HD 4830 and benchmark the card to see where it stands.
Closer Look:
The Sapphire HD 4830 comes packaged in a nice looking blue and black schemed box with a Sapphire mascot next to the company and product logos. On the top of the box is Sapphire's gaming slogan "Prepare to Dominate". On the back of the packaging Sapphire points out highlights of the HD 4830 video card as well as what is in the box. Sapphire also places the system requirements on the left spine of the box.
Opening the box reveals a glimpse of the card in protective plastic. Underneath the video card are the accessories that Sapphire has bundled with it. Included with the HD 4830 is a driver CD, a manual, a 4-pin to PCI Express 6-pin power adapter, a DVI to VGA adapter, a DVI to HDMI adapter, a S-Video adapter, and a component video dongle.
Now that everything is unpacked let's take a better look at the card.
Closer Look:
Sapphire has chosen to break from the reference design with this card to show how this separates it from the rest of the pack. Sapphire has built their HD 4830 on a blue colored PC Board with an aftermarket heatsink. The Sapphire HD 4830 uses the same RV770 core that is used on the HD 4850 and HD 4870 cards with lower clock speeds and crippled shader and texture units. This also will help keep the Sapphire HD 4830 card running cooler unlike its bigger brothers that were plagued by high temperatures.
The Sapphire HD 4830 video card has two DVI ports, which support Dual Link DVI and multiple displays, and an S-VIDEO port for component video out. The HD 4830 requires a single 6-pin PCI Express power plug to provide the juice needed to push the limits of gaming and other tasks. On the top spine of the PC Board are two tabs which are used to connect this card to other compatible cards in a CrossFireX multi-GPU setup. You can connect up to four cards for QuadFire if you have a supporting motherboard.
As I stated earlier the HD 4830 uses the same RV770 core as its older brothers the HD 4850 and the HD 4870. The Core however runs at a slower 575MHz and only has 640 shader units unlocked instead of 800 on the other two and 32 texture units instead of 40. The memory is 512MB of GDDR3 which runs at 900MHz (1.8GHz effective) all on a 256-bit memory bus. The memory on the Sapphire HD 4830 card is manufactured by Qmionda and is model # HYB18H512321BF-10 which is rated up to 1000MHz so there may be some good overclocking going on.
The cooler added to the Sapphire HD 4830 is a dual slot type design that uses a copper core and aluminum fins to help quickly dissipate heat. There is a large fan which forces air over the fins dropping temperatures and keeping the critical parts cool. This is the same fan we saw on the big brother HD 4850 card from Sapphire and it dramatically reduced operating temperatures so I am pleased to see it on their HD 4830 as well.
Now that we have seen the glory how about we start the testing phase.
Closer Look:
Sapphire makes the install a simple process with its install all menu. When the CD is inserted into the CD drive the auto start program takes over launching the Sapphire installation menu. There are two options: one for Windows XP and one for Windows Vista. You need to select the option for the operating system you are installing the card on. To the left there is a list of the cards supported by this driver.
Once you select the Driver Install option then the programs hands the install off to the Catalyst Control Center Installer which will actually install the ATI drivers and get you all set up. You choose the install location and the options you want included in the install and the Catalyst Control Center Installer does the rest. Once the installer is finished then you are prompted to restart the computer to finalize the install process.
Now that the drivers are installed we can get a better look at the Catalyst Control Center.
Closer Look:
The Catalyst Control Center is where all of the settings for the Sapphire HD 4830 are available. There are plenty of options and settings available depending on the capabilities that you choose to use. Each group of settings can be adjusted to your specific viewing preferences and image quality.
Information Center: In the Information Center you can view extensive hardware information as well as driver, CCC and DirectX versions.
Digital Panel: In the Digital Panel you can set and view display information such as GPU scaling, DVI settings, and color correction.
3D: In the 3D tab you can adjust general image quality settings as well as Anti-Aliasing, Anisotropic Filtering and color schemes. There are also a few settings for DirectX and OpenGL.
AVIVO Video & ATI Overdrive: AVIVO settings allow you to alter the color settings for better viewing. ATI Overdrive gives the user control of the GPU and memory frequencies. For novice users there is an automated clock configuration utility that will find the best overclock for your system settings.
Now how about we get some testing going on thie Sapphire HD 4830.
Graphics Engine
ATI Radeon HD 4830
Video Memory
Engine Clock
Memory Clock
|900MHz x2
Memory Interface
DirectX Support
BUS Speed
PCI Express 2.0
|Dual slot active cooler
DVI x2, S-Video x1
Dual Link DVI Output
HDMI Support
|Yes, via adapter
HDCP Support
- GDDR3 memory 256-bit memory interface
- DirectX® 10.1
- 24x custom filter anti-aliasing (CFAA) and high performance anisotropic filtering
- ATI CrossFireX™ multi-GPU support for highly scalable performance
- Use up to four discrete cards with an AMD 790FX based motherboard
- PCI Express® 2.0 support
- Dynamic geometry acceleration
- Game physics processing capability
- ATI Avivo™HD video and display technology Unified Video Decoder 2 (UVD) for Blu-ray™ and HD VideoBuilt-in HDMI with 7.1 surround sound supportOn-chip HDCP
- ATI PowerPlay™ technology
With the HD 4830 being based off of the HD 4800 series RV770 core I am quite excited on seeing what the Sapphire HD 4830 has install for us today. To gauge the scores on an average I will be including a slew of cards currently on the market so you can see where it stands among the mid to high range video cards. To eliminate any variables all hardware will be ran at stock speeds, timings, and voltage so there will be no interference in the numbers. All of the hardware will remain the same for each video card tested to keep the scores fair.
- Processor: Intel Core2 Quad Q9450
- Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X48-DQ6
- Memory: Mushkin XP2 Redline 8000 2 x 2GB 5-5-5-12
- Video Card: Sapphire HD 4830
- Power Supply: Mushkin 800w Modular Power Supply
- Hard Drive: Seagate 750GB SATA
- Optical Drive: LG DVD-RW
- OS: Windows Vista Ultimate
Comparison Video Cards:
Overclocked Settings:
- Sapphire HD 4830 670/995
To overclock the Sapphire 4830 card I went with the Catalyst Control Center Overdrive program which I knew worked with this new card. I started upping the GPU speed 5MHz at a time until the card became unstable. Then I backed it down little by little until I had a stable overclock on the GPU. Next I followed the same steps on the memory however I stated the overclock at 950MHz since i know the memory is rated for 1000MHz per the manufacturer. I almost hit that ceiling ending up at 995MHz (1990MHz Effective). This is where our overclocking numbers will be ran at.
- Video:
- Crysis
- Knights of the Sea
- BioShock
- Call of Duty 4
- World in Conflict
- Call of Juarez
- Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts
- 3DMark 06 Professional
- 3DMark Vantage
Crysis has been out for quite some time now. In that time, there has yet to be a single or multi GPU setup that can fully showcase the graphics performance of the game. Will the GTX 280 be that card? The Crysis single player demo includes both CPU and GPU benchmarks to test the performance of your processor and video card.
- Anti-Aliasing: x2
- Advanced settings to High
The Sapphire card did very well almost matching the HD 4850 at lower resolutions.
PT Boats: Knights of the Sea is a new DX10 title that features its own proprietary graphics engine currently in development. The game is a combination of Real Time Strategy and Simulation. You have the ability to control the entire crew or just a single member. Play as the German, Russian or Allied navies, and prove your mettle on the open seas.
Video Settings:
- Anti-Aliasing: x0
- Image Quality: High
- DirectX Version: 10
- All resolutions: 60Hz
Tailing on the heels of the MSI and the HD 4850 this cards does not want to give up.
BioShock is one of the creepier games out the wild. The building of a perfect Utopian society undersea gone horribly wrong. Its inhabitants driven mad with the introduction of tonics and genetic modifications. Now Rapture is just a shadow of its former glory with little girls looting the dead of what little they have left while being shadowed by guardians known as "Big Daddy's" It is a demanding game that will make your hardware scream for mercy. This First Person Shooter allows for an infinite number of weapons and modifications to provide a unique experience each time it is played. The environment as well as the story line will wrap you up for hours on end.
Video Settings:
- All settings to maximum
- V-Sync: Off
Wow I did not expect this card to do that well in Bioshock since there are soo many shadows and lights mixing but it did awesome.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is the successor to the Call of Duty crown. This iteration of the game is fought in many of the world's hot spots with modern armaments and firepower. You can play as either a US Marine or British SAS trooper. Since this game does not feature an in-game test, I will run through a section of the game and measure average FPS using Fraps 2.9.3.
Video Settings:
- Anti-Aliasing: x4
- Anisotropic Filtering: Max
- Texture Quality: Extra
- All settings max
The Sapphire HD 4830 card kept up well even matching the overclocked MSI 4830 at 1920x1200.
World in Conflict Released last year World in Conflict is a Real Time Strategy game that simulates the all-out war the world hopes never comes. The difference in this RTS game is that it is not the typical "generate wealth and build" type of game. Instead, you advance by conquering your foe with limited opportunities to replenish your troops..
Video Settings:
- Anti-Aliasing: x4
- Anisotropic Filtering: x16
- Graphic Detail: Very High
This card is smoking hot giving top end cards a run for their money.
Call of Juarez is a DX10, first-person shooter set in the Wild West of the late 1800's. The game is inspired, in part, by the movies of the Wild West genre of the seventies and eighties. The game can be played in both single player and multiplayer modes. The game focuses on realistic graphics and gameplay designed to take advantage of the latest video cards on the market.
Video Settings:
- Details: High
- Shadowmap Size: 2048x2048
- Shadow Quality: Normal
- Anti-Aliasing: MSAA x4
Just look at the scores. Even though it is behind it is performing very well.
Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts is the latest chapter in the Company of Heroes series. The scene is WWII. The mission is Operation Market Garden, the first allied attempt to break into the Third Reich. Play as the British or Germans. This Real Time Strategy game is brought to us by Relic Entertainment.
Video Settings:
- Anti-Aliasing: x8
- All other settings to maximum
The HD 4830 was kicking the heals of the overclocked MSI 4830 and even the HD 4850.
3DMark06 is one of those benchmarks that always comes up when a bragging contest breaks out. 3DMark06 presents a severe test for many of today's hardware components. Let's see how this setup fares. The settings we will use are listed below.
- SM2.0 Graphics Tests: GT1- Return to Proxycon, GT2- Firefly Forest
- CPU Tests: Cpu1- Red Valley, CPU2- Red Valley
- HDR/SM3.0 Graphics Tests: HDR1- Canyon Flight, HDR2- Deep Freeze
Look at the HD 4830 coming close to the HD 4850.
Just added to the OverclockersClub suite of benchmarks is the newest from Futuremark, 3DMark Vantage. Featuring all-new game tests, this benchmark is for use with Vista based systems. "There are two all-new CPU tests that have been designed around a new 'Physics and Artificial Intelligence-related computation.' CPU test two offers support for physics related hardware." There are four preset levels that correspond to specific resolutions. 'Entry' is 1024x768 progressing to 'Extreme' at 1920x1200. Of course, each preset can be modified to arrange any number of user designed testing. For our testing, I will use the four presets at all default settings.
- All default settings in each preset level
- Entry 1024x768
- Performance 1280x1024
- High 1680x1050
- Extreme 1920x1200
Again the HD 4830 is on the heels of the bigger HD 4850 brother.
As we have seen the HD 4830 series card are something to keep an eye on. For the price they offer the power needed to run today's games on medium to high settings with no problem and even take on cards that are designed to be faster than them. When put to the test the Sapphire HD 4830 stood its ground and even matched or beat scores of other cards in its class. When you factor in a price of around $100 for an HD 4830 vs $250 or more for an HD 4870 or a GTX 260 you can purchase two cards and CrossFire them for less than a single card of the latter. This GPU is going to be a hit for those of us who want to push the latest games but want to watch what we spend on our components in the money situation the world is currently facing.
I very much like the dual slot cooler because I personally had issues with early HD 4850 card overheating and this card stayed cool and quiet even when overclocked to speeds higher than the stock HD 4850 cards. Sapphire was smart about the heating issues on the HD 4850 with their dual slot cooling solution and I am very pleased to see they brought it to their HD 4830 line as well to aid in cooling. Out of the HD 4830 cards I tested this one stayed the coolest even to the touch. My HD 4850 has to sit in my case for a few minutes before I even dare to remove it because I have burned my fingers on it before. Sapphire did a great job in designing and building the HD 4830 for us.
- Excellent performance
- Great overclocking headroom
- Runs cooler than other HD 4800 series cards
- Low price compared to other cards in its class
- Runs cool with Sapphires Dual Slot Cooler
- Better performing Cards available


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SITE NEWS: We are moving all of our site and company news into a single blog for Sports-Reference.com. We'll tag all B-R content, so you can quickly and easily find the content you want.
Also, our existing B-R blog rss feed will be redirected to the new site's feed.
Baseball-Reference.com » Sports Reference
For more from Andy and the gang, check out their new site High Heat Stats.
Awards Voting: WHIP and ERA+ added to Cy Young ballot tables
A quick note to let everybody know that we now list WHIP and ERA+ on the Cy Young Award voting tables:
2010 NL Cy Young Voting
1969 AL Cy Young Voting
Special thanks to B-R user Brendan for the suggestion!
This entry was posted on Monday, May 16th, 2011 at 4:45 pm and is filed under Administration, Announcements, Awards, Stats. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
5 Responses to "Awards Voting: WHIP and ERA+ added to Cy Young ballot tables"
Rick Says:
May 16th, 2011 at 6:45 pm
Nice feature.
I noticed Carlos May on the 1969 AL ROY voting. Tomorrow happens to be his birthday, May 17. "May 17" was also his jersey for most of his career. I'm wondering if anyone knows how many of the teams he played for had the names on the backs of their uniforms at that point. In any event, happy Carlos May Day!
Jimbo Says:
May 17th, 2011 at 6:30 am
How does Jimenez have a higher WAR thank Halladay in 2010 when Halladay seems to beat Jimenez in every category across the board with k/9 being close to the same. Halladay walked less than 1/3 as many hitters, had a better ERA+ and threw more innings with a lower WHIP. What am I missing?
Jimbo Says:
May 17th, 2011 at 6:42 am
And wow Ken Tatum for ROY in 1969. 3 times as much WAR as Piniellla. And wow, he sure could hit for a relief pitcher. Looked like the next Babe Ruth in his rookie year but then didn't have much of a career.
#2 - It looks like it's mostly park effects. That difference isn't really attributable to defense or strength of competition, so it must be due to the difference in park factors (COL 115 multi-year, PHI 100). A replacement-level P would be expected to allow basically the same # of runs in Jimenez's 222 IP as in Halladay's 250 IP. That works out to a rate of 5.9 R/9 for a replacement P in Coors and 5.1 R/9 in Citizens Bank. Sure enough, 5.9/5.1 ~ 1.15.
And since Jimenez/Halladay practically allowed the same # of total runs, they have pretty much the same WAR.
Congratulation! 🙂