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Personalized Men's Gift Set
Give the special guy in your life the finishing touches he needs to look his best! This personalized gift set includes silver-plated cufflinks, a nickel-plated money clip and a stainless steel pocket knife, all of which can be customized with his monogram, making it a thoughtful and practical gift for graduations, birthdays or anniversaries. "My son Jake just graduated from college and landed a great job in the financial industry. I developed this set thinking about his first day at work, and how these personalized gifts would guarantee he'd be dressed for success!" –Valerie G., Product Development


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Patients in BP+N group had a confirmed neurological disease by a hospital physician, neurologist or psychiatrist with positive neurological imaging where appropriate, or a Karnofsky score of 50 or less due to mental impairment. All sera were analysed with indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) using serial dilutions up to 1:120000, immunoblotting (IB) and Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for BP180 and BP230. Median antibody titres by IIF were 1:1600 vs. 1:800 for BP−N and BP+N, respectively, although the difference did not reach statistic significance (P = 0.93, Mann–Whitney U-test).
ELISA values for both BP180 and BP230 did not differ significantly between the two groups. Similarly, autoantibodies to specific antigens as identified by ELISA and IB were not related to the presence of neurological disease. The results of this study indicate that patients with BP and neurological disease exhibit an immune response to both BP180 and BP230, thus the link between the CNS and the skin is not dependent on a specific antigen, but possibly both antigens or their isoforms may be exposed following a neurological insult, and play a role in generation of an immune response.

subset: commoncrawl


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Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Ahead By a Nose
I kept quiet because I didn't want to say what I was thinking. I'm writing this now, nervously, afraid of admitting what I'm about to admit. I decided not to go with them to pick her up. My reasoning? Well, I'm fat. I'm disabled. I'm nobody's poster child for physical beauty. Now, shut up, don't go all 'don't be so negative about yourself, inside you are beautiful'. Notice no one ever tells pretty people, the nice ones, how beautiful they are inside? Anyways ... Ruby loves me, accepts me and sees me as valued.
Her friends won't.
They will see her innocently run up to me and leap into my arms, as she does every time we see each other. This will give them something to hold over her head. Something to taunt her about. I didn't want to become a source of pain for her. I didn't want her to have to defend me - though she'd done that in the past. I didn't want to interfere with her socialization and acceptance of a new peer group. I love that kid and there are sacrifices you make when you love someone - mine was to wait in the apartment until she got home and hear her stories then.
The door opened and she ran to me, stopped when she saw presents on the floor waiting for her, then she refocused and came right over for a hug. As we drove to the restaurant for dinner, I asked her if any of the kids in her class were in wheelchairs like me.
'No,' she sighed a big sigh, 'they all only walk.'
'Well, poor them,' I thought, and then, quickly stole Ruby's nose. It was only fair, she had my heart after all.
15 comments:
- Amanda Forest Vivian said...
they all only walk
- 22 September 2010 at 00:46
- badgermama said...
I'm kind of struggling between trying to respect your decision and telling you off for being so down on yourself and hiding! But, a) I don't actually know you b) it doesn't help if you're down on yourself to beat you up about it!
But, how about this. What if this were your child? Would you hide in your apartment? And consider what would grown up Ruby of the future have wanted you to do?
I don't think that having visibly fat, disabled friends interferes with a child's socialization... really! Nor knowing the skill to be fierce in your defense if other people are bigots.
- 22 September 2010 at 00:50
- The Untoward Lady said...
Maybe you're not alone in feeling that way, Dave. Maybe there's another loved one of someone in Ruby's class who's sitting alone, afraid that being seen with their child will subject them to ridicule. Maybe you'll never know.
That being said, I can't blame you for making the decisions you made. Although I feel that it is better to die in battle for our beliefs than to live our lives asking ourselves what we could have done can we really ask the same of our children? I wouldn't.
- 22 September 2010 at 04:04
I have worked in "Special Education" for 25 years - sad to say, you are probably right. Ruby will defend you, and will suffer some from it - yes, it would make her stronger, but does she need to fight everyday? This is ONE day....I have a feeling she will pick up the gauntlet many many times for you in the future, she has shown strength of character and morals already.
Your life, your decision - no one, NO ONE fights the battle everyday, even GOD needed a rest after seven days. The decision you made, YOU made. It is not for us to judge.
- 22 September 2010 at 06:39
- Sher said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- 22 September 2010 at 07:55
- Sher said...
Rome wasn't built in a day, Dave. Maybe by the end of Ruby's first year in school you will have had the opportunity to introduce yourself to her friends. Let's be honest. You and I both know that once they get to know you, these kids will recognize your awesomeness just like the rest of us. (If I could type this in a whisper, I would) Timing is powerful, though. Godspeed, Dave.
- 22 September 2010 at 07:58
Your decision is your decision. Its your life. The only thing I think is you should think about coming out of the closet (again).
Hiding who you are... shadows many reasons why gays don't come out...
I say its time to come out and embrace BEING DIFFERENT. If everyone who was different hid then a) there is no exposure to those who are different b)no one can confront bigotry when it happens.
Oh Dave :(
- 22 September 2010 at 08:02
- Tamara said...
Just want to say I totally understand your decision. My older kids had to deal with a lot of nastiness at school when our youngest was born with Down syndrome. If there is a way to put that off for a little while - especially at her age - then I don't see a problem with it.
I'm sure you won't stay away forever. :-)
- 22 September 2010 at 08:21
Wow- touching, poignant. Thank you for sharing.
- 22 September 2010 at 09:38
- Unknown said...
Dear, dear Dave,
My work/life schedule is irregular enough that sometimes I go for a few days before getting back to your blog. And every time I do, I'm so happy. Even when the subject is challenging or sad, I'm happy to "connect" with you again. Your writing is so vivid that I feel as though I am there with you and Joe. I always learn something new, or am reminded of something I had forgotten. Thank you for sharing your life. You will never know how many people you have blessed.
- 22 September 2010 at 10:10
- Belinda said...
Wow, the dance of life, the complexities of relationships, all of these are in this post. No one can second-guess our steps in the dance; they are our own.
- 22 September 2010 at 11:23
- Brenda said...
You are definitely NOT alone in your feelings on this. I have three children, and I often had this internal battle within myself whenever there were school events. Would my children be reluctant to be seen with me? (Remember, I'm in a wheelchair too, and similar in size to you.) When they were little, I went because I had to. As they got older, I left it up to them. I decided that if they even hinted that perhaps they didn't want me to attend a certain event, I would back off. I didn't want to put them in the awkward position of having to explain exactly why they didn't want me there. But you know what? When given the option, they wanted me there. Every time. And they were happy I was there, and their friends were happy I was there. Instead of stares and ridicule, I often heard "Cool chair!", and "Neat camera!" (always around my neck at school events), and "Can I get a ride?". I was surprised, but pleasantly pleased. And so, I applaud you for giving Ruby her space for now. Yes, at her young age she may well experience the very things you are afraid of. But as she gets older, why not ask her what she would like? She's a strong, loving kid, who, I bet, will form friendships with other strong, loving kids. I say if she wants you there, show up with bells on! You'll both be glad you did!
- 22 September 2010 at 11:25
- Oh, and one more thing... said...
Sometimes I talk about finding a balance of how I spend my time, money, and emotional energy. It's tough to have to justify yourself to another advocate. Someone saying, well issue X is important, why aren't you standing up for it.
But you know what? I'm spending my time on Y, my money on Z, and my emotional energy in ways you can't even imagine. And I'm choosing not to expend any of them on X. Thank you very much.
And Dave, heaven knows you give and give and give your emotional energy every day. I totally understand wanting to keep your beautiful relationship with Ruby as a recharge, not an outgo. At least that's how your post struck me.
God bless!
- 22 September 2010 at 20:45
Thanks for sharing this. Your love for Ruby is wonderful in all its many facets.
- 22 September 2010 at 23:02
- Kristin said...
Ruby is an amazing little girl...but, she does have some absolutely amazing roll models.
- 23 September 2010 at 08:26


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The Painter and the Thief
Lucky Grandma
The Vast of Night
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Hither and yon: Music from Corner to tea room
Sometimes when I'm out an about, the question arises why my column is called "On the Prowl" when I actually seem to review CDs a good bit of the time.
Truth is, I see live music nine times in 10 weeks (sometimes two or three bands a week). I'm actually 50/50 hit-the-streets v. hit-the-CD stacks– batting a little under .700 in the hitting-the-streets lifetime prowl ratio.
This week I took to the streets hoping to find something to review. Let me tell ya, it was hard. The town was packed for the UVA football game. I would have had a better chance finding parking in the French Quarter.
But I fearlessly hit the Corner to see what I could find. A band called dhammapada was on stage at Jaberwocky, and their few fans were obviously close friends. It was easy to tell why.
The lead guy bounced with more emotion than the music actually warranted. I got the feeling the three-piece ensemble didn't gig out much. They were a little too excited to be on stage. I guess that's a good thing– excitement, I mean– but the music itself lacked any sort of depth or energy. They played a pop mixture I've dubbed alterna-rock-n-reggae– the stuff most college-y type bands play when they haven't developed their own sound. The drummer seemed to not want to be heard. He played scared all evening. To their credit, they have a good foundation and love for what they do. With time, they may turn into something special.
The next night I settled in at Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar for a change of pace. I put Twisted Branch in my top five places in town to go when I want to avoid the typical college crowd.
Saturday the music was on heavy. I arrived in time to get a seat in the pillow room just before Awesome Color took the front of the room. About midway through their third song, I had to get up and put a visual to the vicious and raw noise I was hearing, and I loved it.
What I saw was a trio of postmodern indie rockers with the gift of adding awesome color to the room. I liked how the guitarist/vocalist followed his vocal lines simultaneously with a matching guitar line a la Delta blues or Hendrix-inspired rock. The bassist was rock solid and filled the mix enough to allow for the guitarist to wander and come back without dead space. These guys are a hard act to follow.
Nevertheless, I followed them out the door.
Later that evening, I wandered down to Better Than Television and walked into a most bohemian space where a DJ was spinning, and emcees took turns free-styling, just a good ol' beats-and-rhymes work out. The event definitely fit the venue name. But I was pooped and it was late... and I gotta save something for next week.


text:
MG wins Badger South conference
Silver Eagles clinch in Stoughton
STOUGHTON — The Monona Grove Silver Eagles won their second straight Badger South Conference girls basketball title Thursday night with a 46-40 win over Stoughton.
Baraboo locked up the Badger North girls basketball title with a 73-68 win over DeForest.
Janesville Parker defeated Janesville Craig 46-36 to win the Big Eight Conference championship. The Vikings finished the regular season with a 17 and 1 record.
Verona defeated Madison West 50-40, so the Wildcats finish second in the Big Eight with a 16-2 record.


text:
1864 $1 MS66 Certification #21328536, PCGS #6954
Owner's Comments
The Marc Emory specimen. Held in his personal collection as part of an 1864 mint set for 31 years! White and flashy, the fields are nearly perfect. Gorgeous luster completes the package.
Expert Comments
Q. David BowersThe following narrative, with minor editing, is from my "Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States: A Complete Encyclopedia" (Wolfeboro, NH: Bowers and Merena Galleries, Inc., 1993).
Coinage Context
The silver situation. (Much of this silver information is from John M. Willem, The United States Trade Dollar.) From 1834 through 1844 the United States produced from its own mines and other deposits only an average of $25,000 a year in silver bullion. From 1845 to 1858 the average was just $51,000. In 1859 production increased to $105,000 a year with the Comstock Lode, $156,800 in 1860, $2,062,000 in 1861, nearly $5 million in 1862, and nearly $9 million in 1863. (Although such figures have a ring of exactness to them, estimates varied widely. Government reports furnished some numbers, data from express companies and banks (including Wells, Fargo & Co.) provided other information, and contemporary texts on gold and silver gave in some instances still other numbers.)
Hepburn in History of Currency in the United States, p.256, has a table which is titled "Silver Coin and Bullion imported into, and exported from, the United States," and shows export surpluses in seven years prior to 1860: 1845 export $5,551,070, import $3,251,392; 1848 export $4,770,419, import $2,951,529; 1849 export $3,432,415, import $2,582,593; 1850 export $2,962,367, import $2,852,086; 1851 export $6,635,839, import $1,884,413; 1852 export $2,600,150, import $1,846,985; 1853 export $2,044,017, import $1,774,026. Much of the silver probably was in the form of coins of other nations rather than domestic issues.
From 1841 to 1860, the United States imported about $147 million worth of silver while producing from its own mines only about 1 % of that amount. From the first time records were kept in America until 1860, this country yielded only about 928,500 ounces of silver. Thus, the United States was not in the position to make silver coins for export in quantity, as parties within the states had to import silver themselves or obtain it by melting down coins of other nations, particularly Mexico, which were abundant in domestic circulation. The Mint did not need to make a trade dollar or any other coin in order to find a market for American silver. Not until the mid-1860s was there a widespread desire on the part of silver producers to expand their markets to help consume the production.
Snowden's silver data: In 1884, Hon. Archibald Loudon Snowden, who had been superintendent of the Philadelphia Mint since 1879, and whose father, James Ross Snowden, was one of the most knowledgeable Mint directors ever, furnished James G. Blaine, long-time congressman, with estimates of the annual domestic production of silver from 1850 to 188l (Blaine, Twenty Years of Congress, Vol. II, pp. 610-611. The figure of $500,000 is given for 1858 in the Blaine text, but, presumably, this is an error and $50,000 was intended; I use the $50,000 figure here.)
Presumably, the Snowden figures are among the most accurate available, although they are not as precise-appearing as certain other estimates: 1850 through 1858, $50,000 domestic production annually; 1859, first year of the Comstock Lode, $100,000; 1860, $150,000; 1861, the first year of great exploitation of the Comstock, $2 million; 1862, $4.5 million; 1863, $8.5 million; 1864, $11 million; 1865,$11.25 million; 1866, $.10 million; 1867, $13.5 million; 1868, $12 million; 1869, $12 million; 1870, $16 million; 1871, $23 million; 1872, $28.75 million; 1873, last year of Liberty Seated dollar coinage, $35.75 million. From 1850 through 1873, production of silver elsewhere in the world, not including the United States, was estimated at about $40 million annually, with little change from year to year.
Use of silver dollars: Silver dollars of the 1864 year did not circulate domestically, and their rarity today is explained by the fact that most were exported.
Numismatic Information
Circulated grades: The story of low-mintage dollars of the earlier 1860s recurs here, and specimens of circulation strike 1864 dollars are very elusive. Take a low mintage to begin with, and export most of that, and survivors became numismatic rarities.
Mint State grades: Mint State 1864 dollars are very rare, but when they do appear they are apt to be in higher levels, an unusual situation. Perhaps some Assay Commission coins survived; if so, these would have been in higher grades. Walter H. Breen suggests that a few Mint State coins could have come from original Proof sets, but I have never seen a Mint State coin in any original Proof set of this era, and I have handled quite a few.
High-grade coins typically have extensive die striae, as struck, on the obverse and reverse, making it appear to the uninitiated as if the coin had been cleaned or brushed. This characteristic is similar to that seen on dollars of 1862.
Circulation strikes:
1.High Date: Breen-5470. Circulation strikes have date above center, with 6 and 4 of date not touching.
Note: Circa 1867-1868 a new 1864-dated obverse die was made and used to strike patterns in copper, aluminum, and silver with IN GOD WE TRUST on the reverse. The With-Motto reverse first appeared on regular Proof dollars of late 1866 and early 1867.
Dies prepared: Obverse: Unknown; Reverse: Unknown
Circulation strike mintage: 30,700; Delivery figures by day: January 13: 5,700; April 30: 2,000; May 17: 8,500; July 29: 14,500.
Estimated quantity melted: Unknown
Characteristics of striking: Most are very well struck.
Known hoards of Mint State coins: None
Most circulation strike dollars of this date were exported.
Additional Information
Pollock on the Silver Dollar
In the Annual Report of the Director of the Mint, 1864, James Pollock reiterated his stance against having the silver dollar made to a different weight standard than other silver coins: "Permit me again to refer to the anomalous character of the silver dollar of the United States, and to the observations on this subject in former reports. The whole dollar should be made, in weight and value, the exact multiple of our fractional silver currency, and the gold dollar should be, by law, declared the unit value of our money."
Silver in China
The Westminster Review, January 1864, commented as follows on China:
"[An important feature] of Eastern trade is the manner in which it absorbs precious metals. This is a peculiarity so intimately bound up with the social condition of the East, that it is likely to last as long as their ignorance and their mutual mistrust."
The account went on to say that China had an insatiable demand for silver. "Of late the demand for Mexican 1 dollars in China has caused them to command prices above their intrinsic worth; but this is only a consequence of Chinese barbarism, it cannot be taken as entering into the price of silver any more than the still more excessive premium they were content to pay for Spanish pillar dollars, which amounted to nearly 20% of their value. Indeed, it is only the absolute exhaustion of that once almost universal currency that induced the Chinese authorities, in 1855, to publish a tariff at which the Mexican dollar should circulate in China. No stronger proof can be required of the absorbing power of the East than the fact that the Chinese demand has absolutely swallowed up the most extensively known silver coin that ever existed in the world. The celebrated piece of eight. .. will soon become a numismatic curiosity."
Christian Gobrecht
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26.73 grams
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text:
Alicorn wrote:Easily is an overstatement. Sim equipment is tricky to come by.
DanielH wrote:I don't think the sims are good enough to be used to manipulate you unless there's enough public data about how you react anyway, but I could misunderstand. I also imagine it would be possible to make something like an Inception-style totem for checking if you were in a sim; there are enough forced changes in the way the world works. I imagine it would be possible to—relatively cheaply and ethically—check for the "no children" or "no nesting" modifications to your world, or get in the habit of counting things (like how many stairs you're walking up).
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text:
Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category
A novel (& possibly nutty) Bitcoin metric: the 'naka/node' value
The Bitcoin system's smallest unit – 1/100,000,000th of 'one bitcoin' – is called a satoshi, in honor of the system's pseudonymous creator.
I've also recently seen nakamoto used to indicate the market value, at prevailing exchange rates, of all currently-existing bitcoins. (This can also be thought of as the Bitcoin 'market capitalization', by analogy to stock-exchange market-caps.) Per the site coinmarketcap.com, one nakamoto is right now almost USD $12 billion – $11,884,797,179.
Arguably, the total value of all Bitcoin is an emergent property of the network's active nodes working together. In comparison, 'wallets' and private-keys are inert and quite possibly offline – they're just claim tickets, representing extracted surplus value. Only the online nodes, relaying transactions and maintaining the system's shared state, are workhorses delivering utility and value continuously.
The most recent survey of the Bitcoin network, by the getaddr.bitnodes.io project, estimates the number of full peer nodes at just over 215K – to be precise 215,454.
So for grins we could distribute the market capitalization, one nakamoto, over the peering nodes equally, to discover each node's pro-rata contribution to the total value. This gives us a sort of 'per-peerica' (rather than 'per-capita') measure of Bitcoin wealth, a number I'll call the naka/node (or nakanode) value.
That value, one nakamoto (~$11.8B) divided by the peering nodes (~215K), is currently $55,162.
If you're running Bitcoin-QT – the reference client, free open-source software that will use under 20GB of hard drive space (<$2) and some fraction of your CPU cycles – your peer node is anchoring over $55K in system value… even if your wallet is empty.
What impressive leverage and value-creation from simple inputs! Should we be encouraged or concerned?
A Modest Proposal for Random & Compulsory Adoptions by Same-Sex Couples
There's a heartwarming story at the New York Times, "We Found Our Son in the Subway". You should check it out. Really, I'll wait… the rest of this post won't make sense until you've read it.
It strikes me that the judge managed, on an ultra-compressed timescale, to provide this same-sex couple the same experience of surprise parenthood that alt-sex couples may have through an unplanned pregnancy.
This principle could be advanced more systematically. That is, perhaps adoption by same-sex couples should not just be permitted, but random and compulsory. If you're married and of child-rearing age, you might be assigned a baby!
The agency making the assignments can be called the State Taskforce Organizing Reproductive Co-equality, or STORC. So when these children ask where they came from, the happy parents can honestly say, "the STORC dropped you off".
Gatling Equivalence & the Holsters of Robots
As computing systems have the idea of 'Turing equivalence', emerging 3D-printing will exhibit a sort of 'Gatling equivalence': minimal configurations of home manufacturing systems will be capable of making fully-automatic weapons. Such maker technology will be ubiquitous, rendering other licensing, registration, or ownership restrictions on specific kinds of weapons moot. Any script kiddie will be able to print an AK-47.
Ardent gun supporters sometimes dream that with widespread weapon-carrying by the public, there would be skilled armed resistance to violent crime in every workplace, mall, and school. "Take that, deranged rampage shooter!"
That ubiquitous armed resistance may arrive… but from the holsters of robots rather than humans. Mass-produced and largely autonomous lethally-armed defense drones are only a matter of time, whether they be wheeled, walking, flying – or simply wall-mounted.
Imagine: "The 2026 model year of the ED-208 is finally cheap enough to install one in every room. For legal reasons, the ED-208 only ever shoots second… but it never misses."
(This post is adapted from my comment at this TechCrunch story.)
IBM Watson: Overprovisioned "Big Iron"?
(This was written after the first, but before viewing the second, match of the Jeopardy IBM Challenge.)
I'm a fan of Jeopardy, a professional software developer, and a strong optimist about the prospects for artificial intelligence – so I'm immensely enjoying the contest between the IBM Watson system and human Jeopardy Champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter.
Watson's ability to answer quickly and confidently, even when clues are indirect or euphemistic, has been impressive. It's rightly hailed as one of the most impressive demonstrations yet of information retrieval and even natural-language understanding.
And yet…
When Alex Trebek walked by the 10 racks of 9 servers each, said to include 2880 computing cores and 15 terabytes (15,000 gigabytes) of high-speed RAM main-memory, I couldn't shake the feeling: this seems like too much hardware… at least if any of the software includes new breakthroughs of actual understanding. As parts of the show took on the character of an IBM infomercial, my skepticism only grew.
Let me explain.
While Jeopardy questions are challenging and wide-ranging, in highly idiomatic (even whimsical) English, this trivia game remains a very constrained domain. The clues are short; the answers just a few words, at most, and usually discrete named entities – the kinds of things that have their own titled entries in encyclopedias, dictionaries, and gazetters/almanacs of various sorts.
While the clues often have wordplay, many also have signifiers that clearly indicate exactly what kind of word/phrase completion is expected. (The strongest is perhaps the word 'this', as in "this protein" or "'Storm on the Sea of' this". But categories which promise a certain word or phrase will be in the answer, with that portion in quotes, also help brute-force search plenty.)
I strongly suspect that almost anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of language, and enough time to research clues in an offline static copy of Wikipedia, could get 90%+ of the clues right.
An offline copy of all of Wikipedia's articles, as of the last full data-dump, is about 6.5GB compressed, 30GB uncompressed – that's 1/500th Watson's RAM. Furthermore, chopping this data up for rapid access – such as creating an inverted index, and replacing named/linked entities with ordinal numbers – tends to result in even smaller representations. So with fast lookup and a modicum of understanding, one server, with 64GB of RAM, could be more than enough to contain everything a language-savvy agent would need to dominate at Jeopardy.
But what if you're not language savvy, and only have brute-force text-lookup? We can simulate the kinds of answers even a naive text-search approach against a Wikipedia snapshot might produce, by performing site-specific queries on Google.
For many of the questions Watson got right, a naive Google query of the 'en.wikipedia.org' domain, using the key words in the clue, will return as the first result the exact Wikipedia article whose title is the correct answer. For example:
DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT for $2000:
"It's just acne! You don't have this skin infection also known as Hansen's Disease"
[site:en.wikipedia.org acne skin infection hansen's disease]
1st result: LEPROSY (right answer)
CAMBRIDGE for $1600/Daily Double:
"The chapels at Pembroke & Emmanuel Colleges were designed by this architect "
[site:en.wikipedia.org chapels pembroke emmanuel colleges designed architect]
1st result: CHRISTOPER WREN (right answer)
HEDGEHOG-PODGE for $2000 :
"A recent bestseller by Muriel Barbery is called this 'of the hedgehog'"
[site:en.wikipedia.org bestseller Muriel Barbery "of the Hedgehog"]
1st result: THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG (right answer)
CAMBRIDGE for $2000:
"This 'Narnia' author went from teaching at Magdalen College, Oxford to teaching at Magdalene College, Cambridge"
[site:en.wikipedia.org "Narnia" author teaching Magdalen College Oxford Magdalene College Cambridge]
1st result: C.S. LEWIS (right answer)
Often, the correct answer isn't first, but other trivial heuristics can reveal the answer further down. For example, discard any title that has already appeared in the question, and thus is unlikely to be the answer. Consider:
"CHURCH" and "STATE" for $400:
"A Dana Carvey character on 'Saturday Night Live'; Isn't that special…"
[site:en.wikipedia.org dana carvey character "saturday night live" special]
Dana Carvey (struck as appearing in clue)
2nd: THE CHURCH LADY (right answer)
ETUDE, BRUTE for $2000:
"From 1911 to 1917, this Romantic Russian composed 'Etudes-Tableaux' for piano "
[site:en.wikipedia.org 1911 1917 romantic russian "etudes-tableaux" piano]
Etudes-Tableaux (struck as appearing in clue)
2nd: SERGEI RACHMANINOFF (right answer)
Even when this technique fails, it sometimes fails just like Watson or real contestants:
THE ART OF THE STEAL for $1600:
"In May 2010 5 paintings worth $125 million by Braque, Matisse & 3 others left Paris' Museum of this art period"
[site:en.wikipedia.org may 2010 paintings 125 million braque matisse paris museum art period]
1st: Picasso (Watson's wrong, nonsensical answer)
…iteratively stripping some words trying to find candidates matching 'this art period'…
[site:en.wikipedia.org paintings braque matisse paris museum art period]
Braque (struck as appearing in clue)
2nd: Cubism (Ken Jennings' wrong answer)
Matisse (struck as appearing in clue)
4th: MODERN ART (right answer; Watson's 3rd option)
And even where this this technique doesn't yield the answer in a top page title, the answer is usually close at hand.
HEDGEHOG-PODGE for $400:
"Some hedgehogs enter periods of torpor; the Western European species spends the winter in this dormant condition"
[site:en.wikipedia.org hedgehogs periods of torpor western european species winter dormant condition]
1st: Short-beaked Echidna (HIBERNATION, the correct answer, appears prominently in the snippet a few words from 'torpor')
2nd: Bat (HIBERNATION appears alongside 'winter' in snippet)
There are many, many other possible heuristics for knowing when to accept or reject the naive top-results, and when patterns of words in the source material could yield other answers not in the title, or create confidence in answers stitched together from elsewhere. For example, consider the clue:
HEDGEHOG-PODGE for $1600:
"Hedgehogs are covered with quills or spines, which are hollow hairs made stiff by this protein"
The phrase 'this protein' strongly indicates the answer is a protein; Wikipedia has a 'list of proteins'. Only one protein on that list also appears on each of the 'hedgehog' and 'Spines (zoology)' pages: KERATIN, the correct answer.
With a full, inverse-indexed, cross-linked, de-duplicated version of Wikipedia all in RAM, even a single server, with a few cores, can run hundreds of iteratively-refined probe queries, and scan the full-text of articles for sentences that correlate with the clue, in the seconds it takes Trebek to read the clue.
That makes me think that if you gave a leaner, younger, hungrier team millions of dollars and years to mine the entire history of Jeopardy answers-and-questions for workable heuristics, they could match Watson's performance with a tiny fraction of Watson's hardware.
Unfortunately, Jeopardy didn't open this as a general challenge to all, like the DARPA Grand Challenges, with a large prize to motivate creative entries. Jeopardy seems to have simply followed IBM's lead – and perhaps even received promotional payments from IBM for doing so. (I can't find a definitive statement either way.)
IBM is known, and rightly admired, for many things… but hardware thrift isn't one of them. And the boost to IBM's sales from this whole exercise wouldn't be nearly as large if Watson were a single machine, able to be positioned on the podium next to its human challengers, barely larger than the monitor displaying Final Jeopardy answers. That wouldn't move roomfuls of computers!
Nice job, Jeopardy and IBM, but next time: open it to stingier teams!
Tomorrow's Daily Show Gags First
Memesteading, June 24, 2009: Seven Score Characters, The Gettysburg Tweet
The Daily Show, December 2, 2010: The Twittersburg Address
Their version appeared briefly at the end of a segment mocking Sarah Palin's tweets.
At this rate, I expect the Daily Show to joke about the Facebook Likernet replacing the Internet by 2012.
They made different choices starting from the same concept, emphasized faithfulness to the original wording, but brutally abbreviated.
I chose faithfulness to spartan, cutesy tweetspeak – while translating the key points. So in place of the familiar poetry –"Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation…" (87 characters) – I favored clunky twinglish: "87yr ago natl dads…" (18 characters).
That helped me squeeze in, as "Battle hallowed ground > our words", one extra shard of a salient Lincoln point: "The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated [this ground] far above our poor power to add or detract". But I still had to cut any form of the speech's ironically unfulfilled prediction: "[t]he world will little note nor long remember what we say here".
Well, I suppose both the Daily Show and I have 'little-noted' it, after all.
Once thought of as the best concise speech ever, the future may view the Gettysburg Address, at over 1400 characters, as yet another example of how Before Twitter, people took forever to get to the point.
Prime Minister Cameron and Prince Zuckerberg
Prime Minister David Cameron is leader of the United Kingdom, a parliamentary democracy of 62 megacitizens that is hundreds of years old. Prince Mark Zuckerberg is Chief Executive of Facebook, a networked-membership corporate principality of 500 megacitizens that is just over 6 years old. The two nations share over 20 megacitizens.
Here we see Cameron and Zuckerberg's exchange, on the occasion of the UK Government reaching out to Zuckerberg's citizenry for economic advice.
By traditional standards of status, decorum and context, this exchange looks all wrong. One of these people certainly doesn't belong. But given the aesthetics of the presentation — either embedded here or at YouTube — it's hard to say which one. Bravo to Cameron for trying something new — and giving us a glimpse of international relations to come.


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While on a ridiculously long and boring car trip, the Simpsons take to entertaining themselves with their very own versions of classic children's literary tales. From a story about a boy living in a giant peach to another about performing penguins from Antarctica, you'll also visit a world of wit and wisdom called Alphabetburg and get caught up in a wrinkle in time. Come along for the ride!
by Verrone, Decarlo, Delaney, Lloyd, Pepoy, Rote


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The Village of Nanti
The village of Nanti belongs to the municipality of Cornedo Vicentino, in the province of Vicenza, region Veneto.
>>>COVID-19<<< Data about spreading of Covid-19 in Nanti are not yet available.
For the province of Vicenza, to whom Nanti belongs, on 2020-05-24 are reported 2,834 cases. In the previos day there were 2,832 cases, thus having a variation of 2 cases, i.e. 0.07% with reference to the number of cases reported in the previous day.
Please follow this link for updated information on Covid-19 including new cases and percentage changes for the whole of Italy, regions and individual provinces
The village of Nanti is 3,27 kilometers far from the same town of Cornedo Vicentino to whom it belongs.
To the municipality of Cornedo Vicentino also belong the localities of Battilana (1,73 km), Belvedere - Tezze (1,39 km), Caecchioni (1,75 km), Campagnola (4,36 km), Campi Alti (1,08 km), Canova di Cereda (4,32 km), Canton (3,72 km), Case sparse (-- km), Castello (3,26 km), Ceolati (3,38 km), Cereda (3,04 km), Cereda - Cozza Cornedo (2,91 km), Colombara (3,47 km), Cozza Cornedo (3,84 km), Cracchi (5,32 km), Crestani (3,00 km), Fermi (4,91 km), Fermi - Palazzina (3,37 km), Fini (2,09 km), Gobbi Alti (2,77 km), Gobbi Bassi (2,42 km), Gonzati (1,35 km), Grande (2,51 km), Guarde (1,35 km), Guarde - Marogna - Rossati - Vencati (1,27 km), Longhe (2,69 km), Lorenzi (2,86 km), Madonetta (4,07 km), Madonetta - Vicario (2,88 km), Marogna (1,49 km), Merli (0,90 km), Montagna (1,45 km), Montepulgo (6,16 km), Motto di Cornedo (1,15 km), Muzzolon (2,29 km), Palazzina (5,03 km), Petenello (4,09 km), Piccoli - Corbara (1,22 km), Refoschi (3,06 km), Riobonello (2,08 km), Roccoberton (1,02 km), Rossati (1,77 km), San Giovanni Confessore (4,04 km), San Martino (2,13 km), Sansugaro (1,72 km), Savegnago (2,19 km), Spagnago (2,47 km), Stivanelli - Budrion (1,11 km), Strambay (1,28 km), Stringari (2,67 km), Tezze Cereda (4,76 km), Tommasoni (2,26 km), Vencati (2,11 km), Vicario (4,51 km), Vigolo (1,96 km), Zamperetti (1,73 km), Zaupa di Sotto (3,84 km).
The number in parentheses following each village name indicate the distance between the same village and the municipality of Cornedo Vicentino.
Please notice that in what follows no statistic nor population data are available at the moment: the same are available for the Italian places having al least the status of municipalities ad for most of the villages too.
The distribution of the most commun family names is equally unavailable.
Please find in what follows:
- The banks in Nanti, when available.
- The parishes in Nanti, when available.
- The pharmacies in Nanti, when available.
- Weather and weather forecast for the municipality of Cornedo Vicentino, to whom Nanti belongs.
- Hotels in Nanti and its surroundings.
- Free ads in Nanti and in its province and region too.
- Map and road map of Nanti.
- A selection of videos about Nanti.
In the hamlet of Nanti there is no bank.
Please look at the closest banks in the town of Cornedo Vicentino, to whom Nanti belongs.
There is no pharmacy in the hamlet of Nanti.
Please look at the closest pharmacies in the town of Cornedo Vicentino, to whom Nanti belongs.
The parishes in Nanti
There are no parishes in Nanti.
Please look at the closest parishes in the town of Cornedo Vicentino, to whom Nanti belongs.
Where to stay in Nanti and its neighborhoods
Hotels, Resorts, B&B in Nanti and its neighborhoods.
You can arrange the results by number of stars, by popularity, by distance or even by the guest review score choosing among young couples, mature couples, families with young children, families with older children, people withfriends, or solo travellers.
Free ads in Nanti
Most recent free ads in Nanti, municipality of Cornedo Vicentino, province of Vicenza, Veneto region, updated at 04:56:39, 25 May 2020. Place your free ad on Nanti: no registration needed. Place your free ad.
Up to now there is no free ad placed in Nanti
|Most recent free ads in the province of Vicenza
|Antenati di famiglia
|Armadio ponte in massello di Abete
|terza media
|Most recent free ads in the region Veneto
|Famiglia Cappellin
Map and road map of Nanti
Look at the interactive map of Nanti and get the road maps, the satellite maps and the mixed ones too. Interactive maps of Nanti also allow an immediate view of: bar,restaurants,pubs,pizzerias,dancing,night clubs,banks,jewellers,beauty centers,hair stylists,supermarkets,pharmacies.
Just fill in the free text search box placed on top of the map with any of previous categories and then press enter.
Please feel free to use the same free text search box placed on top of the map to find any kind of business activities you're interested into.
Videos about Nanti Cornedo Vicentino, Vicenza, Veneto
Several videos about Nanti, Cornedo Vicentino, Vicenza, Veneto.
A first video is shown: clicking on the PLAY button the video will start.
Inside the video window there are several commands and a Playlist button: .
Press the Playlist button to access the complete listing of the available videos, along with their titles. It will suffice to scroll through the list using the cursor to select any of the videos.
Once the video started you can use the and buttons to scroll through the videos. Each video can be displayed in full screen.


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Cayla In Bardot Grey
Available in 2 additional colours
Womens Bomber Jacket | Extra Fine Merino Wool | Round Neck|
Tactile and luxurious, our new-in womenswear lines add a contemporary twist to your wardrobe essentials. Shop our new-in women's styles below.
Available in 2 additional colours
Womens Bomber Jacket | Extra Fine Merino Wool | Round Neck|
If you're looking for the latest womenswear offerings from John Smedley, then you're in the right place. Each season we release a fresh twist on our iconic women's knitwear. Whether it's a new style, cut, or colour, you'll find it here first. We pride ourselves on our iconic ranges of women's jumpers, elegant knitted dresses, and luxury t-shirts, and it's here that you'll discover our latest design innovations.
Recognised as the finest knitwear in the world, John Smedley's garments are proudly manufactured right here in Britain at our factory in Lea Mills, Derbyshire. We've been designing, creating, dyeing, and selling our knitwear in the very same factory since 1784; making us the oldest manufacturing factory in the world in continuous operation. This doesn't mean that we've fallen behind the times though. In fact, it's the exact opposite.
Our aim is to create luxury womenswear that is both comfortable and elegant, classic, and contemporary. Whilst our manufacturing and design processes focus on the best of the traditional methods, we like to keep our finger on the pulse of the latest trends, and use these to create pieces which can be worn year in and year out.
One of our favourite ways to experiment is with colour. To us, colour is emotive and powerful, and helps to communicate our design expression to our audience. Each season we introduce a new colour palette taking inspiration from our British heritage and combining it with the latest trends. All this is done under the watchful eye of our master colour technician, creating a selection of seasonal colours, hues, and shades that are unique to the John Smedley brand. The result is a palette that we can all call our own.
See what the design team at John Smedley have in store for you this season. Shop our new in womenswear online today.


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by Mike Todd
"Are you kidding me?" said the guy as he got in line behind me, shaking his head at the expanse of humanity between us and the service desk.
I smiled and gave him a look that said either "What are you gonna do?" or "Hey, nice legs." I'm not that good at giving looks.
Even though some of my compatriots were disgruntled at having to wait in such a long line, I was quite gruntled; I'd gladly have waited all day to reach that desk. At the end of the journey, I would be dumping off a money vacuum that had been inhaling piles of $20 bills straight of our checking account every month for far too long.
"You cutting out your cable TV, too?" I asked the angry guy behind me. We both cradled large cable boxes in our arms. The previous month, we'd each paid the cable company $6.95 for the privilege of renting our respective boxes, including the 24-cent surcharge for the remote. During the six years I had rented that box, I paid $500 for it, money which could have gone toward a much better cause, like 23 minutes of daycare.
He looked at me like I was nuts.
"Nope, just getting it fixed," he replied. Then, perhaps sensing that he was speaking to a person of extreme cheapness, he said, "But I'd love to dump it. When you wrap in Internet and phone, I'm paying $240 a month."
All of a sudden, the suspicion of insanity became mutual. This guy might as well have just run through the nearest forest every month, dumping the contents of his wallet for woodland creatures to use as nesting material. Generously assuming that internet and phone accounted for $100 of his bill, he was paying $140 each month for TV. Nothing is that entertaining. Squirrels could easily have made better use of that money.
I'd recently waged a campaign in our house to rid ourselves of wasteful spending. With two kids in daycare, we're basically paying for a second house, except instead of lakefront views, we get glitter on our floorboards. (Incidentally, if early learning institutions decided to put a moratorium on the use of glitter in art projects, I doubt anyone would complain. Just throwing that out there.)
The cable box became my number one target. By switching our phone provider and using cheaper TV alternatives, we could save $100 a month without really changing our life-wasting habits. The decision seemed to be a no-brainer, though one could rightly question the decision-making capabilities of people who choose to spend their precious few moments on earth watching "The Bachelorette."
Already, our kids have grown up watching streaming shows over the Internet with no idea what a commercial is. We find this to be a nice byproduct of foregoing regular TV, although our children may enter adulthood without the ability to synchronize bathroom breaks and commercial breaks.
Once, on a JetBlue flight, we found a Dora the Explorer episode for our then-three-year-old son Evan to watch. Five minutes in, a commercial came on.
"PUT DORA BACK ON! PUT DORA BACK ON!" Evan screamed while a cartoon bird tried to sell him Cocoa Puffs. It was his first commercial. We spent the remainder of the break wiping away his tears and explaining capitalism to him.
Over time, we came to realize that with all the other available programming options, our cable box had simply become a very expensive clock. It was the only clock in the house that was correct for the few weeks after a Daylight Savings Time switch, but the expense no longer made sense.
"What can I do for you?" asked the lady behind the counter when my turn finally came.
"We already shut off our TV service. Just handing over the box and the remote," I said. Then I gave her a look that said either "What a relief" or "Hey, nice legs."


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What's in your bag, Alain de Botton?
The Swiss author, 47, has published popular science books, such as The Art of Travel and Religion for Atheists, which convey philosophical ideas in a way that is easy to understand. In 2008, he founded the School of Life in London, where he teaches philosophy. Lufthansa Magazin peeked into de Botton's bag at Munich Airport.
Alain de Bottons Booklist
The Wisdom of Life – Arthur Schopenhauer
Human, All Too Human – Friedrich Nietzsche
The Sorrows of Young Werther – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
For more about Alain de Botton, visit alaindebotton.com


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The Queensland social service sector incorporates a range of service delivery, community development, social justice, and advocacy organisations operating across a range of areas, including but not limited to: health, housing, employment, disability, aged care, services for children and young people, Indigenous affairs and multicultural affairs. Inclusion in the sector is less about the specific service being provided and more about commitment to a shared vision and a set of values. Organisations which are not-for-profit, community based and have a shared vision and central values are considered to be part of the social service sector.
The social service sector provides the community with services that meet a broad range of needs. The delivery of services aims to promote physical, social, emotional, mental and spiritual wellbeing. Groups in the community that are marginalised or disadvantaged, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) families and people with a disability, are supported by government and non-government providers of community services.
This section contains details on the social service sector in Queensland, including reform processes, networks, research and reports.


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Velazquez proves best of the best
Rider wins Xpressbet Hall of Fame Jockey Challenge
John Velazquez took top honors, but it was all of his fellow riders who went home winners on Friday afternoon.
Velazquez, 42, compiled 27 points to edge Kent Desormeaux and win the inaugural $50,000 Xpressbet Hall of Fame Jockey Challenge at Pimlico Race Course.
Based in New York, Velazquez won two of four challenge races to finish with a five-point edge over Desormeaux in a competition that featured seven of the eight active Hall of Fame riders.
Also taking part were Northern California-based Russell Baze, North America's all-time leader with 12,253 victories; Edgar Prado, one of Maryland's most decorated jockeys with 24 individual riding titles from 1989-99; Mike Smith, who owns a record 20 Breeders' Cup victories; three-time Kentucky Derby winner Calvin Borel; and 2014 inductee Alex Solis.
Multiple scratches among participants caused separate win and exacta wagering on the four-race challenge to be canceled. The total purse was split evenly among the riders, each receiving $7,142.86.
As part of the event, the Stronach Group, North America's leading Thoroughbred racetrack owner/operator which includes Pimlico, donated $50,000 to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys' Fund.
"It's incredible to have all this talent in one room, all these Hall of Famers," said Velazquez, who owns one Kentucky Derby and two Belmont Stakes among his 5,132 career victories to go along with two Eclipse Awards and more than $302 million in lifetime purses.
"I am the youngest one, so I have followed a lot of them and I am a big fan of all of them," he said. "It's great to be here. It's a great challenge, for a great cause. I'm glad to be part of it."
The challenge shared Friday's card with eight stakes races including the $500,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G2) for 3-year-old fillies and the $300,000 Pimlico Special (G3) for older horses; as well as the fifth and final edition of Lady Legends for the Cure presented by Wells Fargo, a pari-mutuel race featuring eight retired female riding pioneers.
This marked the sixth year for a jockey challenge at Pimlico on the eve of the Preakness Stakes and the first in its new format, bringing together a group that has combined to win nearly 45,000 races and more than $1.6 billion in purses, nine Eclipse Awards, 20 Triple Crown races and 41 Breeders' Cup races.
Twelve points were awarded for finishing first among challenge participants, six for second, four for third and three for fourth. Baze and Solis tied for third place with 12 points apiece, followed by Prado (six), Smith (four) and Borel (three).
"Unfortunately, a lot of the guys didn't get to ride most of the races," Velazquez said. 'With all the rain, there were a lot of scratches. It would have been a lot more fun if everybody had a little more opportunity to ride in the races and make it a little bit closer, but we can only deal with what Mother Nature throws at us."
Velazquez captured each of the first two challenge races, finishing first among participants in the second race and winning the fourth race with Coco Punch ($7.80) for trainer Robin Graham to give him 24 points.
Desormeaux, 44, who won two Eclipse Awards, 648 races and $11.7 million in purses at Pimlico during his three years in Maryland from 1987-89, had just four points after two challenge races. He was third among participants in the second race and scratched out of the fourth.
With Velazquez sitting out the sixth race, Desormeaux won with Handsome Harley ($5.20) to cut the lead to 24-16 heading into the final challenge race. Velazquez, who picked up Noor Un Nisa after his original mount was scratched, was fourth in the eighth race while Desormeaux was second.
Baze, 55, and Smith, 48, were each limited to one mount, both in the eighth race. Riding for the first time at Pimlico in his 41-year career and just the third time in Maryland, Baze was first among participants with Seaside, while Smith was third on Dora Dora.
Solis, 50, was second among participants in the fourth and sixth race, and scratched out of the second and eighth. Borel, 47, and Prado, 46, each rode only in the challenge opener, finishing second and fourth, respectively.
Desormeaux won Pimlico's inaugural Preakness eve jockey challenge over three rivals in 2009, and was second to Javier Castellano in 2010. Switched to an all-female format, the challenge was won by Emma-Jayne Wilson in 2011 and local favorite Rosie Napravnik in 2012.
Wilson repeated her victory last year, when the challenge was tweaked again for a 'Battle of the Sexes,' featuring four male and female riders.


text: Build your quiet and energy efficient mini PC Intel® Atom D525 on board Intel® NM10 chipset Support LVDS Mini-ITX form factor Shop Modal header Intel® ATOM™ Processor The Intel® Atom™ processor is Intel's smallest processor, built with the world's smallest transistors and manufactured on Intel's industry-leading 45nm Hi-k Metal Gate technology. The Intel Atom processor was purpose-built for simple, affordable, netbooks and nettops. High Definition Audio Enjoy high-end sound system on your PC! The onboard HD audio (High Definition Audio, previously codenamed Azalia) CODEC enables high-quality 192KHz/24-bit audio output, jack-sensing feature, retasking functions and multi-streaming technology that simultaneously sends different audio streams to different destinations. You can now talk to your partners on the headphone while playing a multi-channel network games. All of these are done on one computer. CrashFree BIOS 3 ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 is an auto-recovery tool that allows you to restore a corrupted BIOS file using the bundled support DVD or USB disk that contains the latest BIOS file. EZ Flash2 ASUS EZ Flash 2 is a utility that allows you to update the BIOS without using an OS-based utility. SATA 3Gb/s Serial ATA3.0Gb/s is the next generation ATA specification that provides scalable performance foroday and tomorrow. With up to 300MB/s data transfer rate, Serial ATA II is faster than current Parallel ATA, while providing 100% software compatibility. MyLogo2 This feature allows you to convert your favorite photo into a 256-color boot logo for a more colorful and vivid image on your screen. Gigabit Lan The onboard LAN controller is a highly integrated Gb LAN controller. It is enhanced with an ACPI management function to provide efficient power management for advanced operating systems. GreenASUS The motherboard and its packaging comply with the European Union´s Restriction on the use of Hazardous Substances (RoHS). This is in line with the ASUS vision of creating environment-friendly and recyclable products and packaging to safeguard consumers´ health while minimizing the impact on the environment.


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Social Sciences Overview
Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License
On June 19, 2013, a report entitled, The Heart of the Matter, was released by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. This report indicates that the humanities and social sciences are the "heart of the matter." It further states,
"We live in a world characterized by change—and therefore a world dependent on the humanities and social sciences. How do we understand and manage change if we have no notion of the past? How do we understand ourselves if we have no notion of a society, a culture, or a world different from the one in which we live? How do we ensure our security and competitiveness in the global community? A fully balanced curriculum—including the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences—provides opportunities for integrative thinking and imagination, for creativity and discovery, and for good citizenship. The humanities and social sciences are not merely elective, nor are they elite or elitist. They go beyond the immediate and instrumental to help us understand the past and the future. They are critical to a democratic society and they require our support."
The report identified three goals and thirteen recommendations. To view a report brief, click here. To view the report in full, click here. To view a short video on this topic, click here.


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President Trump is defending his decision to hold a rally as Hurricane Michael battered Florida and Georgia. In an interview with Fox News, Trump said it would've been wrong to cancel on his supporters who showed up for the campaign event in Erie, Pennsylvania. Trump said he was in constant communication with the Governors of Florida, Alabama and Georgia. Michael made landfall yesterday on the Florida Panhandle as a category four hurricane with winds of 155 miles an hour.
Photo: AOL


text: Catalog Auction info Buy Here Now - Yamaha 2015 Drive DC Golf Cars (#152426) 12/20/2018 10:00 AM EDT - 01/09/2019 3:00 PM EDT Starts Ending 01/09/2019 3:00 PM EDT Lot #342015 Yamaha Drive DC - Buy Here Now $1,795.00 Click image to enlarge PreviousNext Buy now: $ 1,795 Lot closed - unsold Remove from watchlist Add to watchlist Tell a friendAsk a question Buy Here Now - Yamaha 2015 Drive DC Golf Cars (#152426) 12/20/2018 10:00 AM EDT - 01/09/2019 3:00 PM EDT Starts Ending 01/09/2019 3:00 PM EDT Description No Buyer's Fee 2015 Drive DC - White Windshields Terms and conditions BUY HERE NOW Terms and Conditions 1. By registering on this site Buyers are agreeing to these Terms and Conditions. 2. All disputes will be settled in Bradley County, Cleveland, Tennessee. 3. To participate a valid credit card is required for buying. 4. Payment: Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Wire Transfer, Checks with Letter of Guarantee and Cash. To pay with a Check or Cash, Buyers must call 423-240-8383 to make arrangements. Georgia Sales Tax (8%) will be added to the total. If you are Tax Exempt you must provide tax exempt certificate. 5. Inspection: Buyers are encouraged to visually inspect the items for sale. Inspection is from 10:00am - 3:00pm Monday- Friday. For inspection call Kim Stone at 423-240-8383 or Tracy Stone at 281-755-3790. 6. Location: Augusta, GA 7. Shipping: Buyers are responsible for shipping arrangements. Buyers assume all risk and responsibility for loading and removing the items purchased from the sale site. Buy 6 or more cars and receive FREE Delivery up to 250 miles from Augusta, GA. 8. All items for sale have been available for preview. No allowance will be made for errors in cataloging, genuineness, defects or imperfections not noted. Cars have been used and may have some scratches, scrapes and dings. 9. All items are sold "As Is, Where Is" with no representations and warranties, expressed or implied. Buyers are responsible for making his or her determination as far as the condition or any other concerns pertaining to the items up for sale. 10. All sales are final. No refunds or exchanges. 11. Stone Brothers Auction, LLC reserves the right to cancel any sale, delete and add items to any sale at anytime for any reason. 12. Buyers hereby authorize Stone Brothers Auction, LLC to charge my credit card for the full amount of my bill unless other methods of payment have been satisfied.


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Corrosion Inhibition of Carbon Steel in 1M HCl Solution Using Sesbania Sesban Extract
Corrosion inhibition effect of Sesbania sesban extract (SSE) on the carbon steel in 1M HCl solution was investigated by potentiodynamic polarization and weight loss techniques. The corrosion rate of carbon steel was decreased in the presence of SSE. The corrosion inhibition efficiency was found to increase with SSE concentration to attain 91.08% with 2.00 g/l at 25℃. The polarization studies showed that SSE acts as mixed type inhibitor. The effect of temperature, acid concentration and immersion time on the corrosion rate of carbon steel in HCl solution in the absences and presence of SSE was also studied. Values of corrosion inhibition efficiency calculated from weight loss technique were in good agreement with those obtained from potentiodynamic polarization test. The results showed that the adsorption of the extract on the carbon steel surface obeys Langmuir isotherm. The activation parameters, apparent activation energy (Ea), the enthalpy of activation (ΔHa) and entropy of activation (ΔSa) for the corrosion of carbon steel in 1M HCl in the absence and presence of SSE were calculated and discussed.
Full Text:PDF
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5296/ast.v1i2.3891
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Plans are underway in the Visitor Center for new display cases, a reading area, and and interactive technologies to be installed over the winter. According to Manager of Visitor Education Julie Warsowe, "our goal is for you to experience enhanced learning opportunities in the renewed space, and to give you new reasons to come back again and again—whether it's to see a new exhibit with treasures from the Arboretum's archives, browse new books on rotation from our library, or talk to a knowledgeable, friendly Arboretum representative."
Also as part of these changes, the Visitor Center hours will be shifting. Beginning January 2, we will move to a seasonal schedule to better match visitation patterns. From November through March, the Visitor Center will be open from noon to 4:00pm every day except Wednesday. During these hours, the public areas of the Hunnewell Building will be open as usual—the Visitor Center, art exhibitions in the Lecture Hall (unless a class is in session), and restrooms. Before noon on weekdays, the Hunnewell Building will be open for restrooms and access for business guests. Library hours will remain the same.
This new schedule will provide our dedicated staff additional time outside the Visitor Center, developing more dynamic ways to share our seasonal highlights in the landscape, communicate the breadth and research use of the living collection, and make the rich resources of the Arboretum more accessible to visitors. In this new model, visitors will have more opportunities to engage directly with our staff, whether inside the Visitor Center or in its surrounding landscape.
This spring, the Visitor Center hours will increase as we head into our peak period of visitation. From April through October we plan for the Visitor Center to be open from 11:00am to 6:00pm every day except Wednesday, with weekday use of the restrooms and access for business guests beginning at 9:00am. Please stop by to see the work in progress this winter, and stay tuned for a celebration of the improved Visitor Center this spring.


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systemseed necesitaba un nuevo diseño de página web y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 67 diseños de 27 diseñadores freelance.
We are a leading international non-governmental organisation (NGO) working overseas in emergency settings, typically in conflicts, natural disasters, and health crises. Overall, we wish our new branch office to become known as the leading emergency medical organisation in this country.
This brief is to create a completely redeveloped website for our new branch office to replace the temporary website currently in place. As a new office, we would like to be represented by a fresh, modern and professional site. The objectives of this new website are, in order of priority:
1) To increase fundraising activity and overall donations
2) To communicate news from the frontlines of our work overseas in an engaging, dynamic and visually stimulating manner
3) To recruit professional volunteers to work with us overseas in the field
Our organisation should be presented as professional and reputable, but balanced with a sense of 'edginess' and standing out from the crowd, of being independent, not following other NGOs in choosing where we work or our positions on events occurring throughout the world. We are a very action-oriented organisation: we go wherever assistance is needed in the world, do what we have to do, and speak up on behalf of the people we assist. The site must convey this.
Our target audience is the general public, medical professionals and college students. They range in age from 18-50, both male and female, well-traveled, interested in international affairs, generally quite up to speed with IT and social media.
Visitors to our site must feel engaged with the people we help overseas.
***We are completely open to suggestions in terms of the overall layout and design.***
***Attached wireframes should only be used as a rough guideline.***
The fixed requirements are as follows:
1) Navigation: 7 button layout: Home, About Us, Work With Us, Donate, Voices from the Field, News and Resources.
2) The homepage should be markedly differentiated from all other pages, and be strongly image-led. Images should be large and impactful, making some use of animated technology where appropriate, and should also include our social media links – YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn.
3) Image-led, with strong images from our work overseas. The homepage must include a scrolling image rotor, which will contain a series of 4/5 powerful images at any time.
4) Colours: Red (Pantone 032c - #EE0000), black and white are the standard colours for our organisation. The focus should be on red and white in particular, with black less prominent. Designers are free to introduce other colours as secondary.
5.Certain 'call to action' icons have been created to illustrate "Go", "Do" and "Speak" and should be used in the redeveloped site. you are welcome to create further similar icons.
1) Homepage concept
2) Landing page concept
3) Content page concept
4) Style guide/example for HTML forms
1) Please supply original layered PSD files or vectors (EPC, Illustrator etc).
2) The website will be converted into a Drupal theme by our developers.


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Kick-Ass 2 is indeed finally happening. The first poster banner for the film has popped up on the pic's official Facebook page, and though it's not much, it's a fine tease for fans that have been clamoring for the return of Hit Girl and Co. Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Chloe Moretz are all confirmed to return and reprise their roles from Matthew Vaughn's 2010 adaptation of the Mark Millar comic book.
Hit the jump to take a look at the banner and to find out what we know about Kick-Ass 2 so far.
Before we get to the banner, here's a rundown of what we know about the sequel so far:
- Jeff Wadlow wrote the script and will direct, with Kick-Ass director Vaughn stepping back to a producer role due to scheduling issues with X-Men: Days of Future Past.
- Johnson, Mintz-Plasse, and Moretz are all set to return, with Nicolas Cage possibly popping up in a cameo role (most likely in flashback form).
- New cast members include John Leguizamo as one of Red Mist's bodyguards and Donald Faison as Doctor Gravity.
- Production begins in September in Toronto and London, and the film will definitely be rated-R.
- Though Mintz-Plasse's Red Mist was set up as the villain at the end of Kick-Ass, a recent reported hinted that we might also see the comics villain Mother Russia. The female character is a towering, ex-KGB officer who serves as Red Mist's bodyguard.
With filming set to begin next month, I'm sure we'll hear more plot details fairly soon. For now, enjoy this poster banner via the film's Facebook page which teases a 2013 release date.


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The first 86 Scion FR-S buyers are getting all sorts of special perks, as we were first to report. We just didn't know what the perks were until now. If you're not one of the first 86 buyers you may not want to keep reading.
In addition to being able to boast about being one of the first Scion FR-S owners in America, which is already cool even if you were just lucky, there's an all-expenses-paid trip to Long Beach, California this April.
Why would you want to go to Long Beach in April? Why, for Formula Drift of course. All owners
(and their guests) and their no guests will get front-row seats for the show. There's also a tour of the Toyota Motor Sports National HQ and the Toyota Automobile Museum.
Frankly, we wish more automakers would do this. Scion has no enthusiast history in this country, but Toyota does and they're smartly building on that foundation.
There's also dinner with Scion VP Jack Hollis where you'll be able to ask him any question you want. Any in the world. Like what he puts in his hair. He must use a lot of product. How else does he get it to stand up straight like an anime character?
Ok, so it doesn't technically say that in the invitation. But he's always answered our questions in the past. You should ask. Just don't blame us if you end up with a purple automatic FR-S. That's on you.


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Currently a PhD student at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, he has found the perfect balance between work and biking – a passion that has grown throughout the years.
- There was never just this one single time or event that made me decide that biking was what I wanted to pursue. Instead, biking gradually evolved to become the center of my entire life, I think mostly because it provides all the best things in life; friends, smiles, exploring, adrenaline.
So what drives you?


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It's October, and the city is getting ready for Halloween tomorrow. I've been exploring. After taking a break of 2 years to go see more of Asia and understand from listening to others, I am back in the bay area, trying to create more interesting deep dives into events and concepts of "being human" and … Continue reading
Nexus Thailand Youth Summit Launches
"Invest in Good People Doing Good Things." –Jeff Skoll (founder of Skoll Foundation) Making money doesn't always have to mean harming the environment or your neighbor, and not all things we might venture to do will make us money. In my quest to ponder conscious capitalism and see what social entrepreneurs are doing in Asia, … Continue reading
Protected: Burning Man and Beyond: 5 Steps to Simplify
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Oslo Freedom Forum Sheds Light on Women Under Threat
This post is not like any others I have written. I do not have answers nor am I trying to present this to entertain you as a reader. I hope that it will make you ask some questions to yourself, and also wonder what happens to women in this world around you and far away … Continue reading
Otherfab's Othermill Funded in Less than 24h!
Ever wanted to own a desktop mill, what about one that you could take on your walk to the bus or just hand carry to a friend's home? Well, the San Francisco-based makers of Otherfab, a team inside Otherlab, have made this a reality, and kicked butt on kick starter by reaching funding goals in … Continue reading
Codebreaker: the Alan Turing Film
San Francisco, CA-April 9th on a Tuesday night, Alan Turing fans, curious sorts, lgbt folks, doc film lovers, and a mix of it all, showed up for Codebreaker, a movie about the life of Alan Turing that had AB exclusive showing at the AMC Metreon. The movie was a mix of documentary and re-enactment. Alan … Continue reading
Conscious Capitalism: Make your Mondays Matter #cc2013
This a second article around my learnings from the Conscious Capitalism conference. Given the choice, how would you do your life differently next Monday? Mondays are tough for many people for whom Sunday ends their weekend. Yet whatever your schedules, "Monday" is the word used to mean the beginning of your work week. How can … Continue reading


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Editor's note: This is the centerpice of a four-part Sunday special investigating the possiblity of allowing criuise ships to leave from Savannah. Also see:A Savannah cruise port: Cruise study's smooth sailing question.A Savannah cruise port: Debate Focuses on jobs, spendingA Savannah cruise port: Host cities pay the price.
Long before John Dolan Heitlinger became president of the Seaport Alliance in Key West, Fla., he lived and worked in Kokomo, Ind., a midwestern town sustained by auto and car-radio manufacturing.
Kokomo officials, he is sure, would be skeptical - but envious, too - at the money cruise passengers bring to Key West each year.
"If I told them they could have thousands of people come pay $2.50 a day to be there and they'd spend $100 a day on average and they'd be gone by the end of the day, I think in Kokomo, they would say, 'Get outta here,' but that's basically what cruise tourism is," Dolan Heitlinger said.
"It's pretty easy business, frankly."
Dolan Heitlinger sees the upside, and he points to Key West's 2012 collections of $3.4 million in fees and surtaxes from cruise tourists and the $68 million businesses citywide earned from tourism spending, courtesy of more than 800,000 cruise tourists who visited last year.
City of Savannah officials, lured by the possibility of the same kind of easy money, have been exploring whether to partner with a cruise line since 2009.
In September, City Council authorized a two-phase study and by the end of March should learn whether any of the three sites would be suitable for a terminal in terms of access to the Savannah River.
If so, the city could push forward with the next phase - evaluating the site or sites and what land-side issues might be attached to any or all of them.
In the three years the city has taken, officials have realized they are part of a global conversation about the role the cruise industry is playing in historic port cities.
Are these cities making easy money, as supporters say? Or are they, as critics claim, easy marks for a cruise industry that powers its way into waterfront communities with promises of generous tourist spending and job creation that seldom match projections and often come with economic, environmental and even cultural consequences cities seldom foresee?
Mayor Edna Jackson, then an alderwoman, sat in on some of the initial 2010 conferences as consultants offered glowing projections of Savannah's cruise potential. The chance for economic development and job growth was a big sell.
"You could increase tourism, you could have jobs, even if they are entry-level, and our businesses might resupply a ship coming in," she said. "That's dollar generation. That's job generation."
Her initial enthusiasm has been tempered by the need to see the next study and discuss with City Council about how long it would take for a terminal to be self-sustaining financially, what the positives and negatives are and what it would mean to harbor deepening and container traffic already flowing on the Savannah River.
"Those are all things we have to address," she said. "If we're going to invest millions of dollars, we need to know we can generate that money back into the economy."
The cruise experiences of other coastal cities serve warning: Mobile, Ala., Norfolk, Va., Houston and San Diego all built multi-million-dollar terminals only to see cruise lines leave them high and dry.
Charleston and Key West, meanwhile, are struggling to balance an influx of cruise tourists with the effects they've had on daily life, city services and the coast itself.
College of Charleston professor John Crotts, who has analyzed cruise passenger and crew spending since 2010, urges caution. His surveys offer favorable reviews, with initial findings showing passenger and crew spending brought in $37 million to Charleston and created 407 jobs.
"If I had a recommendation for Savannah," Crotts said, "it would be don't build a terminal until you've got a long-term commitment from a cruise ship company and that they do their due diligence that it's going to work."
Savannah's proposal
Savannah has no commitment from a cruise line.
City officials hired BEA Architects of Miami to help them evaluate cruise market conditions and review sites along the Savannah River.
The city has approved paying BEA $247,500, with an option for $82,000 more if the city wants the final study.
The state, Visit Savannah and the Savannah Riverfront Association contributed $80,000 to the initial 2010 marketing study.
When the city approved the site study in September, Alderman Tom Bordeaux questioned whether it posed a conflict to have BEA conduct the study when it was likely the same firm would design the terminal.
It's a pattern BEA has used in other cities, including San Diego and Long Beach, Calif.; Quebec City, Canada; Barcelona, Spain; and the Canary Islands, said Bruno Elias Ramos, architect and principal of BEA.
In 2015, the first year of operation, BEA projects Savannah would see 104 ships with 100,000 passengers. By 2025, still at 104 visits, BEA projects Savannah's passengers would mushroom to 464,000 a year.
Those projections are dismissed by other cruise industry analysts.
"Where are these ships going to come from and on what basis is this projection even remotely realistic?" questions Ross Klein, a sociologist at Memorial University, Newfoundland, who has studied and written about the cruise industry for 20 years.
"It would be different if the cruise industry was expanding the number of ships in North America ... but the number of ships is remaining static or decreasing as the size of ships increase. The projections look great, but I don't think they have any grounding in reality."
Ramos said the passenger forecasts were designed not to show passenger counts, but the anticipated revenue the city would collect if it were a home port.
Fees would be collected as passengers embarked and again as they disembark, so the numbers are doubled, he said.
That means the first-year projection of 100,000 would really be 50,000 passengers. For a 2,500-passenger ship, that would require only 20 ship visits a year.
The passenger forecast graphic provided to the city sets the forecast number of ship visits at 104 a year for all years, however.
Klein, who also teaches quantitative data analysis, says Ramos' explanation doesn't work, nor did a later explanation from Ramos that the number of ship visits was also meant to project the possibility that it would take smaller vessels and other visiting ships to make the 100,000 passenger estimate.
'>Ross Klein discusses his studies.
Ramos named boutique yachts, such as the Seadream and Windstar, which carry about 100 passengers.
"Now you're talking about needing 1,000 ship visits a year. It's smoke and mirrors," Klein said.
"If one of my undergraduate students in one of my research classes did this, I would give them an F.
"In the best possible scenario, (Savannah) would need to have a ship home ported with 20 visits carrying 2,500 passengers, but no cruise line has signed up for this yet."
Borrowing $88M
Those passenger counts also factor into BEA's economic projections.
In a financial analysis presented to the city in May 2011, BEA provided a detailed scenario in which the city floated $88 million in municipal bonds in two phases to pay for buildings.
The first stage would be a temporary terminal. The second, six years later, would fund a more elaborate, permanent terminal.
Revenue projections and the debt repayment were based partly on the monies earned from the volume of passengers who would come through Savannah.
Asked about funding options, Marty Johnston, the city's director of special projects, said municipal bonds were only one possibility.
It could work out a public-private partnership, it could be a solely private venture or it could include the cruise company building the terminal.
Not likely, said Stewart Chiron, who offers consumer advice as thecruiseguy.com but also watches market trends and business decisions of the cruise lines.
"It ain't gonna happen," he says. "There's not a hill-of-beans chance. They don't even do that in Miami."
Regional competition
Savannah's model also assumes that about 60 percent of passengers would drive to the terminal, and BEA used a range of about 300 miles, Ramos said.
That has Savannah in familiar territory, competing with Charleston, about 110 miles north, and Jacksonville, about 140 miles south.
For Savannah to capture passengers, it would have to steal substantially from the already-established markets of Charleston and Jacksonville, Chiron said.
Another industry observer agrees: "I think Savannah would have to work hard to get significant traffic, or that traffic would have to come at the cost of somebody else," said Olivand Mathisen, editor and publisher of Cruise Industry News.
BEA, in looking at the market, thinks Savannah can take away traffic.
"We felt if Savannah were to enter the market, it has so many more positives than Jacksonville, it would be Jacksonville that would be abandoned as a market," Ramos said.
Savannah isn't as far south, he said, and it has much better branding as a historic city and tourist destination.
Other factors play to Savannah's favor, he said. Given the fight in Charleston over cruise ships, Carnival might not locate a second ship there. It could choose to place a second one here. Or, more likely, he said, one of the other top competitors would come in to avoid losing market share.
Craig Milan, a private consultant and former senior vice president of land operations for Royal Caribbean, thinks that's likely.
Savannah, like Charleston, would never be a host for the newest, biggest ships, Milan said, but would fall into the mid-size market that would see cruise ships of 2,000 to 4,000 passengers.
Savannah as a home port wasn't on Royal Caribbean's radar before, Milan says, but as capacity slowly increases, he believes it will be. And he thinks Carnival and Norwegian would look, too.
"It's a competitive market," he said. "People want cruises to be in their cities. I think there's an opportunity with the big three players."
Mathisen, Klein and Chiron continue to have their doubts. As cruise lines continue to build bigger and bigger ships, fewer mid-size ships are available, Mathisen said, but more ports want them.
Chiron agrees, and thinks Savannah would share the same risk as Mobile, Houston or Norfolk.
"These are all cities that have spent hundreds of millions collectively and what have they got to show for it? Nothing."


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Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, has told the BBC that he would be "very happy" if married men had the option of entering the priesthood.
The cardinal, the only churchman from Great Britain eligible to attend the conclave, said: "There was a time when priests got married, and of course we know at the present time in some branches of the Church – in some branches of the Catholic Church – priests can get married, so that is obviously not of divine origin and it could get discussed again.
"In my time there was no choice and you didn't really consider it too much, it was part of being a priest. When I was a young boy, the priest didn't get married and that was it.
"I would be very happy if others had the opportunity of considering whether or not they could or should get married."
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Free Beer & Hot Wings: Forever Is Never Long Enough for Eric Zane [Video]
Terrence, a listener of "The Free Beer & Hot Wings Morning Show," sent this video in that he shot of Eric Zane a while back.
Zane had a party in his yard and rented a big tent. He was helping out the tent company by pulling all the stakes out of the ground before they picked it up.
Terrence showed up on the scene and recorded some video of Zane. He then put a little spin on it.
Well done, Terrence!
Source: Free Beer & Hot Wings


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Mary Ostyn has a work-life juggle that would leave most of us breathless. A writer who works at home while parenting and homeschooling 10 children, her first book, A Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family, was released this spring (you can read a review -- and, for a limited time, enter to win a copy of A Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family -- at Work It, Mom's Affordable Luxuries blog). Her second, Family Feasts for $75 a Week, is due out in September.
She also has contributed to Chicken Soup for the Expectant Mother's Soul, and has written articles for Christian Parenting Today, Adoption Today, Adoptive Families, among others. Her articles for Work It, Mom!, on parenting and adoption issues, are some of the most well-read ones on the site. She juggles her many roles with grace, and writes about her daily life on her blog, Owlhaven.
Mary is married to her highschool sweetheart, John, who works in the medical field. They live in Idaho with their 10 children -- six girls and four boys -- who range in age from 21- to 4-years-old. Eight of them still live at home.
Want to know how she does it? Read on!
You blog about your life, homeschooling, parenting, frugal living, and much more at Owlhaven.net, and have a devoted following there. What inspired you to write A Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family?
When you're raising a big crew, you learn how to streamline out of sheer self-defense. My blog readers loved hearing my ideas, and I realized there was a niche for my book. Even though the book is geared towards large families, it has been interesting to read the amazon reviews and see how useful it has been even to smaller families.
Have you always wanted to have a large family?
Absolutely not. I grew up the oldest of eight, and when I was a teenager, I swore I'd never have more than four kids. Getting from there to here was a gradual process, and was definitely influenced by growing up and gaining a new appreciation for the family in which I was raised. I've been sharing stories recently on my blog highlighting our gradual move towards truly large-family status.
Your family is unusual not just because of its size, but also because you and your husband chose to add to your family via adoption. What was the biggest hurdle you had to overcome in deciding to adopt?
My husband's first reaction to the idea of adoption was, "Are you nuts? We already have 4 kids!" It took awhile for him to decide that we really could do this and that it would enrich our lives. Once he decided to go forward, he never looked back. And the blessings have been greater than we could have even imagined.


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The strong winds that were responsible for the high output had reached Ireland the day before and a new record wind output of 1.54GW was established there on 21 March. With system demand at that time amounting to 4.26GW, wind's contribution reached 36%, also a record.
Another record was achieved in the US on 7 April, when Californian wind-power generation reached 4.19GW - 17% of system demand at the time. The California Public Utilities Commission reports that it is on target to meet the 25% by 2016 milestone as mandated by the renewables portfolio standard that aims for 33% by 2020. A recent report from the commission also calculates wind's procurement expenditure as $80/MWh. The only procurement expenditure that is cheaper than wind are biogas ($66.6/MWh), geothermal ($65/MWh) and small hydro ($58.9/MWh).
Still in the US, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (Ercot), which manages about 80% of electricity in that state, recorded a peak wind output of 9,48GW on 9 February. Total wind capacity in its region is 10.41GW.
Managing supply and costs of wind
In the US region managed by the Midwest Independent System Operator (Miso) underscheduling of wind - when the wind contribution is underestimated - in the day-ahead market averaged 619MW in the quarter from December to February. Wind production during this period averaged 4GW.
Almost two thirds of the underscheduling was offset by "virtual supply" bids at wind sites. These bids are notional amounts of power and are bid to sell at the day-ahead price and buy at the real-time price. The bids appear to the market as a dispatchable supply resource. Virtual bids do not require any physical generation or load.
The UK's National Grid has also provided information about the accuracy of its wind power forecasting. This is on a four-hour basis and so is not directly comparable with the data quoted above from Miso. Over a six-month period last year, the mean absolute error varied between 2.3% and 9.3%. In its proposals for an incentive programme that forms part of the price-control regime, regulator Ofgem has proposed a summer-time target of 4.5% error in forecasting and a winter-time target of 6%.
A mechanism that is facilitating the assimilation of wind into networks is the ability to control it - or make it "dispatchable" in utility jargon. Miso estimates that nearly 40% of wind resources are now dispatchable in the region.
The costs of variability
Utility Ercot does not explicitly assign the costs of ancillary services, such as spinning reserve - a power supply that can adjust output to balance supply and demand - to wind energy, but the monthly costs of these services do not appear to be correlated with the level of wind generation. This suggests the impact of wind is small. In December 2012, for example, when wind production was high, ancillary service costs were low. The UK National Grid has provided typical estimates of the short-term operational reserve required for wind. In its absence, the requirement was about 3.8GW and the addition of 20GW of wind increases this by about 50%. Wind of 20GW corresponds to a penetration level of about 15%. Other utilities report similar requirements.
National Grid has also estimated the amount of additional short-term operating reserve (including spinning reserve and other types) required between April 2011 and September 2012 to cover for wind output being lower than forecast. Wind farms generated 23.7TWh of electricity in this period, but the energy provided by short-term reserve that was due to the wind output being lower than forecast was only 22GWh. The total required for the whole system was 246GWh.
This means there was a very small reduction in the quantity of emissions saved by wind energy, since short-term reserve often operates below full output and is less efficient. Low efficiency means higher emissions, and critics have argued that this means their carbon savings are lower than their calculated values. National Grid estimates that 10.9 million tonnes of CO2 was saved by wind energy during the period, with the abatement due to the extra short-term reserve being only 8,800 tonnes, or 0.08%.


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About four hours after Matt Shoemaker realized a lifelong dream by making his big-league debut, his Angels created another good memory at the close of their dismal season.
Chris Iannetta drove in Kole Calhoun with a two-out hit in the 11th inning, and the Angels rallied past the Seattle Mariners 3-2 Friday night for their eighth victory in 10 games.
Shoemaker pitched five scoreless innings of two-hit ball in the longtime minor leaguer's first start for the Angels, who came back from a late two-run deficit and several missed opportunities to win the opener of their final homestand. Los Angeles has won 20 of 27 to move within three games of .500, even avoiding mathematical elimination from the playoff race for one more day.
"We're still working hard and trying to win some games at the end of the season," Iannetta said.
After Calhoun's one-out hit off rookie Bobby LaFromboise (0-1), Iannetta put a long single off the wall in deepest left-center. Calhoun slid home to give Iannetta his fifth career game-ending hit.
"He put a slider right over the plate, and I got a fortunate bounce (off the wall) to keep it in the yard," Iannetta said.
Michael Saunders opened the scoring with a two-run single in the seventh for Seattle, but Andrew Romine answered with a two-run single for Los Angeles later in the inning.
Cory Rasmus (1-1) pitched the 11th to earn his first major league victory.
Shoemaker, who turns 27 next week, made an impressive debut at Angel Stadium after a six-year minor league career.
The right-hander, who went 11-13 for Triple-A Salt Lake this season, got his big-league break on Thursday when Jered Weaver was scratched from his scheduled start with tightness in his right forearm. A few quick phone calls got his parents and wife into town in time for his debut, and he didn't disappoint.
"It was surreal, to say the least," Shoemaker said. "It's something you dream about your whole life, and then you finally have it. It was more fun than anything. If I wasn't nervous, I think there would be something wrong with me."
Shoemaker joined Weaver as the only Angels pitchers to strike out at least five batters without allowing a run in their major league debuts. Shoemaker showcased a nasty splitter while striking out the side in the first inning before finishing with five strikeouts and two walks.
"Anytime a young player gets an opportunity to show what they have, that's important," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "And you couldn't ask much more from Matt, for a young pitcher coming up and getting his first start and giving us five zeros."
Nick Franklin had three hits for the Mariners, who have lost 10 of 12 to fall 20 games below .500. Seattle lost in walk-off fashion for the 13th time this season, tying the 2011 club record.