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Getting your patio and backyard ready for the warm summer months is about a lot more than restocking your Tiki torches and cleaning the grill (although that may very well be part of it). It's about making your yard, patio, or deck ready for lots of summertime activities. It may take a little work to get everything in shape, but as you enjoy the beautiful yard and patio throughout the summer, you'll realize that it was worth it.
First things first: get out the hose and start washing off the patio. A pressure washer is the most effective way to clear out the residue that builds up over the winter months, but just keep the pressure below 1,000 psi on wood surfaces to avoid causing any damage.
If you have a cement or brick patio, check for cracks or crumbling areas. Cracks can be fixed with various patching compounds, and any broken bricks or tiles should be replaced. If you have a wood deck, you may notice splintering or rotting in some places which you can sand down. Be sure to hammer in any nails that have started to stick up and repair any beams or planks that have st
arted to split.
This may also be a good time to reseal the surface of your patio to prevent further weathering, abrasions, or moisture problems. Spring means a lot of rainfall in some areas, and this will help you extend the life of the patio.
All the snow and rain of the past few months has probably left a lot of unwanted dirt and residue on your patio furniture. Wipe everything down with warm, soapy water to clear away that dirt and clean any cushions or other coverings. Your furniture will see a lot more use if it doesn't look like you have to dust everything off before taking a seat. You should also check for any rust buildup and make sure all the bolts and screws are still solidly in place and make any necessary repairs.
en the weather turns warm, a lot of things start waking up and moving into your yard. Spring may be the time for flowers to bloom, but there are a lot of weeds and pests that want to stretch out and take advantage of the weather, too. Treat your yard for the local weeds and pests to make sure they don't get the upper hand throughout the season.
Rake the lawn to remove excess thatch (decaying plant material) and let water and light reach the ground, and put down some fertilizer to give it a head start on the summer. You can also aerate the lawn for better oxygen and nutrient exchange. Now would also be a good time to reseed bare areas and make sure the sprinkler system is working correctly.
Overgrown trees and bushes can crowd your patio and give everything a shabby appearance. Get out the trimmer/clippers/saw and cut back the overhanging branches and start shaping those bushes. Clear any pathways and find and remove any dead branches. Be careful how you cut, though, because you don't want to lose the shade around your patio.
Now that it's warm and family and friends are running around your yard and enjoying the patio, make sure you've taken all the necessary precautions. Protect your children and guests by clearing out any poisonous or thorny plants and always put away any dangerous tools and landscaping implements. Check your fences to make sure they're still secure so kids and pets can't run out into the street, and keep toys and play equipment where no one will accidently trip on them.
Enjoy your summer and be safe!
Backyard | Destressing | Patio


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Don't you love to know what people are really saying?
Agency Straight Talk
September 21, 2007 By David Burn
Filed Under: Ad People
About David Burn
Co-founder and editor of AdPulp. I wrote my first ad for a political candidate when I was 17 years old. She won her race and I felt the seductive power of advertising for the first time. I worked for seven agencies in five states before launching my own practice in 2009. Today, I am head of brand strategy and creative at Bonehook in Portland, Oregon.

subset: commoncrawl


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District 4, Code Violation Guide
ONE CALL CENTER 621-CITYCode Violations 621-8400
1. Car parked on lawn2. Inop in driveway (flat tires, wrecked, missing car parts)3. Inop in yard4. Car over unpaved surface5. Boat stored in driveway6. Trailer stored in driveway7. Trailer stored in yard8. Boat stored in yard9. Tall weeds, 6" tall10. Dry, tall weeds11. Vacant unsecured house12. Trash in yard13. Trash in driveway14. Trash at gutter15. Junk and appliances in driveway16. Junk and appliances in yard17. Canopy or illegal carport structure in driveway18. Basketball hoop on sidewalk19. Parked car on sidewalk20. Trash and junk in alley21. Weeds, dry, tall in alley22. Auto repair on property23. A fence taller than 6 feet or shorter than 3 feet24. Mobile home in driveway25. Mobile home in yard26. Yard sale signs on trees, in medians, or on poles27. Green swimming pools28. Illegal animals (chickens, ducks, roosters, horses, goats, and pigs)
Police Violations 621-8000 Graffiti Hotline 621-TAGS
1. Basketball hoop in street2. Speeding3. Illegal activityPublic Works 621-8650
1. Boat stored in street2. Trailer stored in street3. Mobile home parked in street w/power hooked up4. Inop parked in street (cob webs, flat tires, wrecked)5. Sign replacement/repair6. Sidewalk, curb, gutter repairs7. Tree removal/replacement and trimming8. Street lights9. Traffic lights10. Standing water


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Celtic manager Neil Lennon was delighted to see off Norwich City's interest in striker Gary Hooper after numerous bids for the English forward were shunned by the club's board.
Lennon was determined to keep the forward, who has netted 23 times already this season, ahead of this month's important UEFA Champions League tie with Juventus.
Lennon was pleased to see his club stand firm to offers for their star man.
"I think we made our stance pretty clear," Lennon told Sky Sports News. "I don't think a lot of people believed us, but we want to keep this team together for the foreseeable future.
"Gary is a huge part of that and I'm very grateful to the board for standing by our decision on that.
Lennon also confirmed his interest in Wolves striker Kevin Doyle and revealed Celtic had a bid for the Republic of Ireland international rejected shortly before the window closed.
"He is a player we have admired for a long time but Wolves were steadfast, like we've been, so we obviously respect that," Lennon said. "They feel Kevin is a very important player there, and it just wasn't to be."
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text:
The Legend of the Legendary Heroes
The Napping Kingdom's Ambitions
Episode 1 | TV-14
While searching the ruins of Nelpha for relics, Ryner and Ferris are pursued by Lieutenant Milk of the Taboo-Breaker Pursuit Squadron. The trouble compounds when one of the relics is inadvertently activated.
Official Site: www.funimation.com/shows/the-legend-of-the-legendary-heroesHide Details


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Home List of Titles The 6dF Galaxy Survey: the near-infrared fundamental plane of early-type galaxies
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/238562
- Title
- The 6dF Galaxy Survey: the near-infrared fundamental plane of early-type galaxies
- Author(s)
- Magoulas, Christina; Springob, Christopher M.; Colless, Matthew; Jones, D. Heath; Campbell, Lachlan A.; Lucey, John R.; Mould, Jeremy; Jarrett, Tom; Merson, Alex; Brough, Sarah
- Abstract
- We determine the near-infrared Fundamental Plane (FP) for ∼104 early-type galaxies in the 6-degree Field Galaxy Survey (6dFGS). We fit the distribution of central velocity dispersion, near-infrared surface brightness and half-light radius with a 3D Gaussian model using a maximum-likelihood method. The model provides an excellent empirical fit to the observed FP distribution and the method proves robust and unbiased. Tests using simulations show that it gives superior results to regression techniques in the presence of significant and correlated uncertainties in all three parameters, censoring of the data by various selection effects and outliers in the data sample. For the 6dFGS J-band sample we find an FP with , similar to previous near-infrared determinations and consistent with the H- and K-band FPs once allowance is made for differences in mean colour. The overall scatter in Re about the FP is σr = 29 per cent, and is the quadrature sum of an 18 per cent scatter due to observational errors and a 23 per cent intrinsic scatter. Because of the Gaussian distribution of galaxies in FP space, σr is not the distance error, which we find to be σd = 23 per cent. Using group richness and local density as measures of environment, and morphologies based on visual classifications, we find that the FP slopes do not vary with environment or morphology. However, for fixed velocity dispersion and surface brightness, field galaxies are on average 5 per cent larger than galaxies in groups or higher density environments, and the bulges of early-type spirals are on average 10 per cent larger than ellipticals and lenticulars. The residuals about the FP show significant trends with environment, morphology and stellar population. The strongest trend is with age, and we speculate that age is the most important systematic source of offsets from the FP, and may drive the other trends through its correlations with environment, morphology and metallicity. These results will inform our use of the near-infrared FP in deriving relative distances and peculiar velocities for 6dFGS galaxies.
- Publication type
- Journal article
- Research centre
- Swinburne University of Technology. Faculty of Information and Communication Technologies. Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing
- Source
- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 427, no. 1 (Nov 2012), pp. 245-273
- Publication year
- 2012
- FOR Code(s)
- 0201 Astronomical and Space Sciences
- Keyword(s)
- Elliptical galaxies; Fundamental parameters; Galaxy evolution; Galaxy structure; Lenticular galaxies; Surveys
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell Publishing
- 0035-8711
- Publisher URL
- Copyright
- Copyright © 2012 The Authors. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society copyright © 2012 RAS.
- Research Projects
- Peer reviewed


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The birthday run
Life in review — one lap at a time
By Christopher Nyerges 02/19/2009
Acustom on my birthday, Jan. 11, is to review each year of my life with each lap that I run. I literally run through my life, looking back at where I started, where I've been and what's happened in between.
This year's run was particularly emotional; 2008 had been a year of pain — losing my wife of 22 years in early December, and before that, on Easter Sunday, my dog of 17 years. I focused especially hard as I ran this year's birthday run, trying to re-live my life, trying to really feel again what I had felt back then.
My first awareness as a baby was that something was very wrong, that I came from some very sacred place and now I was back in a human body on this dark planet. I cried uncontrollably as I ran, just as I did in my first few years of incoherence and confusion. But I slowly learned the ways of man — deceit, double-talk, lies, beguilement.
I'd forgotten that I once knew that I "descended" into humanness, and then I worked to learn how to "fit in." With each lap, I tried to just feel it and find the lessons that I still needed to learn.
I remember visiting my grandfather in Ohio and how he yelled at my mother for some petty thing. I was only a child, but I never forgot that puzzling scene. I somehow thought that getting older meant that people grew wiser, more respectful, more controlled — but this was merely one experience that taught me that was not so.
I remembered stealing cigarettes and other things at local stores as a teen and eventually getting involved in marijuana for a short while. Both my parents were working and I looked up to the neighborhood "bad boys" who smoked and swore and stole things. If not for getting caught and exposed, I might have stayed on that path of crime.
Fortunately, I went through some sort of internal renaissance at 14 and began martial arts classes, learning music and studying Buddhism and philosophy. I saw that I knew next to nothing. Yet I still looked positively to the future. Now, at age 54, I could see as I ran that the past is very much alive in all we do in the present, and the future is already written by what I think and do and feel as I live each moment. I found that I could do my birthday run with mental eyes wide open, facing all my fears and perceptions of inadequacy.
In high school, I entered into the world of ideas and the vast potential good that was available if people — if I — lived ecologically smart lives, though I was too naive at that time to see the overwhelming influence that the pursuit of money has on us.
I constantly felt the frustration of never really learning anything in school, but I learned to play the game. I didn't learn how to think, nor did I receive any moral rudder while in school. I simply learned about the tools I needed to go forward.
As I ran, I reviewed my travels — always seeking but rarely finding. I reviewed my search for "real community" and my various successes. I felt so happy thinking back to the time my wife Dolores and I drove to Oklahoma for the 150th commemoration of the Trail of Tears, and Dolores spoke to the gathered audience with a Shining Bear reading. The whole trip was a magical dream.
Amazingly, I came to the realization that I wasted a large portion of my life in the pointless pursuit of sex. I was too dumb most of the time, too driven by my own animal nature, to know the difference between love and sex. As I ran I could see that dark side of sex throughout my life, something that I have only slowly been able to deal with.
In the last 10 years, I felt both uplifted by my work and depressed by my own deficiencies. My separation from Dolores was a source of great sadness, later replaced by the inner enlightened joy of two people, respecting each other, freely coming together for certain goals. We worked together on some of the public gatherings conducted by our nonprofit, many writings and other projects. So when Dolores made her final transition in December, I felt devastated but compelled to review all that was good, all that would take me into the future with the world we created.
So many personal lessons flowed from this year's run that it would take a book to record them all. I remember thinking that Dolores had created a wonderful life and that I wanted to do the same — and still want that. I also took faith in a quote from Michael Savage: "Work is the only salvation."
Christopher Nyerges can be reached at ChristopherNyerges.com.
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Books, Athletic Body Training, Tracey E. Bailey, 219 Pages, Paper-Back Book (Discontinued Item)
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- Over 140 Bodyweight Jump Rope, and Sandbag Exercises to Develop your Athleticism
Athletic Body Training is a book that will change the way you feel about being athletic and fit. If you want better health, this book is for you. If you like to feel great and you want more energy, then this book is for you too. The exercises and routines can be tailored for all levels to use. There are over 140 proven effective exercises and efficient routines to give you the new athletic body and physical control that you want and need!
Chapter 1 Body Weight Training...................................13
Chapter 2 Body Weight Exercises................................16
Chapter 3 Jump Rope Training....................................138
Chapter 4 Jump Rope Exercises.................................141
Chapter 5 The Benefits of Sandbag Training.................158
Chapter 6 Sandbag Exercises....................................159
Chapter 7 Body Weight Exercise Routine....................188
Chapter 8 Jump Rope Routines...................................202
Chapter 9 Sandbag Exercise Routines.........................208
Chapter 10 Combination Exercise Routines....................210
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Zoo Music: Greensky Bluegrass
Part of the Zoo Music Concert Series.
About Greensky Bluegrass
If you're familiar with bluegrass music, then you're tuned in to some of what Greensky Bluegrass does. They're also known to throw a great party, rock n roll, and (if the critics are to be believed) they have great songs.
This quintet from Michigan has been staying up late at all the coolest festivals and stopping to play your favorite clubs and theaters across America for 11 years now. Nearly 175 shows per year has prepared them for the rigorous task of continuity.
At the start of the millennium, some of these guys met, then they met more guys. They thought Greensky was a clever name for a bluegrass band. Fast forward to 2011 when they recorded their fourth studio record, called Handguns.
Greensky Bluegrass is: Anders Beck (dobro) Michael Arlen Bont (banjo) Dave Bruzza (guitar) Mike Devol (upright bass) Paul Hoffman (mandolin)
Listen to music samples online.
Sign up for our Wild Beats music e-newsletter.
Concert Information
Gates open at 6 p.m. and concerts begin at 7:30 p.m., rain or shine. Animals will be on exhibit.
Blankets, lawn chairs and picnics are welcome, but please do not bring glass containers or alcoholic beverages into the park. Food, beer and wine are available for purchase.


text:
Homes for Sale:
The Basics of
Buying and Selling
Buying or selling a home is complicated and can be quite stressful. The number of homes for sale in the local area has a major impact on how the process will unfold. By understanding the basics of the home buying and selling process and being aware of the challenges, buyers and sellers alike can lay a foundation for the smoothest possible real estate experience.


text:
ITALY: Benetton Warns Of Fall In Full-Year Sales, Profits
Clothing group Benetton has warned that slowing demand and ongoing problems at its sporting goods unit mean its full year sales are likely to fall by between 3.5 per cent and 4 per cent. Profits will also drop by around 5 per cent the company said.
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Tourism Hotline : 1912(Hotline service is only available when dialed within Sri Lanka)
Despite its small size Sri Lanka boasts of one of the highest rates of biological endemism in the world whether in plants or animals and is included among the top five biodiversity hotspots in the world. Of the ninety-one species of mammals found in Sri Lanka Asian elephants, sloth bear, leopards, sambar and wild buffaloes engages the majority of the attention of wildlife enthusiast. Yet the rarest mammals of Sri Lanka are the red slender Loris, Toque Macaque, and Purple-faced Langur, who according to IUCN clarifications are endangered due to habitat loss.
Meanwhile the ocean around Sri Lanka is home to large families of cetaceans including the mighty blue whales, sperm whales and lively dolphins. Altogether 26 species of cetaceans rule the waters surrounding the country, making it one of the best locations for whale and dolphin watching.
Despite the mighty elephants and rare amphibians found in the country birds are the glory of the Sri Lanka's wildlife. Boasting nearly 433 bird species of which 233 are resident Sri Lanka holds 20 endemic species while another 80 species have developed distinct Sri Lankan races, compared to their cousins in Indian mainland.
Although less celebrated, Sri Lanka has one of the richest diversity of amphibians in the world, containing over 106 species of amphibians of over 90 of which are endemic. The country has long claimed to have the highest amphibian species density in the world with a high concentration in the Sinharaja rainforest.
One of the world best nature reserves and ecotourism venues was designated a national park in 1988, is covered by montage grassland and cloud forest in the country. This plateau at an altitude of 2,100–2,300 metres (6,900–7,500 ft) is rich in biodiversity and many species found here are endemic to the region. In general the forest are seen on the hilltops or upper slope the grassland in the valleys and lower slopes eventually giving way to wetland habits.
The park is home to wide variety of flora and 24 species of mammals. In fact important Bird area with many species not only endemic to Sri Lanka. The sheer precipice of World's End and Baker's Falls are among the tourist attractions of the park.
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Our Hero comes upon the roadblock with disappointment but not surprise.
"Just keep going through," he says to his female companion, "I'll meet you on the other side."
And with that, he rolls out of the car in one quick motion, popping up on his feet behind an SUV.
"I'm just not feeling creatively stimulated by our relationship." ZAP and I'm back in the cafe on 6th Avenue and 12th Street, ripped from the adventure screenplay I've been working on. It's Sunday afternoon and the couple sitting next to me is breaking up. I try not to listen but it's rather distracting and I don't have my headphones.
"I don't understand why we need a business?" she says finally. She has an accent.
"It could be anything," he says, "A song, a poem, a story."
She grimaces.
"I just think we should do something creative."
It's my first time at the coffee shop and it's nice, though I wonder why these two picked this particular place to break up in. But, it is very environmentally friendly; their cups, lids, stirrers and heat protectors are all compostable. Personally I find this comforting as I've been shocked over the past two weeks how many plastic bags people go through on a daily basis.
I stood outside a deli briefly the other day and watched a barrage of bags leave in the hands of many people—a few of them dumping them in the garbage can on the corner immediately.
I've been making an effort to carry my purchases or bringing a bag of my own.
Tap, tap, tap. The Young Mother in the SUV turns her head surprised. Our Hero flashes her a winning smile and says, "Ma'am, I need your help." She thinks for a moment before unlocking the doors.
We cut inside to the backseat of the SUV, a body under a blanket. Car by car, the SUV gradually approaches the front of the line. Cops are searching the cars. They are getting closer. Tension is heightening. ZAP.
"I think the top search bar should be blue." A new pair is now sitting next to me. They are loudly discussing the website that they are starting together. Their screens are pointed away from me and as they bend in toward them they are practically staring right at me.
"It could be simpler and cleaner. Like this." She taps her keyboard and brings up another website. I glance around the coffee shop. Many of the people have changed since the last time I looked up. And though I eavesdrop quite extensively and the website duo speak quite loudly, I am unable to figure out exactly what their website does.
The girl tries to get the guy to focus. He's chatting on Skype. She's irritated.
Personally I have opted out of the small slip of paper that has the password to the Internet. I am going at it untethered this afternoon. I take quite a bit of comfort in the fact that something could happen in the world and I wouldn't know about it immediately.
The cop stops to ask the Young Mother where she is heading. He seems to notice something strange in the backseat but right at that instant his radio crackles. He answers it and in a daze waves the car through.
The Young Mother drops Our Hero around the bend where his female companion is already waiting with the car running. ZAP.
There is no bathroom at the cafe and I suddenly have to pee. A few of the folks around me have gone down the block to Chipotle but I choose to just head home. "It's the only bad thing about this place," the guy across from me says. I nod in agreement.
It's 5:30 p.m. and already dark out. Can't get quite used to that. Nevertheless, the weather is beautiful and I enjoy the stroll back to my apartment. Our Hero drives off into the sunset.


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Is there a benefit to delaying vaccinations?
According to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia , diseases still pose a threat to our communities, even more so if we refuse to vaccinate our children and ourselves: "Every dose of a vaccine is important because they all protect against infectious diseases that are threats today and can be especially serious for infants and very young children."
Michael J. Smith, a pediatric infectious-disease specialist at the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Kentucky, studied data collected as part of the U.S. Safety Datalink monitoring project. His results -- collected several years after children received their vaccinations -- found little difference on intelligence, speech and behavior tests between children who were vaccinated on schedule and those who waited.
Dr. Smith's analysis found the on-time group -- the group that followed doctor-recommended vaccination schedules -- did slightly better on an intelligence test and answered a little faster on a test asking children to name things. And in no category did the on-time group do worse than the delay group.
Why some parents worry about vaccinations
According to the CDC, the belief that vaccinations cause autism was perceived because childhood vaccines are administered when symptoms of autism appear. Likewise, they see the link as a false alarm.
In its "Infant Immunizations FAQ" the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said "there is no link between them [vaccines] and autism."
Thimerosal, an organic compound, and the MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccine have been at the center of this misunderstanding.
According to the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), since the 1930s, thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative, has been added to vaccines to prevent bacteria and fungi contamination. The FDA adds that doing so saved many children's lives because thimerosal provided uncontaminated vaccines.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said: "It is important to understand that mercury is a natural part of our environment and is found in the fish we eat, the water we drink, and in infant formula and breast milk, among other items. There is no evidence that thimerosal in vaccines is harmful."
Parents have the option to ask their doctors for thimerosal-free vaccines. However, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) "does not recommend using the thimerosal-free flu vaccine over thimerosal-containing flu vaccine, and states that the benefits of flu vaccination outweigh any risk from thimerosal exposure."
The MMR vaccine has also been thought to be linked to autism. The AAP disagrees with this assessment.
In 1998, a small study was published that linked the MMR vaccine to inflammatory bowel disease and autism. Later these results were rejected because the study was seriously flawed, according to the APP.
The APP says: "As a result of the study and its misleading results, many British parents refused to let their children get the vaccine and the number of measles and mumps outbreaks increased in areas where many children are not vaccinated. Subsequent studies and a 2004 Institute of Medicine report have all concluded that there is no association between the MMR vaccine and autism."
Vaccinations are important
Boston Children's Hospital said "in order to keep these diseases at bay, it's important your child receives the recommended vaccinations -- for health of your family and the general public."
If you have any concerns about your child's health or his or her vaccine recommendations, please seek the advice of a medical professional.


text: My son is almost 7 months old, and 2 weeks ago I threw in the towel after trying since his birth to successfully breastfeed. We've been through cranio-sacral therapy, I work in conjunction with two LCs who seek additional help when needed from Cathy Watson Genna (we live far from NYC), I have pumped, taken herbs and done suck exercises. At near 6 months we finally found a doctor that would recognize his posterior tongue-tie, and were able to get that clipped. He did fine, in fact he would comfort nurse, but after I made the decision not to pump anymore because I didn't see any improvement in his suck, my supply dropped and he decided not to suck anymore. All this combined with trying to raise a active 2 1/2 year old really took a toll, and I had to stop. Now 2 weeks later we are having trouble in that he has decided he doesn't like the taste of formula, and isn't getting enough food. I want to attempt to relactate, although if it starts to affect my parenting again I will stop. My goal is to just pump, and not worry about the breast for now. He won't take it anyways without a steady flow of milk, and absolutely rejects a SNS (we've tried over and over). I'm drinking Mothers Milk and taking Lactate Support...What are ya'lls experience with it? Any advice?


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"I have been listening to you on EWTN for about a year now. I left the Catholic Church 42 years ago. After many struggles during this last year, I finally went to confession on Sunday. I cannot begin to explain how excited I am to be home. Thank you so much for helping me on my journey home."
~ Peggy
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"There is one jewel for my poor soul, in a life which desires not sin; it is the beads... Suitable are these for a gift; bits of the tree of Him Who redeemed us."
~ Gitto'r Glyn, Welsh poet; opening lines from his "popish" Cywydd y paderau prennau (Ode to the Wooden Beads); secretly circulated among private Catholic homes in Wales during the English persecutions, when possession meant a death sentence.


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Jet/Glass Pearl Torsade
Style: 570098499
Out of Stock
Black, white and a rich helping of gold make this modern twist hard to resist.
- Six strands of faceted round beads, glass pearls and gleaming goldtone chain.
- 18"-20" with extender.
- Lobster claw clasp.
- Glass and acrylic beads. Goldtone metal.
- Custom designed exclusively for WHBM. Handcrafted with nickel-free and lead-free metal.
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text:
hi! My daughter is 4 weeks old & I have finally come to the conclusion that she is not going to nurse. We have seen several LC's with no luck. I am fine with that and actually liking exclusively pumping - as much as one can.
My question is- I pump twice as much as she drinks....and my "mini-goal" is to make it to 4 months when she starts solids & then feed her all the breastmilk I have stored until she is at least 6 months (we have it in a deep freeze at my grandfather in laws house and pumping longer than this is just not ideal as I have an 8 yo, a 2 yo and I do daycare in my home, so I can't even imagine how hard it will be to pump once I go back to work). I know that breastmilk composition is supposed to change over time with her growing body, but is this "plan" still better than formula? And it's really hard to rotate it now, b/c I can always give her fresh breastmilk. Basically I pump a fresh bottle, freeze my next pump (sometimes the one after if she sleeps long) and pump another fresh bottle, etc. I'm never feeding her frozen breastmilk currently (does that make sense)??? So in six months, she will most likely be having what I am pumping now. Is this okay?
THANKS! I hope this wasn't too confusing!


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- SKU : MTC-TSB208j
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Movie review: You can stare into 'Oblivion,' but there isn't much there
April 25, 2013
Although derivative, "Oblivion" follows some of my science fiction movie rules. No. 2: Cast Morgan Freeman, since he makes any movie look better. His supporting role here is all-too-brief, but the actor's gravitas and buttercream voice, bump the film up half a star. No. 3: Cast young actors who resemble proven stars. "Oblivion" slips in Olga Kurylenko, a Catherine Zeta-Jones look alike if you squint.
No. 4: Use a familiar element in a changed-up mode. Imagine a mean, badass version of cutie-pie R2D2, and you get flying drones that squeak and buzz before zapping you to mist.
No. 5: Striking visuals. During the first 40 minutes of "Oblivion" director Joseph Kosinski delivers a cantilevered glass house that is gasp-worthy. He shows us a ghostly post-apocalyptic Earth, and awesome extraterrestrial machines. It's all very pretty.
Equally pretty as the scenery are Jack Harper and Victoria Olsen (Tom Cruise and Andrea Riseborough), presumably the only people left on Earth. The couple comprise a maintenance crew carrying out a five-year mission to oversee the drones that protect our war-torn planet from scavengers, or "scavs." Each morning Jack takes off in his whirlybird copter thingy to do rounds, while Victoria, decked out in one of many dazzling, formfitting dresses and sky high heels, reports to her high-tech workstation — located a few feet from the front door.
Inquisitive and mildly rebellious, Jack is Victoria's opposite. She's a by-the-numbers gal determined to receive high marks from Sally (Melissa Leo), their commander in the "Tet," a low-Earth orbiting space station. Each night Jack dreams of a beautiful woman (Olga Kurylenko) whom he can't place. He wonders if this is because Jack and Victoria's memories were erased, prior to their five-year mission, to prevent their knowledge from falling into enemy hands. These conceits might make sense if Jack and Victoria were under enemy attack, but they sleep unguarded in their highly exposed home, possessing enough knowledge that any interrogator would benefit from their capture.
With their mission scheduled to end in a mere 14 days, Victoria looks forward to joining the rest of mankind at our new home on Titan, but Jack is less enthusiastic.
Threads of "Terminator," "Matrix," "The Island," "Imposter," "Wall-E," "Moon" and others, are woven throughout the film. In and of itself, these inspirations and imitations wouldn't matter had the stolen bits gelled into a cohesive whole. They don't. Watching "Oblivion" is sufficiently pleasant, but it breaks my No. 1 science fiction movie rule by failing to stretch our philosophical tendons and muscles and by barely breaching the walls of our daily humdrum reality.
Nevertheless, the film assures us that clever humans will eventually triumph over any oppressors. I take little comfort from that assertion, but I will take one of those cantilevered homes.


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Peterson, Walsh headline Vikings in Pro Bowl
The Minnesota Vikings have four players who were voted into the Pro Bowl on Wednesday.
Adrian Peterson was selected for the fifth time. It comes as no surprise thanks to an incredible comeback season. Peterson is 102 yards away from becoming the sixth running back in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.
Kicker Blair Walsh, defensive end Jared Allen and fullback Jerome Felton also were named to the NFC team. Walsh set an NFL record this season with nine field goals of at least 50 yards.
Allen has 10 sacks this year while Felton helped pave the way for Peterson's big year.
Peterson says he's honored to be named to the team, but was disappointed none of his offensive linemen made it.
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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The Geography Blog focusing on all things geography: human, physical, technical, space, news, and geopolitics. Also known as Geographic Travels with Catholicgauze! Written by a former National Geographic employee who also proudly served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Tamil Tiger War Enters the Final Stage
First, there is a horrible refugee situation with the Tamil Tigers using the local Tamil as human shields and the Sri Lankan military using heavy artillery ignoring human shields. The United Nations and the West is decrying the situation to the Sri Lankan government while the Chinese continue to offer support of all kinds. Expect the Sri Lankan government to favor the East over the West for quite sometime.
Secondly, there is concern about winning the pace. Sri Lankan Tamil refugees are being put into camps. Depending on who you ask these are either temporary relocation camps or concentration camps. There are also fears, being spread by Tamil Tigers supporters, that the camps could become permanent. The Sri Lankan government may move Sinhalese into the area so their presence can calm the region down. However, mistreatment of Tamil will only breed hatred and plant the seeds of a new generation of Tigers.
For war progress be sure to check the Sri Lankan government's interactive map.
Pray for peace
3 comments:
- Dan tdaxp said...
Good news for the "Democratic Socialist Republic." The LTTE have been an incredibly scary and dangerous group for a long time. Good thing they seem to be done away with.
It occurs to me that there is one thing the West could do at this late date. We can offer to take in any Tamil refugees who're willing to pursue citizenship of a Western country.
Depending on how you view the Sri Lankan conflict, that would reduce the number of refugees needing fed, reduce the number of human shields available for the surviving Tigers and reduce the opportunities for abuse by Government forces.
- Catholicgauze said...
Interesting suggestion Michael. I wonder how many Tamils would be interested in that offer and how many would say they will never leave their "country" (what ever it may be).


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Now that 88 has gone to a backup...
Now that 88 has gone to a backup, what does that mean? While the record books will state Earnhardt Jr., won the pole, here's how it'll work.
88 starts at back of field in his Gatorade Duel. Newman will lead field to green from No. 1 starting spot.
No matter where 88 finishes in Duel, he will start at the end of the Daytona 500 field. Why? He already qualified and is now in a backup.
Whoever wins 1st Duel will lead Daytona 500 to green from the No. 1 starting spot. (Record books will state Earnhardt Jr. started 1st.)
Both Newman & Stewart are in 1st Duel, so both have a shot at inheriting No. 1 starting spot for the 53rd Daytona 500 if they win the Duel.
I'd say that's pretty cool for Tony and Ryan!!!!


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Vices Channel / Bullz-Eye Home
In the past a single woman in her 40s or older was dubbed an "old maid" and shunned from the community. With no one willing to give them some much-needed play, they had no choice but to become the crazy cat ladies who kids in the neighborhood made fun of. How the times change! Now the kids in the neighborhood are just as likely to spy in the bedroom window of the local 40-something single/divorced woman because there's a fair chance she's drop-dead gorgeous and ready to go (you can make your own cat lady/pussy joke here). Now, instead of spinsters and old maids we have "cougars," older women ready to pounce on the nearest piece of young meat they can get their hands on. The phenomenon of cougars is relatively new (god bless plastic surgery and 24 hour gyms) so it's fairly uncharted territory for most guys out there. These sites should help educate you in the ways and habits of this wild beast, and where you can find one in their natural habitat.
Also, check out our guide to how to date a cougar!
Featured Cougar Videos and Galleries
Carmen Electra
Who knew Carmen was so versitile?
Inappropriate Movie Mom Crushes
Check out the beautiful moms!
Eva Longoria
Eva Longoria injects some woman into MAN Magazine (Feb 2007)
Blonde, hot and not terribly bright, Fifi (AKA MILFifi) is an older woman with her own YouTube.com series about older women and why all us younger guys should bone their hot near-menopausal asses. This particular episode details what Fifi thinks is the difference between a MILF and a cougar. She's one of the only women on the internet to address the issue, so her views are worth listening to (she also has an amazing rack, so if you don't care at all about what she says you should still click on the damn link).
Cougar Dating Sites
Go Cougar
While there are hundreds of dating and hook-up sites on the internet, there are only a select few dedicated to cougars and their young prey. Go Cougar is one of them, and it's free to both older women and the men they want to molest. In addition to personal profiles they also have a news section and a blog that is regularly updated.
A little more refined that Go Cougar, this site has a forum for cougars and their prey to chat it up, and a nice selection of articles that examine the specifics of age-gap relationships. Like Go Cougar you have to register if you want full access to the site, but it's free and doesn't take that long.
More Cougar Sites and Articles
History of the Cougar
Another story about cougars on the prowl, but this one is special in a few key areas. First of all the example they use is actually pretty damn hot, and secondly they sidebar on "historical cougars" is actually more interesting then the story itself: It turns out that Catherine The Great actually had a thing for young cubs (and not horses as the urban legend suggests).
UK Cougar
The cougar is not only found in America, they are showing up in the UK as well. While this article isn't that terribly different than many of the others linked to in this guide, it is interesting to find out what those across the pond think of hot woman-on-dude action. Before you hop a plane to score some limey tail you might want to look at the pics of the cougars profiled in this piece, because these British broads definitely look like wild animals.
The Dirty - Cougars
This great blog is constantly updated with great pics, and he has tons of cougars along with the college girls.
The Hows and Whys of Cougars
The term cougars has left the club scene and moved into the mainstream media, as this article at MSNBC.com proves. Another example of a series of serious pieces looking to find out the sociological reason behind America's recent obsession with older women scoring with younger dudes, this one actually seems to make a bit of sense.
Lonely Old Dudes: Side-effect of the Cougar Phenomenon
A surprisingly serious look at the cougar phenomenon, this short article from The Huffington Post talks about one group of people that is getting neglected because of the recent boom of cougars – Baby Boomer Men! Think about it, if all the women over 40 are now suddenly chasing young meat then where does that leave their age-appropriate counterparts? In front of the computer with a box of tissues? While the sudden influx of older women looking to score may be great for us younger guys now, we might not feel the same way if we're still 45 and single. That said, many older guys have done pretty well with younger babes – especially if you have money, power or a really nice car!
MILFS vs. Cougars
It can be difficult for us guys to figure out the difference between a cougar and a MILF. While you may think the two overlap, that is not the case. This page from The Bachelor Guy breaks down the very important differences between a cougar and a MILF, and where you're going to need to go if you want to score one and not the other.
Cougar Club - The Movie
It was only a matter of time before cougars got their own sleazy sex comedy. Cougar Club came out in 2007 and went to video pretty fast, so you probably haven't heard of it. However, it actually got pretty good reviews and features a cast of super-hot older hotties, including Carrie Fisher and the Faye Dunaway, the queen of bangable 60-somethings. The official site has information about the cast and crew, as well as a trailer.
Hot Hollywood Cougars
It's a fact that Hollywood is the home of the best cougars in the universe. Yes, your neighborhood may have that slutty divorced chick down the street who mows the lawn in her bikini, but it probably doesn't have Sharon Stone and Demi Moore. This post from Best Week Ever's blog gives their choices for the hottest cougars in LA, and their choices are a hilarious cross-section of "oh yeah!" "oh no!" "and "what the %#$#?!"
Cougar Town: The 40 sexiest celebrities over 40!
Great gallery from Guyism.com
Cougars Rule!
Great article from Bonnie Fuller about the hot cougars dominating pop culture, including Demi Moore, Jennifer Aniston, Cindy Crawford, Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman, Courtney Cox and Michelle Pfeiffer.
Celebrity Cougars
Hollywood is loaded with 40-something actresses who still look smoking hot and merit the cougar label!
|Demi Moore
|Sharon Stone
|Nicollette Sheridon
You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook for content updates. Also, sign up for our email list for weekly updates and check us out on Google+ as well.


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Visitor Information » Visitor Links
Visitor Links
The Norton Simon Museum is located in the historic city of Pasadena, California.
Widely known for the annual Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl Game, Pasadena not only has a fascinating history, but this "crown of the valley" with its turn-of-the century architecture, continues to be a premier destination for arts and culture, entertainment, dining and shopping.
While in Pasadena, visitors to the Norton Simon Museum often take the opportunity to experience the other jewels the city has to offer. In order to fully enjoy your trip to Pasadena, please browse our list of visitor links below:
- Pasadena Convention & Visitors Bureau: www.pasadenacal.com
- City of Pasadena: www.ci.pasadena.ca.us
- Pasadena Chamber of Commerce: www.pasadena-chamber.org
To learn about what is happening at Los Angeles' many museums, visit www.museumsla.org


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Baroque Scarf-Print Date Top
Style: 570064358
Out of Stock
Baroque scarf print brings in sapphire and sky blue, colors that look forward to spring, on a weightless top with cut-in shoulders and a border print to define the waist. Shell: 100% Polyester. Lining: 100% Polyester. Hand wash, cold; line dry. Or dry clean. Imported.
- Pullover style; contour fit.
- Shirred elastic waist in back. Faceted silvertone looped buttons above a keyhole placket in back. Hidden side zip with hook-and-eye closure. Soft pleats at the neckline, above and below the waistband.
- Black georgette lining.
- Hits at mid-hip (25" from shoulder).
Read more… Read less…


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The Future of Search: Reaching for a Piece of Google's Pie
02-23-2007, 09:40 AM (This post was last modified: 02-23-2007 10:13 AM by smitharose.)
Post: #1
Google charges for web programs
Google has introduced a paid-for version of its web applications it hopes will be popular with small firms
The paid version adds more storage, phone help and guarantees of availability to the Gmail, calendar, word processing and messaging package.
Industry analysts suggest the move is aimed squarely at Microsoft and its Office suite of programs.
At the same time BT and Microsoft signed a deal to create a marketplace of web-based programs for small firms.
'Brutal timing'
Google's new service costs $50 (£27 or 40 euros) for every account and for this customers get phone support, a guarantee that the online applications will work 99.9% of the time and 10 gigabytes of storage for each e-mail address.
The package of programs available includes e-mail, word processing, spreadsheets, calendar and Google Talk.
By paying, users also get the option to turn off the adverts that usually populate the free versions.
The free version of this package was introduced in August 2006 and Google said that more than 100,000 businesses had signed up.
Google hopes that the chance to collaborate on key documents via the web will prove popular to small firms who are more used to e-mailing copies back and forth.
Analysts said the announcement was intended to give people an alternative to Microsoft's Office 2007.
"The timing is just brutal for Microsoft," said Rebecca Wettemann, vice president of research at Nucleus Research. "It's definitely a shot across their bow."
In related news Microsoft has revealed details of a partnership with telecoms firm BT to create a marketplace for a series of business programs designed for small businesses.
The subscription-based marketplace will host all the programs itself and allow small businesses to use the different applications as a service.
As well as generic applications such as payroll programs the marketplace will also host niche applications designed for particular types of small businesses such as dentists and estate agents.
A spokesman for BT said it would be signing up software firms to make the programs soon and that it was aiming to launch by the summer.
Post: #2
RE: Google charges for web programs
Check this page for more details of Google Apps For Your Domain http://www.google.com/a/enterprise/
Post: #3
The Future of Search: Reaching for a Piece of Google's Pie
"[Google] cannot stay on top forever. Yes, it is in the spotlight now, but a lot of smart and well-funded companies are developing technology that is different from what Google offers," Erik Hansen, president of SiteSpect, a provider of search engine marketing and Web optimization technology, told TechNewsWorld.
Last year, when Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales announced plans to launch a new search engine in the first half of 2007, everyday users of this now ubiquitous tool wondered what Wales could do that Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) couldn't. However, the search engine community knew better.
Of course, Google reset the benchmark for search several years ago, which led to Merriam-Webster's dictionary listing of the company's name as a transitive verb.
Post: #4
Google Plugs Desktop Hole but Risks Remain
Google patched a security hole in Google Desktop, but security software vendor Watchfire claims that the popular application's mix of Web and private hard drive searches might still be risky. A savvy hacker could surreptitiously achieve "not only remote, persistent access to sensitive data, but full system control as well," warned Watchfire.
A security flaw found late last year in Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Desktop was quickly patched, but the company that discovered it says the popular application's mix of Web and private hard drive searches might still be risky.
Google Desktop, which uses Google search technology to scan PC hard drives as well as the Web, could be hacked by someone using a cross-scripting attack, according to a report issued by Watchfire, which discovered the hole last autumn.
A savvy hacker could surreptitiously achieve "not only remote, persistent access to sensitive data , but full system control as well," warned Watchfire.
Given Time to Fix the Flaw
Watchfire found the problem in October 2006 and alerted Google in January, Watchfire Chief Technology Officer Mike Weider told TechNewsWorld.
"They then fixed it in February and now here we are publishing this to the public," said Weider. Watchfire purposely delayed announcing its discovery, and coordinated the announcement to coincide with Google's report of a fix for the problem, because it would be "irresponsible to announce a major hole in Google Desktop" without first allowing Google to create a solution, he added.
However, while Google has plugged the gap through which thieves could steal private information using the increasingly popular hacker method of cross-site scripting, Weider remains concerned that Google Desktop does not offer users a way to prevent simultaneous searching of their own computers and the Web.
Mixing Public With Private
"It does a query to Google Desktop and adds those results to ones from Google.com," he explained. "It's that interaction that creates a vulnerability." Google should give users the option to prevent Desktop from simultaneously searching the Web, Weider suggested, but he understands why it hasn't.
"I think it has functional benefits to the product," said Weider, who acknowledged the feature is "nice" to use. The matter appears to be a "classic compromise" between good security and popular functionality, he noted.
"Watchfire notified us of this potential vulnerability, which requires an attacker to first find and attack a vulnerability in Google.com," Google spokesperson Barry Schnitt told TechNewsWorld. " A fix was developed quickly and users are being automatically updated with the patch. In addition, we have another layer of security checks to the latest version of Google Desktop to protect users from similar vulnerabilities in the future.
"We have received no reports that this vulnerability was exploited," Schnitt continued. "However, users should make sure they are running the latest version of Google Desktop by going to desktop.google.com and downloading the latest version and installing it."
The Wave of the Future?
The situation "clearly emphasizes the danger of integration between desktop applications and Web-based applications as an aperture for a malicious attacker to escalate his/her privileges by crossing from the Web environment to the desktop application environment," according to Watchfire.
Google Desktop "in and of itself is an interesting proposition" from a security standpoint, Craig Schmugar, threat research manager for McAfee Avert Labs, told TechNewsWorld. "There certainly are security concerns" with Google Desktop "even beyond this particular vulnerability," he added. "Just the notion of data integrity and data loss ... there are certainly additional concerns about what you should be running on your machine and how that application needs be secured."
Even though using Google Desktop might be somewhat risky, Weider said he likes it. "Google, to its credit, has built a great product and I'm going to continue using it," he declared.
In general, as people and companies embrace Web 2.0's interactivity, more of these types of problems are likely to surface. "We are likely to hear more of this especially around Web 2.0 as end user ability to create content for Web sites opens up this whole world," Schmugar predicted.
03-02-2007, 02:42 PM (This post was last modified: 03-02-2007 02:46 PM by smitharose.)
Post: #5
Google to Tighten Defense Against Click Fraudsters
click-fraud.jpg (Size: 12.39 KB / Downloads: 3) Though Google downplays the severity of the click fraud problem, it nevertheless is responding to concern over its prevalence with a new set of tools to detect and neutralize illegitimate clicks.
Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) plans to provide Web advertisers with more data and tools to combat click fraud, a damaging practice that costs advertisers an estimated US$16 billion a year.
The new tools are part of an effort to crack down on click fraud and dull its impact on the otherwise highly profitable pay per click online advertising model.
"There has been an increasingly growing cloud over Google on this issue," Ron Enderle, a principal analyst with the Enderle Group, told the E-Commerce Times. "If folks have been gaming the system , advertisers want to see some corrections."
Per Click Model
With the pay per click model, advertisers pay every time someone clicks on their ads. However, some companies mount campaigns to click repeatedly on their competitors' ads just to drive up their costs.
The practice takes advantage of the system Google currently has in place for Internet advertisers to pay their fees.
Now, Google intends to address the issue by providing advertisers with a means to scrutinize the process and gain more control over it, according to Enderle.
Blacklisting Fraudsters
In March, Google will begin allowing advertisers to blacklist certain IP addresses if click fraud is suspected -- for example, if a large number of clicks from a particular address results in few or no sales.
The company also plans to launch a Web site resource center to combat click fraud, where it will post information and tutorials to educate its advertisers on the issue of invalid clicks.
Behind the Data
On Wednesday, Google released data indicating that most fraudulent clicks are automatically detected, but it acknowledged that its pay per click Web advertising system has been abused.
Critics contend the practice is already out of control, claiming that up to half of all ad clicks are fraudulent. However, that figure is overblown, Google maintained, pegging the true number at closer to 10 percent.
Google bases its estimate on the average number of invalid clicks it catches, and doesn't charge for. The 10 percent represents an estimate US$100 million in lost revenue, Google said.
Google conceded that it doesn't catch about 0.02 percent of the click fraud that occurs -- those instances are brought to its attention by advertisers.
More Fraudulent Clicks
However, says Enderle, the information Google released does not present a complete picture. What is missing is the number of fraudulent clicks neither the search giant nor the advertisers catch.
Google is now moving to put adequate tools in place so it can more accurately measure what is happening.
"Google is realizing it better get its arms around this, or advertisers will fix the problems themselves," said Enderle, "and Google won't like that."
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Related Articles
Streaming Media With Linux (Part 2)
Creating Great Audio for the Web
Linux Audio Plug-Ins: A Look Into LADSPA
Server-Side Considerations for Video Streaming
The Internet is buzzing these days; more precisely, it's shouting, singing, talking, and playing its way to your desktop through the new medium of network broadcasting. New music sites such as MP3.com and Internet radio stations such as those listed at Live365 and Real.com's Real Guide bring you the latest news and music of the world, available instantly merely by selecting an interesting link in your browser.
What's that, did I hear you say that you'd like to enjoy surfing the network radio wires but nothing happens for you when you click on those links? That your browser remains mute and deaf to the Internet's song? Calm yourself, help is at hand. Or did you say that you'd like to set up your own network broadcasting station and add your voice to the choir, but you're overwhelmed by the apparent complexities? Relax, that is not a problem. And did I understand that you want to do these things in Linux, OS of champions? Ah, then have no fear, you've come to the right place with the right questions and the right operating system.
In this article I'll show you how to obtain, install, configure, and use the software you need to play, produce, and broadcast streaming audio in Linux, in a variety of popular formats, from X and from the console. I will present the material in two major divisions: In Part One I will describe streaming audio and suggest some minimum hardware and software requirements, then I'll present some of the most popular streaming audio formats and players. I will finish Part One with instructions for preparing the Netscape and Lynx Web browsers for streaming audio.
Part Two, which will run next week, describes how you can set up your own network broadcast server, with detailed instructions on configuring servers for RealAudio, streaming MP3s, and streaming Vorbis.
So, now it's time to begin our explorations with a definition of streaming audio and an overview of its requirements.
Streaming audio is a subset of the more general topic of network broadcast multimedia, a subject far too broad to treat here, even focusing solely upon Linux software. Linux multimedia software has recently attained impressive sophistication: Content creators enjoy powerful media production tools such as Blender (3D audio/video, game development, animation), GIMP (general image manipulation), and Broadcast2000 (non-linear audio/video editing), all of which have their places in broadcast media production.
Regular users can find excellent media players for every Linux environment (see the Linux Music & Sound Applications site for a complete listing), including the KDE and GNOME desktops, X Window managers such as AfterStep and Window Maker, and even the unadorned console. And now Internet media broadcasters are also turning to Linux: Its famed stability and performance, open access to source code, and relative freedom from odious licensing issues (along with the system's rather low overall price tag) combine to make Linux a very attractive platform for the creation, delivery, and playback of streaming media, particularly streaming audio.
Technically, streaming audio is network-delivered audio data that is immediately or almost immediately rendered to sound upon its arrival at your local machine. The streaming data is routed directly to your soundcard's DAC (digital to analog converter), producing real-time audio output. On a properly configured system with a fast network connection, an audio stream will start playing within moments after connecting to the server (the receiving player usually cycles through a short pre-buffering phase before playback begins). Under ideal conditions, once playback starts it will continue without interruption. Depending on the connection, you may be able to stop and restart playback at will ("on-demand" streaming).
The delivery model for streaming audio follows the familiar client/server design: A broadcast server sends (streams) compressed audio over the network for reception, decompression, and real-time playback by client applications (standalone programs or browser plug-ins) running on machines connected to the network. Streaming connections are enabled by linking the client to the URL of a file or playlist of files streamed from the broadcast server; the URL is passed to the client either by specifying it at the command prompt, entering it in a dialog box, or activating a link within a web browser. Browser plug-ins will start rendering a stream automatically when you select a plug-in-enabled page.
Whether you intend to become a network broadcaster, or you just want to enjoy cruising Internet radio stations, you will have three primary components to optimize for your system: software, hardware, and bandwidth. As you will see in this article, building and installing the software is easy enough, and powerful multimedia-capable hardware is abundant and affordable. Bandwidth then becomes the crucial final factor.
Basic software and hardware
Client-side systems need a Linux kernel properly configured for network and sound support. No other special software is needed, but you should know how to configure and use your soundcard's mixer. Aumix is a good choice: It can be used in X or at the console and is included with most Linux distributions. Servers must be configured for network support, but may not require a working sound system (it comes in handy for testing purposes though).
Connections and bandwidth
The rate (in kilobits per second) at which a sound file is converted to the MP3 format. Bit-rates of 128-Kbps approach CD-quality audio fidelity. Higher bit-rates ensure better sound quality at the expense of increased consumption of bandwidth and storage space.
Dial-up connections using 56K or less are capable of sending and receiving streaming audio; however, only a very limited number of connections will be possible, the audio quality will be compromised (severely so at baud rates lower than 56K), and constant buffering may break the flow of sound too frequently for the experience to be enjoyable. The sound quality of streaming audio is dependent on the stream's bit-rate: Higher bit-rates raise the quality of the audio stream but use up more of your network capacity, lowering the number of possible connections. High-quality streaming audio truly requires a fast digital network connection for client and server alike. And to obtain optimal performance from the software and procedures described in this article, I strongly recommend a minimum connection equal to ISDN. Preferred connections are xDSL, cable modem, or T1/T3 lines.
The test system
The system used for the following tests and examples included a 550-MHz Pentium III with 256 Mbytes of RAM, two 15-Gbyte IDE hard disks, and a Creative Labs SBLive Value soundcard. The system runs Linux kernel 2.4.0-test9 patched for low-latency, and the disks are tuned (with
hdparm). The network connection is ADSL at 768 Kbps down, 128 Kbps up. Audio output runs to studio-grade monitors powered by a 100-watt QSC amplifier. These numbers are not necessarily minimum requirements, they simply indicate what I used to achieve the results presented here. As your system capabilities approach or surpass them, your mileage will vary.
Please be aware that some of these examples involve a fair amount of Linux know-how, particularly with regard to accessing CVS and other version control repositories, compiling applications from source code, and system configuration and administration. Make sure you understand the responsibilities of running as root, especially if you are on a network (you should have your network administrator's approval before you experiment with some of the material presented here), and as a matter of course back up any system files you may need to change here. Readers truly lost at sea would do well to obtain and study a good introduction to Linux such as Matt Welsh and Lar Kaufman's Running Linux or Bob Rankin's No BS Guide To Linux. More in-depth material on network administration may be found in the Linux Network Administrator's Guide by Olaf Kirch & Terry Dawson.
Uncompressed CD-quality WAV and AIFF files are too large to stream over the Internet for playback in real time. Instead, lighter-weight compressed formats such as MP3 and RealAudio are employed for streaming network audio. These formats use what are called "lossy" compression schemes, reducing file sizes by eliminating certain inaudible data from the original files without too significantly degrading playback sound quality. MP3 and RealAudio are excellent streaming formats, achieving performance factors great enough to allow real-time encoding/decoding over current network bandwidth conditions while delivering satisfying audio quality.
MP3 and RealAudio are not the only players in the network streaming audio arena. We'll also look at Macromedia's Flash and the Ogg Vorbis project from the Xiphophorus group. Since RealAudio's Internet history begins the earliest, we'll start with RealAudio.
In 1995, Progressive Networks (now RealNetworks) introduced RealAudio, the Internet's first widely-deployed streaming audio format. The RealAudio player (RealPlayer) was freely distributed to users who at that time were typically connected to the Internet via low-bandwidth modems; thus, the player supported connection rates as low as 14.4 Kbps, which delivered audio quality comparable to the sound of a decent AM radio. Faster connections such as ISDN accordingly improved reception speed and sound quality.
By giving away basic versions of RealPlayer and the RealProducer content-production utility, Progressive Networks seeded the market for their commercial product line and sparked an explosion in network multimedia. Today you can find an astonishing number and variety of RealAudio-enabled sites. As a curious example, I searched Google for "realaudio history", hoping to find some background material on the format; instead, I found thousands of sites dedicated to various historical topics, all of which included audio presentations requiring RealPlayer.
RealPlayer: RealAudio in X
Happily, RealPlayer is available for Linux, and you can retrieve it for free as either an RPM or tarball package from the Real.com downloads page. Installation is fairly straightforward, but there are a few snags to report. Close your web browser before installing the software, then become the root user and run the installation package. The RPM file needs to be renamed:
mv rp8_linux20_libc6_i386_cs1_rpm rp8.linux20.libc6.i386.cs1.rpm
before installing it (as root) with this command:
rpm -i rp8.linux20.libc6.i386.cs1.rpm
The tarball must have its permissions set (as root again):
chmod u+x rp8_linux20_libc6_i386_cs1.bin
Now you can run the installation package:
The installation procedure will automatically set up RealPlayer as a helper application in Netscape, but be forewarned: It will also overwrite any custom settings you have for audio formats such as WAV, AIFF, and AU, so you may want to back up your Netscape preferences before installing RealPlayer. Also, the installation will not automatically update the RealAudio plug-in. Close Netscape, copy the
rpnp.so file from your new
$HOME/RealPlayer directory to
$HOME/.netscape/plugins, fire up Netscape again, and your RealAudio plug-in should now be enabled. Check the Help/About Plugins menu item in Netscape for a status report.
TRPlayer: RealAudio for the console
At least three RealAudio players are available for the Linux console. They all depend upon an existing installation of RealPlayer and act as wrappers for RealPlayer, making its functions available to console applications. The RAP and RaWrapper players require support for the frame-buffer device; I wanted to avoid the need for any special graphics support (such as SVGA, frame-buffer, or
ncurses) in my console RealAudio player, so I chose Matthew Campbell's TRPlayer.
TRPlayer is available as a binary in RPM and DEB packages, but I chose to build the latest beta version (2.0.b2) from the source tarball. TRPlayer's only unique requirement is the slang library and header. Fortunately, slang is found on most mainstream Linux distributions, and a straightforward
./configure; make should have your player ready to rock. However, due to the filesystem vagaries of Linux distributions your build may fail with this message:
main.cc:17: slang.h: No such file or directory
make: *** [main.o] Error 1
If so, change this line in
#include <slang.h>
to this line:
#include <slang/slang.h>
and recompile.
When the build is complete, become root (
su root), run
make install, and you will have a new command-line RealAudio player. You can call it from the prompt at the console or in
xterm, invoking it with an address linking the player to the RealAudio stream:
trplayer http://www.orientaltunes.com/realaudio/Train-288.ram
You now have streaming RealAudio at the Linux console. Cool...
Reality check
RealNetworks deserves praise for maintaining and steadily improving a freely available RealPlayer for Linux, particularly since there's no other way to enjoy all those RealAudio-empowered sites. Harder-core users and developers might be dismayed to learn that Real's software is available only in binary format and that source code is not freely available. Nevertheless, there's only one place to go for RealPlayer, so if you want it, there you go.
Now let's look at that other major streaming audio format, the notorious MP3.
By this time almost every Internet citizen knows something about the turbulent history and controversy surrounding the MP3 file format. Readers interested in the historical and technical details should consult the excellent material at MP3'Tech, but in this article we shall simply accept the MP3 as a fact of Internet life and consider its use as a commonly-employed streaming audio format.
The MP3 format has become enormously popular, rivaling RealAudio in the quality of its sound and the proliferation of MP3-powered sites. Of course, Linux can claim its fair share of encoders, decoders and players, tag writers, database managers, and other MP3 amenities. Damien Morel's excellent DAM's MP3 Page lists more than 40 Linux MP3 players available for use in X and at the console. Let's take a look at two of the most most popular players: XMMS and mpg123.
XMMS is the X MultiMedia System. Among its many virtues, XMMS supports a plug-in architecture that lets you add such niceties as effects-processing interfaces, OpenGL spectrum analyzers, and modules for various types of input/output files (including MPEG and AVI movies). The default setup for XMMS includes support for playing a variety of audio formats, including WAV, AIFF, various types of MOD music files, and of course standalone and streaming MP3s.
RPMs and tarballs are available from the XMMS web site. Installing the RPM is easy:
rpm -i xmms-latest.rpm will install the binary, the documentation, and the default plug-ins. The tarball should be unpacked in your home directory with
tar xzvf xmms-latest.tar.gz. Then just follow the familiar pattern of
./configure; make and (as root)
make install. That's all there is to it, you're ready to roll with XMMS.
xmms at an
xterm prompt. If you're new to the program you'll be pleased to find that you'll be able to change its appearance with skins, play with DSP effects in real time, and set up playlists of arbitrarily mixed media types. Unfortunately, we can't go into all the features of XMMS, we just want to know how to connect to a streaming MP3 broadcast.
There are three ways to connect XMMS to an audio stream. You can specify a network URL as a command-line option:
xmms http://linux10.cs.uaf.edu:8000/kuac64stereo
You can also select Play Location from the XMMS main menu (or use Ctrl-L at the keyboard) and enter the URL in the pop-up dialog box, or you can specify XMMS as the MIME type player
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions. MIME types enable the exchange of non-ASCII data such as audio and video over the Internet.
Michael Hipp's mpg123 is certainly the best-known MP3 player for the console. It is included with most mainstream Linux distributions, and rightfully so: mpg123 is still the fastest Linux decoder for standalone and streaming MP3s.
Unfortunately, some versions of mpg123 prior to 0.59s contain a bug that corrupts the URL for an audio stream, and as of Feb. 15, 2001, the properly working code is available only via the mpg123 CVS (Concurrent Versions System). Fortunately, CVS is also included with almost every major Linux distribution, and retrieving the repository code is easy. In X or at the console, run this command from your home directory:
cvs -d :pserver:firstname.lastname@example.com:/home/hippm/cvs login
You will be prompted for a user ID and a password: Enter
guest for both, then run this command to download the mpg123 CVS files:
cvs -z9 -d :pserver:firstname.lastname@example.com:/home/hippm/cvs checkout mpg123
When the CVS files have finished transferring, log out of the remote server:
cvs -d :pserver:firstname.lastname@example.com:/home/hippm/cvs logout
Downloading the CVS sources to your home directory will create a new
$HOME/mpg123 directory. Enter that directory and read the INSTALL and README files for any late-breaking news or changes to the installation process. Building mpg123 is quite straightforward: The author has provided a simple multi-platform makefile, and you need only type
make linux-help to view the Linux-specific compile-time options. I used
make linux-pentium, the build was quickly done, and
make install (as root, of course) put the new mpg123 into my system.
Connect mpg123 to an MP3 stream by pointing it to the stream's URL at the command prompt, just as we've done with RealPlayer and XMMS:
mpg123 http://linux10.cs.uaf.edu:8000/kuac64stereo
Mpg123 is also suitable as your browser's default helper application for playing MP3 streams in X or console mode. Configuring Netscape for mpg123 is identical to the XMMS configuration, substituting
mpg123 for
xmms in your MIME type definitions. And with no need for a graphic interface, mpg123 will be our natural choice when we configure the Lynx text-mode web browser later in this article.
Creating content With BladeEnc
Most of us probably get our MP3s from popular sites such as MP3.com or the various Napster services, or we rip them from our CD collections (ripping is a term for the process of lifting the audio data from a CD and converting it to WAV and/or MP3 format). Linux users are perhaps most familiar with Mike Oliphant's wonderful Grip, a front-end for a variety of CD and MP3 utilities.
Grip is pre-configured for a number of MP3 encoders, including my favorite, Tord Jansson's BladeEnc.
After downloading and unpacking it (with
tar xzvf bladeenc-latest.tar.gz), installing BladeEnc follows the familiar routine of
./configure; make; make install. You can configure Grip to use BladeEnc as the default encoder, but the encoder is perfectly usable on its own at the command prompt. It may even be preferable to work with it that way: perhaps you've recorded some masterworks of your own as WAV files in Kai Vehmanen's great ecasound and you want to convert them to MP3s to stream over your own Internet broadcasting station. The process is simple enough, and this command :
bladeenc *.wav
will create MP3s from every WAV file found in the current directory. It really is that easy to make MP3s from your original material. BladeEnc has many other control options, but I leave their exploration to the interested reader.
The future of MP3
It may appear that MP3 has everything going for it to remain one of the most popular streaming audio formats: high-quality audio with low resource requirements, excellent streaming performance, and an enormous installed software base. However, not all the news is good: MP3 is a proprietary format patented and licensed by Fraunhofer IIS-A, a fact of some concern to many programmers of MP3 encoders. In 1997, Fraunhofer sent an order to developers of free and open-source encoders to cease and desist unless they started paying royalties. The company has also stated that it intends to charge licensing fees for broadcasting MP3s, perhaps by the end of the year. It seems that if you're looking for "...a fully open, non-proprietary, patent-and-royalty-free, general-purpose compressed audio format for high quality (44.1-48.0 kHz, 16+ bit, polyphonic) audio and music at fixed and variable bit-rates from 16 to 128 Kbps/channel," you won't get it from MP3. Perhaps you should be looking at Ogg Vorbis.
The Xiphophorus group wants to ensure that you have free access to open Internet multimedia standards. Ogg Vorbis is the group's combined "wrapper" file format (Ogg) and audio codec (Vorbis) with technical specifications equal to MP3 and RealAudio, but free of the complications imposed by the proprietary nature of those formats. The project's open-source software is licensed under the GPL, with the Vorbis libraries now under the protection of the BSD license.
Download the
vorbis_nightly_cvs.tgz file from the Vorbis CVS FTP site. Create a holding directory for the package (something like
$HOME/OggVorbis is good), move the package into it, then unpack it with
tar xzvf vorbis_nightly_cvs.tgz. Directories will be created for the various parts of the system, including these components:
Note: Ogg Vorbis beta4 should be officially available by the time this article is published. The packages are in the same order as the CVS material, but the individual builds are handled by the familiar procedure of
make install. The directions given here remain valid for the current CVS versions.
You'll want to compile the code in the first four directories before compiling the plug-ins. Enter each directory and run these commands to build the software:
make install
You may need root privileges to install everything. Now enter the plug-ins directory and build the plug-ins you need. At this time, three plug-ins come with the Ogg Vorbis package, one each for Kmpg (a media player for KDE), RealPlayer, and Winamp (a popular media player for Windows). Installation rules and requirements vary with each plug-in, so be sure to read the notes for each plug-in you want to build.
Users of XMMS 1.2.4 will be pleased to note that a Vorbis plug-in is included in the source package for that program. You will need to configure the build for Ogg Vorbis support:
./configure --with-ogg-prefix=/usr/local/lib --with-vorbis-prefix=/usr/local/lib
Make XMMS in the usual manner, then manually install the
libvorbis plug-in. Become root, copy the contents of
$HOME/xmms-1.2.4/Input/vorbis/.libs to
/usr/X11R6/lib/xmms/Input, and at last you can fire up XMMS with Vorbis support. Once XMMS is started, go into the Preferences menu and enable the Ogg Vorbis plug-in (Figure 5).
Once the Ogg Vorbis package components are installed you can create your own Vorbis-encoded files with
oggenc and play them with
ogg123 (both of those tools are built and installed from the
vorbis-tools subdirectory). To encode a file run this command sequence:
oggenc -o output.ogg input.wav
That sequence will produce an OGG-format file with default output values (see
oggenc --help for the full list of command-line options). Here's a more complex example (with line breaks added for clarity), along with its diagnostic messages:
[dlphilp@localhost wav]$ oggenc -o /home/dlphilp/choral.ogg \
-b 128 -c "An example OGG file" \
-t "Choral Music" -a "King's College Choir" \
Opening with wav module: WAV file reader
Encoding "/home/dlphilp/choral.ogg" [ 99.6%] [ 0m00s remaining]
Done encoding file "/home/dlphilp/choral.ogg"
File length: 0m 54.0s
Elapsed time: 0m 50.9s
Rate: 1.0621
Average bitrate: 125.6 kb/s
-o specifies the output file name
-b declares the encoding bit rate
-c the comment field
-t title field
-a artist's name
Note that the input argument (
choral.wav) takes no flag and must appear at the end of the command sequence.
Users of Grip (described above) will be pleased to know the most recent versions include support for
oggenc as one of Grip's default encoders. Open the Config/MP3 tabs, then select
oggenc from the encoder list. Grip's default settings for
oggenc specify the encoder's output as MP3, but those settings can be changed easily (Figure 6). Using
oggenc, Grip becomes a splendid system for ripping and converting CD audio to Ogg Vorbis files.
The Ogg file format was designed with an excellent system for comments and descriptive fields similar to the ID3 tags found with many MP3 files. However, Ogg tags are more flexible and much better defined and organized than ID3. The
vorbiscomment utility lists and modifies these fields:
Martin Cameron's Vocoditor simplifies editing the Vorbis comment fields, providing a handy Perl/Gtk graphic interface to
vorbiscomment. You can create new comments or modify existing entries, then save the Ogg file along with the edited fields (Figure 7).
Playing a standalone Ogg file is equally easy. Here's an example using
ogg123 to play the file created above with
[dlphilp@localhost dlphilp]$ ogg123 -d oss choral.ogg
Playing from file choral.ogg.
Unrecognized comment: 'An example OGG file'
Title: Choral Music
Artist: King's College Choir
Bitstream is 1 channel, 44100Hz
Encoded by: Xiphophorus libVorbis I 20010218
where the
-d flag specifies the output device which may be null, the OSS /dev/dsp (used in the example), a WAV file written to disk, or the audio hardware on machines running Irix and Solaris.
I ran BladeEnc and
oggenc on the same WAV file to establish some performance comparisons. The input was a CD-quality WAV file (16-bit stereo with a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz) 3 minutes and 20 seconds long, and both encoders were employed with only their default values. The results were interesting:
File Size (Mbyte) Encoding Time (minutes/seconds)
test.wav 35.1 -
test.mp3 3.2 2m 46.0s
test.ogg 2.7 3m 29.8s
Note that BladeEnc encoded with a fixed bit-rate of 128 Kbps, while
oggenc used a variable bit-rate that defaults to 160 Kbps for stereo files. Clearly,
oggenc yielded the better compression ratio, but the higher default bit-rate contributes to the longer processing time.
I do not claim that this test represents anything other than a crude comparison. Careful tuning would certainly improve performance from each encoder, but the figures do place Ogg Vorbis in a favorable light. I hold a similar conclusion from a subjective evaluation of the audio quality from the encoded files, though again I caution the reader to consider that the encoding was untuned.
In my opinion, Vorbis truly does have the potential to replace MP3 as a preferred network streaming audio file format. While bypassing the controversial or inhibiting aspects of MP3 and RealAudio, it encourages a community development effort in the domain of streaming media. Plug-ins are already available for rendering Ogg Vorbis files in media players for Windows, the Mac, and Linux/Unix platforms, and the upcoming Icecast 2.0 supports streaming audio in the Ogg format. The future is definitely looking bright for Ogg Vorbis.
Macromedia's Shockwave Flash is a compact streaming media file format playable by a browser plug-in (Netscape-only for Linux). The plug-in is available for free from Macromedia: Follow the link to download the tarball, then unpack it and place the contents in your Netscape plug-ins directory (
$HOME/.netscape/plug-ins or
/usr/lib/netscape/plug-ins). Restart Netscape and you're ready to experience the wonders and marvels of Flash streaming multimedia. Using the Flash player is a transparent process: If the plug-in is correctly installed all you need to do is log on to a Flash page, use the player's handy set of controls, then relax and enjoy.
Unfortunately I did not find any fully developed Flash authoring tools or broadcast servers for Linux, nor could I find any console Flash players; however, a search on Freshmeat located some interesting items, including Ming (a library for creating Flash content) and the Swift Tools. The Swift Tools come closest to providing a Flash content-creation suite for Linux users, but its Swift-Generator still requires templates produced by a template-generator in Windows. The Swift-MP3 file converter and the Swift-Inspector are standalone Linux applications that work with existing Flash files.
Macromedia is to be commended for supplying Linux users with the free plug-in, and Flash is capable of some incredible effects (see Marc Stricklin's eerie brittlebones and Maruto's Once Upon A Forest for some great demonstrations of streaming Flash power), and the player usually works flawlessly. However, if another player (such as XMMS or RealPlayer) is up and running, your Flash pages may remain silent until the other player is closed. Any other problems with the Linux Flash plug-in should be reported to Macromedia.MPEG-4
MPEG-4 is a collection of standards, protocols, and tools for compressed audio and video that is attracting the attention of major manufacturers of communications devices from cell phones to synthesizers. Many electroaoustic music composers are also familiar with MPEG-4 in the form of SAOL (structured audio object language), but SAOL is only one possible implementation of the MPEG-4 standard. A complete description of MPEG-4 and SAOL is beyond the scope of this article, but this quote supplies a useful summary:
"MPEG-4 Audio Version 1 integrates the worlds of synthetic and natural coding of audio. The synthetic coding part is comprised of tools for the realization of symbolically defined music and speech. This includes MIDI and text-to-speech systems. Furthermore, tools for the 3-D localization of sound are included, allowing the creation of artificial sound environments using artificial and natural sources. MPEG-4 audio also standardizes natural audio coding at bit rates ranging from 2 Kbps up to 64 Kbps. To achieve the highest audio quality within the full range of bit rates, three types of codecs have been defined: a parametric codec for the lower bit rates in the range, a Code Excited Linear Predictive (CELP) codec for the medium bit rates in the range, and Time to Frequency (TF) codecs, including MPEG-2 AAC and Vector-Quantiser based, for the higher bit rates in the range. Furthermore, a number of functionalities are provided to facilitate a wide variety of applications which would range from intelligible speech to high quality multichannel audio." -- MPEG Audio FAQ: MPEG-4
As might be expected, streaming media quality and delivery are priority issues for the MPEG-4 designers, but there are currently no streaming MPEG-4 players or netcasters. That situation will change soon: iVAST Inc. is developing an MPEG-4-based streaming media software solution for broadband network services, and Philips Semiconductors is working on the hardware end to supply an MPEG-4 engine on a single chip (their TriMedia media processor).
MPEG-4 is certainly a very flexible and capable solution to the streaming media needs of the modern Internet. Unfortunately it's not quite ready for primetime, and it remains to be seen how it might step into the positions currently held by the MP3 format. I know that I'll keep a close watch on its development. Readers desiring more information on the MPEG-4 standards should consult the pages on the Web at Eric Scheirer's MPEG-4 Structured Audio and the Web3D sites.
I must tell you that I had entirely too much fun while researching the material for this section. Internet broadcasting is a flourishing medium, as I quickly discovered, and I spent hours at work listening to newscasts from Egypt, talk shows from England and Russia, and music programs from Thailand, Turkey, and Hong Kong. Thanks to the miracle of plug-ins and helper applications, all I had to do was select interesting links and let my players do the rest. Of course, I had my web browser properly configured for receiving and playing streamng audio, and in this section I'll show you how you can do it too.
The RealPlayer installation will automatically set up your Netscape preferences. As noted above, RealPlayer handles more than its proprietary RA (RealAudio), RAM (RealAudio Metafile), and RM (RealMedia) files. The installation will overwrite any custom settings in your preferences for WAV, AIFF, and AU files. However, because the player works flawlessly with those formats and provides a useful set of transport controls, I recommend keeping it as a handy multiformat audio player for Netscape.
Lynx is a popular text-mode web browser included with most mainstream Linux distributions. Since its basic design ignores graphics, Lynx is lightweight and very fast, even on slower modem connections. However, the program can render certain MIME types with the appropriate helpers, and it can be configured for rendering streaming audio.
Setting up Lynx for RealAudio is a somewhat involved procedure. First you'll need to edit your
$HOME/lynx.cfg file, making sure that the following lines are uncommented and edited for your system:
These two files allow you to specify new MIME types and indicate their players to Lynx.
Next you must create and edit your personal extension
map and
mailcap files for playing RealAudio. Your
mime.types file should include these lines:
audio/realaudio ra ram
audio/pn-realaudio ra ram
audio/x-pn-realaudio ra ram
audio/rn-realaudio ra ram
audio/vnd.rn-realaudio ra ram
and your
.personal_mailcap file should include these settings :
audio/realaudio; trplayer %s
audio/pn-realaudio; trplayer %s
audio/x-pn-realaudio; trplayer %s
audio/rn-realaudio; trplayer %s
audio/vnd.rn-realaudio; trplayer %s
Now Lynx can play any RealAudio streams in the RA and RAM formats at the Linux console. However, a few caveats remain: Sites using the application/smil MIME type will not work with TRPlayer, and of course sites using the RealPlayer plug-in are also unavailable (Lynx does not support plug-ins). If you have difficulties with certain sites, comment out the
mailcap entries and see how Lynx reports the MIME type for the offending page (it will display the type along with a request to download or cancel the requested file). You can try adding the new type to your
mime.types file, coupling it with TRPlayer in your
.personal_mailcap file, but there's no guarantee that TRPlayer will actually be able to handle the file type. Trial and error seems to be the method for figuring out how some MIME types get handled, and I ask readers to let me know if there are other types that behave well with TRPlayer.
To set up XMMS as Netscape's default streaming MP3 and Vorbis player, go to the browser's Edit menu and proceed to the Preferences > Navigator > Applications dialog box. Create the following new MIME type entries:
Description: MP3 Audio
MIMEType: audio/x-mpeg
Suffixes: mp3,mp2,mpa,abs,mpega
Application: xmms %s
Description: Icecast Playlists
MIMEType: audio/x-mpegurl
Suffixes: m3u
Application: xmms %s
Description: Shoutcast Playlists
MIMEType: audio/x-scpls
Suffixes: pls
Application: xmms %s
Description: OggVorbis Audio
MIMEType: application/x-ogg
Suffixes: ogg
Application: xmms %s
These entries configure Netscape for playing single files or playlists of files at a given URL. You can now enjoy streaming audio from sites such as MP3.com or Shoutcast simply by clicking on any interesting broadcast link.
Preparing Lynx for streaming MP3s is similar to setting it up for RealAudio. Check your
$HOME/lynx.cfg file and be sure to point your
PERSONAL_EXTENSION_MAP and
PERSONAL_MAILCAP settings to your
$HOME/mime.type and
$HOME/.personal_mailcap files (as described above for TRPlayer). Add these settings to your
mime.types file:
audio/mpg mp3 mp2 mpega MP3
audio/mpeg mp3 mp2 mpega MP3
audio/x-mpeg mp3 mp2 mpega MP3
audio/mpegurl m3u
audio/mpeg-url m3u
audio/x-mpegurl m3u
audio/x-mpeg-url m3u
audio/m3u m3u
audio/x-m3u m3u
Now add these lines to your
.personal_mailcap file:
audio/mpg;mpg123 %s
audio/mpeg;mpg123 %s
audio/x-mpeg;mpg123 %s
audio/mpegurl;mpg123 -@ %s
audio/mpeg-url;mpg123 -@ %s
audio/x-mpegurl;mpg123 -@ %s
audio/x-mpeg-url;mpg123 -@ %s
audio/m3u;mpg123 -@ %s
audio/x-m3u;mpg123 -@ %s
These settings will let you listen to M3U playlist streams and single MP3 files in Lynx at the Linux console (Shoutcast PLS playlists and Vorbis streams are not yet supported by mpg123). Incidentally, the abundance of essentially identical MIME types reflects my experience while doing research for this article. I've erred on the side of surplus; you are of course free to edit those settings to your own preferences.
Preparing Lynx for streaming Vorbis is equally straightforward. Add this line to your
$HOME/mime.type file:
application/x-ogg ogg
and this one to your
$HOME/.personal_mailcap file:
application/x-ogg;ogg123 -d oss %s
and you're all set. You now have Lynx configured for your listening pleasure in RealAudio, MP3, or streaming Vorbis.
This section concludes Part One of this article. In Part Two you will learn how to set up the RealServer and Icecast streaming audio servers, but for now let's take a break ... and listen to some music!
Dave Phillips maintains the Linux Music & Sound Applications Web site and has been a performing musician for more than 30 years.
Related Articles
Streaming Media With Linux (Part 2)
Creating Great Audio for the Web
Could Ogg Vorbis Replace MP3?
Linux Audio Plug-Ins: A Look Into LADSPA
Server-Side Considerations for Video Streaming
Shooting Digital Video PDA Style
Return to the Linux DevCenter.
Copyright © 2009 O'Reilly Media, Inc.


text:
Old gift cards gathering dust?
The Columbus Dispatch - November 12, 2013 01:42 PM
The demise of the remaining Blockbuster stores serves as a reminder to check our wallets for old gift cards.
Sure, there's still time to use your Blockbuster gift card, but what's the point of hanging on to other gift cards that you'll never use that could be exchanged for cash?
About a dozen or so companies will buy your old gift cards, but they will offer you different amounts so it pays to shop around, says GiftCardGranny.com, an online exchange that lists the bids from some of the companies that will buy old cards.
You also can sell cards that have been partially used. Just be sure to find out the exact balance before you sell it. You can do that by checking the company's website or calling their customer-service department.
Most gift-card companies will pay you with a check, but others will give you the additional option of getting instant cash through PayPal or an Amazon gift card. If you trade your card for an Amazon card, you'll usually get up to 5 percent more back than if you choose cash.