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PhysX's Big Break? Unreal Tournament 3 PhysX Performanceby Ryan Smith on 12/14/2007 12:00 AM EST
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- GPUs
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marbles - Saturday, December 22, 2007 - linkWe represent a very small fraction of PC gamers and users and even many of us are not sure we'll ever buy a PPU card. From someone who has repaired and built PCs over the years and has spent hours explaining the difference between "free" onboard graphics and 700.00 graphics cards I don't want to have to explain a PPU.
Look at the Geo mod capability in Red Faction (7 yrs ago) and the physics incorporated into the Source engine (3 yrs ago). They all came "free" because of the willingness of the game maker to make this work and keep the game playable on a reasonable PC. Look at Fracture out next year for the PPU-less 360 and PS3.
The quality of popular PC franchises are already being compromised for consoles so there is little hope that a PC specific PPU will ever be required to play any game. I think AGEIA's best hope for the PC is middleware and having their technology integrated into main boards or graphic cards.
Are these two UT3 maps available for the consoles? Reply
perzy - Wednesday, December 19, 2007 - linkThe CPU is dead! The future is dicrete processors.
The heat wall is a not a bump in the road, it IS a wall.
Look at chipzilla that had a concussion rammin it's head in the wall, spent 4-5 years redesigning then pentium m to core 2 duo.
AMD bought a gpu-manufacturer that still has a few years of developing before the heat wall and Intel bought Havok and is quietly gearing up it's own dicrete gpu-dept.
Nvidia seems to be working on worlddomination on their own, or just trying to boost their own value before being bought by chipzilla.
Sure you can have maybe 16 cores (heatwall + power envelope) on a CPU but still they are slow and they dont have their own superfast dedicated ram.
So Ageia is right on the mark, how far they now seem to be from it. Reply
0roo0roo - Sunday, December 16, 2007 - linkgive me all the physics you can on a 2 or 4 core cpu and go on from there. a phyx card does nothing during normal use. its dead weight. i'd rather pay for a nicer cpu or gpu which are used in some way 100% of the time. there just isn't a killer game play app for the ppu. stacking boxes is already possible and not that compelling. developing a ppu only killer app game isn't really something i can see happening. while they wait for that miracle to come by cpus will creep up and surpass the card anyways:P Reply
Francisbacon - Monday, December 24, 2007 - linkYou're absolutely correct.
Games developers will only take PPUs seriously once a lot of people have them, and this will only be the case once Nvidia and ATI start shipping graphics cards with PPUs on-board.
This is not too far off, Nvidia and ATI are both known to be working on including physics on their next generation of cards.
Buying a bodge-job like this, a PCI expansion card which actually offers very little in the way of power and only really affects one mainstream game in a very minor way is a total waste of money right now. It's far more sensible to upgrade your CPU and wait for physics-enabled graphics cards to come out.
On top of all this, I'm fairly certain exactly the same results could have been acheived by fully utilising all four cores of the CPU, but the Ageia modders chose not to, for obvious reasons. Reply
Francisbacon - Monday, December 24, 2007 - linkYou're absolutely correct.
Games developers will only take PPUs seriously once a lot of people have them, and this will only be the case once Nvidia and ATI start shipping graphics cards with PPUs on-board.
This is not too far off, Nvidia and ATI are both known to be working on including physics on their next generation of cards.
Buying a bodge-job like this, a PCI expansion card which actually offers very little in the way of power and only really affects one mainstream game in a very minor way is a total waste of money right now. It's far more sensible to upgrade your CPU and wait for physics-enabled graphics cards to come out.
On top of all this, I'm fairly certain exactly the same results could have been acheived by fully utilising all four cores of the CPU, but the Ageia modders chose not to, for obvious reasons. Reply
Sacher - Sunday, December 16, 2007 - linkNice in-depth article. I'm wondering, what did you (Ryan) have the texture-detail and world-detail [advanced video] settings at?
Does the physics load change when using different world-detail settings? Reply
FITCamaro - Friday, December 14, 2007 - linkWhile performance didn't increase that much with the PPU on the real maps, did the game look better? You didn't answer this. If I get noticeable better effects with the PPU and the same performance as without, thats a win to me. If it just displays the same effects as without the PPU just faster, then no its not worth it.
Physics is not about increasing the FPS of a game. It's about making it more realistic and immersive. Reply
Ryan Smith - Friday, December 14, 2007 - linkWe mentioned this elsewhere in the article, but the effects are the same. Enabling the PhysX hardware only offloads them to the PPU, it doesn't create any new effects. Reply
ET - Friday, December 14, 2007 - linkFor a low end or old system, an inexpensive card which could offer a performance boost would have been welcome. However these tests show more of a performance gain on the quad core than the dual core. While this might mean that people with money to spare (high end quad core users) may be able to get even more performance for relatively little (compared to their CPU's price), low end buyers can't get as much of a boost.
Which sounds to me backwards. If I could get a significant performance boost for my semi-old PC, I might have been more interested. Reply
SuperGee - Sunday, December 16, 2007 - linkThat is because a lowbudged game rig has several bottlenecks and if this is GPU holding back FPS, ofloading a not so bottlenck like CPU yields not much in such case.
As most game tend to be GPU limited. And a old or low budged PC wil often be most limited on GPU.
A PPU isn't ment for offloading but for more Physics. This means a decent game-rig is needed to use a PPU properly with a physics load made for PPU.
A PPU is more ment for Physics enthausiast, early adopter, hardcore gamers or highbudged rigs. To play PhysX games in optimal settings.
The QC yield so much because the benched it with a less GPU stressing setting. Wich is not the way people game with a high-end game PC. Reply
madgonad - Friday, December 14, 2007 - linkIf most of the games arriving are enabled with this technology at a minimum it would give an equivalent boost of going from dual to quad core on regular maps using 2nd order physics. For games/maps using 1st order physics it would actually allow you to play them. For a $100 part (I have seen priced at $149) that might make sense if you have room in the case and PCIe 1x cards become available as a working product.
For most of us, you know, people that build/buy a PC under a budget, this may or may not make sense. A physics processor may fall into the category of sound card since Vista and Realtek has taken great strides in making the previously mandatory sound card irrelevant. They might provide a couple "nice to have" features and slightly improve performance, but that money might be better spent on Crossfire or a faster CPU or better RAM or a mirrored hard disk.
The physics card is going to have to earn a place and this article does support that ability.
Heck, if it allows players to chew up the scenery I am all for it! Reply
kilkennycat - Friday, December 14, 2007 - linknVidia's upcoming dual-function next-gen silicon fully supporting either GPU or GPGPU functionality will finally kill PhysX. Wonder why the 780i chipset supports 3 PCIe16 slots and PCIe2.0? Think 2 GPUs in SLI dedicated to graphics and one GPU functioning as a GPGPU for bleeding-edge gaming. And for the less than bleeding-edge gaming, quad-core computation of bulk physics in combo with spare GPU horsepower for particle-effects will do quite nicely. Reply
Ryan Smith - Friday, December 14, 2007 - linkThe funny thing is that at this time last year I'd agree with you, but now I'm not so sure.
GPU physics has been a bust so far. ATI/NVIDIA made a bunch of noise when AGEIA announced their PPU, but HavokFX never came through and there is no other off-the-shelf solution that can do second-order physics, never mind first-order physics. It always seems like GPU physics in games is just around the corner and it never happens, and I'm not convinced that this misdirection from the GPU manufacturers is unintentional.
I keep hearing conflicting stories about when we'll get real GPU physics. Now the story is that things will finally be put in order forcefully by Microsoft in DirectX11, which is still years away (MS is still working on delivering DX10.1). This would coincide with some improvements in GPU threading that would help GPUs deal with the split workload, so it's very possible this is the case. Then again, both ATI and NVIDIA are finally delivering mature versions of their GPGPU programing environments (CUDA/CTM) which would allow someone to write a physics package at a lower level than shaders. I'm not aware of anyone working on this for games, though.
In the mean time the PPU does exist, and we expect we'll be seeing a far more powerful version fairly soon.
The 780i isn't the only chipset that supports 3 PCIe x16 slots either. I can show you some boards that came through here in 2005 that had the same support, for the exact same reason. Furthermore NVIDIA has a poor track record of supporting >2 GPUs in a system at once anyhow. Reply
NickelPlate - Friday, December 14, 2007 - linkLet's hope so. The last thing PC gaming needs right now is another hardware requirement on the box. Reply
Martins - Friday, December 14, 2007 - linkSo we don't need another Hardware requirement on the Box? In the form of a PPU that is $99 now and that as shown that can be faster them a $400+ dual core right? But you are not against the use of 3 or more GPU's and a new board if you want physics hardware acceleration, just do the math and see who gives us the best bung for ours money. Reply
NickelPlate - Friday, December 14, 2007 - linkI'm not saying their isn't a performance benefit. But the fact is PC gaming has slowly been taking the backseat to consoles over many years, mostly because it's getting more complicated and expensive for the average user. It's already depressing enough for most people to buy a high end graphics card only to have it chug on new games within years time. What's going to happen when they need a PPU upgrade every year also? Another $100? More? That's probably for the cheap ones. No doubt high end PPU cards will be end up costing hundreds. Reply
goku - Monday, December 17, 2007 - linkNo, I think the problem is, pc gaming and well gaming in itself hasn't offered much innovation in a long time. A PPU would add a great amount of depth that is so sorely needed in today's games. What's the point of a high resolution tree if all you can do is cut it down in the same way as any other tree? Or how about driving a beautifully rendered car, but when you crash it, the damage is the same EVERYTIME. Reply
rykerabel - Wednesday, December 19, 2007 - linkwyrd
I bought a physix just to put my money into encouraging some decent physics in the future.
I don't care which company succedes, i just want better physics period. Reply
ChronoReverse - Friday, December 14, 2007 - linkWhere are you getting this $400 dual core? Quad cores start at $279 now and dual cores can be had for less than $75 (soon even lower when the dual core Celerons come out). Reply
michal1980 - Friday, December 14, 2007 - linkI find that your statement of pc's not needed more new hardware just flat wrong.
read the dailytech thread about display port. People are throughing themselves at a new port hand over fist. Those same people what physic's hard just because Reply
SignalPST - Friday, December 14, 2007 - linkOn a unrelated note, does anyone know if the retail game shipped includes high resolution textures? People were complaining that the demo didn't include it, and the in-game graphics don't compare with anything like those eye-popping screenshots Epic teased us with. Reply
cubanx - Friday, December 14, 2007 - linkThey are included but not the default. If you mess around with the settings you can get quality near the screen shots they released .
Here's one tweak guide http://www.tweakguides.com/UT3_1.html">http://www.tweakguides.com/UT3_1.html Reply
Dainas - Friday, December 14, 2007 - link....And yet there still is NO PCIe PhysX card available for purchase.
Heres another question for AGEIA; with dwindling PCI classic slots on todays motherboard, how do they expect people to use their products if there's no where to put it? Reply
poohbear - Friday, December 14, 2007 - linki hear u man. i have 1 soundcard and 1 wifi card and my other pci slot is blocked by the aftermarket cooler on my x1900xt, so there's simply no room for this card on pci even if i wanted to buy it.:p Reply
goku - Monday, December 17, 2007 - linkget an ethernet to wifi converter, that way you can use the onboard ethernet on your motherboard.
I'm sure there are others on the market as well.. I personally hate wifi and avoid it as much as possible. If I can get a wired connection, I'll use that first, even if it means running a line through the walls 50FT+ in order to get it. Reply
SuperGee - Sunday, December 16, 2007 - linkThat's choice there are more add-on's then ATX provide slot's for.
This is not Ageia's problem. But more a choice the consumer must make.
Well I have a spare PCI slot next to my PPU. I realy don't have much in it a G-card and a PPU.
If for example choose for triple SLI you made a choice to blow away 3 to 9 slots.
Or must have a prof.RaidContoller and TV-card next to SLI. Then it get crowded with a soundcard..
And it not long ago that the populair sound card manufacturer offer a PCI-E sound card.
Mr Alpha - Friday, December 14, 2007 - linkI believe there is a PCIe x1 version of the PhysX card sold to OEMs. There was a story somewhere that said AGEIA was going to release the PhysX PCIe x1 card into retail, but decided not to when it turned out that it wouldn't work on a significant portion of the motherbaords with PCIe x1 slots, because the slots weren't implemented in accordance to PCIe specs. Something about out of spec jitter was mentioned.
There is something Anandtech has been missing from their motherboard reviews: Do the PCIe x1 slots actually work? Reply
PandaBear - Friday, December 14, 2007 - linkIn Today's multi core CPU, unless you need to do physics with say 16 different threads, you would in theory ease 1 core out of all.
Say the physics processor can do 1/2 of a CPU core's work (unlikely), then on a single core you gain 50% performance, dual core you gain 1/4, quad core 1/8.
Compare to how much of that work in theory could be done on a GPU (it's just math), and say it has the performance of 4 of the 48 shader's performance, you get 1/12 of a gain in GPU.
Now in practice, splitting work across a slow bus like PCIe, PCI, or HT are going to slow it down even more, with additional I/O work on both ends you are going to gain almost nothing (exactly where it is now).
I think if the market gets big enough, Nvidia or AMD will put one in their GPU, Intel/AMD will 1up each other by putting it in instead of wasting all the die space for cache. A dedicated physics processor on a bus as a card will never make it big.
Spoelie - Friday, December 14, 2007 - linkYour logic is completely flawed, since you do not know anything about the varying workloads, how good each type of chip is at each workload and how the workloads compare relatively.
Specifically at physics calculation workloads, a PPU chip is a multitude of times faster than a cpu core. (Note the use of chip and core, since a ppu is more a collection of minicores). What this means is that when you peg one core of your multicore CPU at 100% load with solely physics threads, it is still way slower than a ppu, and thus can not handle the same physics workloads.
The actual performance boost is thus completely dependent on how big a workload the physics part of the application is. And current games do not have a big physics workload, partly because without a ppu the processing power is just not there. Reply


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subset: commoncrawl


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AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) - David Lynn has forged a reputation as one of golf's funny men, a wisecracking Englishman who does not take himself or the game too seriously.
When he is not golfing, he is tweeting jokes and photos of himself participating in the 'planking' craze where people post images of themselves lying face down in unusual locations.
By Lynn's own admission, he has a wacky sense of humor, which is just as well because he has only one tournament win in 18 years as a professional.
But the 39-year-old has undergone a dramatic transformation in the last year. He has still got the gags but his golf game has suddenly taken off.
"If you speak to more or less every golfer who is out here on various tours, they all believe that they have performances in them as good as the top guys," Lynn said at the Masters on Thursday.
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"It's obviously not a bad thing to see your name up there leading the Masters and something you could always look back on," Lynn said. "But you know, there's a lot to be done for the rest of the week and hopefully I can keep my name up there."
Lynn's first competitive round at Augusta National featured six birdies, eliciting roars of approval from the galleries that have quickly taken to his flippant approach to life.
He has been nicknamed Lynn-sanity but insists he is not mad for believing he can make a charge at the Masters.
"I'm just enjoying it at the moment. Being on the PGA Tour, it's been a new lease of life to my golf," he said.
"I'm not going to sit here and say I'm going to be there Sunday night, but deep down, I know that I've got performances in me that could put me there Sunday night."
Editing by Frank Pingue


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Smriti Malhotra is originally from Delhi and she is the oldest of three sisters. Her mother is of Bengali origin and she is distantly related to the well-known actress Tripti Mishra. Later she married her childhood friend Zubin Irani. She has one son and one daughter called Zohr Irani and Zoish Irani. Now she is known as Smriti Malhotra-Irani.
She shot to fame for her role in the famous Hindi soap opera, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. In 2003, she joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, who were quick to give her a ticket to fight the Lok Sabha elections from Delhi's Chandni Chowk constituency. Although she was defeated in these elections, this five times consecutive best actress award winner continued with the BJP while most of the other actors who had joined the party during that time deserted the party. Her commitment and hard work made the party realize her true potential and it made her a member of the National Executive (the highest decision making body of the Party) and also a member of the Maharashtra Executive.
Today Smriti Irani has also turned a producer with her entertainment Company Ugraya Entertainment. Her company entered into a strategic alliance with the Aditya Birla Group for producing software for television with it's first production being Virrudh a daily soap for Sony Television (Set India). Her company has also produced two stage presentations Kuch Tum Kaho, Kuch Hum Kahein a social comedy and Maniben.Com a comedy. This former Miss India contestant has come a long way and achieved a lot at a fairly young age.


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Coconut Angel Food Cake
Snow angels make an appearance on the dessert table with a light-as-air angel food cake covered with drifts of fluffy coconut and topped with angel-shaped lollipops.
- Yield: Makes one 10-inch cake
Source: Martha Stewart Living, December 2009
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon cake flour (not self-rising)
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 12 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon warm water
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pure coconut extract
- Coconut Glaze
- 2 cups unsweetened large-flake coconut
- Angel Lollipops, for garnish
Preheat oven to 325 degrees, with rack in the lower third of oven. Sift together flour and 3/4 cup sugar 4 times.
Beat egg whites and warm water with a mixer on low speed until foamy, about 3 minutes. Add cream of tartar, vanilla, salt, and coconut extract. Raise speed to medium, and beat until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes. With machine running, add remaining 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Raise speed to high, and beat until peaks are stiff and glossy, but not dry, about 2 minutes.
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Pour coconut glaze onto cake, and spread evenly using an offset spatula to cover completely. Gently press coconut onto cake. Let stand until set, about 1 hour. Garnish with lollipops.


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THE COMPANY that fired a female tech developer who tweeted about comments she overheard at a Santa Clara, California, conference said in a blog post that "publicly shaming" the men was inappropriate and she had to be terminated for alienating the developer community.
But that firing could be hard to defend in court, say labor law attorneys.
"It's a tough one," said Rob Pattison, a San Francisco attorney who represents employers for the Jackson Lewis law firm. "The law is strong in protecting people who make complaints of harassment, or who participate in an investigation about complaints of harassment."
Adria Richards, a San Francisco "developer evangelist" for SendGrid, an email delivery company, tweeted out a photo of a group of men sitting behind her at last weekend's PyCon conference who made a comment about "big dongles."
Richards' tweet set off a social media tsunami with ominous overtones, including threats and name calling directed at Richards. The fallout led to her firing, as well as the dismissal of one of the men in the photo by his employer, PlayHaven, a San Francisco mobile-game company.
Richards could not be reached for comment by the San Jose Mercury News. Tech blog VentureBeat said it received an email from Richards on Friday that simply said, "I'm staying safe."
Richards' former boss, SendGrid CEO Jim Franklin, wrote on the company's blog that Richards was fired because "A SendGrid developer evangelist's responsibility is to build and strengthen our Developer Community across the globe. In light of the events over the last 48+ hours, it has become obvious that her actions have strongly divided the same community she was supposed to unite. As a result, she can no longer be effective in her role at SendGrid... In the end, the consequences that resulted from how she reported the conduct put our business in danger."
Franklin said the Boulder, Colo.-based company supports her right to report what she considered to be offensive sexual comments, but her use of social media contributed to her dismissal.
"Her decision to tweet the comments and photographs of the people who made the comments crossed the line," Franklin wrote. "Publicly shaming the offenders - and bystanders - was not the appropriate way to handle the situation... Needless to say, a heated public debate ensued. The discourse, productive at times, quickly spiraled into extreme vitriol."
Therese Lawless, a San Francisco attorney who represents employees in employment and discrimination cases, does not know Richards but said Richards would have a "ground-breaking case" if it went to court because her complaint was made on social media.
"I like it," Lawless said. "She has a case."
"They're basically retaliating against her for speaking out about sexual harassment," Lawless said. "Often times employers say their excuse is that 'We want this person out of the workforce because they don't fit into the culture, they don't get along with their co-workers.' But she's in a situation where she's speaking about inappropriate behavior."
PlayHaven seems to be on much more solid ground for firing one of the men in the photo that Richards shot and tweeted out.
Because the incident occurred at a work-related conference, PlayHaven is "certainly well within their rights to terminate that employee," said Donna M. Rutter, an attorney with the Miller Law Group in San Francisco who represents employers in labor disputes. Pattison agreed.
"Employers have an obligation to prevent sexual harassment and that sort of behavior in a workplace setting, and this is clearly a work setting that's related to their jobs," Pattison said.
A writer who went under the name "mr-hank" claimed to be the man who was fired and posted an apologetic comment on the blog Hacker News that said Richards "had every right to report me to (PyCon) staff, and I defend her position."
"Let this serve as a message to everyone, our actions and words, big or small, can have a serious impact," he wrote, adding he was the father of three children. "I will be at pycon 2014, and I will joke and socialize with everyone but I will also be mindful of my audience, accidental or otherwise."
Beyond any potential court case over Richards' firing, it's the social media aspect of her actions that could hold bigger ramifications for workplace-related behavior among the male-dominated tech culture in Silicon Valley.
"My advice will be: Don't engage in this kind of behavior because the person sitting next to you or behind you or in front of you has the ability to record on video and audio what you say," Pattison said. "If that person is offended, your behavior may not be suitable for your continued employment."


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Fourth Committee: Statement by Minister Plenipotentiary Silberberg on Effects of Atomic Radiation
(Fourth Committee: Statement as delivered by Mr. Peter Silberberg, Minister Plenipotentiary, on Agenda item 50 "Effects of Atomic Radiation")
"Thank you, Mr. Chairman,
I have the honour to transmit for action by the plenary of the Fourth Committee the draft resolution contained in document A/C.4/67/L8 of November 8, 2012, on Agenda item 50 entitled "Effects of Atomic Radiation". Since the establishment of the Committee in 1955 this resolution has always been adopted by consensus.
The draft resolution deals with the important work of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic radiation (UNSCEAR), which is based in Vienna.
We just heard the presentation of the report by the chair of the Committee about the work undertaken by the Committee during last year and in particular during its 59thsession in Vienna in May 2012. I would like to thank Dr. Weiss, the chairman of the Committee, all members of the Committee and the secretariat for their important and excellent work.
The work of the Scientific Committee can not be overestimated. There is broad agreement on the continuing need for a high quality scientific expert body in the UN dealing with the effects of atomic radiation, responding to the needs of member states, disseminating important information and reacting to new circumstances. Let me highlight the work the Committee is doing to study the effects of the accident following the great earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 in Japan. In the resolution, we will, inter alia, endorse the intention of the Committee to complete at its next session an assessment of the levels of exposure and radiation risks attributable to this accident as well as a report on the effects of radiation exposure on children. Let me highlight that this work is only possible due to the commitment from member states to support the work of the Committee and to provide the Committee with relevant information.
More could be done by the Committee to respond to different requests from member states on a range of different issues related to the effects of atomic radiation, which would require additional ressources. The resolution therefore encourages all member states to continue their support for the work of the Committee.
Last year the General Assembly had decided to enlarge the membership of the Committee by the six countries Belarus, Finland, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Spain and Ukraine, which until 2011 had participated in the work of the Committee as observers. These countries participated in the work of the Committee for the first time as full members during the 59thsession and have added value to the Committee´s work. The decision the General Assembly took last year had allowed the Committee to refocus on its important work. I am grateful that the chair was able to report to us that this decision has increased the effectiveness and efficiency of the work of the Committee.
Let me express my thanks to all delegations which participated in the informals and helped to agree on this text in a constructive spirit as well as the 42 member states which have co-sponsored this resolution, sending a strong message of support to the work of the Committee.
I thank you."


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Bucs' power surge not enough after early jolt
Six-run first stings Worley; Marte hits two HRs, Walker goes deep
PITTSBURGH -- Pedro Alvarez made his debut as a first baseman, but that highly anticipated development wasn't nearly as instrumental Monday night as Vance Worley coming out looking as though he'd never before been on a mound.
The man who for two months had steadied the Pirates' rotation came briefly undone in a six-run first-inning, and the Pirates couldn't completely recover from that ambush, losing to Atlanta, 7-3, in front of 31,669 at PNC Park.
"Yeah. Very, very unfortunate," Worley said of the overture for a club coming off an 0-5 road trip and happy to be home. "But tomorrow is another day, and these guys are not going to give up."
Tomorrow could be a very good day, as Andrew McCutchen is expected to return to center field Tuesday and give a charge to a team in need of a jolt.
Oh, the Bucs tried to jolt themselves into avoiding a sixth consecutive defeat. They went to their comeback Mojo on two solo homers by Starling Marte and a long one by Neil Walker, and even got the potential tying run to the plate in the sixth.
"We scratched back. A big night for Marte, Walker, [Travis] Snider," said manager Clint Hurdle. "But the hole was deep, and we needed one more big swing."
Ultimately, allowing a six-run first inning and facing Atlanta's wins leader was a very bad combination. Ervin Santana withstood the trio of solo homers to go 5 1/3 innings, barely enough for his 13th victory.
"For me, it was one of my best games because I gave up three runs," Santana said. "When you don't have your best stuff and you only give up three runs, that's huge. Three solo homers, that doesn't hurt."
A big crooked number before even taking the ball is a pretty good anesthetic.
Alvarez's introduction across the infield from his customary position was relatively uneventful. Two infielders were charged with throwing errors, but both came on legitimately wide throws out of Alvarez's reach.
Unfortunately for the Bucs, Alvarez's uneventful night extended into the batter's box, where he went 0-for-4, stranding a total of four baserunners.
"We would've liked to do a little more damage," Hurdle said of the offensive approach that held Santana within an out of matching his shortest start of the season. "We gave him a good shot, pushed him. But not enough damage."
Marte, a .372 hitter in his two weeks on McCutchen's turf, bid a torrid goodbye to center field with a double and his second career two-homer game. The first was on June 25, 2013, in Seattle.
Snider, the other outfielder to help cover for McCutchen's absence by stepping into Marte's left-field shoes, went 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to nine games over which he has hit .412 (14-for-34).
The Pirates' comeback volleys also included a third-inning dunker by Walker, a 432-foot homer that became the 35th ever to reach the Allegheny River on a bounce. Walker became the 23rd player to do it.
"Tell you the truth, I couldn't care less," Walker said. "I wish it had come with the bases loaded and us down by three runs. As it was, it was just one run in another loss."
The Bucs got the tying run to the plate -- which seemed inconceivable as the first inning unfolded -- in the sixth. Marte and Snider led off with back-to-back doubles -- Marte had to stop at third in case Snider's high drive to center was caught. But Brent Morel fanned and left-handed pinch-hitter Ike Davis' liner off lefty reliever Luis Avilan was snared by third baseman Chris Johnson, whose peg doubled up Snider off second, ending the inning.
Everything hit off Worley in the first was hard, from the leadoff back-to-back homers by Jason Heyward and Andrelton Simmons, to Santana's smash up the middle on which Josh Harrison made a sparkling diving stop and got a force at second -- but which merely turned into two more runs when Walker's relay throw sailed wide of first for an error.
"Get him early before he settles in" is a timeworn advisory, especially applied to top-notch pitchers, but Worley took that concept to a whole new level. After reeling through a six-run, five-hit first inning, Worley blanked the Braves on four hits across the next five frames, spicing it with eight strikeouts.
In the first, Worley simply could not "get on top of the ball," in pitching parlance. Rather than throw north-south, he was going east-west -- the same direction as batters' swings.
"I was staying flat, giving them more bat-pass," Worley said. "After that, I figured it out, and I was able to drive the ball down in the zone -- that's the hardest pitch in baseball to hit."
What goes through a pitcher's mind when taking the mound for a second inning, after having been rocked for six in the first?
"Be better," said Worley, who had obeyed the order.
Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog Change for a Nickel. He can also be found on Twitter @Tom_Singer. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Ski resorts around the world rely on temperature and weather conditions in order for their businesses to survive, but that cannot be the case with the Winter Olympics. Simply put, there has to be snow. Without snow, the show will not go on. According to the Russian website Ria Novosti, the Alpine skiing resort for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi is preparing to refrigerate roughly 450,000 cubic feet of snow over the summer to assure that there is plenty of coverage on the mountain when the Games begin next February. Storing snow will help alleviate some of the concerns surrounding temperatures not being cold enough to bring natural snow when needed next year. "Storing snow from the 2012-2013 season will allow us to avoid the risk of insufficient natural snow quantities or anomalous temperatures next season," Rosa Khutor (the resort) said in a statement on Thursday. "The 450,000 cubic meters of 'last year's' snow is the volume that will guarantee the necessary covering on the slopes of Rosa Khutor, even in the worst weather conditions." How the heck do you refrigerate 450,000 cubic feet of snow? Seven on-site reservoirs will reportedly be used, each with the ability to store 100,000 cubic meters of snow. If you thought keeping a gallon of milk cold on a hot summer day caused your electric bill to spike, try spending $8 million to refrigerate an extraordinary amount of snow. Kudos to Russia for thinking ahead and preparing for any potential issues the weather might cause. As we learned over the summer during the London Olympics, extreme elements can create all kinds of problems and prevent operations from running smoothly. Related posts: Usain Bolt thinks he can break 9.4 seconds in the 100 meters at the Olympics Russia bans alcohol from any London Olympic receptions involving athletes Olympics Threatening to Sue 'Redneck Olympics' for Using Name
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We exist to alleviate hunger in The Panhandle. We do this in many different ways.
First, we provide food, a basic need. We delivered 6.2 million pounds of food in 2011 to the 29 counties we serve. This is a tangible way you can see what we are doing at the Food Bank. It has been a long-standing tradition since our inception to deliver shelf-stable and fresh foods to the people that need them. We distribute the food through our over 165 agencies that work hand in hand with us to pinpoint need in their communities. We deliver this basic need to people who need help getting back on their feet.


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Results 1 to 20 of 25
- Join Date
- Nov 2011
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- 141
Emotional connections in video games
I just connected emotionally to a character in a game and thought I should share my experience. And also ask - what are some of your most poignant and memorable emotional connections in video games?
My experience happened in Assassin's Creed 3. I had been slaughtering hordes of Templars and bears and whatnots, mowing them down by the dozen. After a while it wears down your soul, you know?
So I ran into Boston and happened upon an African-American gentleman and his wife being mercilessly beaten by a group of thugs. Not cool, you possibly-racist thugs! I murdered those thugs and saved the couple in the nick of time.
So then I convinced them to come live in my little town that I was starting up. C'mon guys, it'll be great! And they eagerly came to my town. All the while complaining about their inability to have a child. It was sad, but they complained an awful lot.
So then I ran across the gentleman a few months later and his wife was missing. I begrudgingly traced her down in the woods and she was about to get mauled by a bear! I was like "BEAR WE WILL HAVE NONE OF THAT IN MY TOWN" so I knifed it in the face and neck and saved her life, again just in the nick of time. And then I had to carry her back to her house - wait why couldn't her husband do that???
So then another few months later I learned that lo and behold, after years of trying she has become pregnant! But due to her preggerous condition she was now unable to herd pigs into their pen, and her hubbie is gone, so can I please attend to these pig duties? I agreed and began to chase these stupid pigs all over the barnyard.
About 10 minutes into the futile pig-chase I asked myself, "Self, what are you doing with your life? Proto-America's finest assassin, herding pigs for a pregnant woman?"
At that very moment, Connor exclaimed "THE THINGS I DO FOR THIS TOWN!" I was like, "I know that feel bro!" And it was then that I connected with Assassin's Creed 3 in a very real and emotional way.
Last edited by Zaboomafoozarg; 03-12-2012 at 04:05 AM.
- Join Date
- Jan 2012
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- 82
Far Cry 3's is really good at making you think, both as your own personality and that of the protagonist, I really enjoyed it. Multiple endings too!
- Join Date
- Aug 2012
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- 137
Yeah. both own personality and the leading character. Often times, I really got emotionally connected while in the gameplay.
Tends to depend on my context really, rather than what the games doing in the abstract, it's more about the prism I see it through.
I've mentioned before on here how my wife has very severe depression and is frequently suicidal, I soldier on agaisnt all of the shit that causes becuase I love her, ultimatley, but it's all becuase I refuse to let it win in spite of the evidence that I'm fighting against impossible odds. This fucking thing has attacked my wife's head for whatever reason and there's no way I'm not going to give my every piece of me to beat it, even if it kills me.
I've had abit of bumpy week in regards to the above and I found in playing Max Payne 3 at the wekend that Max's determination and fury to take injustice down, to smile darkly and defiantly at impossible odds resonated strongly. Just a seething desire to take each fucker down becuase what they're doing isn't right. That's not even my outlook on life, I have a very strong sense of hope and faith in fact, but there are moments when it's healthy to rage, and I understood brielfy how someone like Max could want to do that.
By the same token though I also fell back into my own step before I completed the game, and the nihilsitic fuck everything fury of it felt hollow and empty and distrubed me actually. I'm not sure if that's to the game's credit that it provoked that reaction or just me switching from a dark place to a brighter one, but either way, it was powerful. Feelings like that remind me I'm alive.
- Join Date
- Dec 2011
- Location
- India
- Posts
- 510
I got a bit connected to Ezio after playing through Brotherhood for the first time. Also, the story of Black Ops really drew me in. It was one of the most enjoyable CoD SP experiences I've had after MW.
I actually cried a little when playing To the moon. The gameplay is way too simplistic, but the story was really well told and it really got to me, something no other game has ever done. I explained more about my thoughts on the game here.
Another game where I felt emotionally connected to the characters, although in a completely different way, was Thomas was alone. Who could have guessed rectangles could be that expressive.
Last edited by SirDavies; 03-12-2012 at 03:34 PM.
Bioware is pretty good at getting that kind of reaction out of me thanks to their emphasis on party members. My first (Darkside) playthrough of KoTOR turned heartbreaking when I had to kill Joli Bendo, and the end of Dragon Age II was agonizing as characters I had grown attached to did terrible things (Anders) or couldn't bend enough to stay with me (Fenris, Sebastien).
Not a PC title, but the end to Red Dead Redemption made me cry. I've heard a lot of people say that the ending to RDR is bad, but I thought it was the only real way it could end, based on what I could glean of John's past. Still very affecting, though.
- Join Date
- Aug 2011
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- 1,077
You spend probably the first 3/4s of the game working to win back your wife and son, who are being held by government officials. Eventually, you finish everything the government has demanded of you, and your family is returned safely. You spend the last 1/4 or so of the game working on your farmstead, buying cattle, breaking in horses, etc. You also spend a lot of time bonding with your son. You teach him to shoot, hunt, skin animals, work around the farm, etc. Your character stresses to his son over and over again that he wants a better life for him than he had. He wants his son to lead an honest life, void of all the violence and crimes you have committed. You make your son promise you he will be good, and do the right thing.
Everything is going great on the farm. Then one day, the men from the government show up with a death squad and shoot you dead on your own land. The game is essentially "over", at this point. The game puts you in control of your son, Jack, as he is visiting your grave sometime down the road. The game is fully free-roam at this point. You keep all your guns, outfits, and challenge progress. You are just playing as your son instead of your main character. This is where it gets brilliant, to me. There is no mission pop-up to go and get revenge. You know where to find the government officials in town, however. As a player, I was angry that I had been killed, and wanted to hunt down and kill the man responsible. I knew, however, that my father (played by me) would have wanted me to let it go. Eventually, my anger won out, and I tracked down the bastard responsible. You have to travel to quite a few locations to finally find him. The game gives you ample time to change your mind and go back. After I confronted him, I stood there for about 3 minutes with my gun in hand, trying to decide if I should kill him or not.
I've never had a game make me think about something quite like that."What were we talking about? Pegasuses, pegasii, that's horses with wings. This motherf*cker got a sword that talks to him. Motherf*cker live in places that don't exist, it comes with a map. My God."
The Geth story arc in the Mass Effect series was one of the highlights for me, and its conclusion perhaps the greatest victory of the third game. They were never quite honest or open with the player, and there was always something about them that was left unstated. Yet through their actions, some throwaway lines, and the insight given into their shared memories it seems they somehow managed to have real emotions: pain, regret, and a yearning for freedom and perhaps even a renewed relation with the race that created - and attempted to exterminate - them. Their development throughout the series, which amongst other things really focussed on ideas about self-actualisation and self-determination, gave me what you might call an 'emotional connection' to their fate, and I was very glad to hear the sentence spoken in the screen-shot above: "Because of you, we are a people. And we are free.""He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to
the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free". ~ Luke 4:18
- Join Date
- Dec 2012
- Location
- Bristol, UK
- Posts
- 11
Mass Effect and Walking Dead made me consider who I was and what I am.
- Join Date
- Dec 2012
- Location
- Scotland
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- 138
Blood Omen's plot and characters made me stop and think about time travel, immortality and morality.
BioShock 2's story resonated with me... The good ending was devastating. It's a very touching game despite some early missteps (I hated how it forced you to stop and listen to Eleanor). One thing I appreciated was the new Little Sisters design - changed from repulsive frogs to a pretty little creature. I felt compelled to save them and harvesting was horrible, whereas in BioShock 1 I just saw them as the "gatherers" they were originally intended to be. They had no emotional impact.
I felt a stronger connection to Eleanor than to TWD's Clementine.
I also believe the rest of the characters were far more interesting than those of the first game. They're not downright villains, and they're not good people either. Their characterisation is nuanced and the judgments you inflict upon them have real weight - not because Eleanor is influenced by them, but because they're genuinely interesting. These people feel real compared to BioShock's caricatures. Their behaviour and fate intrigued and often saddened me.
Far Cry 2's buddy system is fantastic. Having to execute one because I couldn't save her is one of the most memorable gaming moments for me.
For 60 hours these buddies were the one beacon of humanity in Far Cry 2's mad Africa, and then they turned on me. Holy fucking shit.
- Join Date
- Aug 2012
- Posts
- 36
In Mass Effect 2 and 3 Samara made me think about stuff. Important stuff, like how I relate to my mom. That gal sacrificed so much for her daughters it made me cry; and reminded me how much my mom sacrificed for me growing up. A video game taught me some good old fashioned empathy.
"I am the very model of-"
Oh god Mordin. I wept like a child.I occasionally write things on this website. You can read these things by clicking this thing:
- Join Date
- Aug 2012
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- 36
I suppose I could go on and on about Mass Effect and how the various characters reminded me of various family members of mine. Thane reminded how painful it must have been for my dad to be away so much during my childhood. Ashley reminded me of my Marine brother, and how he constantly had to fight to prove himself in the Corps. Mordin reminded me of one of my eccentric professors, who was something of a mentor to me. These games have great characters that are so sympathetic and interesting (except Jacob).
The major complaint seems to be that players wanted the game to continue, and they didn't want it to continue with Jack. Basically they felt that John had earned a happy ending. But as you said, the game provides a lot of evidence that John isn't a reliable narrator of his own life. I think the first big clue is right at the beginning of the game, when the first guy you have to kill (the hell was his name...?) says that John "always did talk fancy," or something along those lines. John considers himself, perhaps subconsciously, to be better than other people, or at least better than the violent criminal he so clearly was. I think the best summary of his perspective comes from the snakeoil salesman: "Nobody's so critical of alcohol as a former drunk."
While I think it's debatable whether the lawless justice that was meted out to all of John's gang was warranted, I don't think the case is as strong that John in any way deserved an exemption.
I'm not sure what you mean about saying "Bendo." It's been years since I've played KoTOR, so maybe the spelling (or even the exact name) is off. Hopefully I didn't use some sort of offensive slang word.
I think continuing as Red Dead did was integral to the plot and would have severely lessened the overall story if what happened didn't happen, although I understand everyone's love for John over Jack..
Also, it's Bindo, not Bendo - nothing major haha, just made me chuckle.


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Forum:SOPA problem
From Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia
Many hells and hellos to you all,
As you may had heard, the Stop Online Piracy Act is right now under the U.S. Congress review. The Stop Online Piracy Act, or S(L)OPA(BITCH), is an act in which once passed, will require a censorship tool similar to that of the Great Firewall of China, which is seen behind me. This is a serious matter, because we have some copyrighted material. SOPA is designed to block websites that have copyrighted content, which means loss of advertising, and then afterwards, shutting down of websites. This act can easily be abused by anyone to get money when they don't need it.
So, as protest, I got a good idea: as a protest against this heinous bill, why not blank every page? Admins, this is also an important message to you because Uncyclopedia is your home. We must fight to protect this, and remember that even our enemy Wikipedia, ruled by evil dictator Jimbo Wales, is against this bill. We will unite with Wikipedia to end this bill!
|Si Plebius Dato' (Sir) Joe ang Kemador CUN|IC Kill | 10:45, December 28, 2011 (UTC)
- I already signed the petition against it. Twice. Everybody else should too. ~[ths] UotM 20:07, 12/28/2011
- Yes! Starting with Joe9320, let us all take turns going on blanking sprees. Starting with Joe9320. -- TKFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK 21:22, December 28, 2011 (UTC)
They really need to go fuck themselves. The Internet would fall into chaos, and our economy might be affected by it.--- TALK What's it like to be a heretic? 04:26, December 29, 2011 (UTC)
- Well, considering that Anonymous would probably drop a nuke if this passed, true. EpicAwesomeness (talk) 10:01, December 29, 2011 (UTC)
- @Joe I already redirect my userpage to Nihilism. The SOPA act must DIE! (I prefer sofas to sopas anyway.) ~[ths] UotM 01:08, 12/30/2011
- Guys, we'll settle this the democratic way: A vote. |Si Plebius Dato' (Sir) Joe ang Kemador CUN|IC Kill | 10:17, January 4, 2012 (UTC)
Voat for protest of SOPA
OK Guys, we have three choices. The choice with the most votes will be presented to the admins. This will serve as both a joke and a protest against SOPA. SOPA is an SOB(A). |Si Plebius Dato' (Sir) Joe ang Kemador CUN|IC Kill | 10:17, January 4, 2012 (UTC)
Blank Page?
Abso-fucking-bloodly-lutely nothing.
Completely Censored Uncyclopedia?
Any images will be replaced with black, words will be censored to the point that it makes good humor.
- For. Although we should be careful not to overdo it. We could do it for a few days during the so-called vote in Congress, but we would need an "opt-out" thing like we did with April Fools' stuff. -- Sir "TheSlyPony" Invariably certifiable. 16:55 January 4, 2012 (UTC)
Paint Uncyclopedia Black?
This will have Uncyclopedia be full of black. Clicking anywhere will lead to the American Censorship website.
Fake US Govt. image declaring "This site has been taken down due to violations of the Stop Online Piracy Act"
- With similar livery to the image used for ICE takedowns - clicking the image should go to an on-wiki page explaining it and linking to an anti-SOPA activism website. (ICE looks like this) -- Prof. Olipro KUN (W)Anchor Op Bur. (Harass) 08:41, January 6, 2012 (UTC)
- JA, I propose! |Si Plebius Dato' (Sir) Joe ang Kemador CUN|IC Kill | 08:24, January 8, 2012 (UTC)
Very confused users, huh?
If the point is to defeat censorship, and the solutions are to blank every page or turn it black (a bot could reverse all those in, say, ten seconds), isn't that censoring everything? It's like a wife being abused by her husband, so she shoots herself to death ("That'll teach him"). Anyway, the common sense out of the way, if the act passes what I think will happen is someone - even wikia - can get an immediate judicial restraining order, then lengthy court cases will follow as it goes up to the Supreme Court, etc. And I've been told to get around the U.S. act you just have to move the site to somewhere where creativity is still legal. Maybe I've heard wrong or am thinking wrong. So I'll now censor all my pages with a big red X through them, that should stop the censorship act cold. Aleister 19:35 4-1-'12
- No, this is designed as a protest against censorship. Wikipedia blanked their website as protest, and now they found a new hosting site. And even Australia is doomed now. |Si Plebius Dato' (Sir) Joe ang Kemador CUN|IC Kill | 04:04, January 5, 2012 (UTC)
- Thanks to you I've researched the response of Jimmy Wales, Facebook, etc., and agree that we should join the blackout if it comes to that. Thanks for bringing it up in the forum, and "fighting" for it. This forum is kind of messed up now, sloppy and all, maybe you can make a clearer section of voting, such as "We should follow the lead of wikipedia, google, and facebook if and when an internet strike is called." Something like that. Thanks again. Aleister 12:31 5-1-'12
History is just repeating itself, this will never pass.
SOPA is basically the same deal as an earlier bill that basically failed epically even though it was originally accepted, you know why it failed? Because you can't fucking censor the Internet, nor govern the Internet and control its content. The US government was under the false impression they could and are trying it again. There will be protests, petitions and public outcry that they can't possibly ignore such a public outcry. So what will happen? It will fall apart as it did before, the bill has already been delayed at least a few times because they can't ignore the public opinion towards it. In summary it won't pass and even if it does the public outcry coundn't be ignored by congree. So this bullshit about blanking our content in protest is really pointless bickering. ~Sir Frosty (Talk to me!) 04:28, January 5, 2012 (UTC)
- Frosty, will you do me the favor of being the father of my children?
I'd do it myself, but then I'd have to get a job. And meet a woman. ~ BB ~ (T) ~ Fri, Jan 6 '12 9:34 (UTC)
- What? ~Sir Frosty (Talk to me!) 00:20, January 7, 2012 (UTC)
Good thread at ATS
There's a very good thread on SOPA right now at Above Top Secret that's at the top of most of the thread listings. I suggest we do this forum over with a serious vote to join in the blackout if, goddess and Pan forbid, this passes. Thanks, Joe, for bringing the topic up here. Aleister 00:12 Russian Christmas '12
- You're welcome. If SOPA ever passes then Uncyclopedia will be dead in less than a month, hence re-establishing the "Uncyclopedia is the worst" mantra. And parody will be harder to do. |Si Plebius Dato' (Sir) Joe ang Kemador CUN|IC Kill | 08:53, January 8, 2012 (UTC)
- The Republicans and establishment Democrats (i.e. the man, the overlords, Davy Rockyfella) really want to kill the internet if they could, and this is a way of chopping off a leg and maybe one lung. Can you put up a forum with just a clean vote to do the blackout? This forum has gone in cats and dogs directions, so a clear question might get some serious voting done. Thanks again for your concern about, ah, saving uncyclopedia and the internet, trivial matters. Aleister 11:46 8-1-'12
Vote to self censor Uncyclopedia
- For ... I think we should censor ourselves and not allow uncyclopedia to make fun of people, use other peoples images or do anything else that people don't like. --ShabiDOO 05:33, January 9, 2012 (UTC)
- Against Per SOPA never being allowed due to public complaints and protests. ~Sir Frosty (Talk to me!) 06:11, January 9, 2012 (UTC)
Voat to blackout Uncyclopedia if/and/when Wikipedia blacks out its site
And while we're at it, we'll make an article on this! |Si Plebius Dato' (Sir) Joe ang Kemador CUN|IC Kill | 10:16, January 9, 2012 (UTC)
- I actually have a really really giant black marker, and I plan on blacking out every word on uncyclopedia within the next week. --ShabiDOO 12:24, January 9, 2012 (UTC)
- It may be stopped by public protest, which is the whole point of joining in the protest. Thanks, Joe, for organizing our monkey chattering. Aleister 13:30 9-1-'12
- 4 |Si Plebius Dato' (Sir) Joe ang Kemador CUN|IC Kill | 04:05, January 10, 2012 (UTC)
- Don't forget to move all pages to HAG*ER????? without the censor as well--fcukman
LOOS3R!05:00, January 10, 2012 (UTC)
- Against. Stop making pointless petitions and contribute. ~Sir Frosty (Talk to me!) 05:19, January 10, 2012 (UTC)


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The dusty world of technical standards setting is full of excitement and intrigue again as 120 delegates from 37 countries convene in Geneva to discuss whether to accept Microsoft's new Open Office XML software as an international open standard under the International Standards Organisation.
Standard-setting does not normally arouse much interest. It's usually a group of five or six engineers in a small room voting on an incremental modification to a piece of code few people are even aware exists. But this time the stakes are high – especially for Microsoft, which could stand to lose out on a great deal of business if it does not get the ISO seal of approval. Read more


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THE Bank of England's new deputy governor paid a visit to Wiltshire to see what challenges face the county's businesses.
Wessex Chambers of Commerce arranged a private meeting with Sir Jon Cunliffe and several companies last month at the site of civil engineering contractor MJ Church, based at Marshfield.
Sir Jon, who started his new role in November, was keen to hear first-hand how local businesses were faring.
Castle Combe Circuit, Chippenham-based Rotaval, Corsham Print and Corsham's Martingate shopping centre were among those represented, as well as Nationwide, Investec Wealth Investment, Pearson May Accountants and Strakers.
Wessex Chambers manager Stefan Barbaruk said: "We were delighted to have been asked to organise this event so early in Sir Jon's tenure. Hopefully he was able to get a picture of how the Wiltshire economy was performing."
The Chambers have been running a series of similar meetings across the region with the Bank of England.


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Hello, my name is Barkley, & I am an handsome Beagle mix. I am house trained & food motivated.I am shy with new people. I would do best in a home with no children. If you are interested in meeting me, please fill out an application through our website!
My adoption fee includes the following:
3 Puppy combo shots (Distemper/Parvo)
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Thank You!
Your message has been sent to 2 Blondes All Breed Rescue.
You'll receive a copy, too, at to help you keep track of which pets you've inquired about, and which shelters and rescues you've emailed.
NOTE: Some shelters have physical locations you can visit; some of these shelters may only have pets for a limited time, so please do not wait for a reply—just go visit the shelter! Other organizations are rescue groups run by busy volunteers who may take a while to reply. You can find information about the shelter or rescue group caring for this pet, and their adoption procedures, on the pet's details page on Adopt-a-Pet.com.


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SSA Leadership Track at the 2011 Texas Freethought Convention
One of the fastest-growing freethought events in the last few years has been the Texas Freethought Convention. This year they're co-hosted by the brand-new Atheist Alliance of America! They have a star-studded lineup (Richard Dawkins is the keynote this year), the event is easily accessible with Texas being in the middle of the country, and this year the Texas Freethought Convention will be sporting a shiny new SSA Leadership track!
We've had amazing success with these events in the past, so a lot will stay the same. One of the main things that will carry over to this event is that student members of the national SSA will receive a discount so epic, Chuck Norris will leave the state. The registration cost for the convention is normally $150, but if you get a coupon code from the SSA they'll hack $91 off the price - which means our students can get in for a paltry $59!!!
What will you get for your $59? Acess to the full conference and a whole lot more, that's what! You will get the usual awesome leadership training along with all the fun extras. You get access to all the conference lectures as well. You will also receive access to the SSA room at the conference, where you can go to unwind if you need some down time and to interact/network with other students. There will be games like Rock Band, Super Smash Brothers Melee, DDR, Apples to Apples, and other classics running at all times. There may even a Duck Hunt tournament, because we know how to rock it old school at the SSA. We are even trying to tie down PZ Myers for an exclusive get-to-know you session with the students where he will challenge all-comers at Mario Kart Double Dash (or whatever game is popular at the time).
Also...do you remember that time we talked about orchestrating a surprise for this event? Well here it is: if you register for the 2011 Texas Freethought Convention with an SSA discount, you are invited to an exclusive breakfast event with Richard Dawkins! The food is on us, so if you have one of those magical SSA tickets, just check the schedule and come on down and chill with Richard.
Here's the kicker: this thing is filling up - especially the conference hotel. You can presently get a double room (and sleep up to four people in it) for a special rate of $124/night. Once those rooms are gone, so is that rate, and they're filling up fast. So organize quickly, get your reservations made, and we'll see you there!


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Bubble gum, bubble gum
Let's play bubble gum, bubble gum! This fun kids birthday party game will entertain children of all ages and tests their listening and counting skills. Plan a game today!
Number of players:
Have the children gather in a tight circle and make a fist with both hands. Then, have them hold their fists out in the centre of the circle. Select someone to be the "counter".
The counter takes one of their fists and tap everyone's fists (including their own) as they say this rhyme: "Bubble gum, Bubble gum, in a dish. How many pieces do you wish?"
Whoever they tap last says a number between 1 and 20. Then the counter taps everyone's fists again as they count to the specified number.
Whoever they land on last, has to take that fist out of the circle and place it behind their back. Then the counter would start all over again with "Bubble gum, Bubble gum ..." and repeat the process.
Once both fists are tapped, that person is out. And this goes on until it narrowed it down to one - the winner!
Find more great painting ideas on Kidspot:
- Make your own fizzing chalk paints
- 16 great painting ideas for kids
- Fingerpainting prints
- Printable colouring pages to paint
- Make your own edible finger paints
- Make puff paints
- Try ice cube painting
- How to make glitter paint
- Make your own roll-on paints
- Create a blow painting
- Make homemade face paint
- Make Very Hungry Caterpillar paint stamps
- Try stick painting
- Extreme finger painting activity
- Make butterfly paintings
Find more great play ideas:
- Play ideas for fun
- Games to play with babies
- Learning games
- Birthday party games
- Games to play outside
- Science experiments to do in the kitchen


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Stella McCartney Fall 2011
Sitting at Stella McCartney with her gorgeous blonde brood, Natalia Vodianova was in McCartney's camel-and-black block striped tunic and black short skirt, with bare legs and the kind of chunky flat biker boots hip moms do school runs in, not make public appearances in. As to what was on her feet, Vodianova acknowledged them with a smile and a nod of her head downwards that said, "Yeah, you turn up here today with three kids in tow and try doing it in skyscraper heels." There's a phrase in Britain, Stella McCartney's homeland, "yummy mummy," and clearly no one fits that description more than Vodianova. Or, on that note, McCartney herself. The latter may (rather rightly) bristle at the connotations that phrase conjures up (a kind of smug, self-righteous maternal superiority), but at its best, the tag is recognition that motherhood does not mean giving up on looking, well, cool and clued in to what looks right or, for that matter, hot.
This, in essence, is what McCartney did for fall; a collection for grown-ups with interesting and demanding lives who also have moments in said lives when they want to look absolutely knockout. She took the season's obsession with controlled, sculpted volume, and rendered it in everything from a baseball jacket turned into a Cristóbal Balenciaga coat, complete with faux-leather sleeves, to a shawl-collared tuxedo coat cut with a real swing to balloon-sleeved sweaters and micro pleated tops, worn with neat pencil skirts and high waist pants, all in a color palette of black, ivory, gold, and teal. And, yes, much of this was indeed accessorized with variations on flat, flat, flat, patent leather–effect loafers and ankle boots with gilt snaffles and gleaming back zippers. Then for night, she cut loose or, more accurately, cut tight with an oversize smoking coat over a dotted sheer dress, or that same idea of graphic transparence/opacity used for a trio of sensational, curvaceous conceal and reveal dresses that closed her show. They said McCartney—and ergo, any woman like her, with career and home and kids—can still very much turn it out.


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Western-inspired pull-on ankle boot
with a high Cuban-shaped heel. This fabulous boot has a curved top line for a flattering shape on the leg. It also has lovely stitch detailing on the side panel. Available in black and pecan tan leather.
Choose A Color
- Black Leather Black leather
- Tan Pecan tan leather
- Select your Size & Fit
Make sure your gorgeous new boots or shoes fit like a glove by finding the perfect foot/calf width for you.
How to measure your calf ...
For boots to look 100% amazing and shoes to feel sensational they need to fit you perfectly. That's why we offer different width-fittings and an array of calf sizes to help you find your perfect fit. Simply follow our easy measuring guides to find the just-right size for you.
- Sit down and place your feet flat on the floor in front of you.
- Take a tape measure and wrap it around the widest part of your calf, taking care not to leave a gap.
- Measure to the nearest 1cm.
For more details on finding your perfect fit see our Fit Guide page
We're passionate about finding the perfect pair for you; so we're on hand to help with measuring, fitting and styling. Just give us a call on 1 877 270 9274 (toll free) to chat to one of our expert fitters, or drop us an email here.
For shoes or ankle boots to look and feel sensational they need to fit you perfectly. We offer different width fittings - to help find a perfect fit that feels amazing to wear.
- Place a fabric tape measure on the floor cm side down.
- Place your foot on the tape measure and stand firmly on top of it.
- Measure around the circumference of your foot at its widest point – usually from the bone just below your big toe, to the bone below your little toe (the tape measure should be at slight angle)
- Make a note of your measurement. It's quite common to find a slight variation in size between each foot, so it's best to measure both feet and use the wider measurement.
- On the Shoes or Ankle Boots page select your foot size and then choose your corresponding width fitting; 'narrow', 'standard' or 'wide'. E.g. if you are a foot size 37 and your feet measure 21.5cm, then you would be 'narrow'.
For a more details on finding your perfect fit see our Fit Guide page
We're passionate about finding the perfect pair for you; so we're on hand to help with measuring, fitting and styling. Just give us a call on 1 877 270 9274 to chat to one of our expert fitters, or drop us an email here.
Ted&Muffy Heritage brings together an edited selection of customer favourites from over 10 years of expertise in boot-making. A celebration of English design and European craftsmanship, these tried and tested classics are loved for their versatility and made to stand the test of time. The ultimate in timeless fitted boots, available in up to 21 calf sizes.Find out more Shop the collection


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Topic: CA 19-9 is normal!
I'll take every scrap of good news and celebrate!!
Weight is going up, which makes my doc happy, and my new clothes lonely.....
Scans in 4 weeks, but everything points to the trial drug keeping cancer quiet!
"Don't just have minutes in the day; have moments in time."
Any opinions I give are based on personal experiences, and are not based on medical knowledge. I strongly suggest receiving medical care and opinions.


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10 Best Carry-On Bags Under $100
Traveling this holiday season? Pack your things in these stylish and inexpensive bags.
-Bethany Bassler
Tis' the season to pack up your chic bags and hopefully travel to warmer climates. Follow Gwen Stefani's lead and incorporate trends into your carryon bags with a pop of color, animal prints, or preppy backpacks. Traveling doesn't have to look frumpy, my pet. Don one of these low priced, stylish carryon bags for under $100.
1. Heys USA XCASE World's Lightest Carry-On ($67.99, luggage.com)
Read 10 Best Cross-Body Bags for Fall
2. Tumi garment pack ($95, tumi.com)
3. Mossimo front zip style Luster weekend duffle bag ($39.99, target.com)
4. Ben Sherman Accessories Hunt weekender ($48.93. amazon.com)


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Geelong Wedding Dressmakers and Bridal Designers
Lilian Bridal
Australia Wide
High Quality Tailor Made Custom Design Wedding and Formal Gowns for All Sizes and All Body Shapes. Your Dream Wedding or Formal Dress in an Affordable Price, starting from $199.
Lucy Laurita
Ascot Vale VIC
Based in Australia's fashion capital , Melbourne celebrated designer Lucy Laurita creates signature womenswear.More often than not women today face options that are mass produced and anything but different . Lucy


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Maximize your learning experience and complete the course webinar offered prior to the start of class. Some courses include a pre-recorded Webinar reviewing basic information so you can maximize your learning experience during the course. Access information will be provided via email one week prior to the start of the training event.
ISPE will provide continuing education units (ISPE CEUs) for all European courses. Verification of CEUs is based on attendance as well as satisfactory completion of all evaluation materials. Statements of credit will be sent via email within four weeks of evaluation materials.
Some courses contain knowledge related to the CPIP™ Technical Knowledge and Competency Elements. For complete information concerning the knowledge elements or the CPIP™ Credential, please visit www.ISPE-PCC.org. The ISPE Professional Certification Commission does not endorse any of these resources, products, or services offered relative to the CPIP™ certification programme.


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Checking inventory..
Your friends know exactly where to find you every Sunday – either at home watching the Giants away game or at the stadium cheering on your team. On those glorious Sunday football afternoons, make sure you are in complete comfort while you watch Jason Pierre-Paul and the Giants dominate the competition. This Nike NFL Name & Number tee pays tribute to your favorite team and player by featuring a printed New York logo on the front, and Pierre-Paul's name and number printed on the back. With Nike's Standard Fit this tee is not too loose or too tight, so you're guaranteed to be in total comfort for all four quarters.
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Topic: My Sis
It's great to be writing in this section!!
My sister's chemo nurse told her yesterday that her bloods show her tumour marker is coming down - Yay, yay, yay!!! [Julia dances round the room]
She has her next scan in 3 weeks. Fingers (etc) crossed that shows good news, too.


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Have you checked your iso's md5sum hash?
I have this card in a laptop and have no troubles with it whatsoever.
I have a chipset Intel 4965. I have some problems with BT3, I can't put my wireless card in monitor mode, because I receive:
bt ~ # airmon-ng start wlan0
Interface Chipset Driver
wlan0 Intel 4965 a/b/g/n iwl4965 - [phy0]
ERROR: Neither the sysfs interface links nor the iw command is available.
Please download and install iw from http://dl.aircrack-ng.org/iw.tar.bz2
I downloaded it and:
bt iw # make
CC iw.o
iw.c:11:31: error: netlink/genl/genl.h: No such file or directory
iw.c:12:33: error: netlink/genl/family.h: No such file or directory
iw.c:13:33: error: netlink/genl/ctrl.h: No such file or directory
iw.c:14:25: error: netlink/msg.h: No such file or directory
iw.c:15:26: error: netlink/attr.h: No such file or directory
iw.c: In function 'nl80211_init':
With the command iwconfig -a, I get
bt iw # iwconfig -a
-a No such device
I see wireless networks with Kismet and I connect to Internet via cable.
Is it a problem of my wireless card? Do you have any idea?
Does it work with kernel of BT4?
Thank you!
Have you checked your iso's md5sum hash?
I have this card in a laptop and have no troubles with it whatsoever.
Did you succeed in switching in monitor mode?
I supposed my ISO is working good and I didn't checked. How can I?
The checksum is OK! Any suggestions?
Hi all answers together: Intel 4965 is not injecting with default BackTrack 3 kernel. On BackTrack 4 beta, PreFinal and Final its working but with limitations as low injection rate, deauth is mostly not working, fake auth needs to be done using wpa suplicant. Even if you exactly know what you are doing its a pain... Anyway good luck.
I can switch in monitor mode with BT4!
Now the problem is:
ERROR: Could not connect to Kismet server 'localhost:2501'
will attempt to reconnect in 5 seconds
I tried to edit kismet.conf with "ncsource=wlan0:name=intel", but it doesn't work.
Any idea?


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Your Doctor, Your Partner in Health
Lupus is a lifelong disease. It may get quiet and go into remission, but it doesn't just go away for good. To deal with this uncertainty and all the health problems that can come up when you have lupus, it's worth spending the time and effort to form as strong and positive a relationship as possible—a partnership—with the people who will be treating you along the way.
Here are some tips for improving your partnership with your doctor—rheumatologist, cardiologist, dermatologist—as you prepare for your next visit:
Get there on time
Making it to each appointment on time shows your doctor that you value his time and advice. It also gives you the time that you really need—and deserve!—to be checked out thoroughly and tell him about any concerns that you have.
Be informed
Learn as much about lupus on your own as possible. Websites like www.LupusNY.org offer up-to-date information to help you better understand the disease. Doing this also shows your doctor that you are interested in your health and can talk about advances in treatments and what they mean to you.
Communication is the key
Focus on speaking clearly, asking questions and really listening. Ask how best to contact the doctor between appointments. Should you call the office? Is it OK to send an email? And be open and honest. You should feel comfortable telling your doctor about any changes in your life, since so many day-to-day things, such as added stress or even lack of sleep or changing your diet, can increase your risk for having a flare.
Keep track
Between visits, keep track of how you feel and make a list of questions to ask at your next appointment. During your visit, take notes and be sure you understand prescription and dosage instructions. If you find it awkward to take notes or you feel like you miss things, ask if you can tape the visit—so that you can replay instructions and advice when you get home.
Family matters
Ask a family member or friend to go with you to your next appointment to take notes, ask questions or mention things that you might not think of on your own. And just as important: your doctor will get to meet the people in your support system.
Be a familiar face
Your doctor has a staff of nurses, assistants, and more to care for you at your appointment. Make the effort to say hello and develop a relationship. They are the ones who schedule the appointments, call in prescriptions, and generally keep things going. And your doctor will probably notice that you take the time to be extra respectful and courteous to his staff.
Get a second opinion
If you are unhappy with your doctor-patient relationship, tell your doctor. See if she has ideas on what you can do to make it work better. If things don't improve, contact the Lupus Cooperative of New York for a referral to another doctor.


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Alena and the Favorite Thing
Inspired by the birth of his child earlier this year, Eric Anderson celebrates the unique bond between dads and their daughters, that timeless relationship that Robert Browning described as the "special providence of fatherhood." ALENA & THE FAVORITE THING is the story of a bored little girl with a big imagination. When Alena's Poppa loses his favorite thing and can't even seem to remember what it is, he enlists his daughter in a quest to help him find it. From a basement filled with monsters, through a grand Victorian ballet hall, to a big top's center ring, and all the way to the moon, Alena and her trusty teddy bear search everywhere in a quest to find her Poppa's favorite thing! A heartwarming tale for parents and children of all ages. Eric Anderson is a well-known writer/director in the Chicago area. His collaborator Jakub Kuzma, who lives in Poland, has illustrated over 150 children's books, working with major European publishers. Their artistic, humorous and contemporary interpretations will capture the attention of even the youngest "reader." Please visit www.alenabooks.com for more on this charming new entry into the children's book canon.
I didn't even know Jessica Alba was in this movie!Tags: horror, dvd, funny, movies, entertainment, hand, seth green, Horrible, scaryAdded 9 Years Ago from Amazon.com


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The government says it is looking "seriously" at a plan that would exempt pensioners and other disadvantaged Australians from paying the proposed $7 GP fee.
Health Minister Minister Peter Dutton says he has sought costs for an alternative plan being put forward by the doctors' union, the Australian Medical Association.
The AMA's counter policy would void the fee for the elderly and disadvantaged as well as indigenous Australians who visit their doctor through Aboriginal Medical Services.
Mr Dutton says he has asked his department to cost the policy.
"We're having discussions with the AMA and they've put forward an alternate model. They still believe and support a co-payment model and we're having a look and pricing what it is that they've suggested to us and we'll negotiate with them" he told 2UE Radio in Sydney.
Mr Dutton will also need to negotiate with the crossbench senators because Labor and the Greens are opposed to the proposed fee.
He says he is also considering other compromise models, including Liberal-Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm's idea of reducing patient medicine costs under the pharmaceutical benefits scheme.
"If there are further changes we can make that people believe can make it fairer, I'm happy to listen to that," he said.
"I believe we can negotiate this," Mr Dutton said.
The government says the main concern raised about its GP fee is not the $7 cost but the ability of the poor to pay.
The flagged compromise follows a trio of government backbenchers publicly calling for the GP fee to be exempted for pensioners.
Queensland Nationals MP George Christensen has said such a move would be politically sensible for the government.
Meanwhile the consultant who first proposed the fee to the Abbott government's commission of audit, Terry Barnes, says there is a case for making the co-payment fairer for the less well off, the elderly and those with chronic illnesses.
But he says the AMA needs to release their policy for the same kind of public scrutiny that his proposal and the government's proposal have received.
"Why shouldn't the AMA's proposal be made public, they've seen everybody else's?" he told Fairfax Media.
"This is more than just a matter for vested interests," he said and urged the government to extract concessions from doctors and not just cave in to the union's demands.
Labor leader Bill Shorten said the minister's willingness to exempt the "GP tax" for some showed it was an "ill-conceived idea" that it should be dumped altogether.
"The whole GP tax is a clunker. It's rotten, its unfair, it's a broken promise," Mr Shorten told reporters in Sydney.
"Don't do half hearted measures, drop the whole GP tax," he said.


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Hello there!
I'm a physicist with a very hard problem at hand and I could really use an advice. My problem - think an ugly mix of classical and quantum physics with a lot of monte carlo looping and stiff, nonlinear ODE solving - by far the most complex task I was to do and had it planned to finish it by summer. My programming reach is very limited, indeed, I usually write monolithic C codes (MinGW, Netbeans, Windows), smuggling C++ features every now and then, spawning ugly console and common controls dialog applications that spit out hard to read .dat files. If you think of all the bad things real programmers advise us against, all the bad habits I can shot my leg with, all the crappy ways to handle pointer or allocation bunched - I call that my programming skill. And I'm boring you with this so you get to grasp my shock and awe with this python thing.
Shocked, I tell you! Looking at python examples and documentation, PTSD kicked in. I felt like my old-school-catholic OCD grandmother witnessing a loose Mardi Gras party. Classes touching with no }; in between them, variables that can be this or that, no compiler overlord to serve ... I've seen things, man! I CLI'd man scanf just to slap myself back to reality.
So I just need a help with a strategic decision. Do I continue with my old ways or should I join this travesty?! On C/C++ up side, there is a familiarity with the language and work environment, some experience with numerical problems and threading. On the down side, I really lose a *lot* of time figuring programming details rather than figuring physics and that annoys me. I will get program done faster in C than in py because I still have to learn the damn thing, and it's clear advantage for C. Also I have to have some graphics for the problem at hand and I'm just loving what I see with wxGlade and mathlibplot. What I had in mind for graphing is some lib to throw in or maybe just some BitBlting and handling WM_PAINT to draw variables and parameters and how they relate to each other. Now, this is no small thing in several ways - when you have thing written and debugged, there is a lot of test runs to explore configuration space and having vector field drawn with MayaVi2 and not just have a history graph of an average of a single vector component is a great comparative advantage for python. But my concern is - is python really easier to write than C/C++? Anyone, who has done 5000+ LOC projects in both of them - I'd really appreciate input from an experienced developer.
As for debugging phase, I'm loving the fact that python is interpreted, but it seems to me that modern IDEs cancel this comparative advantage for python. But if bug *production* is much lower for py than c, this could be up side for python. But really can't get a good insight googling - how would you people compare debugging on C/C++ against python?
Science: it is my impression that py community has done unbelievable effort so you can do good science with it. And I'm loving scipy and gsl interfaces and all, but it's all in vain if ...execution times. I read of it a lot, but still not sure. What of threading in py? When I write C, I can make damn sure to load all my CPU's cores mouthful. Can a skilled programmer do the same in py? What about tight loops? Montecarlo is all about loops and having Interpreter and loops share the sentence? Yikes! How reliable is this pypy thing? I've seen runtimes of py with pypy au pair with c coding. Like, 10-20% behind, but I can live with that, especially if I can make it up in development time and preserved nervs. On the other hand, does pypy have compatibility issues known? Specially against scipy and gsl interfacing.
Calculations are to be done overnight at work, eight cored Intel's beasts with 24GB of RAM and brutal performance bus - a beauty. Actually, I got half of dozen of those, but I don't thing I can manage across network parallel computing.
So I know this is just a pile of random thoughts and no central question asked, maybe bordering with forum rules. But I'd really appreciate if someone would reflect, especially if my skills are subset of yours. If total time, from zero to final numerical results, and efficiency of the time spent - meaning focus on physics rather that language details - is to be used as criteria, do I stand the chance to get my money back with py?


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When life gives you lemons, what do you do with them? Do you go to the old stand-by and make a fresh batch of lemonade? That's a great idea! But wait. Might I suggest making your own homemade Italian lemon liqueur instead? Think of it as an adult version of lemonade.
Start brewing up batches of limoncello, a clean, sweet and beloved lemon-based digestivo from Southern Italy. Brewing your own limoncello will take six weeks, so some patience is required. But as soon as the weather starts to warm up, you'll have a cool, refreshing drink that showcases the bright, lush flavor of lemons.
And since limoncello requires only a few simple ingredients, make sure they are the best you can find. Though Sorrento Oval lemons are standard, any bright yellow and juicy lemon will do. And for the best results, be sure to use a grain alcohol (not vodka!) to extract the concentrated flavor from the lemon peels.
Though traditionally limoncello is good to sip cold and neat after dinner, it's becoming increasingly popular in mixed drinks like this Limoncello Spritzer. So get your lemons assembled and start your brewing, because every sip will be worth the wait.
Bottoms up, folks.
Recipe courtesy Gabriele Corcos and Debi Mazar
- 6 1/3 cups /1.5 liters 75-percent volume alcohol (recommended: 2 bottles Everclear Grain Alcohol)
- 14 lemons
- 6 1/3 cups /1.5 liters water
- 2 1/3 pounds/1050 grams sugar
This recipe occurs in 2 different stages: first the macerating of the lemon peels in alcohol, and then the actual brewing with the rest of the ingredients.
First stage:
Peel the lemons, making sure to only separate the yellow part of the peel from the fruit, and not go too deep.
A potato peeler does the trick, even if it behaves sketchy in the hand. You can try with a small blade, like a paring knife, but you will probably end up cutting too deep.
Place the peels in glass jars with the alcohol, possibly big enough to accommodate all the ingredients in the recipe, seal tight and let rest for two weeks. Find a dark corner in your house, even a basement or a cellar where to let your Limoncello rest, absolutely do not leave it exposed to sunlight… also, try to resist the temptation of opening your jars and sniffing it. It is called "resting" for a reason, be respectful, you will be rewarded later!
Second stage:
After macerating for two weeks, the alcohol is now ready to be drained and mixed with the water and sugar.
Heat the water in the pan and mix the sugar, then let cool off for about 1 hour, stirring every now and then to make sure that the sugar collected on the bottom of the pan "stays in the game".
Drain the lemon peels from the jars and mix in the sugar water. Be careful, this is a moment you have to keep an eye on your volumes: figure out how many jars you are working with and maintain the proportion of ingredients! To simplify your life you, can brew everything in a big enough pot to accommodate all ingredients and then bottle it back into the jars.
And again, for the second time, you have to exercise control and patience. Sniff all you want, than close your jars tight and let rest for a whole month. You can shake the liquid gently when you start noticing some sugar deposited on the bottom of the jars. Where did you decide to let your Limoncello rest, in the basement on a kitchen shelf? Remember, no sunlight!
After a month, it is time to bottle, and it is totally up to you, just make sure you can fit your bottles in the freezer.
Brew responsibly!


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ALIEF, Texas - A local teenager was robbed at gunpoint just steps from his backdoor on his way home from school.
Police said it happened Monday afternoon.
The victim asked Local 2 to not disclose his name because the crime has alarmed him.
"He said, 'Give me your money.' I said I didn't have any money on me and I put my hands up. He placed the gun on me and he pretty much patted me down," said the high school sophomore.
The robbers took his guitar, guitar case and his school work.
"The whole day after, I was really shaken up," he said.
The tenth grade student told his mom what happened. Together, they called the police, who arrived at their home within minutes. He said he and officers drove around their neighborhood and spotted the robbers a few blocks away.
"Sure enough, there they were in front of an abandoned apartment. I pointed them out and they were arrested," he said.
Police also found the teen's belongings dumped in a nearby field.
The Houston police told Local 2 one of the suspects was just 16-years-old. Both suspects were arrested; their names have not been released.
The teenage victim's mother said she is very concerned about crime in their Alief neighborhood after hearing about what happened to her son.
According to the HPD crime index website, 34 robberies have happened in the 77072 zip code in which the family lives in the past 30 days.
"I've always been a peaceful person," said the victim's mom. "I don't believe in guns, but at this point I recommend to have a gun in the house."
Copyright 2012 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.