text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|May 22, 2001
|Filing date
|Dec 22, 1999
|Priority date
|Oct 29, 1998
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Michael L. Defeo, Jack Denison, John M. Mikkelsen, Peter Truong, Kenneth W. Maier, Bo Xu, Robert J. Burgert
|Original Assignee
|De La Rue International Ltd
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (24), Referenced by (38), Classifications (17), Legal Events (5)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/181,928, filed Oct. 29, 1998, abandoned.
1. Technical Field
The invention relates to methods and apparatus for detecting currency note condition and to currency counting methods and machines, in which a total value of the currency is determined by counting notes of various denominations that may be word, soiled or skewed as they pass through a currency counting machine.
2. Description of Background Art
Many existing currency counting machines determine only the piece count of the currency (i.e., "x" number of bills), leaving it up to the operator to infer the monetary value of the currency being counted. An automated method of determining the denomination of paper currency is a valuable addition to these currency counting machines. With such an automated method, the ease, speed, and accuracy of financial transactions can be increased, thereby increasing the likelihood of detecting both human error and fraud.
United States currency presents unique challenges for denomination recognition by automated methods. Unlike most other currencies, every denomination of currency is printed using the same colors and types of inks, and the physical size of every denomination is likewise identical. As a result, neither the length, width, nor color of a piece of United States currency offers any information regarding that piece's value.
Further challenges arise when attempting to integrate a denomination recognition method into high speed currency counting machines. Typically, the side-to-side position (lateral displacement), orientation (face up or down, top edge leading or trailing), angular skew, and velocity of transport of the notes are poorly controlled.
A light transmissive technique for denomination recognition is disclosed in Kurosawa et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,518. In Kurosawa et al., the image data is processed using a technique involving hyperplanes to separate image data vectors for respective pairs of denominations into two regions. The scanned image data vector is then compared to see which of the two vector regions it is in relative to the hyperplane, and the denomination corresponding to image data in the opposite vector region is discarded. By making several sets of comparisons with image data separated by hyperplanes, the scanned image data is finally identified as being most like one other set of image data for a specific denomination.
The above system limits scanning to specific areas of the note, and thus the above-described recognition system is inherently sensitive to how the note is fed (i.e., the note's lateral position and skew) and note damage.
The above-described recognition system also utilizes hyperplanes (a subset of all correlation techniques) in combination with a binary search technique to determine the category matching the target note. This technique varies from traditional neural networks in which hyperplanes are used in conjunction with other elements to resolve the system in one pass with a higher degree of confidence.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method of detecting the condition of a currency note transported along a path of travel, may include obtaining data from regions expected to define pixels of the note, testing each pixel to detect absence of note material, and when an absence of note material is detected, setting the pixel data to a neutral value, and computing the total area of all pixels set to the neutral value. Therefore, if the total area of all pixels is greater than a first predetermined value, the note is rejected.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, a method of detecting the condition of a currency note transported along a path of travel, may include detecting an amount of light passing through or reflected by the note, and adjusting the amount of light detected based on a specific currency denomination. Therefore, if the adjusted amount of light passing through or reflected by the note is less than a predetermined value, the note is rejected.
The first aspect of the invention enables physical damage to the note to be detected while the second aspect of the invention allows soil effects etc. to be detected.
The invention is particularly suited for use in the detection of note denomination.
The information about the note can be obtained by interrogating it under reflective or transmissive conditions. In the remainder of the specification, the use of transmitted light will be assumed.
In one example, the invention is practiced as a method of detecting the denomination of a currency note transported along a path of travel, including the steps of receiving skew and position data detected by external sensors for sensing the position of the note; assembling a first data image of pixel data representing a two-dimensional image of substantially all of the note while averaging the pixel data into groups of pixel data for further processing; adjusting the first data image to remove the skew; and relating the first data image to a plurality of predefined images according to a mathematical finction to determine whether the data image can be classified as matching any one of the predefined plurality of data images for a specific currency denomination.
Preferably, the invention uses a system of "big" pixels to average the data and to reduce image processing time. Data for the individual pixels, which has been converted from individual analog signals, are grouped in arrays of 3�3 individual pixels to become "big" pixels. An array of 30�11 big pixels substantially covers the area of a note.
In order to achieve the lowest possible unknown and missidentify rates, a further step was developed to minimize the effects of normal note damage. In this step, each of the pixels in the interior area of the note image is checked for an unattenuated signal which denotes the absence of intervening material, i.e., open space. If an open space is detected, (i.e., signifying a hole or tear) that component of the image ignored by setting it to a neutral value. This method creates stable image data with decreased sensitivity to anomalies in the note such as holes, tears, and oil stains thereby significantly improving recognition rates when running teller quality currency.
The recognition technique utilized preferably employs a calculated accuracy estimate (relative entropy) for each category in combination with a empirically determined threshold to set minimum requirements for a "good" match. This technique allows tuning of the recognition system based on end user requirements and external conditions such as note quality.
The fitness technique utilized by the invention performs a hole test to locate any air pixels, calculates the total area of the hole pixels and determines whether the total area of any holes in the note exceeds a predetermined threshold. If the note fails the hole test, it is rejected. If the note passes the hole test, a soil test is performed. In the soil test, the average transmissivity is calculated and normalized according to a particular denomination. If the note fails the soil test the note is rejected. Otherwise, the note passes the fitness test and may be further processed.
To achieve the required note per minute processing requirements for the banking industry, preferably a method for handling negative skews is used to allow processing to occur while the note was passing over the image sensor. This technique utilizes mirror symmetry to change the reference point for the pattern based on the direction of note skew. A note with negative skew is scanned as if it were flipped over, allowing the image of the negatively skewed note to be scanned in real time. Without this technique processing would be delayed until the note completely passed the image sensor, thus delaying response of the system and decreasing throughput.
A technique for calibrating the image sensors is also provided. The technique adjusts the overall LED power, the gains on each photodiode, and performs a secondary two point calibration to calculate the factors required to perform the necessary transform. The end result of this process are pixels scaled between 0 (opaque) and 1 (100% light transmissive) without operator intervention and without the use of light and dark currency samples for calibration.
The invention provides a method and machine with increased tolerance to notes fed at an angle, or skewed, with respect to the feed mechanism of the currency counter.
The invention provides a method and machine with increased tolerance to lateral displacement of the notes, that is, notes fed off-center with respect to the feed mechanism of the currency counter.
The invention provides a method and machine with increased tolerance to currency in poor condition, that is, currency that is worn, torn, faded, or marked.
The invention provides a method and machine which reduces processing time by using big pixels, which are each a 3�3 array of small pixels. If only small pixels were used, the data images contain nine times more data, and computations involving the patterns (i.e., the dot products) would take nine times as long.
Other objects and advantages of the invention, besides those discussed above, will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the description of the preferred embodiment which follows.
In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and which illustrate examples of the invention. Such examples, however, are not exhaustive of the various embodiments of the invention, and therefore, reference is made to the claims which follow the description for determining the scope of the invention.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a currency denomination recognition apparatus of the present invention;
FIG. 1a is a detailed diagram showing certain count sensors, the image sensor and an encoder clock on the currency counter machine seen in FIG. 1;
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a note and the coordinate system for reporting note position;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the overall operation of the apparatus of FIG. 1 according to a stored program; and
FIGS. 4, 5 a, 5 b, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 are detailed flowcharts of the stored program of FIG. 3.
Referring to FIG. 1, the present invention is embodied in a currency recognition apparatus which is interfaced to an external currency counter machine 10. The preferred currency counter machine 10 in this example is the Brandt Model 2800. This machine 10 counts the number of bills or notes, while the apparatus of the present invention detects the denomination of each note 13 and signals it to the currency counter machine 10 for tabulating the final currency value.
The recognition apparatus further includes an imaging sensor section 15, 16 for generating and sensing light signals. As seen in FIG. 1a, the currency counter machine 10 includes a transport mechanism supported between walls, 30, 31 and including drive belt 32 which drives main drive wheels 35, and sets of feed rollers 38, 39, which feed note 13 through the machine 10. Count sensors 33, 34 are located upstream from the imaging sensor section 15, 16. Signals from the count sensor 33, 34 are transmitted through a serial data interface 12, shown in FIG. 1. The serial data interface 12 operates according to the well known RS-232 standard. An encoder clock 37 (FIG. 1a) is coupled to the transport mechanism on the currency counter machine 10 and generates a clock pulse train as a function to time correlated to the known speed of the transport mechanism. This signal is used to track the position of the note, and this signal is received through an encoder interface 11, shown in FIG. 1.
The transport mechanism moves currency notes, such as note 13, in a direction of travel that is generally parallel to the width of a note 13 (as opposed to its length), except that the note 13 may be somewhat skewed from a completely horizontal or transverse position. In order to perform the task of locating, de-skewing, and classifying the notes, the recognition apparatus utilizes note location data from the encoder 37 and skew data from the sensors 33, 34 to determine the location of the note.
The imaging section 15, 16 includes a first circuit board 8 with a 92�1 array of LED (light emitting diode) light sources 15 (FIG. 1) extending collectively a length of nine inches. The LED array 15 is mounted opposite a circuit board 9 carrying an array of 144�1 photodiode detectors 16 (FIG. 1) extending for a comparable length of nine inches. The LEDs are preferably HLMP-6665 and HLMP-6656 LEDs available from Hewlett-Packard, and the photodiodes are preferably the Photodiode Array #180381-8 (available from UDT). The photodiodes 16 are scanned by a microelectronic CPU 14 (FIG. 1) to produce a transmissive image of the bank note 13 being processed. The image is analyzed by the microelectronic CPU 14 to determine the denomination by comparing the scanned image to a plurality of predefined images 20 stored in a memory 18. The microelectronic CPU 14 is preferably the TMS320C32 digital signal processor available from Texas Instruments.
The microelectronic CPU 14 is operated according to a program 19, which is stored in non-volatile programmable read only memory 18 (PROM) along with a set of predefined images 20 for recognition of a set of currency denominations such as $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100. The PROM 18 is preferably of at least 256K bytes data storage capacity. The microelectronic CPU 14 is also connected to the PROM 18 by typical address bus, data bus and control line connections, as well as by buffers (not shown) and a wait state generator (not shown) to account for the different speed of the CPU 14 and the typical integrated circuits used in the apparatus. The CPU 14 is also connected via the above-described connections to a random access memory (RAM) 17 of at least 384K bytes of capacity. The RAM 17 is preferably formed of static RAM circuits, but in other embodiments dynamic RAM circuits could be used if sufficient refresh circuitry and power were available.
Still referring to FIG. 1, the microelectronic CPU 14 is interfaced to the LEDs 15 through a SAMPLE CONTROL circuit 22 and a group of BANK SELECT circuits 21 for sending SELECT signals and ENABLE signals to the LEDs 15. The ninety-two LEDs 15 are divided into nine banks, each having ten LEDs, except the last bank which has twelve. The microelectronic CPU 14 transmits an "initiate sample" (INIT SAMPLE) signal to the LED SAMPLE CONTROL circuit 22 to generate a sequence of timing signals so that the banks of LEDs are turned on sequentially to conserve power. The CPU 14 also transmits data through a D-to-A converter 23, to control a power signal to the LEDs from a LED INTENSITY circuit 7. In this embodiment, the preferred commercial circuit for the D-to-A converter is an AD 7528 eight-bit D-to-A converter available from Analog Devices. The LED INTENSITY control circuit 7 controls the power or intensity of the LEDs 15 according to certain scaling factors to be described for controlling the image data received from scanning a note.
On the light detecting side of the imaging sensor section, the photodetecting diodes 16 are arranged in a 144�1 array. Each diode is connected through a transimpedance amplifier circuit 24 (one per diode), and these circuits 24 perform a current to voltage transformation. Data is received from the photodiodes 16 one at a time in scanning through the 144�1 array. The one hundred and forty-four amplifier circuits 24 connect to nine sixteen-to-one multiplexer (MUX) circuits 25, for sequentially enabling the operation of the diodes 16 and their associated amplifier circuits 24. The multiplexer circuits 25 are controlled through a pixel SAMPLE CONTROL circuit 29, which responds to the initiate sample signal from the CPU 14 to control the sequential operation of the photodiodes 16 in relation to the turning on and off of the banks of LEDs 15. As the diode scan reaches "diode 9" in the first sixteen diodes 16, the second bank of LEDs 15 is turned on, in anticipation of the scan reaching the second group of sixteen diodes 16. As the diode scan reaches "diode 25" in the second sixteen diodes 16, the first bank of LEDs 15 is turned off, and the third bank of LEDs 15 is turned on along with the second bank of LEDs 15 that was previously turned on. In this way the scan sequences through the diodes 16, while turning on pairs of banks of LEDs 15 in a manner so as to provide a consistent light source opposite the moving position of the active diodes 16, while conserving power.
The multiplexers 25 collectively connect to a single analog output channel 26 through which the diode signals are transmitted serially. Each signal represents a "small pixel" in an image map that is stored in the RAM 17 for the note 13 being scanned. The single analog output channel 26 is connected to a PIXEL COMPENSATOR circuit 27. Included in this circuit 27 are amplification, filtering and gain control functions and a gain control input from the D-to-A converter 23 for scaling the pixel signals received from the photodetectors. The pixel signals are analog signals which are converted through an analog-to-digital (A-to-D) converter 28 to provide digitized pixel data to the microelectronic CPU 14. The A-to-D converter 28 is preferably a TM55101 integrated circuit available from Texas Instruments. A pixel SAMPLE CONTROL circuit 29 is connected to receive the initiate sample timing signal from the CPU 14. The pixel SAMPLE CONTROL circuit 29 generates control signals to the CPU 14 to cause gain values to be output via DMA circuitry in the CPU 14 to the PIXEL COMPENSATOR circuit 27. The pixel SAMPLE CONTROL circuit 29 also generates a sequence of signals to the multiplexers 25 such that the pixel signals are received one at a time, converted from analog to digital signals by A-to-D converter 28 and stored in memory. Each set of 144 small pixels forms one row of image data. As the note moves past the array of LEDs 15 and the array of photodiodes 16, successive rows of pixels are imaged for regions 203, 204 as shown in FIG. 1 to provide a two-dimensional array of data in memory which captures substantially the complete image of the note 13 with a few exceptions to be discussed below.
The operation of the apparatus 10 is illustrated in FIG. 3 representing overall operation of the program for the CPU 14. After startup of the denomination recognition portion of the program 19 represented by start block 300, the CPU 14 executes a calibration routine 305 (FIG. 4). After calibrating the imaging section, the CPU 14 executes a block of instructions 310 to scan and read in the raw pixel data and store it in the RAM 17. As part of this process, the CPU 14 executes a film loop manager routine seen in FIG. 6 to scale and process the raw pixel data and store it as an image for further processing. Next, the CPU 14 executes a routine represented by process block 315 to locate the edges of the note 13 and determine the skew of the note 13.
Next, as represented by decision block 320, a test is made to determine if the edge location activities in block 315 were successful. If so, as represented by the "YES" result, processing proceeds to block 330. If unsuccessful in block 320, as represented by the "NO" result, an "edge error" is signaled to the currency counter 10, as represented by process block 325, and the denomination recognition routine is exited as represented by end block 360.. Returning to block 320, after the edges are located and the skew angle is determined, the note is imaged in block 330 using "big" pixels, which is a form of blurring or averaging the image data and desensitizing it to irregularities in the note due to such things as marks, water stains, soiling and damage.
As the image data is assembled in big pixels, it is also de-skewed by applying the skew angle to the scanned image data. Next, the image data is normalized, as represented by process block 335, which means that where holes and tears are detected, the data is set to a neutral value. Then, as represented by process block 340, the scanned image data is related to the predefined image data using a neural network processing algorithm. As represented by decision block 345, the result from the computation in block 340 is tested by comparing the relative entropy of the selected predefined pattern to a specified range or tolerance to see if a "good match," which means an acceptable match, has been detected. If not, a message "UNKNOWN" is output to the currency counter machine 10, as represented by process block 350 and the routine is exited as represented by terminal block 360. Assuming a good match is detected, as represented by the "YES" result from decision block 345, the denomination of the matching category is reported to the currency counter 10 through interface 11, as represented by process block 355, and the denomination recognition portion of the program is exited as represented by end block 360.
Besides the currency recognition portion (FIG. 3) of the program 19, there are other portions for communicating with the currency counter. When the recognition process recognizes a note or when an error occurs, a response is passed to a command processor portion of the program 19 which formats the data and pushes it to the output stream for transmission to the currency counter. Responses can include the denomination of the target note, its orientation, and any error codes generated by the system. As noted above, the recognition system passes commands and data to the controlling system via the serial data interface 12. The physical link is a three wire interface (TX, RX and GND) connected to serial data interface 12, which includes a universal asynchronous transmitter and receiver (UART). The command processor portion of the program 19 controls input and output streams which pass data between the recognition system and the currency counter machine 10.
When an input is received from the currency counter 10, an interrupt service routine picks the character up from the UART and stores it in a variable length packet. Once complete the packet is passed to the command processor of the program 19, which then performs the necessary actions based on the command and responds to the currency counter machine 10 accordingly.
The output function is handled in a similar manner. When data is to be transmitted to the currency counter machine 10, the command processor stores the characters to be sent in a variable length packet. The packet is then passed to an interrupt service routine which feeds the characters to the UART in the serial data interface 12 as each proceeding character is output to the currency counter machine 10.
Referring to FIG. 4, the calibration of the imaging sensor section that was described generally with respect to process block 305 is illustrated in more detail. After beginning the calibration routine, which is represented by start block 400, LED brightness is adjusted by executing instructions represented by process block 410. The gains on the photodiode amplifiers 24 (FIG. 1) are all set to a predetermined, small value. A successive approximation calibration scheme is then used to adjust the LED power until the average response from each pixel is at half scale (128 of 255). This adjusts the LED power to help neutralize component variations and extends the useful life of the LEDs 15 by reducing the power output to an absolute minimum.
To calibrate the photodiode amplifiers 24 (pixel gains), as represented by process block 420 (FIG. 4), the LEDs 15 are set to the power level determined previously. A successive approximation routine is then executed to adjust the gain of the PIXEL COMPENSATOR circuit 27 so that each pixel returns the largest value which is less than a maximum analog value which can be input to the A-to-D converter 28 (5 volts or 255). This process locates the largest gain for each photodiode 16 which does not saturate the sensing and interface circuitry, ensuring that each photodiode 16 is operating in a usable range when not blocked by paper. The one hundred forty-four gain values, referred to as the vector XC, are multiplied by a constant boost factor (2.5) and applied to each photodiode 16 when scanning images. The purpose of the boost factor is to allow the intensity values measured through the note to fill more of the A/D range.
In order to achieve the requirement of scaling the output of each pixel for comparison, a third step of the calibration procedures takes light and dark measurements for each photodiode using the LED power and PIXEL COMPENSATOR circuit gains calculated in the first and second steps described above. The light and dark data is then used to solve a system of equations which yield light and dark scaling factors. These scaling factors, when applied to the analog photodiode reading convert the measurement to an absolute scale ranging from "0" (opaque) to "1" (maximum light transmissivity) which can then be utilized in the recognition system.
The calculation of certain of these scaling factors, referred to as intermediate gain vectors are represented by process blocks 430 are described as follows:
YC Measured Response for Each Pixel Using XC Gain with the LEDs On, and
XC2=XC Gains Divided By 2.
The calculation of still other of these scaling factors, referred to as measured photodiode response vectors are represented by process block 440 and are described as follows:
YC2=Measured Response for Each Pixel Using XC2 Gain with the LEDs On,
XB=Empirically Determined Boosted Gain (2.5�XC), and
YD=Measure Response for Each Pixel Using XB Gain with the LEDs Off.
Using these vectors, the following response vector YB is then calculated as represented by process block 450:
dy/dx=(YC−YC2)/(XC−XC2) (which is the slope of the pixel response vs. gain function), and
YB=YC+dy/dx*(XB−XC), which is the theoretical response for each pixel using the boosted gains (XB) with the LEDs on.
The primary results are the YD and YB vectors which are then used to implement the final compensation stage. In this stage a linear mapping is used to map YD into "0" and YB into "1" to produce a transform in which the transformed pixel values can be compared to each other and to absolute standards corresponding from 0% to 100% light transmissivity.
The mapping uses the equations shown below:
F(X)=C0+(C1*X) where F(X) is the calibration function and X, C0, and
C1 are equal to the following:
X=Vector containing raw analog pixel data.
C0=Dark scaling vector.
C1=Light scaling vector.
C0 and C1 are derived by solving the following set of expressions:
Once these calculations are complete, as represented by process block 460, the LED power level, amplifier gains, and light and dark scaling factors are applied to the circuitry 7, 27 controlling the LEDs 15 and the photodiodes 16.
An advantage of this procedure is that it requires no operator intervention and does not require the use of reference currency samples (light and dark notes). In normal operation calibration occurs when the mechanism stops with the sensor clear (no errors) and whenever a system reset occurs. When the calibration routine is complete, the CPU 14 returns to executing other portions of program 19 as represented by the exit block 470.
Referring to FIGS. 5a and 5 b, the collection of the note image data, which was described generally with respect to process block 310, will now be described in more detail. The imaging process is responsible for scanning each photodiode 16 in order to build the note images required by the recognition process (FIG. 3). When the currency counter's transport mechanism is engaged, the currency counter begins triggering raster scans every 1.6 mm of mechanism travel at a pixel scan rate of 750 kHz. This effectively sizes each small pixel of data as corresponding to a region 1.6 mm in length. The region of each pixels is further sized to about 1.6 mm in width due to the coverage of each of the one hundred forty-four diodes within a linear dimension of nine inches.
The raster scan trigger is provided from the encoder 37 (FIG. 1a) connected to the transport mechanism of the currency counter 10. This device generates a signal for each 1.6 mm of note travel which starts the interrupt service routine illustrated in FIG. 5a commencing with start block 500. During execution of the first process block of this routine 510, the CPU 14 points to an empty raster buffer for storing the data. Then, as represented by process block 520, the CPU 14 sets up to generate a DMA interrupt signal to the CPU 14 (which incorporates DMA circuitry) to rapidly transfer data for a raster scan row. It then begins the scan of the individual photodiodes 16, as represented by process block 530, until a DMA interrupt occurs, which terminates the encoder interrupt as represented by terminal block 540.
During the raster scan operations represented in FIG. 5a, the banks of LEDs 15 (FIG. 1) are turned on and off, as described above, at the power level determined in the calibration stage, while the A-to-D converter 28 (FIG. 1) samples each of the one hundred and forty-four photodiode elements 16 one at a time. Prior to triggering an A-to-D conversion, the previously calculated amplifier calibration factor for the current photodiode 16 is applied to the gain stage of the PIXEL COMPENSATOR circuit 27 (in which there is but one analog channel) prior to coupling the data to the A-to-D converter 28. The A-to-D conversion is then triggered and the system is prepared for reading a signal from the next photodiode 16.
This operation, which is handled in hardware using a direct memory access channel (DMA) to minimize sample to sample latency, scales each analog reading to ensure that the data point is in the usable range of the A/D converter and can be processed by the system. The resulting compensated raster data is then stamped with an encoder value indicating its position and stored in RAM 17 for further processing.
Referring to FIG. 5b, when a DMA interrupt occurs, as represented by start block 550, the CPU 14 sets a flag to denote that a raster scan has been completed, as represented by process block 560, and then saves the raster scan data for one row in a circular buffer called a "film loop" for holding the fully scanned image of a note, as represented by process block 570. The DMA interrupt routine is then completed, as represented by exit block 580, and the CPU 14 returns from the interrupt.
Once raster scans become available from the process in FIGS. 5a and 5 b, a film manager routine seen in FIG. 6 begins to process and maintain the film loop, as represented by start block 600. As represented by process block 610, the next raster row to be processed is loaded into a working register in memory and, as represented by process block 620, dark and light scaling factors are applied to the raw pixel data according to the equation:
where C0 and C1 are the dark and light scaling factors and X is the value of the pixel being calibrated. As described in the calibration process, this normalizes the pixels so that they can be compared to absolute values and to each other. These fully compensated rasters are then stored back into the circular buffer, as represented by process block 630, where the raster data is maintained while being used by the recognition process and then discarded when no longer needed. At such time as the data is discarded, an original raster location is returned to the free memory pool, as represented by process block 640. The process continues by looping back through block 650 to block 610 through block 580 until interrupted by other routines.
Referring to FIG. 7, an image processing routine generally represented by blocks 310, 315 and 320 in FIG. 3 is shown in more detail in FIG. 7. This routine is initiated by a command from the command processor portion of the program 19, and this is represented by start block 700. Two crucial pieces of data are provided by the currency counter 10: the position (encoder value) of the note's leading edge, and the note's skew angle. The image processing routine uses this data in four steps: first, determine the note's exact position (edge finding) (blocks 710-740); second, determine the skew of the note (block 770 and FIGS. 8-9); third, scan pixels into an image map, which is more particularly a feature vector (FIGS. 8-9), and identify the image map by currency denomination (FIG. 10).
The command processor passes the recognition request along with the encoder value at which the leading edge of the note 13 crosses the line between the count sensors 33, 34, along the machine centerline 202, as seen in FIG. 1a. Since the recognition apparatus 10 is provided with the distance (d) between the count sensors 33, 34 (FIG. 1a) and the imaging arrays 15, 16 (FIG. 1a), it knows when the leading edge of the note 13 can be expected to cross the imaging arrays 15, 16. An estimate of the encoder value of the note's center at the imaging arrays 15, 16 is constructed as:
The note center (encoder, at imaging arrays)=note centerline lead (encoder at count sensor, from counter)+distance between count sensors and imaging sensor (encoder)+average note length/2 (encoder).
The execution of a block of the program 19 to locate the note center is represented by process block 710 in FIG. 7. Then, as represented by process block 720, a local pixel coordinate system is established at that estimated note center (encoder). This system has the following desirable parameters:
1) It is a first 'quadrant' system. All coordinates are non-negative.
2) Film pixels have (small) integer coordinates, and the coordinates of adjacent pixels differ by 1. Pixels can be efficiently accessed via array indexing.
3) The leftmost pixel of each raster has an x-axis coordinate of "0", a rightmost coordinate along the x-axis of "143".
4) The coordinate system is optimally centered in the sense that when the raster row with y-axis coordinate "0" is about to be overwritten (in the film loop), the estimated note center (from above) is centered in the loop, with approximately equal amounts of film above and below it (i.e., since the loop has one hundred twenty-eight raster rows, the given note center estimate (encoder) is mapped to pixel y-axis coordinate "64").
The other parameter from the counter is the note's skew. This is expressed as the number of encoder lengths (7.621 encoder lengths 1 mm.) between the leading edge crossings of the two count sensors. It is a signed quantity. Since the recognition apparatus is provided with the distance between the two count sensors, it knows the skew angle. Skew angles are such that: −90 degrees<skew<90 degrees. However, the skew angle is not converted to angular form. Instead, it is converted to a direction vector, with a unit length, for example, a vector of (1, 0) represents zero skew. The x-axis coordinate of the skew vector is always positive, and the y-axis coordinate carries the sign. The usual algebraic convention is followed: Positive skew (i.e., positive y-axis component) is a counterclockwise rotation. This skew direction vector will be denoted as (SX, SY) in FIG. 2. Because positive and negative skews have to be handled differently, the remainder of this section will assume non-negative skew. Negative skews will be addressed at the end.
Next, as represented by process block 730, the CPU 14 executes a portion of the program 19 to find the leading (bottom) edge, along the machine centerline 202. Let Y be the estimated y-axis coordinate of the note's leading edge at the imaging sensor along the machine centerline 202 as seen in FIG. 2. The line from (72, Y−12) to (72, Y+12) is searched for an edge pixel. An edge pixel is defined as a pixel which is a portion of the note (not air), and whose neighbor (backwards, along the direction of search) is air. This point is identified as (XB, YB) in FIG. 2, where XB is 72.
Next, as illustrated in FIG. 2, a better bottom edge point is searched for. This is done by searching vertical lines with x-axis coordinates from "70" to "84" (twelve pixels either side of centerline 202). Each of those vertical lines, from (X, YB−12) to (X, YB+12) is scanned for an edge pixel. The "bottom most" edge pixel is declared to be the bottom edge point (XB, YB). "Bottom most" almost means "least y-axis coordinate," but not quite. The comparison must take skew into account.
As represented by process block 740 (FIG. 7), a check is made to see if the search for a bottom edge point was successful. If not, as represented by the "NO" result, an "edge error" message is returned to the currency counter, as represented by process block 750, and the routine is exited as represented by process block 760. If the bottom edge point was located, as represented by the "YES" result, a check is made to determine if the skew is positive by process block 770. If the result of this test is "YES," then the CPU 14 proceeds to execute a positive skew routine shown in FIG. 8. If the result of this test is "NO," then the CPU 14 proceeds to execute a negative skew routine shown in FIG. 9.
Referring to FIG. 8, the beginning of the positive skew routine is represented by start block 800. As represented by process block 810, instructions are then executed by the CPU 14 to find a point on the left edge of the note. A range of horizontal lines, with y-axis coordinates from YB−12 to YB+12 is scanned for a left edge point. The procedure is very similar to the bottom edge procedure, except "left most" replaces "bottom most". We call this left edge point (XL, YL) (FIG. 2). A check is then made to see if the left most edge was found, as represented by decision block 820. If the answer is "NO," an edge error message is generated, as represented by process block 830 and then the routine is exited as represented by exit block 840. If the answer is "YES," then a bottom left corner point (XC, YC) (FIG. 2) is calculated, as represented by process block 850, according to the following expressions:
The next step, represented by process block 860, is to compute the scan image starting point.
The scanned image is to use big pixels which are each formed of a 3�3 array of small pixels. The starting point for the scanned image is to be one big pixel in from the lower left comer (FIG. 2).
To do this, instructions are executed to compute a starting point (X0, Y0), represented by process block 860, as follows:
(X0, Y0)=(3,3) rotated by the skew angle (SX, SY) and
Now (X, Y) is the (coordinate of the) small pixel which is the lower left portion of the first big pixel. From here it is straightforward to scan the entire note as big pixels. The averaging effect of the big pixels is sometimes characterized as blurring, although other types of blurring have been known. The elements of the scanned image or feature vector are the big pixels comprising most of the note. These elements are then normalized, to stabilize the contrast, thus reducing sensitivity to soil and wear.
It was determined that a rectangle of 30 wide�11 high of big pixels covers most of a US note. This rectangle is offset one big pixel to the upper right from the lower left comer of the note (FIG. 2) and is approximately centered within the note 13.
In process block 870, the note image is replicated for the fitness process shown in FIG. 11. The CPU 14 executes instructions represented by process block 880 (FIG. 8) to account for missing portions of the notes (e.g., holes, tears). This is accomplished by setting an array of flags 30�11, parallel to the big pixel array, to "false."
Then the big pixel array is scanned, as represented by process block 890 (FIG. 8). While a big pixel is being averaged (summed), if any of its constituent small pixels are air, the flag element corresponding to that big pixel is set to "true." This will cause it to be ignored in a later step. This means that a big pixel is used only if all of its component small pixels are valid note information.
During scanning, each step (e.g., (1, 0) is a small x step; (0, 3) is a big y step) is rotated by the skew angle, to maintain alignment with the note.
The output of this scanning is an array, 30�11, of big (averaged) pixel values.
It should be noted that during this scanning process, all coordinates are very likely not to be exact integers. Whenever a small pixel value is needed during this process, it is obtained by interpolating the integer coordinate data in two dimensions. This is sometimes known as bilinear interpolation. After scanning of the big pixel array, processing proceeds to a recognition portion of the program 19 in FIG. 10, as represented by the connector labeled "FIG. 10."
Referring to FIG. 10, after the beginning of the recognition routine represented by start block 1000, the CPU 14 executes program instructions represented by the first process block 1005 for normalization of the "big"pixels. As mentioned above, this is done to provide a more stable feature vector to the recognizer, by (at least partially) eliminating the effects of soil and wear. After normalizing, the big pixels have the following properties: Their mean is 0.0. Their standard deviation is 1.0. Any big pixels which contained air (i.e., had its flag set) is replaced by 0.0. The above mean and standard deviation "includes" these "0"-value pixels. The normalization equation is the (unique) linear mapping which satisfies the above properties.
The above process results in the "feature vector" comprising the above 330 (30�11) pixels. The two-dimensional aspect of the data is ignored. The feature vector is simply a linear vector, with 330 elements.
The feature vector is recognized by means of a classification neural network through steps represented by blocks 1010-1030. This is a single layer network, with an unusual output transformation that is calculated by executing instructions represented by process block 1015.
First, the feature vector is augmented by appending a small constant term, 1.0, to its end. This is the same, mathematically, as allowing a non-zero intercept in a linear regression model. In neural network terms, it is called a "bias" input. So the feature vector now contains 331 elements.
There are thirty-two pattern vectors. For eight currency denominations $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, the old $100 and the new $100, there are four orientations: front face up, back face up, head first and feet first. Each pattern vector is the same size as the feature vector, 331 elements.
In the following formulas, the following expressions are defined as follows:
D[c]=dot product of the feature vector with pattern vector c.
E[c]=exp(D[c]); i.e., e raised to the D[c]'th power.
S=sum of all 32 E[c]'s.
RE[c]=−Ln(O[c]); i.e., negative natural log of O[c].
That is the (run-time) neural network. The O[c]'s are the network outputs. They are all positive, and their sum is 1. The note is recognized as that category, c, which has the largest value for O[c], and the processing to find this category is represented by process block 1020 in FIG. 10. The value RE[c] is known as the Relative Entropy. It serves as an accuracy estimate, i.e., it measures how well the feature vector has been classified. It ranges from 0.0, a perfect match (and mathematically impossible), to 3.47 (−Ln({fraction (1/32)})), a miserable match.
After determining the category, c, a process block 1025 is executed to compute RE[c], which is then compared against a built-in threshold, as represented by decision block 1030. If the "R.E." is less than the threshold, the note is defined as "category c," and the "YES" result is followed to the next decision block 1050. If the "R.E" is greater than the threshold, an "Unknown" message is set up for transfer to the currency counter, as represented by process block 1050, and the routine is exited as represented by exit block 1055. A typical threshold is 0.12.
The above discussion assumed positive skew. Certain changes are necessary for negative skews. The reason is that it is important to determine the note's position as early as possible. That way, the feature vector scanning can occur as the note is passing over the sensor, allowing the earliest possible response to the counter.
The pattern is referenced to the lower left corner of the note. But with negative skew, the lower right corner is the first to pass over the sensor. Mirror symmetry is used to adjust for that.
Therefore, in the above procedures for finding the edges and scanning the feature vector, swap "left" and "right" wherever they occur. As illustrated in FIG. 9, for example, instead of finding the left edge, the CPU 14 executes a block of instructions 910 to find the right most edge pixel, which is checked through execution of decision block 920. And, process block 950 is executed to compute a bottom right corner point in place of a left corner point. The other blocks, 930, 940, 960, 970, 980 and 990 correspond to corresponding blocks described in relation to FIG. 8 for positive skew. Also, the scanning process adjusts the step vectors such that the note is scanned right-to-left instead of left-to-right.
The net result of this is that a note with negative skew is scanned as if it were flipped over (i.e., rotated about the y axis; black vs. green; not head vs. feet). This causes the feature vector to match the wrong pattern, but in a predictable way. So, when the recognition routine matches a note which had negative skew, it substitutes the mirror category for the matched one in its reply.
Returning to FIG. 10, if during execution of decision block 1035, the skew is negative, the recognition routine branches as decision block 1035 to process block 1040 to find the matching category for negative skew, before proceeding to the fitness routine shown in FIG. 11
In FIG. 11, a note fitness test is performed. The process begins at start block 1100 and proceeds to process block 1105 where the note image produced in process block 870 in FIG. 8 or process block 970 in FIG. 9, is retrieved. The CPU 14 then analyzes the retrieved note image in process block 1110 to locate any air pixels, such as holes, tears, etc. that may create false readings in the soil test. The detected air pixels are given a neutral value, and the total air pixel area of each hole, tear, etc., is combined and totaled in process block 1115. A threshold test is then performed in decision block 1120 based on the total area of air pixels detected. If the total area of all air pixels exceeds a predetermined maximum threshold, then the message "Fail hole test" will be transferred to the currency counter in process block 1125, and the process will proceed to the exit block 1165.
However, if the total area of all air pixels in the note does not exceed the maximum threshold in decision block 1120, the process proceeds to process block 1130 where a soil test is performed. In process block 1130, the CPU 14 calculates the average transmissivity (or reflectivity) to determine how much light will pass through, (or is reflected by) the note. Since notes of various denominations have different average transmisivities, the average transmissivity must be normalized so that the notes are not mistakenly accepted or rejected.
Therefore, in process block 1135, the recognition result from FIG. 10 is retrieved and used as an input to look up the denomination transmissivity (or reflectivity) scale factor in process block 1140. Using the transmissivity scale factor, the CPU 14 normalizes the average transmissivity (or reflectivity) calculated in process block 1130 in process block 1145. The normalized average transmissivity is then compared to a maximum threshold in decision block 1150. If the normalized average transmissivity is less than the maximum threshold, the message "Fail soil test" is transferred to the currency counter in process block 1155. The process then goes to exit block 1165. However, if the normalized average transmissivity (or reflectivity) exceeds the maximum threshold, the message "Denomination, soil and hole tests, okay" is transferred to the currency counter in process block 1160, the process goes to exit block 1165.
This has been a detailed description of various examples of how the invention can be carried out. To apprise the public of the scope of invention, the following claims are made. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the various details may be modified in arriving at other detailed embodiments, and that these embodiments will come within the scope of the invention, either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents.
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|International Classification
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|Dec 22, 1999
Owner name: DE LA RUE INTERNATIONAL LTD., ENGLAND
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|Sep 22, 2004
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Owner name: TALARIS HOLDINGS LIMITED, UNITED KINGDOM
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text:
Tsutsumu is a special method of neatly wrapping a gift, in this case the whisky, with a furoshiki. Fathers receiving this gift will be touched not only by the whisky, but also by the art of wrapping and the ritual that surrounds this refined practice. In Japanese, "furoshiki" translates to a "cloth for the bath." Like origami, it is considered an integral part of Japanese culture. For 2000 years the furoshiki served as a special pouch to hold personal effects. Today, the ancient custom has become fashionable in Japan because it offers a beautiful eco-friendly alternative to paper and plastic for wrapping gifts.
Head to Selfridges, London on Saturday 14 June 2014 to see the art of furoshiki to celebrate Father's Day with the House of Suntory. Pick up your beautifully gift wrapped Suntory whisky in store on Father's Day weekend.
Known as 'black gold' amongst the coffee elite, Kopi Luwak Ruby and Kopi Luwak Diamond are the world's rarest and most expensive coffee. Otherwise known as 'civet coffee', the coffee beans are eaten and digested by the Asian palm civet, reducing acidity and improving finish. On a small plantation in the Gayo region in Sumatra, Indonesia, the beans are hand collected after having been processed by wild civet cats and, combining traditional and contemporary methods, the coffee is finally packaged for those lucky enought to buy it. The coffee has been deemed the world's highest grading standard for Grade A beans for its triple sorted beans, a standard not seen anywhere else in the world.
Take a look at Bespoke Beverages to find out more...
Who doesn't love a bit of chocolate? This isn't just any old chocolate though; this is La Madeline au Truffle, which starts with a decadent 70% Valrhona dark chocolate, heavy cream, sugar, truffle oil and vanilla as the base for the rich decadent ganache. A rare French Perigord truffle (a rare mushroom) is then surrounded by this rich decadent ganache; it is enrobed in Valrhona dark chocolate and then rolled in fine cocoa powder. The result is pure extravagance!
Price | $250.00
For the foodie tech dads out there Mellow is your key. It is the World's first smart sous-vide machine, giving you smart access to it remotely. Controlled entirely through your smartphone, Mellow has no screen and no buttons. Everything it does comes from an order you give through our iPhone or Android device. Cooks and cools your food. With an in-built refrigeration system, it's capable of keeping food fresh until it's the exact time to start cooking. Load it up at breakfast; come home to great food at dinnertime. It's a father's day dream!
Price | $400

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Wait! We think you're in the US - Lovehoney.com is a better site for you.Shop there and get 10% off!Go to Lovehoney.com
Baci Lingerie French Maid Fishnet Thigh High Stockings
Average customer review 2.5 out of 5 stars2 reviews
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Product Description
A combination of sexy fishnet and a cheeky nod to French maid role play, Baci's thigh stockings take your lingerie set or outfit from oooh to woah in an instant. With a white trim around the tops and cute bow detail to seal the deal.
Slip these fishnet stockings all the way up to your thighs and wear as part of a racy French maid costume set or to simply spice up a lingerie set.
Key Features:
- Sexy fishnet thigh stockings with white top trim
- Perfect accessory to a French maid costume set
- Finished with cute bows
- Made from strong and stretchy fishnet
- Super-flattering thigh high length
Baci Lingerie Size Chart
Bust - measure the fullest part of the bust from the armpit.
Waist - measure the around the narrowest part of the waist.
Hips - measure the fullest part of the hips - around 8 inches below the waistline.
Baci Lingerie Size UK Dress size Bust Waist Hips Small 6 - 8 32" - 34" 24" - 26" 34" - 36" Medium 10 - 12 34" - 36" 26" - 28" 36" - 38" Large 14 - 16 36" - 38" 28" - 32" 38" - 40" 1X/2X 18 - 20 35" - 43" 32" - 40" 42" - 48" 3X/4X 22 - 24 43" - 48" 40" - 44" 50" - 56" One Size 6 - 16 28" - 32" 24" - 32" 34" - 38" One Size Queen 18 - 24 35" - 32" 38" - 44" 42" - 48" Baci Lingerie Size US Dress size Bust Waist Hips Small 2 - 6 32" - 34" 24" - 26" 34" - 36" Medium 6 - 10 34" - 36" 26" - 28" 36" - 38" Large 10 - 14 36" - 38" 28" - 32" 38" - 40" 1X/2X 16 - 18 40" - 48" 36" - 40" 42" - 48" 3X/4X 18 - 20 48" - 54" 40" - 44" 50" - 56" One Size 2 - 14 32" - 38" 24" - 32" 34" - 40" One Size Queen 16 - 20 40" - 54" 36" - 44" 42" - 56"
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Customer Reviews
Baci Lingerie French Maid Fishnet Thigh High Stockings 2 2.5 out of 5 stars
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Baci Lingerie French Maid Fishnet Thigh High Stockings
RRP: €9.95 You save: €1.95 (20%)
Very sexy, great quality and feel
Reviewed: 14 December 2014 by BlissfulKink99, a Straight Going Steady Male
In standard Lovehoney fashion, these arrived about 8 seconds after dispatch. Well, maybe not 8 seconds, but it was very fast, and the packaging was discreet. You can always count on Lovehoney to protect your privacy, and stick to impeccable delivery times.
These fishnet thigh-high stockings complete the look with a number of different French maid outfits you can purchase. They are neutral enough to work with the different costumes available, so it's not as if you need to have them to complete the look of any particular one.
They also work with other costumes. We have the Working Late Secretary Outfit, which is stunning, and they can be used with that.
My girlfriend tells me they feel great to wear, very comfortable, but also sexy and very complimentary. We both love fishnet, so these stockings were always likely to be a winner.
All in all, they are great quality, versatile, sexy and a very fair price as well. Recommended.
- Pros
- Material quality, value for money, sexy look, versatile.
- Cons
- Nothing to dislike.
- Bottom line
- A great quality product that works with different outfits, and looks gorgeous.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes
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Hold up perfectly, but at a cost
Reviewed: 08 January 2015 by Lovebirds_x
I wanted to love these stockings so badly.
They are beautiful in the product photos, they feel great and, in terms of the fishnet itself, are very comfortable to wear. But the one thing that spoils them; elastic.
See that nice white (which incidentally is more off white in person and has very obvious non matching stitching) band around the top of the stocking? That is one big old nasty elastic band. Yuck. And more to the point, ouch!
I am the first to admit I do not have the most toned legs. But hear me out. I am a size 10, sometimes a 12 on my bottom half depending on the butt room. My legs are not overly flabby, and I can quite easily find stockings that fit at the top despite my thick (relative to the rest of my body) thighs. But these? Well...
I get that the elastic at the top is designed to hold the stockings up. It's a nice idea, but they should have realised in practice it would never work. It digs in so badly it is unreal. It doesn't just tighten and leave a little pudge roll, it feels like it continues to tighten the entire time they are on.
I tried one stocking on and I could see the dimple in my leg getting deeper by the minute. As I'm sure you can imagine, it hurt. My leg went numb from how badly this thing cut in, and I only had it on a matter of minutes (for that very reason).
Given my admission of untoned thighs, I thought I could fix this by moving the band to the thinnest part of my thigh. For reference, that measures in at a 15 inch circumference. Not big by anyone's standards. Yet still, the digging in continued just as badly as it had further up my thigh. I was quite heartbroken at such an obvious design flaw. Who wants a giant elastic band digging into their thigh?
It has to be said, they do hold up perfectly. I would hope so, frankly, since it's cutting into flesh. The material is great and the length is amazing. Tall girls shouldn't find a problem, unless they have normal sized thighs.
One size fits all, pray tell what size you will fit if 15 inches is too fat a thigh? Sadly, I can't recommend these stockings at all. They are crazy tight at the top.
- Pros
- Great quality, nice and soft, pretty (though prettier in product photos). Good length!
- Cons
- The fit; can't go round 15 inches of thigh without causing fat rolls and numbness.
- Bottom line
- Unless you've got perfect and petite legs, these are going to let you down.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes
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|Message view
|« Date » · « Thread »
|« Date » · « Thread »
|"Rick" <tomcat...@vidyah.com>
|5.0.28 w/ MX4J 3.0.1, possible?
|Fri, 10 Jun 2005 04:09:31 GMT
Hello, I have been trying to migrate to the latest version of MX4J (3.0.1) from the old 1.1.1 version. And for the life of me, I don't seem to be able to get it to work. I use JMX to communicate to various servers in our webapp to show session info on different nodes, and I would also like to implement some other features.. Old 1.1.1 implementation -- jk2.properties -------------------- mx.enabled=true mx.jrmpPort=1099 mx.jrmpHost=localhost -- Code ------------------------------ Hashtable environment = new Hashtable(); environment.put(Context.INITIAL_CONTEXT_FACTORY, "com.sun.jndi.rmi.registry.RegistryContextFactory"); environment.put(Context.PROVIDER_URL,"rmi://localhost:1099"); JRMPConnector connector = new JMRPConnector(); connector.connect("jrmp", environment); RemoteMBeanServer server = connector.getRemoteMBeanServer(); ---------------------------------------- Ok.. So I replaced jmx.jar with the latest version of mx4j.jar (renamed to jmx.jar) under tomcat_home/bin And replaced or added Mx4j-jmx.jar Mx4j-tools.jar Mx4j-remote.jar To /tomcat_home/common/lib Now, when I start tomcat I get the error.. "MX4j RMI adapter not loaded: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: mx4j.adaptor.rmi.jrmp.JRMPAdaptor " Which is correct, since that's not a valid class now, but how do I configure tomcat to properly use the new mx4j. If I enable mx.httpPort=9000/mx.httpHost=localhost then JMX does enable and I get a pretty little message like... "HttpAdapter version 3.0.1 started on port 9000" , but I have no idea at this point how to properly use the HTTP connector. Any info or suggestions to getting the RMI adapter working, or how to use the http adapter, or just the best way to go about Using MX4J, not sure if either is possible with out updating to tomcat 5.5.x. Thanks, Rick --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: email@example.com For additional commands, e-mail: email@example.com
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A mishap at Leo's school forces Danny and Mindy to spend time together. Jody tries to win back Mindy's trust with an extravagant gift.
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A city terrorised by an act of madness
This is a city terrorised, although not by an act of terrorism.
Daniel Flitton is senior correspondent for The Age covering foreign affairs and politics. He is a former intelligence analyst for the Australian government and was at one-time a university lecturer specialising in international relations.
This is a city terrorised, although not by an act of terrorism.
The imam at a mosque in Melbourne's western suburbs has been abruptly summoned to return home to Turkey.
The sight of a blue police uniform is treated warily by many people born in South Sudan living in Australia, according to a major new survey into migrant communities.
A new $13 million high-tech military research centre in Melbourne will aim to design better command and control software.
US Vice President Joe Biden praises the "profound" efforts of Victoria's new billion-dollar cancer centre.
Joe Biden, the US Vice President who lost his son to brain cancer last year, will travel to Melbourne to tour Melbourne's new billion-dollar cancer treatment and research centre.
There is no doubting the CFA controversy has ambushed Labor's federal election campaign in Victoria.
A defiant Premier Daniel Andrews has condemned "lies" about the deal struck with firefighters.
Multicultural Melbourne might win plaudits as Australia's most tolerant city, but social campaigners warn comforting statistics can obscure the personal damage from anti-Muslim sentiment and other bigotry.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is confident federal Labor will "quite soon" resolve fears over the risk to Australian jobs under the China free trade deal and praised the agreement as good for Victoria.
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It's not easy being a realist these days. The MAG (Media, Academia, Government) puts out massive effort 24/7 to convince you that what seems real to you is an illusion and that their narrative, no matter how much the real world contradicts it, is the Truth and the Way.
One of the most idiotic aspects of the MAG's narrative is the equality of man. I'm not talking about the Jeffersonian theory that all men should be equal under the law, i. e., should have equal protection under the law and should have no privileges based on noble or royal birth. No, I'm talking about the liberal/neocon madness that all people have equal capacities and all cultures are equivalent to one another, and one should not be preferred over others.
The latter is practically the opposite of the former. Jefferson called for what amounts to equal opportunity, in that the law should not give anybody a special privilege or a head start. The latter ideology calls for, in effect, equal outcomes, because if everybody is equal in the second sense, unequal outcomes can only be caused by some flaw in the system — usually racism or Islamophobia or bigotry or some trendy mental disease. And the remedy for all that is — drum roll — special privileges and head starts for whichever special group is deemed to have been held back by one of those mental diseases.
And no, rearing the children of those unequal types here in the West doesn't turn them into Westerners. (You can butter a cat and put jelly on it, but it's still a cat.) You end up with what the Media lovingly refer to as "home-grown terrorists." The following is from Bob Wallace's site here [link]:
Completely Alien Mentalities
Are people John Lockean blank slates? (actually Locke wrote "wax tablet") or is there some profound genetic influence that comes from inbreeding? I opt for the genetic influence, which is just common sense.
Perhaps 40% to 50% of what we are is genetics.
You can make the argument – and I do, as do others – that culture is an expression of genetics. It's why Islam or Judaism isn't for white people, but Christianity is. The former have cultures so alien to the West they'll never be accepted – and both have caused horrible problems in the West.
Can you imagine a culture 33% Wahabi Muslim, 33% Orthodox Jew, and 33% fundamentalist Christian? All trying to share the same land? It wouldn't work at all. Imagine the bloodshed and murder – and the totalitarian government necessary to keep some kind of order (think of the former "Yugoslavia" and the genocide that happened after the government fell).
Speaking of government, the lunatics in Dubya Shrub's administration had no idea what they were doing in their attempts to impose the leftist hallucination of "democracy" on Iraq and Afghanistan. They were trying to impose "American values" on cultures that screw sheep and little boys. It why things are worse over there now than before the U.S. invaded. And they're not going to get any better until we withdraw completely and let them go back to killing and fucking each other – which is their birthright.
Leftists – who have no sense whatsoever – think there would be no problem. We just have to be "tolerant" since all cultures are "equal." Everyone else would realize there would be violence and "ethnic cleansing." It's been the history of the world.
I had a friend of mine once tell me he read some articles from the 1920s, in which it was governmental policy to allow only two people a year to emigrate from Afghanistan. They obviously understood things a lot better than people in the U.S. government today.
I also once was walking by a swimming pool at night at an apartment complex when an African woman asked me to walk her by the pool. As I was walking with her I saw a black cat by the diving board. I then knew she was just another stupid superstitious African. I never bothered to ask her what she thought it was going to do to her. Perhaps she thought it was a werecat that was going to turn into a gigantic black tiger.
Less funny was an incredibly ugly Arab woman, dressed in that ridiculous black headgear where only her face showed, who fled from my presence when she saw me walking my 16-pound pug (pugs are the most harmless and comedic of dogs). I knew that Muslims consider dogs unclean, so whenever I saw her I would walk my dog by her to see her flee. I found it a little amusing.
These behaviors are not just cultural. They're genetic ("What's bred in the bone will come out in the flesh").
These are cultures – and genes – we don't need in the United States. Not any Africans with IQs below 70, or Mexicans with mean IQs of 89, or Muslims with mean IQs or 89. Not to mention all their other horrible, genetically-influenced behaviors.
Quibcag: I found the illustration for the first one on Zerochan. The second is the Professor and her cat — I think his name is Sakamoto — from Nichijou (日常). As for the third... well, I'm sure you recognize everybody.


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Ginza is one of the best places to see the neon lights of Tokyo
When Ieyasu moved his military capital to Edo in 1590, Ginza was all swamp and marshland. Once filled in, the area attracted tradesmen and merchants. The silver mint that provided Ginza's name, "silver place," was built in 1612.
In 1872 fire destroyed everything and, with the Meiji Restoration in full swing, the government ordered English architect Thomas Waters to rebuild the area in red brick. From then on it was the focus for Western influences and all things modern, and is still one of Tokyo's great centers. Tiny shops selling traditional crafts mix with galleries, landmark department stores, and the ultra-modern Sony showroom for an unrivaled shopping experience.


text: Having posts returned instead of threads can give somewhat repetitive results. Maybe it is just because of how long I have been using vbulletin, but I really like having threads returned when I first search for something. It lets me locate actual topics first instead of potential off topic remarks in unrelated threads. Once I find a thread I am interested in, I find myself searching inside that thread for the relevant information I originally set out to find. Would it be difficult to offer a sort of mix of the two? How hard would it be to return something like the following: Say I searched for "ipod touch" I get search results that display a topic, and a number of "sub-result" posts within that topic that contain the keyword(s) I searched for. Thread: Which music player to get? Post #3, by AudioXPhile "...used a zune, creative xen, and others. Get an ipod touch because...." Post #12, by SoccerMom ".. say get one, but my ipod touch died after a month..." Post #22, by SomeGuy22 "I kind of want an ipod touch. let us know how it turns out if..." Thread: How many MP3's do you own? Post ..... There could then perhaps be a button to "search this thread for full results" to search the thread fully. Sorry if I didn't explain this clear enough, but thats the best I can think of, short of opening up photoshop and drawing it out.


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I had dry sex w no clothes he did not ejaculate on me I got my period the 22nd it was on time you can still get your period while being pregnant I took a test it came up negative Should i worry?
no u do not have to worry you cant get pregnant. unless the guy ejackulates inside you can get pregnant. if u missed your period then you have to worry.
What are your odds of having your period while being pregnant?
Zero If you are certain you are preggers and then experience bleeding as if having your period, then you may have had a miscarriage or have a serious gynecological problem. See your doctor immedia...
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What are the chances of getting pregnant while on your period?
Pregnancy during MenstruationHere is advice and input:I have gotten pregnant while having my period. It is the misconception that bleeding ("having a period") is the end to a fertilized egg. While ...
Read More »
How high is the chance of getting pregnant while on your period?
On One Hand: Each Woman's Cycle Is DifferentA woman becomes pregnant when a sperm collides with an egg. Sperm can live in a woman's cervical mucus for up to five days. If a woman has a short cycle ...
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If you kiss someone while youre on your period would you become pregnant?


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Bay Ridge Collection
With 6 sizes and the option of up to 4 leaves, this Amish Colebrook Mission Trestle Table can be customized to fit any family's needs. Celebrate the holidays at an Amish-made piece full of artistry and intricate details. This trestle features exposed mortise & tenon joints, inlays on the top and base, and your choice of table top thickness, extensions, wood, and finish.
Call us to start a custom order! We aim to provide your family with pieces that not only last for generations, but delight!
Find your perfect combination of seating in our Bay Ridge Collection:
© Copyrights 2003 - 2017 DutchCrafters All rights reserved.


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I am in the process of working on my Washington D.C. album. I have the KI Memories Spring Collection paper and a ton of pictures. I am afraid that I am going to run out of paper before I get to scrap all of the pictures that I want to use.
What would you do, rescrap the pages that are done in a different pp pack that has tons more paper to the collection (I only have like 5 pages done in this album) OR would you buy some papers from KI Memories that are somewhat similar to the collection you already have?


text: I've decided to teach myself the art and science of XF Addon Development. I now have knowledge of how classes, objects and methods work and can figure out more than 50% of the code. I, however, still lack the confidence to start coding any addon. That is, I simply do not know where to start. I've followed the tutorials and know how they work; but if I were to start coding a similar addon; I lack the confidence to figure out the overall approach and where to begin. I've decided to get recommendations on which are the addons I should follow (starting with the most basic to advanced). My objective is to be able to code an addon that would let members with permissions live-blog any event.


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Michael Hoover
Group Sales and Marketing Manager
Currently: Volunteer Fireman at White Pigeon Fire Department
Location: White Pigeon MIShare profile
Attended the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, IN for Business Administration with a focus on Marketing degree in 2010. While at Saint Francis I was part of the Men's Soccer and Track programs as well as secretary for the Students In Free Enterprise group and starting the Go Green initiative on campus. After graduation, I worked for Paul Mitchell Pro out of Grand Rapids, MI as the Southeast Michigan and Northeastern Indiana Sales Representative, with an area of previously containing 1 Focus Salon and 3 Signature Salons, I was able to manifest 5 Focus and 14 Signature salons in one fiscal year. After Paul Mitchell Pro, I started working for The Howe Military Academy as an Admissions Coordinator and then Lunkers Inc. as the Director of Sales and Marketing. Currently with The Riegsecker Marketplace in Shipshewana, IN I am in charge of Group Sales and Marketing. The Blue Gate Restaurant, Theater and Blue Gate Garden Inn allow for great package promotions for groups of all sizes. Hosting concerts such as Kenny Rogers, The Oak Ridge Boys, The Gaithers, Sawyer Brown Band and Texas Tenors from America's Got Talent, The Blue Gate is an attraction for all ages. Outside of the Riegsecker Marketplace, I'm a Volunteer Fireman with the White Pigeon Fire Department and a Volunteer Soccer Coach for the Middlebury Magic Futbol Club coaching a U12 boys team.
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The Plaque Pixie's Complete Guide to Dentistry for Children is every new parent's resource for their child's teeth. It provides parents with essential information about what a child's dental needs are. The best ways to handle teething, effective brushing techniques, when and how to decide about braces for adolescents, and dealing with wisdom teeth.
©2013 Richard Schmidt (P)2014 Richard Schmidt
I found this book to be a very thorough description of how to care for a child's teeth and when to begin dental visits. My only concern would be that the information was rather repetitive and perhaps could be more aggressively edited. The delivery of the information was clear and the vocal performer was pleasant to listen to.
Report Inappropriate Content
If you find this review inappropriate and think it should be removed from our site, let us know. This report will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.


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Chevrolet Cadillac of Twin Falls sells new and used Chevrolet Cadillac cars, trucks & SUVs in Twin Falls, ID.
Chevrolet of Twin Falls
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1654 Blue Lakes Blvd
Twin Falls, ID 83301 USA
Twin Falls, ID 83301 USA
(208) 737-6643
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text:
Banana Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars
This delectable recipe combines bananas with the caramel taste of dulce de leche in an easy-to-eat cheescake bar.
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 2 cups finely crushed vanilla wafer cookies
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
- 2 packages (8 ounces each) 1/3 less fat cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup NESTLÉ LA LECHERA FAT FREE Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 1/2 cup NESTLÉ LA LECHERA Dulce de Leche, divided
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 large, very ripe [black] bananas)
- 1 tablespoon skim milk
Directions, Reviews, Nutrition
COMBINE cookie crumbs and butter in medium bowl; press onto bottom of prepared baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden.
BEAT cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, ¼ cup dulce de leche, cornstarch and salt in large mixer bowl until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in bananas until combined. Pour over crust; gently smooth top.
BAKE for 35 to 45 minutes or until filling is set. Cool to room temperature; refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
MICROWAVE remaining ¼ cup dulce de leche and skim milk for 30 seconds in a small, microwave-safe bowl. Drizzle over cooled cheesecake. Cut into bars.
What did you think? Share Your Review »
Be the first to review this recipe!
Thank you for reviewing this recipe.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1/24 of Recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 24
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories: 150
- Calories from Fat: 70
- Total Fat: 8g (13% of DV)
- Saturated Fat: 5g (24% of DV)
- Cholesterol: 40mg (13% of DV)
- Sodium: 180mg (8% of DV)
- Carbohydrates: 15g (5% of DV)
- Dietary Fiber: 0g (0% of DV)
- Sugars: 11g
- Protein: 4g
- Vitamin A: 6% of DV
- Vitamin C: 2% of DV
- Calcium: 6% of DV
- Iron: 2% of DV
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.


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Inside Partner Sales Executive - Azure
We have exciting partner focused opportunities to join a growing team at the heart of Microsoft's hugely successful Cloud Business. This role will put you at the front and centre of our partner's transformation to cloud-based services. Azure is a cloud computing platform and infrastructure, created by Microsoft, for building, deploying and managing applications and services through a global network of Microsoft-managed datacenters. It provides both platform as a service (PaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) services and supports many different programming languages, tools and frameworks, including both Microsoft-specific and third-party software and systems. This is an exciting opportunity for a sales person that is passionate about helping partners build profitable Cloud practices, that wants to test themselves against some of the toughest competitors in our market and above all someone who is keen to build out new partner ecosystems. The key skills/experience Must have good technical skills, ideally with some experience of cloud. Understanding of the partner sales model, ideally in the Microsoft context, and demonstrable understanding and proven experience in applying the principle of partner profitability to Customer lifetime value. Proven track record of driving decisions at Partner CX level Track record of exceeding quota directly and/or through partners through development and maintenance of a healthy sales pipeline aligned to a jointly agreed business plan. Working effectively with all levels with Partners in your portfolio to understand and help solve their business problems - Partner obsessed CPE focus. Ability to create and drive a program of activity - self-starter (but clearly will get direction, support and coaching from Manager and the wider Azure team) Self-confident and good communicator - they will need to be credible in front of partners from a CXO level down, and able to work with/engage an extended v-team in Microsoft Technical/ Functional Skills Knowledge of our cloud computing platform/or competitive cloud platforms. Good knowledge of competitive technologies in the Cloud Computing Platform space, Amazon, Google, Rackspace etc. Any technical / architecture background is an advantage - this is a complex technology within a complicated fast-paced market Competencies Self-starter mentality Excellent communication skills Strong evidence of strategic thinking and leadership Passion for technology Drive for results & proven experience of achieving sales goals Proven leadership experience - both of internal cross functional teams and of multiple partner teams. Commitment to personal development - a desire to continuously learn & grow This job was originally posted as www.totaljobs.com/job/66849441


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The Administrator of Skilled Nursing will be a full-time employee that is responsible to the Executive Director for the directing, coordinating, managing and supervising of all activities for the 92-bed Skilled Nursing Facility at Bethany Home. This will include oversight of operations, managing both the income and expense budgets, and working with residents and their families in securing the highest possible quality of care.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities (other duties may be assigned):
Supervisory Responsibilities
Manages five subordinate supervisors who supervise a total of 125 plus employees in the Skilled Nursing, Dietary, Housekeeping/Laundry and Activities. Is responsible for the overall direction, coordination, and evaluation of these units. Also, directly supervises one non-supervisory employee. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.
Bachelor's degree from a four-year college or university; or five or more years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Certificates, Licenses, Registrations
Must hold a current California Nursing Home Administrator's License.
Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, retirement contribution


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Facebook At The Wrong End Of A Privacy Controversy
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), the social networking giant has once again found itself in a tight corner with regard to user privacy. Facebook has been in the news for over a week now, and this time we are not talking about its stock blasting through the IPO price and all the gains thereof. The other reason Facebook has been in the news is its unlawful use of user pictures and names in third party advertising. The company has been asked to make a compensatory payment to the each of the users who had joined the suit against the company. The financial impact of the claims may be a paltry sum for Facebook with each of the users getting $15 as compensation, taking the total claims paid by the company to $20 million. These claims will hardly make a dent in the finances of the company, which reported a cash balance of over $10 billion in its latest quarterly report. Following the claims settlement there were expectations that the company will change its behavior and it is exactly here that they have baffled everybody. The company announced a change to its privacy policy rather than a change to the way they use the information. The company made changes to their data use policy which can best be summed up as 'the company has right to use your information the way they want to, if you do not agree then delete your account.' The change in their privacy policy has raised concerns about their data use policy landing the company facing another legal fight with regard to the impact of the new policy on users below the age of eighteen. The company could raise a controversy following the change to their policy. The controversy could have a far reaching impact on the Facebook users and if the script does turnout the way it seems, Facebook could find itself in a tight spot sooner than later. The stock price meanwhile has been scaling new highs to close the last trading session at $42.66, an all-time high, having gained over 60% since it announced its last quarterly earnings on July 24th.
To see Facebook's latest stock price movement, click here (NASDAQ:FB)
Other Interesting Articles:
♦Bazaarvoice Stock tanks 17% inspite of earnings beat in Q1 2014
Read our newsletter here: Pandora: Probably tracking the wrong audience metrics


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Notify me when this product is available:
For those with a taste for the finer things in life. Find your new favourite in this all new Luxury Taster bread box.
Our Luxury Taster bread box contains 4 fantastic loaves:
Save 10% off your first order when you sign up to our newsletter.
© 2017 Hobbs House Bakery.


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The Penn GT Series Line Counter Reels are Penn's classic trolling line counter reel. These reels feature exteremly durable graphite frames with machined aluminum spools and heavy duty, marine grade bronze alloy main gears with precision stainless steel pinion gears for years of hard use.Penn's legendary HT-100 drag washers help put the brakes on larger fish and stay smooth even under the heaviest loads. The built-in line counters give you precise control of fishing depths.These reels have the following features:
To order, please select the model from the list above.


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Charlie Austin has said he will be staying at QPR for the season and will see out the one year left on his contract, which means he will become a free agent next summer, unless QPR can get the striker to sign a new contract at the club.
This will leave Newcastle presumably still interested in getting Charlie, either in January at a knockdown price or next summer as a free agent.
So it's possible that Newcastle – just like the FBI – could still get their man.
Charlie Austin – saga comes to an end just hours before window closes
Newcastle refused to pay the hefty price of £15M put on the player by QPR Director of Football Les Ferdinand, after Charlie did well last season, scoring 16 goals in the Premier League for a struggling side.
Newcastle and other clubs will now be watching what happens with Charlie this season, and whether he signs a new deal to stay in London at Loftus Road.
If he doesn't, there's no reason why Newcastle cannot go back in and sign him either as a free agent or at a much reduced fee in January.
This could turn out to be a similar situation to Bafe Gomis, when we were willing to pay £9M for him two years ago, but he stayed on at Lyon to see out the one year left on his contract.
But when he was a free agent last summer, it was Swansea who signed him, with Newcastle presumably not interested.
Bafe is now starting to score some goals at Swansea, and he now looks like a very good player in the Premier League.
Not sure whey we didn't try to sign him last summer if Joe Kinnear was willing to pay out £9M a year earlier.
Newcastle have also reportedly been in contact with Hamburg about the possibility of signing striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga, who was a target for us last summer.
Lasogga could either be signed permanently or come on loan either in January or next summer.
Comments welcome.