text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|May 7, 1996
|Filing date
|Oct 6, 1993
|Priority date
|Oct 6, 1993
|Fee status
|Publication number
|Adrian Sfarti, Gunawan Ali-Santosa
|Original Assignee
|Silicon Graphics, Inc.
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (11), Non-Patent Citations (8), Referenced by (35), Classifications (4), Legal Events (7)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
The present invention relates generally to raster scan graphics display systems, and more particularly to a graphics display system employing improved methods for rendering and antialiasing raster scanned images, such as volumetric images.
1. Identification of Copyright
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
2. Brief Description of Background Art
Graphics workstations include at least some form of scan conversion hardware which samples points, lines and polygons to be drawn on a display. Lower cost workstations typically utilize a single infinitely small sample per pixel, thereby resulting in primitive renderings that exhibit some aliasing artifacts. A commonly used scan conversion algorithm in such low cost systems, which results in aliased lines, is the Bresenham line algorithm. This algorithm is popular because it uses only integer arithmetic. At each iteration, the Bresenham line algorithm selects between the two pixels closest to the ideal position of the line on the grid represented by the display, based on the sign of an error term "d," turning on one pixel and leaving the other pixel off. A standard implementation of this algorithm is as follows:
______________________________________dx=ABS(x1-x2)dy=ABS(y1-y2)d=2dy-dx //initial value of d for Octant 1//incr1=2dyincr2=2(dy-dx)incrx1=1incrx2=1 //always step in x//incry1=0incry2=1 //conditional step in y//For i=1 to dx DoBeginIf d<0 ThenBegin //Select pixel S below the line//x=x+incrx1y=y+incry1d=d+incr1End ElseBegin //Select pixel T above the line//x=x+incrx2y=y+incry2d=d+incr2EndWrite-- Pixel(x,y,color)End______________________________________
The explanatory terms "above" and "below" are used relative to the drawing octant. For example, when in octant 2, "above" means to the right of the centerline and "below" means to the left of the centerline.
Since the Bresenham algorithm causes the resulting one pixel wide line to have jagged edges, or alias artifacts, numerous techniques have been developed to remove these artifacts, or in other words, to antialias the line. A further explanation of the Bresenham line algorithm and techniques for antialiasing such lines is provided by J. D. Foley and A. Van Dam, "Fundamentals of Interactive Computer Graphics," 1983, pp. 433-437, incorporated by reference herein.
Two of the primary techniques for line antialiasing, are area sampling and multi-point sampling. In area sampling, the fraction of each pixel that is covered by a line is computed (perhaps also using multiplication by a filter function), and the resulting fractions are blended to obtain a final pixel shading for each covered or partially covered pixel. In multi-point sampling, many point samples are taken in the region of each pixel, and these samples are integrated (again, perhaps also utilizing a weighting function) to obtain pixel shading. A more detailed explanation of modern antialiasing techniques is described by J. D. Foley and A. Van Dam in "Computer Graphics--Principles and Practice" 1990, pp. 132-142, incorporated by reference herein.
An improvement to the Bresenham algorithm is described by Adrian Sfarti in "Antialiased Bresenham Lines for X Implementation", Proceedings of the 10th International Conference of the Computer Graphics Society, CG International 1992, Visual Computing--Integrating Computer Graphics with Computer Vision-, Tokyo, Japan (Jun. 26, 1992), pp. 639-659, incorporated by reference herein. In Sfarti, the standard Bresenham algorithm is extended to two pixel wide lines as follows:
______________________________________dx=ABS(x1-x2)dy=ABS(y1-y2)e1 =dy/dxe2 =e1-1d=2dy-dx //initial value of d for Octant 1//s=e1incr1=2dyincr2=2(dy-dx)incrx1=1incrx2=1 //always step in x//incry1=0incry2=1 //conditional step in y//For i=1 to dx DoBeginIf d<0 ThenBegin //Select pixel S below the line//x=x+incrx1y=y+incry1d=d+incr1s=s+e1End ElseBegin //Select pixel T above the line//x=x+incrx2y=y+incry2d=d+incr2s=s+e2EndWrite-- Pixel(x,y,color)End______________________________________
In the above code, the basic Bresenham algorithm is modified by adding the term "s," where s is the vertical distance from the line to the pixel center just below it, and the term "t," which is equal to the vertical distance from the line to the pixel center just above it. The term t is a function of s, in that t=1-s. In this improved version of the Bresenham algorithm, d=(s-t)*dx. Since s+t=1, it follows that s=(1+d/dx)/2 and t=(1-d/dx)/2. Thus, as d varies at each iteration of the line by either incr1 or incr2, s will vary accordingly, either by e1=incr1/(2dx) or e2=incr2/(2dx). This operation allows the algorithm to avoid dividing at each iteration, since the terms e1 and e2 are constant increments that can be precomputed.
Sfarti also discusses how pixel coverages are computed, how steps can be taken to compensate for the effect of certain line slopes, and how fractional endpoints are calculated so that the line to be drawn is correctly positioned. Sfarti also discusses a technique for compensating for the effect of a third pixel intersected by the line to be drawn. As noted by Sfarti, since the two-pixel wide extension can only reference two pixels at a time, any third pixel intersected by the line would need to be neglected in order to maintain coverage formulas for the other intersected pixels. Although Sfarti discusses an attempt to compensate for neglecting the effect of the third pixel, this attempt was merely that, and does not accurately approximate the effect of the third pixel.
As discussed above, many antialiasing techniques employ filter functions. However, attempts to use hardware to incrementally compute a filter function while rendering tends to require the use of a simple filter function because better filters are too computationally expensive. Line antialiasing methods based on box postfiltering are also computationally expensive and do not produce a pixel coverage that is useful for an implementation of an alpha-buffer. An alternative approach is to precompute a set of filter values and store them in a look-up table, a technique described by the Gupta-Sproull algorithm (which requires integer arithmetic), and more specifically described by A. C. Barkans in "High Speed High Quality Antialiased Vector Generation", ACM Computer Graphics, Volume 24, Number 4, August 1990, incorporated herein by reference, which is directed to the use of a precomputed filter function in combination with the Bresenham algorithm.
Sfarti also describes the application of a filtering function to provide additional improvements in pixel coverage computation. Accordingly, the application of a circular cone filter 10 about the line 12, as illustrated in FIG. 1 against the grid 14, has the advantages of being rotationally symmetric and of providing for pixel coverage computation at each iteration. Unfortunately, such a filter is also computationally expensive because it requires three multiplications per iteration. As discussed by Sfarti, the advantages of this filter can be obtained, however, without its disadvantages, by precomputing the filter function and utilizing the s value in conjunction with the error term d as an index to an integral lookup table that contains the computed pixel coverages.
The distance s, as shown in FIG. 1, is used for computing pixel coverage since the convolution integral is a function of the orthogonal distance s*cosa. The computation of s therefore mimics the incremental computation of the Bresenham error term d. Since pixel coverage is a function of the distance between the center of the pixel and the line to be drawn, then d=s*cosa for 0<s<1. Thus, a lookup table that is indexed with s can be used to compute d.
Sfarti also indicates that error terms introduced in the improved algorithm allow for lines to be drawn with very high precision (25 bits). Although the precision of the improved algorithm would appear to be sufficient to render a reasonably accurate line, since the magnitude of s is carefully calculated, subsequent analysis of this algorithm reveals that this is not always the case. In situations where s varies between a negative and positive number, crossing through zero on various occasions, the value of s can be inaccurate enough, even at 25 bits of precision, so as to cause the sign of s to be incorrect. In such instances, pixels can be drawn on the wrong side of a line, thereby causing an artifact. In addition, if this occurred numerous times during the drawing of one line, the line would take on a twisted appearance because of the various line crossings.
Each of the aforementioned implementations of line drawing and antialiasing procedures, as well as other such procedures of which applicants are aware, do not address (1) computing pixel positions with sufficient precision to accomodate error accumulation, (2) calculating antialiased lines while accounting for the effect of more than two pixels on that line, or (3) extending line drawing procedures to volumetric images. With respect to the issue of extending line drawing procedures to volumetric images, it is important to note that the traditional technique for rendering a volumetric image within a two-dimensional display space is to separately render different layers of the image and then to project the various layers on the display so as to create the appearance of depth.
One object of the invention is to improve prior implementations of line drawing procedures.
A second object of the invention is to accomodate for the effect of multiple intersected pixels in each iteration of a line drawing procedure.
A further object of the invention is to improve the accuracy of line drawing procedures.
A still further object of the invention is to improve the rendering of volumetric images within two dimensional display spaces.
Another object of the invention is to improve the rendering of antialiased volumetric images.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part within the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
The present invention comprises a method for rendering a three dimensional graphic object in a two dimensional display space by segmenting the object into parallelepipeds and decomposing the parallelepipeds into rods of voxels that are parallel to the depth axis (Z) of the display and by projecting the rods of voxels onto the X-Y plane of the display as lines of pixels. The present invention also comprises a method and apparatus for drawing at least a two pixel wide antialiased volumetric image. The preferred embodiment of the apparatus for implementing both methods comprises an interpolator, having a set up unit and an iterator unit, and a blender. The set up unit determines various parameters of the image to be drawn, including the total number of voxels that subsequently need to be blended together into each pixel to be drawn, and selects a pair of pixels adjacent to and straddling an idealized line representing the line to be drawn. The iterator unit determines the coverages of the pair of pixels based on the parameters output by the set up unit. The blender determines the color intensity values of the pair of pixels as a function of the coverages, and the opacity of voxels in the voxel rod corresponding to each pixel, and writes the color values into a memory. The memory is a frame buffer type memory utilized to drive a display and is split into at least four banks so that the color values of the pair of pixels can be simultaneously stored in different memory banks. The apparatus also incorporates a method for resolving accumulation error in the derivation of each pixel's position and a method for accommodating for the effect of a third intersected pixel on the line to be drawn.
FIG. 1 is an illustration demonstrating how a circular cone filter is applied to a line projected against a grid of pixels;
FIG. 2 is an illustration demonstrating the calculation of a starting point of a line having fractional coordinates projected against an integer grid;
FIG. 3 is an illustration further demonstrating the calculation fractional endpoints;
FIG. 4 is an illustration demonstrating application of the present invention to volumetric images;
FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a preferred computer system for implementation of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a block diagram further illustrating the rendering engine of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a block diagram further illustrating the interpolator of FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is a block diagram further illustrating the setup unit of FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 is a block diagram further illustrating the iterator unit of FIG. 7;
FIG. 10 is a block diagram further illustrating the blender of FIG. 6;
FIG. 11 is a block diagram further illustrating the frame buffer of FIGS. 5 and 6; and
FIG. 12 is an illustration demonstrating the assignment of pixel data to various banks in the frame buffer of FIG. 11.
In the discussion of the background art above, a two-pixel wide line drawing process was described as an improved implementation of the basic Bresenham process. In accordance with Sfarti, it was indicated that it was not necessary to accurately accommodating for the effect of a third intersected pixel on the line to be drawn. It has been found, however, that projected lines can be rendered more correctly in accordance with the three pixel wide line drawing process described below. By drawing a three pixel wide line, the effect of a third intersected pixel can be accurately factored into the rendered line.
A process for drawing a three pixel wide line is described as follows:
Select a first pixel closest to an idealized line between the start point and the end point of the line;
select a second pixel adjacent to the first pixel, such that the first pixel and the second pixel form a pair of pixels straddling the idealized line;
select a third pixel adjacent to the first pixel, such that the second pixel and the third pixel frame the first pixel so as to form a line of pixels;
determine a first coverage for the first pixel as a function of a value of a distance between the idealized line and the first pixel (First-- Coverage=s=(1+d/dx)/2);
determine a second coverage for the second pixel as a function of a value of a distance between the idealized line and the second pixel (Second-- Coverage=t=(1-d/dx)/2);
determine a third coverage for the third pixel as a function of a value of a distance between the idealized line and the third pixel (Third-- Coverage=min(t+1, s+1);
determine an intensity for the line of pixels as a function of the first coverage, the second coverage, and the third coverage;
write color values into a frame buffer memory for the line of pixels based on the intensity of the line of pixels;
output the color values for the line of pixels to a display; and
repeat the above steps until color values for each of a plurality of adjacent lines of pixels between the start point and the end point have been output to the display.
Having now described an implementation of a three-pixel wide line drawing process, it is important to note that the value of s, in any of the above processes, is affected by the precision of computing the slope of the line and error accumulation which can result during the computation of pixel coverage. While the computation of a pixel's position is always exact, the computation of a pixel's coverage is subject to error accumulation.
A pixel's position is exact because coordinates are represented in the 16.4 format (sixteen bits of integer, plus four bits of fraction), and the terms dy and dx are represented exactly in the 17.4 format (as a result of doubling the coordinate range). Thus, the computation of each pixel's position is an exclusive function of the error terms d and sdx (as discussed below), which are always exact and which use the 18.8 format. The computation of a pixel's coverage is not exact because it is a function of s. Since the initial value of the term s is dependent on the slope e1, and since e1 is a floating point number derived from the division dy/dx, s is not exact. In addition, the subsequent values of s are determined by adding e1 or e1-1. Thus, s is the only value in the described processes that is subjected to error accumulation. As previously noted, in some instances, an inaccuracy in the calculation of the value of s can result in s being close to the correct magnitude, but still of the wrong sign.
In the present disclosure, s is computed with four bits of precision. Since the accumulated error in this computation is restricted to being no larger than 2.sup.(-5) over the X drawing range (i.e. 216), the error in computing e1 is restricted to satisfy the condition:
error-- e1<221
This results in 21 bits of precision for computing e1, which is well within the range of most hardware dividers.
It should be noted, however, that while the value of a pixel's coverage is dependent only on the magnitude of s, the position of the bottom, or "S", pixel is dependent on both the sign and magnitude of s. To therefore alleviate problems which can be caused by an error in the sign of s, the term sdx is utilized in the following disclosure to accomodate for error accumulation. So as to not obfuscate this invention, application of this term is applied to a two pixel wide line. Since error accumulation can occur when computing both two and three pixel-wide lines, however, this solution is equally effective when applied to the three pixel wide process described above.
As discussed, to accomodate for instances where the calculation of s results in s having the wrong sign, the variable sdx=s*2dx is calculated. The sign of this variable can be used to determine the position of the second pixel of the pair of pixels which straddle the line. In accordance with this technique, even though s is still calculated precisely, any error in the value of s is less significant because the sign of s is no longer the sole determining factor with respect to pixel placement.
An application of the variable sdx for a two-pixel wide line is illustrated in the following example:
______________________________________Begin {main}e1=dy.dxd=2dy-dxincr1=2dyincr2=2(dy-dx)s=e1sdx=e1*2dx=incr1For i=1 to dx DoBeginIf d<0 ThenBeginx=x+incrx1y=y+incry1d=d+incr1s=s+e1sdx=sdx+incr1End ElseBeginx=x+incrx2y=y+incry2d=d+incr2s=s+e2sdx=sdx+incr2EndIf sdx>0 ThenBeginCoverage-- T=aa-- table(s)Write-- Pixel(x,y+1,Coverage-- T)Coverage-- S=aa-- table(1-s)Write-- Pixel(x,y,Coverage-- S)End ElseBeginCoverage-- T=aa-- table(1-s)Write-- Pixel(x,y,Coverage-- T)Coverage-- S=aa-- table(s)Write-- Pixel(x,y-1, Coverage-- S)EndEnd {main}______________________________________
As is illustrated in FIG. 1, with respect to the above process, the coverages of the top pixel (T) 16 and the bottom pixel (S) 18 are functions of the respective distances s and 1-s. As shown above, the tables, "aa-- table(s)" and "aa-- table(1-s)" contain the coverages of the two pixels S and T, respectively, expressed as a function of the respective distances s and 1-s. In the present description, circular cone filters are also utilized, due to their advantage of providing overall computational symmetry, to compose the lookup tables. Due to the symmetry of these filters, the total number of necessary tables is equal to one table per octant, which in the preferred embodiment includes a total of eight tables, all of which can be loaded within a single instruction cycle.
Since the actual coverages of the two pixels in these tables are functions of the orthogonal distances (s*cosa), these tables must be reloaded every time a new line is to be redrawn. It should be noted, however, that in practice, reloading these tables does not result in an undue burden because the width of the line varies rather coarsely with the angle of the line and the lookup table needs to be reloaded every time the angle a or the width of the line 12 changes anyway. Also, neither reload operation will present a system bottleneck if the data path and the lookup table are of the same size.
When the present invention is implemented in a preferred computer system, such as an Indy™ workstation manufactured by Silicon Graphics, Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., s can be calculated with even less precision than discussed by Sfarti without ill effects. Since the data path of the Indy workstation is 64 bits wide, s can be computed with four bits of precision. Since each entry in the lookup tables described above is four bits wide, the lookup table has 64 bits and can therefore be reloaded in one instruction cycle.
The availability of alpha blending, which provides for opacity or translucency information on a pixel-by-pixel basis, is a desirable feature in any graphics display environment. As previously mentioned, certain filtering techniques do not produce pixel coverages that are useful for implementation of alpha blending. Since the present invention utilizes a circular cone filter to produce pixel coverage at each iteration, the full capabilities of an alpha-buffer can be implemented. One manner for implementing such an alpha-buffer is to include the following code following the pixel selection routines described above:
______________________________________Procedure Write-- Pixel(x,y,z,alpha,rgb)Begintemp=alpha*RGB+(1-alpha)*rgb-- bufferWrite (x,y,temp) //replace the color//End______________________________________
This procedure executes alpha blending between the drawing of the color "RGB" and the writing of the framebuffer data "rgb-- buffer."
An additional image enhancing technique involves adjusting d and s in order to accomodate for fractional endpoints. In the present invention, since endpoint coordinates are fractional, the initial values for d and s need to first be calculated and then adjusted, while the rest of the algorithm remains unchanged. As illustrated in FIG. 2, if the starting point of the line 20 projected against the integer grid 22 is (x1,y1), as expressed in fractional coordinates, then (x0,y0) represents the closest point on the grid 22 to that starting point, wherein x0=int(x+0.5) and y0=int(y+0.5).
The computation of the initial value of d is related to the value of the function:
d=2*F(x0+0.5,y0+1)=2 a(x0+0.5)+b(y0+1)+c!,
where a=dy, b=-dx, c=y1*dx-x1*dy, x0=int(x1)=x1-x1-- frac, y0=int(y1)=y1-y1-- frac, and where x1-- frac and y1-- frac are the fractional parts of x1 and y1. After substitution, the initial values of s and d for the first pixel of the line can be obtained as follows:
d0=dy-2dx+2(dx*y1-- frac-dy*x1-- frac) s=y1-- frac-0.5+e1)(0.5-x1-- frac)
The d value for the second pixel is dependent on the position of (x1,y1) within the starting pixel. The (x1,y1) position can be measured with the help of a newly introduced variable E, where
E=2*dx* y1-- frac+e1)(1.5-x1-- frac)-2!=3dy-4dx+2(dx*y1-- frac-dy*x1- frac)
Two possible scenarios for computing the next value of d are illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. As illustrated in FIG. 2, if E is negative, the line 20 starts at int(x1),int(y1) and the next sampling point is (x0+1.5,y0+1):
d1=2*F(x0+1.5,y0+1)=2*F(x0+5,y0+1)+2*dy=d0+2*dy=3dy-2dx+2)(dx*y1-- frac-dy*x1-- frac)
If E is positive, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the line 24 must still start at int(x1), int(y1), otherwise connected lines will not share endpoints, and the next sampling point is (x0+1.5,y0+2):
d1=2*F(x0+1.5,y0+2)=2*F(x0+0.5,y0+1)+2*dy-2*dx=d0+2*dy-2*dx=3dy-4dx+2(dx*y1--frac-dy*x 1-- frac)
The pixel coverages for the endpoint points are functions of s and of the fractional part of the coordinates of the endpoints. This results in the computation of a triple integral, having as support the 2D domain covered by the respective endpoint. A simplified analytic formula for endpoint coverage is provided in Appendix A hereto. The state machine code for computing fractional endpoint lines with endpoint correction, and with angle compensation, is also provided in Appendix A.
Before describing a particular application of the line drawing features of the present invention to the drawing of antialiased volumetric images, the general principal of rendering volumetric images will be briefly discussed. As previously noted, traditional methods for rendering volumetric images in two-dimensional display space required that the image to be rendered be broken down into a plurality of parallel planes that are layered in the direction of the depth axis of the display. The present invention presents a simple but elegant alternative to this technique by allowing the three dimensional graphic objects to be rendered in a two dimensional display space by segmenting the object into parallelepipeds and decomposing the parallelepipeds into rods of voxels that are parallel to the depth axis (Z) of the display and by projecting the rods of voxels onto the X-Y plane of the display as lines of pixels.
Having now described various applications of the present invention, a preferred embodiment of the present invention relates to rendering antialiased volumetric images. In this embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the voxels 25 of the rod 27 that project onto the same pixel 29 in screen coordinates are blended together. This is performed by assuming that the voxel rod to be drawn is between the screen endpoints (x1,y1) and (x2,y2), and that the voxel rod is comprised of a relevant subrod of voxels having a length equal to the value "Total-- Number of Voxel" (TNV), which is generally larger than the total number of pixels to be rendered along the voxel rod. If the major drawing axis is x, then TNV>dx. The total number of voxels that need to be blended together into each drawn pixel is "delta" (a floating number), where
Since alpha-blending is order dependent, this equation will only work if the voxel rod is rendered back to front as follows:
______________________________________color=0 //Reinitialize the color at each pixel// //iteration//N(i)=N(i-1)+delta //N(i) is a fractional number//For j=Truncate N(i-1)! to Truncate N(i)!-1 Do //Blend an integer no of voxels//Begin //The Voxel array is enumerated/ //back to front,with Voxel(0) at the// //back and Voxel(TNV-1) at the //front//color=a(j)*Voxel(j)+(1-a(j))*color //Blend Voxel{Truneate N(i-1)!} thru// //Voxel{Truncate N(i)!-1} together// //into the i-th pixel//End______________________________________
wherein a(j) is the opacity of the voxel (j) and wherein Voxel(j) is the RGB of voxel (j). Note, however, that this equation can be readily modified to work for voxel rods in different octants and for voxel rods rendered from front to back. The complete code of the state machine for voxel rendering is presented in Appendix B.
Having now described the processes involved in the present invention, an apparatus for providing hardware implementations of this preferred embodiment will now be discussed. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the general components of this apparatus, such as one of the previously described computer systems. A central processing unit (CPU) 30 is connected to a rendering engine 32, which converts geometric data processed by the CPU 30 into pixel and line data that the rendering engine then writes into the frame buffer 34. Pixel data typically includes at least X and Y screen coordinates, plus a number of parameters, such as red (R), green (G) and blue (B) color values, and alpha (A) values if alpha blending is supported. When rendering volumetric images, the CPU will also output data regarding the Total-- Number-- of-- Voxels (TNV) as well as the array of voxels in the subrod, voxel 0! . . . voxel TNV-1!, for each rod corresponding to a pixel, such as pixel 29 of FIG. 4, to be rendered. On occasion, the CPU may also output setup data, as discussed below, when a context switch occurs which causes the rendering of another image. The frame buffer 34 is typically a VRAM (Video RAM) which contains pixel color and overlay data for the display 38, as well as clipping ID planes for use during the arbitrary window clipping operations. The display subsystem 36 receives the output of the frame buffer 34 and generates RGB video signals for output to the display 38.
The rendering engine 32 is further illustrated in FIG. 6 as being composed of an interpolator 40 and a blender 42. The interpolator 40 is further illustrated in FIG. 7 as being composed on a setup unit 44 and an iterator unit 46. The setup unit 44 receives X and Y screen coordinates for the start point and the end point of the line to be drawn. The setup unit 44 then calculates the initial setup data for use by the iterator unit 46. The setup unit 44 also receives TNV and calculates the floating number delta, which corresponds to the total number of voxels that need to be blended together into each pixel to be drawn. The setup unit 44 is further illustrated in FIG. 8, which shows that the coordinates for the start point and end point are received by a subtractor 48, which subtracts the X and Y coordinates of the start point from the end point. The remainders (dy and dx) of the subtraction are output to the comparator 50, which compares the signs of the remainders and the absolute values of the remainder to determine the octant of the line to be drawn. The comparator 50 also determines which value is larger between dy and dx and outputs the larger value as Max.
The octant and Max are output to the setup calculator 52, which also receives dy, dx from the subtracter 48, and the X and Y coordinates of the start point and end point, as well as TNV, from the CPU. The setup calculator then computes Delta by dividing TNV by (Max+1) and outputs Delta to the blender 42. The setup calculator also computes the parameter values loop, d, s, sdx, e1, e2, incr1, incr2, incrx1, incrx2, incry1, incry2, dy and dy-dx. These parameter values are output to the iterator unit 46 of FIG. 7, which also receives the values color and color-- delta from the CPU 30. The iterator unit 46 uses these inputs to compute the coordinates of the two or three pixels comprising each iteration of the line, as well as the coverages and colors of those pixels. FIGS. 7 and 9 illustrate the function and operation of the iterator unit 46 for computing a two pixel wide line in accordance with the present invention.
In FIG. 9, the iterator unit 46 is shown as being comprised of an incremental loop subtracter 54, a d incrementor 56, a sdx incrementor 58, a color incrementor 60, a X incrementor 62, a Y incrementor 64, and as incrementor 66. A lookup table 68 is connected to the output of the s incrementor 66 for retrieval of the pixel coverages as previously discussed. A controller 70 is also provided to receive the outputs of the loop subtracter 54, the d incrementor 56 and the sdx incrementor 58, and to use that information to control the operation of the remaining incrementors and the lookup table 68.
The output of the iterator unit 46 is then received by the blender 42, which is further illustrated in FIG. 10. The blender 42 operates to perform a number of functions. One function, when alpha blending is utilized, is to determine the color of a present pixel in view of any underlying pixel which may be allowed to leak through because of the opacity of the present pixel. The blender 42, the operation of which is well known in the art, is particularly useful when antialiased lines are to be rendered against a background that is not black, or where one antialiased line crosses another antialiased line, because the blender 42 can make background corrections that preserve the antialiased appearance of each of the rendered lines. Alpha blending is also used to account for the effect of each voxel in the voxel rod on the corresponding pixel to be rendered. Hence, the two color blender units 80 each include a Delta counter which repetitively counts the number of voxels input to the blender, restarting upon reaching TNV, and causes all voxels accumulated during that count to be blended into the corresponding pixel to be rendered.
The other function of the blender, which is independent of alpha blending, is to determine the row address strobe (RAS), column address strobe (CAS), output enable (OE), write enable (WE), frame buffer bank address and pixel data values for each pixel to be written into one of four or more banks of the frame buffer as a result of the above described iterative process. Since the above process computes the coverage of two to three pixels at each iteration, some mechanism must be provided for those coverage values to be written into the frame buffer simultaneously.
For the case of a two pixel wide line, both coverages are computed simultaneously through the use of the lookup table 68 of FIG. 9, by addressing the table with s and s-bar (the one's complement of s). Thus, while s is picking up the S-pixel coverage from the table, s-bar is picking up the T-pixel coverage from the same table. The two color blender units 80 of the blender 42 allow colors to be assigned to the pixels simultaneously, and the dual read address calculators 82 and write address calculators 84 allow both coverages and colors to be written into the frame buffer memory 34 simultaneously. In order to make such frame buffer write access possible, the frame buffer is split into multiple banks and subbanks amongst a multiple of semiconductor chips.
Although the frame buffer 34 could be split into any number of even number banks, in the preferred embodiment, a total of four banks are utilized. Each of these banks (A, B, C and D, as indicated in FIG. 11) is located on a separate semiconductor memory chip, where it is split into two subbanks (0 and 1). It should be noted, however, that the same chip could be used for two or more banks, provided the chip was truly multi-ported (including multiple sets of controls). The layout of the frame buffer assures that the memory bank selection scheme will always result in the two pixels selected at each iteration being written into different subbanks, regardless of the slope of the line to be drawn or the vertical or horizontal position of the pixels to be selected. For example, with respect to line 100, four different subbanks are used to write the pixels in the area 102.
A mathematical model for calculating the subbank of a pixel is next described. Although this model also portrays a physical layout for the frame buffer 34, many different hardware implementations of this basic model could be utilized. For every given X and Y value, the three least significant bits of X are extracted and the 2 least significant bits of Y are extracted. As a result, there are eight possible values of X and four possible values of Y. The possible values of Y are designated YY. A value for X, designated as XXX is then computed by taking the possible values of X and adding in binary (and ignoring the final carry bit) either a 0, 2, 4 or 6. Thus, if
YY=00, add 000 to the three least significant X bits, if
YY=01, add 010 to the three least significant X bits, if
YY=10, add 100 to the three least significant X bits, and if
YY=11, add 110 to the three least significant X bits.
For example, if Y=15 and X=23, then Y would be 1111 in binary with 11 as the two least significant bits. Likewise, X would be 10111 in binary with 111 as the three least significant bits. Since YY=11, then 110 would be added in binary to the three least significant bits of X, resulting in
______________________________________ 111+ 110 101 (ignoring the final carry bit)______________________________________
After calculating XXX, the bank can be determined by looking at the first 2 most significant bits of XXX and the subbank can be determined by looking at the least significant bit of XXX. The possible values of XXX and the corresponding banks and subbanks are therefore as follows:
______________________________________XXX Bank Subbank______________________________________000 A 0001 A 1010 B 0011 B 1100 C 0101 C 1110 D 0111 D 1______________________________________
Since the iterator can iterate more than one pixel per iteration and differently controllable subbanks of the frame buffer can be used for each of the pixels making up a line at each iteration, it is possible to perform memory access at about twice the speed previously possible, given that 2 pixels can be written per iteration and an iteration occurs every 60 nsec.
In this disclosure, there is shown and described only the preferred embodiment of the present invention, but it is to be understood that the invention is capable of use in various other combinations and environments and is capable of changes and modifications within the scope of the inventive concept as expressed herein. In particular, while the present invention is primarily described as being implemented in hardware, this does not preclude the invention's implementation in software or some other combination of hardware and software. ##SPC1##
|Cited Patent
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|Multiple pixel generator
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|Method of converting continuous three-dimensional geometrical representations into discrete three-dimensional voxel-based representations within a three-dimensional voxel-based system
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|Method and apparatus for drawing antialiased lines on a raster display
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|Avt Anlagen Verfahrenstech
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|Wu, An Efficient Antialiasing Technique , Computer Graphics, vol. 25, No. 4, pp. 143 147, Jul. 1991.
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|Method and apparatus for extracting 3D information of feature points
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|Depth fused display
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|Apr 3, 2012
|Puredepth Limited
|Multi-view display
|May 17, 2004
|Apr 10, 2012
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|Display control system
|Jun 25, 2003
|Apr 9, 2013
|Pure Depth Limited
|Enhanced viewing experience of a display through localised dynamic control of background lighting level
|May 18, 2007
|Apr 30, 2013
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|Method and system for improving display quality of a multi-component display
|Oct 5, 2006
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|Qualcomm Incorporated
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|Boston Scientific Neuromodulation Corporation
|Implantable microstimulators and methods for unidirectional propagation of action potentials
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|Display control system
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|Method and system for displaying images of various formats on a single display
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|Engel Damon Gabriel
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|Bell Gareth P
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|U.S. Classification
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Oct 6, 1993
Owner name: SILICON GRAPHICS, INC., CALIFORNIA
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Chapter 11: A Ghost on the Web
Consider the new breed of virtual reality Web sites. Already some fifteen million people participate in Second Life, a site where they submerge themselves into cyberspace and become persons they are not in real life. And Second Life is only one of about a dozen popular virtual reality worlds.
Will virtual reality, then, be the intelligence behind the Internet? Rather than an extension of human thought, will it come in the form of some kind of ingestion of human intelligence within the framework of an artificial world? This would not be the first time that science fiction cut the path that reality was destined to follow.
What if the lines become blurred? Will we be unaware of the intersection between minds and machines? Consider the story of a robbery that happened in 2007. Days after the robbery, police in Amsterdam were told the story of a woman who had started a furniture store on Humbolt Street three years earlier and had a thriving business until someone broke in and stole $4,000 worth of furniture. The police were given an unusual amount of detail, so they were confident that justice would be served.
The police began their investigation and quickly learned a few odd facts. First, Humbolt Street isn't in Amsterdam or even in the Netherlands. What's more, the thieves couldn't be found anywhere. The reason, as it turned out, is that the crime didn't happen in Amsterdam or even in "this world." It happened in Habbo Hotel, a virtual world that exists only on the Internet. But the crime was real, and the furniture, while virtual, cost real Euros. And here is where things get strange: the Dutch police agreed. They ended up pursuing the case, finding the virtual thieves (in the real world), and arresting them. The thieves have been banned from the virtual world and will likely serve time in a real jail.
What is happening in virtual life is merely an extension of real life—or in some cases a replacement. Hundreds of thousands of people now gladly give up their Saturday evenings to go on dates in a virtual world, such as Habbo Hotel or Second Life. Habbo now claims to have more than eighty million people in thirty-one countries; it is a busy hotel, to say the least.21 And that is dwarfed by Second Life's vibrant marketplace, which transacts as much as 100 million real U.S. dollars per year and is minting real millionaires. The people in these virtual worlds are having real interactions, exchanging real money, and living real lives, albeit in a virtual world.
It makes one wonder whether the body (sitting in front of a keyboard for hours) is nothing more than a brain on life support—Descartes' ghost. Earlier in my career, I had just that experience: I would spend hours in a cubicle on the phone with various people, some of whom I got to know quite well. But at one point, I had an eerie feeling that I was nothing more than a brain, floating in space, communicating with other brains. (Not to worry—my wife cured me with a few beers.)
Many people end up with this feeling, and often they experience a backlash against technology. With radio, there were the dangerous frequency waves. Television introduced many evils: ADD, brain cancer, desensitization, cultural vacuums. Do cell phones cause cancer, or only make us less personable? For every paperless office and electronic book, there are people touting the value of the printed word. What will become of the Internet when the pundits declare it too dangerous, too malicious, or even too smart?
That is a question we will soon face, because an intelligent Internet is imminent. It will not resemble a brain, I'm certain, any more than the first airplane flapped its wings like a bird. But like an airplane, the intelligence behind the Internet will go faster and farther than what has preceded it on Earth. If we consider that only sixty-six years after the first flight of the Wright brothers, astronauts set foot on the moon, what does that say for the future of the Internet? The Internet has already given us opportunities that far exceed the impact of flight, but that is nothing compared with what is coming. It's a bit scary, I admit. And if you think that the idea of an intelligent Internet is unsettling, what about one that is self-aware?
© 2009 Jeffrey M. Stibel, Wired for Thought™ published by:


text:
Thanks for visiting my website. I can't wait to meet you.
Hi, I'm Elizabeth Kowal and I'm glad you dropped by. I hope you'll like what you see and come back again and again, or better yet, CONNECT and book a session or your wedding day with me where we can create some beautiful images for you.
For a while I've been thinking about taking this little blog of mine in a new direction. Filled with wonderful photos that inspire you and remind you of the precious moments in your life, and also one that is more personal…true, vibrant, fun, romantic, silly, sad, happy…like real life is!
So welcome to my blog, which will be filled with photos of you, and of the loves in your life and my life.
For more details wedding photography with me click here.
P. S. You can read more on my personal blog and journal of our day to day life, our travels and my favourite little people on the planet! Click HERE
Pinterest is my virtual clipboard of a few of the things I adore.
If you were to judge me by my boards [and if you have ever been in my house] you might say i'm a kind of a messy minimalist who likes my home and gardening, going places, stylish, sexy, pretty things, hats, and babies and their mommies, and cakes and cool stuff for kids, and who dreams about a beautiful modern loft, but wishes for 101 more things. You might notice that i worry about getting older, that i love romantic weddings and i live and work out of an old wedding chapel that i am slowly filling with old fashioned things, that i think horses are beautiful, and just want to be happy. It's true that i might be a bit artsy fartsy, and maybe just a (tiny) little bit weird and wild too!
For my photography clients i've put together a board to help inspire you about your session!
NOTE: The photography on this board and the gallery above is not our photography, just images we love! For photography sources click on the link above.


text:
It was a relatively intimate and delicious affair at a restaurant that is well recognized for their local food and drink – Elvi's Kitchen. Saturday night was a celebration of 40 years hard work and dedication. Honoring the family that took their business from a humble beginning in 1974 to a successful internationally known restaurant with warm welcoming staff. The Key to 40 ... Read More »
An Early Christmas Present more Tacogirl Travel Coupon Codes
Stuffing your stocking with tacogirl travel coupon codes I decided to give everyone an early Christmas present this year. It is a known fact that people love saving money. I am making it easier than ever for you to do so by giving you a most useful present. This is going to be your gift that keeps on giving this holiday season ... Read More »
Two Long term Apartment Rentals
It is not always easy to find long term rentals on Ambergris Caye. Often my readers are either looking or daydreaming and want to know what is available at what kind of pricing. There are currently a couple of long term apartment options that I was asked to feature by a friend. The first one is close to Downtown San Pedro and ... Read More »
Bugs of Belize
There are many different bugs of Belize. Over the course of my time here, I have enjoyed snapping many a bug picture as you will see below. So many interesting shapes and varieties turn up in the most random places. Sucker Bug Aside from the creepy crawlers, sometimes bugs are going around are the microscopic "people hurting" kind. A few folks on Ambergris ... Read More »
10 of 30 Trained and a Successful Drive
In an effort to strengthen South Ambergris Caye, Mahogany Bay Village has pledged to have 30 staff trained in 3 First Aid sessions. As of Tuesday November 22nd, 10 newly qualified Red Cross first responders are now onsite to assist visitors at Mahogany Bay and in the island community at large. The second group of 10 is scheduled to receive ... Read More »
Fastest way to Lamanai
Some people do not mind a longer adventure and some prefer the shortest most direct route the "treasure." This was the case with today's guest poster, Barbara Hickman. She and her crew opted to do the popular Lamanai Maya Ruin tour by plane versus a longer day taking the tour by boat. My best friend, my daughter, and I took a ... Read More »


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QUENTIN DEMPSTER: Apart from seeing if ballot stacking produces any upsets in Rockdale and other councils where it's apparent, we'll all be reading the tea leaves when the votes are counted on Saturday night in the State-wide municipal elections.
We're watching to see if there's further voter attraction for strong local Independents.
Will the Greens' vote keep on growing?
Apart from the glamour contest between Clover Moore and Michael Lee in Sydney, there's also intense interest in Manly, Tweed, Byron Bay, Penrith, Auburn, Wollongong and Newcastle.
Don't forget to vote in this election, it's compulsory.
As a public service we've asked ABC psephologist Antony Green to explain what's involved in "above the line" and "below the line" voting.
Contrary to advice from a Sydney radio shock jock you can direct preferences above the line.
ANTONY GREEN: Most councils will only have one ballot paper.
Some will have an election for the mayor as well.
This is Sydney City Council ballot paper.
It looks like a House of Representatives ballot paper -- you just fill in 1 for your candidate of choice, beyond that preferences are optional you can fill in 2, 3, 4, but that's how you elect the mayor.
It's standard like a House of Representatives seat.
QUENTIN DEMPSTER: This one's a bit more complex, for the councillors.
ANTONY GREEN: Yes, it looks more complex.
It's similar to the Senate ballot paper.
There are important differences to do with preferences.
You have a choice of voting either above the line for parties or below the line for candidates.
If you vote for parties above the line, if you vote just 1 for one of these single groups, your vote only lasts for that group.
It only goes to that group.
If you want 1 Australian Democrats, your vote only applies to the Australian Democrats.
There's no party control of preferences at this election.
If you want to fill in preferences you can go 1 Democrats, 2 Labor, 3 Liberal, if you like, and then your preferences will go in order of those parties, but the only preferences that will count above the line are the ones you fill in.
There's no party control.
If you want to vote for individual candidates, instead -- you want to vote for different candidates on different tickets -- you can vote below the line for candidates.
There you fill in as many preferences as there are vacancies to fill.
QUENTIN DEMPSTER: With this ballot paper, there are nine councillors to be elected, so you'd have to fill in nine ballot boxes.
ANTONY GREEN: That's right and many wards are only three or four members -- you only need three or four preferences.
Campbelltown has 15, you'd need 15 preferences.
The instructions are on the ballot paper, which tells you the minimum number you have to fill in, but I would encourage people to go beyond that minimum number because the more preferences you fill in, the more likely your vote will continue to count through the process of the distribution of preferences.
So you can either vote above the line -- just 1 -- plus however many other parties you want to vote for.
Below the line -- you vote for as many candidates as there are vacancies to fill.


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text:
Bullard was a popular figure at Fulham but turned his back on the Cottagers in favour of a better salary as part of a £5million record transfer to the KC Stadium. But the move soon turned sour for the Tigers when he was carried off on a stretcher just 37 minutes into his debut with cruciate knee ligament damage.
The 30-year-old could make his comeback in Monday's match between the two sides and Hodgson, said: "I would imagine that he will not get a bad reception but I don't know how fans think in those areas."
He added: "The game has changed enormously in that respect. In the past you wouldn't have imagined it but these days you see Barry getting booed every touch he makes when playing for Man City against Aston Villa, so who knows?
"I wouldn't like to think that will happen though and certainly I would take no satisfaction from our fans doing that so I rather hope that they will give him a better reception."
Bullard was also ruled out for 16 months with the same injury at Craven Cottage before returning to star in Fulham's unlikely escape from relegation in 2008.
He wrote himself into Cottagers folklore on the last day of the 2007-08 season by providing the assist for Danny Murphy's winner against Portsmouth which kept Hodgson's side up.
Hodgson believes Bullard will be desperate to prove he is back to his best and praised his determination.
"He's such an enthusiastic footballer. He loves to play so much and I take my hat off to him for overcoming this latest set back," Hodgson said.
"I'm pretty sure that the Hull medical staff will be holding him back because he'll be so keen to play and obviously we fear him as an opponent."Reuse content


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Music Gear News
Youngsters should be encouraged to make music, says Sting
Children must be encouraged to learn to play musical instruments at school, according to teacher-turned-rock star Sting.
Speaking at the Hay festival, he commented: "Give them the opportunity to play instruments."
Sting, who recently participated in a reunion tour with his old band, added that the still finds the process of writing a song something of an enigma.
"It's still a mystery to me, the whole idea of how you write songs," he remarked.
This, he said, was unusual as he has been writing songs - such as the hits Every Breath You Take, Roxanne and Don't Stand So Close To Me - all his life.
Sting has also enjoyed a successful solo career since the 1980s, which has included collaborations with Mary J Blige, Anoushka Shankar and Craig David.Posted on 1 Jun 2009 14:40 to category : Music News
Related Music News
Delivered by Choreographer and Theater Director Arlene Phillips, The Bacc For the Future campaign has acquired support of over 100 hundred influential figures
On the 22nd of April, Pink Floyd will be releasing an unheard version of the iconic classic 'Interstellar Overdrive' in celebration of world record day
With an increased quality of specifications right across the board, Apple's eponymous 'iPad' will host a whole generous selection of great new features.
Supported by the likes of Ed Sheeran, Royal Blood, Wolf Alice and many more, Fanfair Alliances new educational guide is available for free download online.
Aiming to provide equal educational opportunities for children across the U.K, NYMAZ outline the importance of technology in today's learning environment.
Suffering from a shortage of funds in recent years, the Welsh educational system has experienced a slump in students who are expressing interest in music.
Recent Music News
Through a collaboration with Martin, Sheeran's latest signature model features artwork from his latest album '÷' and has been built to his exact specifications.
Designed in collaboration with celebrated musician Devin Townsend, Mooer's Ocean Machine blends gorgeous, transient tones with powerful expression and depth.
JHS Pedals give us the lowdown on their latest pedal launches and re-releases from NAMM 2017, with products Shipping to European dealers on April 24th.
Introducing a sleek aesthetic to an established favourite, Arturia's Step Range offer an extensive selection of creative options to the discerning musician.
News has emerged from Superbooth that Behringer will be introducing their brand new Deep Mind 6, a smaller more condensed version of its big brother DeepMind 12
Utilizing innovative features designed to complement the modern piano player, Yamaha's MX88 Synth offers a re purposed design and flawless functionality.


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A Beginners Guide To Lawyers
The Facts on Traffic Ticket Lawyers
There are a lot of consequences that are involved when you get charged with a traffic offense and this can be a very stressful time because you will not know what will be awaiting you. If you get a traffic ticket then do not stress out about it because getting a ticket does not mean that you will actually get convicted for a crime, all it means is that you will either have to pay a fee to the government for the offense or you can take it into court and beat the ticket so you will not have to pay a fine. So if you happen to get a traffic ticket it would be a good idea to begin considering getting a traffic ticket lawyer to help you out so you will not have to pay the fine which can be step depending on the offense. The reason why it is a good idea to hire a traffic ticket lawyer when you are being charged with a serious traffic offense is because the lawyer can actually beat the ticket completely so you will not have to worry about a thing and at the very least they will be able to reduce the fine that you will have to pay which is also always a good thing to have. These kinds of lawyers are also extremely convenient as well because they will literally do everything for you so you will not even have to waste your time and go to court because they will represent you and win the case for you without you ever having to make an appearance. Traffic ticket lawyers are really miracle workers because they will be able to do just about everything when it comes down to beating the ticket for you and that is why they are so important to hire if you have a serious traffic offense and why they are so important to find out about and that is the purpose of this article to help spread awareness of the usefulness of these amazing lawyers.
What Kind of Things Does a Traffic Ticket Lawyer do for you?
Basically a traffic ticket lawyer will handle every case that involves a traffic ticket such as speeding or other slight offenses that can occur while driving on a daily basis so we can all relate to these lawyers and we all could use their services one day. These lawyers are also experts because they handle a wide range of different kinds of cases on a daily basis and they know exactly how to win the case for you and it does not matter what kind of offense you are charged with they will be able to sort it out for you with ease. So if you have a serious traffic offense it is better to fight it with a traffic ticket lawyer in stead of dealing with the different kinds of consequences that are associated with these kinds of offenses which can be serious like getting your license revoked so always make sure you have a lawyer ready and that is the basics on traffic ticket lawyers and why they are so beneficial.Lessons Learned from Years with Services


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'Grande Milan' goalkeeper Andrea Pazzagli has died suddenly at the age of 51. He was in goal for the 1990 Intercontinental Cup.
Pazzagli played in Arrigo Sacchi's legendary side from 1989 to 1991, winning the European Cup, Italian Super Cup, two European Super Cups and two Intercontinental Cups.
He wore the gloves during the Intercontinental Cup victory over Olimpia Asuncion in Tokyo on December 9, 1990.
Recently Pazzagli had been working as a goalkeeping coach and commentator on RAI Sport.
Betting on Serie A? Bet365 are offering a 100% deposit bonus, up to £200 - find out more


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YP - The Real Yellow PagesSM - helps you find the right local businesses to meet your specific needs. Search results are sorted by a combination of factors to give you a set of choices in response to your search criteria. These factors are similar to those you might use to determine which business to select from a local Yellow Pages directory, including proximity to where you are searching, expertise in the specific services or products you need, and comprehensive business information to help evaluate a business's suitability for you. "Preferred" listings, or those with featured website buttons, indicate YP advertisers who directly provide information about their businesses to help consumers make more informed buying decisions. YP advertisers receive higher placement in the default ordering of search results and may appear in sponsored listings on the top, side, or bottom of the search results page.
Used Appliances in Yucaipa, CA
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1.Joe's Appliances
33733 Yucaipa Blvd
1.45 mi
Used Major AppliancesMajor AppliancesMajor Appliance PartsMajor Appliance Refinishing & Repair
2.Desert Appliance Parts & Service
12136 6th St
1.02 mi
Major AppliancesUsed Major AppliancesSmall AppliancesMajor Appliance Refinishing & Repair
The worst customer service, unreliable, unprofessional. Got them through my insurance company. Had to wait 10 days for them to get a part and when they were supposed to come to fix it they called me to tell me they can not commit to the time we have scheduled the service for and to call another company.
3.E.N.A. Appliances
31583 Bryant Outer Hwy
0.50 mi
Major AppliancesWashers & Dryers Service & RepairRefrigerators & Freezers-Repair & ServiceSmall Appliance Repair
Buy, Sell, Service and Repair of Home Appliances!
4.Bobby's Appliances
1712 W Highland Ave
San Bernardino,CA
17.51 mi
Used Major AppliancesMajor AppliancesSmall Appliances
I got my washing machine here. it works great and carried a 90 warranty. the guy was friendly and flexible with price and delivery. perfect place to get what you need on a limited budget. I just bought a house and Will use them again.
5.A & A Appliance & Stove
600 Kemp St
17.44 mi
Used Major Appliances
6.Little John Appliances
523 E Holt Blvd
34.11 mi
Used Major AppliancesMajor AppliancesSmall AppliancesUsed Furniture
My dryer's belt broke one night and I called John Little Appliances after calling several others. Edson answered all my questions over the phone. He didn't try to sell me one of his machines over fixing my current. I would send this business referals if friends needed a Washer or Dryer... Thanks Edson, James
7.AARS Appliance Repair Service
9366 Foothill Blvd
Rancho Cucamonga,CA
31.94 mi
Used Major AppliancesMajor AppliancesWashers & Dryers Service & RepairRefrigerators & Freezers-Repair & Service
Wow! I am speechless! After talking with Craig for few minutes, he knew what I was dealing with. Asked me couple questions and he told me that he would call me back. He did, just to direct me over the phone how to fix my problem with my dishwasher. I couldn't believe it.... knowledge, honesty and great service is what you get when you request AARS services. I will highly recommend and use them again for any appliance repair in the future. Thank you so much Craig you really made my day.
8.Good Quality Appliance Inc.
4137 Mission Blvd
37.17 mi
Used Major AppliancesMajor AppliancesMajor Appliance Refinishing & RepairSmall Appliance Repair
Good Quality Appliance Inc. sells and services top brand major appliances like, Samsung, GE, Kitchenaid, Kenmore, May Tag, Whirlpool, LG, Viking and more. Our service department refurbishes and sanitizes all major appliances. We not only service our own appliances that we sell, we will service your Appliances. No Credit is needed. We offer 90 day interest free. We also have financing available. We sell and repair washers, dryers, refrigerators, stoves and ovens.
9.Bob's Used Appliances
10437 Hole Ave
25.42 mi
Used Major AppliancesMajor AppliancesUsed Furniture
I've bought from them twice, never had problems! Great guys, very helpful. I'd recommend them.
10.Bob's Used Appliances
11079 Hole Ave
26.36 mi
Used Major AppliancesMajor AppliancesSmall Appliances
Always helpful full line of used appliances in great condition and LOW prices and fast service. Have been buying appliances from Bob for over 10 years.
11.SJ Gomez Appliances
4166 Holt Blvd
38.02 mi
Used Major Appliances
Sj Gomez Appliances is a full-service appliance dealer offering major household appliances. We are a family-owned-and-operated business located in Montclair, California. We treat every customer like part of the family. Contact us today for more information.
12.2nd Time Stores Thrift
1828 e collins ave
47.49 mi
Used Major AppliancesClothing StoresChristmas TreesUsed Furniture
13.J M Appliances
1655 E 6th St Ste A6a
29.69 mi
Used Major AppliancesMajor AppliancesSmall AppliancesUsed Furniture
14.The Great Exchange Thrift / Antiques
55225 29 Palms Hwy
Yucca Valley,CA
33.48 mi
Used Major AppliancesWedding Planning & ConsultantsClothing-Collectible, Period, VintageThrift Shops
15.Torres Appliance
5350 G St
36.48 mi
Used Major AppliancesUsed FurnitureMajor Appliances
16.SJ Gomez Appliances
908 E Holt Ave
39.04 mi
Used Major Appliances
2988 1st St Ste G
La Verne,CA
40.64 mi
Used Major AppliancesSecond Hand DealersRefrigerators & Freezers-Repair & ServiceRefrigerators & Freezers-Dealers
18.Elite Appliance Center
1149 N Fountain Way
46.92 mi
Used Major AppliancesSecond Hand DealersMajor Appliances
great service very nice guy name isaac help me out with all the info i needed i love my new fridge its working great and i got for a very good deals elite appliance center got a lot of appliance in stock it was worth it
19.Clover Wireless
8900 Research Dr
47.66 mi
Used Major Appliances
20.Ingrersoll Rand Industrial Refrigeration
13770 Ramona Ave
37.58 mi
Used Major Appliances
21.Same Day Service of America
Washers & Dryers Service & RepairMajor Appliance Refinishing & RepairRefrigerators & Freezers-Repair & ServiceWater Heater Repair
Fall Tune-Up Special! $39.95+1more
Our dedicated service people are committed to your satisfaction. They pledge to be courteous and to provide the highest degree of excellence in home repair. You'll never get a recorded message or a delay in response. We'll be there when you need us most. We are at your service 7 days a week, 24 hours a day for all of your AC/Heating, Plumbing, and Appliance Repair needs.
22.The Old Stove Appliances
2574 Highland Ave
11.37 mi
Major AppliancesMajor Appliance PartsAppliance InstallationUsed Major Appliances
We sell new appliances such as microwaves, dishwashers, refrigerators, washers, dryers, stoves, freezers, wall ovens, toasters, kettles, and hoods that included a 2 year parts and labor warranty, alongside a 10 year limited warranty on all Crosley products. We also sell used and refurbished domestic appliances at much more economical prices such as refrigerators, stoves, washers, dryers, water heaters, wall heaters, portable air conditioners, swamp coolers etc. that also included limited warranties. If you have an appliance at home that needs any type of servicing or repair, assessments start at only $30 locally with the assessment fee waived if serviced. For the handy, do-it-yourselfers, we sell new or used parts!!
23.Guaranteed Appliance
41505 Big Bear Blvd
Big Bear Lake,CA
16.67 mi
Major AppliancesSmall AppliancesUsed Major Appliances
these people are not to be used they left a mess in the house and when i called then about it the owner said they were not going to clean my house and then she cussed mt out on the phone and said never to call them again ( and that was after i had spent about 2500.00 with them ) chris
24.Brans 4 Appliances
9840 Indiana Ave Ste 6
24.41 mi
Major AppliancesUsed Major AppliancesUsed Furniture
25.Crestline Appliances
Po box 2745
19.84 mi
Major Appliance Refinishing & RepairUsed Major AppliancesAppliance InstallationSmall Appliances
26.John's Lake Appliance
105 Greenway Dr
Big Bear City,CA
19.28 mi
Major AppliancesUsed Major AppliancesSmall Appliance RepairRefrigerators & Freezers-Repair & Service
27.J M Appliances
3724 Van Buren Blvd
24.10 mi
Small Appliance RepairSmall AppliancesMajor AppliancesUsed Major Appliances
28.Rialto Appliance Solution
993 W Valley Blvd Ste 418
19.65 mi
Major AppliancesUsed Major AppliancesSmall Appliance RepairRefrigerators & Freezers-Repair & Service
Free service calls for local area Free Haul-away service
29.United Appliances
14786 7th St
36.77 mi
Major AppliancesUsed Major AppliancesAppliances-Major-Wholesale & ManufacturersSmall Appliance Repair
30.Desert Appliance Parts & Service
35625 Da Vall Dr
Rancho Mirage,CA
37.91 mi
Major Appliance PartsMajor Appliance Refinishing & RepairUsed Major Appliances
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Vincenza Snow, MD; Christel Mottur-Pilson, PhD; Richelle J. Cooper, MD, MSHS; Jerome R. Hoffman, MD, MA; American College of Physicians–American Society of Internal Medicine*
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Snow V, Mottur-Pilson C, Cooper RJ, Hoffman JR, American College of Physicians–American Society of Internal Medicine*. Principles of Appropriate Antibiotic Use for Acute Pharyngitis in Adults. Ann Intern Med. 2001;134:506-508. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-134-6-200103200-00018
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text: Home Gallery Interactive (image) Spotify Taste Rewind Spotify Pinpoints What You Would Be Listening to if You Grew up in the Seventies 'Taste Rewind' Imagines the Musical You From Back in the Day Published on Jun 17, 2015 Editor's Pick Do wonder what tunes you would have dug, had you grown up in the '70s? Well, Spotify can help you find out with this new site, Taste Rewind, created out of Stink Digital and Razorfish as lead agency. Users log into their Spotify accounts through the site and then input three artists from their own collection or a collection of popular musicans and bands. Taste Rewind will then pressent them with their "taste decades," a collection of artists from the '00s, '90s, '80s, '70s, '60s the would have likely have been listening to, had they grown up in those eras. The artists are showcased in fun, music festival-themed posters, through which listeners can sample their tunes. Rate this Ad You must be registered to rate the ad. Please Login or Register Now About CreditsDateJun 17, 2015Agency:Razorfish Client:SpotifyDigital Production Company:Stink Studios Latest Creativity News on Ad Age Creativity Top 5: The Best Brand Ideas of the Past Week English and Gartrell Join Deutsch, AKQA Hires Uttley Anomaly Taps Award-Winning Creatives on Dove, Burger King to Lead L.A. Office Related work Spotify: US Brand Campaign OOH Wieden & Kennedy New York Spotify: Rap Caviar Spotify: Global Warming


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Environmentalists aim for your …
posted at 5:55 pm on September 24, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
Toilet paper consumes 5% of the trees harvested, a much lower percentage than shipping materials made from unrecycled paper, but it's apparently seized most of the attention from environmentalists. The Washington Post reports on a campaign to get toilet paper manufacturers to stop making the product as soft and to use recycled paper, which thus far has meant economic death for the producers. One has to wonder whether this is really the time or the, er, place for activism:
It is a fight over toilet paper: the kind that is blanket-fluffy and getting fluffier so fast that manufacturers are running out of synonyms for "soft" (Quilted Northern Ultra Plush is the first big brand to go three-ply and three-adjective).
It's a menace, environmental groups say — and a dark-comedy example of American excess.
The reason, they say, is that plush U.S. toilet paper is usually made by chopping down and grinding up trees that were decades or even a century old. They want Americans, like Europeans, to wipe with tissue made from recycled paper goods. …
Toilet paper is far from being the biggest threat to the world's forests: together with facial tissue, it accounts for 5 percent of the U.S. forest-products industry, according to industry figures. Paper and cardboard packaging makes up 26 percent of the industry, although more than half is made from recycled products. Newspapers account for 3 percent.
But environmentalists say 5 percent is still too much.
This makes no sense at all. Why spend all of that effort going after toilet paper when the bottom line, so to speak, is that the packaging industry uses almost three times as much unrecycled product? I would agree that we should get the pulp from sustainable resources, at which the industry has agreed to do better, but the net effect will still be to eat at the margins of a much larger problem — especially in the age of Internet commerce, where more transactions get fulfilled in cardboard packaging.
Besides, the environmentalists are attacking the wrong, er, end of the problem. They need to convince the consumers, not the producers, that rougher is better. Toilet paper made from recycled materials is not as pleasing as the normal product, which means that given a choice, people will avoid the former for the latter. The Post's David Fahrenholtd reports that the environmentalists set up a test for him to prove that there was little difference between the two, which failed.
People understand the difference, and they want comfort and convenience. Many of us have had plenty of experience with recycled-based product, in government or corporate facilities. Those aren't exactly encouraging experiences, which is why demand remains high for the plush product. Until producers can emulate that with recycled material — or start mandating the elimination of consumer choice, which is the direction they're going — Americans will not choose to be Europeans in the, er, end.
Breaking on Hot Air
Texas prepares to begin locking up leaders in sanctuary cities
- Environmentalists: "Wiping" The World Clean | Support Your Local Gunfighter
- Environmentalists demand… scratchier TP
- Hard Starboard
- blogwhoring 9-28-09 - rightofcourse.com
Why spend all of that effort going after toilet paper when the bottom line, so to speak, is that the packaging industry uses almost three times as much unrecycled product?
Because they can.
It's about telling others how to run their lives. Period. "Look what we can make you do, and prove ourselves righteous, all in one act."
First we can't use oil because it's (supposedly) not a renewable resource. Then we can't use a renewable resource like trees because… why?
Akzed on September 25, 2009 at 12:45 PM


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Video Messages From FoothillsEvery once in a while, Foothills releases a message to prepare for a coming event, or to delve into a question of our faith.
We also record all of our sermons, which you can find on our video sermons page.
Launch into Ministry Sunday Welcome
Pastor Eric invites everyone to what will be a great Sunday full of fun, food and faith.
Join the Foothills Choir
The Foothills choir is one of the best church choirs in the city, not because the members are incredibly talented, but because together they create a harmonious faith group of friendship.
Take the Lenten Challenge
Foothills UMC and Pastor Eric Smith call on you to take the Lenten challenge. What is it? Watch and find out!
Christmas Greetings from Eric and Karen Smith
Our pastor and his wife share the blessings of the season and their thanks for the warm welcome they have received this year.
Foothills Stewardship - Missions
Bringing Faith to the life of our community is our mission at Foothills. We open our doors to welcome the community in, but also to keep us mindful of looking out at the place where our efforts should go.
Foothills Stewardship - FOUNDRY
One year ago, our new church start FOUNDRY UMC in Otay Ranch opened their doors for the first time after years in the community. Today we see how the community they have created has brought faith to life.
Foothills Stewardship - Hospitality
In our church community and the greater community we welcome all with open hearts, minds and doors to bring everyone's faith to life.
Foothills Stewardship - Children and Youth
To be better stewards of our relationships, our community and our church, we focus on creating right relationships from an early age.
Grace - By Pastor Eric Smith
In Pastor Eric's new video, he discusses the meaning of grace. It is a word used often in the new testament with seemingly unlimited potential.
Pastor Eric's Call to Ministry: Part 2
The second half of Pastor Eric's return to faith. After falling away in college and facing difficulty, hear the rest of the story that brought Eric into practicing faith.


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The streams and waterfalls that had once graced his ancestors' land in Alston, Cumbria, had been buried by the deposits from more than a century of lead mining.
Now, after 27 years of painstaking work, Mr Johnston and his family have restored Thortergill to its former glory and made it a haven for stoats, red squirrels and other wildlife.
Mr Johnston, now 59, said: "The Johnston family used to own what was called the Shield Hill Estate. Thortergill was part of that estate and it was sold to a lead company in 1780. The mine was opened in 1823."
The miners transformed the landscape. The stream that flowed through the ravine was covered with a dry stone culvert so that the workers could reach the lead in the sides of the ravine from a solid base.
Mr Johnston explained: "As they exploited the mine they dumped the waste on top of the culvert and along its sides so that Garrigill Burn [the stream] became buried. The valley, which was V-shaped, became U-shaped. By the time the mine had closed the ravine had been virtually destroyed."
With the miners came an aqueduct system, horse-drawn carts, railway tracks and an access road. "They were civil engineering geniuses. All this activity went on here for more than 100 years," said Mr Johnston, who explained that the river, which was buried beneath 20 feet of rubble, became a pond when the culvert collapsed under the strain of the mining waste.
Determined that Thortergill would one day be restored, Mr Johnston's uncle bought back the land from the mining company in 1939.
He converted the miners' buildings into a cottage where Mr Johnston now lives with his wife, Jennifer, and sons David and Andrew.
"My uncle had no childrenand he made it known very early on that I was going to succeed him," Mr Johnston said. "I remember looking at this place as a boy, wondering how on earth I was going to restore Thortergill."
Using only his own money, Mr Johnston, who sold industrial products on Tyneside for a living, set about removing the collapsed culvert, re- creating the stream and planting new trees and flowers. Because lead sulphide is insoluble, pollution was not too much of a problem, he explained.
Mr Johnston, whose project is featured on BBC Radio 4's Changing Places on Friday, said: "Our objective was to do all the work we could on our own. When you open the door in the morning and see the birds and animals all waiting for their breakfast it makes it all worthwhile."
The Johnstons now run a tea shop and a blacksmiths' forge that, ironically, is a legacy from the mining era. He said: "My sons are blacksmiths and use the forge which was on the mine for 100 years."Reuse content


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Moscow -- Izvestia said yesterday that special forces were reckless and disorganised when they launched the assault on Chechen rebels in Pervomayskoye this week.
The newspaper's correspondent, Valery Yakov, who spent three days near the battle zone defying a ban on reporters, described scenes of chaos, confusion and disinformation in which troops showed scant regard for the lives of the hostages.
"To call this an operation to save hostages is, to say the least, cynical," Mr Yakov wrote. "Those who remain alive are not those alleged to have been saved, but those lucky enough to survive."
Mr Yakov reached the village of Pervomayskoye with two other Russian journalists by slipping across the nearby border from Chechnya. "You would need a rich imagination to talk about the borders being sealed with a reliable cordon."
They joined Russian forces in trenches only a few hundred metres from rebel positions on the eve of the storming of the village, which started on Monday with an attack by helicopters and artillery.
The three were ejected on Wednesday after being detained and questioned when they ran into the Federal Security Service director, Mikhail Barsukov, who was in command of the operation.
Mr Yakov dismissed official statements that the storming was necessary because the rebels had shot dead six of the hostages as well as a group of Dagestani elders seeking to negotiate. "Nothing of the kind happened in Pervomayskoye," he said.
"All of the firing by the federal forces landed not so much around the rebels as around the hostages," Mr Yakov said.
"What was actually happening resembled freeing of hostages least of all. This was a real military operation to storm an enemy village using all forces and resources."
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- Chechnya
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i will stay abstinent right until we marry
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Job Description
Ramboll Environ is seeking individuals with 10+ years of technical and consulting experience in ecology, ecotoxicology, ecological risk assessment, natural resource management and related disciplines for Manager–level positions with the firm's Ecological Services team in North America.
Areas of focus may involve:
Educational Requirements:
PhD or Master's degree, with certifications and/or licensure as appropriate, in Biology, Ecology, Environmental Toxicology or Environmental Engineering. Exemplary individuals with Bachelor's degrees and related experience may be considered.
Desired Skills:
The successful candidate will have experience managing consulting assignments, must work effectively in multi-disciplinary teams, is expected to be proficient in the analysis and dissemination of information, and must be able to work cooperatively with agencies, organizations, and individuals to guide decision-making. The successful candidate also is expected to be proficient in routine consulting activities such as project management, tracking billable time, communicating schedules, overseeing team members and sub-consultants, data analysis and final report production.
In addition, the successful candidate will be expected to promote and develop business with new and existing clients by authoring peer-reviewed publications, participating in technical conferences and professional societies, and working cooperatively with colleagues and interdisciplinary teams to earn assignments that resolve the business challenges facing corporations, financial institutions, insurers, government entities and trade associations.
Ramboll Environ is an equal opportunity employer of minorities, females, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities.
Ramboll Environ conducts all of its relations with its employees and applicants for employment in accordance with the applicable laws, directives and regulations of the many countries in which we do business, and without regard to ancestry, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, domestic partnership status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, age, military service or veteran status.
Applying is easy
Firstly, upload your CV directly or by using LinkedIn.
If you upload your CV directly, you will be asked to confirm your personal details.
Secondly, upload your cover letter.
We look forward to read your CV and application.


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"We want him to rehabilitate and learn and love people, rather than going to jail and hating us that he went to jail because of us," Jaspreet Singh told ABC News.
The Sikh community believes the vandalism was a case of mistaken identity. They say they're often wrongly associated with terrorist groups because of their beards and turbans.
"People always think that the person who wears a turban is somehow related to a terrorist group or ISIS but they're not," Inderjot Singh told the media.