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Electronic Structure
Energy gap versus composition of GaNAs
GaInNAs has an anomalously large band gap bowing, markedly different to conventional semiconductors, and of interest both from a fundamental perspective and also because of its significant potential device applications. Our models explain this unusual behaviour [1], and confirm the potential of this novel material for GaAs-based lasers emitting at telecomm wavelengths [2].
Fig. 1 Variation of energy gap (lower curve) with composition in GaNxAs1-x.
Physics of GaInNAs band-gap bowing.
Because a N atom is very different to an As atom (40% smaller; much more electronegative), an isolated substitutional N atom introduces a resonant defect state in GaAs, at energy EN about 200 meV above the GaAs conduction band edge, Ec. The band-gap bowing in GaNxAs1-x is then explained in terms of a Band Anti-Crossing (BAC) interaction between the N resonant states and the conduction band edge. Our tight-binding calculations validate this unusual behaviour [1,3], and show that the conduction band dispersion in GaNxAs1-x is very well described in terms of interactions between a distribution of nitrogen resonant states and the host matrix (GaAs) conduction band.
The two-level BAC model treats all N defect states as being at the same energy. Using this 2-level model there is one significant set of experimental data which cannot be explained, namely the observed composition dependence of the conduction band edge (CBE) effective mass in Ga(In)NAs alloys. The BAC model predicts a smoothly varying enhancement of the CBE mass compared to GaAs. It provides a good estimate of the measured mass at very low N compositions (x < 0.05%), but significantly underestimates the mass in GaNxAs1-x for x > 0.1%, and fails to describe its non-monotonic behaviour. In Fig. 2 below, the filled data points are the experimental results, measured by Masia and co-workers at University of Rome "La Sapienza" [4,5]. The open data points were calculated including an accurate theoretical model for the full distribution of N defect levels. The results show that the unexpectedly large electron effective mass values observed in many GaNAs samples are due to hybridisation between the conduction band edge and nitrogen cluster states close to the band edge. Because the density of cluster states varies with energy, we predict and find a non-monotonic behaviour in the effective mass with hydrostatic pressure in many GaNAs samples. Based on this understanding of GaNAs band structure, we have been able to extend the model to treat a wide range of different dilute nitride alloys [5] and also to address the electronic structure of other extreme alloys such as Ga1-xBxAs [6].
FIG. 2: Measured values of the electron effective mass as a function of the N concentration. Several untreated (full circles) and H-irradiated (full diamonds) samples are considered. Error bars indicate the uncertainty on the mass values (in some case the uncertainty is within the symbol size). Open squares are the effective mass values calculated by the model of Ref. 3, the dotted line is a guide to the eye. An abscissa axis break at x=0.70% has been introduced for ease of comparison. .


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Farmer Jay has been clearing logs from around the edges of the big field to the southeast of my house. He's gone back into the cordwood business, he tells me, after a brief hiatus. He did not say why but I assume the favorable price of cordwood might have something to do with it. Cordwood is expensive (I can remember paying $45 a cord, years back, but I've heard of prices as high as $275 a cord more recently) but there's also a lot of work in it. I don't think the hourly wage of anyone who cuts cordwood for a living is very high. Plus it's dangerous work. Still, it's a good way for a hay farmer to earn income in the winter. So the familiar whine of the chainsaw began. He works alone but within sight of many of my windows so I glance out from time to time, an interesting diorama to watch when I look up from my desk. He works with a skidder, cutting the tree first, limbing them and then dragging the trunks across the field, stockpiling them up by the road. Standard logging practice. Looked to me like a lot of maple and ash but I didn't look too closely. I could see from the fir boughs that were mounting beside the stone wall that he was also cutting pine. Though these fields belong to my neighbor, Jay manages them, keeping the edges trimmed and picking up trees that go over in wind and ice. This makes it easier for him to get as much hay as possible from these big and mostly productive meadows. I don't know of any nicer fields in this town or the next. Aside from the fine horse hay it produces (I am told it is very good quality) and now the harvest of hardwood, these fields provide a great beauty, which is no small product.
So he spent several days cutting and I watching. The pine boughs out by the edge of the stone wall were mounting and the day that I wondered what he would do with those also brought my answer. With his skidder, he pushed the boughs into a big high pyramid and lit fire to it. The fields are covered by a very thin blanket of snow. The pile let up a big plume of smoke and for several hours, that was what it was, a green pile with smoke rising from the center. He kept pushing more limbs and branches toward the pile. At one point I walked out to the center of the field to get a closer look. As his yellow growling machine revved and rammed, I could hear the snap of wood, perhaps being broken by the force of the blade or maybe just the heat of fire inside the burning limbs. It sounded like a massive hearthfire, snapping and cracking as flames finally burst freely up through the pile. At moments, it seemed he was driving the skidder right into the fire. I stood in the cold and watched. Dense near the earth but thin above the treetops, the gray tower of smoke rose high into the air, visible, I'm sure, for miles.
The day was ending. After darkness fell, I looked out to see the brush still flaming, a red, angry circle in the blackness. It was a clear night, stars bright. A satellite drifted silently overhead. I wondered if Jay's fire was visible from space. The morning brought a snow squall, dusting the fields, stone walls and every branch. Flames were no longer visible but smoke still moved slowly upward, a lazy climb, like a tired runner. When the workday started, Jay returned. I heard the engine of the yellow skidder start, waking up, clearing its throat, chugging across the field. With the blade of his skidder, he scoured the edges, a distant yellow monster relentlessly pushing long branches into the smoldering circle. Fire burst up again, muscular and inspired. Throughout the day, the tower of brush alternately flamed and smoked, a physical, vocal, theatrical presence in the otherwise still, silent field. Several days passed like this.
Last night, I could still see a red pile of embers glowing in the darkness of the night. Today only a wide charred circle in the white field remains, the end of the week's performance. And a mystical footnote: that massive amount of matter, vanished. The long logs piled up by the road have yet to be dealt with.

subset: commoncrawl


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The Birmingham City Council Tuesday delayed action on a three-year contract worth $336,376 for shuttle service during the Magic City Classic, and one member asked whether that service could be handled by the transit authority.
The council delayed a vote to hire International Trailways to provide the service for $112,125 annually for three years. In addition, a three-year contract with GameDay Management worth $115,920 is forthcoming to manage game-day transportation services.
Councilwoman Kim Rafferty, chairwoman of the transportation committee, said the city should meet with Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority officials to determine whether that agency can handle the job. And if it can't handle the event this fall, Rafferty said the city should determine whether it can do so in future years.
"We have a transit system that is viable if we invest in it, and it is reprehensible that we are championing the cause of our transit system yet we don't trust them with providing services to our citizens," Rafferty said in an interview.
The council delayed the issue for two weeks.
The annual football matchup between Alabama State and Alabama A&M universities is one of the country's largest Classic games, drawing at least 100,000 people to Legion Field and the surrounding grounds. The area around the stadium transforms into a temporary city, with vendors, tailgaters and spectators filling RVs, tents and trucks.
The city has struggled to improve transportation services to and from the event, beginning with a small shuttle service in 2006. Complaints, crippling traffic jams and bad survey reviews led to a major overhaul in 2008, when the city spent nearly $180,000 to add buses and hired GameDay to coordinate the service. Complaints have dropped.
BJCTA Board Chairman Brian Hamilton said that, "if requested, we're certainly happy to evaluate our cost to provide the service, but our primary concern is that we have sufficient assets to provide regular bus services, and anything outside of regular services would be less of a priority."
Mayor William Bell's staff insists its option is the most efficient. "I don't have the confidence that the BJCTA can do the job the way that people who specialize in this event can do it," said senior aide Terry Burney. "It's 75 buses that are continuously running, and people have become used to the fact that the buses are on time (and) there are no issues with loading and unloading."
In other business, the council approved agreements totaling $225,000 to hire two companies, Frost Cummings Tidwell Group and Bloc Global Services Group, to create incentive packages and recruit developers in western and northern areas of the city.


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College of the Canyons officials are encouraging all students to apply for federal Pell Grants and financial aid this year.
This year, the Pell Grants program, which awards money to cover educational expenses for college students based on need, has increased from a maximum of $4,731 to $5,350.
"A lot of students are coming back to school to get retrained or learn a new skill to find a job," said COC Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships Tom Bilbruck.
Last year, the community college gave out $2.7 million in unsubsidized student loans, and the 2008-2009 school year saw a 54 percent increase in Pell Grant applicants versus the previous year.
Bilbruck said that the lines at the financial aid office have been the longest he has seen in 10 years.
"I think the biggest mistake a student can make is to not apply at all," he said.


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25 Easy to Make Homemade Jewelry Crafts
Bonus: Get our newsletter & special offers for free. We will not share or sell your email address. View our Privacy Policy
Icicle Earrings
By: Catherine Fox
We are adding the craft to your Craft Projects.
The project was added to your Craft Projects.
Click here to view your Craft Projects.
Want effortless winter style? Adorn your ears with icicle inspired earrings, made using these earring beading patterns. Our video tutorial will walk you through the process.
- White bugle beads
- White fringe beads
- Two earwires
- Crimp beads
- Crimp covers
- .014" diameter beading wire
- Crimping pliers
- Wire cutters
- A ruler
- Measure and cut two 8" lengths of wire.
- Thread a length of wire in an earwire loop. Center the earwire on the wire. String a crimp bead on both strands of the wire and pull the crimp bead close to the earwire.
- String your beads on one strand of wire in this order: a bugle bead, a fringe bead, a bugle bead, a fringe bead, two bugle beads, and a fringe bead.
- Now thread the wire end back through your beads including the crimp bead, but skipping the last fringe bead you strung on.
- Working on the other strand of wire, string on your beads in this order: two bugle beads, a fringe bead, a bugle bead, and a fringe bead.
- Like before, thread your wire end back through your beads including the crimp bead, but skipping the last fringe bead you strung on.
- Adjust your strands and crimp bead so that you will allow enough room for your crimping pliers. Crimp your crimp bead, trim the wire ends, and secure your crimp cover to your crimped crimp bead.
- Repeat steps 2-6 for other earring.
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onecraftymomma4lif e
Feb 18, 2012
I dont really like Video directions , but i do see that they help some people I just wish they would have a option to have writen directions , and always have a pic of the finished project... because as it is ... the project sounds intresting . however ... ihave to watch the video to see if i even like the finished project
Oct 18, 2011
@MissPatti, The video is on this site. It is right above the "Materials" list. You will see an image of a woman's hands with teal blue fingernail polish. Click on the button in the middle of the image that has a small triangle on it. This is the "play" button. Once you click the play button, the video should begin playing. Please make sure your volume is turned up so you can hear! I hope this helps! --Editor of FaveCrafts
Oct 12, 2011
Once again, where's the video? Very annoying.
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How to become a Coach
SLSNSW run level 1 surf coaches courses throughout the season and are advertised on SLSSNB's weekly newsletter "Week in Review". Notice will also be given to all clubs as soon as a date is finalised. The application form and required documentation is given to each participant at the course.
After doing the 2-day course you will be required to do 20hrs of supervised training under the eye of an accredited coach from the branch. At the completion of the 20hrs, the accredited coach will sign off on your paperwork and it must be returned to SLSNSW so it can be entered in the system. Unlike the officials' course these coaching courses are provided by SLSNSW and not the Branch.
There is the opportunity for candidates to get their level 2 and level coaching accreditation but these courses are generally available every two years and are only open to a limited number every time. Information on such courses can be obtained from SLSNW or contact the branch office.
IMPORTANT: All boat sweeps must be at least a level 1 accredited surf coach in order to sweep any crew. If you intend to be a sweep this season please contact the Branch immediately to organise a spot for the next coaching course.
As with Officials accreditation, coaching licenses also expire after a four year period at which time the individual must fill out a relicense form and must have completed the required work according to the level of accreditation you are relicensing for. This may be a personal assessment or something else, please check the form for all requirements of relicensing as a surf coach or contact SLSNSW for more information.
For some good coaching resources please click here.
Become an Coach Application Form - Download


text: Top Five: Fictional Athletes Posted by Rick on Sep 2, 2009 22:38 ShareTweet We've never been a big fan of lists, but whatev it is summer. We want every Wednesday to be a top five list, but with a slight twist. We're asking for reader submissions. It can be a top five list about anything you want. Just email us your list, with Youtube links and pics. We'll pick the best one for the week and post it. If no one does it, really we couldn't care less. Today's top five is actually a top eight, but whatev. It comes from the people at Pucks N Balls. It's the top eight fictional athletes. "I don't know why its a top 8, but it is. I swear to God it has nothing to do with that jabroni, Alex Ovechkin." 1. Chitwood So let's start back a year before this movie starts when the Hickory Huskers were a very good team. We hear that they went deep into the playoffs. Fast forward to next year. New coach. No Jimmy. Huskers start playing like you would think a team that has 7 boys come out for the basketball team would. Uh oh, Jimmy's back. Team doesn't lose another game with Jimmy accounting for roughly 90% of the team's scoring. The final score of the championship game is 42-40. Jimmy scores at least 32 of these points from what we see. 2.Roy Hobbs Hobbs was well on his way to possibly becoming the best pitcher in baseball. He said he could strike out who was basically Babe Ruth with three pitches. He did. He had to be shot to be stopped. We don't see him again til he's well on the other side of his prime, but this time as a slugger. He must have batted .600 in this movie. Then, the only way to stop him…is to shoot him…AGAIN. Accept he parks one to win the whole damn thing that destroys the entire stadium. 3. Air Bud Here's the thing about Air Bud. He comes into the game, a game against humans mind you, when he is down 72-56. He puts up a triple-double in about 4 minutes. Against humans. Carries his team to an 83-82 victory. The only thing Air Bud couldn't do was create his own shot. But I'm nitpicking at this point. 4. Steve Nebraska In Brendan Frasier's finest performance of his career he plays Steve Nebraska who gets signed by the Yankees but only plays one game for them. But it was in the World Series. All Steve Nebraska was throw a perfect game…striking out all 27 batters…with 82 pitches. Obviously this feat will never be duplicated. 5. Teen Wolf Drags this incredibly awful basketball team to not only win, but be the most exciting team that ever existed. That and he's doing handstands on moving trucks. Let's see Lebron do that. 6. Forrest Gump All-American kick returner. Best ping pong player in the world at one point. Ultra-marathoner. 7. Kelly Leak Again, drags a god-awful team to compete. 8. Adam Banks Again, this team was nothing until Banks decided to turn his back on the Hawks and become a Duck. Some will say Charlie Conway, but we all know this team stunk before Banksy showed up. ShareTweetPenguins Tickets About Rick View all posts by Rick →


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2005 Grounding & Bonding Committee
William Brownell, P.E., Chairman
Scott Davis
Gary Gonzales
Jim Moore
Timothy Owens
Steve Schinko
Nader Shams, P.E.
Ron Takiguchi, P.E.
Tom Trainor
Gerald Williams
Publication and document preparations courtesy of:
of Article 250 of the 2005 NEC
for Typical Premises Wiring Installations
(50 to 1,000 Volts)


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In three years, The Guild, a homemade comedy series about gamers playing a World of Warcraft-like virtual role-playing game, has gone from cute one-off to full-fledged phenomenon. The show's run so far has garnered an estimated 65 million views, and has even spawned its own comic book. And in Felicia Day's brave holdout for ownership and creative control of her series, she devised an innovative distribution deal with Microsoft that's a new model for the burgeoning world of Web video. We love the fashion shot that ran as the opener for this story. Check out our video of her and the photo shoot here. Shot by Jeff Lipsky.
1 minute read


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Carter Chapel CME plans celebration
Carter Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, 412 W. Second Ave., will have its annual Harvest Dinner and Thanksgiving Celebration at 11 a.m. Sunday.
Community members will give meditations on being thankful and on the spirit of Thanksgiving. Dinner will be served after the morning worship celebration.
Wanda Jones is chairwoman of the Harvest Dinner and Thanksgiving Celebration. Cora Johnson and Belle Weatherly are co-chairwomen. Carter Chapel CME Church will have its monthly Men's Fellowship Breakfast at 8 a.m. today.
Council to present discussion, videos
Children's Trust Fund Family PRIDE Council of Potter and Randall counties will meet from 9:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday at First Christian Church's Snodgrass Hall, 3001 Wolflin Ave.
According to a press release, a panel of local clergy, law-enforcement and service-agency representatives will discuss child abuse and present two videos produced by the Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence.
The event is free. Lunch will be provided, and advance registration is encouraged.
Christ Lutheran to host open house
Christ Lutheran Church and the Christ Lutheran Child Development Center, 2400 N. Coulter Drive, will have its open house weekend Nov. 10-11.
An old-fashioned fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 10. The fair will feature free refreshments and ministry booths with games and prizes.
Tours will be available. Friendship Sunday includes worship services at 8 and 10:45 a.m.
Refreshment and fellowship time is from 9 to 9:30 a.m. Sunday School for all ages is at 9:30 a.m.
Gospel singer to present concert
Gospel singer Janice Geerdes will present a concert at 9:30 a.m. Sunday at Country Church, located in the Big Texan Steak Ranch, 7700 E. Interstate 40. Geerdes is a member of the Country Gospel Association and Texas Gospel Association.
Conference set at Liberty Baptist
Liberty Baptist Church, 1201 W. Eighth Ave, will be conducting a King James Bible Conference at 7 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday. There will be a special service at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Guest speakers are Bill Grady and Dr. Gerardus Bouw. Grady is the author of "Final Authority" and "What Hath God Wrought." Bouw has a degree in astronomy.
For information, call 371-0404.
Devotional service slated Sunday
The Baha'is of Amarillo, 508 W. Eighth Ave., will have a devotional service presented by the Devotional Task Force on "The Seven Candles of Unity" at 10 a.m. Sunday. Children's classes will begin at 9 a.m.
Interdenominational service set
Amarillo Worldwide Church of God will hold its 12th Interdenominational Music Worship service at 2:30 and 5 p.m. today at the RLDS Church Building, 1822 S. Manhattan St.
Top of Texas and the Gospelheirs are the two featured singing groups.
A potluck meal will be served between the services.
A collection of canned food, paper goods and socks will be taken for the Downtown Women's Center.
For more information, call Sammy or Julia O'Dell at 358-2915.
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RGIII Declares for the Draft
As a surprise to virtually no one, Baylor's Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III plans to declare for the NFL Draft, according to ESPN's Chris Mortenson. Griffin combines the speed and athleticism of Michael Vick with pinpoint passing accuracy that has rarely been seen.
"I think every kid's goal is to play in the NFL," Griffin said in an exclusive interview. "There?s a lot of dreamers that want to be professional athletes and the way I look at is you?ve got to have a "Plan A" and a "Plan B." My "Plan A" is taking care of my grades and getting my degrees and "Plan B" is the NFL. Plan B can overtake plan A if they come knocking at your door because who are you to turn down the NFL?"
Apparently "Plan B," along with the millions of dollars that he will earn won out and rightfully so. Griffin wasn't going to win any championships next season at Baylor and already armed with a degree, he's accomplished all he can for Baylor University and in college football.
Griffin is expected to be a Top-5 draft pick and could go as high as second-overall, as teams such as Cleveland, Miami, Washington and Seattle will likely investigate the cost of trading up to acquire his services.
So what type of player can Griffin project to be on the next level? He believes that the sky is the limit.
"I can revolutionize the quarterback position," Griffin told NFL Analyst Charlie Bernstein. "Cam Newton started it and hopefully I can continue to carry that flag and make it my own. Just with the ability to run the ball and throw the ball with the top quarterbacks in the nation, since I do lead the NCAA in passing efficiency. It?s just something the NFL has never really seen. "
The young man who is listed at 6-foot-2 carries broad shoulders and unlimited confidence. Griffin believes he can take qualities from all of the elite quarterback's in today's game and mold them into his own.
"I try to take bits and pieces from everybody?s game- the one thing Cam Newton does is play with a lot of excitement and a lot of confidence. You?ve got Peyton Manning with his play-action and the fast pace that he plays with, and Tom Brady stands tall in the pocket. You just take all those things and add them. You do it differently and make it your own thing," Griffin explained.
As impressive as RGIII's stat-line from 2011 is (72.4 percent completions, 4,293 yards, 37 touchdowns and just six interceptions, passer rating of 189.5), the way he nearly single-handedly turned around a dormant Baylor football program and helped create a new culture cannot be overlooked.
"It?s been great," Griffin said of his time in Waco, Texas. "I was here when we didn?t have all the nice facilities and we were a 4-8 football team but to see us grow the way we have to become a 9-3 football team and to have an opportunity to win 10 games for the first time since the 80?s. It?s huge and whenever you can take something and build it from the ground up, it looks really good."
Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck is certainly a safe pick and all accounts show that he will be the top pick in the 2012 draft by the Indianapolis Colts. As fantastic of a prospect as Luck is, some NFL scouts feel that Robert Griffin III could have an even higher upside. It's more than possible that in five years, Luck and Griffin could be the best quarterbacks in the NFL, not necessarily in that order.
Charlie Bernstein is the NFL Insider for ESPNFlorida.com and ESPN 1080 and 1040 in Orlando/Tampa and Editor-in-Chief of Sports Media Interactive, covering the National Football League, NCAA, and National Basketball Association. Charlie covers the Jacksonville Jaguars for FoxSports and has been featured on the NFL Network and Sirius NFL Radio. Charlie is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Charlie on Twitter @nflcharlie


text: BA in Economics, Fudan University; MPA, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University; MA and PhD in Economics, Johns Hopkins University. Formerly: taught economics at Johns Hopkins University and Fudan University; Group Executive Vice-President, Bank of China; positions with World Bank; Deputy Governor, People's Bank of China. Currently, Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund. Member of the Board, World Economic Forum. Trustee, Princeton University. Honorary Trustee, Fudan University. Member, International Council, Business School, Chicago University.


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At 90, Frances Gabow keeps up the fight for socialism
Frances Gabow's life-just 10 years shy of a century--is a history book of political struggle in the 20th century. "And I don't regret a thing," she told a crowd celebrating her 90th birthday recently.
C-SPAN broadcasts Communist Party USA keynote
Communist Party USA National Chairman Sam Webb delivers his keynote to the CPUSA convention and broadcasts, May 31, on C-SPAN.
Highlights from CPUSA's 29th Convention, includes video
I had the great pleasure of attending the 29th National Convention of the Communist Party USA this past weekend in New York.
Highlighting the work of Claudia Jones and Shirley Graham Du Bois
In honor of African American History Month, the fourth and fifth article in our series on the Communist Party's 90th anniversary will survey documents written by leading African American women party members.
Three union leaders to be honored at 'Keep the Ball Rolling' event
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Three Connecticut labor leaders, Art Perry, Anna Montalvo and Gwen Mills, will be honored on Sunday, Dec. 6, with the annual Amistad Award presented by the People's World, on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Communist Party USA.


text: r pretty baby marla | Digital Scrapbooking at Scrapbook Flair Home Galleries Groups Challenges Blogs Forums Members Downloads MarketPlace Store Archive Join Login offline Joined: Sep 22, 2008 Last Logon: Nov 14, 2008 pretty baby marla's Home Page www.scrapbookflair.com/pretty_baby_marla Inspired by the beauty of life, blessed with an angel...I'm a new mom who only wishes all the goodness for my baby. I love life being mom, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend. pretty baby marla is from Bulacan, Central Luzon, Philippines pretty baby marla's Scrapbooks faith's 7 months pics my dreams' reflection my life email it » view all pretty baby marla's scrapbooks pretty baby marla's Favorite Scrapbooks » view all pretty baby marla's favorite scrapbooks pretty baby marla's Friends pretty baby marla has 12 friends » view all pretty baby marla's friends pretty baby marla's Fans pretty baby marla has 10 fans » view all pretty baby marla's fans Renew/Upgrade Membership Gallery Groups Blog Friends Favorites Tags Post and Share this page on Blogs and other Websites by copying and pasting this link: http://www.scrapbookflair.com/pretty_baby_marla pretty baby marla's home page has been visited 692 times. About Us Bookmark Contact Us Designer Members FAQs Fan Mail Help Link to Us Membership News Privacy Search Site Rules Suggestion Box Tell a Friend © 2006-2016, Patent Pending, Aurora Digital Imaging, Ltd. Beta 5.0 The most fun digital scrapbooking site on the Internet. Free digital scrapbooking software, scrapbook templates, scrapbook embellishments and backgrounds. Beautiful scrapbook prints and photobooks.


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google summer of code
Google's Carol Smith, who runs Google's Summer of Code, will be presenting at this year's All Things Open in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Google Summer of Code is getting ready to kick off their 11th iteration of the program. It offers a unique opportunity for students to get involved in open source, with the original slogan of the program being: "Flip bits, not burgers." All of the mentoring organizations have been announced, the... Read more
Bio4J was selected to be part of Google Summer of Code 2014 this year, and what began this summer has recently culminated in great success, after months of work by the Era7 Bioinformatics team.
The end of Google Summer of Code (GSoC) is near, so I wanted to share with you how things worked out for me as an intern with OpenStack. Precisely, I wanted to let you know my perception about what it takes to participate in GSoC, the blockers you may encounter and how to overcome them, what to... Read more
With mid-term evaluations just around the corner for many technology-focused summer internship programs, here's a closer look at how the Google Summer of Code (GSoC) and Outreach Program for Women (OPW) are helping mentors as well as interns.
While the open source community is filled with some of the most talented minds in the world, fresh perspectives from the next generation of developers is essential to the continued pioneering spirit of open source projects. Such an injection of youthful enthusiasm lends new creative blood to the... Read more
What's new for Google's Summer of Code (GSoC) internship program this year? For one, GSoC accepted 190 mentoring organizations, which is more than any other year. The very first GSoC program began in the summer of 2005, so this year also marks another milestone—they're 10th year anniversary.
Over 280 attendees representing 177 mentoring organizations gathered for a two-day, code-munity extravaganza celebrating the conclusion of Google Summer of Code with the annual Mentor Summit held at Google in Mountain View, California.
In early 2009, as the stories of many websites begin, a few college friends were considering what kind of project they might start together. In this particular case, the result was OpenHatch. OpenHatch is a place for developers who want to be involved in open source but don't know where to start.... Read more


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Created in this Craftsy class
Wire-Wrapped Stones, Crystals & Clusters taught by Aga Kruk
Learn wire-wrapping methods to make seven sophisticated jewelry projects! Create beautiful earrings, necklaces and pendants to complement your wardrobe.
Other projects made as part of this class:
JewelryArtistic wire hoops
JewelryNecklace with amber
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Join the conversation...
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|Romantic, Cute, Traditional, Classic, Whimsical
Hey! Did you even need to take this course? That is awesome!!!!
04/13/2013 Flag
Haha thanks!
04/15/2013 Flag
Great job!! Love the bead colors with the copper.
08/14/2013 Flag
Love it. It's my kinda thing. Colours go beautifully together.
03/17/2014 Flag
ABSOLUTELY Beautiful..!!! Love the colors and copper is my favorite! GREAT job!!! :)
02/14/2015 Flag


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New York, NY, April 20, 1995...The impact of Martin Luther's anti-Jewish writings,
the persistence of anti-Jewish ideas in Christian theology and the efforts
of the Lutheran Church to fight the scourge of anti-Semitism and racism
are explored in the new issue of Interfaith Focus, a magazine published
by the Anti-Defamation League.
"We have devoted the issue to "Luther, Lutheranism and the Jews"
to commemorate the first anniversary of the repudiation by the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) of the use of Luther's anti-Jewish diatribes
by present-day anti-Semites," said Rabbi Leon Klenicki, ADL Director
of Interfaith Affairs.
The publication includes a dialogue between Rabbi Klenicki and Dr. Franklin
Sherman, Director of the Institute for Jewish - Christian Understanding
at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA, in which Rabbi Klenicki points out
that Christian texts can be used to incite anti-Semitism and the hatred
of Jewish people. Dr. Sherman says he has learned that reprints of Luther's
hateful words are being exported to Germany from the United States where
they are used by neo-Nazi groups. He says the ELCA declaration speaks of
"our urgent desire to live out our faith in Jesus Christ with love
and respect for the Jewish people."
The magazine includes the complete text of "The Declaration of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to the Jewish Community," which
recognizes anti-Semitism as "a contradiction and an affront to the
Gospel, a violation of our hope and calling." The document pledges
"this church to oppose the deadly working of such bigotry, both within
our own circles and in the society around us."
Another article, "With Love and Respect for the Jewish People,"
by the Rev. Richard E. Koenig, a Lutheran pastor and editor of several magazines
for Lutheran clergy and other professional church workers, provides background
information leading to the ELCA declaration. Rev. Koenig was involved in
the preparation of the document.
The ADL magazine is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Harold H. Ditmanson (1920-1988),
professor of religion for many years at St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN,
and a prime mover of Christian-Jewish dialogue, especially Lutheran-Jewish
dialogue in the U.S. and internationally.
Editors Note: Copies of the magazine are available from the ADL Public
Relations Department.
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.
� 1995 Anti-Defamation League


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J.C. Penney Raises Outlook
May 4, 2009-- Home Textiles Today,
J.C. Penney took a new tack at its annual analysts meeting here last month. A series of full-day presentations by each division head was replaced by a set of 45-minute round-table discussions with various segment execs, lead by chairman and ceo Mike Ullman.
If the format was more casual — speakers were seated in leather armchairs from the new Cindy Crawford Style collection— the message was fairly consistent: JCPenney is positioning for strong growth and greater market share as the economy begins to improve.
"The strong get stronger," said Ullman. "There's plenty of runway ahead of us."
In fact, JCPenney concluded the meeting by raising its first quarter estimates for the second time in three weeks. The retailer now expects first-quarter earnings per share to come in flat to slightly positive. Initially, JCP projected an ESP loss of 20 to 30 cents. That was revised to a loss of 5 to 10 cents when Penney released its March sales results in early April.
"Our inventory is now aligned with our projected sales month to month," said Ullman. "I'd say what we're seeing today is a more predictable plan. It's not one we like, but it's one we planned."
Asked about the government's stimulus program, Ullman said he doesn't expect it to impact Penney's sales. "We don't see it as a factor for increasing business in the second half for our customer. Our customer is employed," he said.
Home has stabilized, according to Ken Hicks, president and chief merchandising officer. "I wouldn't say at this point the home business is healthy and ready to go out and run a marathon," he cautioned. But execs noted that with fewer competitors left in the home furnishings arena, JCP is poised to capture market share, particularly once the economy improves.
The company also is charging ahead with digital marketing and merchandising efforts. Following the meeting, JCP demonstrated the new Find More interactive flat-screen panel that it will begin testing in home departments by mid-May. If a shopper wants to locate an item not stocked in the store — purple towels, for example — she can search the kiosk and print out a receipt with the appropriate bar code. The receipt will be scanned when she checks out and the merchandise shipped to her home. Alternatively, she can select items and send an e-mail to herself for review later.
"This is not dot-com in the store. If someone wanted to do dot-com they'd stay at home," Tom Nealon, evp and chief information officer.
Find More will test initially in four Dallas stores before testing elsewhere. "It will eventually run on your hand-held phone," he said.
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Fedora Blogs Going Bye-Bye?
This may turn out to be little more than a rumor, but Mark Terranova (aka markdude) posted that the Fedora blogs would soon be discontinued. This comes just a few weeks after the Fedora Talk service was retired.
Red Hat stock has seen a lot of growth the last several years. It reached a recent high of nearly $49 a share in December 2010 and has remained in the 40's all this year. It spent years floating around $20 for after rising respectably in 2005. It hit its lowest point since 2004 with the stock market crash of November 2008 trading at little over $9 a share. However, it's been climbing fairly steadily since. The only worrisome spots came when players in higher management dumped large blocks of stocks a few times. All that to say Red Hat has done well for itself and isn't exactly going broke.
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I stared with the rest of the horrified world at the photo of the anonymous Palestinian father holding his anonymous Palestinian son - father wounded, son dead. Only after reading the description in the newspaper did I realize he was not anonymous to me. The boy's father was Jamal. Our Jamal who had helped build my Israeli house at the height of the Intifada and worked in my home; afterwards, he helped maintain it. I knew Jamal by his first name. Last week, reading his story, I learned his whole identity: Jamal al-Durrah.
I had just had my baby when I met Jamal; his wife was pregnant with their first child. I tried to give him my old maternity clothes, but Jamal turned his back, too proud to accept them. The terrified boy the whole world saw last week, screaming in the crook of his father's arm and dead a moment later, was the child Jamal's wife had been carrying.
In 1988, Jamal was an angry young man. Tall, thin and glowering, he spoke in monosyllables and refused the coffee I took out to the workers. He would go silently to the periphery of the unfinished patio and brew his own over a tiny portable gas heater.
One day, Jamal carved his name in English into the wet cement of the wall he was building in my garden: "Jamal '88," in a loping schoolboy's hand. I complained to the contractor, his Israeli boss. If anyone had a right to graffiti, I said, it was me. The next morning there were fresh swirls in the cement. Jamal's signature was gone.
Ten years later, I hired the same contractor to repaint my house. The Jamal who walked up the garden stairs was a changed man. He was 35 but looked 50. He limped, and his hair was flecked with gray. For a decade, Jamal had been rising from his bed at 3:30 a.m. to take the 4 a.m. bus to the border crossing, then board a second bus an hour later out of Gaza to begin work at 6 a.m. This back-breaking cycle of physical labor was a journey he prayed to make; without it there would be no work at all.
Jamal smiled, and I did too. There was something of friends in our greeting, but even as I say that word, I know it is not true. Beyond the economic inequality, we could never look at each other without nationalities in mind. His Arabness hung in the air, as did my Jewishness. I wondered what could I, transplanted to this soil from another place, represent for Jamal.
Now Jamal drank my coffee, and he laughed, "I hope this is real coffee - not Jewish Nescafé." After the paint job was finished, Jamal had time before the bus took him to occupied Gaza. He helped rehang my diplomas on the fresh white wall. With difficulty, Jamal made out the Gothic letters and read out loud, "New York University." With a hundred tiny nails he repaired the old wood frame of the reproduction of Renoir's "A Girl With a Watering Can" hanging in my daughter's room.
Jamal told me he now had six children. This time he accepted the bags of used clothing and discarded toys I left for him to take.
Jamal's children wore my children's sweaters and played with their Legos.
My daughter is 12, like Jamal's boy was. Jamal's boy loved to swim in the sea; my daughter is on a swim team. My daughter walks to school beside cypress trees, amidst bougainvillea. Her pet dog waits impatiently for her to come home. Jamal's son had pet birds. But had his son lived to be a grandfather, they would have never met.
Jamal lies with multiple gunshot wounds in a Jordanian hospital, his son killed by an errant Israeli bullet. Yet everybody in Israel heard him live on Israeli radio: "I am a man of peace. We two peoples must live together. There is no other possibility, no other possibility..." Jamal spoke to me by telephone from his hospital bed. I asked him what he wishes for his remaining children. "My children? To grow as all the children in the world." His voice broke. "That they will be surrounded by all good things and nothing bad." The Renoir he fixed is still hanging in the next room. I sit in my garden looking at Jamal's wall, recalling the defiant young man's graffiti. It is an old wall now. We are all caught in the crossfire. Jamal's life has become a tragedy. And I try to understand: What is the meaning of his tragedy to my life?
Helen Schary Motro is a freelance writer living in Jerusalem.
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Q: I bought new furniture over the weekend (bookcases, two lamps, an end table and chair). I put them in the living room with Rocky's (my African grey) cage, and he is freaking out! I moved the lamps, but the rest has to stay in there because it's the only sitting room. He's cowering in his cage and growling at it. I moved him into my room for now. He was better, but still scared when I tried to have him sit in the new chair (he hid under my sweatshirt). He also won't play or get on his stand in the living room. I thought in a short amount of time he would get used too it. What should I do? Thanks.
Jean Pattison, also known as "The African Queen," explains:If you have a cover for Rocky's cage, you could cover the part of the cage that "sees" all the new furniture. After a time, open more and more of the cover exposing more furniture to be viewed by your grey. Working the other direction, you could cover the furniture with something Rocky is less afraid of and, over time, progressively remove the covering exposing more of the furniture.
If at all possible, visit with your bird in a room he is comfortable in. Place his play stand in there temporarily. When you have your bird on your arm you may be able to occasionally stroll through the sitting room with all the new furniture, while reassuring Rocky that this is friendly furniture. As absurd as some may think, it does help if you talk out loud and explain what happened and why.
*Content generated by our loyal visitors, which includes comments and club postings, is free of constraints from our editors' red pens, and therefore not governed by I-5 Publishing, LLC's Gold Standard Quality Content, but instead allowed to follow the free form expression necessary for quick, inspired and spontaneous communication.
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Tag: basil flavour
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Body & Fragrance / Hair / Makeup
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How To: Pick The Perfect Hairbrush
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Skin-Sational! We Review Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Powder …
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Since its first publication in 1985, Rich Like Us has received wide critical acclaim. The temporal setting of the text – from 1932 to the mid 1970s – weaves together critical moments in Indian history: the Freedom struggle, the Partition, the Indian Independence and its aftermath, the Emergency (1975-1977) being the pivotal point in the text. Although Sahgal is closely related to the illustrious Nehru family, in Rich Like Us she impugns the dynastic politics of her first cousin Indira Gandhi through an examination of the Emergency and its implications for Indian democracy. The Emergency, Indira Gandhi's brainchild, is projected as "a thinly disguised masquerade, preparing the country for family rule" (…
Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.
Silva, Neluka. "Rich Like Us". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 May 2003
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=12222, accessed 01 October 2016.]


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I want to share an update with you.
I hope that it's something you'll pass along to show more investors the light of a unique income investing niche.
Imagine if you had a goose that laid a golden egg every day -- that's what I'm trying to create. Think of how secure you'd feel with having a dividend check every day of the week. It sounds dreamy, but I promise you -- it's closer than you realize.
In September, for example, I raked in $1,118.10 thanks to more than 30 different dividend payments. You can see what I've earned in the past six months below...
I began The Daily Paycheck in December 2009. So far the results have been phenomenal.
In addition to last month's $1,118.10 in dividends, I earned $1,211.80 in August and $1,411.00 in July. In fact, over the past year I've earned an average of $1,357.52 per month.
But what if you don't have the luxury of a $200,000 portfolio... or even $100,000? Wouldn't the income from a smaller portfolio be too small to amount to anything?
That's where the second feature of my strategy can be a godsend...
Once you're getting your daily paycheck you can do what you want with it -- pay bills, go out to eat, buy a new pair of shoes. But if you're wanting to grow your small checks into big checks, the smartest thing you can do is reinvest your dividends.
This is what I do with my real-money portfolio.
So instead of getting my $1,118 last month in cash, I actually reinvested it into more shares of the stocks that paid me. Of course, these shares then pay future dividends, increasing future payments, and so on.
When you don't have much cash to invest, the effect of compounding is one of the most profitable strategies you can use to boost your income.
Action to Take --> One tip to make your paychecks grow even faster -- litter your portfolio with monthly dividend payers and reinvest. The more frequent payments mean your dividends compound on a monthly basis instead of quarterly, boosting your income that much quicker.
[Note: There's a lot more to share about my "Daily Paycheck" strategy... and I don't have the space to include it all here. Instead, I've put together a special presentation that outlines how I'm earning this $1,357 per month income stream (and the brokerage statement to prove it). To view this free presentation -- including a few high-yield picks to start your own "Daily Paycheck" portfolio -- you can visit this link.]


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Display caption
By the time of his death in 1910 the amateur painter Rousseau was acknowledged by Picasso and others as a naturally creative spirit. More than a decade later, his work was treasured by the Surrealists as evidence of the marvellous aspects of the unconscious. They were fascinated by his unconventional style and obsessive imagination, and Andre Breton had a still life comparable to this one beside his desk. It appeared to open a door into Rousseau's personal world, signalling a unique individuality.
August 2011


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Hearing to look at modernizing prevailing wage law
September 3, 2013
Many congressmen and local elected leaders are unhappy with the state of prevailing wage and are taking steps to change it....
Erik, Do a little objective research on the history of the labor movement. A lot of what we as workers have is a result of the labor movement.
0 Agrees | 0 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
I would like to see someone explain how protecting unions is wise law.
If liberals want to justify the protection of unions, using taxpayer money, I want to hear it.
1 Agrees | 1 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
Get rid of the law....PERIOD!
2 Agrees | 1 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
Erik, I agree, it needs to be eliminated completely.
4 Agrees | 1 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
We have a minimum wage law. That is enough.
Prevailing wage laws are a form of protection for unionized labor.
Let bidders on public projects have the flexibility in crafting their bids by removing the shackles of "prevailing wage" from their necks.
Increasing the threshold is symbolic. Just eliminate prevailing wage altogether.
5 Agrees | 1 Disagrees | Report Abuse »
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The Short Bow of Amrod (x4) (+12,+15)
A piece of bent wood, fitted with a string. Easy to transport and use, but
its effect is not very impressive. You can 'f'ire it after you 'w'ield it.
This bow, and its twin, belonged to Feanor's last two twin sons, Amrod and
Amras, who both hunted with the Green-elves for a time. Like the twins,
the bows are similar, for both protect their wielders from the elements:
and yet they are also unlike, for this bow gives endurance and strength,
while the other gives quickness and subtlety.
It increases your strength and constitution by 2. It provides
resistance to electricity, fire and cold. It speeds your regenerative
powers. It fires missiles with extra might. It cannot be harmed by
acid, cold, lightning or fire.
Level 25, Rarity 10, 3.0 lbs, 9000 Gold
(T.o.M.E. 2.3.5)


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Filled Insulating Varnishes and Impregnating Resins Datasheets
Pedigree® -- 40 VTC-40F
from ELANTAS PDG, Inc.
from ELANTAS PDG, Inc.
Mineral-filled VPI resin - semi-flexible for transformers with improved heat dissipation [See More]
- Composition: Single Component; Filled
- Form / Shape: Liquid
- Substrate Compatibility: Metal; Paper or Paperboard; Plastic
- Chemical System: Alkyd
Low Viscosity Structural Epoxy Adhesive System -- EP112
from Master Bond, Inc.
from Master Bond, Inc.
Master Bond Polymer System EP112 is a solventless, low viscosity two component cycloaliphatic epoxy resin system which is specifically designed for high performance outdoor and indoor electrical/electronic/ structural applications. The two components are combined in a convenient noncritical mix... [See More]
- Composition: Two Component ; Unfilled; Filled (optional feature)
- Chemical System: Epoxy; Cycloaliphatic, 100% Solids
- Form / Shape: Epoxy Composite Resin
- Cure / Technology: Thermoset
Electro-Conductive Epoxy Varnish -- BCE-30370 (formerly C 370)
from Protavic America, Inc.
from Protavic America, Inc.
Silver filled epoxy system for tantalum & ceramic termination coating. This product is commonly used for flexible termination of capacitors and offers high strength and flexibility. This product is the "gold" standard for flexible termination. Solvent adjusted. Please contact us for product... [See More]
- Composition: Single Component; Filled
- Form / Shape: Grease, Paste
- Substrate Compatibility: Metal
- Chemical System: Epoxy


text:
The Aiken Standard and aikenstandard.com recently released new apps available for Apple iPhones and iPads, Android and Kindle devices.
The apps offer a new way to access local news on the go with the new Aiken Standard E-Edition app. The app is now available to download for free on all devices.
The e-edition app offers many new and exciting features. The app is based on the print replica e-edition that is offered on aikenstandard.com.
Not only does it offer an exact replica of the newspaper in a manner that allows readers to flip through pages, but it also allows readers to zoom in on each page and story. Clicking on a particular story will take you to a "reader-friendly" layout of every story.
Readers also can customize how they want to view their e-edition by choosing to see it up close by sections, flipping page-by-page or viewing all pages at once. Every story that runs in the paper will be accessible through the e-editon apps.
In addition, readers can access old editions. If there is a particular story or keyword a reader is interested in, the apps offers a search option that will bring up all articles related to the search content.
Enjoy having local news at your fingertips wherever you are. Download the new app for free by searching for Aiken Standard E-Edition in the appropriate store for your device.
Get the app!
iOS:Click here for iOS app.
Android:Click here for the Android app.
Kindle:Click here for the Kindle app.


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|« More than 42,000 Ethiopians fled to Yemen in 2009
|Ethiopian Airlines Congratulates Boeing on 787 First Flight »
Click here for a High Resolution Image
Ethiopian Airlines Hires 18 Pilots - 18 December, 2009
The Ethiopian Aviation Academy graduated 18 trainee pilots who have completed the commercial pilot training courses in Instrument and Multi-Engine Ratings on December 17, 2009.
The graduates have taken a two-year training comprising of 695:00 hrs of class instructions and 250:00 hours of practical flight training, both of which were given on single and multi-engine trainer aircraft. As part of the pilot training package, every effort has been exerted to inculcate a high standard of responsibility, discipline and safety among the trainees.
The Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian, Mr. Girma Wake gave out pilot wings and diplomas to all graduates, and achievement awards to three top performing candidates in the over all academic, flying and good governance. Today's graduates will bring the total number of pilots from the Ethiopian Aviation Academy to 863 since its inception in 1964, of which 577 are Ethiopian nationals. The remaining 304 are nationals from different countries mainly from Africa, the Middle East and a few from Asia and Europe.
The Ethiopian Aviation Academy plays a pivotal role in the development of commercial aviation in Africa through the training of pilots, aircraft technicians, cabin crew and other professionals.
About Ethiopian
Ethiopian Airlines, one of the largest and fastest growing airlines in Africa, made its maiden flight to Cairo in 1946.
In a ceremony held on November 25, 2009 at Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, Ethiopian won the NEPAD Transport Infrastructure Excellence Awards 2009.
In July 2009, Ethiopian won 'Airline of the Year 2009' award at African Business Award organized by the London based African Business Magazine and Common Wealth Business Council.
In August 2008, Ethiopian won the 2008 Corporate Achievement Award of Aviation & Allied Business for setting the pace towards the development and growth of the African aviation industry.
Ethiopian is also the first African carrier to win the 2008 Brussels Airport Company Award in recognition of its distinguished long haul operations witnessed through the introduction of new routes, new products, and close cooperation with Brussels Airport in marketing activities.
Ethiopian was the winner of the '2008 Best Airline in Africa Award' at the African Travel Award in Lagos, Nigeria, for its excellent network and convenient connections in Africa.
I hope they stay in Ethiopia not move to the gulf states
good job merukans
Keep the quality and dignity of this entity. Good luck.
they gonna move to asmara
It is good to hear success stories like the Ethiopian Airlines…keep it up!! The other sectors in Ethiopia are mostly failures.
The Airline is bragging about a lot of things, but as the same time better to see the other face of the company where there is abuse, corruption and mismanagment runs at high. Those skilled and have the integrity to the company hardly survive, while at the same time the opportunists and corrupted ones, as long as have a good political connection, they fly high. It is a miracle,inspite of such mishaps the company is making profit.
I would rather read about college graduation than this two years driver program.
Go ET indeed.Yeha
I hope their not one ethinic group like high officel in the ethiopian army.good job keep quality the rest god will take care of it
First of all I would like to congra for the youg graduated pilots.
Secondley,I would be more happy if they were a mixed ethnics of Ethiopians.
But now,accourding to the picture faces,that all the new graduates were from one ethnic and this is the prove of that exsisting the unfairly hairing among Ethiopians ethnics.
Thefore the justice and eqaulity for the Ethiopiawent is in fact that still missing in Ethiopia.That's really sad! its sad and of course its the roots that causing the Ethiopia's enternal conflects and yet the unresting continuos problems
in Ethiopia.
I don't know of where it leads us such imbalance treats and ruling among Ethiopians.
Finally,to EAL adminsretors,please be adviced that,its more profiting if you at least hire for local Ogaden routes a few native Somali Ogaden as service crew and Airline hosts.
Also,this will improves the services and the relationship btw the airline and her custormer local Ogadanis.I mean the locals will feel its(EAL) their airline and that would be a proud of her plus its the betterments of the general servicing dutiy and it generates more profits as well,its at least the help of the Airline image which now that looks a one ethnic dominations.It's in fact a one Ethnic dominated Airline now,its a woyane airline and not an Ethiopian airline.
Also,as one time suggested that my friend,the Price of Shawoa,he said that,it will be helpfuls if EAL hired some somali speakers as long as it has many routes in Ogaden region and in Somalia.like Hargeysa,Bossaso and Djabuti.
What do you know about the two year driver programme? I know for fact,a person of your tiny brain will never have what it takes to take on the huge responsibility that comes with driving people on air. as the saying goes,"flying is not for sissies". Could it be jealousy that gets you talking smack?? I bet you with all I have that these graduates will have the most rewarding life, more than you can imagine, a life people of your kind will never be able to have.
Save your response.
keep recruting more and more ETHIOPIANS
It seems Nazret is very obsessed with Ethiopian Airlines. Every little news about Ethiopian Airlines is cut and paste here from Airlines website.
Don't get me wrong I like to hear success stories about ETHIOPIAN specially coming from other sources not the airlines own website. anyone can go to the website and read the PR statements every day.
Come to think of it Ethiopia is not only EAL.
how little typical Habesha kids wish to be one of those pilots is beyond explanation. I know that because I always wanted to be one.
«_ethiopian airlines_» adoption agriculture airline airlines athletics aviation business caf china «commodity exchange» crime diaspora drought dv economy ecx energy eritrea «ethiopian airlines» famine fashion football health hydroelectric ict immigration investment islam manufacturing media «meles zenawi» migration mobile muslim nile olympics politics power press rail railway religion soccer sport style telecom train visa wikileaks


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on March 3, 2013 - 1:00 AM
Civilized society needs sensible gun regulations
I am puzzled by the refusal of too many to recognize the need for sensible gun legislation. Surely, we can all agree that universal background checks are reasonable. I should not be able to buy guns at a gun show with no background check. I should not be able to buy mass quantities of ammunition on the Internet.
Armed guards in schools, teachers with concealed weapons, magazines that can allow someone to shoot you 30 times in a matter of seconds, people afraid that we need military-style weapons to protect our homes from criminals – I'm afraid we're becoming a Third World country.
How will history judge us? We have the chance to make a difference, to embrace New York's progressive gun legislation. No one is coming to get your guns. This is not about the Second Amendment; this is about creating a safer environment for all of us.
Aleta Rutledge


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Meet Sara ZuckerSara Zucker of the style blog Farpitz will be a blogger for SaksPOV this spring!
Farpitzs much? Yiddish for "all dressed up," it's also the name of Sara Zucker's popular style blog and if you haven't farpitzs-ed lately, get thee to her site — stat. It's a sharp mix of inspirational street-style shots, shopping advice and just plain all-around fun fashion observations written in Zucker's smart and witty voice. We love it, which is why we've tapped the New York native — who has a masters in library science and was Glamour magazine's first Community Manager — as one of our inaugural Saks Girls of the Season. She'll be introducing a column here, tackling her favorite trends and how to style them, and spotlighting stand-out stuff at every price point. And because she also happens to be the Digital Media Analyst at NARS Cosmetics and a major bag hound (she has "a bag a week" feature on her blog), we're pretty sure you're getting some awesome makeup and accessories insights, too. Get to know her here.
SaksPOV: What's the backstory behind the blog?
Sara Zucker: While in grad school, I was poor and socially unfulfilled; a friend suggested I join Tumblr, a social-networking blogging site that was still in beta mode. I quickly realized that most of my content centered around things I wanted to buy myself but couldn't afford at the time, fashion-based things, so it felt only right to name the blog something related with a nod to my Yiddish roots.
SaksPOV: How would you use farpitzs in a sentence?
S.Z.: "Are you going to a fancy party tonight? With that hair and that dress, you're looking so farpitzs!"
SaksPOV: How would you describe your style?
S.Z.: A comfort-driven mix of Little House on the Prairie meets the Nineties.
SaksPOV: Your style motto?
S.Z.: If you can't think of at least three items in your wardrobe to pair with the item you'd like to buy, then don't buy it.
SaksPOV: Have you always been into fashion?
S.Z.: Gosh, no. If I really think about it, while I was always searching for a personal style to call my own, I didn't delve deep into the industry until grad school, whereupon I focused all of my research projects on fashion-based topics. For most of my life, my wardrobe consisted of jeans and sneakers — even in the first months of my blog's creation, I was a bit of a sneakerhead.
SaksPOV: What are your favorite trends for spring?
S.Z.: I love seeing every season's interpretation of grunge, specifically the Spring 2013 collections from Dries Van Noten and Miu Miu. I was also a huge fan of the "burglar"-like chunky stripes that were seen on many of the runways including Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors and Dolce & Gabbana.
SaksPOV: And your can't-live-without-'em fashion must-haves?
S.Z.: Pointed ballet flats (preferably with ankle straps), a full denim skirt and a worn-in moto jacket. All three can be easily dressed up and down, which is key.
SaksPOV: Who are your beauty icons?
S.Z.: Rather than focusing on one particular person, I've always admired women who have found their signature beauty look, whether that be a red lip or bold cat-eye. You have so many choices of products and shades to choose from, it is somewhat refreshing to see consistency.
SaksPOV: Makeup necessities every girl should not be without?
S.Z.: Eye shadow base is mandatory if you have semi-oily lids like I do and ensures your shadow will stay on for hours; the perfect red lipstick for you, which may require a bit of a grail quest, and powder/pencil for brows, which, in my opinion, are the curtains to the windows of the soul.
SaksPOV: Could you share an insider makeup tip?
S.Z.: Use fingers instead of a brush/sponge when applying concealer or foundation. Before doing so, warm up the product in the palm of your hand to ensure a smoother, more natural look without cakiness.
SaksPOV: On your off-duty (i.e. non-Nars and non-blogging) time, we'd find you…
S.Z.: Reading, participating in my lifelong national search to find the perfect chicken nugget, catching up on DVR or shopping for vintage anything. I've also made a resolution to focus on self-development in the upcoming year.
SaksPOV: Guilty pleasures?
S.Z.: Champagne, antique lamps, archaeology books and yoga pants.
SaksPOV: You wear a new bag a week, but if you had to chose just one for life?
S.Z.: This is a really tough choice! If I were to use one bag only, it would need to be light, have at least one inner pocket, and be buttery soft. Clare Vivier has a beautiful messenger bag.
Stay tuned this spring as Sara will be styling looks from Saks and showing you how she looks Farpitz on SaksPOV!


text:
Actors Model
A general model of concurrent computation developed by
(also "actor model"). Several
are based on this model.
Actors are autonomous and concurrent objects which execute asynchronously. The actors model provides flexible mechanisms for building parallel and distributed software systems.
"Laws for Communicating Parallel Processes", C. Hewitt et al, IFIP 77, pp. 987-992, N-H 1977
", C. Hewitt, and H. Baker, MIT-LCS-TR-194, 1978
The actors model is closely related to the
- the locality laws defined in, e.g. "Actors and Continuous Functionals", correspond directly to some of the requirements for object capabilities. (This does not necessarily mean that all actor languages are capability secure, but
actor languages necessarily are.) This may help to revive interest in the actors model in the security community. The connection was recognised in the acknowledgements at the end of "Actors and Continuous Functionals":
The design of Smalltalk built on the class instance distinction of Simula, the separation of goal language from method language in Planner, the control ideas in David Fisher's thesis, and
's "little person" model of computation. We
[i.e. Baker and Hewitt]
have worked to construct a theoretical model that encompasses these ideas in addition to similar abstractions which have been developed in lambda calculus languages and for operating systems such as domains of protection and capabilities.
There are lists of on-line papers about the actors model and languages at:
The corresponding page on the TUNES Wiki is
Strictly speaking, an "actor" refers to a particular "behaviour" or state. When the actor with a given name specifies its successor behaviour, the name is bound to a
actor with that behaviour (just like processes in CSP). However, it is common to use the term "actor" loosely as if it referred to a single entity with behaviour that changes over time. The discussion below does this.
The main differences between the
Actors can receive messages from any sender; CSP processes must explicitly name the sending process.
Not strictly true. CSP processes must explicitly name the
over which they are sending (or receiving) a message. That channel may be used by more than sending process. Modern implementations of CSP-based languages, such as occam-pi and JCSP, support the passing of channel ends from process to process as well.
The actor model requires fairness - no message can be delayed indefinitely. This simplifies reasoning about systems of composed actors (although it complicates the definition of actor semantics - but that is arguably a good trade-off).
In CSP the sender is delayed until it synchronizes with the receiver. An actor, OTOH, can proceed immediately to its next behaviour/state after sending one or more messages (although it often waits for a reply).
Ok, this is strictly true. But not really relevant. It is fairly easy to set up (overwriting) buffers between CSP processes in order to prevent blocking on a message. Again, implementations such as JCSP support this directly with language constructs that provide such buffering.
Yes, it is possible to simulate asynchronous message send on top of synchronous send, and vice versa. However, the different primitive operations are not equally easy to implement: a CSP unbuffered synchronous send is very simple on an SMP, but only an Actor buffered asynchronous send is a sensible distributed system primitive.
There is a more in-depth comparison with CSP in "Foundations of Actor Semantics" (available from
Note that the comparison in "Foundations of Actor Semantics" deasl with Hoare's original (1978) presentation of CSP, which was then simply a pseudo-programming language. As a result, the comparison doesn't touch on any of the last ~30 years worth of theoretical work on CSP and its associated semantic models. The comparison is of historical interest, but not really relevant to modern CSP.
There are close parallels between
(FBP) and Actors. The discussion that led to the summary below is at
[We'll use "process" to refer to either an FBP process, or a "actor configuration". The latter is a collection of actors, some of which may have names that are made visible outside the configuration. Actors within a configuration typically share part of their state via
Communication between processes is by way of
s/messages, travelling across buffered connections. (In FBP use of
s is a primitive part of the model; in actors buffering is implemented by serializers.)
A process cannot be affected except by way of an incoming
[In the [FBP] implementation with which we have most experience, we did provide a "named global" facility, but because of the asynchronism of the system, this could only safely be used for read-only data. In practice it was mostly used for shared reference tables. Besides we told our programmers that
A process can only receive IPs/messages from a limited set of other processes. (The nature of the limitation is different; see below.)
Actor names are
; FBP (process, input port name) pairs are also
[Port names (originally numbers) are
; I am not sure if process names are. In the static definition case, processes need not even know their own names (the only use that I can think of might be for tracing for debugging). In the dynamic definition case, it might be useful to have process names be
Both models introduce nondeterminism as the result of nondeterministic arrival ordering of messages/IPs.
In both models, a collection of connected processes can be viewed as a larger process. I.e. the notions of FBP process or actor configuration are compositional.
FBP processes can have multiple named input ports. An actor configuration can contain multiple actors whose names are made visible outside the configuration; these serve the same function as input ports.
Use of shared state is discouraged -- although neither model prevents it.
Use of pure functional objects is encouraged -- although neither model requires it.
FBP communication networks are specified by a network description that is given in advance, and is
static (but see the description of
dynamic subnets
FBP does not model the internals of processes, only the communication between them. Actors models both (the internal computation of any particular actor configuration can of course be ignored). This reflects the origins of FBP as a programming paradigm, and actors as a foundational model of computation.
An actor can only send messages to its acquaintances, and there are LawsOfLocality
, given in
"Actors and Continuous Functionals"
, that describe how the graph of acquaintances can evolve (these laws can be interpreted as applying either between actors or between actor configurations). Just as in the
, "only connectivity begets connectivity". The FBP model does not require any equivalent to these laws, and most FBP systems have been built on top of languages that did not enforce them. In FBP, the main limitations on communication come from the fact that connections must be specified in the network description.
FBP processes also have multiple named output ports. In the
there are no output ports as such; each actor can send a message to any of its acquaintances at any time. (However, a system might use the convention that the actor names corresponding to outputs are passed in a standardized way on creating an actor configuration, and a network visualizer could recognize this convention.)
In the
, messages sent to the same actor name by different senders are guaranteed to be merged fairly. In FBP, the corresponding situation where more than one output port is connected to an input port (see figure 8.12 of
) does not
a fair merge, although it might be fair in a particular implementation. In this respect FBP is more similar to CSP.
Each connection in FBP is one-way. In actors most messages include a continuation that allows a reply to be sent; in FBP this would require a separate return channel, and there would be no direct link (except for sequencing) between requests and replies.
requires automatic memory management; FBP does not. There are restrictions on "ownership" of FBP
s, apparently intended to allow reference counting (see
). An implementation of FBP on a garbage-collected platform could presumably relax these restrictions. See also
messages can reference arbitrary graphs of actors; FBP
s can only be trees.
There is no equivalent to "bracketed" IPs (see the end of
) in actors. There is nothing preventing implementing this as a higher-level protocol, but it would be more natural to use messages that reference a list object/actor instead.
Another question about FBP: is the flow of
s always a "push" (i.e. packets are sent as soon as they are available, up to the capacity of the
), or can packets be "pulled" (i.e. a consumer can say that it only needs a given number of packets)? It is obviously possible to do the latter by adding a back-channel, but is it possible without?
Yes, it's always "push". However, I suppose the receiver can decide how many IPs to receive by "receiving" a certain number of IPs, and then by refusing to receive any more, which will eventually fill up the
, which will in turn suspend the sender. Not very nice - similar behaviour is often a cause of deadlocks. OTOH It is the mechanism that lets you process "infinite" data streams with a finite amount of resources. (On rereading my sentence, I had a change of heart!)
Hmm -- it seems like support for demand-driven dataflow would be a useful extension to FBP, then. See
for example.
Excellent job of refactoring, David! I have some minor quibbles, which I will add here as I digest what you have written. One area of perplexity is what an actor-based Collate would look like in actual code - wouldn't you have to synchronize the cooperating actors somehow?
Yes, you do have to synchronize the cooperating actors. The most straightforward way to do this is to have one controlling actor representing the Collate itself, and one "subactor" per input stream. In most actor languages, messages from the subactors to the controlling actor would be automatically serialized by default.
Alternatively, some hybrid
) have the concept of a "vat", which is basically a thread shared by several actors. In that case putting the actors that make up the Collate in the same vat would automatically synchronize them.
Ports are key to the concept of
, which offers the very real prospect in the future of being able to build quite interesting applications without writing a line of code - just specify the network and parameters, where "parameters" can be expanded to include "mini-languages" - see the discussion in
. Ports are the way the inside of a process communicates with the network definition. Suppose you have multiple instances of a Reader process: each instance will usually have its OUT port feeding a different
connection. Using the concept of Port, the code for a basic Collate is so stunningly simple that I really fail to see what advantage one would gain by coding it using multiple actors, especially if actors don't support ports. And anyway, the FBP orientation towards black-box modules surely makes it even less important what language a module is written in. Maybe you can set me straight, David!
The black-box modules in the
are actor configurations, not individual actors (see
for a formal treatment). I've changed the summary above to reflect this.
Because the
is intended as a foundational model of computation, its most basic concept -- an actor -- is deliberately as simple as possible. In a
actor language, the sublanguage used to specify an actor behaviour is not even
; the model becomes
only when the behaviours change over time and multiple actors (or an actor sending messages to itself) are considered. Writing a program directly in terms of the pure
would be like writing it directly in the
; it's important to know that it can be done, that high level programs have a well-defined translation to this form, and that's about all.
As a humble programmer, I keep puzzling over the last sentence: *why* is it important to know it can be done? I know it is important to know that matter is made of quarks and leptons (or whatever), but how does this apply to the world of computing? Could someone try to articulate this, or point us at a page that does?
I guess it's important as a proof you can solve anything with it you could with other
languges, but is it so? CeePlusPlusTemplates
(or so I heard, if not replace with
), but wouldn't they have to expand to an infinite source to model an infinite loop? Then they would never actually run. Maybe stating something is
or LambdaCalculusEquivalent
gives it some kind of aura.
[C++ templates are Turing complete. The expansion to infinite source is its "infinite loop".]
, OTOH, always include various abstractions above the basic model -- serializers, synchronous calls, vats, message queues, promises, sponsors, etc. The fact that you're creating multiple actors in a situation where an FBP network would have multiple ports is a detail that may be exposed in some actor languages, and hidden in others. The
actually says very little about how to design a high-level actor language; basically it only says that all communication must be by a message passing mechanism that satisfies certain laws. So the code in a particular actor language might look identical to how it would look in an FBP system, including the possibility of using graphical network diagrams (something like
, for example) or direct interaction to connect processes.
Because FBP
s have finite capacity, [the property that "no message can be delayed indefinitely"] above is probably true in FBP. I have seen a paper stating that this prevents livelock.
"Kuse et al. (1986) proved that, although a network with fixed capacity connections (like the ones in FBP) can suffer from deadlock, it can never suffer from livelock."
The reference is to K. Kuse, M. Sassa, I. Nakata (1986),
"Modelling and Analysis of Concurrent Processes Connected by Streams"
, Journal of Information Processing, Vol. 9, No. 3, abstract at
The abstract of this paper says that "A network in this class has some restrictions, for example, a stream must have only one producer and one consumer." This is not usually the case for the
It is possible they are making a distinction between "streams" and "channels". Here is part of a paragraph from
: "In A'UM [K. Yoshida and T. Chikayama (1988)] and some of the other systems related to it, a distinction is made between "streams" and "channels". ... in A'UM, a "stream" runs from one source to one destination, whereas a "channel" may contain more than one stream, coming from different sources: the items in each stream must stay in sequence relative to each other, but the streams in a channel are not constrained relative to each other. In A'UM only one reader is allowed for a channel, while in Tribble's paper on channels (Tribble et al. 1987), he allows multiple readers for a channel. The authors of A'UM feel that not allowing multiple readers makes their semantics sounder and the implementation simpler." FBP also does not allow multiple readers. --pm
In actors you could easily construct a stream that had multiple readers, by reifying the stream as an actor. For normal messages, though, an actor receives some interleaving (fair merge) of all the messages sent to it.
In FBP it looks as though you could also construct a stream with multiple readers, using something similar to the Collate construct but in reverse, with one input port per reader to request the next item, and one output port per reader to receive the item. It would be more complicated than in actors because FBP has no built-in convention for reply messages.
About the fairness property:
The fairness guarantee applies to directly sent messages. Because messages are first-class in the
, it is possible for an actor to be wrapped by a "serializer" or "guardian", which can filter, delay or reorder individual messages (this is how an actor would avoid receiving a message when it is in an inconsistent state). A serializer may not pass on a particular message, but this does not contradict fairness, because it received the message with only finite delay. Serializers were a feature of the first actor languages (see "Issues in the Design and Implementation of Act2").
in FBP corresponds directly to a serializer with a bounded message queue. Suppose, for example, that we have two actors A and B where A is sending messages to B's serializer, and is expecting a reply to each message. Each message from A to B's serializer includes a unique continuation. After each send, A will go into a state where it is waiting to be sent the reply via that continuation. (A would have its own serializer which delays messages directed to A while it is waiting.) The fact that A waits for a response ensures that it will not try to send so many messages that B cannot keep up.
The fact that it is serializers that store any "delayed" messages means that the actor system itself can be implemented with only finite memory for pending messages. However, this ducks the issue of how a serializer should deal with "message overruns", where other actors try to send an unbounded number of messages to it without waiting for anything. This potential problem is inherent to one-way buffered messaging, and it can be solved by using higher-level abstractions that provide flow control or backpressure (to attempt to prevent the problem), and that account for memory usage (to deal with the effects if prevention fails). The nice thing about this approach is that you're not limited to any fixed set of abstractions.
Hewitt's Actors take processes down to the finest possible granularity:
"Hewitt declared"
, to quote Robin Milner (1993),
"that a value, an operator on values, and a process should all be the same kind of thing: an actor."
This approach has considerable theoretical attractiveness, but in my view, to be practical, it basically has to be implemented as hardware, rather than software. There are also of course a number of projects growing out of Hewitt's Actors, which also seem to be on a converging path with all the other work (albeit at the more granular end of the scale), e.g. Agha's COOP (1990).
doesn't have to be implemented in hardware to be practical. Although there was a project to build an actor-oriented machine called the "Apiary", AFAIK this was never completed, and so all working implementations of the
have been software-based. In terms of sequential computation, the performance cost of the "
n actor" approach is similar to the cost of "
n object" in languages like Smalltalk. In terms of concurrency,
, etc. demonstrate that user-level threading implementations can easily scale to large numbers (100s of 1000s?) of active threads. Since actors only perform work in response to messages, the number of actors can be much greater again than the number of threads.
You touch on a key concern of mine: how would these systems perform processing millions of transactions a day? I relate to the goal of
between the designer's thought and the implementation, but if a program is going to be used for productive work in a large company, it also has to be able to handle (very) large volumes. This was the thought underlying my comment on hardware. BTW I'm not too excited about the overhead of "
n object" either!
1 million transactions per day is ~12 transactions per second on average. Suppose it is 100 transactions per second peak. On a 1 GHz processor, that is 10 million cycles to play with for each transaction. Assuming adequate bandwidth and that each transaction is not unreasonably computationally intensive, it would actually be quite difficult to implement a system inefficiently enough that it cannot keep up with this load --
the underlying operating system gets in the way.
Reliability is likely to be
more of an issue for this kind of system than raw performance. After all, we now have supercomputers on our desks. It is only the inefficiency of certain operating system platforms that obscures that fact. --
That makes sense to me. And it means that we can actually spend quite a lot of CPU time to make systems more reliable, and, I would add, more maintainable. I have often been struck by how so much of our research goes into better ways to create new code, rather than ways to make code that is more reusable. I think it was
who said code should be a cost item, not a measure of productivity.
I couldn't agree more -- see my home page when it's finished. --
Still waiting....
I have felt for a while that this architecture probably has considerable relevance for the security world - anyone want to run with this?
is the basis of some
s including
. This is a very active area of research. I'm currently working on an actor-based multi-language operating system -- I'll add references here when the design is closer to being cooked. --
In case that's not explicit enough, capability systems are a ... fundamental or foundational model of security. The "acquaintance" that one actor has with another is just like a capability. A capability is a one-way channel that one actor (or process or user) has to another, and in these systems, sending requests through capabilities is the only way of doing things. A capability can't be "forged"--that is, you can't create one by casting from a number or guessing an address, you can only acquire one at your creation time or passed to you in a message. Security is achieved by controlling who and what processes are given capabilities to access what resources, other processes, etc. Authorities for different operations or views on the same thing, e.g. read vs. write, can be set up as separate capabilities. --
Comparison of the
with the
This is based on the tutorial at
, and the paper "The Reflexive CHAM and the join-calculus", which is at
(you may need to use
and/or switch off pop-up blocking to access the latter.)
Channels in the
are equivalent to actor names; both are
Both are message-passing models, with arrival order nondeterminism. It is not clear whether the
requires finite delay.
Both are fundamentally based on
, with most practical languages that follow each model providing sequential constructs via CPS conversion. (This accounts for the fact that the tutorial distinguishes between "expressions" and "processes", whereas the
has only "behaviours" -- after CPS conversion the
also only has one kind of behaviour.)
In both models, a process can send a message to another process if-and-only-if it "knows" the latter's channel/name. A new process' channel/name is only initially known by its creator.
Ordinary (non-join) patterns correspond straightforwardly to actor definitions (with the obvious translation of the 'reply' construct to
Join patterns are primitive in the
, but not primitive in actors. It would be easy to support join patterns in an actor language, by representing each subpattern as an actor and having each wait until all subpatterns are triggered.
The approach to modelling objects described in the tutorial (using lexical scoping to hide internal state) is similar to what would be used in actors. In actors you would normally pattern match on the method name rather than returning a tuple of functions, but you could do that in the
as well.
So, for all intents and purposes, the
and the
are almost identical. "The Reflexive CHAM and the join-calculus" describes the
as a modification of the
and the ChemicalAbstractMachine
, but these modifications are essentially equivalent to enforcing the actor LawsOfLocality
, and changing the semantics of channels to follow that of actor message passing.
This would be all very well if the
had been developed in the late 1970s or 1980s. Given that it was developed in 1995, you have to wonder why CedricFournet
and GeorgesGonthier
didn't simply publish a paper relating the
to the
, rather than reinventing the wheel with an entirely new terminology. The only new construct in the
is join patterns, and those are trivially simulatable by actors. "The Reflexive CHAM and the join-calculus" does reference two papers on actors, but little or no research seems to have been put into any comparison. Also see
Oh well -- at least they
promoting the right concurrency model, even if they had to reinvent it 20 years after the fact. --
does allow a very intuitive view of the universe in which processes run. Something like
or ProgrammableLogicController
s on a factory backbone, it even makes the factory floor model easily conceivable as a model for a robot's software. I think its view of inter-process communication offers a clear and simple single practical view to the designer. All processes are the result of the
of another process - invoking a process is an assertion that that process will follow its
. I think
are complementary - each Actor implemented using FBP. --
in its base form has some nice, simple properties that make it easy to reason about and implement. But, after having pursued it for a while based on its being inherently distributed and concurrent, I've grown quite skeptical about its application in practice. Among the problems:
message delivery:
makes an assumption that messages will eventually reach their destination. In any open distributed system, this can't be guaranteed. In part, we must deal with the fact that distributed garbage collection in an open system is undecidable, and so actors will need to be deleted heuristically or explicitly when it seems unlikely they will see further use. That said, the
is still one of the better models out there for handling dropped messages, since they simply become messages that aren't delivered
coordination: 'Pure'
coordination is not simple. To the contrary, it is very invasive of actors, often requiring a complex dance of creating new actors to receive messages and process them in a sort of
, and yet more actors to operate as serializers. As noted above,
, OTOH, always include various abstractions above the basic model -- serializers, synchronous calls, vats, message queues, promises, sponsors, etc."
. And, even with these abstractions, coordination with the
is not simple... because now you need to use these abstractions. As mentioned regarding
above, some sort of external coordination (both when creating new services and when integrating with pre-existing services) seems far more promising.
synchronous communications, such as
, break
- the properties that hold in
cannot be claimed to hold in a system with synchronous communications. For example, one gets deadlock for free! Something 'sort of like' synchronous communications is to send messages with an actor identifier to which to send the reply message, which will be further processed in a
. However, the similarities break down if the actor requesting the reply intends to update its own behavior for processing other messages. This behavior can be handled by ever more state and vocabulary within actors (actors keep state regarding which messages have been sent, which are being waited upon, which are waiting for processing until after receiving a message, etc.) but this makes for heavyweight actors and more
s that, like other forms of coordination, interferes with 'domain' actors. I've developed
to aide with certain forms of synchronization, but have yet to explore how much it helps in enough use-cases to deem it a solution.
See also:
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December 4, 2014
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