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Tendon/ligament injury - Dpony(32 Posts)
Hi there, would appreciate some advice.
Found Dpony a week last Monday completely unable to weight bear in his field. Clearly in considerable pain.
Emergency Vet called naturally, sedation and a thorough examination in the field before moving him to his stable via the trailer. Sedation allowed a touch of weight bearing, which the vet was pleased about.
Diagnosis was tendon/ligament related. Complete box rest for 5 days. Then walking 5 times a day on hard surfaces. Sadly, he developed colic on the Friday (stress, change in diet, routine etc) so Vet was back out then!
First 24/48 hours showed massive improvements. There has never been any swelling or heat strangely and he walks fine on hard surface but his leg 'gives out' every so often on soft surfaces even after nearly 10 days.
We've had a tough week or so getting DD and myself to farm that many times a day, but love our pony and will do whatever it takes.
Yesterday, we rigged up a paddock in a very quiet field and let him graze there with a companion while we mucked out, a total of maybe an hour, injury no worse for this. The usual paddock is where he can see his own field and (more importantly), the mares, which, frankly, sends him loopy usually I plan to have him in this quiet field where he can't get too excited until he's absolutely fully sound.
Vet now wants us to move towards gentle turnout, which I completely understand, I would want to move about and shake off any stiffness if I had a strain and I am not sure the rest is having any further benefit. Plus, I want him out as much as possible over winter anyway, I don't want to baby him. I am just scared of going backwards with him!!! We are going on a long planned holiday next week and, while we have very good friends who will help, I can't realistically expect this level of commitment if he re-injures himself.
We have a physio calling back but not sure when they will treat him as he's quite sought after round here.
Just looking to vent a bit really, I am a worrier but want to do the right thing too.
Thank you again.
The only possible reason for me taking a different view would have been if the prognosis for a 'useful' future was very slim. He's only 12, enjoys being ridden, taken to all the new stuff we have thrown at him with good spirit and willingness.
Had it been that we would be out of pocket to the tune of 000's (which we will be), with a relatively young pony that could not be worked again or suffer pain, then I might have considered that not in anybody's best interest (our pockets are not endlessly deep and pragmatism kicks in at some stage) but our odds seem relatively positive and I will take that chance.
He'll be with us for life though, even if loaned from the yard.
Bet you are glad you don't have that many equine family members now!
That didn't sound right!! I simply meant I wouldn't have wanted him to suffer, either physically or mentally, if the chances were very slight.
That's why I've never replaced my riding horse ,I haven't the time to look after one myself now and honestly don't want to commit to 2 lots of full livery ,added to which I struggle to find a yard where I'm happy with the care . The Dartmoor was my sons ,we got her when they were both 6 ,they're now 20 and he lost interest when he was 7 , he preferred the Shetland we had before !
I am sorry tohear about the break but what good luck you chose to go the whole hog with the scintigraphy - I suspect the break may have been very tough to diagnose otherwise. There is so much more they can do for breaks now, I wish him a speedy recovery.
What a nightmare, thank heavens you've got to the bottom of it and dpony is doing well. I would have made the same decision as you - the prognosis is good, he should have a useful and happy life, and the treatment whilst not straightforward is not too stressful. With the right information I don't think these decisions are too hard - when my dhorse reached the end of the road with sarcoids, after ££££'s and hours spent caring for him I just knew I was doing the right thing, not too soon and not too late (thanks to a good vet). It still hurt like hell to take the decision, but it was the right one. You will have known if that decision was for you on this occasion, thankfully it obviously wasn't/isn't.
Dpony sounds sensible and I'm sure with the right management he'll come right, 3 months really isn't that long. Dhorse had kissing spine surgery in June and at the time 3 months seemed like ages, but actually he's fit, well and about to start hunting again - it will fly.
Also it's probably the best 3 months of the year to be lame as there is a limit to what you can achieve anyway with school and dark nights .
Thank you all again, I agree that although I don't relish early starts in the dark, better now than early spring!
It's also good to hear stories of pony's coming back into work after serious conditions. The post operative written assessment is really very positive for him and he's walking amazingly well on it already, with the caveat that he was actually weight bearing pre diagnosis far better than he 'should' have, given the injury.
Anyway, he's back home, in the biggest and best stable at the farm (all relative!), eating hay like the proverbial horse and very settled, which is great, he has always been a but stressy away from the others but the enforced box rest seems to have got him over this as we decided after two initial weeks of borrowing companions and mucking out two stables, swapping companions over etc that he would just have to lump it!
The vet has reduced his bill considerably too voluntarily, which makes me wonder how far I could have pushed a complaint, I am not that sort of person though, given the positive prognosis anyway.
Dpony looked at me like I was a loon today as I tied a turnip up with some string in his stable, tried some music too but he looked positively alarmed at Take That!
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World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Returns to Hagerstown
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Returns to Hagerstown
The Maryland track hosts Round 2 of the Kasey Kahne Challenge on Sunday, May 20
HAGERSTOWN, Md. - May 8, 2012 - There is one driver in particular who has his sight set on the upcoming Ollie's Bargain Outlet presents the Kasey Kahne Challenge brought to you by O'Neill Race Gear event.
Cody Darrah, who drives for the NASCAR star, grew up watching races at Hagerstown Speedway - site for Round 2 of the Kasey Kahne Challenge on Sunday, May 20, with the World of Outlaws.
"Hagerstown is pretty special to me and to our family," Darrah said. "Ever since I was little, we'd go there and watch my uncle on the late model side. I grew up with a different background, not too much in sprint cars, but in late models. That's a track that I've got to stand on the frontstretch with my uncle and also with Kasey two years ago. So it's a pretty special race track to me and I'm pretty excited to go there with the Outlaws."
And the fact that his car owner is co-promoting the race along with SLS Promotions doesn't hurt.
"To be in a race that he sponsors and to get a little bit of his money back would sure be a bonus for the whole team," Darrah said as he sported a big grin.
This will be the World of Outlaws first race at the semi-banked, half-mile oval since 2005, when Sammy Swindell claimed the feature. Swindell, who leads the current World of Outlaws points and won the first round of the Kasey Kahne Challenge, has won a series-best seven of the 35 Outlaws events on the racy track.
"It's a notoriously, fairly slick track by the end of the night," Kerry Madsen said. "We're pretty confident on slick stuff, so it'll be quite interesting to go there."
Mark Kinser set the track record of 14.945 seconds on July 31, 1999.
The main gate at Hagerstown Speedway is scheduled to open at 4 p.m. with hot laps at 7 p.m., qualifying at 7:30 p.m. and racing at 8 p.m.
Pit/Combo tickets are available in advance only (includes a reserved seat and a pit pass) by ordering online at SLSpromotions.com or by calling 1-815-344-2023 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. (Central) Monday thru Friday.
The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: Armor All (Official Car Care Products), STP (Official Fuel Treatment), Goodyear Tires (Official Tire), Gravely Tractors (Official Lawn Equipment), University of Northwestern Ohio, VP Racing Fuel (Official Racing Fuel), Vicci (Official Apparel); in addition to contingency sponsors, including: Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, JE Pistons, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, KSE Racing Products, MSD Ignitions, Penske Shocks, Superflow Dynos and Wix Filters; along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Astro Titanium, ButlerBuilt, Fuel Safe, Intercomp, J&J Auto Racing, Jake's Carts, Racing Electronics, S&S Volvo and TNT Rescue.
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Grand Opening!
The moment you've been waiting for — I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:
The moment you've been waiting for — I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:
Within the next ten weeks, we should have the mansion ready and (hopefully) the Summer Kitchen as well. Unfortunately, the Paymaster's Office will take a little longer. Notice I didn't say "finished," just "ready." The stuff that is absolutely required in order for us to get our occupancy permit and open the B&B is highlighted in bold.
Summer Kitchen
Paymaster's Office
White House
Los Angeles
[My comments in brackets. -Gregg]
[* In the workshop, the first floor is below ground level, and there was a water line on the walls about a foot above the floor. However, after six months we did not notice any water seeping in, so Brian went ahead and started painting. No sooner had he finished then the rain started, and it didn't stop for a week. When it was done, the first floor was flooded — right to the old water line — and all of the new paint peeled right off. Thank goodness we hadn't installed the air conditioning units yet, as I don't think the warranty covers standing in two feet of water…]
On October 15, I published Dawn's new to-do list. Let's see what she's accomplished in the last five months:
Summer Kitchen
Paymaster's Office
In addition, Brian took out the stairs to the workshop, which apparently were not built correctly and ready to collapse. But that also means we have to replace them.
That's quite a bit of work for five months, but there's still so much left. Now that the plaster is finished, paint is Dawn's next priority — and with so much trim and ornamentation, that's a huge job by itself. Olde York Homes will be looking to finish the cottages, and also build the kitchen island. Village Glass has more than enough windows and storms to stay busy for four months, Henry Hollenbech still has the summer kitchen to repoint, and Brian, poor Brian, gets everything nobody else wants.
Dawn just sent me 121 pictures. 🙂 It's too soon for "Before and After," but I can do "Before and In Process."
Picture this: It's September 6, the last day of my "vacation", and I've spent the last five hours talking to the plumber, the contractor, and the septic guy, when the channel 11 news van pulls up, ready to do an interview.
Of course I knew they were coming — Dawn specifically scheduled them for my visit so she didn't have to appear on camera — but that didn't mean I was ready. Like so many other things on this project, if I knew what was coming, I wouldn't have done it. Or at least I would have scheduled it early in the morning, so I wasn't exhausted from talking all day.
Dawn was still dealing with the septic guy so she was in the cornfield during the entire interview, which was probably a good thing because she would have been kicking me throughout. Instead, she had to wait until it was on TV before she kicked me.
The original clip was ninety seconds long, but I've abridged it to 45 seconds — partly for bandwidth, but mostly to remove embarrassing clips of me saying the stupidest things. (Such as, "The biggest challenge is the cost, that's what keeps me up at night." Way to market the B&B, Gregg!) Rebecca Baer is the anchorwoman and she also did the interview.
Afterwards, I picked up a copy of "Guerrilla Publicity" which devoted an entire chapter devoted to common mistakes people make on camera. I'm pretty sure I hit every one.
Two technical corrections: Rebecca states the mansion was unoccupied for a year (it was 20 years) and that we gutted the entire mansion plus two other buildings (we worked very hard to preserve as much as possible in the mansion and Paymaster's Office; we did gut the Summer Kitchen because there wasn't anything worth saving.) Also, the "1902" seen at the end of clip was where the paper hanger had signed the wall; it is crossed out because the next paper hanger (in 1947) was a jerk.
Just in case we were getting excited about all the progress made so far…
Summer Kitchen
Paymaster's Office
While I harbor no illusions that anyone is interested in our fixtures list, we've spent so much time on it that it would be a shame not to include it. Dawn asked me not to include prices, but I can say it will be about $30,000 total, not including the kitchen. Ouch.
Addendum: After posting this, our plumber contacted Sanijet to get pricing, and they said they not only knew about Speedwell Forge, but had even gotten referrals from this journal! I'm not sure how that is possible, but in any case it didn't translate to any discount for us, so I'm not going to worry about it.
I will mention (for free) that we're using Sanijet because they don't have any pipes, so when you empty and clean the bath, it's really empty and really clean. If you want to see something disgusting, order their promotional video, which shows what's in the pipes of a conventional whirlpool tub. Let's just say I'll never be using one of those again…
Unfortunately, they don't make a clawfoot model, which we really wanted for Kathryn's bath, so we're getting an "air tub" instead. That also doesn't have pipes, but it does have a loud air blower, which we're going to put upstairs in the attic area. During my last visit we taped off Kathryn's bath, and with a 6′ x 3.5′ clawfoot whirlpool tub, it's going to be nice.
On our last day in PA, our friends at Forgotten Seasons B&B invited us over for breakfast so we could see what that was like. (We would have gladly made breakfast and cleaned the rooms just to see what that was like, too, but don't tell them that.)
It was a very productive week. We moved all of the junk into a storage unit (although I'm not happy about paying to keep junk in storage) and I cleaned out the paymaster's office a little. (I stress "I" because Dawn managed to get poison ivy, and so was out of commission the last day.


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Final Round of the Hankook/FAQ Championship in St-Eustache. Montreal, Quebec -- October 10, 2002 -- There's very little doubt that Round 7 of the 2002 FF1600 Hankook/FAQ Championship held this coming week end at the Autodrome St-Eustache will be...
Final Round of the Hankook/FAQ Championship in St-Eustache.
Montreal, Quebec -- October 10, 2002 -- There's very little doubt that Round 7 of the 2002 FF1600 Hankook/FAQ Championship held this coming week end at the Autodrome St-Eustache will be extremely important for the Key Motorsport's drivers. Eighteen-year old rookie Chris Green, the driver of the Olco/DAC Aviation/Bombardier Van Diemen car entered by team Key Motorsport already won four races so far this season, and will attempt to win the Championship. He is currently tied in the standings with Marc Arsenault.
"Even though the race is extremely important, I need to use the same approach as before. I need to stay focused, on track and out of trouble," declared Chris Green.
Nineteen-year old rookie Valerie Limoges, the second driver of the Key Motorsport / Metro / John Scotti / Kappa / Proriders car lies ninth in the standings, having finished sixth earlier this season. The young lady who won last year's F125 Quebec Karting Championship will need to come to grips quickly with the difficulties of the St-Eustache track. But she has proved in Trois-Rivières (National Series) that she is quick learner, having qualified sixth in Trois-Rivières -- a track she had never driven on before.
"I hope to finish the 2002 season on a good note. I've been hit with bad luck all year. I am confident this Saturday will be my best season's finish," said Valerie.
Sherbrooke's native, Olivier Comeau, will be driving his third FF1600 race in his young promising career. Olivier surprised many by finishing 6th in his first race ever, and fifth in the 6th round of the Championship.
"The more I drive the race car, the more I feel comfortable. There is a tremendous amount of knowledge to get before throwing the car in turns. Key Motorsport's members are doing an excellent job. Eric Côte (crew chief) knows me better now, and understands more my driving style. I sincerely hope that my team mate (Chris Green) will win the Championship" said Olivier.
Visit our web site www.keymotorsport.com for latest results and pictures.
Provisional FF1600 point standings (after 6/7 rounds)
1. Chris Green, 135 points
2. Marc Arseneau, 135 points
3. Olivier Lambert, 118 points
4. Jean Arseneau, 100 points
5. Louis Morin, 99 points
9. Valerie Limoges, 58 points
15. Olivier Comeau, 31 points
About Key Motorsport: Key Motorsport approaches racing in a unique way. One of the largest professional race teams of its kind, Key Motorsport, features a stable of more than a dozen cars that compete throughout North America and participate in 4 professional Series & international events such as the Montreal Formula One Grand-Prix, the IRL California 400 and the Grand-Prix of Trois-Rivieres. Key Motorsport offers an array of open wheel cars in both Formula Ford 1600 and Formula Ford 2000. This year we proudly became the official race factory team for Hyundai North America with the Hyundai Tiburon, and will participate in the Grand-American Series (Nascar ownership).
Hyundai Motorsports/Key Motorsport is currently sponsored by: Hyundai Auto Canada, Bates Canada, BCDF, Bieffe, BOC Gases, Canadian Linen, Castrol, Clarion, Eibach, Euro Drive Clutches, Exide Batteries, Ferodo, Financialinx, Goodridge, Le Grand Lodge, Graphic Mart, Impression Paragraph, Isaac Instruments, K&N, Labrador, Loctite, Lois Jeans, Momo, Moton, NGK, Onyx Industries, OZ Wheels, Ringers Gloves, Ryders Eyewear, Snap-On and Thomas & Betts.


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Welcome to WebmasterWorld Guest from 18.104.22.168
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Also the tiny bit of non-image serach traffic has ticked up a little at the same time but not near as much as images.
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each day has seen an increase in the scope of keywords and traffic
You are still speaking about Image searches, correct?
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|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Apr 28, 2009
|Filing date
|Jul 13, 2005
|Priority date
|Aug 9, 2004
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Klaus D. Engel
|Original Assignee
|Siemens Medical Solutions Usa, Inc.
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (51), Non-Patent Citations (19), Referenced by (6), Classifications (20), Legal Events (4)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/600,428, filed Aug. 9, 2004, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Techniques for rendering volumetric data sets are known in the art. These techniques have been described in detail. See, for example, Marc Levoy, A Hybrid Ray Tracer for Rendering Polygon and Volume Data, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, pages 33-40, March 1990; and Marc Levoy, Efficient Ray Tracing of Volume Data, ACM Transactions on Graphics, 9(3):245-261, July 1990, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Fast rendering of volumetric data sets using the texturing capabilities of graphics hardware has also been described in detail. See, for example, B. Cabral, N. Cam and J. Foran, "Accelerated Volume Rendering and Tomographic Reconstruction Using Texture Mapping Hardware", ACM Symposium on Volume Visualization, 1994; C. Rezk-Salama, K. Engel, M. Bauer, G. Greiner, T. Ertl, "Interactive Volume Rendering on Standard PC Graphics Hardware Using Multi-Textures and Multi-Stage Rasterization", In Euographics/SIGGRAPH Workshop on Graphics Hardware, 2000, pages 109-118, 147, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., 2000, which are incorporated by reference. Shading models for volumetric data are also discussed in N. Max, "Optical Models for Direct Volume Rendering", IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics 1995, pages 99-108, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Shading is a well-known technique to enhance depth-perception and accentuate details contained within the data that can be performed in real-time. Shading volumetric data requires gradient information for each voxel. Gradients can either be pre-computed and stored along with the volume data or computed on-the-fly. Pre-computing gradients significantly increases the amount of memory required, thereby making this approach impractical for large volume data sets. Clinical routines currently generate data sets exceeding half a gigabyte, and the amount of information being acquired is increasing rapidly. New systems are capable of generating data sets that are more than a gigabyte in size. Furthermore, gradients are typically quantized to either 8 or 16-bits to constrain the amount of memory required, which decreases the quality of the volumetric renderings. On the other hand, although computing gradients on-the-fly provides better quality, and neither requires pre-processing nor imposes any significant additional memory demands, it suffers from significantly slower performance. This reduction in performance is due to the additional computations and memory accesses during rendering; for example, a forward difference gradient requires accessing three neighboring voxels, while a central difference gradient requires accessing six neighboring voxels.
It is therefore desirable to provide methods and systems that perform faster on-the-fly gradient estimation for shaded rendering of volumetric data.
This invention provides a fast method to enhance image quality in texture-based volume rendering by shading large volumes without pre-computing gradient information. Gradients are computed in screen-space, instead of in object-space, to reduce the overhead of acquiring neighboring data by computing multiple pixels at a time. This invention is well-suited for modem GPUs (graphics processing units), as they process multiple pixels at a time (e.g., a 2×2 pixel "quad").
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a shading method for rendering volumetric data is provided. The method includes the steps of determining a partial derivative with respect to the x component of a screen coordinate of a pixel, determining a partial derivative with respect to a y component of the screen coordinate of the pixel, and determining a gradient from the partial derivatives in screen-space. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the method includes the step of using the gradient to determine a shading characteristic of the pixel based on the gradient.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, the method includes performing the steps of determining the partial derivatives in a graphics processing unit. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the partial derivatives are calculated using a fragment function ddx in the graphics processing unit and a fragment function ddy in the graphics processing unit.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, the method of rendering volumetric data is applicable on a variety of imaging systems. In accordance with these aspects, systems of the present invention include an imaging device, a processor and a display.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method of rendering volumetric data includes the following steps: obtaining a sample of data from a volume; classifying the sample; computing a screen-space gradient; normalizing the screen-space gradient; computing diffuse and specular components; and computing output colors. The results obtained from these steps are eventually displayed.
Data Acquisition.
The data processed by this invention is a three-dimensional array of data. Referring to
When performing full body scans with a magnetic imaging machine, it is common to generate approximately 3000 slices of data. These slices may be approximately 0.4 mm apart.
Referring to
The acquisition of this type of data is well known in the art and is produced by systems such as Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging systems, Computed Tomography (CT) scanning systems, Positron Emission Tomography (PET), and Ultrasound scanning. Such imaging systems 70 are shown in
Image Synthesis from Volumetric Data.
Methods to generate a two-dimensional image from volumetric data can roughly be classified into indirect and direct volume rendering techniques. Indirect methods generate and render an intermediate representation of the volume data, while direct methods display the voxel data by evaluating an optical model that describes how the volume emits, reflects, scatters, absorbs and occludes light. See, for example, N. Max, "Optical Models for Direct Volume Rendering", IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics 1995, pages 99-108.
The voxel values are mapped to physical quantities describing light interaction at the respective points in 3 D-space. During image synthesis the light propagation is computed by integrating light interaction effects along viewing rays based on the optical model. The corresponding integral is known as the volume rendering integral.
The data in a slice as shown in
Shading of Volumetric Data.
Shading provides visual cues to aid in the visualization and interpretation of volumetric data. Shading can accentuate small-scale surface structures and texture (roughness), as well as additional depth cues. Shading takes into account the effect of external light sources by computing the interaction of light at each point where it illuminates the surface, taking into consideration the properties of the surface at each point illuminated by a ray. The properties consist of material properties such as color, opacity and shininess, as well as the local shape of the surface.
The most computationally expensive part of the shading equation is computing the local shape, which is typically represented by the local gradient. The most frequently used techniques for computing gradients for a volume are the forward and central differences methods. See, for example, Abramowitz, M. and Stegun, I. A. (Eds.), Handbook of Mathematical Functions with Formulas, Graphs, and Mathematical Tables, 9th printing, New York: Dover, p. 877, 1972, which is incorporated herein by reference. Previously, gradients were computed on object-space data. Also, these gradients are frequently computed in a pre-processing step and stored in an adjunct volume or combined with the source data in another volume. However, the additional memory required to store gradient information makes this approach ill-suited for large volume data. Consequently, gradients are computed on-the-fly during rendering. On-the-fly computation of gradient information requires evaluating the neighborhood of each voxel being rendered, which for a forward difference involves evaluating three neighbors, while a central difference involves evaluating six neighbors. The present invention reduces the cost of accessing and evaluating neighboring information, and therefore considerably increases performance.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the computation of the gradient information can be moved from a central processing unit (CPU) to a fragment program on graphics processing unit (GPU). There are a few advantages to this approach. First, the GPU can typically perform such vector operations faster than a CPU—GPUs are single instruction multiple data (SIMD) parallel processors. Second, the effective cost of the gradient computation is reduced due to the GPU pipeline, where the same fragment program is typically executed in on neighboring pixels in parallel by multiple pixel pipelines. That is, one fragment pipline do not impose any additional delay because it executes in parallel with, and independent of, other fragment pipelines. Third, moving the computation to a fragment program can reduce the amount of data transferred from the CPU to the GPU via the relatively slow AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) or PCI Express (data is transferred using AGP or the newer PCI Express interface from main memory into local GPU memory or vice versa).
Screen-Space Partial Derivatives.
This invention uses partial derivatives computed in screen-space for the gradients used in shading calculations. This approach requires access to information for rays traversing neighboring pixels having the same depth with respect to the camera; that is, a scalar physical property p (such as density) of the volume at pixels with the same depth as the ray at the current pixel position has to be evaluated. In fact, any method for computing screen-space partial derivatives (such as forward differences, central differences, a Sobel operator, etc.) can be employed; however, in the following, the focus is on forward differences. In particular, in addition to the value of the current pixel at the screen-space position (x, y), denoted by p(x, y) with a given depth with respect to the camera, a forward difference gradient requires the values of the pixels to the right (p(x+1, y)) and above (p(x, y+1)) the current pixel. A 2 D forward difference screen-space gradient is then computed as:
As discussed in more detail below, the present invention's use of finding the gradient in screen-space is particularly well-suited for GPUs. However, it should be clear that significant speed increases can be found without necessarily requiring a GPU. For example, certain volumetric rendering algorithms involve casting groups of rays in neighboring pixel locations through the volume in parallel. During the computation, the volume densities (i.e., the scalar parameter p(x, y)) of these neighboring rays may be cached in registers, and hence fetching the densities can be quickly performed for the gradient calculations.
In order to produce a 3 D vector, a third component is required. This component may be, for example, an arbitrary constant, a forward difference computed in object-space along the ray direction, or a central difference computed in object-space along the ray direction. The most computationally efficient approach is to use a constant (whose value is proportional to brightness), while higher-quality results can be obtained from object-space central or forward differences.
Finally, it has been determined that the third component may be computed as a value that is proportional to the brightness and that is scaled according to the zoom value used to view the volumetric data. This has the benefit of assuring that the apparent brightness remains constant, regardless of the zoom value, since at higher and higher zoom values rays through neighboring pixels in screen space get ever closer in object space. Thus the offsets for the lookups of neighbors in screen space get smaller with higher zoom factors. A constant for the third component (the object-space partial derivative) tends to become relatively greater with respect to the first and second components (the screen-space partial derivatives), resulting in a brightness that appears to increase with the zoom. Thus compensation factors are introduced which scale each screen-space partial derivatives with a constant that is dependent on the zoom-factor. These constants are computed by projecting the distance between the samples used for the object-space partial derivative into screen-space and determining the number of pixels covered by this distance along the screen-space x- and y-directions.
If a central differences method is used, then the partial derivative in the x direction is determined by the difference between the scalar value associated with pixel X and the scalar value associated with pixel X1. Also, the partial derivative in the y direction is determined by the difference between the scalar value associated with pixel Y and the scalar value associated with pixel Y1. As can be seen, this requires access to values outside a Quad, and therefore cannot be used on the nVidia graphics processor.
As previously discussed, the partial derivative in the z direction is preferably determined using object-space data.
As an example, the following C code provides a utility function to compute compensation factor to make shading independent on zoom-factor. The code takes as an input distance between samples along viewing direction and outputs scaling factors for screen-space partial derivatives:
void projectVoxelToScreenSpace(
GLfloat dist, // input
GLfloat &xfactor, // output1
GLfloat &yfactor) // output2
GLint params[4];
GLfloat mv[16];
GLfloat proj[16];
GLfloat modlviewproj[16];
matmul(modlviewproj, proj, mv);
// define a cube with size dist
GLfloat minX = −dist / 2.f;
GLfloat maxX = dist / 2.f;
GLfloat minY = −dist / 2.f;
GLfloat maxY = dist / 2.f;
GLfloat minZ = −dist / 2.f;
GLfloat maxZ = dist / 2.f;
// project all vertices of the cube to screen space
GLfloat in[4];
GLfloat out[8][4];
in[0] = minX;in[1] = minY;in[2] = minZ;in[3] = 1;
transform_point(out[0], modlviewproj, in);
in[0] = maxX;in[1] = minY;in[2] = minZ;in[3] = 1;
transform_point(out[1], modlviewproj, in);
in[0] = minX;in[1] = maxY;in[2] = minZ;in[3] = 1;
transform_point(out[2], modlviewproj, in);
in[0] = maxX;in[1] = maxY;in[2] = minZ;in[3] = 1;
transform_point(out[3], modlviewproj, in);
in[0] = minX;in[1] = minY;in[2] = maxZ;in[3] = 1;
transform_point(out[4], modlviewproj, in);
in[0] = maxX;in[1] = minY;in[2] = maxZ;in[3] = 1;
transform_point(out[5], modlviewproj, in);
in[0] = minX;in[1] = maxY;in[2] = maxZ;in[3] = 1;
transform_point(out[6], modlviewproj, in);
in[0] = maxX;in[1] = maxY;in[2] = maxZ;in[3] = 1;
transform_point(out[7], modlviewproj, in);
int i;
// homogeneous divide
for (i=0;i<8;i++)
out[i][0] = out[i][0] / out[i][3];
out[i][1] = out[i][1] / out[i][3];
out[i][2] = out[i][2] / out[i][3];
out[i][3] = 1.;
// transform vertices to device coordinates
out[0][0] = (out[0][0]+1.f) * params[2]/2.f +
out[0][1] = (out[0][1]+1.f) * params[3]/2.f +
// find maximum and minimum coordinates in x and y
float xMin = out[0][0];
float xMax = out[0][0];
float yMin = out[0][1];
float yMax = out[0][1];
for (i=1;i<8;i++)
out[i][0] = (out[i][0]+1.f) * params[2]/2.f +
out[i][1] = (out[i][1]+1.f) * params[3]/2.f +
if (out[i][0] > xMax)
xMax = out[i][0];
if (out[i][0] < xMin)
xMin = out[i][0];
if (out[i][1] > yMax)
yMax = out[i][1];
if (out[i][1] < yMin)
yMin = out[i][1];
// return size of voxel in x and y
xfactor = xMax−xMin;
yfactor = yMax−yMin;
GPU-Based Screen-Space Derivative Shading.
nVIDIA's CineFX architecture facilitates the fragment functions ddx and ddy to approximate the partial derivatives of a scalar value with respect to screen-space coordinates. Specifically, ddx(a) approximates the partial derivative of a with respect to the x-component of the screen coordinate, while ddy(a) approximates the partial derivative of a with respect to the y-component of the screen coordinate. These partial derivatives are computed very efficiently by the graphics hardware because several neighboring pixels are processed in parallel. The values of rays at neighboring positions are cached internally so that it is more efficient than accessing them using conventional direct texture access. Screen-space partial derivatives can exploit architectural features of GPUs.
By applying the ddx and ddy functions to the values obtained from sampling the volume at neighboring pixels, one can obtain information about the change of data values inside the volume in screen-space. This gradient information can be used for the Blinn-Phong shading model to evaluate the local illumination. Referring to
The first step 50 obtains a texel value from the 3 D texture representing the volume using the current texture coordinate (which is an input to the fragment program) as the index to the 3 D texture. Tri-linear interpolation is automatically performed by the hardware during this step.
Classification is performed in the second step 52. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, classification is performed using a dependent texture lookup with the texel value as the index to the transfer function.
In the third step 54, a gradient is determined in the screen-space. This means that neighboring density information is determined dependent on x- and y-coordinates of the current pixel, rather than the x-, y- and z-coordinates of the current sampling position inside the volume. As previously mentioned, the gradient can be calculated in different ways. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the gradient can be calculated by determining a partial derivative in a screen-space with respect to a plurality of pixels in screen space, each having different screen coordinates. Then a gradient is determined from the partial derivatives. The number of pixels used depends on the method used to calculate the gradient, ie whether a forward difference method or another method is used.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the gradient is determined by determining the partial derivative of a first pixel having a first screen coordinate and by determining a partial derivative in the screen-space with respect to a second pixel having a second screen coordinate. The gradient is then determined based on the results. Once again, the number of pixels used is dependent on the method used to calculate the gradient.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, the step of determining the partial derivative with respect to a pixel includes the steps of determining a partial derivative with respect to a x-coordinate of the pixel and determining a partial derivative with respect to a y-coordinate of the pixel. Once again, the number of pixels used to determine the partial derivative is dependent on the method used to calculate the gradient.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the partial derivative of the x-component of a pixel is obtained using the ddx function with the texel obtained from the first step. The partial derivative of the y-component of the gradient is obtained using the ddy function. The z-component of the gradient can be a constant, the object-space derivative in the z direction using the difference between the texel obtained from the first step and a second texel value obtained from a second texture coordinate, or a value scaled according to the zoom.
Thus, as illustrated in
The gradient is normalized in the fourth step 56. The gradient is then used in the fifth step 58 to compute the diffuse and specular components. Finally, the output color is computed in step 60 using the classified color (from step 52), diffuse and specular parameters (from step 58) and material parameters (which are passed into the fragment program as constants).
This process is repeated for each sampling position in a dataset to render volumetric data. For example, shading characteristics can be determined using this process.
The present invention is not limited to merely the specular and diffuse components of shading. Screen-based partial derivatives can be used for other types of shading as well, such as opacity gradient modulation, where the opacity (alpha component) is modulated by the magnitude of the gradient to focus on the edges within the volume.
Referring to
The following software, using NVIDIA's Cg programming language, can be used in accordance with one aspect of the present invention. The scaling factor below is obtained from the code above so that the brightness of the displayed image does not change with the zoom value. In the code below, the scaling is performed on the x and y value such that the x and y values are decreased as a zoom out operation occurs and such that the x and y values are increased as a zoom in operation occurs. Of course, the z component can also be scaled according to the zoom operation (with different code) to achieve the same result.
struct v2f {
float4 position : POSITION;
float3 TexCoordO : TEXCOORDO;
float3 TexCoordl : TEXCOORDl;
half4 main( v2f IN,
uniform sampler3D Volume,
uniform sampler1D TransferFunction,
uniform half3 lightDir,
uniform half3 halfway,
uniform half ambientparam,
uniform half diffuseparam,
uniform half specularparam,
uniform half shininessparam,
uniform half2 scalingFactor
// lookup sample from volume
half4 sample = h4tex3D(Volume, IN.TexCoordO);
// classification of sample
half4 OUT = h4tex1D(TransferFunction, sample.r);
// compute screen-space derivative (note scaling factor for z)
half3 gradient = half3(0,0,.04);
gradient.x = ddx(sample.x);
gradient.y = ddy(sample.x);
// optional object-space derivative along z-direction
// scale screen-space derivatives
gradient.xy = gradient.xy * scalingFactor;
gradient.z = tex3D(Volume, IN.TexCoord1 .x
−tex3D(Volume, IN.TexCoord0).x;
// normalize gradient
gradient = normalize(gradient);
// compute diffuse and specular components
half diffuse = abs(dot(lightDir, gradient));
half specular = pow(abs(dot(halfWay,gradient)), shininessparam);
// compute output color (ambient + diffuse + specular)
OUT.rgb = (ambientparam + diffuse * diffuseparam) * 0UT.rgb
+ specularparam * specular;
return OUT;
In this program, the volume is bound to a 3 D sampler (Volume), and the transfer function is bound to a ID sampler (Transfer function). First, a density value is fetched from the volume texture using the texture coordinates passed in to texture stage 0 (TexCoord0). Then, classification is performed using a dependent texture lookup into the transfer function. Screen-space partial derivatives of the volume density are evaluated using DDX and DDY commands, and scaled based upon the zoom value as previously discussed. An optional object-space partial derivative is evaluated for the z-component using a texture coordinate that is offset by the samping distance along the view-space z-direction (TexCoord1). Then the gradient is normalized and diffuse and specular shading parameters for a Blinn-Phong shading model are computed. Finally, the output color is computed and returned from the fragment program.
To further optimize the fragment code, the diffuse and specular shading coefficients can be pre-computed and stored in a look up table (lookup-texture). The following code illustrates the computation of the look up table for given Blinn-Phong shading parameters (ambientparam, diffuseparam, specularparam, shininessparam), a given light direction (lightDir), a given halfway light direction (halfway) and a lookup table size (1size).
float dot (const float vectorl [3] , const float vector2 [3] )
return vector1[0] * vector2[0] +
vector1[1] * vector2[1] +
vector1[2] * vector2[2] ;
void normalize (float vector [3] )
float1 = sqrt (vector[0] * vector[0] +
vector[1] * vector[1] +
vector[2] * vector[2] ) ;
vector [0] = vector[0] / 1;
vector [1] = vector[1] / 1;
vector [2] = vector[2] / 1;
void computeLightMapTable(const float ambientparam,
const float diffuseparam,
const float specularparam,
const float shininessparam,
const float lightDir [3] ,
const float halfway [3] ,
const int lsize,
unsigned char* buffer)
float gradient [3] ;
int pos = 0;
for (int y=0; y<lsize; y++)
for (int x=0; x<lsize; x++)
gradient [0] = x /( (float) lsize−1) ;
gradient [1] = y /( (float) lsize−1) ;
gradient [2] = .04;
buffer[pos*2] = (ambientparam + diffuseparam) *
fabs (dot (lightDir, gradient) ) * 255;
buffer[pos*2+1] = 255 * specularparam *
pow(fabs(dot(halfWay, gradient) ), shininessparam);
Although the invention herein has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the method of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention include modifications and variations that are within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
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text:
I'm pretty old fashioned I don't peruse men so that means not texting/calling first when dating until committed. Anyway this guy I've know a year or so has asked me out for coffee (day after My husband and I got back together) so I obviously said no but a few months later my husband and I broke up again and this guy contact me a few weeks later asking me out again. I really like him and agreed to go but I couldn't for another 2 weeks as my ex-husband went away for work and he wasn't here for his times/days/weekend with our kids. This guy has a child of his own so he understood and said he would wait and for me to text when I'm available. This was all last Friday , he liked a pic I shared on Facebook 2 days ago but I haven't heard from him and I haven't contacted him. My ex has said he is due back early now (this Friday) so he will be able to have his weekend with the kids after all. Now should I text this guy to tell him I'm now available for a date this weekend or will Iook to eager? Should I wait to hear from him or just text him next week?
Shall I text him or not?
Have an opinion?
What Guys Said 1
What Girls Said 1
text him and tell ur available it'll look like ur not interested if u wait he obviously sed he'll wait for u to tell him wen ur available and he's not playing games so just text him and say my ex told me he's due back early so he can have the kids after all so if ur still up for that coffee would be great00|00|0
I liked and commented on a link he shared yesterday but decided not to pm him. He liked my pic and pm'd me this morning so I'm guessing he is interested :/
well yeah just be honest with him the last thing u want to do is come across as not interested
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text:
By Samuel John Klein of Portland, Oregon - An Independent Graphic Designer living in a city that was built upon an ancient Unicorn burial ground.
1102. Toys Я Us, the toy store that "R" 1/3 of the Gross National Product, has recently (but we're not sure how recently) given a gentle remodeling of its logo, according to various sources.
I'll post some commentary an Designorati later today...
UPDATE: Promised I would, and I did!
Technorati Tags: logo design,logo redesign,Toys R Us
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Although military or army backs share and consumer types of backpacks share many basic design and function such as a camo army backpack or a US army backpack, military backpacks are made to withstand more punishing use because military personnel depend on their equipment, which can make a difference between life and death. The majority of all backpacks are designed to distribute load bearing weight evenly between the shoulder straps and the hip area but unlike consumer backpacks, military https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backpackbackpacks are designed to distribute in excess of over 100 lbs while still not hindering movement. Military personnel will often carry extra weapons, rations, ammunition, medical supplies, and other gear needed for a specific mission or patrol. Many consumers are willing to pay for a military type backpack and buy from online military surplus stores, local army surplus stores, outdoor supplies stores, and hunting gear stores. You will also find many local law enforcement agencies using military backpacks. Many countries around the world have their own versions of military backpacks but have very similar features and functions.
United States Military Backpack types:
ALICE. The All-Purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment (ALICE) was first introduced in 1973 during the Vietnam War. ALICE replaced the M-1956 Load-Carrying Equipment (LCE) and the M-1967 Modernized Load-Carrying Equipment (MLCE) and is in still in limited some use today by the United States Army, the United States Navy, and Air Force ground units. The method to attach external pouches to a ALICE backpack are a belt strap system with an interlocking slide called KEEPERS or are hooked through eyelets along the bottom of an individual belt. Current load components consist of:
- Belt, Individual Equipment LC-1
- Carrier, Entrenching Tool LC-1
- Case, Field First Aid Dressing LC-1
- Case, Small Arms Ammunition LC-1
- Cover, Water Canteen LC-1
- Suspenders, Individual Equipment Belt LC-1
MOLLE. Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment (MOLLE) is the next evolutionary step in module system from ALICE and is currently used by the United States army and also by the British Army known as the Osprey Modular System. The MOLLE design is modular and utilizes the PALS (Pouch Attachment Ladder System) webbing grid to attach multiple pouches, depending on your specific need and situation. Many types of pouches, from ammunition to hydration, can be attached to the external shell of the MOLLE backpack. Components of a MOLLE backpack include:
- Tactical Assault Panel (TAP) which chest rig with PALS webbing or a mount for an Improved Outer Tactical Vest (IOTV) or a Soldier Plate Carrier System (SPCS) ballistic armor plate. The TAP can carry up to six rifle magazines.
- Rucksack Frame which can attach additional pouches with the PALS webbing.
- Hydration Bladder which is a 72 oz or 2.1 L plastic bladder and 2 qt or 1.9 L canteens.
- Module pouches that are attached by PALS webbing.
ILBE. Currently in use by the United States Marine Corps, Improved Load Bearing Equipment(ILBE) was designed as an improved to the MOLLE design. ILBE backpacks use the PALS webbing grid to attached individual pouches. Since the IBLE backpacks were created prior to the Modular Tactical Vest (MTV), compatibility issues between ILBE and MTV systems has caused the United States Marine Corps to come up with a different military backpack design in 2009 under the name of USMC Pack which is currently under development.
MTV. The Modular Tactical Vest or MTV is currently used by the United States Marine Corps since 2006. Small Arms Protective Inserts (SAPI) are ballistic armor plates that can be used with the Modular Tactical Vest. A PALS webbing grid is utilized to attached SAPI pouches and quick release system was developed to remove the pouches if an emergency situation required a quick removal of the Modular Tactical Vest for medical aid. MTV packs also include an integrate system for routing communication system wires. The original MTV packs were a changed closure system, meaning the vest is put on and removed by using a hook and pile system known as a cumberbund. The MTV vest fastens around the waist each should strap by individual buckles. Many Marines have complained that it took too long to put on and remove so a quick release system was designed later so that military medical personal can have quick access by pulling a cord at the bottom to separate the two pieces of the MTV vest quickly.
Military personal equipment requirements are often changing to adapt to an ever-changing armed conflict situations around the globe. The first indication of the change in demands will always take place with the equipment. Many design implementations have been integrated into consumer backpacks and many of the same backpacks used by the military are readily available for purchase locally or online by the average consumer.


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The Blind Boys of Alabama, founded in 1939, are the seminal gospel group in America. They are returning to rekindle their holiday gospel concert, which has brought the house down four previous times at SFJAZZ.
Another San Francisco jazz singer, Lavay Smith, has also performed numerous times for SFJAZZ. She and her band, the Red Hot Skillet Lickers, are keeping the swing of '40s Kansas City alive.
Ornette Coleman has changed the course of jazz. He is an artist to whom the label "genius" has attached itself, and for good reason. In 1994 we presented the premiere of his controversial Tone Dialing, and he has performed four times since. He will be appearing with his quartet with two basses, which he debuted at SFJAZZ.
Making his third SFJAZZ appearance is Robert Glasper, a game-changing artist who incorporates modern pop and R&B sounds into his music.
San Francisco's own Mary Stallings is considered by many to be the top vocalist in jazz. She has been an integral part of SFJAZZ's history, appearing numerous times since 1986. You always feel better after hearing Ms. Stallings sing, and we honored her with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. She's appearing with the masterful pianist Bill Charlap and his trio.
Latin jazz trailblazers Jerry and Andy Gonzalez have never performed as a duo before, making this show an "only at SFJAZZ" event. They're sharing a bill with another duo, the young Cuban pianist Elio Villafranca and percussionist Arturo Stable.
On Thelonious Monk's birthday (10/10), we present Barry Harris, Jacky Terrasson and Alfredo Rodríguez — three generations of superb pianists carrying on the spirit of Monk. Barry Harris is the "voice of Monk," a veteran who has a closer connection to Monk than any other living artist.
Saxophonist and clarinetist Don Byron defines eclecticism. He first played the San Francisco Jazz Festival in 1993 with his klezmer tribute to Mickey Katz, and now this musical chameleon returns with his back-to-the-roots New Gospel Quintet.
The Sacred Space concerts have been an essential part our presenting since 1986. This fall, Branford Marsalis is performing solo, but matched with the 7-second echo of Grace Cathedral. Branford joins this longstanding SFJAZZ tradition and an esteemed list of saxophonists including Joe Henderson, Jackie McLean, Pharoah Sanders and Steve Lacy.
The history of jazz and the tenor saxophone is embodied by the colossus Sonny Rollins. His probing solos are legendary, and he's easily among the most influential jazz musicians alive. President Obama recently presented him with the nation's highest artistic award, a Kennedy Center Honor.
General Public: 866-920-5299Members: 415-788-7353Administration: 415-398-5655
SFJAZZ Center • 201 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102Copyright © 2016 SFJAZZ • San Francisco Jazz Organization


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***$975.00 PER MONTH GROSS / 1,500 SQ FT***READY FOR IMMEDIATE OCCUPANCY IN HAMILTON PARK. MAIN LEVEL WITH PLENTY OF PARKING AND RENTAL RATE IS GROSS WITH NO ADDITIONAL CHARGES OTHER THAN ELECTRIC & HEAT. RARELY AVAILABLE SMALL SPACE. AMPLE PARKING. (See attached spec sheet & floorplan)
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|Attending Community College and Earning an Associate's Degree
If you chose to attend a community college you will receive an Associate's Degree as opposed to a Bachelor's Degree.
If you think that doing your first two years at a community college may be a good plan for you, do a little research first. Find out if your community college has a co-operative relationship with a four year school. Be sure that the courses you take will qualify for transfer.
6/19/2017SIT Graduate Institute still has 8 City Year scholarships available for Fall 2017!
5/23/2017Opportunity for CY Alumni with the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance!
5/22/2017Eastern University - Palmer Seminary Open House June 10!
4/24/2017May 2: Informational Webinar with Nonprofit Leadership Alliance
3/13/2017Chat with a recruiter during Virtual Office Hours with Relay Teaching Residency!


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Liberty Street StampManage Canada 2009.1.1.0 | 113.26 MB
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A BRIDAL boutique shop will celebrate its first birthday with a party to raise money for a charity supporting premature babies.
Treasured Brides, in Angram, near York, is supporting the work of Needles & Hooks Angels & Preemies, a charity which turns donated wedding dresses into clothes for stillborn or premature babies.
The charity's founder Bea Macdonald, has been invited to speak at an event at the shop on Monday, March 13, to celebrate the boutique's first birthday.
Zoe Cornwell runs Treasured Brides at Manor Farm Barn and started to support the charity when she donated her wedding dress to them.
The business sells a range of wedding dresses and Mrs Cornwell also runs an events package company, Treasured Occasions, alongside the dress shop.
The converted barn has four sections and the event will host different displays and a talk.
Mrs Cornwell said: "Some people put their wedding dress in the back of the wardrobe or they don't want to sell it because they might only get £150 for it, but I sent mine away and it was made into 12 outfits.
"They also sent me a make up bag I could keep and to me it is such a special charity."
The charity, based near Newcastle, serves to take the stress off parents who would otherwise have to find tiny clothes for their babies.
The evening begins at 7pm and includes a pianist and singer, champagne and canapes.
It will celebrate a strong first year for Mrs Cornwell, who says her shop is going from strength to strength.
The Business graduate studied a module in Events and decided to take what she had learned into setting up her Treasured Occasions firm.
She added: "I loved being creative and decided to go into styling.
"And after five years I set up Treasured Brides.
"We are celebrating a really good year and for every 10 brides who come in, nine buy dresses.
"I think it's different for me because I'm in a converted barn in the countryside and it's a lovely experience for people."


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When you have your pets, you see they have different personalities to each other. Like some are assholes, some are nice, some are leaders, some are meek.
So what's a funny or stupid thing your pet does.
Most Helpful Guy
Barking puppies are the cutest thing on earth. They try to impress but really all they achieve is infinite cuteness.11|00|0


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Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Natun Guwahati
City is expanding to this side because of this expressway. Earlier the area beyond Lakhara had only the Balaji Temple. Now there are few schools including the DPS which has come up. The ISBT will also be ready soon. Real Estate prices have also soared. We had purchased a plot for about 25K a katha around 1998. Prices have gone to anything above 1.5 lakh a katha here.
Moving ahead on the road, I had reached the Jalukbari chariali. Jalukbari chariali ? Where has it gone -- the old Jalukbari chariali ? The place has changed totally. A big traffic round-about has replaced the old charilai -- a place we frequented during our university days. It now actually says --Welcome to Guwahati!
Few other roads have also undergone drastic changes. Beltola road from Last gate to Basistha Chariali is now 100 feet wide. Many shops and buildings close to the main road had to undergo alterations. I do not know whether they got any compensation. Similarly, the narrow Hatigaon road behind the MLA Hostel at Dispur, which used to be totally covered by rickshaws, is now a four lane road with dividers. A traffic roundabout has been put in place at the point where this road starts behind the MLA hostel. There was a daily market near the ASEB office which is no more. But there still is the GNB Road, the same old narrow GNB Road where you will invariably meet traffic jam anytime of the day. It can not take the ever burgeoning traffic of Guwahati. I heard that this time concrete steps have been taken to widen this road.
Traffic in Guwahati is increasing furiously fast. Increase in disposable income had resulted in almost everyone getting a vehicle. When I purchased my Wagon R in end Dec,2002, it got one of the last 100 numbers of AS-01-N series. The new car we had purchased in first week of April, 2005 got a 2000 series number in As-01-V. That is more than 62K vehicle have been added to Guwahati in less than two and half years time.
There were almost nil power cuts during my entire stay during the bihu. Weather was nice. But bihu this time was thandaa. But the picture halls were playing outdated movies. I was told that after the ULFA dictat on banning screening of hindi movies, they carried out a blast in Vandana cinema hall. As such, people are scared to go for movies at cinema halls. Suffering losses, they are forced to run outdated movies.
Overall, I felt nice going home after a year. Hope, facilities in Guwahati improves further.
Labels: Guwahati
posted by Rupankar Mahanta at 6:25 PM


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Andre B.
Report | 4 years ago
I had a great experience very informative what recommend it to anyone
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Breath of Fresh Air's owner, Teresa Mason, RN, CPht wants to enrich people's experiences and abilities by empowering them with the skills that can save lives. Focusing on healthcare, Breath of Fresh Air's classes teach subjects such as CPR and First Aid certification, babysitting certification, pet CPR and first aid, and training for Certified Nurse Aides (CNA), Pharmacy Technician, and Registered Medication Aides.


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Help W/ Oasis Blue And Watermelon Pink!
Decorating By doughdough Updated 21 Jan 2009 , 12:27am by Narie
I was curious if anyone has done these colors before, and would be willing to share how they did it & with what food coloring brand.
Here is the link to the colors:
The Oasis Blue should be the one that pops up, and then the Watermelon Pink is the third to the last color to the choose from on the color chart.
I can hopefully figure it out, but it would make my life easier if someone has already done it.
That blue looks to be like turquoise.
The pink looks maybe like rose.
Judging solely on the internet view. Oasis looks close to CK Food Color Gel/Paste-Aqua.
Watermelon again seems close to CK Food Color Gel/Paste-Burgundy.


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Home > Product Categories > Pro-Audio > Installed Sound > Audio Switchers > RB-SD1
Item #: SON-RB-SD1 MFG #: RB-SD1
List Price:$575.00Our Price:$575.00Quantity Pricing
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The RB-SD1 silence detection unit is a 1U rack-mount device used to monitor an unattended stereo studio feed and in the event of the signal going "quiet" after a given period the unit will switch through an alternative stereo audio signal. This signal could be a recorded message (e.g. "normal service will be resumed", etc), a feed from a CD player or minidisc machine, or an alternative recorded programme. Controls are provided to start external equipment and to provide remote status indication.It has 2 balanced stereo audio inputs with the maximum input level being +28dBu. Each input is user-defined as either the main source or auxiliary source and both sources are monitored for failure, each having a remote failure alarm. In the event of the main source dropping below a pre-set level for a pre-determined amount of time, the unit will automatically switch through to the auxiliary signal. The silence detect level is adjustable between -60dBu and -15dBu in 3dB steps via a 16 position rotary switch on the rear panel. The silence interval can be adjusted between 2 seconds to 30 seconds in 2 second steps, or, alternatively, set to 2 minutes 5 seconds also via a 16 position rotary switch on the rear panel. The audio outputs use stereo professional balanced XLR-3 male connectors.The unit can operate in 2 modes - automatic or manual. In both modes it will automatically switch over to the auxiliary source on detecting silence. When the main signal is again detected it will either return to the main signal automatically or manually depending on the mode chosen. The RB-SD1 has a number of remote operational features. Remote outputs provide separate relay contact closures for failure of the main and auxiliary inputs. You can also control remotely all of the front panel switches for source selection, mode selection and signal Restore. You can remotely start and stop another piece of equipment on alarm failure and main signal Restore respectively. Also, the longest silence time (2min 5sec) can be set remotely, which is useful if you are expecting to broadcast a long silence.The unit can be configured to alarm when either the left or right channel of the main input source fails, or if the whole stereo signal fails. There are also options to set the remote start output as momentary or latched, to disable switching to the auxiliary input on alarming and to increase the gain on the auxiliary input so that an unbalanced input can be used, for example, from a domestic minidisc player.Front panel LED indicators show individually left and right programme and alarm conditions for both the main and auxiliary inputs. The status of the source, mode and alarm state are also shown on the front panel with LED indicators. Additionally, the RB-SD1 can be programmed for specific applications which can be defined on power-up of the unit. Contact Sonifex for further information if you have a particular requirement. (Refer to the handbook on the website for information on current configurations). The RB-SD1 has been designed to have a passive signal path through the main input, so if power to the unit fails, the signal input will still be routed through to the output. This is essential for applications such as installation at transmitter sites, where a power failure to the unit should not prevent the audio input signal from being output to the transmitter.
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I have a Shih Tzu.
Well we've had her for 4 years and the vet says she's an adult now last time we took her. And mom says she's starting run different and I was just wondering if their were signs that are different from when she was in the puppy stage. If that makes more sense.
Most Helpful Guy
I have one too, she is 6 years old now, not as wild as she use to be but will run if you play with her11|00|0
Most Helpful Girl
Well, technically every day it's a day older00|00|0


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Mr. Van Steven Warner
Charlotte, North Carolina - Unitd States of America
No approved endorsements
About Mr. Van Steven Warner
I would like to introduce myself. My name is Van Warner. I am a Senior Telecom Sales Engineer with varied experience in land line, cellular, microwave and CLEC operations, startup and management. Pre and post sales technical support. With up to 80 % Travel experience in international and domestic. Supported wireless and CLEC carriers. Experience with a hosted VOIP (Fixed Mobile Convergence) Carrier. Most recent experience supporting sales into medical verticals.
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These Amazon Mothers Day gift ideas are for the special ladies who watch over us and love us each and every day of our lives.
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Ira Thomas, an Orleans Parish School Board member who has been at the center of the board's most contentious debates over the past three years, was accused Friday of accepting a bribe, another black mark for the city's political class and for a board that became notorious before Hurricane Katrina for rampant corruption.
U.S. Attorney Kenneth Polite Jr. said Thomas has been charged with taking $5,000 in cash in exchange for helping a janitorial contractor win favorable treatment from the school district. Polite said the bribe was disguised as a campaign contribution.
"This community will no longer tolerate public corruption from its public officials, period," Polite said. "Our investigation is ongoing."
Thomas, the chief of campus police at Southern University at New Orleans, resigned his seat on the board as well his police post Friday.
He was charged in a federal bill of information rather than a grand jury indictment — usually a sign that a defendant is cooperating and intends to plead guilty. He did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
The School Board has taken pains to distance itself from the pre-Katrina era, when corruption and mismanagement sank the district into a financial morass and thwarted attempts by successive superintendents to raise test scores from the bottom of state rankings.
The allegations against Thomas certainly don't help matters.
The bill of information outlining the charges against Thomas describes what appears to have been a sting operation carried out by federal authorities. It says an unidentified cooperating witness approached someone who worked for the School Board, identified only as "Employee A," in September 2013. Employee A offered the cooperating witness a janitorial contract in return for a kickback.
Those two people then allegedly met to discuss the contract with Thomas, who was running for sheriff at the time and struggling to raise money for his campaign, as well as someone identified as "Private Citizen B." That conversation was surreptitiously recorded by the cooperating witness.
The bill says the witness gave Private Citizen B the $5,000 in December 2013 and videotaped the handoff. Then Private Citizen B allegedly deposited the cash in his own bank account and gave Thomas a share in cash. The money — the documents don't say how the money was split — never made it to Thomas' campaign account, and he never reported receiving the contribution.
Finally, about a year later, Thomas and Employee A were allegedly recorded on the phone discussing how to rig the bidding process for the janitorial contract in order to make sure the cooperating witness got the job.
The government's bill does not say what the value of the janitorial services contract was, except that it was worth more than $5,000. Nor does it say whether it was ever awarded. It's not clear how Thomas planned to guarantee that the janitorial firm would get the deal.
Thomas emerged as a divisive figure on the board after a failed bid to win the job of board president in 2012. After that, the board split into stark factions, and Thomas started attacking interim Superintendent Stan Smith for the way he was managing construction contracts, a stance that immediately raised suspicions about his motives.
The new divisions also stirred concerns about the board's future.
In the past few years, the independent charter schools operating under the state-run Recovery School District, which took over all but a handful of the city's public schools after the storm, have mostly improved their academic standing above the "failing" mark. As they do so, some have become eligible for transfer back to local control under the board.
But those schools have been wary of getting involved in the board's contentious politics and are mindful of its history. Just this week, the board was trying to finalize a contract with a new superintendent, Henderson Lewis, in the hopes of signaling a new phase of stability and luring more schools back to the local fold.
On Friday, other members of the board were quick to publicly welcome the U.S. attorney's efforts to target corruption in their ranks.
"I support U.S. Attorney Ken Polite and agree that public corruption must not be tolerated on any level, and I am saddened that distractions like this take away from our important focus on improving public education for the children of New Orleans," OPSB President Seth Bloom said in a prepared statement. He added, "At the same time, as a criminal defense attorney, I recognize that Mr. Thomas is innocent until proven guilty, and I await the resolution of this matter."
Another board member, Woody Koppel, said, "I'm glad the U.S. attorney has done this. The record has been clear. There are people on this board who believe in transparency and honesty, and their voting record reflects that."
Friday's announcement was the first new charge of public corruption Polite's office has issued since he took over for Jim Letten more than a year ago.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Mike Anderson said the probe is ongoing, describing it as a "real-time" investigation, unlike that of former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who is now serving a jail sentence for public corruption. In Nagin's case, investigators pieced together official misdeeds after the fact.
The irony that Thomas is accused of trying to fix a janitorial contract won't be lost on anyone who recalls the Orleans Parish School Board before Katrina.
By the time of the storm, public schools in New Orleans had become notorious for squalid bathrooms and uncut grass. In 2009, the head of a company called AME Services that did janitorial work for the board testified in federal court that former board President Ellenese Brooks-Simms, whose son-in-law worked for the company, had acted as his "protector," blocking numerous attempts by superintendents to get the company fired.
Similar questions came up during the trial of Mose Jefferson, a political operative and the brother of then-U.S. Rep. William Jefferson.
Brooks-Simms, a key witness for the government, had pleaded guilty to accepting $140,000 in bribes from Mose Jefferson.
In exchange, she said, she pushed the board to purchase a computer-based algebra curriculum that Mose Jefferson was peddling.
While Brooks-Simms pleaded guilty, Jefferson argued at trial that he simply loaned her the money because she was a friend, and part of his defense was that Brooks-Simms — as one of seven School Board members — was not in a position to deliver the contract. The board unanimously voted to purchase the product Jefferson was selling, called I CAN Learn.
Jefferson was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison, where he died in 2011.
Staff writers Gordon Russell and John Simerman contributed to this report.


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Mallory can't stand Andy and she wants him off the show. He rubbed her the wrong way from the moment they met at the airport eight weeks ago. Before Andy's elimination, I wonder what bothered her more; Andy's "cockiness" or the fact that she could have ended up facing him in the finale.
Julien, the once quiet Canadian, is now very vocal about Andy being chicken after Andy passed the captaincy off to Mark on the last show. Andy claimed it was a mind game, but Julien didn't buy it. Off camera Julien remarked that he didn't fully intend to insult Andy, but that he had to call out what he claimed was nonsense. Mark, on the other hand, has managed to play it cool – especially after some bad shots and tangling with Joe Campbell (eliminated in show 5) – and he continues to let his sense of humor alleviate tensions on and off the course.
The day started with "The United Airlines Around the World Challenge". I thought for sure Mark had the win sealed. With nearly a 10 foot lead, Mark duffs and Andy becomes the winner pocketing his 2nd $5,000 prize. I get to talk to our golfers about a range of topics: family, dreams, setbacks, and worries. Mark mentioned that his terrible shot made him "question his ability." As we sat together and talked later that night, I could see on his face how the shot had affected him. As much as he tried to look ahead, it was eating at him.
Andy picks the one person who has NEVER choked in elimination: Mallory. I thought by now everyone would have learned that Mallory earned her title "The Eliminator" for a reason. She beat Andy in a playoff and Andy headed to the final round of elimination in which he faced off against his other smack talking rival, Julien.
Julien is a conundrum. He's hit some bad shots and no matter what, saved himself each time. He doesn't let a bad shot eat away at him. Like Mark, he looks ahead and that's an integral part of his game: digging himself out of holes. Is it skill or is it luck? Perhaps a mixture of both.
Andy said, "his luck's gotta run out sometime." And it sort of did against Mark. Julien had a chance to win his first round and instead ties with Mark because he came up short. Once again, two competitors have to go back to the tee resulting in a win for Mark because of a mistake made for the second time by Julien (he missed the same putt twice).
And that's just another unpredictable thing about Big Break. Everyone expected the "2 best players" (Andy and Julien) to win their matches and avoid the final round of Elimination. But the complete opposite happened.
Andy and Julien faced off in a contentious match, Andy's luck completely ran out by 3 putting on Hole 17 of the Palmer Smurfit Course, and he was eliminated on the 18th. And that's when we see Andy's deep, genuine passion for the game of golf; uncertain about his future, tears in his eyes, defeated. It looks like Mallory got her wish. Let's just hope Andy finds his game, again.
Big Break Ireland Producer Blog: And Then There Were Fore
November 8, 2011, 10:00 pm