text: Page Content Potty email series - Issue1234Potty Training - Is Your Child Ready? Are you eager to get your little one potty trained? Thinking about how much easier (and economical!) life will be with no more diaper duty can turn even the most laid-back parent into an obsessive, aggressive potty-training drill sergeant. And that stinks.Potty training should be a positive, rewarding experience for you and your toddler, so don't let unrealistic expectations (starting too soon/pushing too fast/insisting on immediate success) clog up the process.You can help ensure everything flows smoothly by first taking a moment to determine if your child is even ready for potty training. To measure your child's "readiness," look at these behavioral skills and developmental markers: AgeIn our experience, most children become successfully potty trained between the ages of 2 and 3. There are some children who are able to learn earlier due to their physical and cognitive maturity but, in general, most aren't ready until they've blown out at least two candles on their birthday cake. Other indicators include having good motor skills, being able to walk from room to room, being able to pull pants up and down, and getting to the bathroom independently. Also, girls tend to be successfully trained earlier than boys, and older children tend to be trained faster. Bladder ControlYour child should already be staying dry for several hours at a time, urinating about four to six times a day, and completely emptying her bladder. If she is still wetting a small amount frequently (seven to ten times a day), it may be best to wait. Language skillsIt's important for your child to understand what you say. He should know what you mean when you use words like "wet," "dry," "pants" and "bathroom." Also, he should be able to express his wants and needs to you. Instructional readiness:Your child should be able to understand and follow simple instructions, such as "Come here, please" and "Sit down." Just as important, she should be cooperative when following these requests. If she resists or throws frequent temper tantrums, you may want to hold off. Bladder and bowel awareness:Your child may indicate that he's aware of his need to potty. This awareness can often be communicated through actions rather than words - making a face, assuming a special posture like squatting, or going to a certain location in the house when feeling the urge to go. Such self-awareness can be a positive signal your child is ready for training. Teaching ActivityToddler See, Toddler DoAnother good way to gauge your child's readiness is to monitor her reaction when you model the behavior. Take your child to the bathroom when you go. As you model how to go "number one" and "number two," watch to see if your child pays attention. Does she ask questions that show a basic understanding of what's going on? Can he answer basic questions about going potty? By modeling the behavior, you can see how engaged and prepared your child is to learn. In addition, it's also helpful if dads model for sons and moms model for daughters when possible.A word of caution - this one's not for the squeamish. We 're talking about going to the bathroom here, after all. One of the best things you can do to get your child to learn a new skill is to model the behavior. In this case, we're talking about going to the bathroom and letting your child observe you when you go. Do your best to banish any thoughts of modesty, and let your child see how simple and mundane going to the bathroom really is. Dropping your pants. Doing your business. Proper wiping technique. Washing up afterwards. These are all things you take for granted, but your little one needs to know. Throughout the animal kingdom, offspring learn by observation; proper bathroom technique in humans is no different.Social SkillsFollowing InstructionsYour child needs to know how to follow instructions. Potty training involves multiple steps, including getting to the bathroom, removing clothes, wiping, flushing and washing.To learn and do all those steps successfully requires following instructions. It's also a must-have skill when the occasional accident happens. You'll need your little one to listen and learn so the accident can be cleaned up quickly and future mishaps can be avoided.Following instructions is a simple four-step process that will be useful throughout your child's development - not just when potty training.Here are the steps to the skill of Following Instructions: Look at the person - Tell your child that looking at the person makes listening easier. Say, "Okay" - Explain how saying okay or nodding yes means you understand what the person said. Do what you've been asked right away - Doing the task immediately makes remembering what to do easier. Check back - When the task is done, let the person know you did what was asked. Preparing Your Child for Potty TrainingIf you think, but aren't certain, your toddler has the ability and understanding to start potty training (see our previous email regarding the behavioral skills and signs to look for), don't plunge right in without first doing a little prep work.Remember, potty chairs and toilets may be unfamiliar or look scary to your child and cause some degree of stress. To relieve any anxiety and set your child up for success, follow the "P": Parent modelingAs described in our previous email, allowing your child to go with you or your spouse to the bathroom and see how to use the toilet properly (modeling) is a learning opportunity. It's a chance for your child to see what will be expected of him. Like anything else, kids learn a lot by watching others. Potty chairGive your child a chance to get used to and comfortable with the potty chair. Set it out and let her sit on it, name it and put stickers on it. Let her know it's her special throne, and it's not for Mom or Dad. PracticeProvide time for sitting on the potty chair. This is "play" practice, so your child can keep his clothes on (although it may be a good idea to test how well he manages to pull down his pants and underwear). Just be prepared for the possibility that he may do a little "method acting." Teaching ActivityPositive Pep Talks with Some PracticePlant the seed for why going to the bathroom properly is so important before plopping your little one on a potty chair and saying go. Do some pre-teaching in the days leading up to potty training to help ease your child into the process so the situation is more familiar and less alien. Also, have daily pep talks about potty training. Congratulate your child on becoming a "big" boy or girl who's ready to learn what other "big" boys and girls do. You also might want to use children's books (some feature popular characters from Sesame Street) to show how potty training is done. Anything you can do to get your child excited will get you off on the right foot.In addition, use your chats to have your child practice how to dress and undress, specifically, pulling pants and/or training diapers up and down. It's a great time to reinforce this important step for going to the bathroom. The more preparation you do at the beginning, the more success you'll have at the end. And as always... be enthusiastic and make it fun!Social SkillsAsking for HelpAnother way to set your child up for success is to teach her how to ask for help when she needs to go to the bathroom. This skill can reduce the number of messy accidents you have to deal with inside and outside the bathroom. Of course, the ultimate goal of potty training is for your child to go without you. But until she has successfully mastered the skill, you can boost her confidence and ease any uncertainty by letting her know help is available if she simply asks for it.When it comes to asking for help, teach your child to follow these steps: Look at you - Mommy or Daddy. Ask you if you have time to help Say - "I need to go potty." Say - "Thank you for helping." Asking for help is a fundamental skill and one that serves all children well during the training process and as they grow older and start school.Coming up in Issue 3Let's Get This Potty Started-Prime the Pump-Managing Stress


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|CORE LOGIC, INC. Patent applications
|Patent application number
|System and Method for Warning Lane Departure - A system for warning lane departure includes a lane extracting module configured to receive a driving image of a vehicle from an image photographing module and generate an extracted lane image by removing an image other than a lane from the input image at least partially to extract a lane, a lane recognizing module configured to draw a linear functional formula corresponding to the extracted lane from the extracted lane image generated by the lane extracting module, and a lane departure determining module configured to determine lane departure of a vehicle by using the linear functional formula drawn by the lane recognizing module.
|Apparatus and Method for Recognizing Lane - Disclosed is an apparatus and method for recognizing a lane, which may have a small amount of calculations and may improve rate, energy efficiency and accuracy in lane recognition by flexibly correcting an interested area. The apparatus for recognizing a lane includes a lane edge extracting unit for extracting an edge of a lane from a driving image of a vehicle, a lane detecting unit for drawing a linear functional formula between x and y, corresponding to the extracted edge of the lane, based on an X-Y coordinate system in which a horizontal axis of the driving image is an x-axis and a vertical axis is a y-axis, and a lane location analyzing unit for analyzing a location of the lane by using the drawn linear functional formula.
|APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR FIRMWARE UPGRADE USING USB - Disclosed herein is an apparatus and method for upgrading firmware using a universal serial bus (USB). In the method, after setting a flag 1 in a nonvolatile memory mounted on the device, a device is booted in a download mode to download and write firmware binary data in the nonvolatile memory. Then, the device is rebooted after setting a flag 2 in the nonvolatile memory, and booted in a general mode after setting a flag 3 in the nonvolatile memory. Then, USB communication between the device and the computer is checked to determine whether the device succeeds in upgrading the firmware. Thus, even a device with no external key can conveniently upgrade the firmware, and even if power is interrupted during download of a new version of firmware binary data, next booting can be safely performed in the download mode, thereby allowing upgrade of the firmware using the USB.
|AUTOMATIC ENTRANCE DEVICE AND METHOD FOR UPGRADE BOOT MODE - An automatic entrance device in accordance with the present invention performs software upgrade by starting up a terminal in an upgrade boot mode by holding operation of a memory when a USB interface of a terminal is connected to an external device, and starts up the terminal in a normal boot mode by a processor accessing memory by disabling hold of operation of memory when the USB interface and external device are disconnected.
|MULTI-CHANNEL DIRECT MEMORY ACCESS CONTROLLER AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF - Disclosed herein is a multi-channel direct memory access (DMA) controller. The DMA controller includes: a register which stores control information and an operation state of each of a plurality of direct memory access (DMA) channels; a transmission processor which controls flow of transmission and reception of data such that all of the DMA channels requesting DMA transmission cyclically repeat unit transmission with reference to the register; and a transmission sequence control unit which controls the transmission processor such that the transmission sequence of each of the DMA channels is determined in a circulation cycle of unit transmission by reflecting priority information of the respective DMA channels stored in the register.
|METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING MULTI-CHANNEL AUDIO SIGNAL - Disclosed herein is a method and apparatus for transmitting a multi-channel audio signal. The method includes determining whether an audio signal is a multi-channel audio signal; changing a format of a subframe if the received audio signal is a multi-channel audio signal as a result of the confirmation; inserting a channel identifier into an ancillary data region of the subframe of which the format is changed; and creating an audio bit stream including the ancillary data region into which the channel identifier is inserted.
|METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING VIDEO BITRATE - The present invention may improve image quality of a video image while maintaining fixed bitrates by discrete cosine transforming a pixel value a current frame from a video signal, calculating a complexity of a current frame based on a transform coefficient value of a current frame according to the discrete cosine transform, obtaining a quantization parameter of a current frame using the complexity of a current frame, and controlling bitrates of a video image.
|METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANAGING AND VERIFYING CAR TRAVELING INFORMATION, AND SYSTEM USING THE SAME - The present disclosure provides a method and apparatus for managing and verifying car traveling information, and a system using the same. The method for managing car traveling information includes receiving traveling image data and traveling record data; extracting computation data for integrity computation from at least one of the traveling image data and the traveling record data; generating integrity verification data by computing predetermined identification number data and the computation data; and generating integrity traveling data by combining the traveling image data, the traveling record data and the integrity verification data. In this way, integrity of an image from a black box for cars can be easily verified while maintaining an original copy of the image and related traveling record data.
|IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD AND APPARATUS - Disclosed herein is an image processing method and apparatus, which perform image processing after dividing a collected images into a plurality of image slices. The image processing method includes: receiving an image collected by an image sensor; determining image slice size information by taking into account a boundary area between a plurality of image slices to be generated; dividing the image into the plurality of image slices according to the image slice size information; and processing the plurality of image slices in sequence using division information about the image slices. Thus, in the image processing method, the image collected by the image sensor is processed by dividing the same into the plurality of image slices, thereby reducing the amount of memory used in image processing and the overall size of the image module.
|VIDEO PROCESSING METHOD USING ADAPTIVE WEIGHTED PREDICTION - The present disclosure provides a video processing method using adaptive weighted prediction. The video processing method includes dividing a reference frame into a plurality of reference divisional areas, dividing a current frame into a plurality of current divisional areas, calculating absolute values of differences between respective average brightness values of the plural reference divisional areas and respective average brightness values of the plural current divisional areas, calculating a standard deviation of the absolute values, and implementing adaptive weighted prediction with regard to the current frame when the standard deviation exceeds a predetermined critical value. Thus, the video processing method can more quickly process rapid variation in brightness of an image with less operation when the rapid variation in brightness occurs due to flash, fade-in, fade-out, etc.
|IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR VEHICLE - Disclosed herein is an image processing apparatus for vehicles which, when image input sources correspond to two or more image input channels, includes a plurality of central processors for image control of the channels, respectively, wherein a master central processor for controlling the other central processors is selected from among the plurality of central processors and images of the channels are stored as one file under control of the master central processor, thereby enhancing video recording quality and simplifying storage and recording of the videos. An image processing method for vehicles is also disclosed herein.
|METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONVERTING FILM IMAGE INTO TV IMAGE - Disclosed herein is a method and apparatus for converting a film image (e.g., a movie) into a television (TV) image. In the method and apparatus for converting the film image into a TV image, a pull-down field is added based on header information of a TV interface if BT601, BT656 and BT1120 are used as standards for the TV interface, thereby improving accuracy and reducing load of the apparatus upon conversion of the film image into the TV image. The apparatus includes a film image reception unit which receives a film image; a header information checking unit which checks header information of the film image; and an image conversion unit which uses the header information checked by the header information checking unit to convert the film image into the TV image.
|CLOCK FAILURE DETECTION APPARATUS AND METHOD, AND TIMING CONTROLLER OF LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY INCLUDING THE CLOCK FAILURE DETECTION APPARATUS - Embodiments of the invention relate to a clock failure detection apparatus and method, and a timing controller of a liquid crystal display including the clock failure detection apparatus, and more particularly to a clock failure detection apparatus and method, by which a failed driving state of a liquid crystal display can be accurately and reliably detected and determined by monitoring a low voltage differential signaling (LVDS) clock using a clock of an oscillator for generating clocks of a predetermined frequency in a timing controller of the liquid crystal display when a clock failure is detected in operation of the liquid crystal display, and a timing controller including the clock failure detection apparatus.
|IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR VEHICLE - Embodiments of the invention relate to an image processing apparatus and method of a black box system for vehicles, which can simplify an analysis stage without causing any Doppler effect by directly analyzing an image of a camera basically mounted to the black box for vehicles, and which includes a unit for detecting an accident risk before a sudden braking operation and occurrence of an accident. The image processing apparatus includes: a subject distance change detector which analyzes a size change of a subject present in an image captured by a camera to detect a distance change between the camera and the subject; a light source analyzer which analyzes a light source present in the image; an image divider which divides the image into plural sections to apply a differently weighted accident-risk level value to each of the divided sections; and an alarm unit for generating an alarm corresponding to an accident-risk situation in the divided sections.
|IMAGE RECORDING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR VEHICLE - Embodiments of the invention relate to a black box system for vehicles, and more particularly to an image recording apparatus and method for detecting image input sources (cameras) to optimally record an image according to the number of image input sources.
|APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROCESSING VIDEO DATA - An apparatus and method for processing video data is disclosed. In an embodiment, the video data processing apparatus comprises a decoding unit configured to decode a frame image, divided into a number of slices and then encoded, on a slice basis and to deblock-filter a number of the decoded slices except boundary portions between the decoded slices and a slice edge deblock filter unit configured to comprise a number of slice edge deblock filters operated in conjunction with the decoding unit and to in parallel deblock-filter the boundary portions between the decoded slices using a number of the slice edge deblock filters. Accordingly, the boundary portions between slices can be efficiently deblock-filtered.
|ENCODING DEVICE AND METHOD AND MULTIMEDIA APPARATUS INCLUDING THE ENCODING DEVICE - An encoding device and method of using a bit rate control method which accurately predicts a target bit amount, provides excellent quality, and is applicable to a real-time environment through a simple mechanism, and a multimedia apparatus including the encoding device. The encoding device includes a group-of-pictures (GOP)-based bit assigning unit for assigning a GOP-based bit amount target
|METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING AUDIO DATA - A method and apparatus for transmitting audio data is disclosed. In the method of sending audio data, audio data to be sent are divided into basic channel audio data and supplementary audio data for services of a high channel. When a left channel or a right channel is selected in response to a word selection signal in accordance with the standards of a serial bus, the basic channel audio data corresponding to a selected channel are sent, and at least one of the supplementary audio data is sent during the remaining time until another channel is selected in response to the word selection signal. Accordingly, audio data of a high channel, such as a 5.1 channel, can be sent without a design change using a serial bus for supporting a 2 channel, such as an I2S bus.
|Providing Virtual Keyboard - Apparatus and methods are described for providing a virtual keyboard. In one aspect, an apparatus for providing a virtual keyboard to be displayed on a touch screen is described. The apparatus includes a memory unit that includes a data repository to store data comprising at least one virtual keyboard configuration information to configure at least one corresponding virtual keyboard. The apparatus includes a processing module to select from the data stored in the data repository a given virtual keyboard configuration information to select a corresponding virtual keyboard to configure; configure the selected virtual keyboard to have a fan-like shape with multiple keys of the virtual keyboard arranged along an outline of an arc in a fan-shaped region based on the selected virtual keyboard configuration information; and instruct a touch screen module to display the configured virtual keyboard on a display region of a touch screen.
|Quantization for Audio Encoding - Disclosed herein is a quantization method and apparatus of an audio encoder. The quantization method comprises calculating an absolute value of a maximum frequency spectrum of a first frame, externally received, by analyzing frequency spectrum data of the first frame, setting an initial value of a common scale factor to be used to quantize the first frame based on the absolute value of the maximum frequency spectrum of the first frame and an absolute value of a maximum frequency spectrum of a second frame, which has previously been calculated, and quantizing the frequency spectrum data of the first frame based on the set initial value of the common scale factor. Accordingly, before quantization is performed, an initial value of a common scale factor which is almost close to a value of an actual common scale factor can be previously set.
|Encoding Images - Techniques, apparatus and computer readable storage media are described for encoding images in a video. In one aspect, a method performed by an encoding device to encode a video is described. The method includes sequentially performing a motion estimation operation and an encoding operation, which includes determining an operation mode of the motion estimation operation based on a quantity of calculations for the encoding operation. Sequentially performing a motion estimation operation and an encoding operation include performing the motion estimation operation with respect to an image of the video based on the determined operation mode. Additionally, sequentially performing a motion estimation operation and an encoding operation includes performing the encoding operation based on a result of the motion estimation operation.
|VARIABLE LENGTH DECODING APPARATUS AND METHOD - Techniques, apparatus and systems are described for performing variable length decoding. In one aspect, a variable length decoding apparatus includes a first computation unit to determine whether a symbol corresponding to an input data is included in an upper group or a lower group of a variable length code tree. Responsive to the determination, when the symbol corresponding to the input data is included in the lower group, the first computation unit detects look-up table information corresponding to a subgroup that includes the symbol corresponding to the input data within the lower group that includes multiple subgroups. The variable length decoding apparatus includes a second computation unit to detect the symbol corresponding to the input data by searching a look-up table corresponding to the look-up table information when the look-up table information is received from the first computation unit.
|Recording Multimedia Data - According to the described techniques, apparatus and systems, a multimedia data processing device can include an input unit to receive media data from input devices. A data compression and information generating unit can compress the received media data and generate information based on the received media data. A buffer can temporarily store the compressed media data and generated information received from the data compression and information generating unit as a packet that includes a data packet and an information packet; output the temporarily stored media data packet and the information packet to be stored in an external storage device; and store a file offset that identifies a location of the information packet stored in the external storage device. A file format generating unit can generate a media data file format based on the information packet stored in the external storage device identified by the file offset stored in the buffer.
|Variable Length Code Table Clustering Method, and Method and Apparatus for Sharing Memory of Multi-Codec by Using the Variable Length Code Table Clustering Method - Provided are a method and apparatus for sharing a memory of a multi-codec. For each of a plurality of codecs, the method and apparatus cluster a variable length code tree into a plurality of groups whereby a level difference between symbols in each group of the plurality of groups is less than a predetermined value, wherein the variable length code tree corresponds to at least one of variable length code tables for each of the plurality of codecs, refer to maximum levels of the symbols in each group of the plurality of groups, and determine a storage capacity of an internal memory shared between the variable length code tables for the plurality of codecs.
|Correcting Moving Image Wavering - Techniques, apparatus and system for correcting moving image wavering are disclosed. An apparatus includes a selecting unit to select at least one reference macroblock from an input image of a first frame and to select at least one search area from an input image of a second frame. The selected at least one search area corresponds to the at least one reference macroblock. The apparatus includes an operating unit to communicate with the selecting unit and to perform a statistical operation by matching the at least one reference macroblock of the first frame to each of search blocks included in the at least one search area of the second frame. The apparatus comprises a vector calculating unit to communicate with the operating unit and to calculate a motion vector to correct an output image of the second frame based on a resultant value of the statistical operation.
|Image Presentation Method and Apparatus for 3D Navigation and Mobile Device Including the Apparatus - Provided are a high-performance, real-time image presentation method and apparatus for a 3-dimensional (3D) navigation system that may be used in a mobile environment since a small amount of data and a simple algorithm are used, and a mobile device including the image presentation apparatus. The image presentation method includes: loading two-dimensional (2D) map data and pattern control map (PCM) data; analyzing the 2D map data; generating 3D image data on a region that is analyzed as requiring 3D images in the analyzing of the 2D map data, based on the PCM data; and displaying 3D images on a display based on the 2D map data and the 3D image data.
|Decoding Image - Techniques, apparatus and systems for image decoding are described. A method performed by an image decoding apparatus includes generating motion compensation information and a quantized result of an error image that represents a difference between a current image to be decoded and a prediction image obtained by performing inter prediction on the current image from a bitstream of the current image. A reference image of the current image is received from an external memory unit based on the generated motion compensation information. The method includes restoring the current image based on the received reference image of the current image and the generated quantized result of the error image representing the difference between the current image and the prediction image. Receiving the reference image of the current image is performed while restoring a previous image, and restoring the current image is performed while receiving a reference image of a subsequent image.
|Adder for Obtaining Maximum Accumulated Value of Correlation for Mode Detection in Communication System and Adding Method Using the Adder - Disclosed are an adder for obtaining a maximum accumulated value of correlation for mode detection in a communication system, and an adding method using the adder. According to the present disclosure, an adder for obtaining a maximum accumulated value of correlation values used to detect a mode in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system, includes one or more adding logic circuits for adding input values constituting the correlation values to stored values and outputting accumulated values, by using one or more memories; and one or more controllers for, if one of the accumulated values stored in the memories is greater than a predetermined value, shifting all of the accumulated values and the input values of the memories in a direction for decreasing the accumulated values and transmitting the shifted accumulated values and the input values to the adding logic circuits.
|Selecting Best Image - Techniques, apparatus and systems are described for selecting the recommended image among sequentially captured images. In aspect, a method of selecting the recommended image includes measuring a brightness value and a sharpness value for each of sequentially captured images. The measured brightness and sharpness values are combined for each image to obtain a combined value for each image. The recommended image is selected from among the sequentially captured images based on the obtained combined values.
|Universal Blind Mode Detector, Guard Mode Detector of The Universal Blind Mode Detector, and Method of Detecting Universal Blind Mode - Provided are a universal blind mode detector capable of universally detecting not only various orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication services but also non-OFDM communication services, and a fast Fourier transform (FFT) mode detector, a guard mode detector, and a memory sharing structure of the universal blind mode detector, and a method of detecting a universal blind mode. The universal blind mode detector includes a radio frequency (RF) tuner converting a received signal into a baseband frequency signal, an automatic gain control (AGC) unit which is connected to the RF tuner and determines existence of a communication service by referring to a received signal strength indication (RSSI), a communication service mode detection unit determining of which scheme a communication service mode signal is if the AGC unit determines that there is the communication service, and detecting the communication service mode signal, and a channel decoding unit detecting the detected signal.
|Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing Receiver for Minimizing Inter-Symbol Interference - Techniques, apparatus, and systems are described for providing an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) receiving apparatus. An orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) receiving apparatus includes a fast Fourier transform (FFT) start point estimating unit to detect a minimum symbol interference point of a received OFDM signal and identify a FFT start point. The apparatus includes a FFT operation performing unit to communicate with the FFT start point estimating unit and to perform a FFT operation at the FFT start point identified by the FFT start point estimating unit. The apparatus includes a phase modifying unit to communicate with the FFT start point estimating unit and to modify a phase of an output of the FFT operation performing unit. Also, the apparatus includes a decoding unit to communicate with the FFT operation performing unit and to decode the phase modified output of the FFT operation performing unit.
|PROCESSING 3D GRAPHICS SUPPORTING FIXED PIPELINE - Techniques, apparatus and system for processing 3D graphics are provided. A graphics processor includes a fixed pipeline code generator to convert an application programming interface (API) supporting a fixed pipeline into first microcodes, a shader pipeline code generator to convert an API supporting a programmable pipeline into second microcodes, and a shader pipeline to process the first or second microcodes by using a shader program.
|TRACKING SATELLITE SIGNAL - Techniques, systems and apparatus are described for tracking a satellite signal. In one aspect, an apparatus includes a tracking module to generate a satellite-based measurement result by tracking a satellite signal received from a satellite. The tracking module includes sub-tracking modules with each sub-tracking module configured to generate the satellite-based measurement result by using a different integral time.
|Apparatus and Method for Processing Signal Using Single Correlator - An apparatus and method for processing a signal using a single correlator are provided. The apparatus may include a first storage unit storing satellite signal samples, a correlator receiving the satellite signal samples stored in the first storage unit in units of at least two satellite signal samples and performing correlation, and a controller storing the satellite signal samples received from an RF terminal in the first storage unit and controlling the correlator based on a predetermined control value. Accordingly, it is possible to ensure speed and performance even when tracking a plurality of satellite signals using a single correlator.
|Complementing Bitstream Error and Decoding - Among other things, techniques, systems and apparatus are described for complementing a bitstream error so that a hardware decoder can stably decrypt a bitstream. A method of complementing a bitstream error includes: receiving a bitstream; detecting an error in the received bitstream; and complementing the detected error, before decrypting the bitstream.
|Estimating Channel In Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing Communication System - Among others, techniques, systems and apparatus are described for estimating a channel in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication system. A method of estimating a channel in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication system includes sequentially receiving symbols. Each symbol includes pilots and data. The pilots included in each of first n symbols of the sequentially received symbols are placed in first areas of a memory component used for channel estimation. Data in second areas disposed between the first areas of the memory component are estimated. The pilots of at least one symbol after the nth symbol of the sequentially received symbols are placed in the first areas and the estimated data is updated in the second areas.
|ESTIMATING FREQUENCY SHIFT - Techniques, systems and apparatus are described for estimating a frequency shift. An apparatus for estimating a frequency shift includes a fast Fourier transform unit to transform a signal of a time domain into a frequency domain and output fast Fourier transform symbols. A complex conjugate multiplier is in communication with the fast Fourier transform unit and output a continual pilot correlation between every two of the fast Fourier transform symbols output from the fast Fourier transform unit. A correlation memory unit is in communication with the complex conjugate multiplier to store the continual pilot correlation output from the complex conjugate multiplier. An adder is in communication with the correlation memory unit to add the continual pilot correlations stored in the correlation memory unit and generate an output signal comprising estimated values of the frequency shift.
|RECONFIGURABLE ARRAY PROCESSOR FOR FLOATING-POINT OPERATIONS - A processor for performing floating-point operations includes an array of processing elements arranged to enable a floating-point operation. Each processing element includes an arithmetic logic unit to receive two input values and perform integer arithmetic on the received input values. The processing elements in the array are connected together in groups of two or more processing elements to enable floating-point operation.
|Processing Element (PE) Structure Forming Floating Point-Reconfigurable Array (FP-RA) and FP-RA Control Circuit for Controlling the FP-RA - Techniques, systems and apparatus are described for providing a processing element (PE) structure forming a floating point unit (FPU)-processing element. Each processing element includes each of two multiplexers (MUXes) to receive data from one or more sources including another PE, and select one value from the received data. The processing element includes an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) in communication with the two multiplexers to receive the selected value from each multiplexer as two input values, and process the received two input values to generate results of the ALU.
|Measuring Positions - Techniques, systems and computer readable medium are disclosed for measuring a position of an object device. A position measuring apparatus includes a receiving unit designed to receive a signal transmitted from an object device for position measurement. The position measuring apparatus also includes a position computing unit designed to compute a position of the object device by applying Angle Of Arrival (AOA) and Time Of Arrival (TOA) techniques using the received signal. The position measuring apparatus also includes a medium channel estimating unit designed to estimate a channel of a medium, through which the received signal penetrates on a transmission path, using the received signal. The position measuring apparatus also includes a position correcting unit configured to compute a delay time caused by the received signal penetrating the medium using the estimated medium channel and correcting the position of the object device computed by the position computing unit using the delay time.
|De-Interleaving and Interleaving for Data Processing - Among others, techniques and apparatus are described for de-interleaving. A data processing apparatus includes a buffer to store interleaved data; an interleaving index producing unit to produce an interleaving index of the interleaved data; and an output control unit to output the data stored in the buffer using the interleaving index.
|Reed solomon decoder - Techniques, systems and computer program products are described for providing a Reed Solomon decoder. The Reed Solomon decoder includes a syndrome polynomial generator to generate syndrome polynomials for subchannel data received from subchannels. In addition, a syndrome polynomial selector selects one of the generated syndrome polynomials according to a preset priority. An error location/error value polynomial generator generates an error location polynomial and an error value polynomial by applying a first algorithm to the selected syndrome polynomial. Also an error location/error value calculator calculates an error location by applying a second algorithm to the error location polynomial and calculates an error value by applying a third algorithm to the error value polynomial. Further, an error corrector corrects an error included in the received subchannel data by applying the calculated error location and the calculated error value to the received subchannel data.
|Voltage selection circuitry - Techniques, systems and apparatus are described for providing a voltage selection circuitry and a DC-to-DC converter having such voltage selection circuitry. The voltage selection circuitry includes a first terminal voltage sensing unit that senses a voltage of a first terminal and a second terminal voltage sensing unit that senses a voltage of a second terminal. The voltage selection circuitry also includes a comparison unit connected to the first terminal voltage sensing unit and the second terminal voltage sensing unit. The comparison unit compares the voltage of the first terminal with the voltage of the second terminal and outputs a comparison signal indicating a difference between the sensed voltages of the first and second terminals. The voltage selection circuitry includes a selection unit that selects a higher voltage from the sensed voltages of the first and second terminals in response to the comparison signal.
|Digital video codec using small-sized buffer memory - Techniques, systems and apparatus for digital information processing are described. In particular, techniques, systems and apparatus are described for reducing the size of buffer memory used. In one aspect, a digital video codec includes a buffer memory including an individual area to individually record different Minimum Coded Block (MCB) line data, and a common area to commonly record the different MCB line data. The codec also includes video encoder connected to the buffer memory to encode video data recorded in the individual area and the common area. Further, the codec includes a memory controller connected to the buffer memory to divisionally record a MCB line data in the individual area and the common area, and during encoding of the MCB line data, record another MCB line data in an encoding-completed area of the common area in a recording type corresponding to a memory structure of the encoding-completed common area.
Patent applications by CORE LOGIC, INC.

subset: commoncrawl


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Monday means design links! All around the interwebz, we draw inspiration from what design bloggers are talking about and posting, and we've aggregated a few of our faves here. If you've ever experienced "design block," these lovely links will surely pull you from the abyss, post haste.
> { design seeds } features a jaw-droppingly gorgeous lavender, plum, and gold palette. It reminds me of one of my favorite powder rooms EVER. I've posted this pic here before, but it's worth reposting. Those lavendar cell shades are to. die. for.
> The City Sage's Anne Sage delivers a little Martha Stewart Summer table inspiration. NO ONE does tablescapes like The Martha.
> Ready to be overtaken by some insane architecture? The Contemporist shines the spotlight on the Pod Pavillion, an amazing caterpilla-type structure just West of Kuala Lumpur.
> Check out these gorgeous modern living rooms at Melissa Hon's blog. Crisp whites are peppered with bright hues, giving these rooms a fresh feel.


text: This idea came up in the picture gallery and i was wondering why it wasn't here. Anyways, I know alot of people are a bit touchy when it comes to just giving out their favourite vids or flicks, but i figure poeple might be a bit more open minded to it if they're getting something in return. I know alot of b-boys use this sytem of video trading and it seems to work out fine for them. Anyways, keep in mind that trading can't actaully take place on BS. So you'll have to use some other method such as e-mail, instant messaging or online file sending sites like this one. So you should be very careful about who you're giving your e-mail to, and also probably use the file sending site that I linked, it's pretty confidential, you can choose to not even give your e-mail address. So the idea is that you would post in this thread whatever it is that you have, that you're willing to trade and also say what it is that you're seeking. Hopefully some matches are made and we can have some trading going on. Of course if your're a charitable old fart you can just give stuff out for free. Go ahead and post your thoughts on the idea and post your tradeable items.


text: "Race" is the story of two brothers, Ranvir Singh and Rajeev Singh, who live on the edge of their life. Their business is horse racing, and their beat -- the fast track. Winning is their birthright, and danger their sport. Set against the high flying social fabric of modern South Africa. "Race" is about betrayal and greed, intrigue and revenge. Even love comes laced with a motive. The stakes are too high. Double them and you have the perfect grounds for a perfect murder. The sudden appearance of Inspector Robert D'Costa, and his dumb and sexy assistant Mini, deepens the plot into a gripping tale of drama. With the brothers pitched against each other -- who will win?


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"We are bullish about our future and will continue on our path of investing in that future. We are planning Rs 10,000 crore investment in the next three years, including a new auto plant," M&M Chairman and Managing Director Anand Mahindra told shareholders at the company's 67th annual general meeting (AGM) here.
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He gave no details about the proposed facility.
"Our past experience suggests this will pay dividends. In 2008, when the economy was slowing down, M&M was one of the few companies that continued to invest; and that investment is one of the major reasons why we significantly outperformed the industry over the last two financial years.
"And today as well, despite the difficult situation, we will continue along our investment path, not only in capacity building but also in R&D," Mahindra said.
"We will invest with an even greater focus on the frugality and efficiency of that investment. Mahindra Group well prepared to take on a challenging environment."
Mahindra said the country is today facing a serious economic crisis. There are real spectres looming over the economy - galloping fuel costs; a falling rupee; inflation eroding growth; the spectre of a return to the Hindu rate of growth. "All these burning issues have to be tackled if we are to regain our growth trajectory."
The falling rupee is a major macroeconomic concern. However, it has its bright side. It works to the benefit of our IT business and exports, be they auto, tractors or 2 wheelers, the M&M chief said.
Its advantages can be reaped by our holiday business, as more and more Indians choose to holiday in India rather than abroad. The falling rupee will attract NRI investment in our real estate business, Mahindra noted.
And as India becomes an export powerhouse, SEZs, which is also one of our businesses, can provide a platform to take exports to new levels, he said.
Amidst the slowdown there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon. The window of opportunity is the bumper monsoon this year. If agriculture does well, food inflation could come down, rural incomes could go up and this could revive demand for the goods and services, Mahindra added.


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BP Comment Quick Links
|Strength of Schedule Report
January 12, 2005
The Lowe-Down
Getting Inside the Numbers on the Dodgers' New Starter
For a contract that hasn't even been signed yet, Derek Lowe's rumored four-year, $36MM deal with the Dodgers sure has gotten a lot of press. Most of this has centered around two sides of one issue: Has Dodgers GM Paul DePodesta lost his mind and, assuming he hasn't, does that mean the rest of us have?
Let me be very clear about two of my primary assumptions: First, I think DePodesta is a very smart guy and that he has shown a tendency to be very bold in his short tenure as GM of the Dodgers; second, I don't think he's lost his mind.
The reasons people have found the Lowe contract so horrendously out of line with DePodesta are 1.) both its length and its amount, and 2.) the fact that it's being spent on a pitcher who hasn't just been trending downward, he's been spiraling. Given DePodesta's pedigree in Oakland and his willingness to trade players whose best qualities - according to the media - are intangibles, committing that much time and money to a player who has one - count them, one - good season as a starting pitcher on his resume and a few well timed outs in the post-season appears drastically out of line. Thus the conclusion that either DePodesta has lost his mind or he knows something that the rest of us don't. Since I'm assuming the Dodger GM is quite sane, I'd like to know what he was thinking.
On the surface, the Lowe contract is way out of line with the other major pitching contracts of the 2004-05 offseason. Look how Lowe's last two seasons compare to the rest of baseball's nouveau riche, using Clay Davenport's Translated Pitching Statistics (which adjust for park, league, and all-time):
Player Age W-L IP ER BB SO ERA BB/9 SO/9 ------ --- --- -- -- -- -- --- ---- ---- Pedro Martinez 33 37-14 472.3 136 112 474 2.59 2.13 9.03 Carl Pavano 29 37-21 500.0 185 91 298 3.33 1.64 5.36 Brad Radke 34 33-20 505.0 189 44 294 3.37 0.78 5.24 Matt Clement 30 32-22 453.3 176 178 353 3.49 3.53 7.01 Odalis Perez 27 29-18 451.0 184 92 270 3.67 1.84 5.39 Russ Ortiz 30 37-21 493.7 203 243 293 3.70 4.43 5.34 Kris Benson 30 24-19 357.7 165 98 212 4.15 2.47 5.33 Derek Lowe 31 26-28 450.3 218 156 238 4.36 3.12 4.76Lowe is the third oldest pitcher in the group; he has the worst ERA, the lowest strikeout rate, the third worst walk rate, and the lowest innings total except for Kris Benson. He's also the only pitcher with a translated losing record; while actual pitcher winning percentage is easily manipulated by usage patterns and run support, these translated numbers are much more immune to that kind of fluctuation.
So, as has been well publicized, on the surface, Lowe has more than struggled in Boston the last two years. But - as has been suggested - perhaps DePodesta is looking at things in a way which provides solid evidence that Lowe would find success with the Dodgers - more than he had found in Boston and certainly more than his horrible 2004 season.
Much of the speculation about Lowe's performance in a different venue has centered around his groundball-flyball ratio (GB/FB). Among qualified pitchers, Lowe had the highest GB/FB ratio in the majors in both 2002 and 2003 before finishing second to Brandon Webb last year. In fact, by posting a ratio of 2.87, 2004 became the first year since his brief rookie season in 1997 in which Lowe's GB/FB was below 3.00. He is without question one of the most extreme groundball pitchers in the game and - if historical data were available - would likely be one of the most extreme of all time.
In previous studies, GB/FB ratio hasn't been significantly correlated to a pitcher's performance with regards to runs allowed, but it is an excellent predictor of home run rate. The reasons for this are quite obvious (and are stated by Nate Silver in his article): with the rare exception, ground balls are never home runs. However, as Nate has also pointed out in a recent email exchange, "Groundballers have a notably higher BABIP than flyballers." Without getting into the entire argument of Defense Independent Pitching Statistics (DIPS), there is evidence that groundball pitchers allow higher batting averages with lower slugging percentages, a tradeoff that keeps their overall runs allowed very close to their flyball counterparts. Groundball pitchers also see a noticeable increase in double-play rates, as a quick look at BP's Double Play Rate for Pitchers report confirms.
Because of Lowe's extreme groundball tendencies and his low strikeout rates, changes in park and defense are likely to have a more significant effect on him than on other pitchers. The question then is, exactly how much can Dodger Stadium be expected to improve Lowe's numbers and does his style of pitching lend itself to Chavez Ravine more than other stadiums around the league?
Rather than looking at raw park factors, in Lowe's case it's more instructive to look at how Fenway Park and Dodger Stadium affect individual aspects of offense. These individual park factors are generated by looking at the totals in games at the home park versus totals in games on the road, totalling both home and visitor stats. For example, the number of home runs hit by both the Red Sox and their opponents in Fenway is divided by the total home runs hit in Red Sox road games, adjusted for playing time. Here are three-year park factors for Fenway and Dodger Stadium:
Park R H 2B 3B HR BB SO ---- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- Fenway 106.1 106.5 123.8 82.0 89.7 99.3 95.8 Dodger 89.5 94.3 79.3 49.5 109.6 93.2 105.2While it's commonly known that Dodger Stadium is one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in the majors, it's interesting how it achieves that notoriety. Dodger Stadium actually gives up 9.6% more home runs than a neutral park while Fenway - a hitters park - allows 10.3% fewer. The reason for Fenway's offensive tendencies and Dodger Stadium's defensive leanings is the vast differences in hit rates, excluding home runs.
This distinction could be the key to the Dodger's interest in Lowe. Simply adjusting Lowe's RA based on the Park Factors gives him an RA of 6.25 in 2004 if he had played in Dodger Stadium. Allowing 6.25 runs per game in Dodger Stadium certainly isn't worthy of $36MM, but there is another way to calculate runs allowed.
Because runs allowed in a season can be subject to the timing of hits and other key events in a game, players can have ERAs or RAs disparate from the individual statistics they allowed. Rather than simply dividing Runs Allowed by Innings Pitched, combining various rate statistics like hits or strikeouts per inning or AVG, OBP, and SLG allowed, we can calculate a more accurate predictive value of ERA or RA. Doing so with Lowe's individual numbers in 2004 reduces his RA from 6.80 to an expected RA of 5.04.
Another estimate of Lowe's 2004 RA can be calculated by looking at Lowe's more specific statistics and adjusting each of them by the specific park factors. This way, it will be clear how Dodger Stadium's particular run suppression characteristics relate to Lowe's style of pitching.
Lowe's individual stats for 2002-04:
Pitcher Year AB R H 2B 3B HR BB SO ------- ---- --- --- --- -- -- -- -- --- Derek Lowe 2002 787 65 166 30 3 12 48 127 Derek Lowe 2003 795 113 216 35 7 17 72 110 Derek Lowe 2004 748 138 224 41 4 15 71 105Adjusting Lowe's individual stats from Fenway Park to Dodger Stadium, they look more like this:
Pitcher Year AB R H 2B 3B HR BB SO ------- ---- --- --- --- -- -- -- -- --- Derek Lowe 2002 787 60 156 24 2 13 47 133 Derek Lowe 2003 795 104 203 28 6 19 70 115 Derek Lowe 2004 748 127 211 33 3 17 69 110Lowe's estimated RA in 2004 based on these statistics would be 4.62. Suddenly, instead of being a pitcher with a 6.80 RA, Lowe becomes - if not quite league average - much closer to an acceptable innings eater. But this does not mean that Dodger Stadium particularly suits Lowe's pitching style; if his estimated RA based on his statistics in Boston (5.04) is adjusted simply by the raw runs park factors, it comes out to 4.63 - almost exactly the same as the 4.62 RA above. Thus, while Lowe had an unlucky year in a tough hitter's park, Dodger Stadium's particular features do not especially lend themselves to Lowe's style of pitching.
The other major question of Lowe's transition to Los Angeles was the quality of the infield defense. Boston's infield glovemen were hardly worth the dirt they were standing on. While Kevin Millar, Pokey Reese, and Bill Mueller played well in the infield with Fielding Runs Above Average (FRAA) of 0, 4, and 6, respectively, the rest of the infield left much to be desired. Nomar Garciaparra (-6), Orlando Cabrera (-6), and Mark Bellhorn (-9) were definitely not in the lineup for their gloves. The Dodgers, on the other hand, were one of the league's better defensive infields. Adrian Beltre (13), Cesar Izturis (2), and Alex Cora (8) managed to compensate for Shawn Green (-10), saving more than a win over the course of the year just with their gloves.
Totaling the differences, the Dodgers' infield was 24 runs better than the Red Sox's in 2004. While on the surface Lowe would only stand to gain about 3-4 runs from the upgrade (assuming he pitched 200 of about 1400 innings), given his disproportionate number of groundballs, his share would be much larger. Dodger pitchers last year allowed 1807 ground balls while Lowe allowed 405 all by himself. Disregarding the possibility that the Dodger infield's 24 run advantage on the Red Sox is due to a better ability to catch the infield fly, Lowe would be expected to save about 5.3 runs in front of the 2004 Los Angeles infield.
However, the Dodgers have also revamped their infield defense, swapping out Beltre, Cora, and Green for Jose Valentin, Jeff Kent, and likely Hee Seop Choi. Valentin has averaged 6 FRAA over the last 3 years and, as defensive numbers from short appear to carry over to third, Valentin should be expected to post similar numbers in 2005. Kent has been all over the map defensively, but his last three seasons averaged out to around 6 as well. Choi has seen very limited playing time, but has shown himself to be about average. Assuming that Izturis maintains his play at short, the new Dodgers infield should actually be about the same as last year's with the loss of Beltre compensated for by the loss of Green. Thus, the better defense can still be assumed to give Lowe a healthy five run boost over the course of the season.
There is also the question of errors. Lowe's defense allowed 19 runners to reach on errors (ROE) behind him in 2004, yielding one of the league's highest unearned run totals. The Dodger defense, however, allowed only 29 runners to reach all season. Assuming those rates affected all pitchers equally, Lowe would be in line for about 4 errors instead of 19, another drastic difference. Those 15 runners are likely already accounted for in the earlier analysis of expected RA simply because ROE is not captured by any of the individual metrics used to calculate expected RA. They are the main reason Lowe's expected RA was so much lower than his actual RA and, while the Dodger defense seems more likely to return Lowe to his expected RA than Boston's, removing them a second time would not be accurate.
Lowe's performance in LA can be expected to improve for three reasons: the inherent run suppression of Dodger Stadium (rather than any specific park factor related to his pitching style), the fact that he was unlucky in 2004 based on his secondary statistics, and the improvement of the individual infield defenders in LA. As mentioned, based on his secondary numbers from last year, Lowe would have had an RA around 4.62 in Dodger Stadium. Adding in the expected 5.3 extra runs of improvement from the Dodger infield, Lowe would have an RA of 4.38 in 200 innings and an ERA slightly below that.
Finally, there's the question of an improvement from Lowe's performance independent of park and defense. While there have been few pitchers with his extreme groundball tendencies, his 2005 PECOTA projection is a nice place to start the discussion. PECOTA has Lowe pegged for a nice improvement in his ERA, but most of that is based on his rather unlucky 2004. His 2005 H/9, BB/9, SO/9, and HR/9 are all very similar to 2004 and, adjusting for playing in Dodger Stadium and calculating his RA based on his secondary stats, Lowe's projected RA is 4.66, again very close to the 4.62 above. For a very quick and unscientific estimate of his upside, let's assume he were to improve to his 2003 form; in that case, his estimated RA would drop to 4.12 with a little more improvement to come from the LA infield defense. Though that may sound impressive, an RA of 4.12 is just slightly better than league average considering his league and park.
Even considering the positive effects of the improved defense behind him and the specific offensive suppressions of Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles is still on the hook for $36MM for a pitcher with a projected higher than league average adjusted RA. The improvement expected as a result of the park and superior infield defense are not enough to overcome Lowe's steadily mediocre pitching. All things equal, Lowe's 2005 could look quite a lot like Jeff Weaver's 2004: not that bad, but certainly not worth the money. Unlike Weaver, Lowe will be keep being expensive for a long time to come.
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The parent of a child with special needs had filed the plea alleging that the provisions of the Persons with Disabilities Act (PWDA) were being ignored in the current points system for nursery admission there was no reservation for children with disabilities.
The High Court then issued a notice to the Delhi government directing it to ensure that at least 2-3 seats are kept reserved in those private schools, which have the facilities to cater to such children.
However, the government failed to notify this, inviting a contempt notice against Principal Secretary (Education).
The DoE on Tuesday submitted to the court that it had complied with the courts order to issue a notification to the 15 private unaided schools, which had been identified by the petitioner and verified by the DoE as having adequate facilities to cater to children with disabilities, to reserve two seats for such children this year.
Though the court had directed the DoE to issue the circular on May 7, it did so only on Monday.
The government had claimed that the delay in issuing the circular was because there were no satisfactory finding by the team inspecting the facilities available in private schools.
For proper benefit of children, it was also thought that the government should come out with a comprehensive policy after taking inputs from experts dealing with disabled children and, thereafter, the schools can be dictated to follow the same, the DoE told the court.
The affidavit further stated that the DoE, despite its best efforts, had not been able to ascertain if any other school had adequate facilities - no school had filed any affidavit listing out the facilities available in each one of them.
On Tuesday, the court of Justice Ravindra Bhat and Justice Vibhu Bakhru issued notice to 51 private schools in the city to file affidavits stating the facilities available in each of them to educate children with special needs.
The court also refused the governments request to quash the contempt petition, stating that the contempt case will be kept alive till the circular issued by the DoE is implemented and the children are granted admissions.


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Target to cut allowances missed
The Government has failed in its target to save 75 million euro in a slash and burn of public sector pay bonuses.
Brendan Howlin, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, said his officials looked at more than 1,100 allowances and more than 800 business cases for retaining the payouts as they are or in modified form.
Mr Howlin put the failure down to the sheer size and scale of the review.
"This will not impact however, on the achievement of the pay bill budget for the year which will be fully realised," a statement from his department said.
At present an estimated 30% of Government spending goes on pay - almost 15.4 billion euro.
In 2011, about 1.8 billion euro of that related to allowances and overtime, with health 252m euro in overtime and 616m euro in allowances; education with zero overtime and 488m euro in allowances; and the Garda with 90m euro on overtime including the 24m euro spent policing the year's state visits and 218m euro on overtime.
The review is part of wider steps to reduce the pay-related cost of the public sector by 3.8 billion euro from 2009-2015 - a cut of one fifth.
Mr Howlin said where changes are needed on other allowances management will open talks with unions to make use of the Croke Park agreement.
Some of the pay bonuses and salary top-ups to be abolished by the department for new entrants include qualification allowances for teachers; cash handling allowances for university staff; radio, bicycle and transport allowances for gardai; shoe and clothing allowance for DIT caretaking staff; special HSE rates for working bank holiday weekends; and underwear and nightwear allowance for defence employees among dozens of others.
Others which may be modified for new entrants are uniform expenses in the civil service; supervision and substitution costs in education; diving call-out and allowances for the defence staff; taxi allowances for the National Gallery; on call and flexibility allowances for the Garda Ombudsman's office; benefit in kind mileage allowance for social protection staff; early/late allowance at the National Library; unsocial hours in the Inland Fisheries; overseas weekend allowance for Enterprise Ireland.


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[27 September 2005]
PopMatters Contributing Editor
Cory McAbee lives in a time warp. Or perhaps more accurately, a parallel universe. Wherever it is, the place is populated by '50s retro flights of fancy, unbelievably arcane songs, and a penchant for all that is kitschy and cool. As frontman for San Francisco's infamous cult combo, the Billy Nayer Show, McAbee has created performance art out of Las Vegas lounge schlock, resulting in brilliantly perverted pop songs. Backed by various musicians, McAbee invents musings that are part They Might Be Giants and part The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat, and bathes then in a phony baloney sincerity that gives smarm a new coating of eel oil.
He was also responsible for one of 2001's best films, The American Astronaut. Combining most all of McAbee's interests—the conservative corruption of the Eisenhower era, sci-fi freak-outs, and visually arresting imagery—the movie is a monochrome rock opera filled with unforgettable characters and equally enduring ideas. Perhaps no other film in the last 10 years has so perfectly captured one individual's ideology.
Overwhelming praise for Astronaut led to interest in his previous films. Still, to call The Billy Nayer Show: The Early Years (new to DVD from Facets Video), a window into this auteur's world would be a bit of an overstatement. As engaging and entertaining as Astronaut was, The Billy Nayer Show is strangely insular. Certainly, there are glimpses here of what made his big screen spectacle great, but there's not enough creative context to let us comprehend even early signs of his "genius."
It is obvious from the three films in this collection—Billy Nayer (1992), The Man on the Moon (1993), and The Ketchup and Mustard Man (1994)—that McAbee is in love with language. He relishes the juxtaposition of words and combinations of sounds and sentiment. Both Moon and Man feature vibrant monologues, as McAbee lets his inner anarchist loose and watches conventions of communication fall away. From a purely verbal standpoint, these movies are amazing demonstrations of lyrical and literary dexterity.
Visually, they are equally stunning. For Man on the Moon, McAbee used the infamous Fischer Price PXL 2000 toy cameras (the ones that recorded onto audiotape cassettes) to tell the story of a cuckold trying to escape his shame with an interplanetary exile. The heavily fragmented images resemble transmissions from another planet, and while the material is contrived at best (the funniest thing in the entire 20-minute exercise is a hilariously racy song about Santa Claus), the look is stupendous. Billy Nayer, the two minute music video included, also uses novelty to get its point about the fakeness and hypocrisy of life across. McAbee hand-tinted the negative, one frame at a time, to create a seething cartoon caldron of color in which a suave animated singer croons about love.
Both clips are compelling, but neither suggests the true scope of McAbee's madness. If any film in this compilation compares with The American stronaut, it would be The Ketchup and Mustard Man. But it's hard to get a handle on what McAbee and his bandmates want to do here. Half rock and roll rave-up (with odd songs like "Seven" and "Ham"), half undeniable debt to David Lynch (call it Eraserhead meets the Elephant Man's papier-mache twin), this long-form music video is unlike anything you've seen while not under the influence of a powerful mind-altering drug. McAbee plays two roles, the darkly handsome inner self of an obvious genetic mutant, and the mutant itself. Wearing a series of deformed striped orbs over his hands and face, Mutant McAbee trades stories with the inner self. Together they forge a bizarre saga about a little princess, her cat-hating daddy, and the doctor who won her heart.
As in Astronaut, McAbee reinvents the rules here. Songs start and stop at random, and interchange rhythmic elements as rapidly as they modify their presentation. Stanzas end without rhymes, and choruses can carry on for longer than the melody line allows. McAbee sometimes sings "normally." At other times, his voice comes pouring out from the snaggle-toothed void of the bulbous-headed homunculus. His nattily dressed band presses on, delivering a combination of show tune and psycho-pop. The whole thing screams pretension and artifice.
It's McAbee's look, that Rat Pack meets rat feces façade, that wins us over. It's so over-the-top, so totally mannered and manipulated that you feel you understand the joke, even when McAbee is not providing any pathways to comprehension. It's the same impression you get while watching him perform live (the DVD includes a couple of concert clips, along with some ancillary PR material). McAbee is all about the veneer.
Nothing here matches the abject brilliance of Astronaut, and more times than not, the short running times seem minutes too long. Still, The Billy Nayer Show: The Early Years serves as a useful primer for the artist's later work. It may not explain how he found his way from performance-art piñata to masterpiece, but that's part of the McAbee mystique. He lives in his own private space. We're lucky he lets us look in once in a while.
Published at: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/billy-nayer-show-early-dvd/


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Resorters baseball: Tigers take two in opener
The Miltona Tigers opened their season with a 2-1 win over Ashby behind a strong start from Shawn Krueger before coasting past Kensington 17-1 this past weekend.
Krueger was in complete control in his first start with the Tigers on Saturday. He had a shutout going into the ninth before Ashby got its lone run of the game. Krueger allowed just two hits in the complete-game victory. Ryan Emter and Ryan Silbernick both scored for Miltona.
Things came a lot easier a day later in Kensington. The Tigers' Chris Koep held the Norseman in check for five innings to pick up the win on the mound. He struck out eight before John Mohror relieved him in the sixth and worked the final two innings.
The Tigers made things easy for them on offense. They pounded out 20 hits. Cody Curry, Sam Steidl, Jake Leuschke, Mark Whiting and Silbernick all had three hits apiece. Krueger added two, while Jake Munsch, Dalton Leuschke and Mohror added a hit apiece.
The Tigers will host Osakis at Bernie Steidl Field on Saturday before heading to Knute Nelson Field to take on the Alexandria Senators on Sunday. Both games are scheduled to start at 2 p.m.


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Santa shares his responses to letters from Arrowtown School pupils with the Queenstown Times...
• Dear Santa ...
Thank you for my tent last Christmas and can you please give me an Orbeez Star Globe?
I have a question - how do your reindeer fly when they don't have wings.
From Ellie Shuttleworth, age 7.
My dear Ellie,
I am so glad you enjoyed your tent - the elves tried it out before they wrapped it up and they had such fun in it!
You asked me a very good question, Ellie - normally if animals don't have wings they can't fly ... or can they?
I have very, very special reindeer in the North Pole - you won't find reindeer like them anywhere else in the world.
Some of their distant relatives in other parts of the world get very upset they can't fly as well, but we always make sure to stop in and say hello during our annual Christmas trip.
Have a wonderful Christmas, Ellie!
Love, Santa.
• Dear Santa ...
I hope you had a good week and thank you for my present last year.
This year I would like Twinkle Toes please.
Me and Ellie are wondering how old you are?
From Charliese Erskine, age 7.
Hello Charliese.
Every year I remark on what a beautiful name you have!
I have had a wonderful week, although it's gone very quickly indeed.
Do you know I will be visiting Arrowtown and Queenstown in just 10 days?
My goodness, there is still so much to do!
Many, many children want to know how old I am and I keep telling them I'm not sure, but given I've also forgotten I asked the elves to help me find my birth certificate.
And do you know what happened, Charliese?
One of my elves found it hidden away in a very safe place and when she picked it up the paper disintegrated - it was so old it just turned to dust!
Merry Christmas, Charliese - the reindeer and I will see you very soon!Ho, ho, ho!Santa Claus.
• Dear Santa ...
How are you?
Please can I have an iPad?
Are your reindeer ever naughty? Do they fight?
From Tyler Harris, age 7.
Dear Tyler,
That was a very good question!
Sometimes the reindeer get too tired and that's when they get naughty.
Recently, the elves tried to separate them at night to help them get to sleep -they get so excited before Christmas they tend to stay up very late and talk to each other.
All was going well until yesterday, Tyler.
One of the elves accidentally dropped a large bag of sweets ... which Blitzen quickly picked up and shared around all the others.
They ate far too many sweets and then got very, very excited and try as we might we could not get them to calm down, so we separated them again and left them for the night.
Unfortunately, Dancer was on such a sugar high he leaped over his gate, let all the reindeer out and, needless to say, they had a wonderful time getting up to mischief in the workshop all night!Today, they all had a very long time out!
Have a lovely Christmas Tyler.
Love, Santa.
• Dear Santa ...
I have been a good girl. I am going to ask you some questions.
How do you get in the chimney? What is your favourite colour? How old are you?
I like Christmas Day because you come.
From Stella Fraser, age 7.
Dear Stella,
I am so happy to hear you have been a good girl this year and I am looking forward to visiting your house very soon!
Most of the time I just jump down chimneys but every now and then I like to try different ways of getting in - one time I got the reindeer to hold a rope in their teeth which I attached to my ankles and I crawled in face first.
Unfortunately, Vixen got a bit distracted, and Comet decided to tell him off and let go of the rope.
I went flying down the chimney at great speed but managed to break my fall with my sack and thankfully didn't break any presents!
My favourite colour is red, but I also love green.
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, Stella!
Love, Santa Claus.
• Dear Santa ...
How are you going?
I know you are busy Santa but I want to ask you some questions.
How far away are you? How do you get in so quietly?
I love opening the presents.
On Christmas we eat a special breakfast.
I like having Christmas.
From Kane Viggers, age 7.
You are right, Kane.
I am very busy at the moment - just as everyone else in the world is preparing for their holidays, I am getting ready for the busiest night of the year!
However, I am never too busy to answer questions from children like you.
I live in the North Pole, which is on the opposite side of the world to New Zealand.
Many people have tried to find my home, but it's so well hidden no-one ever has!
I spent many months practising being quiet at the North Pole - I practised until I got so good at it I was able to sneak up on the elves, which is not an easy thing to do because they have exceptional hearing abilities!
I am so glad you like Christmas - isn't it a shame it only happens once a year?
I do hope you enjoy your special breakfast this Christmas, it sounds wonderful!Ho, ho, ho!Santa Claus.
• Dear Santa ...
Thank you very much for my presents last year!
Santa, can I have a Monster High Doll Frankie Stein please?
Santa I have some questions for you.
Where do you get the presents? What is your age?
On Christmas Day I like to prepare for you.
From Georgia Chambers, age 7.
Hello there, Georgia!
I am so glad you enjoyed your gifts last year - the elves and I always try very hard to find things you will like.
Many of the presents are made in my workshop in the North Pole.
The elves spend all year working to make things for each and every child on the Nice List.
Once or twice, though, they haven't made quite enough, but I'm lucky to have Secret Agent elves all over the world who can help me locate presents quickly if I need them to.
I stopped getting older several years ago - sometimes mummies and daddies send me letters asking me to leave them a gift under the tree to stop them getting older, too!I'm looking forward to visiting your house very soon, Georgia - have a wonderful Christmas.
From, Santa.
• Dear Santa ...
Thank you for my presents you gave me last year, I really enjoyed playing with them.
For Christmas can I please have walkie-talkies?
I would like to ask you a question.
How long does it take to give all the presents to all the children in the world?
From Maisie Grufferty, age 7.
Merry Christmas, Maisie!
Aren't walkie talkies fun?
I use them all the time in the North Pole - it makes tracking down elves much easier!
Before Christmas Eve I am very busy making final adjustments to the Naughty and Nice Lists, checking I have everything loaded into the sleigh and the reindeer are all in good health.
Very, very early on Christmas Eve I set out from the North Pole and I head straight to New Zealand because you are the first people in the world to celebrate Christmas.
I have to work very quickly to ensure I get to every child before the sun comes up on Christmas Day, but Father Time sometimes helps slow the clocks all over the world if the reindeer have the go-slows!Have a fabulous Christmas, Maisie.
Love, Santa Claus.


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Research Topics
E B Dam
Affiliation: Nordic Bioscience
Country: Denmark
Detail Information
- Distribution, size, shape, growth potential and extent of abdominal aortic calcified deposits predict mortality in postmenopausal womenMads Nielsen
Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
BMC Cardiovasc Disord 10:56. 2010..We investigated the relationship between mortality and the composite markers of number, size, morphology and distribution of calcified plaques in the lumbar aorta...
- Increased urinary excretion of C-telopeptides of type II collagen (CTX-II) predicts cartilage loss over 21 months by MRIE B Dam
Nordic Bioscience A S, Herlev Hovedgade 207, DK 2730 Herlev, Denmark
Osteoarthritis Cartilage 17:384-9. 2009..We investigated the longitudinal interrelationship between CTX-II and knee cartilage volume quantified from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)...
- Identification of progressors in osteoarthritis by combining biochemical and MRI-based markersErik B Dam
Nordic Bioscience, Herlev Hovedgade 207, Herlev, Denmark
Arthritis Res Ther 11:R115. 2009..Specifically, we investigated aggregate cartilage longevity markers combining markers of breakdown, quantity, and quality...
- Efficient segmentation by sparse pixel classificationErik B Dam
Nordic Bioscience, 2730 Herlev, Denmark
IEEE Trans Med Imaging 27:1525-34. 2008..We show that each algorithm is optimal for specific tasks, and that both algorithms allow a speedup of one or more orders of magnitude on typical segmentation tasks...
- Biochemical markers and the FDA Critical Path: how biomarkers may contribute to the understanding of pathophysiology and provide unique and necessary tools for drug developmentM A Karsdal
Nordic Bioscience A S, Herlev Hovedgade 207, Herlev, Denmark
Biomarkers 14:181-202. 2009..Biochemical markers of tissue degradation may provide optimal tools, which in combination with other techniques, prove essential to drug discovery and development...
- Automatic morphometric cartilage quantification in the medial tibial plateau from MRI for osteoarthritis gradingE B Dam
Image Group, IT University of Copenhagen
Osteoarthritis Cartilage 15:808-18. 2007..To evaluate whether a novel, fully automatic, morphometric cartilage quantification framework is suitable for assessing level of knee osteoarthritis (OA) in clinical trials...
- Vertebral fracture risk (VFR) score for fracture prediction in postmenopausal womenM Lillholm
Synarc Imaging Technologies A S, Herlev, Denmark
Osteoporos Int 22:2119-28. 2011..We present an osteoporosis fracture risk score based on vertebral heights. The score separated individuals who sustained fractures (by follow-up after 6.3 years) from healthy controls at baseline...
- Should subchondral bone turnover be targeted when treating osteoarthritis?M A Karsdal
Nordic Bioscience A S, Herlev, Denmark
Osteoarthritis Cartilage 16:638-46. 2008..We speculate whether a treatment for OA would be possible without targeting the bone compartment?..
- Automatic shape model building based on principal geodesic analysis bootstrappingErik B Dam
Nordic Bioscience, Imaging, Herlev Hoved 207, Herlev, Denmark
Med Image Anal 12:136-51. 2008..Furthermore, the correspondence properties measured by generality, specificity, and compactness are improved during the shape model building iterations...
- Segmenting articular cartilage automatically using a voxel classification approachJenny Folkesson
IT University of Copenhagen, DK 2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark
IEEE Trans Med Imaging 26:106-15. 2007....
- Segmentation of tumors in magnetic resonance brain images using an interactive multiscale watershed algorithmMarloes M J Letteboer
Image Sciences Institute, University Medical Center, Heidelberglaan 100, Room E01 335, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands
Acad Radiol 11:1125-38. 2004..This article presents the evaluation of an interactive multiscale watershed segmentation algorithm for segmenting tumors in magnetic resonance brain images of patients scheduled for neuronavigational procedures...


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PRZOOM - /newswire/ -
Dubai, UAE, United Arab Emirates, 2008/07/21 - ZOTAC becomes the only graphics cards and motherboard vendor to offer a warranty of 5 years on its entire range of products worldwide.
ZOTAC International (MCO) Ltd., a member of the PC Partner Group and a leading NVIDIA AIC partner, today announced that it has decided to increase the warranty coverage on its entire range of products to 5 years for its customers in the Middle East and Africa region. With this extended warranty, ZOTAC becomes the only graphics cards and motherboard manufacturer to offer a lengthy 5 year warranty on its products.
Our new extended warranty in the Middle East and Africa region shows our commitment and confidence in our products, said Mr. Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International. While the 5 year warranty scheme was initially extended to our range of graphics cards only, we decided to expand it to our motherboards as well. This was done in keeping in mind our customers, who have shown a high level of confidence in our entire range of products.
The extended warranty inures all ZOTAC graphics cards and motherboards sold in the Middle East and Africa region are free of defects or operational failure within the first 5-years of ownership. The ZOTAC extended warranty applies to all ZOTAC graphics cards and motherboards in retail channel inventory or purchased by consumers on or after June 11, 2008 and require users to register the product on ZOTACs website to validate the warranty.
"Whether it is a graphics card or a motherboard, both are very important components of any PC. Our world-class products give our consumers the quality assurance and reliability the industry has come to expect from ZOTAC. The positive response we have received from our retail partners is a testament of their confidence in our ability to deliver products that blend value, innovative technology and reliability. With this new warranty extension announcement, ZOTAC becomes the first ever component vendor to offer a 5 year warranty on its products in the world," explained Mr. Berger.
General details:
New ZOTAC extended warranty for Middle East and Africa;
First 2-years of warranty through reseller;
Additional 3-years through ZOTAC for 5 years total;
User must register product within 2 weeks of purchase;
Original receipt is required for warranty services;
Product must not be physically damaged or tampered with.
ZOTAC International, which announced the commencement of its Middle East operations in April this year, was established in 2006 with a mission to deliver superb quality of NVIDIA graphics solutions to the industry and has a strong backup from its parent group, PC Partner Ltd. The company is headquartered in Hong Kong, with a factory in Mainland China and regional sales offices in Europe, Asia Pacific and North America.
ZOTAC motherboards and graphics cards are available at all Sharaf DG and i2 (CompuMe)showrooms in the UAE and through distributors such as SKY Electronics for the GCC region.
About ZOTAC International (MCO) Limited
ZOTAC International is a part of PC Partner Ltd. Group. ZOTAC is also one of the largest NVIDIA add-in board and motherboard manufacturers in the world with over 10 years of quality manufacturing experience. The ZOTAC philosophy is to deliver the latest products at competitive prices without sacrificing quality.
Disclaimer: ZOTAC International (MCO) Limited does not warrant the accuracy, completeness or reliability of information, materials and other items contained on this website or server. No liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. When accessing this website, users acknowledge that ZOTAC International (MCO) Limited will not be liable in any event for any damages arising out of the use of this site or any websites linked to it.
While every effort has been taken to ensure accuracy and completeness in the preparation of this site, we assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Products shown in this site are provided for general reference purposes only. All product information herein is subject to change without notice.
Copyright 2007 ZOTAC International (MCO) Ltd. All rights reserved. All company and/or product names may be trade names, trademarks and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they are associated. Features, pricing, availability and specifications are subject to change without notice.
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Sink, Davis Campaign In Miami
Alex Sink and Jim Davis appeared before more than 100 Miami area Democrats on Monday night, casting themselves as the candidates who can recapture some of the state's top political posts for the party.
"I am the only candidate in race with any financial experience," said Sink, who will take on the Republican primary winner for chief financial officer. "Even when I tell my Republican audiences that they go 'Oh, okay.' They're getting it." Sink said she will have about $2-million in the bank for the general election, but urged supporters to sign up for her e-mail list.
Davis covered a range of issues, railing on Republicans for cutting health coverage for children, obsessing about the FCAT and increasing property taxes to pay for schools. "Are you ready to win? Are you ready to fight?" Davis shouted. "This is going to be a bloody fight and some of this blood is going to be mine. And I can spare some."
Earlier in the day, Davis was in Little Haiti where he announced the collective endorsement of 197 black leaders and pledged to make home ownership more affordable and restore former felons' voting rights.


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SAN DIEGO -- CTIA MobileCON 2012 -- People sometimes ask me at these trade shows what I think will help 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) really take off as a network technology ... you know, really go mainstream.
The truth, as the last couple of weeks have shown, is that 4G in the U.S. is much, much further along in its development than, say, 3G was in 2004. It's just that mobility has become so much more a part of our lives in the intervening years.
Consider that now-defunct operator Monet Networks launched the first EV-DO 3G CDMA network back around this time in 2002. 3G network coverage in the U.S. was spotty for years among both GSM and CDMA carriers.


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By Greg Demetriou
Club Brugge KV's excellent 0-0 draw at the Ali Sami Yen stadium last time out in the UEFA Champions League has left them in a position to pip Galatasaray SK to second place in Group H.
Hoping to progress
With leaders FC Barcelona seemingly unstoppable after three straight wins, Brugge and Galatasaray know they are probably competing for the other qualification place for the second group stage, although bottom club FC Lokomotiv Moskva are also not out of it just yet.
Better record
Although Brugge are in third place with two points to Galatasaray's four, they can take a giant leap forward with victory at home tonight. This would give them a better record in the meetings between the two clubs, the deciding factor if they finish level on points. Of course, if Galatasaray can win, the balance will be firmly in their favour.
Goals scarce
Brugge coach Trond Sollied said: "We want to win as badly as them. If we do not win, a draw is good for us, but a 0-0, not a 1-1 that would be positive for Galatasaray against us if we finish level." Yet since their opening day 3-2 defeat in Barcelona, Brugge have found goals hard to come by with a 0-0 at home against Lokomotiv before the stalemate in Istanbul.
Stoica important
The coach, whose team are five points clear in Belgium after a 3-2 away win against R.Charleroi SC on Saturday, is worried about the absence of midfield player Serhiy Serebrennikov but is hoping Alin Stoica can perform. "Alin is important for us if we are to do well offensively," Sollied added.
'Good chance'
For Galatasaray, a 2-0 victory in Moscow on Matchday One was followed by a 2-0 home defeat by Barcelona, before the draw with Brugge. "Some people say this is our final chance, the game of truth," said coach Fatih Terim. "It is not true, if we win, fine, but if we lose we still have a good chance to go through." The club are top in Turkey following a 1-0 win against Diyarbakirspor on Saturday.
No crisis
Terim was also unconcerned about injuries to João Batista and Mohammed Sarr. "We are not in any kind of crisis and if some players do not satisfy me with their performances on the pitch, I talk to them and only to them. We have also some injured players like Brugge but no coach in the Champions League will lose sleep because of that, we have other possibilities."
©UEFA.com 1998-2017. All rights reserved.


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What To Expect
Known as the "Father of the Gazelle" in Arabic, Abu Dhabi is now synonymous to exciting urban developments and rich cultural attractions. Discover one of the largest mosques in the world, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, which can accommodate more than 30,000 worshipers. Admire its intricate carvings, extensive landscape works and marble architecture that shines in the sun. After the mosque, proceed to the Heritage Village, an open-air museum that recreates the emirate's lifestyle and traditions before the discovery of oil.
From the Heritage Village, drive along the Corniche, a seaside promenade that lets you appreciate the city's skyline with gleaming white mosques, glass-facade offices and high-rise apartments extending to the tip of the breakwater.
Upon reaching the harbor, enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before continuing to Saadiyat Island, an up-and-coming cultural hub and resort destination with a range of commercial, residential and leisure projects including the Guggenheim and Louvre museums.
Finally, head to Yas Island where you can see Ferrari World, Yas Waterworld and the F1 Yas Marina Circuit.
Hotel pick-up and drop off
Abu Dhabi Heritage Village entrance fee and visit
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque visit
Lunch buffet with soft drinks
Saadiyat Island sightseeing
Emirates Palace photo stop
Abu Dhabi Corniche sightseeing
Yas Island (Yas Marina Circuit) and Ferrari World sightseeing
Headscarves and abaya
Entrance to Emirates Palace
Entrance to Ferrari World and Yas Waterworld
Tips and gratuities
Personal expenses
Children 3 years old and below are free of charge.
The Sheikh Zayed Mosque is open to visitors between 08:30 AM and 11:30 AM (Sun to Thurs). Visitors will not be permitted to enter outside of these times.
The Heritage Village in Abu Dhabi is opened during 09:00-13:00 and 17:00-21:00 (Mon, Thurs, Sat) and 17:00-21:00 (Fri). It is closed on Sundays.
Proper dress code must be observed during the tour, including the visit to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Participants not in appropriate clothing will be refused entry to the mosque.
Schedules are likely to change during the Holy Month of Ramadan.
All our card payments are protected by thawte to give you peace of mind.