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...another one bites the dust.

Another month of 5MoF has been swept under the carpet, and the evidence flushed down the john. This month was special, because we got to celebrate Ani Niow's birthday, with a celebratory birthday burrito. If anyone has pictures of that, please upload them and share them with the group!

I want to extend a special thanks to Naomi Most and Pirate Cat Radio, who jumped in and saved us when our microphone grew legs and walked away. Also, thanks to metaphorge, who put together a brilliant introductory video that blew the crowd away; and thanks to Eddie, James, and Miloh, who worked to get the AV working, because without them, we wouldn't have videos on youtube or streaming during the event. Finally, thanks to Sai for setting up a timer system to keep the speakers in check.

And a final thanks to all the speakers, including the standby speakers, and thanks to everyone who showed up. Without all of you, this event could not happen.

Until next month,
aestetix


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Google self-driving cars to be tested on public roads in California this summer
Google's self-driving cars are headed for the road this summer — though they will initially have human beings ready to step in if they go wrong.
The cars are set to be tested on public roads in California, the first time that the cars have left Google's own test tracks.
The cars have already undergone rigorous testing at its facilities, Google said. The company has been "ensuring our software and sensors work as they're supposed to on this new vehicle" at a test track near Google's headquarters at Mountain View, in California.
"Each prototype's speed is capped at a neighborhood-friendly 25mph, and during this next phase of our project we'll have safety drivers aboard with a removable steering wheel, accelerator pedal, and brake pedal that allow them to take over driving if needed," said Chris Urmson, the director of Google's self-driving car project, in a blog post announcing the testing.
"We're looking forward to learning how the community perceives and interacts with the vehicles, and to uncovering challenges that are unique to a fully self-driving vehicle—e.g., where it should stop if it can't stop at its exact destination due to construction or congestion."
The company says that it hopes eventually to run small pilot programmes, letting people use the cars to see what they'd like to do with them.
The cars will be using the same software that Google's existing fleet of self-driving Lexus cars uses. Those have driven for almost a million miles already and are now directing themselves for 10,000 miles of driving a week, Google said.
Last week, Google said that those cars had been in 11 minor crashes since they started public testing. But none of those crashes were solely caused by the cars themselves, Google said — and most of them happened as a result of human error.
Google hopes that the self-driving cars will be able to reduce the amount of crashes caused by human error, which it says could fall by 94 per cent, as well as speeding up traffic and letting those that can't drive themselves get around.
Source: Independent
Independent News Service

subset: commoncrawl


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The Many Options for First Time Purchasers of Foreclosed Real Estate
In the U.S., foreclosed real estate has spiked dramatically. More than 1 million homes were repossessed in 2008. Recent trends indicate the availability of real estate foreclosures will continue to at least the end of 2009 or 2010. Availability of homes repossessed varies according to different markets, around the United States. A majority of foreclosures took place in the states of Florida, California, and Arizona, however all areas of the country are affected to some degree. This news is obviously negative for the millions of buyers losing homes - however beneficial news for qualified buyers seeking investment property. Investors with sound credit and the financial ability, to purchase real estate, can easily purchase foreclosures as investment property. Investors purchasing previously foreclosed residential real estate, or commercial real estate, use a variety of methods to purchase such properties, using the assistance of a professional to assist with the process.
For financially savvy first time foreclosure investors, with a good knowledge of real estate trends, it is possible to privately purchased properties taken back by the lender. Using a broker or real agent is advantageous however purchasing a property without assistance is obviously more financially advantageous. Banks are ready to unload foreclosed properties at low prices. In a tight economy, banks need the revenue from the sold property. Depending on the loan on the property in foreclosure, investors can purchase the property according to the stipulations of the original buyer's lender. For example, government loans require prospective buyers to submit written information with a bid, and the highest bidder receives the foreclosed property. Private lending institutions obviously have in house rules, and prospective buyers, of the foreclosed property need to check the lenders policy on purchasing real estate in foreclosure.
To learn more about subjects like Real Estate please visit the web site at: http://www.clientlistings.com/
For more information and informative related articles and links about this subject matter and content, please visit Majon's Real Estate | Properties | Land directory: http://www.majon.com/directory/real-estate-properties-land.
About the Author
+Chris Robertson is a published author of Majon International. All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2014 (Wed Feb 18 2009) Majon International. Majon International is one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing and internet advertising companies on the web. Visit their main business resource internet marketing web site at: http://www.majon.com


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The committee will evaluate your application relative to the entire applicant pool in a holistic manner. There are no fixed criteria, no minimum scores for GMAT or TOEFL, no minimum GPA, and no formula or weighting of specific areas of the application.
You may find it helpful to read the Texas MBA Insider blog, where our admissions team will be posting helpful tips and information to consider as you are putting together your application.
McCombs is a demanding, fast-paced, and collaborative environment. The admissions committee is looking for applicants who demonstrate superior academic performance and intellectual ability. For non-native English speakers, we are looking for evidence of proficient English skills for success in the program.
The Graduate and International Admissions Center (GIAC) calculates a GPA using undergraduate, upper-division (junior- and senior-level) coursework and any graduate work already completed. McCombs does not require prior coursework in management or business administration, but does require a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution in the United States or a comparable degree from a foreign academic institution. If you have questions on whether or not your international degree is equivalent to a U.S. Bachelor's degree, please contact GIAC.
We strongly recommend that MBA applicants have a minimum of two years full-time, post-baccalaureate work experience. The admissions committee is especially interested in the quality of professional skills as shown by responsibility, leadership, supervision, and teamwork. The committee also considers the relevance of these skills to your intended course of study and your career goals.
We will closely review your references, so you should select a recommender who clearly understands your professional background and aspirations.
The culture at McCombs creates a distinctive atmosphere that blends rigorous intensity and relaxed collegiality, social activity and individuality, a sense of community and an appreciation for diversity. We're looking for traits that make you a unique candidate for our program. This includes characteristics that cannot be quantitatively measured, such as communication, initiative, maturity, integrity, and self-awareness.
We will rely on your resume, essays, recommendation(s), and interview to tell us your story and why you believe McCombs is the right place for you.
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By Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington and Andrew Yeh in Beijing
China on Thursday said it deeply regretted the US decision to ban American banks from dealing with Banco Delta Asia after concluding that the Macao bank had helped North Korea launder money.
The ban by US Treasury will test whether Pyongyang will follow through on last month's agreement to dismantle its nuclear programme, but also paves the way for the bank to release a portion of the $25m in North Korean assets that was not related to illicit activity.
"We have expressed our deep regret to the US side," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters in a regular briefing in Beijing.
Boomberg news agency also quoted him as saying: "We believe the US side should take actions that help stimulate progress in the six-party talks and help in maintaining social stability of the Macao Special Administrative Region."
North Korea has demanded that the US lift what it terms the financial "sanctions" imposed on its regime. The US Treasury designated Banco Delta Asia as a "prime money laundering concern" in 2005. That sparked a run on the bank, which resulted in the Macao government taking control of the family-owned institution and freezing $25m in North Korean assets. The Macao government has also launched its own investigation, but has yet to reveal its findings.


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Love 101: The L(ong) D(istance) R(elationship)
I met Duke* in Paris. He was actually British, visiting from London, and I was there from New York, sent by the magazine I worked for to cover the fashion shows. My boyfriend back in New York had just broken up with me for the bajillionth time, and I was devastated (as usual). When I met Duke, a blue-eyed scruffster with a gorgeous accent and a mischievous grin, the chemistry was immediate, and somehow I knew that he might provide just the rebound romp to lift me out of Dumpsville. We went to decadent fashion parties and danced all night, clinging to one another as if we'd never let go. It felt like true love. "So you're from New York, eh?†he asked. Yes, I told him. "I've been trying to get back there. I'm banned from the country at the moment,†he said.
"Well, I suppose I'll have to marry you so you can come back with me,†I quipped. From that moment, it was on.
We had amazing sex at my hotel that night, but after, I started bawling. I was crying for my ex, crying for my recently deceased father, crying for my own loneliness. To my surprise, Duke was really understanding about the whole thing. He didn't seem to mind when I shut down, put my headphones on, and rolled over in the bed. He was there the next morning, ready to explore Paris.
Over the next few days, I spent my off-hours walking the streets with Duke in an exhilarating champagne buzz, buying over-the-top French lingerie to replace my suitcase full of granny panties, sharing chocolate crepes and ham baguettes, staring out from the hotel room balcony at the twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower. We went to decadent fashion parties and danced all night, clinging to one another as if we'd never let go. It felt like true love. We cried when we had to separate at the end of the trip and promised to write one another.
The next few months were filled with non-stop flights to London, constant phone calls and emails, and finally, a consultation with an immigration marriage lawyer. My hemorrhaging bank account and my on-hold professional life seemed inconsequential. I didn't care. We were madly in love, and nothing else seemed to matter.
Around that time, my ex started calling me constantly. He wanted me back. I'd have none of it. When I patiently explained to him that he'd been replaced, he was insistent, "But we have history, Erin. You don't even know this guy.â€
Then a crisis occurred. The New York City blackout of 2003 happened, and I was literally left in the dark for days. On top of that, I came down with a debilitating illness. My ex was there to step up to the plate. I couldn't think straight. Was Duke just using me to get a green card? Did I really know him? I wished Duke could have been there, but he was far away in London.
When I finally called him to break it off he was shocked. Even I was taken aback by my decision. But when real life intervened, my long distance love seemed like a fantasy that ultimately had to end.
*Names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent.


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You may be weary of all the cloud computing hype, but behind the hype is considerable substance. Cloud technologies are complex, versatile, and revolutionizing the data center. Canonical's Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud (UEC) revolutionizes setting up your own cloud infrastructure, bundling everything you need in a sleek integrated package for free.
Your own private cloud
The big appeal of the cloud, at least according to cloud vendors, is being freed from having to maintain your own data center, so why run your own cloud? For the same reasons any shop maintains its own IT department: for data protection and control of resources. Outsourcing to a cloud service vendor like Amazon's popular Amazon Web Services/Elastic Compute Cloud (AWS/EC2) is easy and relatively inexpensive. Customers purchase AWS just like a no-tell motel, creating and terminating services as needed and paying by the hour. But customers are at the mercy of the service provider. AWS is famous for multiple unexplained outages and less-than-stellar customer service, as are Google, Microsoft, and other cloud vendors. You should also give careful thought to entrusting your data to an outside service provider. This requires a level of trust that may not be warranted. Your data are open to government searches, both warranted and warrantless, and you may be collateral damage when one of your neighbors at your service provider gets in legal hot water.
Kevin Fogarty reports how IT managers regard public vs. private cloud computing:
"Those building private clouds are doing it to make their core IT operations more effective. They're paranoid about security and reliability because they can't afford failures in either ... Those using public clouds are just messing around, using an inexpensive resource to do things they might not do at all if it weren't available ... they're waiting to see how it works out for others first."
LAN speeds are still considerably faster than Internet speeds, so keeping everything in-house should perform better and keep your users happier. An advantage of Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud is you don't have to wait, but can try out the three basic cloud models -- private, public, and hybrid -- cheaply and easily. If you're still a little hazy on how all this cloud stuff works, and why cloud computing is better than old-fashioned client/server, figure 1 saves a thousand words:
You might be wondering how a cloud is different from old-fashioned timeshares on mainframes, or ordinary client-server computing. The concept is the same. What's different is how resources on the server side are managed. All functions and resources are abstracted away from the hardware to create a flexible, dynamic server environment that scales up or down on demand. It uses hardware very efficiently and increases its usable capacity. It's also different on the client side, since the trend is to push everything, including services and development platforms, through a Web browser. Your users don't have to worry about operating system and application compatibility, but simply fire up their favorite Web browsers to go to work. Linux is especially well-suited to any client/server model because networking is part of its core architecture.
Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud
Ubuntu Server 10.04 LTS, Lucid Lynx, gets my vote as the best operating system to build your cloud infrastructure on. This is a long term support release that is supported through April 2015. Lucid Lynx is one of the best Ubuntu releases, and is well-suited for enterprise deployments. Ubuntu itself is always free. You can purchase commercial support and training, and various hosted services as you need, such as Ubuntu's own cloud offering, Ubuntu One, and the Landscape server and cloud monitoring and management service. Landscape can run hosted by Canonical, or on your premises.
Ubuntu Server is built for strong cross-platform support, supporting Linux, Mac, and Windows machines with single sign-on and shared services. Ubuntu Server can manage your LAN, or plug into an existing Active Directory domain or other network. It is certified on Tier 1 hardware including Dell, HP, IBM, and Intel.
You can download Ubuntu for free without jumping through a bunch of hoops, and build a little test lab to get acquainted. You'll need three PCs for a realistic test deployment. UEC is an installation option on the standard Ubuntu Server CD. Visit Getting Started with Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud for a useful listing of how tos. Installation from the Installer CD walks through installing UEC from scratch, and lists hardware requirements. Eucalyptus Beginner's Guide is the best introduction to Eucalyptus.
The main engines of the Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud are:
KVM, the Linux kernel-based virtual machine hypervisor. KVM requires an x86 CPU with virtualization extensions, either Intel VT or AMD-V. This hardware support makes it fast and efficient, and you can run unmodified Linux and Windows images in individual virtual machines. Each VM is self-contained, just like a single operating system on a single computer, with all hardware virtualized: network, memory, storage, graphics adapter, sound, and peripherals.
Eucalyptus also known as Elastic Utility Computing Architecture for Linking Your Programs To Useful Systems, is the cloud manager in UEC. Eucalyptus is an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) cloud, delivering a completely virtualized and abstracted IT infrastructure. Eucalyptus is the central switchboard that links and controls the elements that comprise your cloud: virtual machines, storage, and services. Eucalyptus is modular and very flexible, and it supports running any combination of public, private and hybrid clouds. It grafts on gracefully to your existing IT infrastructure without having to overhaul the whole works, and give new life to legacy equipment.
The Apache Web server, providing the link between clients and cloud.
Figure 2 is a simplified diagram showing how Eucalyptus pulls everything in your cloud together. There is only one cloud controller per cloud. Walrus is the interface to Amazon EC2, so you don't need that if you're keeping everything in-house. A node is a physical server running a KVM hypervisor. A hypervisor runs multiple operating systems, each in its own virtual machine. Each VM is an instance. Each Node Controller controls a physical server. A Cluster Controller controls one or more nodes. SOAP and REST are developer tools for creating Web applications and interfaces.
Goodbye Eucalyptus
Canonical is replacing Eucalyptus with OpenStack in the 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot release. Should you jump to OpenStack? Not just yet. OpenStack and Eucalyptus have significant differences. Eucalyptus supports APIs to Amazon's EC2 platform, and these APIs are well on their way to becoming the de-facto standard. OpenStack is completely open source and always will be, while Eucalyptus includes proprietary closed-source components in its enterprise edition such as VMWare support and better SAN integration. OpenStack does not support VMWare or AWS, though these are on its development roadmap. OpenStack was created by Rackspace and NASA, and has drawn worldwide support including tier 1 vendors such as Dell, AMD, Intel, Cisco, and HP.
A big issue in cloud computing is the unresolved question of APIs. The APIs for AWS have almost become a de-facto standard. APIs are very important, because they control your mobility -- a standard cloud API means you can easily move between vendors and products, and can standardize on the same API for both in-house and outsourced cloud services. Competing APIs mean coding and migration pain. Mark Shuttleworth, the head of Canonical, is advocating for standardizing on AWS APIs. Red Hat and VMWare, two big players in cloud computing, are each pushing their own APIs. My crystal ball is cloudy; all I can suggest is be ready for anything.
Eucalyptus is tested and functional right now, while OpenStack is still a developer's preview. You can grab the latest Oneiric Ocelot release to start getting acquainted. Oneiric Ocelot's final release is October 2011. This will not be a long-term release with a five-year support cycle, but an intermediate release supported until April 2013. Me, I would run this in a test lab and keep Lucid Lynx on production machines until I have a good reason to migrate. No worry, no hurry, and figure it all out at your own speed.
This article, "Crash course: Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud," was originally published at ITworld. For the latest IT news, analysis and how-tos, follow ITworld on Twitter and Facebook


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A super comic. I laughed many times and I didn't cry but often I wanted to do both.
The Rising Sun Arts Centre - Reading
Jessica Cheetham is the founder and Artistic Director of Spun Glass Theatre, their show STAMP was hugely successful at Vault Festival last year and is returning to Clapham Omnibus this February. Female Arts' Amie Taylor caught up with Jess to find out a little more of what she's been up to.
The Breakup Monologues - Guest feature from comedian Rosie Wilby
Reading Fringe Festival returns to Reading this week from Tues 18th to Sunday 23rd July. Here are our female led picks of the Reading fringe.
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Olly Murs Releases 'Heart Skips a Beat' Hand-Heart Fan Video (EXCLUSIVE)
Over the last week, Murs has been collecting hand-heart photographs from fans around the world for a "Heart Skips a Beat" fan video — and Celebuzz is happy to premiere the completed project.
Watch Murs' official "Heart Skips a Beat" hand-heart fan video above!
The 28-year-old singe, who already has a thriving career in the UK, is now poised to take America by storm, much like his pals One Direction.
He's currently gearing up for his upcoming U.S. album release, while his third UK studio album is slated to drop in November. If that wasn't enough, he recently opened for One Direction on the the North American leg of their Up All Night Tour.
After traveling across the States, the charismatic Brit told Celebuzz that the only thing he loved more than American food was the overwhelming support he received from fans here in the States.
"I thought it was going to be a lot harder for me to win these guys over, but it's actually been a lot easier than I expected," he said. "It's been easy to just go out there and have fun on stage. That's all credited to social networking I suppose and One Direction, and people tweeting. It's just been a really great, great tour."
Murs will perform on Good Morning America on Sept. 28.
Can you spot your hand heart in the video? Let us know in the comments!


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What happen when wound is not therapeutic at adjectives?
I had a repair for a large incisional hernia 6 months ago, following a hysterectomy and radiotherapy for womb cancer ( all removed).. The op go OK but then within a month I was rear in hospital with a wound infection and on IV antibiotics for two weeks. Since then, near has been an enormous amount of leak, lots of minor infections, I have district nurses change the dressing every day but sometimes it leak so much the dressing has to be c hanged by me ( not easy) in between times. I have an ultrasound scan a month ago which showed a 3cm sinus cavity deep in my abdomen and a pathway up to the wound, The consultant doesn't appear concerned, she says when the sinus closes the wound will, but it is showing no signs of closing.
I am told if it is not Ok by October, the consultant will have to ' go in' and settlement with it but it is unclear what will be done and why , if something could be done, it hasn't already been done. My abdominal nouns is very sore from all these dressings.
There seems nought on the net about this sort of thing.
Gosh so sorry to hear your suffering with this. I would read aloud that your consultant is not great if he is not telling you what your having done and why and if i were you I would find the number to his secretary and vote you want clarification. Look up what your rights are in terms of patient strength (PALS liaison service NHS is good if your in the UK). The only article I can think to suggest is Manuka Honey. Please google it and see what you think. You could take it internally or probably topical application may help you as well. Have a read about it and see what you guess. Source(s): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/378786…
You need to boost your immune system following all the antibiotics which will enjoy killed all the good microbes. If I were you I would take a high dose probiotic supplement (high dose for a couple of weeks afterwards continue taking probiotic supplements for several months), a product called Yeast Balance which you can buy at http://www.detoxonline.co.uk (and the probiotic), a high dose of vitamin C (say 2,000mg), Essential fatty acids supplement, a moral quality antioxidant (again the best I have found is at the same site - it have 22 fruits and vegetables in it and 4 tablets are equivalent to five a day - quite expensive but worth it if it works) and a vitamin D supplement (lots of those are short of it right now). It would also help to take garlic supplements which are antibacterial, anti-fungal, good for your heart and your cholesterol etc. My mum have a big ulcer in the sole of her foot which persisted for several years regardless of what the doctors did. I put her on the above regime and the carbuncle was just about gone after a week or so, so it's worth giving it a jump. It's important that you eat a good diet too so no proper carbohydrates, sugar etc and plenty of fruit, veg and good quality protein and make sure you drink plenty of wet - it will all help. Good luck!
you may requirement a second opinion try a different hospital
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Travis Rowley: This Economy Is Gay
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Said no one ever.
But that is the essential contention made by Richard Florida in "The Rise of The Creative Class," and a claim that is encapsulated and reinforced within this week's column by GoLocalProv MINDSETTER Rob Horowitz – a typically fair-minded liberal.
Horowitz even confronts the unrestrainable mockery often caused by Florida's study: "[Florida] is not making the absurd argument, as some critics have caricatured, that gays and lesbians directly generate high technology growth."
While Horowitz seems determined to split hairs between "directly" and "indirectly," Florida certainly is positing the idea that the presence of homosexuals catapults a tech economy.
"Florida's persuasive case backed up by compelling data," Horowitz explains, "is that the proportion of gays in a community is a strong sign of the openness and tolerance that attracts knowledge workers and young entrepreneurs."
Don't "knowledge workers and young entrepreneurs" contribute greatly to "high technology growth"?
Well there you go then. It seems quite clear that Florida has determined that an influx of "knowledge workers and young entrepreneurs" – attracted to urban areas due to their gay populations – is always a jolt to a region's economy.
Even if that is not Florida's finding, that's certainly how progressives like Governor Lincoln Chafee decode such studies, arguing for years now that policies that send signals of openness to illegals and homosexuals are key proponents of economic vitality.
And Horowitz agrees.
"Young highly educated workers," he explains, "are more attracted to cities than suburbs" – that is, "as a general rule."
But the city was the city well before the concept of "gay marriage" was even conceived.
So what drove the youngsters to the urban playground before our latest political fad?
Maybe it was the music.
Horowitz doesn't forget to add that "the concentration of artists, designers and musicians in a particular area…also correlates positively with the growth of new technology in a particular area. A threshold percentage of these folks contribute as well to the kind of varied and interesting street life that attracts skilled technology workers and companies."
Yeah, you can't find music anywhere in Coventry!
It's difficult not to realize that behind all of this new social science is the old canard that, if the stiff Republican prudes were ever to take hold of the nation's cities, then somehow the music would stop – like some sort of scene out of Footloose.
"This critical sub-set of the workforce," Horowitz continues, "tends to settle in communities where there is a diversity of ethnic groups and lifestyles, a vibrant street life including a broad range of music and art options and plentiful outdoor recreational opportunities."
Geez, you would think someone from the City of Providence would have created PlayStation-8 by now.
As Horowitz outlines, "The high quality and variety of art and music ranging from RISD's Art Museum to Lupo's, along with plentiful recreation options including beaches that are close-by make the Providence metro area attractive. And the recent adoption of same sex marriage legislation, along with the rising and visible Latino population, is another indicator of the area's openness and diversity."
All of this should "give Providence and its surrounding towns an important economic asset to maximize."
But with such a liberal culture here in Providence and Rhode Island as a whole, what can we decide has gone wrong? Why is the Ocean State so poor? Why do young college graduates flee the state?
Horowitz – without abandoning the whole "music and diversity will make us wealthy" nonsense – goes on to admit that "while 'quality of place' is increasingly important to economic growth, it is by no means the only factor. Other factors such as business-friendliness, tax structure, access to capital, and the cost of energy still play important roles, along with the over-all quality of the workforce."
So, basically, reducing tax rates, downsizing government authority, and subjecting the fields of energy and education to the forces of competition are also determinants of economic growth and city migration.
Even if one concedes that gay sex, street hipsters, and inexplicable sculptures are essential to a region's prosperity, according to Horowitz it's clear that what is missing in Providence – what would attract more spirited entrepreneurs – is a good dose of Republicanism.
Go figure, people want to be free. Now there's something that plenty of people have said before.
Travis Rowley (TravisRowley.com) is the author of The RI Republican: An Indictment of the Rhode Island Left.
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If you want to start a Tourism Venture in Kerala, please remember the following points -
If you are looking for a relatively new destination for investment, Vythiri, Wayanad would be a good choice.
It is better not to purchase reclaimed land (especially Chemmen Kettu area), as the cost of construction will double!
For more details, write to us.
Focus on Marketing
Though your product may be competent & able to capture business, in the introductory stage, the money needed to be pumped into market is relatively high. Sufficient amount has to be allotted for marketing even before launching the product. Because, if you fail to catch the market in the introductory stage, your product will be a failure and others will take advantage of that.
A good marketing budget has to be prepared with the help of a chartered accountant & tourism marketing expert well in advance.
For more details, write to us
Backwater & Beach Ayurveda Agenda
Please note that the above mentioned two terms determine the future of Kerala Tourism. Every effort in promoting backwater tourism ventures & ayurveda brings good results with a reasonably low gestation period. Many water based tourism projects in this website are ideal for the backwater & ayurveda tourism industry.
The question is- why have we mentioned these ayurvedic concepts - backwater & beach ayurveda? If we look into the success story of ayurvedic resorts, beach & backwater ayurvedic resorts are doing very well in selling their concept. This is because apart from ayurveda, foreign tourists want to experience two important attractions of Kerala viz. backwaters & the beaches. Ayurvedic treatment consumes only two hours of a day. The remaining time can be spent enjoying the beaches & backwaters. The most successful aurvedic resorts like Somatheeram (Kovalam beach), Manaltheeram (Kovalam beach), Coconut Bay(Kovalam beach), Keraleeyam (Alleppey backwaters), Kayaloram (Alleppey backwaters), etc are the best examples.
So if you start ayurveda projects, it is better to club it with beaches. Our unique project ayurvedic house boat is an ideal option.
For more details, write to us.
Manpower options
It is always a must to appoint tourism professionals in the industry to ensure quality service to the guests. For guest management & tour operation, it is better to depend on candidates from government managed institutions like KITTS, IITTM etc. For middle level management section in hotels & resorts, candidates from hotel management institutes should be fine. It is always better to choose well experienced and result oriented candidates for the superior posts of general manager, sales & marketing departments.
As far as water based tourism projects are concerned, select local residents who are familiar with water based tourism activities, so that local issues can be solved by them easily. For example, if a house boat damages a fishing net in the backwaters, and if the crew belong to that area, they can solve the issue amicably. Also in house boats and other related products, the appointment of a cook is very important. He should also be a local resident so as to be able to make tasty traditional Kerala food, the way mother makes it. Such authentic cuisine is being promoted in these boats rather than the Continental or Chinese.
The success of each & every project depends on full cooperation of the locals in that locality. A hidden agenda may always cause serious problems in implementing the scheme in a time bound manner. From the start, it is good to invite local participation and make locals aware that it is their project and illustrate the advantages which they stand to gain if the project is implemented. If the locals themselves take charge of that project, then it is a winner .Try and give maximum job opportunities to the locals (skilled, lower & middle segment) while implementing the project. This is a very important point and if you ever forget this aspect, remember the fate of Bekal tourism!
It is now fashionable to start so-called tourism projects, only for getting Government subsidies. You may win short term in that game, but loose in the long term.
For more details, write to us.
Beware of imitation!
If one heritage resort is set up in typical Kerala style at a destination, the next day an exact replica of the same near the original one will come up with out even changing the lay out & plan…. If one starts a two bedroom house boat another might do the same, not even changing the roof pattern! Why this copying? Do we lack concept and ideas? Or are saving time & cost? Whatever may be the reason, it is an unhealthy practice.
Thanks to Mr.Babu Varghese who has set up the first Houseboat in the backwaters & the first Tree-top hut in Wayanad.
Thanks to Mr. Jose Domenic, who has created a revolution in Kerala Tourism by the setting up the first Heritage resort - Coconut Lagoon, Kumarakom, Kerala!
Thanks to Mr.Basu, who has set up the first 10-bedroom house boat in kerala- VAIKUNDAM
Thanks to Mr. Narayanan who has set up the first Floating island resort at Poovar, Kerala.
Thanks to Mr.Jose who as has started the first nature resort in Vythiri, VYTHIRI RESORT, Wayanad, Kerala.
Thanks to Mr.Varghese & Kurian, Tourist Desk who have created a revolution, introducing country craft canal cruise at Cochin & unique theme villas in remote destinations like Ezhara beach at Kannur, Tholpetty sanctuary, Top station at Munnar.
Thanks to Mr.Anoop who has started the first art café at Fort Cochin, Kerala
Thanks to Mr.Captain Chacko owner of Munkotta island, the 1 st independent & full fledged farmhouse for tourists….
Such people are limited. Try and become a unique contributor to Kerala Tourism -not an imitator. TICK will guide you to fulfill your dream.
Copyright © 2003-2006 Callaway Alliance, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Tick kerala


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Salt Lake County police and fire authorities responded to upper Corner Canyon near Draper on Friday morning after a 65-year-old man fell from his bike.
The man was unresponsive according to others who were in the area and called 911 at 10:42 a.m., said Unified Fire Authority Capt. Clint Mecham.
Mecham said people at the scene had reported performing CPR on the man, who appeared to be taking some breaths but apparently had no pulse.
A helicopter initially had been called, but was cancelled as of about 11:30 a.m., Mecham said.
The Salt Lake Tribune will update this story as more information becomes available.


text: 5. Bove's Beef Back off Bove! We here at the Dumbest Lab totally agree with you that the SEC's reported inquiry into JPMorgan Chase's ( JPM) Chinese hiring practices is inane and pointless. We're down with you on that, Dick. Still, your conspiracy theory that "the government, along with its press free-riders" are methodically plotting to deconstruct the nation's biggest bank, well, sorry to say, that makes you sound insane and paranoid. Bove, who joined Rafferty Capital Markets as an equity research VP after his previous company Rochdale Securities imploded last fall as a result of an unauthorized trade, accused the United States government of making it "a priority" to break up JPMorgan Chase Monday in response to the The New York Times article that the bank had illegally hired the children of Chinese officials to help it gain business in China. Shares of the bank fell nearly 3% Monday to $51.83. JPMorgan is said to have hired the son of a former Chinese banking regulator who is the chairman of the China Everbright Group, a state-controlled financial conglomerate, according to the Times. After the son's hiring, the bank won assignments from the Chinese conglomerate. In another case, the Times said JPMorgan's office in Hong Kong hired the daughter of a Chinese railway official just as a state-controlled construction company that builds railways for the Chinese government was selecting the New York-based bank to advise it on going public. "This would be a first since it is not illegal for a company to hire a child of a prominent official. Moreover, it is interesting since this is a normal practice in China and I believe, for that matter, the United States," said Bove. No argument there, Dick. We can't remember the last time we've heard regulators go off on a goose chase so shockingly stupid. Next thing you know the SEC will tell us that there is gambling going on at Rick's Café! Not that we're crazy about the practice of JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon hiring well-connected kids to win him favors mind you. We do believe in merit. However, we also do live. And we do breathe. And we do know that this is the cost of doing business and not a terribly onerous one compared to some of the other nasty things going on out there. (Oh, and if you are reading this Laura Dimon, then definitely give us a call. We loved your poop piece in The Daily Beast and we would love to interview your dad ... sorry, excuse us ... we would love to talk to you about doing some work for us.) All that said, the rest of Bove's assertion that Uncle Sam is hell bent on breaking up JPMorgan is positively cockeyed. If the government wanted to bust up the bank, it could have and it would have. But it hasn't and it won't and we've seen the campaign contributions and lobbying cash to prove it. Let's be serious. All Uncle Sam is trying to do is put a leash on the monster it helped create. The bank has done nothing but grow in the past five years with the blessing -- and outright boosting -- of its benefactors in Washington, DC. The stock is up 36% since August 2008 and now sports a $194 billion market cap. The Fed essentially fed Bear Stearns and Wamu to Jamie Dimon during the depths of the financial crisis, vowing to absorb any losses and wave anti-trust actions, so Bove should cut the hysterics. Jamie and the government are doing just fine by each other. Even sillier is his claim that the press has served as the Obama Administration's lap dog to accomplish its goal of cracking up the company. "One wonders when the press will decide to provide a balanced look at the actions of the government against this company. It clearly misled investors when the "London whale" story broke causing investors to lose of millions of dollars under the theory that this company is mismanaged and that its earnings were likely to fall. Both arguments, of course, have been proven to be untrue," railed Bove. Um, excuse us Dick. But we members of the press didn't lose $6.2 billion dollars in what is now being characterized as a rogue trade. JPMorgan's unsupervised, free-trading gang in London created that "tempest in a teapot" themselves and the bank's CEO back in New York didn't have a clue as to what they were up to. Dimon seemed to think there was risk management going on across the pond, just like the folks at AIG ( AIG) probably thought there was somebody over there keeping tabs on Joe Cassano's disastrous derivative trades. Moreover, simply because JPMorgan Chase is big enough to easily absorb a hit that big doesn't mean the general public is better off because of it. In fact, it means the exact opposite. One would think that Dick would be less dismissive of the London Whale trading scandal considering his former firm was smashed to bits last year over a rogue Apple ( AAPL) trade gone awry. That's apparently a lesson he has chosen not to learn. On that same note, one would think the bank analyst named Bove who called Lehman Brothers "one of the best companies on Wall Street" and reiterated his "buy" rating on the stock in September 2008 when it was $7.25 a share and sinking would be a bit more concerned with the consequences of another Too Big To Fail bank. Both on the global economy, as well as his reputation. Prev 0 of 5 Next


text: Doing Business and Investing in Serbia 2013 guide is intended for anyone planning to invest or already investing in Serbia. This is a comprehensive overview of actual Tax, Legal and Financial issues as well as economical, demographical and political situation in the country. Updated are all relevant laws and legislation concerning potential investors. You can use this publication as a good foundation for starting up a business in Serbia and, for all related questions or comments, please contact our office.


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by Staff Writers
Moscow (AFP) March 25, 2016
Russia will deploy a range of coastal missile systems on the far-eastern Kuril islands, claimed by Japan, as part of its military build-up in the region, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Friday.
"The planned rearmament of contingents and military bases on Kuril islands is under way. Already this year they will get Bal and Bastion coastal missile systems as well as new-generation Eleron-3 unmanned aerial vehicles," Shoigu said during a ministry meeting.
Russia has been investing in military infrastructure on the Kuril islands, which Japan considers its territory, over the last few years, including building new barracks for personnel.
Shoigu said at the meeting that the military is focusing on "developing military infrastructure in the Arctic and Kuril island zones."
Relations between Moscow and Tokyo have been strained for decades because of the status of the four southernmost islands in the Kuril chain, known as the Northern Territories in Japan.
The Russian navy's Pacific fleet next month will embark on a three-month mission to the Kurils to explore whether the islands could serve as a naval base as well.
This year and next year Russia is set to put up more than 350 buildings for military needs on the Kuril islands of Iturup and Kunashir, called Etorofu and Kunashiri in Japan.
Some 19,000 Russians live on the remote rocky islands, which were occupied by Soviet troops in the dying days of World War II.
The two countries have never officially struck a peace treaty and the lingering tensions over the issue have hampered trade ties for decades.
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You ready for some sloth overload?
It's always been my favorite animal. With a constant smile, this, the slowest and most vulnerable of all mammals took my heart at an early age. Every once and a while I indulge in a sloth filled afternoon. (my older sloth posts [1] [2])
My defense, as I like to say here, let's chalk it up to Biology and call it science. Deal? Deal.
Bath Time for Baby Sloths
Nick Baker and Pygmy Sloth
Pygmy three-toed sloth swimming
Video Credit: BBC/Animal Planet/Discovery/Sloth Sanctuary and...
...begin run on sentence venting...
First vid, new, found on Io9, who credits Super Punch only, who credits ZooBorns only, who finally credits the ACTUAL SOURCE The Sloth Sanctuary, (kudos) all strangely bypassing Animal Planet, who I'd think everyone would point to in the first place, as they're the publisher, what's wrong with you guys?
...end run on sentence venting...
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The Loach Forum Archives (2)
Posted By: Dan Parr <firstname.lastname@example.com>
Date: Sunday, 12 December 1999, at 12:42 a.m.
This may be a really stupid question, but what is a Pleco? Is it short for Plecostamus? Thanx.
Messages In This Thread


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Install them and it should workCode:slapt-get --install all
Still no worky however my mplayer is working much better so the upgrade helped. now its in english but i seem to be missing some codecs
The ffmpeg command worked fine i just want to add music to either the .ogg file before I convert it or to the .avi after I convert it. I guess I could take it to the windows station and do it but I would like to do it all here on my lappy.Code:pureh@te ~ # mencoder out.ogg -o movie.avi -ovc lavc -oac lavc MEncoder dev-SVN-r25196-4.1.2 (C) 2000-2007 MPlayer Team CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU T7200 @ 2.00GHz (Family: 6, Model: 15, Stepping: 6) CPUflags: Type: 6 MMX: 1 MMX2: 1 3DNow: 0 3DNow2: 0 SSE: 1 SSE2: 1 Compiled for x86 CPU with extensions: MMX MMX2 SSE SSE2 success: format: 0 data: 0x0 - 0xa223bbd [Ogg] stream 0: video (Theora v3.2.0), -vid 0 [Ogg] stream 1: audio (Vorbis), -aid 0 Ogg file format detected. VIDEO: [theo] 1024x768 24bpp 20.000 fps 0.0 kbps ( 0.0 kbyte/s) [V] filefmt:18 fourcc:0x6F656874 size:1024x768 fps:20.00 ftime:=0.0500 ========================================================================== Opening audio decoder: [ffmpeg] FFmpeg/libavcodec audio decoders AUDIO: 22050 Hz, 2 ch, s16le, 172.0 kbit/24.37% (ratio: 21497->88200) Selected audio codec: [ffvorbis] afm: ffmpeg (FFmpeg Vorbis decoder) ========================================================================== Opening video filter: [expand osd=1] Expand: -1 x -1, -1 ; -1, osd: 1, aspect: 0.000000, round: 1 ========================================================================== Opening video decoder: [ffmpeg] FFmpeg's libavcodec codec family [theora @ 0x878e4f0]Missing extradata! Could not open codec. VDecoder init failed :( Opening video decoder: [theora] Theora/VP3 VDec: vo config request - 1024 x 768 (preferred colorspace: Planar YV12) VDec: using Planar YV12 as output csp (no 0) Movie-Aspect is 1.33:1 - prescaling to correct movie aspect. videocodec: libavcodec (1024x768 fourcc=34504d46 [FMP4]) Selected video codec: [theora] vfm: theora (Theora (free, reworked VP3)) ========================================================================== [mp2 @ 0x878e4f0]bitrate 224 is not allowed in mp2 Couldn't open codec mp2, br=224. Exiting... pureh@te ~ #
Install them and it should workCode:slapt-get --install all
Do I need to prefix usr or is it a installer? I obviously dont have it yet however I thought I'd ask.
just use slapt-get
Now you slackware 12 its worth getting gslapt as well because it lets you search for packages with keywords etcCode:slapt-get --install all
Nope same error. Am I using the right arguments with the command
mencoder out.ogg -o movie.avi -ovc lavc -oac lavc
Run it through lives and add some sound first sorry thats your error
Thats my point I do not no how to do that. I have a wma file and a .ogg file so how do i combine the two to make a .avi with sound?
Now run it and open the .ogg file and wait about 30 mins or so. Go through the menu adding audio, effects ETC and then file >> encode.Code:slapt-get --install lives
This should rewrite your .ogg file with a new vid with sound, then mencode that file and you are done.
When I try to run lives it says my hw:0 playback device is in use and then it gives me a jack error
And try againCode:killall -9 artsd


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Andy Murray is hoping to lay down a marker for Wimbledon by lifting his first grasscourt title at the Aegon Championships at Queen's Club this week.
The 22-year-old is the first British player ever to be No1 seed at Queen's Club and his chances of victory have been enhanced by the withdrawal of the world No1, Rafael Nadal.
Murray, the world No1, said: "The grasscourt season has always been good fun for me. The Queen's Club tournament has an unbelievable history and it's the perfect preparation for Wimbledon. Playing on grass presents a different sort of challenge to the rest of the season and it's a good marker for me to see where my game's at."
Like all of the top eight seeds, Murray has a bye into the second round, where he will face either Italy's Andreas Seppi or American Robby Ginepri.
The eighth seed, Mardy Fish, is a probable last-eight opponent for the French Open quarter-finalist, who also has the fourth seed, Gael Monfils, and the former world No1 Marat Safin in his half of the draw.
In the bottom half, a meeting between the four-times champions Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt beckons in the third round. If Roddick, seeded No2, comes through that he is likely to face a Croatian, with the rising star Marin Cilic seeded to meet big-serving Ivo Karlovic – a finalist in 2005.
Roddick, who has looked revitalised this year, is a big fan of the tournament.
"I've had a lot of success at the Queen's Club over the years and it's always nice to come back here," said the American. "I've gotten to know a lot of people and I've always said that these are the best grass courts in the world."
Murray will not be the only home player in action as James Ward and Josh Goodall have both been awarded wild cards, while five other Britons are trying their luck in qualifying.
Ward, the British No4, has been rewarded for his victory in a Challenger tournament on clay in Sarasota last month and will face the former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis in the first round.
Britain's No3, Goodall, reached the semi-finals at the Aegon Trophy in Nottingham this week and is optimistic of beating Gilles Muller in round one at Queen's.
"Gilles is a great player but I beat the guy he lost to this week so I can take confidence from that," said Goodall, who could meet Murray in round three. "I don't think he plays that great on grass."


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It is an indisputable fact that I'm a perfectionist. I obsess over the most minute and tangential details. I ruminate on the inane. I become so preoccupied with the particulars that I lose sight of the big picture. Whoever coined the phrase, "You can't see the forest for the trees" was definitely referring to someone like me.
My first time having sex, however, caught me more than a little off guard. Despite my best laid plans—plans that involved losing my virginity in a suite at the Ritz to someone of Jared Leto caliber—it happened spontaneously, and I had no control over the details. When my crush whipped out the condom he'd been trying to use on me for the last six months, I surprised both of us when, this time, I didn't say no. The imperfections quickly became apparent as I began my characteristic, stream-of-consciousness obsessing. This hurts. Is it too late to enter a convent? Can Jews enter convents? I'm going to need stitches. If I have to get stitches, then my mom is going to find out. If my mom finds out, I am totally going to be grounded. Why is he still wearing that stupid hat? I am going to rip that dumb thing off his head. That's better. Wait' what the heck is this music? Is this Cypress Hill? I'm losing my virginity to Cypress Hill?! Read more …
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This journal works perfectly in a On Ramp or Foundations program and we can customize it for affiliates looking for a specialized program. Wholesale pricing is available.
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Ice Age not only marks the beginning of a journey into the feature animation world for Blue Sky, but is also the fulfilment of a vision that began in 1993 when the studio was formed by Ice Age Director Chris Wedge. Although founded as a commercial animation studio producing animation for television commercials, Blue Sky had a vision of creating feature-length movies. The studio received critical acclaim in 2000 when its animated short 'Bunny' won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short. Now a division of Fox Animation, Blue Sky has reached the goal of producing an original feature-length animation with Ice Age. "It was not easy, but we did it," says Ice Age Co-Director Carlos Saldanha. "It took us nine years to build up the structure that allowed us to make this movie."
The story and concept for Ice Age is simple. Three unlikely characters, a mammoth, a sloth and a saber-toothed tiger, are thrown together through circumstances to return a human baby to his parents while an impending ice age is constantly buffeting the quest.
The film went through an evolutionary process during production. For starters, Blue Sky faced the arduous task of converting an existing production pipeline suited for small projects, to a pipeline capable of handling a feature film. Blue Sky's production pipeline had always been fairly straightforward as the company mostly dealt with television commercials with production timeframes ranging from one week to one year. Ice Age, however, proved a whole new ballgame and required the company to restructure itself, hiring more than 200 staff at the peak of production. For the most part, the changes to the production pipeline involved taking the existing and extending it to handle the movie. "We learned a lot as we went through the process," says Saldanha. "It was very hard but in the end we came up with a very good structure that worked."
Image: An acorn-crazy pre-historic saber-toothed squirrel known as 'Scrat' reacts to the onslaught of a new Ice Age.
One of the key characteristics of Ice Age is that it sports a very stylised animation look and feel. "We wanted to make the movie different from anything else, something that people had never seen," explains Saldanha. "This required stylised characters." At the concept level, Blue Sky already had predefined characters such as Manny the mammoth, voiced by Ray Romano of Everybody Loves Raymond and Diego the saber-toothed tiger played by Denis Leary, which were based on existing creatures. In these cases, Blue Sky made frequent trips to the Museum of Natural History to look at skeletons as reference for character rigging and movement. Blue Sky also studied animals that were similar, such as elephants in the case of the mammoth and tigers for the saber-toothed cat. Other characters, however, had to either be invented or characterised from existing creatures. For example, Sid (John Leguizamo) is meant to be a sloth but in order to serve the story, he was given human characteristics such as biped movements, mannerisms and hand movements.
One such character that was 'invented' is Scrat, the saber-toothed squirrel that unceasingly makes futile attempts to guard his acorn. Scrat (whose grunts and moans are actually voiced by Director Chris Wedge) was originally created to set the tone for Ice Age with a hilarious opening sequence to the film that sees him trying to bury his precious nut, unwittingly setting off an avalanche. Scrat originally was not part of the script, but after the resounding success of his opening sequence as a theatrical trailer, more comedic sequences of his misadventures were used to connect major scenes in the film.
Our three unlikely heroes embark on a quest to return a human baby to his parents.
No ordinary sloth, Sid takes on many human mannerisms and characteristics - making for some hilarious moments in Ice Age.
To Saldanha, the most challenging aspect of Ice Age was the ever-evolving storyline. From day one till the last day of the project, the story was constantly changing. The original script was a drama without much comedy but this changed as the story evolved and required much more comedic moments in animation. The ending for the film was also switched at the last minute for the movie to end on a more comical note with another of Scrat's escapades. As the story was fixed or changed, production had to adapt quickly in order to stay within the available time and resources. Much so that became a balancing act where the directors had to be careful with what to change and what affected the story as a whole.
Technically, Blue Sky faced challenges with fur effects. It was originally intended that only the main characters would require fur, but once the technical solution was found, just about all the characters had fur. This was also the case with the effect of running water in rivers and waterfalls. Once a solution was found to create the effect, more running water shots were used in the film.
All modelling and animation was produced with Alias|Wavefront Maya, with many proprietary Blue Sky plug-ins developed to extend the feature set. Such plug-ins include tools for facial expressions, lip sync and one for follow-through animation that saved a lot of time. Blue Sky used their own in-house renderer named CGI Studio, which was able to give a good range of styles from hyper-real to stylised. For Ice Age, specialised extensions to CGI Studio that allowed fur effects and running water were developed as the film required.
Blue Sky's success at the box office is only secondary to the fulfillment of the original dream to create feature animations. This passion and intrinsic drive to overcome the odds even reflects in production. "We went through a nightmare of setting up the pipeline for the movie and training people for it," reflects Saldanha. "But everything was worth it because we went with an objective and we achieved it. It's very fulfilling when you see the project complete."
Image: Meet the weirdest herd of any age: (from left) Diego the saber-toothed tiger, Sid the sloth and Manfred the woolly mammoth.
For Carlos Saldanha, the completion and success of Ice Age also marks a milestone in a journey that began eleven years ago when the young Brazilian computer science graduate moved to New York to study animation. "At the time, I didn't know what I was going to do," says Saldanha. "I had a computer science major but I loved art. I figured that the best field would combine these two skills, so I packed my bags, moved to New York and took on a Masters in Animation. When I entered this industry I didn't know that I could even do animation, but I went for it, worked hard and this is where I am today. Try to figure out what your vision and goal is, go for it, and don't give up." [3DF|CGN]
Discuss the movie 'Ice Age' on CG Talk - Digital Effects Professionals
Words: Leonard Teo
Special thanks to Carlos Saldanha and Linda Zazza of Blue Sky Studios.
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Barry Ready to Sit Out Season Rather Than Play on Warriors
OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 11 (UPI) Rick Barry, the National Basketball Association's leading scorer last season who jumped to the new American Basketball Association, announced today that he would sit out the 196768 season.
September 12, 1967
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Event description
The objective of this Revit training course is to give delegates the skills to use the tools and advanced techniques for creating complex designs and professional looking renders, creating and customising objects and collaborating on designs with other members of their team using Revit Architecture.
This course offers both imperial and metric hands-on exercises representing real-world architectural design scenarios.
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The cochineal insect of Mexico and Central America is solely nurtured by the native growth of cacti.
Here the cactas is grown for the sake of the cochineal insect.
The Mexicans wove many kinds of cotton cloth, sometimes using as a dye the rich crimson of the cochineal insect.
In hot climates, in which the cochineal insect delights, it has been preserved, and is cultivated as an article of commerce.
The circumstances attending the birth of the cochineal insect are very curious.
It is the colour of the dye produced from the dried bodies of the cochineal insect (Coccus cacti).
It is in this membranous cradle that the larv of the cochineal insect are born.
The cochineal insect, which feeds on the leaves of the prickly pear, is cultivated for its brilliant dye.
Carmine, kr′mīn, n. the red colouring principle obtained from the cochineal insect.
The cactus is cultivated for the production of the cochineal insect.


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Yet the fact remains that someone has taught each of these young rapists that white, non-Muslim Australian women are to be despised.
The Lebanese-Christian who owns the fruit shop I go to does not think Australian women are sluts. The few Muslim-Australians I know well enough to think of as friends do not, I am fairly sure, believe this either. But as one who is subjected to self-righteous lectures from Muslim women - educated, well-off Muslim women - whenever I write about the human rights abuses of women in the name of Islam, it is possible for me to conclude that if they do not believe we are immoral, they do think we are less virtuous than they are.
It is you (non-Muslim women) who are oppressed because you are slaves to fashion and because you expose your bodies, while we, in our modest dresses and with our heads covered, are protected from "men's glances", they write.
The decadence and materialism of Western society is frequently pointed out, as is the prevalence of sexual violence here compared with Muslim countries. (I can imagine there would not be many reports of rape in countries where four male witnesses are needed to prove the rape happened, and where if rape cannot be proved the complainant is punished for adultery).
But a letter in The Sunday Age last week makes me wonder just how deep the divide is between secular Australian culture and some Muslims' beliefs.
Dr Amirudin Ahamed, writing about the alleged incompatibility between feminism and the family, states that Islam assigns a single leader to the family - "usually the husband", who needs to "ensure discipline by following a hierarchy of steps" outlined in a verse of the Koran.
The verse to which he refers says in part: "As for those (women) from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and send them to beds apart and beat them."
The principle contained in this verse is odious enough. If Ahamed is talking about its practice, he should know that under Australian law, beating women is a crime. And while some socially conservative Christians might half agree with him about women's more submissive role, under Australian law women and men are equal - whether he likes it or not.
The vast majority of Muslims - including Lebanese Muslims - who are decent and law-abiding should not be smeared by the behaviour of the Sydney gang rapists. But those parents and community leaders who have taught their children that the dominant society is contaminating, that because young women might drink alcohol or dress in tight-fitting clothes they are undeserving of respect, have much to answer for.
It is attitudes like these that build up resentments and prejudice in the wider society. And it is this built-up prejudice and resentment that allows the Federal Government to get away with the repressive and inhumane asylum-seeker policies that shame us all.
Since September 11, Muslim women have been abused and had their headscarves torn off in the street. This, like rape, is based on the idea that it is acceptable to project whatever hatred you might be feeling on to the bodies of women.
Prejudice against Muslims is now apparently so bad that in a survey taken in Sydney and released last week, more than 50 per cent of respondents said they would be concerned if a close relative married a Muslim. And judging by the common practice of Lebanese-born Muslim men going back to Lebanon to get a bride, bigotry is not confined to Anglo-Australians.
Do we need to talk about this? The media have been accused of breeding hatred by identifying the ethnicity and religion of the rapists. But the rapists themselves identified these as the motivating factor. In such a serious circumstance the media would not be fulfilling their purpose if they covered up this fact for fear of offending some communities.
A country that locks up children is not the kind of Australia I recognise. A country in which fear of the "other" is as prevalent as now is not the Australia I recognise either.
I want to live in a tolerant, multicultural society. But for it to work, multiculturalism requires the goodwill not only of the dominant culture but of all cultures. Tolerance of difference is a two-way street.
Pamela Bone is an associate editor of The Age.
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In this section
Admissions on admittance
Mother and child solution
The feckless in pursuit of the faceless
Affluence erases the suburbs of my childhood
In a cultured society, creed is good
Foreign policy likely to make US relations the most important
The dangers of an unexplained war
Let the defining battle begin
At last, corporate capitalism stares down its demons
Memo Liberals: beware the dog
With child or without, regrets are guaranteed
Those poor little boys - why, Mr Ruddock?
Howard's revenge: how boring became the new cool
Feminism's scorn for 'retro' mothers
The media's obsession with race sheds no light on crime
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Don't Want To Get Raped? Drink Less, Hong Kong Official Suggests
Gee, don't you just love that in the battle to train men to not rape, you have the security secretary of Hong Kong, Lai Tung-kwok, stomping on all our efforts by suggesting women just drink less? I do. It's my favorite. Having the government permit men to not taking responsibility for their actions and place the onus of avoiding sexually assaul on women is just fabulous. Especially when this was the knee-jerk reaction to a 60 percent rise in reported rapes and an 18 percent rise in reported sexual assaults. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the director of the Hong Kong Federation of Women's Centers responded, "There's a lot of stigma that's given to the victims. The remarks he made are proof of a culture that blames victims for doing something 'wrong,' like drinking." The fear is that women won't report abuse because they fear being blamed and shamed. Rape culture, it's great.


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Statistics and Biostatistics Seminars 2000 - 2001
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Prof. Vladimir Vinogradov
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On Exponential Dispersion Models Generated by Positive and Extereme Stable Laws
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Prof. M.C. Agrawal
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Efficient imputation-based predictive ratio-type estimation with sub-sampling of non-respondents
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Prof. Hal Stern
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Prof. Ronald H. Randles
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A Simpler, Affine-Invariant, Multivariate, Distribution-Free Sign Test
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James Rogers
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A bootstrap pairwise comparison for the means of skewed data
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Nonparametric Bayesian Methods For Analyzing Consumer Preference Models
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Prof. David Stoffer
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Evolutionary Spectral Envelope
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Peter Craigmile
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Wavelet Based Estimation for Trend Contaminated Long Memory Processes
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Ms. Fei Zou
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On Empirical Likelihood for a Semiparametric Mixture Model, with Application to Quantitative Trait Loci Analysis
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Jennifer Bryan, Department of Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley, CA
Gene Expression Analysis from DNA Microarrays
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Brian Caffo, Department of Statistics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
A Markov Chain Monte Carlo Algorithm For Approximating Exact Conditional Probabilities
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Lei Sun
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Pedigree Error Detection and Relationship Estimation for Genetic Linkage Studies
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Somesh Chattopadhyay
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A Novel Approach to Estimating Hormonal Pulse-times and Structural Parameters
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Multivariate Survival Trees
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Omer Ozturk
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Rank Regression in Ranked-Set Samples
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Dan Spitzner
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Selecting an Estimator to Meet Multiple Goals in Hierarchical GLMs
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Experimental Design and Statistical Inference for cDNA Microarrays
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Prof. Lynne Stokes
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Estimating the number of classes using auxiliary information
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Ernest Parfait Fokoue
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Aspects of Bayesian Inference by Posterior Simulation for some Latent Structure Models.
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Prof. Dipak Dey, Chair, Department of Statistics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
The Complex Elliptical Distributions with Applications to Shape Analysis
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Dr. Ping Hu
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Estimating the Parameters in the Cox Model when Covariate Variables are Measured with Error
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Using Random Trees to Identify Key Chemical Assemblies Associated with Biological Activity
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Newton and Bayes: Physical-Statistical Modeling of Geophysical Processes
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