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The good folks over at Image Entertainment have gone ahead and picked up the U.S. distribution rights to "All Cheerleaders Die", a new horror comedy written and directed by Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson. The flick follows a young loner who joins the cheerleading squad and her pissed off ex-friend who tries out her spooky witchcraft on her and her new cheermates. Is cheermates one word or two? Is it even a word? God I hate Arcade Fire.
"Night Film" is an awful name for a movie. It's an even worse name for a book. And, yes that's right you guessed it, it's the worst possible name for a movie based on a book by the same name. But it's happening, there's no fighting it, and it's find a director in the form of Rupert Wyatt. The movie follows a reporter who's investigating the suspected suicide of the daughter of a horror film director. Well alright, I guess the title makes sense, but still it shouldn't be happening. Not on my watch.
Zach Galligan took to his twitters to announce that he'll be playing the lead in the upcoming big screen adaptation of Brian Keene's "The Cage". The movie will focus on a group of employees at an electronic store who find themselves trapped in the store after a gunman comes in and starts shooting people. You see it's a metaphor. "The Cage" is actually the store. Because the people are trapped in there. I get things and I like to make sure people know that I get things.
Saxon Sharbino, who kind of looks like the mom from the original "Poltergeist" has signed on to play the mom in the remake of "Poltergeist. This works put pretty well because if I have one complaint about remakes it's that people never look like people from the original movie and that confuses me. Also the thought of there being another Craig T. Nelson out there has given me a semi. I'm kidding, Sam Rockwell is playing the dad. He also gives me a semi. Don't judge me.
20th Century Fox is starting its prep-work for a surprise prequel, "Planet of the Apes: Caesar". Planned to be attached to the Tim Burton remake, the new film will be directed by Rupert Wyatt.
Somebody needs to check Lloyd Kauffman to make sure he hasn't dropped dead from sheer happiness. Dutch TV giant Endemol has acquired the rights to the Toxic Avenger. They have planned a staggering four films, an animated TV series and comic books as well as they prepare to relaunch Toxie as a new 'green' super hero for today's environmentally conscious world.
The big screen adaptation of video game hit Gears of War hits development snags. With the budget cuts and Len Wiseman leaving the team, the writers are now reshaping the film's plot for something more mundane.
AMC's "The Walking Dead" has found its leading man as they have cast Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes. Hailing from the UK, you may recognize Lincoln from his roles in "Love Actually" or the series "Strike Back". Or, you may be like me and never heard of him at all! That's not a bad thing though.


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subset: commoncrawl


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"Code Burgundy- The Long Escape", edited by G. Steve Chirigotis, Col USAF (Ret); is a true story authored by John Katsaros, a 20 year old aerial gunner on his 11th bombing mission, flying on the B-17 "Man O' War", piloted by Lt. Jack Dunaway, out of England 20 March 1944 on a raid to destroy an FW-190 aircraft factory at Frankfurt, Germany, is shot down by enemy ME-109 aircraft cannon and .50 cal. machine-gun fire. Three crewmen are killed on station during the attack, two engines are blown out and the wing is in flames when the alarm is given to bail out. The navigator is the first man to bail out, his chute "candled" and he did not survive the landing. John, seriously wounded with a splintered right arm, assists his crew mates with their wounds before he bails out. Only John experienced the fear of pursuit by the Gestapo after his rib-cracking landing, from a 25,000 foot free fall. Twice he is captured by the Gestapo and escapes with the assistance of the brave Free French Resistance who hide John over a three month period to nurse him back to health and to assist him in his travels from the north of France, south to climb the Pyrenees and to Freedom, only to be locked up by the Spanish Constabulary.
John, "under secrecy oath by the government and, under heavy penalty of punishment", was unable to reveal his story until recently when the oath of secrecy was lifted.
John's medical treatment in France, while on the run, is owed to a Dr. Levy, a Jew, who is hiding out from the Gestapo in the cellar of his clinic. With the insistence of the Free French Underground, punctuated by a pistol to his head, Dr. Levy performed three surgeries within three days on John's gangrenous arm to save it and his life.
USAF Military Academy, Colorado Springs, Co.
WWII Memorial, Washington, DC and the 8th Air Force, 401st Bomb Group
Pease Air Force Base, Portsmouth, NH, The Operations Group Officers
8th Air Force Historical Society, Mass. Chapter, USAF Hanscom Air Base, Bedford, MA
Mass. Aviation Historical Society, Civilian Terminal, Hanscom Airfield, Bedford, MA
Cathedral Of The Pines, Rindge, NH a US National Registered Historical Museum, dedicated to US servicemen and women Killed In Action.
Good Samaritan Veterans Org., Kissimmee, Florida
Veterans, Hidden Cove West Group, Winter Haven, Florida
Disabled American Veterans, American Legion, Ex-Prisoners of War, etc. Groups, Boston, Lowell, Methuen, Haverhill, MA, etc.
AHEPA, American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, International Convention, Montreal, Canada
AHEPA, American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, Worcester and Haverhill, MA Chapters.
US, Air Forces Escape and Evasion Society, (AFEES) Convention, Colorado Springs, Colorado and Dayton, Ohio, San Antonio, Texas
Disabled American Veterans (DAV), EX-POW, American Legion etc. Groups, Boston, Lowell, Georgetown, Haverhill MA
UMass Lowell University, History Class and Students, Lowell, MA
Boston University, Dean of SGS
Northern Essex Community College (NECCO) Haverhill/Lawrence, MA
High Schools and Grammar Schools, throughout New England
Collings Foundation, Stow, MA. Re-enactment week-end. Speaker along with two Medal of Honor, Recipients.
Naples, Florida, City Museum
Homer Helter's WWII Museum, Naples, Florida
Anciente and Secret Order Established year 1921 Quiet Birdman's, Boston Hanger; Military, Commercial, Airline and Private Pilots
Monadnock Aviation; Veterans, Military, Commercial , Airlines and Private Pilots Group, Keene, NH Airport
Libraries, Boynton Beach City Library, Florida; Newburyport, Haverhill, MA.
Churches in Andover, Brookline, Haverhill and Peabody, MA. and Biddiford/Saco, Maine, Maitlan, Florida
Churches Mens Group
Council for the Aging, Various Cities
Elderly Groups


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In the previous section we saw that every subproperty of the dictatorship property has a $3$-query local tester. In this section we will show that any property whatsoever has a $3$-query local tester — if an appropriate "proof" is provided.
To make sense of this statement let's first generalize the setting in which we study property testing. Definitions 1 and 2 are concerned with testing a boolean function $f : \{0,1\}^n \to \{0,1\}$ by querying its values on various inputs. If we think of $f$'s truth table as a boolean string of length $N = 2^n$, then a testing algorithm simply queries various coordinates of this string. It makes sense to generalize to the notion of testing properties of $N$-bit strings, for any length $N$. Here a property $\mathcal{C}$ will just be a collection $\mathcal{C} \subseteq \{0,1\}^N$ of strings, and we'll be concerned with the relative Hamming distance $\mathrm{dist}(w, w') = \frac{1}{N}\mathrm{Dist}(w,w')$ between strings. For simplicity, we'll begin to write $n$ instead of $N$.
Definition 10 An $r$-query string testing algorithm for strings $w \in \{0,1\}^n$ is a randomized algorithm which:
- chooses $r$ (or fewer) indices $\boldsymbol{i}_1, \dots, \boldsymbol{i}_r \in [n]$ according to some probability distribution;
- queries $w_{\boldsymbol{i}_1}, \dots, w_{\boldsymbol{i}_r}$;
- based on the outcomes, decides (deterministically) whether to "accept" $w$.
We may also generalize this definition to testing strings $w \in \Omega^n$ over finite alphabets $\Omega$ of cardinality larger than $2$.
Definition 11 Let $\mathcal{C} \subseteq \{0,1\}^n$ be a "property" of $n$-bit boolean strings. We say a string testing algorithm is a local tester for $\mathcal{C}$ (with rejection rate $\lambda > 0$) if it satisfies the following:
- If $w \in \mathcal{C}$ then the tester accepts with probability $1$.
- For all $0 \leq \epsilon \leq 1$, if $\mathrm{dist}(w, \mathcal{C}) > \epsilon$ then the tester rejects $w$ with probability greater than $\lambda \cdot \epsilon$.
- Equivalently, if the tester accepts $w$ with probability at least $1 – \lambda \cdot \epsilon$ then $w$ is $\epsilon$-close to $\mathcal{C}$; i.e., $\exists w' \in \mathcal{C}$ such that $\mathrm{dist}(w,w') \leq \epsilon$.
Examples 12 Let $\mathcal{Z} = \{(0, 0, \dots, 0)\} \subseteq \{0,1\}^n$ be the property of being the all-zeroes string. Then the following is a $1$-query local tester for $\mathcal{Z}$ (with rejection rate $1$): pick a uniformly random index $\boldsymbol{i}$ and accept if $w_{\boldsymbol{i}} = 0$.
Let $\mathcal{E} = \{(0, 0, \dots, 0), (1, 1, \dots, 1)\} \subseteq \{0,1\}^n$ be the property of having all coordinates equal. Then the following is a $2$-query local tester for $\mathcal{E}$: pick two independent and uniformly random indices $\boldsymbol{i}$ and $\boldsymbol{j}$ and accept if $w_{\boldsymbol{i}} = w_{\boldsymbol{j}}$. In the exercises you are asked to show that if $\mathrm{dist}(w,\mathcal{E}) = \epsilon$ then this tester rejects $w$ with probability $\tfrac{1}{2} – \tfrac{1}{2}(1-2\epsilon)^2 \geq \epsilon$.
Let $\mathcal{O} = \{w \in {\mathbb F}_2^n : w \text{ has an odd number of 1′s}\}$. This property does not have a local tester making few queries. In fact, in the exercises you are asked to show that any local tester for $\mathcal{O}$ must make the maximum number of queries, $n$.
As the last example shows, not every property has a local tester making a small number of queries; indeed, most properties of $n$-bit strings do not. This is rather too bad — imagine that for any large $n$ and any complicated property $\mathcal{C} \subseteq \{0,1\}^n$ there were an $O(1)$-query local tester. Then if anyone supplied you with a string $w$ claiming it satisfied $\mathcal{C}$, you wouldn't have to laboriously check this yourself, nor would you have to trust the supplier; you could simply spot-check $w$ in a constant number of coordinates and become convinced that $w$ is (close to being) in $\mathcal{C}$.
But what if, in addition to $w \in \{0,1\}^n$, you could require the supplier to give you some additional side information $\Pi \in \{0,1\}^\ell$ about $w$ so as to assist you in testing that $w \in \mathcal{C}$? One can think of $\Pi$ as a kind of "proof" that $w$ satisfies $\mathcal{C}$. In this case it's possible that you can spot-check $w$ and $\Pi$ together in a constant number of coordinates and become convinced that $w$ is (close to being) in $\mathcal{C}$ — all without having to "trust" the supplier of the string $w$ and the purported proof $\Pi$. These ideas lead to the notion of probabilistically checkable proofs of proximity (PCPPs).
Definition 13 Let $\mathcal{C} \subseteq \{0,1\}^n$ be a property of $n$-bit boolean strings and let $\ell \in {\mathbb N}$. We say that $\mathcal{C}$ has an $r$-query, length-$\ell$ probabilistically checkable proof of proximity (PCPP) system (with rejection rate $\lambda > 0$) when the following holds: There exists an $r$-query testing algorithm $T$ for $(n+\ell)$-bit strings, thought of as pairs $w \in \{0,1\}^n$ and $\Pi \in \{0,1\}^\ell$, such that:
- ("Completeness.") If $w \in \mathcal{C}$ then there exists a "proof" $\Pi \in \{0,1\}^\ell$ such that $T$ accepts with probability $1$.
- ("Soundness".) For all $0 \leq \epsilon \leq 1$, if $\mathrm{dist}(w, \mathcal{C}) > \epsilon$ then for every "proof" $\Pi \in \{0,1\}^\ell$ the tester $T$ rejects with probability greater than $\lambda \cdot \epsilon$.
- Equivalently, if there exists $\Pi \in \{0,1\}^\ell$ which causes $T$ to accept with probability at least $1 – \lambda \cdot \epsilon$ then $w$ must be $\epsilon$-close to $\mathcal{C}$.
PCPP systems are also known as assisted testers, locally testable proofs, or assignment testers.
Remark 14 A word on the three parameters: We are usually interested in fixing the number of queries $r$ to a very small universal constant (such as $3$) while trying to keep the proof length $\ell = \ell(n)$ relatively small (e.g., $\mathrm{poly}(n)$ is a good goal). We are usually not very concerned with the rejection rate $\lambda$ so long as it's a positive universal constant (independent of $n$).
Example 15 In Examples 12 we stated that ${\mathcal O} = \{w \in {\mathbb F}_2^n : w_1 + \cdots + w_n = 1\}$ has no local tester making fewer than $n$ queries. But it's easy to give a $3$-query PCPP system for ${\mathcal O}$ with proof length $n-1$ (and rejection rate $1$). The idea is to require the proof string $\Pi$ to contain the partial sums of $w$: \[ \Pi_{j} = \sum_{i=1}^{j+1} w_i \pmod{2}. \] The tester will perform one of the following checks, uniformly at random: \begin{align*} \Pi_1 &= w_1 + w_2 \\ \Pi_2 &= \Pi_1 + w_3 \\ \Pi_3 &= \Pi_2 + w_4 \\ &\cdots \\ \Pi_{n-1} &= \Pi_{n-2} + w_n \\ \Pi_{n-1} &= 1 \end{align*} Evidently the tester always makes at most $3$ queries. Further, in the "completeness" case $w \in {\mathcal O}$, if $\Pi$ is a correct list of partial sums then the tester will accept with probability $1$. It remains to analyze the "soundness" case, $w \not \in {\mathcal O}$. Here we are significantly aided by the fact that $\mathrm{dist}(w,{\mathcal O})$ must be exactly $1/n$ (since every string is at Hamming distance either $0$ or $1$ from ${\mathcal O}$). Thus to confirm the claimed rejection rate of $1$, we only need to observe that if $w \not \in {\mathcal O}$ then at least one of the tester's $n$ checks must fail.
This example generalizes to give a very efficient PCPP system for testing that $w$ satisfies any fixed ${\mathbb F}_2$-linear equation. What about testing that $w$ satisfies a fixed system of ${\mathbb F}_2$-linear equations? This interesting question is explored in the exercises; it serves as a good warmup for our next result.
We now extend Theorem 9 to show the rather remarkable fact that any property of $n$-bit strings has a $3$-query PCPP system. (The proof length, however, is enormous.)
Theorem 16 Let $\mathcal{C} \subseteq \{0,1\}^n$ be any class of strings. Then there is a $3$-query, length-$2^{2^n}$ PCPP system for $\mathcal{C}$ (with rejection rate $.001$).
Proof: Let $N = 2^n$ and fix an arbitrary bijection $\iota : \{0,1\}^n \to [N]$. The tester will interpret the string $w \in \{0,1\}^n$ to be tested as an index $\iota(w) \in [N]$ and will interpret the $2^N$-length proof $\Pi$ as a function $\Pi : \{0,1\}^N \to \{0,1\}$. The idea is for the tester to require that $\Pi$ be the dictator function corresponding to index $\iota(w)$; i.e., $\chi_{\iota(w)} : \{0,1\}^N \to \{0,1\}$.
Now under the identification $\iota$, we can think of the string property $\mathcal{C}$ as a subclass of all $N$-bit dictators, namely \[ \mathcal{C}' = \{\chi_{\iota(w')} : \{0,1\}^N \to \{0,1\} \mid w' \in \mathcal{C}\}. \] In particular, $\mathcal{C}'$ is a property of $N$-bit functions. We can now state the twofold goal of the tester:
- check that $\Pi \in \mathcal{C}'$;
- given that $\Pi$ is indeed some dictator $\chi_{\iota(w')} : \{0,1\}^N \to \{0,1\}$ with $w' \in \mathcal{C}$, check that $w' = w$.
To accomplish the latter the tester would like to check $w_{\boldsymbol{j}} = w'_{\boldsymbol{j}}$ for a random $\boldsymbol{j} \in [n]$. The tester can query any $w_{j}$ directly but accessing $w'_{j}$ requires a little thought. The trick is to prepare the string \[ X^{(j)} \in \{0,1\}^N \text{ defined by } X^{(j)}_{\iota(y)} = y_j. \] and then to locally correct $\Pi$ on $X^{(j)}$ (using Proposition 1.32).
Thus the tester is defined as follows:
- With probability $1/2$, locally test the function property $\mathcal{C}'$ using Theorem 9.
- With probability $1/2$, pick $\boldsymbol{j} \sim [n]$ uniformly at random; locally correct $\Pi$ on the string $X^{(\boldsymbol{j})}$ and accept if the outcome equals $w_{\boldsymbol{j}}$.
Note that the tester makes $3$ queries in both of the subtests.
Verifying "completeness" of this PCPP system is easy: if $w \in \mathcal{C}$ and $\Pi$ is indeed the (truth table of) $\chi_{\iota(w)} : \{0,1\}^N \to \{0,1\}$ then the test will accept with probability $1$. It remains to verify the "soundness" condition. Fix $w \in \{0,1\}^n$, $\Pi : \{0,1\}^N \to \{0,1\}$, and $0 \leq \epsilon \leq 1$ and suppose that the tester accepts $(w, \Pi)$ with probability at least $1-\lambda \epsilon$, where $\lambda = .001$. Our goal is to show that $w$ is $\epsilon$-close to some string $w' \in \mathcal{C}$.
Since the overall test accepts with probability at least $1-\lambda \epsilon$, subtest (2) above accepts with probability at least $1-2\lambda \epsilon$. Thus by Theorem 9, $\Pi$ must be $200\lambda \epsilon$-close to some dictator $\chi_{\iota(w')}$ with $w' \in \mathcal{C}$. Since dictators are parity functions, Proposition 1.32 tells us that \begin{equation} \label{eqn:pcpp-correcting} \forall j,\ \mathop{\bf Pr}[\text{locally correcting $\Pi$ on $X^{(j)}$ produces $\chi_{\iota(w')}(X^{(j)}) = w'_j$}] \geq 1 – 400\lambda \epsilon \geq 1/2, \end{equation} where we used $400 \lambda \epsilon < 400 \lambda \leq 1/2$ by the choice $\lambda = .001$.
On the other hand, since the overall test accepts with probability at least $1-\lambda \epsilon$, subtest (2) above rejects with probability at most $2\lambda \epsilon$. This means \[ \mathop{\bf E}_{\boldsymbol{j} \sim [n]}\left[\mathop{\bf Pr}[\text{locally correcting $\Pi$ on $X^{(\boldsymbol{j})}$ doesn't produce $w_{\boldsymbol{j}}$}]\right] \leq 2\lambda \epsilon. \] By Markov's inequality we deduce that except for at most a $4\lambda \epsilon$ fraction of coordinates $j \in [n]$ we have \[ \mathop{\bf Pr}[\text{locally correcting $\Pi$ on $X^{(j)}$ doesn't produce $w_{j}$}] < 1/2. \] Combining this information with \eqref{eqn:pcpp-correcting} we deduce that $w_j = w'_j$ except for at most a $4\lambda\epsilon \leq \epsilon$ fraction of coordinates $j \in [n]$. Since $w' \in \mathcal{C}$ we conclude that $\mathrm{dist}(w,C) \leq \epsilon$, as desired. $\Box$
You may feel that the doubly-exponential proof length $2^{2^n}$ in this theorem is quite bad, but bear in mind there are $2^{2^n}$ different properties $\mathcal{C}$. Actually, giving a PCPP system for every property is a bit overzealous since most properties are not interesting or natural. A more reasonable goal would be to give efficient PCPP systems for all "explicit" properties. A good way to formalize this is to consider properties decidable by polynomial-size circuits. Here we consider a standard definition of general boolean circuits which allows for non-constant depth (unlike in Chapter 4):
Definition 17 A (De Morgan) circuit $C$ over boolean variables $x_1, \dots, x_n$ is a directed acyclic graph in which each node ("gate") is labelled with either an $x_i$ or with $\wedge$, $\vee$, or $\neg$ (logical NOT). Each $x_i$ is used as label exactly once; the associated nodes are called "input" gates and must have in-degree $0$. Each $\wedge$ and $\vee$ node must have in-degree $2$ and each $\neg$ node must have in-degree $1$. Each node "computes" a function $\{-1,1\}^n \to \{-1,1\}$ of the inputs in the natural way. Finally, one node of $C$ is designated as the "output" gate, and $C$ itself is said to compute the function computed by the output node. We often identify $C$ with the function it computes.
We define the size of $C$, denoted $\mathrm{size}(C)$, to be the number of nodes (which is always at least $n$ and at most twice the number of arcs/wires).
Given an $n$-variable circuit $C$ we consider the set of strings which it "accepts" to be a property, \begin{equation} \label{eqn:ppty-from-ckt} \mathcal{C} = \{w \in \{0,1\}^n : C(w) = 1\}. \end{equation} For properties computed by modest-sized circuits $C$ we may hope for PCPP systems with proof length much less than $2^{2^n}$. We saw such a case in Example 15. Another advantage of considering "explicit" properties is that we can define a notion of constructing a PCPP system, "given" a property. A theorem of the form "for each explicit property $\mathcal{C}$ there exists an efficient PCPP system…" may not be useful, practically speaking, if its proof is non-constructive. We can formalize the issue as follows:
Definition 18 A PCPP reduction is an algorithm which takes as input a circuit $C$ and outputs the description of a PCPP system for the string property $\mathcal{C}$ decided by $C$ as in \eqref{eqn:ppty-from-ckt}, where $n$ is the number of inputs to $C$. If the output PCPP system always makes $r$ queries, has proof length $\ell(n, \mathrm{size}(C))$ (for some function $\ell$), and has rejection rate $\lambda > 0$, we say that the PCPP reduction has the same parameters. Finally, the PCPP reduction should run in time $\mathrm{poly}(\mathrm{size}(C), \ell)$.
(We haven't precisely specified what it means to output the description of a PCPP system; this will be explained more carefully in the next section. In brief it means to list — for each possible outcome of the tester's randomness — which bits are queried and what predicate of them is used to decide acceptance.)
Looking back at the results on testing subclasses of dictatorship (Theorem 9) and PCPPs for any property (Theorem 16) we can see they have the desired sort of "constructive" proofs. In Theorem 9 the local tester's description depends in a very simple way on the input $1_S$. As for Theorem 16, it suffices to note that given an $n$-input circuit $C$ we can write down its truth table (and hence the property it decides) in time $\mathrm{poly}(\mathrm{size}(C)) \cdot 2^n$, whereas the allowed running time is at least $\mathrm{poly}(\mathrm{size}(C), 2^{2^n})$. Hence we may state:
Theorem 19 There exists a $3$-query PCPP reduction with proof length $2^{2^n}$ (and rejection rate $.001$).
In the exercises you are asked to improve this result as follows:
Theorem 20 There exists a $3$-query PCPP reduction with proof length $2^{\mathrm{poly}(\mathrm{size}(C))}$ (and positive rejection rate).
(The fact that we again have just $3$ queries is also explained in the exercises; there is a generic reduction from any constant number of queries down to $3$.)
Indeed, there is a much more dramatic improvement:
The PCPP Theorem There exists a $3$-query PCPP reduction with proof length $\mathrm{poly}(\mathrm{size}(C))$ (and positive rejection rate).
This is (a slightly strengthened version of) the famous "PCP Theorem" [FGL+96,AS98,ALM+98] from the field of computational complexity, which is discussed later in this chapter. Though the PCPP Theorem is far stronger than Theorem 19, the latter is not unnecessary; it's actually an ingredient in Dinur's proof of the PCP Theorem [Din07], being applied only to circuits of "constant" size. The current state of the art for PCPP length [Din07,BS08] is highly efficient:
Theorem 21 There exists a $3$-query PCPP reduction with proof length $\mathrm{size}(C) \cdot \mathrm{polylog}(\mathrm{size}(C))$ (and positive rejection rate).


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CASLARI, ISRAEL BEN JOSEPH HALEVI (known as Crescas Caslari):(Redirected from ASTRUC CRESCAS.)
Physician and poet, lived at Avignon in 1327. He was the author of a liturgic poem for Purim, beginning with the words
According to Zunz ("Z. G." p. 466), Caslari was the author of a poem on the story of Esther and Mordecai, which he translated into the vernacular. A fragment of a Provençal poem by Maestro Crescas has been published in "Romania" (April, 1892). Caslari also translated Arnaud de Villeneuve's medical work entitled "Liber de Regimine Sanitatis," dedicating it to Jaime II. of Aragon.
- Renan-Neubauer, Les Ecrivains Juifs Français, pp. 647-650;
- Zunz, Literaturgesch. p. 504;
- Gross, Gallia, Judaica, pp. 7, 257.


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(CNN) -- Time is just about up to cast your vote for CNN Hero of the Year and help someone change the world.
Voting ends by the end of the day Wednesday (11:59 p.m. PT), a few days prior to Sunday's live telecast of "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute."
The annual tribute show, hosted by Anderson Cooper in Los Angeles, recognizes the top 10 CNN Heroes -- everyday people doing extraordinary things to better the lives of others.
Each of the top 10 gets $50,000 to continue their work, but the Hero of the Year will get an additional $250,000. Who will that person be? You can help decide by voting on cnnheroes.com or your mobile device.
"CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" airs live around the world Sunday at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. Celebrities scheduled to appear include actresses Susan Sarandon, Maria Bello and Viola Davis; actors Harvey Keitel, Rainn Wilson and Josh Duhamel; hip-hop artist 50 Cent; and athletes Jeff Gordon and Cullen Jones. R&B singer Ne-Yo and "American Idol" winner Phillip Phillips will be performing live during the show.
Here, in alphabetical order, are the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2012:
Pushpa Basnet Pushpa Basnet was shocked to learn that children in Nepal were living in prisons with their parents. In 2005, she started a children's center that has provided support, such as housing, education and medical care, to more than 140 children of incarcerated parents. Did you know ... Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. According to UNICEF, 55% of the population lives below the international poverty line. It lacks the social safety net that exists in most Western nations. Space is extremely limited in the few children's homes affiliated with the government. In her words: "It's not fair for (these) children to live in the prison, because they haven't done anything wrong. My mission is to make sure no child grows up behind prison walls." Donate to the Early Childhood Development Center
Wanda Butts Wanda Butts lost her son in a drowning accident six years ago. In his memory, she started the Josh Project, a nonprofit that has helped nearly 1,200 children in Ohio -- most of them minorities -- learn how to swim. Did you know ... According to USA Swimming, 70% of African-American children cannot swim, compared with nearly 60% of Hispanic children and 42% of white children. In her words: "The joy on the faces of those children -- when they see that they can learn, once they get it -- they are so happy with themselves. And it's like all of them are my children. It's like I didn't lose my son." Donate to the Josh Project
Mary Cortani Mary Cortani is a former Army dog trainer who started Operation Freedom Paws, a nonprofit that helps war veterans train their own service dogs. Since 2010, she has worked with more than 80 veterans who have invisible wounds such as post-traumatic stress disorder. Did you know ... Of the more than 2 million U.S. troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since October 2001, it's estimated that one in five is likely to be afflicted by PTSD or major depression, according to the RAND Corp. In her words: "When a veteran trains their own service dog, there are immediate benefits right off the bat. They have a mission and a purpose again. It gives them something to focus on and to complete. It gives them a sense of security and safety. ... They know they're not alone. They've always got their buddy at the end of the leash." Donate to Operation Freedom Paws
Catalina Escobar Catalina Escobar is helping young moms in Colombia, where one in five girls ages 15 to 19 is or has been pregnant. Since 2002, her foundation has provided counseling, education and job training to more than 2,000 teenage mothers. Did you know ... Escobar's program also helps mothers find jobs or scholarships so they can continue their education at a trade school or university. In her words: "You see these girls, (with) their tiny faces ... they're babies holding babies." Donate to the Juan Felipe Gomez Escobar Foundation
Razia Jan Razia Jan is fighting to educate girls in rural Afghanistan, where terrorists will stop at nothing to keep them from learning. In 2008, she opened the Zabuli Education Center. Today, she and her team are providing a free education to about 350 girls, many of whom wouldn't normally have access to school. Did you know ... There were at least 185 documented attacks on schools and hospitals in Afghanistan last year, according to the United Nations. The majority were attributed to armed groups opposed to girls' education. In her words: "People are crazy. The day we opened the school, (on) the other side of town, they threw hand grenades in a girls' school, and 100 girls were killed. Every day, you hear that somebody's thrown acid at a girl's face ... or they poison their water." Donate to Razia's Ray of Hope
Thulani Madondo Thulani Madondo struggled as a child growing up in the slums of Kliptown, South Africa. Today, his Kliptown Youth Program provides school uniforms, tutoring, meals and activities to 400 children in the community. Did you know ... Nearly 40,000 people live in Kliptown, a district in the largely black township of Soweto, South Africa. Generations of families have lived in these ramshackle homes just 15 miles from Johannesburg, the economic capital of the country. In his words: "There are more than 10,000 children in the community, so working with 400 might seem like nothing. But if (they) are dedicated ... we can make a difference." Donate to the Kliptown Youth Program
Leo McCarthy In memory of his daughter, who was killed by a drunken driver in 2007, Leo McCarthy started Mariah's Challenge. The nonprofit gives college scholarships to teenagers who pledge not to drink while they're underage. Nearly $150,000 in scholarship money has been awarded. Did you know ... Mariah's Challenge started in Butte, Montana, but it has expanded to other parts of the state as well as Idaho, Iowa, North Carolina and Washington state. In his words: "Mariah is forever 14. I can't get her back, but I can help other parents keep their kids safe. We save one child, we save a generation, and that makes me encouraged to continue what we're doing every day." Donate to Mariah's Challenge
Connie Siskowski Connie Siskowski is helping young people who have to take care of an ill, disabled or aging family member. Since 2006, her nonprofit has provided assistance to more than 500 young caregivers in Palm Beach County, Florida. Did you know ... A report released in 2005 by the National Alliance for Caregiving and the United Hospital Fund said there were at least 1.3 million caregiving youths, ages 8 to 18, nationwide. In her words: "No child in the United States should have to drop out of school because of caregiving. These children suffer silently behind closed doors. ... They don't have the help and the support and the recognition that they need." Donate to the American Association of Caregiving Youth
Scott Strode After beating his addiction to drugs and alcohol, Scott Strode found support through sports. Since 2007, his nonprofit, Phoenix Multisport, has provided free athletic activities and a sober support community to more than 6,000 participants in Colorado. Did you know ... Phoenix Multisport is named for the mythical bird that rises from its ashes. In his words: "Life should be better once you get sober. (We want to) help people build a new life, a new self-image, and have fun without getting high." Donate to Phoenix Multisport
Malya Villard-Appolon Malya Villard-Appolon is a rape survivor dedicated to supporting victims of sexual violence in Haiti. In 2004, she co-founded KOFAVIV, an organization that has helped more than 4,000 rape survivors find safety, psychological support and/or legal aid. Did you know ... Nearly 300,000 people still live in Haiti's "tent city" camps. In her words: "After (the earthquake), the situation was inhumane and degrading. There was no security in the (displacement) camps. There was no food; there was no work. And now there is a rampant problem." Donate to KOFAVIV


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Article content
NEW YORK – Decisions, decisions.
A high school senior on Long Island has been accepted at all eight of the elite Ivy League schools - Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania, he told Reuters between classes on Tuesday.
"I got into my second-to-last [Ivy League] school - Yale - and I was just astounded," said Kwasi Enin. "And then Harvard sent me an email and I was just so grateful."
Now it's time for 17-year-old to decide where to enroll. He said he has all of April to choose a school.
"I think my primary interest now is Yale," Enin said Tuesday morning, explaining that the financial aid package the New Haven, Connecticut school offered is "close" to a full, four-year scholarship.
He is awaiting financial aid packages from some of the other schools before making the big decision.
Enin, of Shirley, New York, attends William Floyd High School in nearby Mastic, New York. The son of two nurses, he wants to study medicine, he said.
Enin said all the attention he has received for his accomplishment is as unexpected as his perfect acceptance rate.
"I thought that getting into all the Ivy Leagues schools was, like, good for me - but now it's a national thing. It's kind of crazy."
This year's Ivy League admission rate among the eight prestigious private schools was 8.925 percent, according to the Washington Post.
Of 253,472 Class of 2018 applicants, 22,624 were accepted to Ivy League schools.
That's 22,616 if you don't count Enin.
tap here to see other videos from our team.


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Shoulder lands Ogando back on disabled list
ARLINGTON -- Rangers pitcher Alexi Ogando is back on the disabled list with inflammation around a nerve in his right shoulder. The Rangers determined Ogando will miss more than one start and placed him on the DL on Tuesday to make room for pitcher Travis Blackley.
"It's nerve irritation that's been treated with an injection and oral medication," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said. "He has had some response, but not enough to be ready to throw. If it was one start, we might play with the roster, but it will be a minimum of two starts, so we felt, let's get it knocked out and see where it is. That basically gets us to September."
Ogando last pitched on Aug. 13, so he is eligible to come off the disabled list on Aug. 29. Blackley started on Tuesday night against the Astros and is scheduled to pitch again on Monday against the Mariners. Blackley's spot in the rotation would come up again on Sept. 1, and the Rangers are hoping Ogando could be ready by then.
This is the third time Ogando has been on the disabled list this season and the second time because of a shoulder problem. He was sidelined from May 16 to June 5 because of biceps tendinitis and June 6 to July 23 with shoulder inflammation. The Rangers don't believe the injuries are related.
"Of course, I'm disappointed," Ogando said. "Nobody wants to be on the disabled list. You want to compete and help the team."
Blackley was called up from Triple A Round Rock after being acquired from the Astros last week. Daniels acknowledged the Rangers have looked for a more established starter on the trade market, but nothing has materialized. Erik Bedard of the Astros and Dan Haren of the Nationals are among the pitchers that have reportedly cleared waivers.
"I am comfortable with what we've got," Daniels said. "You are always looking around, but I don't anticipate anything. A few guys have cleared waivers, but I'm not sure about the guys that are available and that we're interested in are at the right price. We like our team."


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Opinion: The Buffett Tax Fiction
Assistant editorial page editor James Freeman on Warren Buffett's op-ed in the New York Times supporting raising rates on individuals earning more than $500,000. Photos: Associated Press
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... I ... the ... the ... was Warren Buffett want to raise taxes on hundreds of thousands of people significantly less wealthy than he is ... and what the teachers unions in Louisiana want to keep or children many of whom are minorities stock in failing schools ... welcome to Opinion Journal Live ... on Jason Riley in my first guest is Assistant editorial page editor ... James Freeman to talk about Warren Buffett and taxes welcome cancellations ... so op Mr. Buffett an op ed ... yesterday calling for ... a and and that to all the Bush tax cuts on people making ... up five hundred thousand dollars were bombed ... and then reiterating his Buffett will which is that ... there should be a minimum thirty percent tax on people making between one million ... and ten million dollars ... forty may constrict ... while this is of the same II to enter readers that Mr. Buffett polls on the media to every six months or so ... this ... debate very simple the ... the key is largely unaffected by increases in dividends and capital gains taxes because he basically doesn't pay them in the main guiding his company Berkshire ugly does not pay a dividend ... so he doesn't mind if given the fix is Goebel towpath is ... you know Nesat his urge people to follow his ... tax avoidance strategy ... what he does it and started selling into a capital gain ... he doesn't pay that tax because he gives his money puts an end to a charitable foundations these are generally ... vehicles of ... been better employed by him or his friends or his family in the their tax exempt of course of ... so all of these tax increases he's urging he's largely unaffected by ... but he's also making an argument that ... the government needs more revenue and that the only way to get this is by increasing taxes which means economic growth of the equation right and yes that's another way ... is rather remain a poor economy though it were finally learn everyone's going to see how little bow Buffett to collect so you're talking about the ... maybe forty or fifty million dollars over ten years now and in the day in the environment where we've been running trillion dollar deficits are worth were to learn of the final road test on our Opel that this is basically that dissolving the bad debt is a problem ... if you wanna ... look for positives hear from small government perspective he does a difference of opinion with the president he thinks of the big tax hit shouldn't come and told the five hundred thousand income instead of two fifteen the president considers people rich ... couples making two fifty ... and also Mr. Buffett says he missed the government on spend the twenty one percent of GDP which is ... clearly given the experience last four years that a lot more about the end of the press in one region quote from the fact that it said ... so let's forget about the rich and the ultra rich going on strike ... and stopping their ample funds under their mattresses in capital gains rates ... an ordinary income rates are increased ... it's an assumption that there are no incentives out there that tax rates did not provide an center ... court disincentive for behavior misunderstood me the most phoney part of his pitch which is a recurring that ... he he he makes this case essentially ways of talking the political press the tax rates ... don't affect ... our corporate the decision individual investor decision-making and yet our colleagues at Barron's and ... have cited several examples where tax consequences were obviously top of mind when you structuring transactions ... of ... the of what has negotiated by bro Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad I he also ... according to Barron's was angry at Kraft foods for up not being smart about avoiding excessive taxation still ... call it kindly ... intellectual dishonesty it in this and I love the green eyed by yet when ... it comes out with this picture over and over again and then you know some people keep buying we had a minute left but what about ... the sort of moral principle he seems to me here which is that millionaires should not pay a lower effective tax rate ... than middle income earners as their points me about how well they they don't I mean that's that's point number one of the ... also ... often and NetEase pointed out how the ... the investment taxes he pays are are relatively low limits because that ... money has already been taxed for the average investor you make them on the attacks on you invest money ... the company gets taxed and then it becomes that she expects the ... third time so ... there's a reason


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You are here
Phenology Bibliography
Export 1 results:Author Title Type [ Year]
Filters: First Letter Of Title is P and Author is Stephen Beal [Clear All Filters]
"Phenology Predicts The Native And Invasive Range Limits Of Common Ragweed". Global Change Biology no. Vol. 20, Issue 1. Global Change Biology (2014): 192–202. doi:10.1111/gcb.12380..


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One of the enduring myths about agile software development is that it's only applicable for small, colocated teams. Dr. Dobb's 2008 Agile Adoption Survey (www.ddj.com/architect/207600615) disproved this myth, with respondents indicating that agile strategies are being applied successfully on development teams of more than 200 people that a large percentage of agile teams are distributed. In "Agile and Large Teams" (www.ddj.com/architect/208700162), I discussed strategies for organizing large agile teams, and this month I'm going to describe the experiences of a product development team within IBM that is both distributed and agile.
If someone on a team is working on a different floor, working from home, or working in a different building than other team members, then your team is distributed. Figure 1 summarizes some results from Dr. Dobb's 2008 Agile Adoption Survey, showing that the project success rate decreases as a team becomes more distributed. Although this is alarming, it is not surprisingthe greater the distribution, the greater the risk. However, the important point is that many people are succeeding at distributed agile development.
Understanding the Risks
The lower success rate of distributed development teams is primarily due to increased communication challenges. Even with near-location, where team members are in the same geographical region and could easily get together physically if required, there are communication risks such as people having different priorities or understandings of the requirements. Many organizations will try to paper over these risks by requiring detailed specifications, but as media richness theory showed decades ago, documentation is the least effective way for communicating information between people and can increase project risk further.
Far-located projects, where planes would need to be involved to get people together, can suffer from cultural and time-zone differences. To counter these risks I make it a habit to ask open-ended questions to determine whether or not the other people understand the topic under conversation. Particularly, I never ask a "yes/no" style of question because the simple answer of "yes" can mean a range of things depending on the culture. It may mean:
- "Yes, I heard you."
- "Yes, I understand what you're saying."
- "Yes, I understand and agree with you."
When dealing with people at other locations, it's good practice to ask them to summarize the conversation in writing, even if it's a point form e-mail, to ensure common understanding of decisions.
Lack of trust in the abilities of others whom you don't directly work with or know well is also a problem, this is particularly true when multiple groups or companies are involved. This lack of trust will reveal itself with the insistence on the creation and then acceptance of detailed specifications to be provided to people at distant locations, a focus on the legal contracts between the organizations, and too little discussion of the overall process followed by "each side." Having consulted to several system integrators as well as to their customers, I can safely say that everyone involved with offshoring projects could benefit greatly from open and honest discussions of how they're actually working. Most system integrators would love to be able to provide better levels of service to their customers by adopting more agile ways of working, but mistakenly believe that their customers want to work in a more bureaucratic traditional manner. Similarly, their customers believe that the system integrators can't work in this way, mistakenly thinking that CMMI-compliant organizations can't be agile. My advice is to talk with your development partners and together explore more effective ways of working together.
To put my advice into context, I want to share with you some of the experiences of an IBM development team working on a next-generation metrics-based project and program management tooling which is built on the Jazz technology platform (www.jazz.net), providing support for reconciling various project processes such as agile, traditional and hybrids that are anywhere in between. The project team is currently 30 people strong with members in Bangalore, Boston, and Toronto. The project team has iterations of three weeks in length, with internal demos each week to ensure regular feedback from their distributed stakeholders and milestone reviews every six weeks to keep senior management in the loop.


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Happy New Year!
As you know, it's supposed to be lucky to eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. Every year around this time I scour my cookbooks and my imagination for new ways to cook them because the way I grew up eating them was, frankly, a little boring–as well as not vegetarian. Last year I made Creole Black-eyed Peas, and though I missed New Year's by a few days, I think I had a fairly lucky year. I renewed my luck in May by making Spicy Collards and Black-eyed Peas–two lucky foods in one dish. One of my favorite black-eyed pea dishes, Texas Caviar, hasn't made an appearance on this blog, and since it's a salad, I think it will have to wait until the temperature is above freezing.
When I read about moin-moin (or moyin-moyin), a savory Nigerian pudding or cake made of black-eyed peas, I was very intrigued. Information about it was hard to come by, however, because every website I found was passing around the same, identical recipe. Finally, I happened upon a post by Fran Osseo-Asare –complete with video–at BetumiBlog that filled in all the blanks. I learned a great trick for getting the skins off of the black-eyed peas (you literally rub the black-eyes off, what fun!) and discovered that you can cut up pieces of moin-moin and serve it on toothpicks as an appetizer, as shown above.
Moin-moin seems to be very versatile: You can eat it cold or hot, as a part of a meal or as a snack. There are similar dishes made of ground black-eyed peas throughout western and central Africa, including akara, a fritter with mostly the same ingredients. The traditional way to make moin-moin is to steam it in banana leaves or, when they are not available, aluminum foil. For my first attempt at making moin-moin, I used small ramekins instead–or, to be more exact, I used the six ramekins I had and used foil packets for the other two servings. Dealing with the ramekins was easier than making and filling foil packets, so that is the technique that I'm illustrating here. If you're interested in using aluminum foil, do check out the videos on the BetumiBlog.
These little cakes or puddings are mildly seasoned, which seems to be traditional, but have the strong, characteristic taste of black-eyed peas. I found no mention of serving them with any type of sauce, but being a saucy Louisianian, I couldn't resist eating them with some spicy cocktail sauce (a mixture of ketchup, horseradish, and hot sauce). Their mild flavor would be complemented by any number of sauces, though give them a try alone first so that you can appreciate their simple, savory flavor. Serve them with some Quick and Delicious Collards and reap your lucky rewards in the new year!
(printer-friendly version)
1 cup dried black-eyed peas
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 roasted red pepper (or 1 fresh, seeded red pepper)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1 1/2 – 2 teaspoons Old Bay Seafood seasoning (see Note)
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste–see Note)
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
Wash the peas and pick over them to remove any debris. Put them into a large bowl and cover with hot water at least two inches above the level of the peas. Soak for at least one hour.
Drain off the soaking water and place the peas in a food processor. Pulse briefly about 12 times, until peas are just barely broken.
After pulsing
Pour the peas back into the bowl and cover with water. Rub the peas between your hands, removing the skins. The skins will float to the top. Pour off the skins, into a colander, and repeat this process several times.
Skins in the colander
Once the skins are removed, the peas will be white. It's not necessary to get off every single skin, but try to remove as many as possible.
Black-eyes removed
Put the skinned peas back into the processor. Add the chopped onion, roasted red pepper, tomato paste, and about 2 tablespoons of vegetable broth. Process until completely smooth (this may take a few minutes, depending on your processor).
Pour the mixture back into the bowl. Stir in the Old Bay seasoning (or other, see Note below), salt, and white pepper. Add a tablespoon or two of vegetable broth, if necessary, to make a thick but pourable slurry.
Heat water in a steamer or deep pot with a steamer basket set over it. Oil 8 ramekins. Pour a scant 1/2 cup of the batter into each ramekin and cover with aluminum foil. Set ramekins into steamer.
Ramekins in double-decker steamer
Steam for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a ramekin comes out fairly clean.
Keep covered with foil to preserve moistness until ready to serve.
Note: You may use any seasoned salt instead of the Old Bay and salt. Use about 1 1/2 – 2 teaspoons and add more to taste.
Makes 8 cakes. Per serving (2 cakes): 158 Calories (kcal); 1g Total Fat; (3% calories from fat); 10g Protein; 29g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 606mg Sodium; 5g Fiber. Weight Watchers: Core / 2 Points.


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(Pocket-lint) - Far Cry 3 certainly does things differently. In just 20 minutes of playtime we had taken a load of magic mushrooms, blown away a pack of tigers with a shotgun and flown a paraglider directly into a man's face.
Traditionally a game about the open world, Far Cry 2 showed an incredible amount of potential but fell short from greatness because of a few stupid game mechanics and a single player which simply became repetitive. Ubisoft recognised its mistakes and has come back with Far Cry 3, but has all been fixed?
From our roughly 3-hour playing of the game, it appears that for the most part, yes, it has. However, best to hold out for a full review as that initial excitement could easily turn monotonous, as did Far Cry 2.
We set out from the start of Far Cry 3, which is stressful to say the least. It sets the tone for what is a much darker and more violent game than previous ones in the series. A sort of holiday highlight reel, backed by music from M.I.A, plays through. This then cuts to the game's protagonist, Jason Brody, trapped in a bamboo cage with his brother.
Wandering around the cage, Apocalypse Now-style, is Vaas, the main enemy in the game. Your brother, succeeds in breaking you both free and you sneak across the camp. Vaas eventually captures you and shoots your brother, giving you the chance to run free. What follows is an exciting blast through one of the many dense jungles that dot about the islands of Far Cry 3.
Knocked out at the end of his chase through the jungle, Brody wakes up in a much quieter village, where he is asked to unscramble a nearby radio mast to help villagers trying to rebel against Vaas's forces, who control the islands.
And that's it: you are then given an entirely open world in which to wander about. Choose to follow the mission structure and individual elements of the game will be introduced to you. Or you can just explore and see where the game takes you. The latter, however, will likely mean you very quickly end up dead, simply because getting about the world of Far Cry 3 requires quite a tasty selection of guns.
We chose to tackle a few early missions, which opened up mechanics such as capturing bases from groups of soldiers to use for fast travel, or unscrambling radio masts to reveal details on the map, Assassin's Creed style.
Then came a mission where we were told to go visit a character called Dr Earnhardt. Holed up on top of a mountain, a fair distance away from where we were on the map, we needed to hop in a Jeep to get there. We should mention that handling has taken a big leap in the right direction, although we did manage to crash a lot. In fact one crash, which saw us rolling off the edge of a cliff, led us to a jet ski. We then tore across the rivers and lakes towards Earnhardt's house.
A combination of great voice acting and the precarious position of his house on the top of a cliff edge set the scene for a fairly memorable mission. One of the other members of your group of island-going friends is in hiding at Earnhardt's house and you are asked to grab a selection of mushrooms for the doctor to help make her better.
Climbing about caves set into a cliff edge, while hallucinating in all sorts of weird ways, this is a neat mechanic and one that feels a lot less gimmicky than, say, the malaria episode of Far Cry 2.
We did notice, however, at this point, that the Xbox was definitely at its limit. Having seen Far Cry 3 running on a PC and then the console version, it still looks good, but if you want all that lush island beauty then PC is going to be the version to go for.
After this, we decided to run about and explore a bit. Far Cry 3 uses an intelligent and well laid-out waypoint system for maps that makes it easy to negotiate the game world. You also get upgradable character stats and skills, which are earned by completing missions. These then translate into either new skills or boosted stats and are represented by a growing tattoo on your arm.
While exploring, we came across the tiger we mentioned in the intro. It was quite a beast to take on and, had we not been brandishing such a powerful shotgun, it would have probably killed us. Then came another base attack, which we simply stumbled across in our ramblings through Far Cry's islands.
This time we set loose a caged bear on to the unsuspecting troops, having sneaked up on them. The stealth element as well as the actual gunplay and shooting has also been improved for this game, helped in part by the dense jungle environment which makes it easier to crawl about and hide.
All in all then, Far Cry 3 is shaping up to be a good improvement on its predecessor. But we need to spend a lot more time with a game this vast to be sure. The story alone is reason enough for us to want to delve deeper, so who knows, get the gameplay right and Ubisoft could have a real winner on its hands.


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A FLORIDA man has been charged with child neglect after sheriff's deputies said he left a pit bull to babysit a 10-month-old while he went out drinking.
James Irvine, 41, of Palm Coast was arrested at about 12:30 am on Saturday. According to investigators, the baby's mother left Irvine in charge while she went to work.
The woman told investigators when she got home, Irvine was trying to get in the garage door and admitted he'd been at a bar.
Officials said Irvine told the baby's mother the baby wasn't alone, because the pit bull was watching him. The dog was sitting outside the room, the door was shut and the baby was crying.


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Garrett County is
the westernmost county of the U.S. State of Maryland. As of 2000,
the population is 29,846. It was named for John Work Garrett
(1820-1884), president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from
1858 until his death in 1884. Its county seat is Oakland.
The western part of Maryland
(including the present Garrett County) was incorporated into
Prince George's County in 1696.
This county included six current
counties, and by repeated splitting, new ones were generated:
Garrett County includes eight municipalities, all classified as towns under Maryland law:
Accident (incorporated 1916)
Deer Park (incorporated 1884)
Friendsville (incorporated 1902)
Grantsville (incorporated 1864)
Kitzmiller (incorporated 1906)
Loch Lynn Heights (incorporated 1896)
Mountain Lake Park (incorporated 1931)
Oakland (incorporated 1862)
If you would like to read more
about Garrett County and or Maryland then check out this site
If you are looking for family members that were born or lived in Garrett County then why not join the Garrett County E-mail list (free), there are many folks and locals subscribed and you can find excellent help there!!
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About This
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MDGenWeb Projects, a non-profit, volunteer
resource and reference web network.
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visiting our website.
visitor since this site went online in 1998!
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comments about this site may be addressed to the County
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Last updated on Tuesday, May 11, 2010
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Dr. Susan Chang is the Director of the Neuro-Oncology Division at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), and she specializes in the treatment of adults with brain tumors. Dr. Chang received a medical degree from the University of British Columbia and completed a residency in internal medicine at Toronto General Hospital in Canada. She completed a fellowship in medical oncology at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto as well as a fellowship in neuro-oncology at the UCSF, where she later joined the faculty.
Dr. Chang performs clinical trials about brain tumor therapy protocols and experimental therapeutic regimens for adult patients. In addition to research into developing novel and effective therapeutic strategies for the treatment of patients with primary brain tumors, her research goals have expanded to include the evaluation of novel imaging techniques that may influence treatment selection for patients. She is the co-PI of a program project grant evaluating imaging and tissue biomarkers of glioblastoma and has recently been co-recipient of a SPORE project for evaluating the role of magnetic resonance spectroscopy in diagnosing tumors and evaluating therapeutic interventions. Dr. Chang has developed a caregiver program for patients with brain tumors at UCSF and is the editor in chief of a newly launched journal Neuro-Oncology Practice that focuses on the clinical aspects of the management of patients with an emphasis on quality of life and neuro-cognitive function.