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Eons ago, I've seen my readers Avatars I'm sure it was from before they were born, there was this strange little fellow who did guest appearances on variety shows. Okay, let me explain that concept. Variety shows were a combination of – well, variety. No, everyone has talent singing show, but just one or two acts singing. A comedy sketch was done and, what became, stand-up comedy. Sometimes they did sketches, which were micro-mini stories, told in a humorous way in less than five minutes. It's the only time I have ever really liked short stories.
Anyway, there was this guy who came out on stage, all by himself, brave man, and would recite a poem he had written. He would do an Ode to ____, anything.
Now that you have had your television history lesson, I will move on to the electric skillet. Also, eons ago, I think for my first wedding, we got an electric skillet. This was a honker of an electric skillet, solid steel, weight a ton and held four inches or more of grease. It was great for everything. You could pretty much do without the stove top with this thing. I fried pork chops and steak and shit on a shingle. Ah, make that meat, in gravy on bread (if I remember right). It looked rather like this:
One day I discovered I could make homemade donuts. Dunkin had nothing on me. Actually, I don't think Dunkin even existed at this time. My girls were pre-school and I did my part to add to the clogging going on now in their arteries by frying donuts every morning for one year. I know this because I remember the house we were renting.
It was a little house on the back of the property and the landlord lived in the front house and used to come through my house when I was gone. We had two bedrooms but I refused to use the back bedroom because the furnace was in the hall on the way to the bedroom and the fear of life that runs in my family, would not allow me to trust that it wouldn't blow up one day and we would not be able to get out or to get to our daughters if they were in it. I guess they slept in a crib and bassinet in our bedroom, as the youngest was still doing her projectile vomiting then. Life has never suited her.
Oh, that's good. I only perpetuated to the clog in the oldest daughters artery, but I made some radically good French Crullers in the day and we ate them as we watched Sesame Street. It was new. It was good. So were the crullers.
I think my no-oil Vegan diet is making me light headed. I just took a hunk of cheese, a DEFINITE NO on my diet, popped it in the microwave for 5 seconds and ate it. The two things I miss the most are melted cheese and butter. There is no substitute for butter.
I don't know what happened to that electric skillet. I mentioned it to my mother the other day, who makes it her business to know who has what in the family and where everything went. Of course she cannot remember anything that happened last week, but that is for another day. So, mother says that she has an electric skillet and she would be happy to get it out of her cabinet as she has no room in her senior galley kitchen. I pull it out and it's like a toy electric skillet. I could only cook one crueler at a time in it. Why do they even make something like that?
I will spare you all and not make a real ode, a rhyming ode, for the skillet. It would be too painful to read.


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Biography Concertstichting Johan Messchaert
Albums | Singles | Compilations | Other | Guestperformance
In the discography you will find all recordings that have been released listed chronologically. We restrict ourselves to the title, the type of audio, year of publication or recording, label, list of guest musicians, plus any comments on the issue.
Audio/Video Concertstichting Johan Messchaert
No audio- or video material is yet available.
Add audio or video

subset: commoncrawl


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Google Maps has recently added a new piece of information with a business: their category. Whether this is a test or a permanent addition is unclear.
What is clear is that it is not done with consistency with a given search. The reasons for this are not obvious. For example on the search (inside of Google Maps) "web design Olean NY" some businesses have no category listed, some have the one category description and others have a different category (obviously provided by different 3rd party providers). Google has acknowledged that these categories are from other data providers.
I have noted in a previous post how this can play out in unusual ways and the likely source for the data. Another outcome of the use of categories from other sources is that it leads to small business frustration.
With this new change that shows the 3rd party category, there is more transparency as to why a listing is where it is but there is still no option to include your specific business in this category.
As sophisticated as Google's local algorithm is one would think that they could come up with a single comprehensive list of categories that would be transparently available to every business in their local database.Google Maps now displaying business category by Mike Blumenthal


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The Vampire Diaries Review: Here Lies a Great Episode...Matt Richenthal at .
That was a damn good episode of The Vampire Diaries.
You want emotion? How about two fake funerals, as Caroline and Elena both took significant steps toward a new path in life?!? You want action? How about a high-speed chase across a bride to somewhere really dangerous, via a game of revenge-based chicken? You want shocking moments?
How about a decapitation? A murder? A declaration of love from Tyler that was immediately followed by a nearly deadly bite into Caroline's gorgeous neck?!? Oh yes. "Our Town" had it all, including tequila and cake, the touchstone of any birthday party.
Let's start with Ms. Caroline Forbes. Seriously, is there anything more depressing than watching this typically cheery cheerleader (and third grade hop scotch champion!) in a bad mood? It's just not the way she's meant to be.
And who would have thought it would take Klaus, of all people, to put a smile back on her face? To force her to admit that life is very much worth living, especially with all the "genuine beauty" a vampire has access to over the centuries? But he can't really be making a move on Caroline... can he?!? We all know Klaus has a heart, this is not some one-note villain twirling his figurative mustache and cackling into the night. Still, the especially tender side we witnessed here came somewhat out of nowhere. I say the guy has an agenda.
Don't be blinded by the diamonds, C. Or by the fact that the love of your life apparently can't really control his actions. Be strong.
From a downtrodden 18-year old to a daring 154-year old... damn, Stefan. I would NOT want to see you across from me at a poker table. We could debate forever whether or not he actually would have driven Elena over that bridge, but I don't think Stefan even knows. He's fueled by rage, and vengeance and, yes, a broken heart. He's living moment to moment, not considering any actions except those that will put the hurt to Klaus.
Stefan may act all tough. He may claim protecting Klaus' siblings is his number-one goal and that saving Elena is Damon's problem now... but I don't buy it. It's a similar form of denial that many of us have gone through when we think we've lost our soulmate, only we put on Wilson Phillips CDs (right, guys?), get drunk and try to hit on every girl that walks by. Stefan turns off (dims down?) his humanity, locks his heart up and focuses solely on blood lust. Tomato. Tomat-uh-oh.
You know it's bad when even Damon is scared. I loved the scene when he pleaded with Klaus to do whatever Stefan says. It was another sign of how much Elena means to him, sure, but it was also emblematic of how frightened Damon is by an unpredictable Stefan.
And, Elena, we can all understand where she's coming from, right? Being with Stefan felt safe and secure. Being with Damon feels rebellious and, simply, wrong. It can be tough to accept you're no longer the innocent child who sees the world in black and white. Be excited, Delena fans. That faux funeral was Elena's way of realizing that life can be complicated and so can the man she smooched last week.
Elsewhere, what do we make of Dr. Fell? And the homicide that concluded the episode? I'm not sure why the sheriff would call on Damon for a regular murder (aside from the fact that, let's face it, who would NOT want to spend as much time as possible with that guy?), but it must have something to do with the fact that Brian the Medical Examiner covered for all those vampire kills by writing "animal attack" on various death certificates.
Is it random that we've never met these people before, considering Meredith is on the Counsel and Brian apparently played a huge role in town over the years? Yes. But... whatever. It's a new mystery, and an intriguing one at that. What would The Vampire Diaries be without unexpected cliffhangers that zig when you expect the show to zag?
Quick Bites:
- Hey, we found a second use for Bonnie! She can cast spells to save the day, and she can light birthday candles.
- Ladies, how many of you want to drink the Klaus Kool Aid?
- Somewhere, Ric Flair is expecting royalties for Stefan stealing/paraphrasing his catchphrase. To beat the villain, you've got to be the better villain.
- Last week, the kiss. This week, Tyler drops the L bomb. Are you trying to make the Internet explode, Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson?!?
- It is right. It just isn't right now. Very well, played, Damon.
- Okay, I give: what's in the locked coffin?!?
- Let's take a look at next week's episode promo, shall we?
Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.


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Owners of Gerawan Farming Inc. say claims in a federal lawsuit that the family owned grower-shipper violated state and federal labor laws are "absurd."
Two farm workers filed the case in U.S. District Court in California. They are seeking class action status for all current and former Gerawan hourly field workers going back four years prior to the Feb. 3 filing of the lawsuit.
The workers, Rafael Amaro and Jesus Urzua, have worked for Gerawan off and on since October 2011 and April 2012, respectively, according to court documents. Gerawan grows and ships under the Prima brand.
In addition to alleged back wages and overtime pay, they want Gerawan Farming to pay $5 million or more, in $500 payments to each of an estimated 10,000 or more workers, according to the lawsuit.
Owners of the grape and tree fruit company based in Fresno, Calif., said in a written statement on Feb. 5 that they have not been served a copy of the lawsuit, but they deny allegations regarding unfair or illegal labor practices. The lawsuit alleges violations including not allowing workers to take legally required rest breaks, failing to pay overtime and failure to pay minimum wage.
"The notion that we would pay below minimum wage, not pay overtime, or not pay for rest breaks is untrue and absurd," the Gerawan family said in the statement.
The Gerawans contend that the attorney representing the two farm workers, Mario Martinez, is also assisting the United Farm Workers union in a dispute with their company. The UFW does list Gerawan Farming under the "key campaigns" section on its website, as well as including the company on the UFW "take action" list at www.ufw.org.
"… the attorney who filed the suit is the same lawyer who has been representing the same union that is now trying to impose itself on our employees," according to the Gerawan statement. "That union was gone for 20 years. In 2012, it returned, and sought to impose a contract on the employees and to demand that they either pay 3% of their wages to the union or lose their jobs."
In fall 2013, Gerawan workers petitioned the California Agriculture Labor Relations Board to allow them to vote on decertifying the union. A regional director for the board initially denied the request, but the board eventually allowed the workers to vote on Nov. 5.
The ballots from that vote still have not been counted because of other pending litigation, according to a ruling by the California board.
Gerawan contends it is a preferred employer and lists average hourly wages on its website ranging from a base field labor rate of $10 per hour to an average of $15.35 per hour for workers who pack grapes and are paid by the piece. Statistics from surveys by the California Grape and Tree Fruit League and Fresno County show an average hourly rate of $8.69 and $9.05 per hour for such jobs, respectively, according to Gerawan"s website.


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The simple blurred background works well, presenting a unifying and soothing softness. If you consider a darker background, you may want to look at the photographs by Jim Wickless at http://www.naturepicoftheday.com/pho...r/jim_wickless. He handles them well. Nonetheless, you have created an utterly delightful painting. The petals are delectable. What medium did you use? Looks like airbrush. Fine work!
I like this painting. When I look at the pedals I get a feeling of softness that you caught. Agree with Jack about the background.
The very first digital art program that I worked with Art Rage 1
You may visit my personally designed website at: www.stephenlopiano.com
There is one section full of pages there under the Digital Artwork category that is devoted entirely to paintings I have created with Art Rage.
Beautiful painting. Great work
This is really beautiful.
That is so EXCELLENT. stunning work.


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[This post includes material later revised and expanded in Double Diaspora in Sephardic Literature: Jewish Cultural Production before and after 1492 (Indiana University Press, 2015)]
See also the related article published in Journal of Medieval Iberian Studies [Open Access postprint version]
Popular audiences in Jewish communities across the world are practically addicted to images of Spanish Jewry's "Golden Age." The idea of a Jewish community that was rich, powerful, and intellectually talented has been pretty compelling to the modern Jewish imagination. That whole expulsion/inquisition thing at the end kind of messes things up, but we'll leave that aside for the time being. As far as most modern Jews are concerned, Spain was the best keg party ever, and like most great keg parties, it got ugly at the end.
The point here is that for the most part, world Jewry is happy to claim the Sephardim as a shining example of Jewish cultural achievement. This was not really ever in question as long as I have been paying attention. But working as a Hispanist and reading a lot of studies by Spanish scholars on Spanish Jewish (Sephardic) topics, I began to wonder if Spain was also eager to claim the Sephardim as Spanish. One way to find out is to read what literary historians have to say about Jewish authors who lived and wrote in Spain.
In two recent posts I wrote about the medieval Sephardic poet Todros Abulafia (late 1200s) and some of his modern critics' opinions of Abulafia's troubadour-flavored poetry. In this post I would like to discuss a related case, that of the Sephardic author Shem Tov ('Santob') ben Isaac Ardutiel of Carrión (mid 1300s). Like Todros Abulafia, most Jewish authors at this time wrote almost exclusively in Hebrew. Many Jewish intellectuals translated works from Arabic and occasionally Hebrew into Spanish, Catalan, or Portuguese, but when they did their own work it was almost exclusively in Hebrew. As far as we know, Shem Tov Ardutiel is the only Jew of his time to write an original book in the vernacular, the Proverbios Morales ('Moral Proverbs').
The book is a collection of wise sayings in verse, an original work of what scholars like to call 'wisdom literature,' which during the Middle Ages was a well-cultivated genre. Medieval writers had good models for their books of wisdom literature in the Biblical Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, as well as Greek and Latin collections of philosophical musings, proverbs, aphorisms, and exemplary tales. Shem Tov's Proverbios was an original, innovative work that incorporated a variety of sources from the bible, rabbinical literature, and folklore. It was not, however, in any way a Jewish text. That is, it did not cite either the Hebrew Bible or the Rabbis, and did not present any specifically Jewish lessons. It was basically a secular book of wisdom or popular philosophy, written in Castilian, the dialect that would eventually come to be called Spanish.
Without going into the question of why medieval Jews didn't write original work in Spanish (though I write about it a little bit in here on pages 183-185), I would rather like to look at what Shem Tov's Spanish readers had to say about this rare bird of a book, and whether they considered it (and him) to be, like them, Spanish.
A little caveat: in the 1300s, there was, strictly speaking, no 'Spain.' The idea of Spain as a nation state comes later, some say with the reign of the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, some say even later. So to refer to any author writing in Toledo or Barcelona or Seville in 1300 as 'Spanish' is a convenient anachronism. Shem Tov was a subject of the Crown of Castile and León, and he probably considered himself to be sefardí, or a Jew from the Iberian Peninsula, but he had no notion of Spain as a modern nation state and could not have considered himself Spanish in that sense. My question is, do his Spanish readers consider him Spanish?
A while back I wrote an article titled "Is Spanish Hebrew literature 'Spanish?'" in which I looked at what Spanish scholars of Hebrew had to say about the Hebrew literature written in Spain during the Middle Ages. Did they consider it to be part of their national heritage? Did they view the Jewish authors who wrote in Spain as part of their nation's medieval past or where they part of a foreign culture that happened to live in Spain?
Like most questions, the answer depends on whom you ask. Shem Tov himself seems to have anticipated this problem, and in the introduction to his work he asked his readers not to judge his work by the religion of its author. He says that even if his book was written by a Jew, it's still worthwhile. Can you imagine an American Jewish author writing these lines today?
Non val el açor menos por nasçer de mal nido,
nin los enxemplos buenos por los dezir judío
The falcon is not worth less for having been born in a poor nest
nor the good proverbs for having been told by a Jew
So it seems Shem Tov imagined that Christian readers might think poorly of his work because of his religion. His fears were not always realized. Early on, Spanish literati praised the Proverbios. One of the most influential figures in the Spanish literary scene in the 1400s, the Marquis of Santillana, called Shem Tov a 'very great troubadour poet' ("muy grant trobador").
In modern times, Shem Tov's readers are divided on the question of the "Jewishness" or "Spanishness" of both the man and his book. As in the case of Todros Abulafia's Israeli critics, a lot of this division is tied to contemporary politics and professional formation.
José Rodríguez de Castro, wrote during the late 1700s, when the Spanish Inquistion was still officially on the books (it was abolished in 1834). Like Santillana, he praises Shem Tov's poetry, calling him 'one of the most famous troubadour poets of his time' ("uno de los Trobadores más célebres de su tiempo"). However, he also thought that Shem Tov was a converso, or a Jew converted to Christianity. It may not have been a good idea in Rodríguez de Castro's day to celebrate a Jew as a great national poet.
José Amador de los Ríos was a liberal 19th-century scholar who wrote the first major Spanish-language treatise on Spanish Jewry. He makes it clear that Shem Tov is a national poet, in fact 'the most accurate interpreter of the general feeling of the Castilians' of his time' ("el más fiel intérprete del sentimiento general de los castellanos")
On the other side of the aisle, the rather more conservative Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo, perhaps the most influential intellectual of his time, exoticizes Shem Tov and places him outside of the national culture. Far outside:
[His work] has an oriental flavor so distinct, both in its language and its imagery, that at times it seems to have been written originally in Hebrew and later translated by its author into Castilian. . . . it is difficult to believe that this book, so profoundly Semitic, so denuded of all classical and Christian influences, might have been created in the Campos region of Castile.
tiene un color oriental tan marcado, así en la lengua como en las imágenes, que á ratos parece escrita originalmente en hebreo y traducida luego por su autor al castellano….cuesta trabajo creer que este libro, tan profundamente semítico, tan desnudo de toda influencia clásica y cristiana, haya nacido en tierra de Campos.
Under Franco, this orientalizing of Shem Tov becomes the norm. In 1943 Juan Hurtado y Jiménez de la Serna writes of Shem Tov's 'oriental-flavored exotic character' ("carácter exótico de sabor oriental"), and Juan Luis Alborg (writing in 1970 in the US but publishing in Spain) says that Shem Tov's style is 'unique to Hebrew literature' ("peculiar de la literatura hebrea"), and, it follows, out of place in Spanish literature.
In exile from Franco's Spain, Américo Castro, whose controversial theory of convivencia (Spain's essential Semitic and Christian hybridity) continues to divide scholars of Spanish culture, combines both approaches. For him, Shem Tov is a Semitic and therefore authentically Spanish author. On the one hand, the folksy tone of his Proverbios is 'Sancho Panza-like' ("sancho-pancezco") (1948); On the other, he writes that Shem Tov is a writer who 'gazes steadily toward the East, and not toward Christian Europe' ("sigue sigue mirando hacia el Oriente, y no a la Europa cristiana") (1952).
The debate over Shem Tov's "Spanishness" or "Jewishness" is just one small piece of the much larger discussion of the role of Spain's Semitic cultural history. For those outside of Spain, it is a simple matter to celebrate the accomplishments of Spain's Jews (maybe too simple at times). But for Spaniards themselves, it's complicated. There is a lot of history, much of it unpleasant, surrounding Spain's Jews.
For hundreds of years, Spanish identity was not simply about being Catholic, but about not being Jewish or Muslim (think about pork everywhere all the time). From 1478 to 1834 there was a government agency (the Spanish Inquisition) whose only job was to enforce this identity. And despite various experiments in religious freedom during the late 1800s and early 1900s, Spain did not disestablish official Catholicism until 1978. Given this history, it is logical that there would be some ambivalence in embracing Sephardic culture as part of the national heritage.
Nowadays, some thirty years after Franco, things have changed a great deal. In 1992, King Juan Carlos officially welcomed the Sephardic Jews to apply for fast-track citizenship along with Latin Americans, Filipinos, and other ex-colonials (but not Muslims descended from those expelled from Spain). There has been a bit of a Renaissance of Jewish life in Spain, and the numbers of Jewish immigrants to Spain from North Africa and elsewhere have been bolstered by a slow stream of Catholic Spaniards who have converted to Judaism.
The Jewish 'question' in Spain continues to be lived and debated, and part of this process is an ongoing rethinking of the role of Spain's Jews in the story of Spain's history. Shem Tov's Proverbios is not widely read by Spaniards today. He does not generally show up in high school literature classes, and there are no popular editions of the Proverbios for sale in bus-stop kiosks. His book may never gain wide appeal, but it will be interesting to see if and how Spanish readers return to him and to other Iberian Jewish and Muslim authors as they continue to rethink their nation's cultural heritage.
- Alborg, Juan Luis. Historia de la literatura española. Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 1970.
- Amador de los Rios, José. Historia crítica de la literatura española. Madrid: J. Rodríguez, 1861.
- Ardutiel, Shem Tov ben Isaac. Provberbios morales. Ed. Paloma Díaz Mas and Carlos Mota. Madrid: Cátedra, 1998.
- —. The moral proverbs of Santob de Carrión: Jewish wisdom in Christian Spain. Trans. T. Anthony Perry. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1987.
- Castro, Américo. España en su historia cristianos, moros y judíos. Buenos Aires: Editorial Losada, 1948.
- —. "Un aspecto del pensar Hispano-judío." Hispania 35.2 (1952): 161-172.
- Hurtado y Jiménez de la Serna, Juan. Historia de la literatura española. Madrid: Tip. de la "Revista e arch., bibl. y museos", 1921.
- López de Mendoza, Iñigo (Marqués de Santillana). Obras completas. Ed. Ángel Gómez Moreno & Maximiliaan Paul Adrian Maria Kerkhof. Madrid: Fundación José Antonio de Castro, 2002.
- Menéndez y Pelayo, Marcelino. Estudios de crítica literaria. Madrid: Sucesores de Rivadeneyra, 1893.
- Rodríguez de Castro, José. Biblioteca española. Madrid: Imprenta Real de la Gazeta, 1781.
This post was made possible with the support of the Oregon Humanities Center, where I am currently Ernest G. Moll Faculty Fellow in Literary Studies. It grows out of my current book project, Double Diaspora in Sephardic Literature 1200-1600.


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Xmonad/Using xmonad in KDE
Below configuration is for xmonad 0.5, known to work on Kubuntu
Easier system monitoring on laptops with networking widget.
Ability to browse all programs and utitlities with desktop bar (kicker)
starting xmonad
set the KDEWM variable
I don't know where the right place is to do this, so I just inserted this line in /usr/bin/startkde
Dealing with KDE windows
Without doing anything, you now have a working KDE environment. One nice thing is that system notification windows will pop-up as small windows in the upper left window.
Xmonad Configuration
import XMonad
import XMonad.Config
import qualified XMonad.StackSet as W
main = xmonad $ defaultConfig
{ , manageHook = manageHook defaultConfig <+> myManageHook } where myManageHook = composeAll . concat $ [ [ className =? c --> doFloat | c <- myFloats] , [ title =? t --> doFloat | t <- myOtherFloats] , [ resource =? r --> doIgnore | r <- myIgnores] , [ className =? "Firefox-bin" --> doF (W.shift "2:web") ] , [ className =? "Opera" --> doF (W.shift "2:web") ] ] where myIgnores = ["gnome-panel", "desktop_window", "kicker", "KDE Desktop", "KNetworkManager", "KMix", "Power Manager", "KPowersave", "klipper", "knotes", "panel", "stalonetray", "trayer"] myFloats = ["MPlayer", "Gimp", "kdesktop"] myOtherFloats = ["alsamixer"]
After ignoring the KDE kicker and panels, they will all be placed on the first desktop, which should be reserved for these items. It looks kind of odd, but it works.
KDE Configuration
If you don't use the KDE kicker bar much, you may want to configure the kicker bar to autohide, and show when the mouse touches the lower left corner of the screen. Right click on the bar, select "Configure Panel", select "Hiding" on the left, select "Hide Automatically", select "Raise when the pointer touches the screen's", select "Lower left Corner"


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Epicurus was an ancient Greek philosopher and the founder of the school of philosophy called Epicureanism. Despite his 300 written works, much of what is known about Epicurean philosophy derives from later followers and commentators, because only a few fragments and letters remain of Epicurus's original work.
According to Epicurus, the purpose of philosophy was to attain the happy, tranquil life, characterized by ataraxia (peace and freedom from fear) and aponia (the absence of pain), and by living a sustainable life surrounded by friends. About genuine friendship, he wrote "Of all the things that wisdom provides to help one live one's entire life in happiness, the greatest by far is the cultivation of friendship". About Money and Happiness, he thought that happiness is the absence of either physical pain or mental suffering; Epicurus was not interested in an ostentatious display of either wealth or joy, but rather the inner tranquility that comes from leading a good life, and lived accordingly.
Epicurus on Happiness – Philosophy: A Guide to Happiness
This six part series on philosophy is presented by popular British philosopher Alain de Botton. Episode 2 is about Epicurus on Happiness. British philosopher Alain De Botton discusses the personal implications of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus (341-270BCE) who was no epicurean glutton or wanton consumerist, but an advocate of "friends, freedom and thought" as the path to happiness.
Epicurus explicitly warned against overindulgence because it often leads to pain. Epicurus also said that death was not to be feared. When a man dies, he does not feel the pain of death because he no longer is and he therefore feels nothing. Therefore, as Epicurus famously said, "death is nothing to us." When we exist death is not, and when death exists we are not. All sensation and consciousness ends with death and therefore in death there is neither pleasure nor pain. The fear of death arises from the false belief that in death there is awareness.


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Student Attendance
Average daily attendance
This graph shows the average daily attendance in this district for 5 years, along with the state averages.
Regular attendance is critical in ensuring excellent student performance. Students who do not attend school regularly may fall behind in one or more subjects, and may struggle to complete assignments.


text:
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I'm interested in aligning and calibrating my machines, and I'd like to know where to start on this. I've read the calibration article in the second Tape Op book and it gives what seems to be a good overview, but I'd like to have the opinions of people here.
So from what I understand, the following items are necessary:
1. MRL test tape
2. The manual for the tape machine being calibrated
3. Oscilloscope for doing azimuth adjustment
4. An oscillator
What else? Is this a difficult procedure for someone who is technically apt?


text:
We're still migrating content to the new system.
Accessing a Pega application using the Pega API
1 Task
10 mins
The IT department is adding the ability for users to work on an internal portal. They submitted a requirement to display open positions within TGB to...
Adding a duplicate case type search
4 Tasks
10 mins
InsCorp wants to ensure that only one assistance request case is processed for each request. Customers sending assistance requests may have difficulty...
Adding a process to the opportunity case
3 Tasks
20 mins
You are asked to make a change to the sales process listed as part of the gap analysis results. The proposal stage requires an executive visit after...
Adding and configuring adapters
2 Tasks
15 mins
With the addition of the Customer Relationship Management and ACME Search System projects to the TrainingCertificationSln, the next step is to add the...
Adding data records to a data object
4 Tasks
10 mins
When submitting a service request through the MyTown311 application, residents enter information about the issue. The mayor and the services...
Adding fields to the contact form
2 Tasks
15 mins
While reviewing the Contact screen with stakeholders, it is agreed that the screen needs slight modifications. Currently, the screen looks like the...
Adding framework components to a solution
8 Tasks
45 mins
The first two application projects are complete. After reviewing the solution's documentation, you need a user interface project, named MainPrj, which...
Adding more tracking time periods for contact policies
5 Tasks
25 mins
U+ Bank is cross-selling on the web by showing various credit cards to customers.
U+ Bank has a new requirement:
Do not present any credit card...
Adding operators to Sales Automation
2 Tasks
10 mins
As new sales representatives join Sarah Kendall's team, they should all have full access to their primary territory and read access to the parent...
Adding optional actions to a workflow
2 Tasks
5 mins
InsCorp wants to ensure that customers can cancel service requests at any time. Add the Cancel request process as a case-wide optional action to...


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(UPDATED WITH VIDEO, March 28) South Florida"s Port Everglades is focusing on trade with Guatemala.
The Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based port co-sponsored the Agritrade Expo & Conference, which was in mid-March in La Antigua, Guatemala.
Hosted by the Guatemalan Exporters Association, the biennial event is billed as Central America"s largest international agricultural trade show, according to a news release.
At the conference, port officials stated that Guatemala is a key target market for the port.
The conference showcased Central America"s fruits, vegetables and ornamental plants, as well as supply chain products and services, according to the release.
During the event, Port Everglades officials visited with Guatemala President Otto Perez Molina and other government officials, according to the release.
Michael Vanderbeek, Port Everglades" director of business development, spoke at the Agritrade opening ceremony.
"The event offered investment and new business opportunities for Port Everglades and its clients with the region"s diverse agricultural suppliers," Vanderbeek said in the release. "Guatemala is our No. 2 trading partner after Honduras, and creating strategic alliances in the Central American region continues to be a top priority."
Three marine terminal operators provide weekly service from Guatemala to Port Everglades.
The port"s top imports from Guatemala include bananas and other fruits, vegetables and clothing, according to the release.


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The Chronicle Magazine
Smith Place- and Community-Based Education in Schools
Gregory Smith, professor of teacher education, coauthors a primer and guide for educators and laypeople who are interested in advocating for or incorporating local content and experiences into schools. Place and community-based education addresses two critical gaps in the experience of many children now growing up in the United States: contact with the natural world and contact with community.
Routledge, 2010. 184 pages.


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A survey of some 2,500 traditional employee advisors found that more than 70% are considering a move to independence, Diamond Consultants, a recruiting and consulting firm, said Tuesday. Still, experts say, just 10% at most will actually make the move.
"Financial advisors are becoming increasingly attuned to the growing number of high-quality independent practice models," explained Diamond Consultants president and CEO Mindy Diamond (left), in an interview with AdvisorOne.
That said, Diamond explained, many of the 70% will not go independent "when they really see what it is about and what it is not about: It is not about upfront money, big upfront money, and there's no cachet of a big brand-name firm."
According to the study, conducted by Diamond Consultants in the first quarter, advisors want to have greater control over their businesses and the ability to be a buy-side advocate for clients. In addition, advisors are seeking less bureaucracy, a more client-focused culture, greater freedom and flexibility, and the desire to build equity in an enterprise.
"There are now options for advisors who want to go independent through a custodian, plug into an existing independent, use a platform firm for a turnkey solution, or almost anything in between," Diamond said. "The possibilities are extensive and exciting."
Diamond Consultants has placed four teams with a combined $2.5 billion in client assets with independent firms so far this year.
"The quality of the advisors and teams going independent today is far greater than that of the past," the recruiter said. "The quality is way up in terms of the size of the books of business, which is about $500 million to $1 billion in assets typically and $3 million to $4 million in revenue."
As more teams make the jump to independence, their stories "help others realize that they too can make this leap and enjoy the freedom to design and grow their practices their way," said Rajini Kodialam of Focus Financial Partners, a nearly $50 billion aggregator of RIA firms, in a statement. "In fact, Lori VanDusen's recent move here, to form LVW Advisors, is a great example of an industry luminary who made the change and couldn't be more pleased with the outcome."
Still, the decision is a tough one for traditional brokers, Diamond admits, mainly because of the short-term financial concerns. First, the advisors don't get the upfront bonuses—which can be as much as 200%of their trailing-12-month fees and commissions—associated with moving to another wirehouse. And, second, they may have to walk away from some deferred compensation, unamortized retention packages and other perks.
"I'm working with a super-entrepreneurial Merrill Lynch team that is committed to moving to independence," Diamond said. "They were offered 200% cash up front by another wirehouse, which is, they've said, the last move they'd want to make. I don't know the answer yet, but I bet they take it."
Independence, she explains, is a long-term proposition that tends to happen when an advisor finds the "perfect timing." Otherwise, advisors look at all the details, Diamond says, and decide "they're not as entrepreneurial as they once thought."


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The week that wraps around the end of March and the beginning of April this year had rather a lot of well-publicised mass murders in the United States.
Sat 4 April: Father is suspected of shooting dead his five children, then himself, near Seattle
Sat 4 April: Gunman kills three policemen in Pittsburgh before being wounded and captured
Fri 3 April: Gunman kills 13 people at an immigration centre in Binghamton, New York state, then apparently shoots himself
Sun 29 March: Gunman kills seven elderly residents and a nurse at a nursing home in Carthage, North Carolina, then is shot and wounded himself
Sun 29 March: Man kills five relatives and himself in Santa Clara, California.
On 16th April, USA Today published a feature article describing the real motives behind the Columbine High School massacre, which are easier to discern now that the shooters' personal diaries are being made public. It turns out that the cause was not violent video games, nor a desire for media attention, nor bullying nor harrassment. Rather, their minds were dominated by rather more straightforward dispositions: paranoia and suicidal depression (in the case of Dylan Kiebold) and misanthropy, superiority, and narcissism (in the case of Eric Harris).
But in today's question, I'm less interested in motivations and explanations. I'm more interested in prevention and healing. And while an explanation may be useful in the crafting of preventative measures, I'm also interested in what, if anything, principles of earth-based spirituality could contribute to prevention and healing. Are ideas like the beauty of the earth, the reliability of intuition as a source of knowledge, the stories and the presence of the gods, and so on, able to help such people become better human beings? Are any of our wisdom-teachings, such as "The Earth is our mother, we must take care of her", or "We are a circle within a circle", or "All acts of love and pleasure are my rituals", capable of preventing such people from appearing in the first place?
This is a much more serious question than it may seem at first, and it requires a serious answer. For a purpose like this, "visualising white light" and tapping the meridian points will not be good enough. I'm sure that if Jim Adkisson had Tarot card readers among his friends, or was receiving Reiki treatments for minor health ailments, he probably still would have shot nine people in the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, killing two of them. His suicide letter makes it clear that he was motivated by political hatred, as well as a sense of personal hopelessness. It might be added that he was certainly "doing his will", which the Thelemites teach is the whole of the Law.
One way to approach the question might be like this. Christians present such people (well, everyone really) with the "good news" of Christ's saving grace. Muslims present the Seven Pillars of Islam and other teachings of God communicated to humanity by the Prophet. Hindus offer the global and cosmic unity of the Atman, thus showing that in killing another he kills a piece of himself. Buddhists perscribe substituting compassion in the place of attachment. These ideas are presented confidently, seriously, with impressive conviction, and often in the face of extraordinary danger. What do we offer? What, if anything, can pagans helpfully say to the Timothy McVeigh's of the world? What, if anything, could we helpfully do for them, or with them?


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How to Get Healthy Nails
5 Ways to Get Your Nails in Shape
Attention nail-biters, this post is for you! Aside from being a fashion statement, nails are an important part of your overall health. In fact, discoloration, indentations, or opaqueness can often be signs of more serious conditions such as anemia, hepatitis, or lupus. Keep these five tips in mind for the healthiest nails yet.
- Just like your bones, nail health relies on a balanced diet that includes plenty of protein and vitamins. If you're worried something is missing, try keeping a food journal to notice any patterns or starting your morning with a nutrient-rich breakfast smoothie.
- If you're one to often change your nail polish, use an acetone-free remover. Acetone is harsh and can dry out your nails, causing them to crack, which can lead to an infection under your nails.
- Although it can be tempting, don't bite, pick, or tear your hangnails. Not only is this bad habit unflattering, but it will also damage your nail bed (the skin underneath your nail). It can also allow bacteria to enter your skin and cause an infection. Instead, use a clean manicure set to do the dirty work.
- Just like flossing, make nail care a healthy habit. Regularly trim your nails (with a clipper, not your teeth), and smooth rough edges with an emery board. Clean under your nails, and then moisturize them to prevent cracking or breakage.
- If you like to get manicures and pedicures (what girl doesn't?), make sure you go to a reputable place that cleans its instruments between each customer. This is key to preventing infection.


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F-35s cost reduction promises and reality
Posted by picard578 on December 25, 2014
On page 6, it is stated that the F-35s cost has increased by 7,4 billion USD, which is in direct contradiction to statements that the F-35s costs are decreasing. It should be noted that increases due to reduced production rate only account for 5% of the figure, and probably less. Life clycle costs are said to be decreased, but that is in the rank of glass ball prophecies.
On page 18, total acquisition cost for the F-35 is stated to be 398.584.600.000 USD.
On page 75, it is again clearly stated that unit cost has increased by 6,68%. From data on page 92, cost per aircraft can be calculated as 162 million USD.
This is in direct contrast to GAOs report stating that the F-35s costs are falling, and was based on two years old data. DoD countered by publishing a new, reduced estimate of F-35s lifecycle costs, by 96,8 billion USD. However, that estimate is also bogus. This document clearly states (pg 95) that costs to repair and maintain the F-35 have gone up by 15 billion USD. However, it also states that "legacy aircraft data" were used whenever F-35-specific data was not avaliable (pg 93). As a result, estimates are unrealistically low, as the F-35s costs are going to be closer to the F-22s costs than the far lower costs of "legacy" aircraft. Further, there were savings through "updated learning rates", less labor resources, more cost effective skill mix and reduced flying hours (pg 87). All except last are certain to be too optimistic. On pg 96, 54 billion USD cost reduction is achieved through updated spare parts unit database, and 10,61 billion USD reduction by asusming lower labor costs. Thus more likely O&S cost estimate is well above 669.593.653.000 USD, as labor costs are unpredictable even few months on (and are likely to increase long-term), and spare parts requirements are certian to be higher, not lower, as is the fuel price.
And as discussed by Wheeler here, F-35s unit procurement cost is 148 million USD for the F-35A, 251 million USD for the F-35B and 337 million USD for the F-35C, and average unit cost of 178 million USD – nowhere close to the Lockheed Martin's PR statements about 75 million USD. Even recent reductions in procurement costs might turn out to be due to less aircraft bought as opposed to reduced unit costs. Further, comparing to previous values – 159 million USD for the F-35A, 214 million USD for the F-35B and 264 million USD for the F-35C, with 185 million USD average cost – it is entirely possible that a lot of the F-35As reduction in cost is due to "book cooking", that is shifting the F-35As cost to the F-35C. And these costs are only production costs – R&D is not included. As a result, 2014 appropriations costs – 174 million USD for F-35A, 232 million USD for F-35B and 273 million USD for F-35C – might be closest to the truth.
Quite a few tricks are used to hide the actual cost. 98 million USD figure mentioned was for the F-35A – without engine, and even that cost was not actually correct. And while the F-35s estimated program cost has decreased in 2013, decrease has been achieved by massaging the numbers in the same way as described previously: through predicting lower labor costs, lower spare requirements, all despite successive increases in LRIP costs in all areas. USAF predicts that the F-35As cost will eventually be reduced to 107 million USD per aircraft – but that has no basis in reality.
What about the fabled learning curve? As can be seen from graphs here and here, F-35s costs are going up, not down. And after eight years in production, design should already be mature, meaning that no major cost reductions are likely to occur in the future – especially since major production lots – costing 16 billion USD in 2021 at least – are going to be cut to conform to budget realities. Design of military aircraft never actually stabilizes either, since it is constantly fixed or upgraded. As a result, there is simply no time for the learning curve to set in. Proclamations about a major reduction in unit cost are based on comparing unit costs of production aircraft to those of prototypes – each of two prototypes cost 406,8 million USD to produce (in FY2007? USD).
In the end, total lifecycle costs are likely to be quite high. Total program costs are estimated at 410,99 billion USD: 67,31 billion USD in research and development (55,18 billion USD airframes and 12,13 billion USD engines), 4,42 billion USD in military construction, 339,26 billion USD for aircraft procurement (282,77 billion USD for airframes and 56,49 billion USD for engines). At 2.443 aircraft this gives an average of 168 million USD per aircraft, or 141 million USD without R&D. Further, F-35 is estimated to cost 32.000 USD to operate per hour (total costs). At 180 hours per year per aircraft and 2.443 aircraft, operating costs will be 14.071.680.000 USD per year. If the F-35 remains in service for 30 years, this gives total lifetime cost of 605.610.000.000, for a total of 1.016.600.000.000; that is, over 1 trillion USD or 416 million USD per aircraft.
However, these are likely underestimates. Using 180 million USD average procurement cost gives 439,74 billion USD for all 2.443 aircraft. Additional 4,42 billion USD for military construction will remain same. R&D cost will be increased by 30% (based on the F-22s overruns), leading to total R&D cost of 87,5 billion USD. This gives total procurement costs of 531,66 billion USD, or 218 million USD per aircraft. Further, going by the F-22 example, US F-35 buy will likely be cut from initially planned 2.853 aircraft to 820 aircraft, leading to 147,6 billion USD procurement cost and 239,52 billion USD total, for per-aircraft cost of 292 million USD (note that this is a fairly optimistic prediction, assuming no production cost growth; on the other hand, reduction in number of aircraft bought is also likely to be smaller).
And as this graph shows, F-35s unit cost growth is only starting.
But all this money will be worth it, right? Well, no. The F-35s operational testing and evaluation will start in 2016, and until then we will have only used car salesman's promises and preliminary assessments based on known characteristics.
44 Responses to "F-35s cost reduction promises and reality"
December 25, 2014 at 8:24 pm
They are assuming no production cost growth – when this is over, it's likely to end up being as much as an F-22.
That's alarming considering this is a single engine fighter and with vastly inferior performance.
December 27, 2014 at 2:14 am
You beat me too it with the F-22 reduction example Picard – the F-35 production run of only 800 seems highly likely to me. Even Piere Sprey predicts approximately only 500 will be made for the U.S., therefore the F-35 cost will likely rise to $300-$350 million per aircraft.
December 31, 2014 at 7:43 pm
Sad thing is that nothing is going to be learned from all of this. Nothing was learned from the F-111, the F-22, and well [insert overpriced weapon here].
The politicians and senior military officers are willfully ignorant since they are the beneficiaries – lucrative careers and money after they leave their posts. The defense industry of course obviously benefits and there's not much save a few voices in the wind trying to stop this whole madness.
"Worldly wisdom teaches that it is better for reputation to fail conventionally than to succeed unconventionally. "
– John Maynard Keynes
January 3, 2015 at 11:25 am
more F35's stuff
January 4, 2015 at 5:29 pm
The thing is, they haven't even started the hard tests. That's going to be around 2020, judging by the current set of delays.
Then there's no doubt going to be many costly modifications on top of that and no doubt new problems uncovered.
- January 4, 2015 at 5:29 pm
January 5, 2015 at 7:42 pm
Another SPrey of good sense here :
January 12, 2015 at 10:37 am
Unit Recurring Flyaway Cost for the F-35A:
LRIP 1: $250 million
LRIP 4: $140 million
LRIP 8: $108 million
Target cost: $85 million (2019)
The credibility of the 'esteemed' Pierre Sprey can be summed up by his famous comment on the F-22 :
"the F-16, as it was in 1986, can whip today's F-22."
(Of course he'd emigrated to the music business by the time results of combat exercises involving the F-22 were known.)
January 12, 2015 at 11:55 am
Where are those numbers taken from? Official ones from GAO are quite different, why?
Mr Sprey is not my god either but he does know what makes a true war plane and a light, agile, powerfull airplane CAN beat the F-22. I do not mean it always beat but it can. No machine, even "wet dreams" machine is invincible.
January 12, 2015 at 6:44 pm
That is the URFC figure from the contracts signed with LM & P&W. Its not contradicted by any GAO report.
Very few such things in the world are impossible. That doesn't change the fact that the F-22 hammered legacy fighters, over-and-over-and-over again in combat exercises.
Brenton (call sign "Gripper") has flown the F-16 for 20 years and has close to 4000 hours, including 750 hours of combat. He is also a former Weapons School instructor pilot at Nellis, the same program in which the 174th today is testing its mettle against the Raptor. He doesn't like to lose, but against the F-22 he has little choice. "Fighter pilots are competitive by nature. When the F-22 first became operational, most F-16 and F-15 pilots relished the challenge of going up against it," he says. "I know I did. That is, until I actually did it and discovered how humbling an experience it really was."
F-22s dominate at Red Flag as well. Red Teams flying F-16s and F-15s take them on. Those who train to be the adversaries at Red Flag belong to the 64th and 65th Aggressor squadrons. These seasoned Red Team veterans find it frustrating to fight what they can't see. "Aggressor pilots are not typical Air Force line units. They tend to have much more experience," says Mike Estrada, a spokesman at the air base. "And I can tell you that our Aggressor pilots are getting very tired of always getting shot down by the F-22."
"My F-16 is still a formidable weapons system in its own right. But it is not even in the same league as an F-22," Brenton says. "Technology keeps the F-22 a virtually undetectable and untouchable regime. It is fair to say that unless an F-22 driver makes a mistake, or has a critical system failure, I will always lose a fight against him. That is a good thing. As a nation, we want it this way. We also want him to be able to handle two, six or eight of us completely on his own."
Simulated gun and missile shots are tracked by the controllers on the ground. When a target is killed, the deceased pilot receives a radio call telling him that he is dead. The pilot will often be sent to a location that simulates an enemy alert airfield, where he is "regenerated," simulating that the enemy has launched another aircraft. (The trainees go back to the base and land if they are killed.) When it comes to fighting Raptors, regeneration is an expected occurrence for WIC Red Teams. "We do everything we can to try and challenge them: We increase our total numbers, we regenerate, we electronically jam the environment. And we die," Brenton says. "We die wholesale. We are kill-removed repeatedly and then regenerated, and then we are killed again. The process would be demoralizing if we didn't maintain proper perspective. This is our job while we are here. What motivates us is the fact that we are training our brethren–and they are damn good at what they do."
Sprey basically made an ass of himself. This is the same chap who wanted to field the F-16 without a radar, though the F-15 was a loser laden with 'frivolous junk' and figured multi-role were a disastrous idea. He's enamoured with the F-16 because that was the highlight of his career and nobody has been interested in his opinions (outside of youtube) since he detached from John Boyd's coattails.
January 13, 2015 at 10:01 am
Rules of training are done to give an army a feeling of superiority with the most adanced weapon they have. In every training, in every country, they let win the "good" side of the game. Does that mean that every army has the best weapon?
You may believe what you want but you can't impose your faith to non-believers.
January 27, 2015 at 1:15 am
Rules of training are done to give an army a feeling of superiority with the most adanced weapon they have. In every training, in every country, they let win the "good" side of the game. Does that mean that every army has the best weapon?
Red Flag isn't a confidence boosting exercise, its a training exercise. The 'Red Forces'/Aggressor units are a training tool. The article on the other hand is about anecdotal experiences of F-16 pilots going up against the F-22. It wasn't about which side 'won' at Nellis.
The F-22 pilots have already steamrollered the opposition. They don't need a morale booster through media articles.
You may believe what you want but you can't impose your faith to non-believers.
Whether you or I believe is irrelevant. The folks that have actually trained with the F-22 against all manner of aircraft and all manner of sensors (including IR sensors) appreciate its value.
Pierre Sprey on the other hand, is a blowhard who has zero access to such war games or to data associated with modern programs.
- January 12, 2015 at 6:44 pm
- January 12, 2015 at 11:55 am
January 12, 2015 at 11:05 am
Meanwhile, the Indian MoD is slowly realizing what a disaster its Rafale foray is turning out to be –
Rafale deal hits rough weather:
Rafale in storm clouds, Parrikar says IAF can make do with Sukhoi-30s:
Dassault Insists on Latest Rafale Version for India, Doubles the Price
Ditching Rafale
Rafale Deal Nosedives in Negotiation Combat
Officials say in 2007, when the tender was floated, the cost of the programme was $12 billion (`42,000 crore). When the lowest bidder was declared in January 2012, the cost of the deal shot up to $18 billion (`90,000 crore). Now with inclusion of transfer of technology, life cycle cost and creating assembly line, the deal has virtually crossed a whopping $20 billion.
With oil prices tanking, it doesn't look like the Qatar deal will materialize for Dassault. And if the Indian deal falls through, the Rafale may end up becoming the only 4.5 gen aircraft to never win any export orders.
January 12, 2015 at 3:53 pm
You may save your time with only one link. All of them are the replication of a same semi sentence taken out of context. If you want to read something really neutral, try that:
January 12, 2015 at 7:16 pm
Most of the articles posted are dated to different periods. Cumulatively they say more or less the same thing as the (mostly neutral) article you posted.
The one thing that your article omits (deliberately?) is the fact that the current cost for the deal has hugely exceeded the Indian MoD's original cost estimates from when the Rafale was selected, on basis of its financial bid. There were reportedly some issues with that as well, wherein some items had been left 'unpriced' by Dassault in its bid (likely through a procedural loophole in the RFP).
Many Indian observers are coming round to the opinion that the given the prevailing prices, the Rafale deal should be scrapped, and that a combination of the Tejas, Su-30MKI and a customized PAK FA would be more cost effective option and a better balance of quantity with quality.
The MoD's changing public stand on the Rafale deal might be a bluff, but it could also well be evidence of it veering around to take a similar position.
- January 12, 2015 at 7:16 pm
- January 12, 2015 at 3:53 pm
January 12, 2015 at 7:46 pm
There is no issue with the price. Official announcements in December (from both sides) confirmed that. Which hinders is whether or not a private company can take responsibility for a production out of its control and such conditions were not part of the RFP, contrary to what is said.
January 13, 2015 at 2:32 am
Problem is, the people most responsible are not going to get in trouble for it. They're going to get rich because of it.
January 13, 2015 at 1:11 pm
This is the Indian defence minister's statement from yesterday –
Parrikar outlines alternatives to Rafale
In an interview to a TV channel, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said the Su-30MKI offered a viable alternative
A fortnight after declaring that the IAF could make do with additional Sukhoi-30MKI fighters – which HAL builds in Nashik – in case "complications" in the negotiations were not resolved, Parrikar has gone further in outlining how the IAF could function were it decided not to procure the Rafale.
Parrikar made it clear that the IAF needed to look at the issue of fighter costs. He said, "It is not always… go and purchase it. A cost effective purchase is also important."
Declining to reveal the actual cost of buying the Rafale, Parrikar said, "Whether it is Rs 40,000 crore, or Rs 50,000 crore or Rs 1 lakh-crore, we are speaking about 50 per cent of the capital budget of the defence services."
Dassault may yet swing this deal but instructive to note that the Indian govt or IAF has never publicly spoken about alternatives to the Rafale since it was shortlisted in 2012. The official line has always been – all is well, just a mere delay.
January 13, 2015 at 5:25 pm
Please, look at the video and make your own opinion. If you only ear what you've writen, you are biased.
- January 13, 2015 at 5:25 pm
- January 13, 2015 at 2:32 am
January 13, 2015 at 10:04 am
Some news about Rafale.
Bad or good news? I guess different points of view will see different meanings…
January 13, 2015 at 10:06 am
I forgot the link:
March 4, 2016 at 2:43 pm
HI Picard,
About operating cost:
F-35-2013-SAR, document linked, reports F-16 c/d 25kusd/h compared to F-35 32k usd/h, page 93. They state many cost voices have been chared on F-16, while F-35 is an esteem.
In this view F-16 25kusd/h is a TOTAL OPERATING COST. Do you agree?
March 4, 2016 at 2:55 pm
March 14, 2016 at 10:10 am
Hi Picard, I red your estimate about f-35 full life cost, it was in a comment area, but I can't find it. Could you help me to find it?


text:
¡Hola! My name is Angeles Fernández, Spanish Language editor at Bellaonline.com.
Here's the latest article from the Spanish Language site at BellaOnline.com.
|¡Feliz año 2012!
This 2012 wishes tree in Spanish is my present for you. This article includes a list of vocabulary.
Read this article
Please visit Spanishlanguage.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Spanish Language. To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Spanish Language located here.
I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback!
Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, because we all love free knowledge!
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This certification is applicable to the Samsung DVM-ECO unit types. The certification is sold as an engineered sealed Evaluation Report and meets the requirements of the structural wind integrity per the selected building code above using ASCE 7-10 for the approval of unit housing and tie-down clip capacities, and upon ordering will be signed and sealed by a Professional Engineer of the firm. Use it in conjunction with your other approved documents to obtain a building permit.
This certification is generic and installations beyond this scope or site specific applications shall require custom engineering that can be performed by Engineering Express. Click here to request a quote.
This product can be used with:
|Unit Model
For variations of this plan, click here - select 'Revision To One Of Our Projects' when asked, & reference the MPS SKU number listed herein.


text:
The makers of great, time-stealing games like Peggle and Plants Vs. Zombies are bringing one of their biggest successes to consoles and handhelds later this year, with Bejeweled 3 making the leap to five platforms (or three, depending on your point of view).
PopCap Games will bring the latest and greatest Bejeweled to PlayStation 3, PlayStation Network, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and Nintendo DS by the end of the year in North America and Europe. That's great news for people like me who have invested dozens of hours playing Bejeweled 3 and for some unexplained reason feel like doing it all over again with a game pad.
PopCap is quiet on specifics, only saying that Bejeweled 3 hits sometime between October and December and that the ports will "look great and play even better on each platform."


text:
In his own words: living with eczema
Ben S. is a 41-year-old health care writer and public relations professional who lives and works in Iowa. The Cleveland native remembers struggling with eczema when he was just five years old. He has lived through many bouts of the chronic, itchy skin condition, and maintained an active lifestyle of running and practicing yoga regularly. Ben finally found hope, and lasting relief from his symptoms, which had been so visible they made him depressed and irritable. He offers insights into his lifetime of living with eczema.
What was your first sign that something was wrong? What symptoms did you experience?
I am pretty much an eczema lifer; I was a child when it first appeared. The condition would ebb and flow through the years. When I was young, it often cleared up over the summer. Winters were tough. During my 30s, I had many difficult bouts in all the seasons.
My symptoms are itchy, red, swollen patches and regions, often with a secondary staph infection. Steroids and antibiotics would clear them up, but those aren't safe long-term treatments, so my symptoms would usually reappear in a few weeks.
What was the diagnosis experience like?
I was so young I don't remember being diagnosed.
What was your initial and then longer-term reaction to the diagnosis?
It's just something I've always lived with. The fact that it got worse when I was in my 30s was particularly frustrating. Many doctors thought it might improve with age, especially after adolescence.
How do you manage eczema?
Currently, I use an ointment called Protopic, a new innovation in eczema treatment, which keeps me relatively clear. But, I think I have tried everything in the book. I started using Protopic in a clinical trial in June 2000, and testified to the FDA in approval hearings for the ointment in November 2000. I also use lots of moisturizers.
Did you have to make any lifestyle or dietary changes in response to eczema?
Being a vegetarian—I've been one for 11 years—didn't help. I tried herbs and acupuncture and those didn't help. Extremes in weather exacerbate the condition for me. No climate helped me (Miami, DC, Cleveland). I'm doing very well now in Des Moines, but I give my current treatment credit for that.
Did you seek any type of emotional support?
A few months before I discovered the Protopic trials, my allergist declared that I had the worst adult eczema he'd ever seen. That was quite dramatic given he was probably the most popular allergist in DC. I had been miserable and my bad skin was highly visible.
I wrote an article for The Washington Post about my search for relief. My articles about eczema are edgy, dark and humorous—that is how I often dealt with the condition. The first piece I wrote was an exorcism of sorts; it highlights the trauma of my highly visible condition.
Does eczema have an impact on your social life?
Eczema could make me very anti-social and irritable, so I know I made a lot of people angry during the last decade when I was badly broken out. However, since I started using Protopic, I've done amazingly well. Friends and family are amazed at how good I look.
I've been sort of a poster adult for eczema. I have written many articles about it and I spoke at the NEASE (National Eczema Association for Science and Education) patient conference last September. I wrote a follow-up Washington Post article to report on my amazing transformation. Last November, I did a media event in New York City with other eczema sufferers and hosted by Deborah Norville.
What advice would you give to anyone living with eczema?
Be your own advocate. Different treatments work differently for different people. Virtually all treatments carry risk, even though Protopic has been safe thus far, and that is a major benefit, the longer-term effects are still not entirely known.
The quality of dermatologists varies dramatically. You have to work to find one that responds well to your particular needs.
Also, people have different triggers—climate, food, stress. But the triggers can change over time, as can the condition. Eczema seems to have a mind of its own. Do what it takes to be comfortable, despite what everyone else wants or thinks.


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text:
Classic European Nougat
At this time of year, store shelves are full of torrone and its varieties. I spotted coffee, cranberry and pistachio versions on my last trip to Italy—I also noted the hefty price tag. Make your own, fresh, giant batch of soft, chewy (or firm!) nougat, and flavor it however you like.
Reprinted with permission from The Liddabit Sweets Candy Cookbook by Liz Gutman and Jen King. Copyright © 2012. Published by Workman Publishing. Available wherever books are sold. All rights reserved.
- Yield:makes about 100 one-inch bites or 30 one- by three-inch bars
- Active time: 1 hour
- Total time:2 hours
- Rated:
- Wafer paper (see note in Step 1), or about 1 teaspoon butter and 1 tablespoon cornstarch, for coating the baking sheet
- Cooking spray or vegetable oil
- 2 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) cream of tartar
- 3 cups (575 grams) granulated sugar, divided into ½ cup and 2½ cups
- 2 cups (675 grams) honey
- 3/4 cup (275 grams) light corn syrup
- 1/4 cup (60 grams) water
- 1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) salt
- 2 cups (285 grams) toasted whole almonds, preferably Marcona
- 2 cups (285 grams) toasted whole hazelnuts
- 1 cup (125 grams) shelled roasted pistachios
- 1 vanilla bean, split open and seeds scraped out, pod reserved
- About 1 cup (120 grams) confectioners' sugar, sifted, for dusting (optional)
Prepare the baking sheet: If you're using wafer paper*, place a single sheet on the bottom of the pan and trim pieces from another sheet to fill in any gaps. Otherwise, grease the bottom and sides of the baking sheet with the butter and sprinkle the cornstarch over that, tilting and tapping the pan (over the sink or a trash can) to coat all the surfaces evenly. Set it aside. Coat your heatproof spatula generously with cooking spray and set it aside, too.
note: Wafer paper is an edible paper available from Sugarcraft, and from Amazon; it is sold in 8 × 11-inch sheets and often in bulk, though you will only need a few. Using it in this recipe is completely optional; as long as you grease the pan very well, you should be able to remove the nougat with no problem.
Place the egg whites in the bowl of the stand mixer. Add the cream of tartar and whip on medium speed until the whites are frothy, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium-high and slowly stream in the ½ cup sugar. Once it is all mixed in, continue to whip on medium-high speed until soft peaks form (if you lift the whisk out of the whites, they will form a point that flops over onto its side), 3 to 5 minutes. Set this mixture—it's now meringue—aside, but keep it in the mixer bowl, with the mixer ready to go.
Combine the remaining 2½ cups sugar with the honey, corn syrup, water, and salt in a medium-size (4-quart) saucepan. Bring to a boil, uncovered and without stirring, over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-high, insert the candy thermometer, and cook the syrup until it reaches 295°F/146°C (soft-to-hard crack stage), about 15 minutes (see Jen Says on next page—later. For now, stay focused!). Remove it from the heat.
Start whipping the meringue on medium speed; then put on your oven mitts and slowly pour the hot syrup in a stream down the inside of the mixer bowl (careful, careful, careful: If you pour the syrup directly on the whisk, it will splatter). Once all the syrup is incorporated, increase the mixer speed to high and whip until the meringue gets very stiff and sticky, 3 to 5 minutes. When your mixer starts complaining, you'll know it's ready.
Remove the bowl from the mixer and immediately and quickly stir in all the nuts and the vanilla seeds with the spatula. Pour the nougat onto the prepared baking sheet and either cover it with a layer of wafer paper or sift a generous amount of confectioners' sugar on top. If you need to spread it out into a more even layer, place a piece of parchment or a silicone mat on top of the wafer- or sugar-covered nougat and gently press down with flat hands until it's even. Allow the nougat to cool to room temperature, about 1 hour.
Cover a cutting board with parchment or a generous dusting of confectioners' sugar. Generously coat a sharp chef's knife and a paring knife with cooking spray. Run the paring knife around the edge of the nougat to loosen it, and then gently turn it out onto the cutting board. (If the nougat is being stubborn, oil the bench scraper and use it to help loosen it around the edges.) Using the chef's knife, trim the edges of the nougat and then slice it into bars or little bites.
Store the nougat, layered with parchment or wrapped in wax paper wrappers, in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
This Recipe Appears InBake the Book: Classic European Nougat
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text:
Twin tweets from two titans, Bill Gross and Nouriel Roubini, on Monday point to pessimistic outlooks from the men and their firms.
"U.S. economy approaching recession when measured by employment, retail sales, investment and corporate profit," Gross (left), chairman of PIMCO, the world's largest bond manager, warned the Twitterati.
Upping the doomsday rhetoric, Roubini (right) tweeted, "Q3 growth could be well below 1% given June sales report and unintended inventory buildup. U.S. at stall speed."
The power duo's sentiment echoed that of JPMorgan Chase, which revised its GDP projections for Q2 and Q3 downward on Monday (to 1.4% from 1.7% and 1.5% from 2%, respectively).
The Federal Reserve provided some relief Tuesday when it reported U.S. industrial output expanded in June driven by a rebound in manufacturing. According to the Fed, industrial production grew 0.4% last month, in line with analysts' expectations.
But the celebration was short-lived, as the overall data still pointed to a sharp slowdown in the sector. Manufacturing output rose at an annual rate of 1.4% during the period, compared with a 9.8% rate in the first quarter.
Further darkening that bright spot, one sector, auto production, accounted for the majority of growth. When auto production was stripped out, manufacturing growth was minimal, rising only 1% during the second quarter.


text:
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text:
This is not a love story. But, if you want to find...
Crashing into a Norse God679882
- by TFALokiwriter
- Rating:
- Published: 22 Aug 2014
- Updated: 15 Dec 2014
- Status: Complete
This is set in a Alternate Universe where Loki is good and Thor is bad. The year is 2011. Crashing into a Norse God wasn't a goal in Joy's life,or better yet; not planned. When she does,she opens a can of worms meeting the one and only Loki Laufeyson. Turns out Loki was banished to her realm.The loophole to this banishment; Loki can end this banishment, if he learns what love is.
But Love is known to be slow.
And there are times when admitting it is too late.
But Love is known to be slow.
And there are times when admitting it is too late.
Join MovellasFind out what all the buzz is about. Join now to start sharing your creativity and passion
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text: The land of Arcanium is in turmoil with the Humans at war with the Elves and their dragon riders. The Schlyvokk are stirring up trouble for everyone. The shifters are being forced into hiding or solitude. The Tyenhok Warriors to the north are taking advantage of the choas and raiding towns in the north. And demons prowl the lands just looking for ways to create more trouble. Whose side are you on?


text:
Caution: The documentation you are viewing is
for an older version of Zend Framework.
You can find the documentation of the current version at:
Searching an Index - Zend_Search_Lucene
There are two ways to search the index. The first method uses query parser to construct a query from a string. The second is to programmatically create your own queries through the Zend_Search_Lucene API.
Before choosing to use the provided query parser, please consider the following:
If you are programmatically creating a query string and then parsing it with the query parser then you should consider building your queries directly with the query API. Generally speaking, the query parser is designed for human-entered text, not for program-generated text.
Untokenized fields are best added directly to queries and not through the query parser. If a field's values are generated programmatically by the application, then the query clauses for this field should also be constructed programmatically. An analyzer, which the query parser uses, is designed to convert human-entered text to terms. Program-generated values, like dates, keywords, etc., should be added with the query API.
In a query form, fields that are general text should use the query parser. All others, such as date ranges, keywords, etc., are better added directly through the query API. A field with a limited set of values that can be specified with a pull-down menu should not be added to a query string that is subsequently parsed but instead should be added as a TermQuery clause.
Boolean queries allow the programmer to logically combine two or more queries into new one. Thus it's the best way to add additional criteria to a search defined by a query string.
Both ways use the same API method to search through the index:
The Zend_Search_Lucene::find() method determines the input type automatically and uses the query parser to construct an appropriate Zend_Search_Lucene_Search_Query object from an input of type string.
It is important to note that the query parser uses the standard analyzer to tokenize separate parts of query string. Thus all transformations which are applied to indexed text are also applied to query strings.
The standard analyzer may transform the query string to lower case for case-insensitivity, remove stop-words, and stem among other transformations.
The API method doesn't transform or filter input terms in any way. It's therefore more suitable for computer generated or untokenized fields.
Zend_Search_Lucene_Search_QueryParser::parse() method may be used to parse query strings into query objects.
This query object may be used in query construction API methods to combine user entered queries with programmatically generated queries.
Actually, in some cases it's the only way to search for values within untokenized fields:
Zend_Search_Lucene_Search_QueryParser::parse() method also takes an optional encoding parameter, which can specify query string encoding:
If the encoding parameter is omitted, then current locale is used.
It's also possible to specify the default query string encoding with Zend_Search_Lucene_Search_QueryParser::setDefaultEncoding() method:
Zend_Search_Lucene_Search_QueryParser::getDefaultEncoding() returns the current default query string encoding (the empty string means "current locale").
The search result is an array of
Zend_Search_Lucene_Search_QueryHit objects. Each of these has two
$hit->id is a document number within the index and
$hit->score is a score of the hit in a search result. The results are
ordered by score (descending from highest score).
The Zend_Search_Lucene_Search_QueryHit object also exposes each field of the Zend_Search_Lucene_Document found in the search as a property of the hit. In the following example, a hit is returned with two fields from the corresponding document: title and author.
Stored fields are always returned in UTF-8 encoding.
Optionally, the original Zend_Search_Lucene_Document object can be returned from the Zend_Search_Lucene_Search_QueryHit. You can retrieve stored parts of the document by using the getDocument() method of the index object and then get them by getFieldValue() method:
The fields available from the Zend_Search_Lucene_Document object are determined at the time of indexing. The document fields are either indexed, or index and stored, in the document by the indexing application (e.g. LuceneIndexCreation.jar).
Note that the document identity ('path' in our example) is also stored in the index and must be retrieved from it.
The most computationally expensive part of searching is score calculation. It may take several seconds for large result sets (tens of thousands of hits).
Zend_Search_Lucene gives the possibility to limit result set size with getResultSetLimit() and setResultSetLimit() methods:
The default value of 0 means 'no limit'.
It doesn't give the 'best N' results, but only the 'first N' [1] .
Zend_Search_Lucene uses the same scoring algorithms as Java Lucene. All hits in the search result are ordered by score by default. Hits with greater score come first, and documents having higher scores should match the query more precisely than documents having lower scores.
Roughly speaking, search hits that contain the searched term or phrase more frequently will have a higher score.
A hit's score can be retrieved by accessing the
score property of the hit:
The Zend_Search_Lucene_Search_Similarity class is used to calculate the score for each hit. See Extensibility. Scoring Algorithms section for details.
By default, the search results are ordered by score. The programmer can change this behavior by setting a sort field (or a list of fields), sort type and sort order parameters.
$index->find() call may take several optional parameters:
A name of stored field by which to sort result should be passed as the $sortField parameter.
$sortType may be omitted or take the following enumerated values: SORT_REGULAR (compare items normally- default value), SORT_NUMERIC (compare items numerically), SORT_STRING (compare items as strings).
$sortOrder may be omitted or take the following enumerated values: SORT_ASC (sort in ascending order- default value), SORT_DESC (sort in descending order).
Please use caution when using a non-default search order; the query needs to retrieve documents completely from an index, which may dramatically reduce search performance.
Zend_Search_Lucene provides two options for search results highlighting.
The first one is utilizing Zend_Search_Lucene_Document_Html class (see HTML documents section for details) using the following methods:
To customize highlighting behavior use highlightExtended() method with specified callback, which takes one or more parameters [2] HTMLHTML , or extend Zend_Search_Lucene_Document_Html class and redefine applyColour($stringToHighlight, $colour) method used as a default highlighting callback. [3] HTMLXHTML
View helpers also can be used as callbacks in context of view script:
The result of highlighting operation is retrieved by
Zend_Search_Lucene_Document_Html->getHTML() method.
Note: Highlighting is performed in terms of current analyzer. So all forms of the word(s) recognized by analyzer are highlighted.
E.g. if current analyzer is case insensitive and we request to highlight 'text' word, then 'text', 'Text', 'TEXT' and other case combinations will be highlighted.
In the same way, if current analyzer supports stemming and we request to highlight 'indexed', then 'index', 'indexing', 'indices' and other word forms will be highlighted.
On the other hand, if word is skipped by current analyzer (e.g. if short words filter is applied to the analyzer), then nothing will be highlighted.
The second option is to use
Zend_Search_Lucene_Search_Query->highlightMatches(string $inputHTML[,
$defaultEncoding = 'UTF-8'[,
Zend_Search_Lucene_Search_Highlighter_Interface $highlighter]]) method:
Optional second parameter is a default HTML document encoding. It's used if encoding is not specified using Content-type HTTP-EQUIV meta tag.
Optional third parameter is a highlighter object which has to implement Zend_Search_Lucene_Search_Highlighter_Interface interface:
Where Zend_Search_Lucene_Document_Html object is an object constructed from the source HTML provided to the Zend_Search_Lucene_Search_Query->highlightMatches() method.
If $highlighter parameter is omitted, then Zend_Search_Lucene_Search_Highlighter_Default object is instantiated and used.
Highlighter highlight() method is invoked once per subquery, so it has an ability to differentiate highlighting for them.
Actually, default highlighter does this walking through predefined color table. So you can implement your own highlighter or just extend the default and redefine color table.
Zend_Search_Lucene_Search_Query->htmlFragmentHighlightMatches() has similar
behavior. The only difference is that it takes as an input and returns
HTML fragment without <>HTML>, <HEAD>, <BODY> tags.
Nevertheless, fragment is automatically transformed to valid XHTML.