Al Gore’s new “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power” has him haranguing leaders who resist the Paris climate accords. Without stringent controls, he says, corporate greed will spew out carbon emissions and destroy the ecosystem. The only path to a sustainable world, he insists, lies in stepped-up government action.
That’s questionable on its face, partly because many companies have pledged to reduce emissions regardless of regulation. But the more important story is that new digital manufacturing technologies are going to substantially reduce pollution as a matter of course, whether companies wish it or not.
At the center of these technologies is 3D printing, which uses digital files to drive smaller, more flexible production lines than are economical with conventional manufacturing. 3D printing is still developing and is only now spreading to mass production. But in the next five to 10 years it should account for a sizable share of industry. As it matures, it will improve companies’ environmental performance in multiple ways.
Less Energy, Less Pollution
The Paris climate accords are mostly about reducing carbon and other damaging emissions in order to minimize man-made climate change. 3D printing will reduce emissions in several ways.
First, the greater precision enabled by 3D printing will reduce the cost and boost the efficiency of emission-free solar panels and wind turbines. Some experimental panels can capture a great deal of energy even on cloudy days – a potential boon to northern latitudes. These innovations will speed up the shift from fossil-fuel to carbon-free energy.
3D printing itself, at least so far, uses the same amount of energy as traditional manufacturing, but it gives off less smoke and other toxic fumes. Those emissions are also better contained and more scrubbed out of the exhaust with filters. HP Inc.’s new multi-jet fusion printer, for example, is “office ready” – it makes things safely right next to people at their desks.
The biggest gains may be indirect, especially in logistics. With printer farms and mini-factories closer to customers, companies will need much less shipping. And since the factories are producing close to actual demand, they’ll do less moving of goods in and out of warehouses. Fewer goods will be shipped long distances by railroads or ocean vessels due to local supply chains. Freight transportation is a large part of our economy – it accounts for about a quarter of all carbon emissions in the affluent countries.
UPS, for example, has a sizable business maintaining warehouses for industrial customers and then rapidly delivering specific parts as needed via airplanes and trucks. It recently installed a hundred large 3D printers at its central hub in Louisville, with the goal of reducing warehouse space and shipping distances. More and more parts will be made only as needed. And as 3D printers become easier to use, more versatile and lower cost, we can expect UPS to add printers to its regional and even local hubs and stores. In the long run we’ll have a lot fewer jumbo jets flying in and out of Louisville. That’s one reason the company increasingly presents itself as a logistics company, not a shipper.
Speaking of transportation, 3D printing will help in one more way. Aviation manufacturers are already using the technology’s flexibility for intricate designs. This isn’t about artistic creativity; it’s about making parts with less material but just as much strength as conventional parts with simpler designs. Honeycomb structures, for example, may eventually be everywhere in jets, cars and buildings because they weigh a good deal less than conventional structures. (Honeycombing also turns out to be a good insulator, trapping air inside the walls like multi-paned windows.) Over time we’ll get lighter products throughout the economy, so we’ll need less energy to move them around.
Less Waste, More Sustainability
3D printing's benefits go well beyond carbon emissions. It is the leading example of additive manufacturing, where machines build products by precisely combining materials into a product one layer or dot at a time. The resulting product has only the material needed for the final product. In contrast, much of today’s industry relies on subtractive techniques such as CNC milling, where you get a rough shape and then whittle it down to the desired dimensions and finish. These traditional processes create a lot of waste, often discarding more material than actually ends up in the product.
Reduced waste is why Samsung, LG, Panasonic, and other manufacturers are moving 3D-printed OLED video screens. This is a big improvement over traditional methods of making OLED and LED screens that discarded a lot of rare and expensive light-emitting chemicals during production.
The technology’s flexibility also means companies will make fewer and higher value goods. Conventional production relies on economies of scale from massive factories, usually far from customers. So companies order large quantities and hope they’ve bet right on what customers will favor after the months it takes for delivery. When they’re wrong, the result is a mass of unsold goods that have to be sold at a discount. Those goods are often so cheap that people buy them anyway, ending up with things they really didn’t want just for the thrill of a bargain.
3D printing has much greater flexibility than traditional methods. With everything digitally coordinated, these factories can adjust their production lines, quickly and at low cost, to changing tastes. They can produce a greater variety of products while keeping them affordable, without discounting. We’ll also see more personalized goods. Already 3D printing is a big part of hearing aids and orthodontic braces, and is now moving into shoe insoles. Future manufacturers are much more likely to make only what customers actually want.
We’re going to move away from the throwaway ethic of the 20th century. People will buy less, and be happier with what they get -- just what environmentalists have been telling us to do. As we make fewer goods with less material, we’ll put much less carbon in the atmosphere. We won’t need regulators to tell companies to do this. It will just make business sense.
Imitating Nature to Mitigate Climate Change
3D printing can also help reduce the damage from climate change. Conventional manufacturing yields products with simple surfaces, straight lines and boxy shapes, with minor curves. But nature is full of irregularity – which only 3D printing can mimic.
Take coral reefs, which serve as vital nurseries for marine ecosystems. Warming seas are weakening these reefs and making them vulnerable to adverse events. Biologists have tried to build replacement artificial reefs by sinking ships or dropping concrete blocks into shallow waters. But the polyps that latch onto rocks and create reefs prefer surfaces with tiny crevices and holes that give them protection from predators. 3D-printed reefs are much more hospitable, and researchers are trying them out worldwide.
Seawalls are another opportunity. As water levels rise, coastal cities will invest heavily in sea walls and dykes. 3D printing can generate complex curved cement surfaces that disperse wave energy in many directions. So these walls don’t need to be as thick and heavy as the equivalent walls from conventional manufacturing. Cities can build more walls in more places, and use less energy to do so.
Engineers and Entrepreneurs to the Rescue
All of this is actually an old story. Back in the 1970s, the economist Julian Simon made a bet with the biologist Paul Ehrlich. Ehrlich had warned policymakers that the world was running out of natural resources and needed drastic regulatory action. Simon countered that entrepreneurship would solve any scarcity problems. He bet that these resources would actually become more, not less abundant over time – and ten year later he won the bet handily. But too many environmentalists keep forgetting the power of business to solve the problems it creates.
Regulation—like the Paris climate accords would encourage—can guide companies to do the right thing. But it rarely provides incentives, unless it includes costly subsidies or tax credits. Capitalism’s profit motive is far more powerful. As firms figure out how to save energy and reduce waste using 3D printing, they’ll innovate without regulation.
We have an amazingly creative economy with engineers and entrepreneurs who keep surprising us. 3D printing is just one of many technologies we’ll need to draw on to prevent catastrophe. The solution to climate change is not primarily government regulation or the Paris Climate Accords. It’s the people and companies that spewed out the emissions in the first place, once they see a profit.


The Japanese school system primarily consists of six-year elementary schools, three-year junior high schools and three-year high schools, followed by a two-or-three-year junior colleges or a four-year colleges. Compulsory education lasts for 9 years through elementary and junior high school. School exchanges during Japan Educational Travel are mainly implemented in junior high and high schools. For physically or mentally challenged students, there is a system called “Special Needs Education” to support special students to develop their self-reliance and thus enhance their social participation.
School Education Chart
Introduction to Schools in Japan
Public schools in Japan have classes five days a week, from Monday to Friday. There are also schools that have classes on Saturday. In junior high and high schools, there are six class periods each day, typically lasting 50 minutes for each. After classes, students clean the classrooms in shifts and then start their club activities. There are a variety of clubs such as cultural and sports ones.
An Example of School Timetable
In principle, the school year begins in April and ends in March of the following year. Most schools adopt a three-semester system, with the first semester from April to August, the second semester from September to December, and the third semester from January to March. There is also a summer break (from the end of July to the end of August), a winter break (from the end of December to the beginning of January), and a spring break (from the end of March to the beginning of April).
An Example of Academic Calendar
Each school has a principal, a vice principal, teachers, a school nurse, and other administration staff. As the chief executive, the principal assumes all responsibilities of the school, including the courses provided and related administrative work. The vice principal supports the principal to manage administrative affairs of the school and to be in charge of student’s educational activities and curriculum as well. Furthermore, in order to ensure school’s smooth operation, teachers take on various responsibilities, such as taking care of educational activities, students’school life, and employment guidance for students after graduation. Many schools also establish their own committees, for example a International Exchange Promotion Committee, and others.
Special Features of Japanese Education
About Features of Japanese Education.
eventRegarding the Level of Education
The level of Japanese education is high even by world standards. In
OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) aimed at
fifteen-year-olds, Japanese students recorded high levels of
achievement, particularly in science related areas. Educational
activities outside of school also flourish, and programs leading to
advanced education are implemented.
Enrollment in high schools, the second-half of secondary education, reaches over 90%, and the enrollments in college are also high reaching over 50%. Admission to high schools and colleges is mainly through entrance exams, held from January to March.
location_cityForeign Language Education
English is a compulsory subject in junior high and high schools. There are also elementary schools that introduce English education from intermediate grade classes. In some high schools, apart from English, students are also allowed to take courses in Chinese, Korean, French, German, etc.
Student clubs are a characteristic part in Japan’s school education. Under teachers’ guidance, students with the same interests in sports, cultural activities, or fields of study voluntarily gather together after classes and on days off. There are also numerous student clubs revolving around Japanese traditional sports and culture, such as judo, kendo(Japanese swordsmanship), sado (Japanese tea ceremony), kado (Japanese flower arrangement), shodo (Japanese calligraphy), etc. Club activities also provide students with the chance to participate in school exchange and friendly matches.
- Track and Field
- Kendo (Japanese swordsmanship) etc.
- School Band
- School Choir
- Kado (Japanese flower arrangement)
- Sado (Japanese tea ceremony)
- Shodo (Japanese calligraphy) etc.


The word validity is primarily a measurement term, having to do with the relevance of a measuring instrument for a particular purpose, but it has been broadened to apply to an entire study. A research investigation is said to have internal validity if there are valid causal implications and is said to have external validity if the results are generalizable.
As far as measurement is concerned, the most important property of a measuring instrument is the extent to which it has been validated with respect to some gold standard whose validity has been assumed to be taken for granted. For example, if scores on a test of mathematical aptitude (the instrument to be validated) correlate highly with scores on a subsequent test of mathematical achievement (the ...
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Dentures can be an important solution to tooth loss. Today’s dentures, also called false teeth, are not like the ones your grandmother wore. They are more comfortable and natural looking than they were in the past. Still, if you don’t take proper care of your dentures, problems can occur.
Common Denture Problems:
If you wear dentures, it is very important you keep your mouth clean and healthy. You should also only wear dentures that fit properly. Otherwise, the following problems may occur:
Gum and mouth irritation
Problems eating and speaking
Dentures that move around in your mouth
Treating Denture Problems:
If you have problems with your dentures, see your denturist right away. Your dentures may need to be adjusted or replaced.
Here are some ways to treat various denture problems:
Make sure your dentures fit. Over time, your gums and bones will change and your dentures won’t fit as well. When this happens, your dentures need to be adjusted, modified, or replaced by your dentist. Never try to adjust your dentures yourself. Speak slowly. When you first get dentures, it may be hard for you to say certain words. Be patient. Practice saying the challenging words aloud and speak slowly. If your dentures move around when you laugh or smile, gently bite down and swallow to put them back in place. Check with your denturist to adjust the fit.
Eat soft foods. If you are having trouble eating, follow these tips:
Take small bites of soft foods, such as eggs and yogurt.
Don’t eat anything sticky.
Chew your food slowly.
When you chew, use both sides of your mouth at the same time. This prevents your dentures from moving forward or tipping.
Eating will become easier as you get used to your dentures. In time, you should be able to eat most foods.
Use an adhesive. Denture adhesives help your dentures stay in place and make them feel more secure. But denture adhesives should not be used to fix old or poorly fitting dentures. When using an adhesive, follow the instructions carefully. Use only a small amount.
Mouth Infections Linked to Dentures:
Some people who wear dentures get mouth infections, such as:
Cheilitis. This is a painful infection that causes inflammation and cracking at the corners of your mouth. It is caused by an overgrowth of yeast. Yeast can accumulate in moist areas of your mouth if your dentures don’t fit properly.
To prevent cheilitis (also called cheilosis), see your denturist regularly to make sure your dentures fit properly. Also, try not to rub or lick the corners of your mouth.
Stomatitis . This is another infection that is caused by too much yeast. You may not know you have denture-induced stomatitis, because symptoms are not always obvious. When symptoms are noticeable, you may see small red bumps on the roof of your mouth or general mouth redness, especially under your upper dentures.
Both cheilitis and stomatitis can be treated with medicine and proper denture care.
Caring for Your Dentures:
Along with making sure they fit well, it is important to take good care of your dentures. Here are some tips to keep your dentures working and looking their best:
Never sleep with your dentures. Unless your denturist advises you to do so for a specific time, such as after multiple extractions and initial delivery of new dentures, do not sleep with your dentures.
Handle dentures with care. Your dentures are delicate and can break easily. When holding your dentures, stand over a sink filled with water or place a towel on the counter. That way your dentures will be protected in case you accidentally drop them. Also, keep your dentures safely out of reach of children and pets.
Clean your dentures daily. Here are some tips for cleaning your dentures:
Soak your dentures overnight in a denture cleaner.
Thoroughly clean them each morning before putting them in your mouth.
Use a soft-bristled brush or special denture-cleaning brush.
You can use plain soap and warm water or ask your denturist to recommend a denture cleaner.
Never use powdered household cleaners or bleach on your dentures, nor toothpaste, which is too abrasive.
Clean your mouth daily. Clean and massage your gums, tongue, and roof of your mouth each day before putting in your dentures. This will help keep your mouth healthy.
Store your dentures properly. When your dentures are not in your mouth, store them in a denture-cleaning solution or warm water. Do not use hot water. Hot water may cause your dentures to lose their shape.
Don’t use toothpicks. Toothpicks can damage your dentures.
Wearing dentures can be difficult at first. It may take time to get used to them. But you can prevent denture problems by taking good care of your dentures and seeing your dentist every six months for regular checkups. If you notice changes to the way your dentures fit or any other mouth problems, see your denturist right away.Leave a reply →


It seems that the brain, in specific situations, literally gets bored and starts scaring you. The easiest way to prove this is to perform the simple experiment of looking steadily into a mirror, for a few minutes at a time. Soon, you're very likely to see a monster. That monster is a combination of your face and your brain. Does that make it better or worse?
There are a lot of creepy situations that start happening when you look in the mirror. Low light and a fearful mood certainly help, but the primary reason why people have so many mirror related freak-outs, and why it's become such a big game at slumber parties, is straight biology. The brain doesn't have the energy or the processing power to notice everything all the time. Sitting at your computer now, you're probably unaware of the feel of the seat under you, your clothes against your skin, and any lingering smells you might have noticed (no judgement) when you walked into the room. Your mind mostly tunes them out. But the sense that most of us rely on almost all the time, sight, has also been narrowed down. You are probably unaware of anything outside of the range of the computer screen, and you probably haven't noticed minor changes to that. That is why most updates on computers come with a sound or a blinking light.
The brain, when faced with a lot of stimulation, only some of which is considered relevant, will tune out the non-relevant parts, filling in what it can from the general area. It's a little like how the blind spot works, except this is a dynamic process. The brain will zoom in on a desired area, and the rest of the space will fade away. This is called the Troxler Effect, or Troxler Fading. It was discovered way back in 1804 by Ignaz Troxler, a physician and philosopher. Take a look at the circle to the left. Focus on the red dot at the middle. After less than thirty seconds, the circle should just fade away. The mind then fills in the area where the circle used to be with the white that surrounds it. It's worth doing an image search on Troxler Effect, since there are a ton of illusions with it on the internet. There are whole paintings that fade away. There are moving objects that disappear with enough focus. You can spend a happy twenty minutes observing your brain erase the world.
A less happy ten minutes would be spent staring in a mirror. A paper in Perception outlines an experiment in which people were asked to stare into a mirror, in low light, for ten minutes. They do not sound like a fun ten minutes, according to the report.
The descriptions differed greatly across individuals and included: (a) huge deformations of one's own face (reported by 66% of the fifty participants); (b) a parent's face with traits changed (18%), of whom 8% were still alive and 10% were deceased; (c) an unknown person (28%); (d) an archetypal face, such as that of an old woman, a child, or a portrait of an ancestor (28%); (e) an animal face such as that of a cat, pig, or lion (18%); (f ) fantastical and monstrous beings (48%).
The Troxler Effect fades out features that a person isn't directly staring at. Those features are filled in with what's around them. It works on a white background, but a face looks horrifying when, for example, a slice of forehead and cheek are subbed in for an eye. Plus, the effect doesn't stay in one place. The Troxler Effect wanders over the entire face, distorting it massively. The person then often instinctively turns those distortions into things that they can actually recognize, even if it scares them. This is how mirror monsters, like Bloody Mary, develop. The brain gets tired of processing the mundane and, accidentally, cooks up a monster to entertain us.


Remember that big green worm with the red horn on its tail that was eating your tomato plants in July? Well, over the last month it has burrowed into the soil, pupated, and emerged as a big moth that shows up after sunset and feeds from flowers at night.
The moths are called “hummingbird moths” because they look and act so much like hummingbirds, being able to hover over a flower and drink from it in flight. Also, like hummingbirds, they are fast fliers, zipping back and forth among blossoms. The moth’s tongue is actually longer than its body, allowing it to extract nectar from deep-throated blossoms.
These hummingbird moths, which are also called sphinx moths, can have wingspans up to 4 inches. The moths are gray with darker gray and black markings, and they have yellow or orange spots on the sides of their abdomens.
The moths’ larvae, those green caterpillars known as hornworms, feed on Solanaceous plants like tomato and tobacco. They have also been found on potato, eggplant and peppers, and they can thrive on these plants’ wild relatives such as jimsonweed, tropical soda apple and horse nettle.
Tomato hornworms and tobacco hornworms are similar in appearance and behavior, and both feed on tomato and tobacco plants.
The larvae are harmless to humans; the red horn on the rear end is flexible and cannot stick you. The best way to manage the pests is to be vigilant and pick each caterpillar off the plant as soon as you see it. Save it, and you can give it to a local schoolteacher for classroom demonstrations.
After the larva has fed to fullness, and is about 3 or 4 inches long, it crawls down into the soil and changes into the pupal stage. The pupa is distinctive in having a loop, almost like a shepherd’s crook, at one end; this is where the mouthparts of the adult moth form.
The reddish-brown pupa will remain underground until next spring when the adult moth will emerge from the pupal skin, through the soil and start the cycle all over again. If your garden is already planted when these moths emerge in the spring, they may lay their first batch of eggs on your young tomato plants, so keep an eye out for hungry caterpillars.


Wildfires are uncontrolled fires that occur in areas of dense combustible vegetation, most commonly in forests. Usually wildfires therefore primarily occur in rural areas and mostly affect the wild animals living there. However, once in a while a wildfire will spread to human-populated areas such as villages, towns, or even big cities. Wildfires can arise from entirely natural causes. Nowadays, however, around 85% of all wildfires are either indirectly or directly caused by humans. It is therefore no surprise that wildfires are becoming more and more common, especially in regions where a relatively high amount of people settled in a relatively short amount of time. The effects of these wildfires can be devastating and deadly.
The following lists the 10 deadliest wildfires in recorded history. It is based on the number of human casualties caused by the respective fire. The six deadliest wildfires all occurred in one single country…
The 10 Deadliest Wildfires in History
1. Peshtigo Fire
The Peshtigo Fire of 1871 was the deadliest wildfire in recorded human history. The fire occurred on October 8, 1871, on a day when the entirety of the Great Lake region of the United States was affected by a huge conflagration that spread throughout the U.S. states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois. No place got hit harder than Peshtigo, however. The small town in northeastern Wisconsin counted around at least 1,500 deaths which represented around 85% of the town’s population at the time.
The wildfire began as several small fires, which were then likely spread by the strong wind on the day, paired with the extreme heat and drought that the region experienced in October 1871. Peshtigo just happened to be in the place where the winds most impactfully spread the fires into one large wildfire.
2. Great Michigan Fire
The second deadliest wildfire in human history had the same cause and occurred on the same day as the deadliest one in Peshtigo, while being a separate fire, however.
The Great Michigan Fire began on the Eastern shore of Lake Michigan on October 8, 1871 and then spread throughout much of the Northern part of Michigan’s lower peninsula as well as throughout Michigan’s upper peninsula, killing 482 people. No single town was as badly affected as Peshtigo in neighboring Wisconsin, but Michigan experienced the biggest losses in terms of burned land. This was largely due to the huge logging industry in the region at the time, which deforested much of the land and also left behind high amounts of slash and unused wood.
3. Cloquet Fire
Date: October 10, 1918 – October 12, 1918
Location: Carlton County, Minnesota, USA
Cause: Drought + Train sparks
The deadliest wildfire in the 20th Century occurred in October 1918 in Carlton County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. With 453 casualties and around 2,000 people affected, it is also the deadliest disaster in the entire history of Minnesota. The affected area of Carlton County in Northeastern Minnesota, near the state border to Wisconsin, was known for its logging industry in the early 20th Century. By the late 1910s, the area subsequently consisted of large amounts of harvested land which in turn attracted a big number of farmers who bought the open lands in the county.
This rapid harvesting in connection with the rapid population growth in the area and the unusually hot and dry October of 1918 led to the historically deadly catastrophe. On October 10 railroad workers in the area noticed a passenger train that sparked a small fire in the fields. The fire smoldered for two days before spreading rapidly throughout Carlton Country. While many towns were affected, no one got hit harder by the fire than the town of Cloquet, for which the fire has been named after.
4. Great Hinckley Fire
The fourth deadliest wildfire in recorded human history also happened in Minnesota. The fire spread throughout all of Pine County in Eastern Minnesota but was especially devastating in the small town of Hinckley, Minnesota. The fire started in the afternoon of September 1, 1894, and lasted well into the evening. In the end, 418 people lost their lives. The area was known for high logging activities during that time. The unusually hot and dry summer drought of 1894 then quickly turned several small individual fires in the nearby pine forest into one big, deadly wildfire.
5. Great Chicago Fire
Date: October 8, 1871 – October 10, 1871
Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Cause: Drought / Disputed
Wildfires usually tend to affect primarily rural areas and small towns. But the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 represented an exception to the rule. The fire started on the evening of October 8 and lasted until October 10, 1871. The Great Chicago Fire caused at least 290 fatalities and left one-third of the United States’ third-largest city homeless.
The cause of the fire is still disputed. Some experts see the origin of the fire in the Great Michigan and Peshtigo Fires, which raged on the same day in the nearby states of Wisconsin and Michigan. Others blamed an Irish immigrant farmer family named O’Leary, who had a farm just outside of Chicago. The O’Leary barn caught fire on the day and the fire may have spread to the city. In any way, the extreme drought in the Great Lake region made it possible for the fire to spread so quickly and destroy Chicago’s entire downtown area.
6. Thumb Fire
Date: August 31, 1881 – September 5, 1881
Location: Michigan, USA
Cause: Drought + Logging
Ten years after the Great Michigan Fire of 1871, Michigan experienced yet another devastating wildfire in 1881. The Thumb Fire started on August 31 and lasted until September 7, 1881. It spread through much of the lower peninsula in Eastern Michigan which is oftentimes referred to as “The Thumb” because of its shape. The Thumb Fire caused 282 deaths. The cause of the fire was not much different from the one a decade earlier. The massive logging operations paired with extremely hot and dry weather conditions turned a small fire in a forest in Michigan’s Lapeer County into an uncontrollable, quickly spreading, and ultimately deadly wildfire.
7. Indonesian Forest Fires
Date: May 1997 – March 1998
Location: Borneo & Sumatra, Indonesia
Cause: Drought + Deforestation
The Indonesian Forest Fires of 1997 to 1998 are collectively not only one of the deadliest wildfires in history but also one of the longest-lasting wildfires of all time. The forest fires occurred during the 1997 Southeast Asian haze. But the fires on Borneo, which is the third largest island in the world, and Sumatra had specific reasons which made the islands specifically and especially vulnerable to the disaster. Much like in other especially deadly wildfires, Southeast Asia experienced a drought in 1997. But the forests of Borneo and Sumatra have historically been quite resistant to burning and spreading to disaster levels.
However, Indonesia started to engage in large-scale logging and forest conversion in the 1980s and 1990s. Swamps and peatlands were drained and converted into rice paddies and oil palm plantations. This deforestation and change of land fostered the fires and made them uncontrollable. The fires started in mid-1997 and lasted well into 1998. A total of 8 million hectares (20 million acres) of land was destroyed and 240 people perished in the affected countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. Several thousand were also injured and/or lost their homes.
8. Black Dragon Fire
Date: May 6, 1987 – June 2, 1987
Location: Heilongjiang, China & Amur Oblast, Soviet Union (modern-day Russia)
Cause: Drought + Deforestation (disputed)
The third deadliest wildfire in history happened from May to June of 1987 in the Northeastern Chinese province of Heilongjiang (which literally translated means “Black Dragon River”, the Chinese name for the Amur River) and the neighboring Amur Oblast of the former Soviet Union (modern-day Russia). Experiencing an extreme drought, the region quickly consisted of parched forests. While the drought was the basis of the wildfire, it is disputed what ultimately sparked the fire.
Many ecologists blamed the Chinese government for its inconsiderable logging in the region without any plan to regrow the trees of the forest-rich region. The Chinese government rejected these accusations and instead blamed an untrained 18-year-old worker who, according to the government, accidentally ignited the fire by spilling gas from his brush cutter. The worker and his supervisor were both jailed.
The fire quickly spread throughout Heilongjiang and to the Russian Amur Oblast. Since the area was sparsely populated on the Russian side, the Soviet officials largely ignored the fire and just let it burn. This explains why at the end of the month-long fire, the Soviet Union lost around 6 million hectares (15 million acres) of the forest, while China “only” lost around 1.2 million hectares (3 million acres). But of the 191 people killed in the fires and the thousands who lost their homes, the vast majority were Chinese.
9. Black Saturday Bushfires
Date: February 7, 2009 – March 14, 2009
Location: Victoria, Australia
Cause: Heat wave + Faulty power line
An extreme heat wave and a faulty power line caused the deadliest wildfire in the history of Australia. The bushfires started on Saturday, February 7, 2009 when Southern Australia was experiencing record-breaking high temperatures. Melbourne, the capital of the Australian state of Victoria and the largest city of Australia, reached a temperature of 46.4 °C (115.5 °F), the highest ever recorded for the city. The humidity levels dropped to below 2 percent for the first time in recorded Australian history.
At the same time, winds of around 100 km/h (62 mph) were forming in Victoria which led to the collapse of a faulty installed power line in the South-central Victorian village of Kilmore East. This unfortunate line of events led to the more than a month long bushfires in Victoria. In the end, 450,000 hectares (1.1 million acres) of land were burned and 173 people died in the fires. More than 400 additionally got injured and thousands of Australians lost their homes.
10. Attica Wildfires
Date: July 23, 2018 – July 26, 2018
Location: Attica Region, Greece
Cause: Heat wave + Negligent arson
While only lasting three days, the Attica wildfires of 2018, proved to become the deadliest fires in the long history of Greece and Europe altogether. Greece, like all of Europe, was experiencing a record-breaking heat wave in the summer of 2018. Temperatures were especially high in Attica. Attica is Greece’s by far most populous region and includes the country’s capital and largest city Athens.
On July 23, 2018, a 65-year-old Attica resident tried to burn wood in his garden. The hot and dry conditions of the environment however quickly made the fire spread throughout the entire well-wooded coastline of Attica. The fire even reached the suburbs of Athens. Even though the amount of burned land was relatively low, the human and structure losses were immense due to the densely populated areas affected. 102 people lost their lives and more than a thousand people lost their homes.
The 10 Deadliest Wildfires in History
(at a glance)
(as of January 2020)
|The 10 Deadliest Wildfires in History:|
|1. PESHTIGO FIRE (1871)|
|2. GREAT MICHIGAN FIRE (1871)|
|3. CLOQUET FIRE (1918)|
|4. GREAT HINCKLEY FIRE (1894)|
|5. GREAT CHICAGO FIRE (1871)|
|6. THUMB FIRE (1881)|
|7. INDONESIAN FOREST FIRES (1997-1998)|
|8. BLACK DRAGON FIRE (1987)|
|9. BLACK SATURDAY BUSHFIRES (2009)|
|10. ATTICA WILDFIRES (2018)|
Deadliest wildfires in history by the number of fatalities they caused.


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Auricularia auricula-judae is a species of edible Auriculariales fungus found worldwide. The fruiting body is distinguished by its noticeably ear-like shape and brown colouration; it grows upon wood, especially elder.
Growing in my Wildlife Garden on discarded wood
Sometimes referred to as the Jew's ear or Jelly ear


Carpals are bones found in the hand. They are also called wrist bones as they are in the wrist. There are eight carpals in each hand. Any easy way to remember the eight bones in order is "Some Lovers Try Positions That They Can't Handle." for Scaphoid, Lunate, Triquetrum, Pisiform, Trapezium, Trapezoid, Capitate, Hamate.
Individual Carpals[change | change source]
The eight carpals are:


Storyboarding: The Art of Foresight
What is a storyboard?
A storyboard is a shot by shot graphic representation based on your video’s script. It looks a little like a graphic novel or comic book, one that takes your video’s dialogue and visual sequences and translates them into shot-by-shot drawings. It’s the second big step in taking a video concept to screen, coming just after the important scripting stage.
How does it work?
Storyboarding should be a collaborative process between the client and production company. Typically there will be at least one stage of feedback where the client studies and approves the storyboard or requests changes. The goal is to illustrate the vision for the client before getting to the expensive shooting stage.
Every phrase in the video’s script will be represented on the page in a frame, and sometimes with several frames if the line of the script requires multiple camera moves.
What is one line on paper “ ZOOM IN from Exterior building through window past boss to stop on branded coffee mug in employee’s hand” might requires several drawings to illustrate. Here is what that storyboard might look like:
Why do it?
The production team may hire a storyboard artist, particularly where a highly polished version is need ( i.e. when you need to convince stakeholders of a concept) or when animation is needed. Some directors can sketch a simple storyboard themselves by hand or by using still photos. Whether amateur or professionally drawn, a storyboard will contain ensure the client and crew can easily picture and approve the video before filming begins.
Does Your Project Really Need a Storyboard?
Storyboarding does add some extra time and an extra cost into the pre-production process and not every video needs it. But in some cases, it offers certain advantages:
a) For visually complex sequences: You may not need to storyboard your entire video but complicated sequences with many camera moves or many people moving in and out of frame would benefit from it.
b) For better team communication: When everyone on the team knows what shots they are aiming to reproduce, misinterpretations or misunderstandings are reduced. Meanwhile, the client won’t be guessing or imagining, perhaps wrongly, about how shots and camera movements will unfold- they will confidently know what to expect.
c) Save production time & money: Pre-planning means less time and money used in the expensive production phase when equipment and crew members are charging by the hour.The crew goes in knowing what they need to achieve and can budget the right amount of time, equipment and crew to capture each sequence.
When don’t you need a storyboard?
While pre-visualizing concepts can be invaluable for complex sequences. Unpredictable live events, simple talking head videos or very basic visual sequences typically do not require the use of storyboarding.
Not sure if storyboarding can be an invaluable tool for your next corporate video? Contact us to get help get a clearer picture !


Welding aluminum is very different when compared to welding steel, both in technique and in results.
Welding aluminum generally will weaken it, and for a few different reasons. The main reason is that heat will affect the temper of the aluminum, which can result in a loss in yield strength of roughly half in many cases if measures aren’t taken to correct it.
Actually, pretty well all metals will weaken in some way when welded, including steel. To really get the full strength, you’ll need to take some additional steps.
In this post, I’ll share some examples of how welding can affect the strength of aluminum and some best practices to keep your welds as strong as possible.
How Much Welding Aluminum Decreases Its Strength
For the sake of argument, I made the table below based on info from ESAB (the world’s largest producer of welding equipment) that spells out exactly how much strength you can lose in aluminum from welding it.
In this table, I’m listing the minimum yield strengths. This is the minimum allowable point at which the metal will start to fatigue and permanently deform when you pull on it. Also, the type of weld being compared is a groove weld (when you weld it end to end from either side and properly bevel the edges before welding).
Essentially, this is a worst-case scenario, where you’re pulling on a weld joint and you have no mechanical connection.
|Yield of Base Alloy
|Loss in Yield
As you can see, the loss in yield strength overall is pretty significant.
Importance of Filler Material
This is a critical element to strong aluminum welds, and it’s up to you to control.
For each grade of aluminum, you need to have a filler that will maximize the strength of your weld. It’s actually the filler that will help your welds to stay (relatively) strong.
It’s pretty well always a bad idea to not use filler when you’re TIG welding aluminum. Without the right filler, your welds will be super weak and extremely prone to cracking.
The filler rod needs to be able to handle aluminum’s tendency to crack at the weld as it cools down (hot cracking). The chemistry is determined by the base material,
Aluminum Temper and Why it’s So Important
One of the main factors to consider when it comes to welding aluminum is whether or not it’s heat treatable.
Why is this important?
It all comes down to the Heat-Affected Zone (HAZ). Heat-treatable alloys will be partially annealed (softened) in the HAZ, whereas non-heat treatable alloys will be fully annealed in the HAZ. In other words, non-heat treatable alloys are more susceptible to being lower strength.
For the sake of simplicity, here’s a little table of the common grades of aluminum, so if you know the grade then you’ll know if it’s affected by heat treating.
|No, with some exceptions
In other words, if you have a piece of 6061 aluminum that you’re welding, it’s heat treatable. If you’re working with 5052 aluminum, it is not heat treatable.
Can Aluminum be Heat Treated to Restore Weld Strength?
The direct answer to this is, technically yes, if it’s a heat treatable grade.
However, the filler that you’re using may not be heat treatable. Also, heat treating aluminum is not as easy as heat treating steel.
For one, the heat treating needs to be done in a controlled furnace. It’s not like steel, where you can develop an eye for the colors and do it with a torch. Aluminum doesn’t glow, and the soak, ramp times, and temperatures are particularly fussy.
Also, aluminum will sag quite a bit during the heat treating and artificial aging, making this generally impractical for weldments. It’s also really easy to overage aluminum if you don’t have experience with this.
So, technically possible, but generally completely impractical.
Most grades of aluminum get a lot of their strength through something called strain hardening.
It’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like. The aluminum is strained, and it gets stiffer/harder.
Generally this is done right at the mill. As the aluminum is rolled as a plate or bar while it’s “cold”, and this aligns the grain structure and works the metal so that it strengthens.
This is a topic worth the read all on its own, but not as it relates to the topic of welding. You generally can’t strain harden weldments simply due to their geometry. In other words, the strain hardening is lost when it’s heated to welding temperatures and you don’t get it back.
Typical Aluminum Welding Issues
Here are some common problems with aluminum welding, along with an explanation of why you get them. Not exhaustive, but some of the common ones.
Cracks down the center of the weld.
This is really common. The issue is normally related to solidification cracking. In other words, as the weld pool solidifies, little cracks start to form. These are often below the surface and are hard to see initially, but are apparent when your weld splits down the seam. Try pushing more filler into the pool, and make sure that you have the right kind of filler for the grade you’re welding.
Cracks around the HAZ.
This could be due to liquation cracking. This is when you get little fractures just outside your bead that can spread all over. You might see this more often when MIG welding thicker plates. If you see this, you probably have the wrong wire alloy.
Cracking that starts at the end of your weld.
This is really common. It’s probably due to something called crater cracking, and it happens because aluminum cools off so quickly that the puddle will sink in (like a crater) and this will cause a ton of stress in the weld. The best way to handle this with a TIG welder is to slowly let off your foot pedal and add an extra two or three drops of filler. If anything, you want your weld to be a little more convex at the end.


The number one thing that comes to mind is character education. With the added rigor to the curriculum and focus on student performance on state assessments, it is easy to forget about the daily efforts our teachers make with educating the whole child. In addition to teaching math, science, reading and the arts, our teachers are moral educators, counselors and role models. They are tasked with helping children learn to self-regulate and develop their social and emotional skills, while creating a safe, caring environment.
The character education things I’ve listed above are things our teachers have done for years. However, this year is the first year our staff has done some of it through the structure of the PBIS program. PBIS (positive behavior interventions and supports) strives to teach children good behaviors and character building through the use of positive reinforcements.
The four main areas our staff has decided to focus on with PBIS are: present (fully engaged in learning), positive, respectful and responsible. There are numerous ways our staff teaches these core values to our students and many ways students are rewarded for consistently displaying these values.
One way we reward students for showing the above core values is with red tickets. Our staff always has tickets on them, ready to hand out to students who show good character. When a student earns a red ticket, they put their name on it and put it in one of the treasure boxes around the school. On Fridays we pull five tickets from each treasure box and the students earn a reward. The rewards could be picking a toy from a box in the office or some weeks they get pizza with the principal.
One of the best things I like about this setup is all staff members in the building have tickets to handout. A student could earn a ticket in the morning bus room from our paraprofessional or they could earn a ticket from our custodian for helping a friend in the cafeteria or picking up a piece of trash in the hallway. A student might earn a ticket from the secretary for having good manners when they come into the office for something.
Students also can be rewarded for high character by being recognized as a “League Leader.” Each month our homeroom teachers select a student to be honored for their great behavior. The “League Leaders” pictures are displayed in the foyer in a cool shadowbox frame, under a “League Leaders” banner. Our banner was made at the maker space at Norwalk Middle School and the shadowbox frames were donated by International Automotive Components in Huron. It is fun to see how proud students are when they are selected. It is also great to see the other students cheering them on for their accomplishments.
It’s wonderful to have a staff of “League Leaders” teaching students more than academics.
Local columnist Adam Kreischer is the principal at League Elementary.


A scientific study shows that people who hear noise at night are at greater risk of hypertension, regardless of whether they are awake or asleep.
The noise of aircraft flying overhead is also enough to cause blood pressure levels to surge.
Sounds above 35 decibels – the equivalent to a plane flying overhead, the noise of heavy traffic or someone snoring loudly – is enough to cause the problem.
High blood pressure is known to increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and dementia.
Recent research has also indicated that blood pressure that goes up and down a lot, even if it never gets too high, can also increase the risk of stroke.
A team from University College London followed 140 volunteers, some who lived near Heathrow, measuring their blood pressure as they slept and the noise in their room.
Aircraft noise produced an average increase in systolic blood pressure – which happens during rhythmical contractions of the heart – of 6.2 millimetres of mercury, shown as mmHg.
Diastolic pressure, the pressure between beats, was raised by 7.4 mmHg.
Similar blood pressure rises were triggered by other noise sources such as traffic.
Blood pressure went up in direct relation to noise loudness, said the researchers, who published their findings in the European Heart Journal.
For every five-decibel increase in aircraft noise at its loudest point there was a 0.66 mmHg increase in systolic blood
The type of sound, or its origin, did not appear to be important. It was volume that mattered.
Dr Lars Jarup of Imperial College London and one of the study’s authors, said: “We know that noise from air traffic can be a source of irritation, but our research shows that it can also be damaging for people’s health, which is particularly significant in light of plans to expand international airports.
“Our studies show that night-time aircraft noise can affect your blood pressure instantly and increase the risk of hypertension, or high blood pressure.”
He said it was clear that measures needed to be taken to reduce noise levels from overhead aircraft, especially at night.
The research followed recent findings by the same scientists that associated high blood pressure with living near an airport or under a flight path.
Residents who lived in one of these locations for at least five years were far more at risk of developing high blood pressure than those enjoying quieter surroundings.
The study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspective, showed that an increase in night-time aircraft noise of 10 decibels raised the risk of high blood pressure by 14 per cent in both men and women.
Last night, charities said that although noise could have an effect on blood pressure, the biggest reason people suffered hypertension was due to diet.
Ellen Mason, a cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation said: “Air travel has been criticised in the last few years for its link to deep vein thrombosis and more recently its carbon footprint on the environment.
“Air travel is here to stay and noise pollution may be the latest in a long line of issues that the airline industry needs to tackle.
“High blood pressure is far more likely to be influenced by the fact that many of us eat far too much salt, don’t take enough exercise and are fast becoming overweight, rather by than noise pollution.”
She added: “Binge drinking and smoking are also contributory factors.”


Ever broke an arm or a leg? Was your first thought one of stinky, itchy, skin peeling limb? Probably. And because the list of plaster cast drawbacks does not stop there, a green mind would probably add: piles of non-recyclable waste….
Pain, itchiness, stinky smell, peeling skin, plastic bag to get in the shower and NO pool in summer time, anyone? The only cool factor, so to speak, is the art you can get from your friends on your plaster cast. Besides healing your broken limb, that’s about the only use it is good for…
How big exactly is the fracture issue anyway? There are 6.3 million fractures in the US each year, mostly of the wrist. That’s 1 happening every 5 seconds. Over a lifetime, a person is expected to sustain 2 fractures, which is about 2.4 people out of 100 per year. And with 6,600 tons of medical waste produced in the US daily, increasing at the rate of 15%+ per year since 1992 (either transported to landfills (for general waste) or incinerated (for regulated waste)), this is an area well worth giving some smart thoughts to ease up patients’ inconvenience and green up the process, if possible.
Well, things could possibly soon be about to change for the better on both fronts… While still at prototype stage, the Cortex dubbed Exoskeletal Cast is a very promising 3D printed concept.
Imagined by Jake Evill, a graduate from the Architecture and Design school at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, this new cast would not remove the pain from the fracture and would take longer to build than a regular plaster cast… BUT it is light, hygienic (breathable and washable), scratchable AND recyclable. An eco-friendly cast? Beat that!
Patients would first receive an x-ray to pinpoint the nature of the break, then would have their arm scanned to determine the outer shape of their limb, and finally, the Cortex cast would be 3D-printed. It would sport optimized levels of support around the break area to provide a snug fit and would snap closed on the limb. Hello cool design allowing regular clothes, trouble-free showers and easy scratching access!
As for waste, once the fracture is healed, no more trip to the landfill, the material would be recycled and reused. There isn’t additional information on the type of material to be used just yet, but the idea is clearly to be eco-friendly.
Hopefully, more to come soon.
Check out the full article at: http://laughingsquid.com/cortex-a-stylish-3d-printed-cast-thats-breathable-and-recyclable/
Credit photo: Jake Evill
- Given the amount of single use, hazardous items used daily for patients care, hospitals seem to be the perfect are to focus efforts on. Do you think of others?


Pictograph of an Analemma
In 1836, Constantine Samuel Rafinesque published a book called The American Nations in which he included an English translation of the Walam Olum¹. The Walam Olum was held to be the annals of the Lenape people of Wapahani, Indiana.
Rafinesque was very vague about the source of the Walum Olum. Historians have therefore surmised that the records probably consisted of a series of pictographs which were etched on either birch bark board or birch sticks and coloured in red. The pictographs would have functioned as the memory aid for a narrator. The narrator would also have been the document’s guardian or keeper, with the job of maintaining the records. At important events, the oral history would be recited in the form of verses that accompanied the pictographs.
The received version of the Walum Olum is a copy. The original document no longer exists. It is therefore impossible to say whether copies of the pictographs accurately reflect the originals.
However, amongst the pictographs is one that stands out because of its striking resemblance to the Abri Blanchard almanac. Pictograph number six from the first part of the Walam Olum can be seen below. It illustrates ‘the measurement of time’.
The pictograph includes what appears to be an analemma associated with the moon. The distinctive shape echoes that of the Abri Blanchard almanac where the analemma was folded to save space.
The diagram on the left is based on a time-lapse photograph created by Juan Carlos Casado². It shows a bow-shaped lunar analemma. The cycle starts with the first quarter moon.
In the Walam Olum analemma, the moon is depicted as a waning crescent on the same side of the earth as the sun, after which point the analemma has no more dots. This coincides with the start of the period around the new moon.
From this, we can deduce that the first dot in the Walam Olum cycle represents a waxing crescent.
It is difficult at first to imagine how the bow-shaped analemma might relate to the Walam Olum diagram. It is important to understand that my bow-shaped diagram is based upon a picture of the moon in the sky. Whilst the Walam Olum diagram is based upon the sky mirrored upon Earth. Think of the moon’s image reflected on the surface of a large lake.
In the image on the left, I have rotated the pictograph to put the loop at the top, and then flipped the image (reversed the mirroring) in order to obtain an image based on the sky.
The analemma in the pictograph starts one phase earlier than the analemma in my diagram, with the waxing crescent. The next phase is the first quarter moon. From this point, you should be able to see the similarities in the two diagrams.
Follow the loop round to the waning gibbous phase. After this, you would expect the moon’s descending path to cross the ascending path, and to begin to form the other side of the bow. However, the artist has taken the loop back up, as if to indicate that the analemma is being folded in half.
The pictograph also incorporates a sun symbol. The sun symbol is placed directly overhead, in other words it depicts noon, and is associated with 12 dots around what appears to be the dome of the sky. My interpretation is that there are 12 points that would be used to plot a solar analemma. 12 points on the solar analemma are equal to one point on the lunar analemma. Thus, the clear message is that the apparent distance travelled by the sun in 12 days is equal to that travelled by the moon in one day.
The first published version of the Walam Olum was in English text with some key words in Lenape. The translation was accompanied by some explanatory notes. Rafinesque also published what he described as a specimen of the original Lenape poetry³. My understanding is that the full Lenape text and the full set of pictographs were not published until the Daniel Brinton version of 1885⁴.
In the Brinton version, the pictograph of the analemma is accompanied by a transcription of the verse in both Romanized Lenape and in English. However, this transcription was not added by the original document’s guardian. This may explain why the verse merely hints at the contents of the pictograph.
The Lenape text reads: "Wemi-sohalawak yulik yuchaan."⁵
Two different versions of the English text are given below:
|English Translation of the Verse||Translator||Date|
|"And all these he caused to move well."⁶||Rafinesque||1836|
|"He made them all to move evenly."⁷||Brinton||1885|
Whilst the apparent movement of the astronomical bodies is the key to the measurement of time, neither Rafinesque nor Brinton picks up on this fact. It is interesting to compare the equivalent paragraph from Genesis. It is much more explicit:
Genesis: "And God said,
[Walam Olum Part 1, Pictograph Number 5: not shown] Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night;
[Walum Olum Part 1, Pictograph Number 6: the analemma] and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years."⁸
The Walam Olum is now widely held to have been a hoax. It is not my intention to prove or disprove the authenticity of the Walum Olum, but merely to point out the similarity between two diagrams. One diagram belonged to a group of hunter gathers who lived 35,000 years ago. The second is of more recent provenance.
In my opinion, the guardian or keeper of the Abri Blanchard almanac would have had no difficulty in understanding the diagram first published by Brinton in 1885. I find that fascinating.
Memory Aid for Verse Number 6 from the First Part of the Walam Olum: Daniel G. Brinton, 1885: The Lenâpé and Their Legends; With the Complete Text and Symbols of the Walam Olum, A New Translation and an Inquiry into its Authenticity, Chapter VII, Page 170: Philadelphia: Digital Image from Sacred Texts: http://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/walam/wa01.htm: Accessed: 11 August 2014
Bow-shaped Lunar Analemma: Lynn Fawcett, August 2014: After Photo: Lunar Analemma Composite: Juan Carlos Casado: TWAN: The World at Night: Source: http://twanight.org/newTWAN/photos.asp?ID=3003707: Accessed: 8 August 2014
Lunar Phase Symbols: Astrological symbols, Lunar phases: Wikimedia Commons: Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrological_symbols: Accessed: 8 August 2014
1. C. S. Rafinesque, 1836: The American Nations, First Volume, Chapter V: Philadelphia
2. See Photo: Lunar Analemma Composite: Juan Carlos Casado: TWAN: The World at Night: Source: http://twanight.org/newTWAN/photos.asp?ID=3003707: Accessed: 8 August 2014
3. C. S. Rafinesque, 1836: The American Nations, First Volume, Chapter V, Page 160-161: Philadelphia
4. Daniel G. Brinton, 1885: The Lenâpé and Their Legends; With the Complete Text and Symbols of the Walam Olum, A New Translation and an Inquiry into its Authenticity.: Philadelphia
5. The Lenape text was transcribed by Brinton from a Rafinesque manuscript dated 1833.
6. C. S. Rafinesque, 1836: The American Nations, First Volume, Chapter V, Page 126: Philadelphia
7. Daniel G. Brinton, 1885: The Lenâpé and Their Legends; With the Complete Text and Symbols of the Walam Olum, A New Translation and an Inquiry into its Authenticity, Chapter VII, Page 171: Philadelphia
8. The Bible: Genesis: 1:14, King James Version


The world's poorest families are cutting back on food and sending children out to work in order to survive, according to a survey by Save the Children.
The survey, conducted by the charity in India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru and Bangladesh, provides a snapshot of the hardship that families are facing in countries already experiencing high rates of malnutrition.
Soaring prices for food have left a third of parents saying that their children did not have enough to eat.
One in six said their children were skipping school to work for food.
The children's charity is calling on the UK to help lead a push to reduce hunger and protect children from food price spikes.
It is urging Prime Minister David Cameron to kick-start this with a "world hunger summit" at the Olympics - a time when world leaders will be in London - to tackle malnutrition.
The report ('A Life Free from Hunger: Tackling Child Malnutrition'), launched today with the help of Myleene Klass, Erin O'Connor and Natasha Kaplinsky.
The charity says that rising food prices and lack of global investment in tackling malnutrition are putting progress on child mortality at risk.
It warns that if no concerted action is taken, half a billion children will grow up physically and mentally stunted over the next 15 years.
The chief executive of Save the Children, Justin Forsyth, said: "Every hour of every day, 300 children die because of malnutrition, often simply because they don't have access to the basic, nutritious foods that we take for granted in rich countries.
"By acting on hunger and malnutrition, world leaders have the chance to change this for millions of children across the world."
Forsyth added that while progress has been made in reducing child deaths, down from 12 million to 7.6 million, this momentum will stall if malnutrition is not tackled.
The charity argues that while malnutrition is the underlying cause of a third of child deaths, it has not received the same high-profile campaigning and investment as other causes of child mortality such as HIV/Aids or malaria.
Commenting on the Save the Children report, International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said: "Britain has led the world in tackling food insecurity in the Horn of Africa and will reach 20 million children at risk of malnutrition in the developing world by 2015.
"We are looking further ahead too, supporting scientific research into more sustainable and nutritious crops while addressing the underlying causes of food shortages and malnutrition, from educating farmers and building better roads through to resolving regional conflicts and improving local governments.
"It is absolutely right to focus on the issue of hunger and malnutrition and Britain will continue to urge other countries to match our own efforts in this area."


Australia’s space agency will officially commence operations on July 1 2018.
As inaugural agency head Megan Clarke surveys our national capability in space, many states are putting forward strong cases regarding their existing relationships, human resources and infrastructure.
But from where should Australia launch rockets? Woomera in South Australia launched its first rocket in 1967, but in reality Australia could support multiple launch sites. And the closer to the equator, typically the better.
Let’s look at why.
Launching the payload
The first step in a space venture is to launch the payload (typically a satellite) and get it to stay in a suitable orbit without falling back to earth.
To achieve this, first the rocket must lift itself and the payload from the launch pad, through the lower levels of the atmosphere to altitudes greater than 100 km. This is achieved using a near vertical trajectory.
Once outside the atmosphere, the climb angle is reduced and the rocket starts to accelerate to reach its orbital velocity. It must travel at more than 7.8km/s (approx 28000 km/h) to stay in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO). LEOs are orbits with an altitude of less than 2000km, and are used by the majority of small satellites.
The majority of the rocket fuel is used in this acceleration phase. The high final velocity is required to ensure the released payload stays in orbit.
However, by appropriate selection of launch site and launch direction, the required velocity to achieve LEO can be reduced.
The earth rotates one revolution per day in the westward direction, which results in a surface velocity of 0.46km/s (approx 1670 km/hr) at the equator. As you move north or south from the equator, this surface velocity decreases.
So, in the ideal case, launching westwards from the equator, the velocity to stay in LEO is reduced from 7.8km/s to approximately 7.3km/s.
As fuel required to attain these speeds is proportional to velocity squared, this is a substantial saving.
Different launches for different orbits
This speed advantage is most important for spacecraft leaving earth and satellites going to geostationary orbit (a high earth orbit, where they rotate with earth and remain exactly above a fixed point on the ground). By launching from the equator in a purely westward direction they can fully utilise this speed advantage.
However, for small satellites aiming for LEO this has limited value. They would circle above the equator and could only view (or be visible from) a strip several hundreds of kilometres wide.
Instead most LEO launches are slightly to the north or south of the equator, so that the resulting orbit is inclined relative to the earth equatorial plane. From these orbits, after multiple passes, most of the earth (excluding the north and south pole) is visible.
A good example of such an orbit is the International Space Station, which can be tracked at ISS tracker.
The exception to this are satellites in what are called sun synchronous and polar orbits, flying almost directly over the north and south pole. These require launches in the north or south direction and cannot utilise the speed advantage.
Blue skies, no wind
The biggest motivator for building launch sites close to the equator is the the speed advantage and associated fuel savings mentioned above. Reductions in fuel mass allow increases in allowable payload mass.
This is reflected by the major well established spaceports: Cape Canaveral in Florida (USA), Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan (Russia), Kourou in French Guinea (Europe), and Jiuqan (China) all of which are located in the vicinity of the equator.
Looking ahead, there will be significant demand for future launch capacity to LEO either on inclined or sun synchronous orbits, as they are easy to reach and well suited for observation and communication satellites.
Secondary considerations for choosing launch sites are weather and climate related. Obviously blue sky days with little wind are desirable for launching, but – as demonstrated by Cape Canaveral in Florida – it is possible to operate a space-port in a region regularly visited by hurricanes. Nevertheless NASA cites weather as one of the main causes for launch delays.
Finally, it is desirable for launch sites to be close to towns and cities so that people have somewhere to live, and so that launch sites can contribute to the local community.
Launching from Australia
Today there are several home-grown start-ups developing launch capabilities for access to space, such as Hypersonix and Gilmour Space Technologies (plus Rocketlab in New Zealand), all specifically targeting small satellite launches.
An evolution from this would be an Australian space port, which would further spur on these developments and help grow Australia’s space industry.
So far the majority of rocket launches in Australia have been conducted at the Woomera Prohibited Area, located in South Australia. An advantage of Woomera is that trajectories initially run over land. This allows easier communications with the rocket or flight experiment, making it ideal for rocket development. But this isn’t essential in space launches.
Being a large country, Australia can accommodate multiple launch sites. Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA) recently announced that they have secured land to start construction of the Arnhem Space Centre in the Northern Territory in 2018.
Space launches from Australia can be expected in the not so distance future.
Having a national launch capability will significantly boost the growing space and satellite industry.


Pangea was a supercontinent that existed between 270 to 200 million years ago. 200 million years ago, the movement of the Earth’s tectonic plates caused Pangea to break apart, forming the Earth that we recognize today. Pangea existed during the late Permian and Triassic time periods and was encompassed by a single ocean known as Panthalassa.
The term Pangea or Pangaea is derived from the Greek mythology Gaia and Ancient Greek. Alfred Wegener, a German meteorologist and geophysicist, was the first person who proposed the concept that the continents on Earth once existed as a continuous land mass. He also came up with the continental drift theory when he published "The Origin of Continents" in 1912. Later on, Wegener expanded his theory in another book he published called the "The Origin of Continents and Oceans". It was here in 1915 when he hypothesized that before the continental drift, the continents existed as a single supercontinent of which he named Urkontinent. The term Pangea first entered the English and German scientific literature in 1926 and 1922 respectively.
Contrary to popular misconception, Pangea was not the first supercontinent in existence. The formation and drifting of supercontinents are believed to have been cyclical throughout the history of the Earth. Many other supercontinents had existed before Pangea. Nuna, which is also known as Columbia, seemed to have assembled in the era between 2.0 to 1.8 Ga. Nuna/Columbia broke apart forming the next supercontinent, known as Rodinia, from the assembly and the accretion of tectonic plates. The supercontinent lasted anywhere from 750 million years ago to approximately 1.1 billion years ago. However, the geodynamic history of Rodinia is not as well known or well understood as the supercontinents that were formed later like Pangea and Pannotia.
The formation of Pangea can be explained through the theory of plate tectonics. The first step of the formation of Pangea took place when the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana started to slowly drift towards the South Pole. Step two of the formation of Pangea happened when Gondwana collided with Euramerica which had already been formed by the collision of Laurentia and Baltica by 440 Ma the Silurian time. During this time, Laurentia had not yet collided with Avalonia, which was slowly inching as the Lapetus Ocean continued to shrink. Concurrently the southern region of present-day Europe was breaking off from Gondwana and moving towards Euramerica across the newly-formed ocean. As time went by, more countries such as North and South China, split from Gondwana heading northward. Oceans shrank while new ones were formed as a result of the drift and individual continents were created as a result.
There is some evidence that support the theory of the existence of Pangea as a supercontinent such as fossil evidence which includes the presence of identical and similar species on a different continent that is currently thousands of miles apart. Other shreds of evidence include the geological trends of adjacent continents such as Africa and South America in the form of glacial deposits which is of the same structure and size. Palaeomagnetic study together with the continuity of chain of mountains also helps solidify the existence of Pangea.


Testing activity in Android Studio. Part 1.
In this tutorial we will learn how to:
- Create a new project in Android Studio.
- Create new test configuration and run the tests.
- Write tests for basic UI interactions in activity.
This tutorial is updated for Android Studio version 2.1.
I assume you already know
For this tutorial you will need to have Android Studio installed and know how to run an app. Please refer to the excellent Building Your First App tutorial from Google.
We will create an app called "Greeter". It has a text input and a "Greet" button. In this app user enters a name and taps the "Greet" button. The app shows a greeting message.
1. Let's get started: create a project in Android Studio
- Open Android Studio and create a new project: File > New > New Project.
- Enter Greeter in Application Name and mycompany.com in Company Domain.
Accept the default settings on "Target Android Devices" screen with just "Phone and Tablet" option selected.
Select a Empty Activity.
Next, keep default activity name:
MainActivity. This name will be used in our code later.
Finally, click Finish and give Android Studio a minute to setup your project. When it's done run the app by clicking the green start icon on the toolbar.
You will see the app on your device or emulator. It will have an empty screen with "Hello world!" message. Beautiful!
2. Create test configuration and run tests
We need to create a test configuration the first time we run the tests. There are already tests created by the New Project Wizard. Let's run them.
- In your project window expand app > java folders.
- You will see three packages with the same name com.mycompany.greeter. The second one will have (androidTest). Right-click on that one.
- Select Run 'Tests in 'com.mycomp...' from the context menu.
- Finally, select your device or emulator in the next dialog and it will run the tests.
View test results
You will see a lot of green colour in the Run tool window. It means the tests passed successfully. If your Run window is closed click the Run button on the bottom panel or select View > Tool Windows > Run from the main menu.
Switch between App and Test configurations
We have created configuration for testing and can now use it any time we want to run our tests.
Click the configuration dropdown menu located next to the run button on the toolbar. You will see app and Test in `com.myapp.. configurations there. This is how we can switch between running the app and tests.
Click Save 'Tests 'com.mycompany.Greeter'' Configuration item from the menu to save the test configuration that you just created.
Test configuration (under the hood)
If you are curious how the Test Configuration works open Run > Edit Configurations from the main menu.
In configurations dialog, expand Android Tests group and select Tests in 'com.mycompany.greeter' configuration.
You will see the following settings:
- app module is selected.
- All in Package radio box is selected.
- The package name is com.mycompany.greeter.
It means that this configuration will run all the tests in com.mycompany.greeter package.
Cool! We have created an app project and a test configuration. Next we will write our first test.
- Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of this tutorial.
- Sample Code for the Greeter app
- Building Your First App - Android Developers


The Japanese government is investigating how radioactive concrete ended up in an apartment complex built to house Fukushima residents evacuated from homes near the stricken Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
The contamination was discovered after a high-school student in the city of Nihonmatsu was found to have been exposed to 60 percent more radiation in three months than the government rates as safe for an entire year.
Schools in Nihonmatsu, about 40 miles from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant that was eventually destroyed by damage done during a March, 2010 Tsunami, is temporary home to many residents evacuated from the vicinity of the plant.
Investigators traced the source of the high-schooler's exposure to radioactive cesium in the concrete structure of the six-month-old apartment building in which the student and a dozen families lived.
The building was erected hurriedly, using gravel from a quarry in the town of Namie, less than a dozen miles from the Fukushima plant.
That puts the quarry well within the 12-mile "no-go" zone declared by the Japanese government that forbids any material from areas heavily irradiated by the plants from being used outside it.
Japanese officials were criticized for having sketchy and inadequate plans for dealing with natural disasters serious enough to affect the two Fukushima power plants.
One weakness in that lack of preparation was overoptimistic estimations of how well the plants would contain radiation and how far any contamination might reach.
Though the Tsunami struck March 11, it wasn’t until the last week in April that the 12-mile no-go zone was firmly established and enforced.
Due to that delay, the gravel found in the three-story Nihonmatsu apartment building was on the ground, exposed to both radiation and radioactive fallout for six weeks before being shipped out to be used in nearby construction projects.
The quarry owner told the Japanese Nuclear Emergency Response agency the quarry shipped 5,200 tons of gravel to 19 construction and cement companies between March 14 and April 22, when the 12-mile no-go zone was closed.
The agency is tracing other shipments to identify other potential risks.
Despite the extra radiation, the Nuclear Emergency Response agency does not plan to tear down the building or order residents to leave.
Even in the most intensely irradiated areas within the building, annual exposure would equal about 10.86 millisieverts, not the 20 millisieverts required before the agency requires a building be evacuated, according to the WSJ.
Read more of Kevin Fogarty's CoreIT blog and follow the latest IT news at ITworld. Follow Kevin on Twitter at @KevinFogarty. For the latest IT news, analysis and how-tos, follow ITworld on Twitter and Facebook.


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George W. Geib
On July 18, 1862, a brash young Kentuckian with aspirations to military advancement, Adam R. “Stovepipe” Johnson, used a rowboat and a small flatboat ferry to lead a group of approximately thirty men across the Ohio River from Kentucky to Newburgh, Indiana. Landing on the waterfront, unoccupied at lunch time, Johnson and his men seized a small store of weapons from a riverside warehouse and bluffed a group of some eighty Union soldiers convalescing in a nearby hotel into surrendering their unloaded muskets. Johnson’s men then looted a few homes and stores, paroled their prisoners, and returned safely across the river with their booty. The entire action lasted only a few hours.
Johnson recounted the events many times, and eventually published the account in his memoir, Partisan Rangers of the Confederacy. Filled with enthusiasm, southern chivalry, and name-dropping—although often sparse on corroboration—his memoir has assured that many commentators place the Newburgh raid in the context of Confederate movements in Kentucky in the summer of 1862. If it had no other effect, the Newburgh affair enabled Johnson to raise and arm a number of youthful recruits for what became his 10th Kentucky cavalry (CSA). He returned to Indiana a year later as a brigade commander in Morgan’s 1863 raid.
Johnson’s actions provide an opportunity for a consideration of the role of southern fighters in the Ohio Valley. Using the language of the 1862 Confederate Partisan Ranger Act, he pictured himself in his later book as part of a military force operating in an irregular manner under the authority of such superiors as General Nathan Bedford Forrest and General John C. Breckenridge. Yet at the time of the raid, his own account suggests he had no formal appointment as an officer, wore no uniform, and commanded a hastily assembled body of civilians—more guerrillas than soldiers. Union authorities certainly viewed him as little or nothing more than a brigand, and rejected the authority of the paroles he had issued to his eighty prisoners.
The Newburgh raid may have had greater influence upon Union war activities in Indiana and the Ohio Valley than any results that Johnson claimed for his cause. The total surprise and the bloodless success was, without doubt, a shock to many Hoosier leaders. In Newburgh, it embarrassed the local Indiana Legion commander, a merchant with an unusual first name, Union Bethell. He had been among those lunching while the raiders struck, and had previously enjoyed limited success in raising and training a local company of that state militia. Accordingly, he had stored the weapons provided for them in his own unguarded riverfront warehouse. When Bethell did arrive on the scene in civilian attire, he refrained from more than verbal protests after Johnson pointed out two cannon emplaced across the river—cannon that were actually dummies made from a blackened log and the piece of stovepipe that gave Johnson his subsequent nickname.
Through chance rather than Confederate action, the telegraph line from Newburgh to Evansville was not in operation. Word of Johnson’s incursion thus took extra hours to reach state and federal military authorities. When it did become known, the raid set in motion several frantic days of Union responses. Lieutenant Colonel John Watson Foster, on leave from the 25th Indiana Regiment, took command in Evansville. He called for volunteers, including local convalescent Union soldiers, assembled a small riverboat flotilla, sailed up the Ohio River to the mouth of the Green River—where Johnson’s raiders had taken their loot—and engaged in skirmishing with a small number of Confederate guerrillas.
Finding few defenders, Foster then proceeded to Newburgh. Half a dozen local residents who were perceived as friendly to the rebels were arrested. One, Andrew Huston, was later tried and acquitted by a federal court jury in Indianapolis on changes of treason and assisting the rebels. Two other Newburgh residents who had assisted the raiders were slain by members of an angry local crowd before order was restored.
As often happened in military emergencies, Governor Oliver P. Morton soon took a visible hand. First in Indianapolis and then in Evansville, he issued repeated calls for volunteers, and urged vigorous military responses. Within three days, state and federal military officers had sent approximately a thousand regulars and volunteers to the scene, occupied Henderson, Kentucky, and sent probes into that city’s countryside. One of the probes, led by Captain Bethell, recovered a portion of the stolen arms—as well as his local reputation—at a nearby farm.
The occupation of Henderson proved to be a long term consequence of the raid; Newburgh would not again be threatened. Occurring during a call for large numbers of new volunteers, the raid also proved to be a significant boost for Union recruiting in Indiana. The July volunteers were formed into a short-lived thirty day unit, the 76th Indiana. Volunteers of longer service would become parts of the 65th and 78th Indiana regiments. Several thousand more Indiana volunteers joined the army in the following days and weeks. Disappointed with the performance of his militia, Morton returned to Indianapolis and devoted much time to improving militia equipment and training, and extending the telegraph network along the exposed Ohio River.
Mulesky, Raymond, Jr., Thunder from a Clear Sky: Stovepipe Johnson’s Confederate Raid on Newburgh, Indiana. Lincoln, Neb.: iUniverse Star, 2006.
Davis, William J., ed., The Partisan Rangers of the Confederate States Army: Memoirs of General Adam R. Johnson. Austin, Tex.: State House Press, 1995. Reprint of the original edition published by Geo. G. Fetter Company, Louisville, 1904.
Terrell, W. H. H., Indiana in the War of the Rebellion: Report of the Adjutant General. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau, 1960. Reprint of volume one of the eight-volume original report, 1869. See especially pages 181 to 189.


Looking for something else?
A SAN is a good solution for all BUT the following:
a. database operations
c. application migration
d. voice or video transmission
The correct answer is:
b. file-sharing servers
File-sharing -- especially sharing large files -- are better suited for NAS than SAN. Network-attached storage (NAS) is hard disk storage that is set up with its own network address rather than being attached to the department computer that is serving applications to a network's workstation users. By removing storage access and its management from the department server, both application programming and files can be served faster because they are not competing for the same processor resources. The network-attached storage device is attached to a local area network (typically, an Ethernet network) and assigned an IP address. File requests are mapped by the main server to the NAS file server.
Network-attached storage consists of hard disk storage, including multi-disk RAID systems, and software for configuring and mapping file locations to the network-attached device. Network-attached storage can be a step toward and included as part of a more sophisticated storage system known as a storage area network (SAN).
For more on SAN and NAS, see also:


It’s hard to get little kids to do things – from putting away their toys to brushing their teeth, you never know what’s going to happen. We can help with the second one. Here are some tips for making tooth-brushing a little more fun and exciting for your little ones!
5. Make Brushing Their Teeth an Event to Look Forward To
Play your kids’ favorite songs or read a short, 2-minute story with them while they brush their teeth. You can even tell jokes or do something funny that makes them laugh – as long as it’s something they can look forward to each time. Consistency is key, and before you know it they’ll be asking you when it’s time to brush next!
4. Stick to A Routine
Try to have your kids brush around the same time every morning and night until it becomes second-nature. It’s also important not to stray from this routine even during special circumstances, like over the holidays.
3. Give them a Fun Incentive
Make up an exciting reason or story that explains why brushing is important. Here’s an example you can steal from us: There are bad guys in your mouth and you can be the superhero and get rid of them by brushing them away!
2. Reward Good Brushing Behavior
When your kids do a good job brushing and keeping up with their schedule, reward that behavior so they’re likely to stick to it. A few things you can do are make a sticker chart and let them choose a new sticker every time they brush, or let them choose a bedtime story afterward.
1. Let Them Choose Their Tools
The next time you go shopping for toiletries, bring your kids with you and let them pick out their own tooth brushes, toothpaste, and more. It’ll get them excited about using their cool new gear later!


You may have heard that consuming omega-3s, particularly DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), during pregnancy is essential for proper fetal brain/ cognitive development, mental health as well as lowering the risk of postpartum depression. What you may not know is that DHA is also important for visual development.
Researchers in Quebec, Canada, studied the effects of maternal omega-3 intake and concluded that higher fetal exposure to DHA enhanced children’s visual function up to 13 years later. The findings suggested that the effect was specific to parvocellular function, which affects visual acuity and color processing.
DHA is highly concentrated in the photoreceptor membranes of the retina, and an insufficient intake of DHA results in impaired visual function, at least in short-term visual acuity in the first 6 months of life. There is also growing evidence that adequate DHA may reduce the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration later in life.
SOURCE: PUFA Newsletter, www.fatsoflife.com


If you take a moment to think about the experiences that the children in your care enjoy the most, you would probably notice activities such as sand and water play or playdough at the top of the list. These open-ended, tactile experiences are quite rewarding and engaging for young children.
Not only are these types of activities a creative outlet, they also benefit children in several other ways. Here is a list of some of the benefits of sensory play:
- Strengthens and refines fine motor skills
- Builds language skills and vocabulary
- Promotes problem solving and cooperation
- Strengthens concentration and perseverance
- Provides an outlet for self-calming
- Helps children discover attributes of materials
- Promotes classification, sorting, and organization
- Provides an opportunity for both social interactions and quiet, solitary play
- Builds neural connections in the brain
- Encourages curiosity, observation, and exploration
For these reasons, and many others, it is important that sensory exploration be incorporated into early learning environments in multiple ways. This is a great opportunity to go beyond playdough and the sand table – to introduce novel materials that continue to pique children’s interests.
Keep in mind, children explore the world around them with all of their senses, not just through touch. Look for ways to incorporate sensory experiences that utilize the senses of taste, hearing, smell, sight, in addition to touch.
Sensory play need not be expensive; many recipes are available for sensory materials online. Be mindful of any allergies children may have when making your own sensory materials.
Also, be sure to share the importance of sensory exploration with families. Share photos of children engaged in sensory play and be sure to include descriptions of all of the skills children are practicing during their play. See our June blog for more ideas for communicating learning to families.
Check out the lists below for ideas that may be appropriate for the children in your group. Many of the ideas shared are appropriate for multiple age groups – so be sure to read through each list for ideas you can use in your environment.
For Infant & Toddler Sensory Ideas, CLICK HERE
For Preschool Sensory Ideas, CLICK HERE
For School-Age Sensory Ideas, CLICK HERE
For Director’s Corner Sensory Ideas, CLICK HERE


Welcome to Crystal Information!
This site is assembled so crystal and mineral fans can entertain themselves with a plenty of crystal data and quality photographs!
We have a regularly growing crystal and mineral reference book. You even get the chance to share your perspectives and encounters by means of the remark fields at the base of every crystal’s page!
A crystal or crystalline strong is a strong material whose constituents, (for example, particles, atoms, or particles) are masterminded in an exceptionally requested infinitesimal structure, shaping a crystal cross section that reaches out every which way. What’s more, plainly visible single crystals are typically recognizable by their geometrical shape, comprising of level appearances with explicit, trademark directions. The logical investigation of crystals and crystal development is known as crystallography. The procedure of crystal development by means of components of crystal development is called crystallization or cementing.
The scientific definition of a “crystal” is based on the microscopic arrangement of atoms inside it, called the crystal structure. A crystal is a solid where the atoms form a periodic arrangement.
© 2019 Crystal Online


EAGLE CREEK (HAMILTON COUNTY)
EAGLE CREEK (Hamilton County). Eagle Creek rises about a mile southeast of the Bethel cemetery in eastern Hamilton County (at 31°36' N, 97°58' W) and runs southeast for seven miles to its mouth on the Leon River, about four miles south of Jonesboro (at 31°34' N, 97°54' W). It traverses terrain characterized by steep slopes and benches, with shallow clay loams that support juniper, live oak, mesquite, and grasses.
The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article."EAGLE CREEK (HAMILTON COUNTY)," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/rbe01), accessed July 30, 2015. Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.


Replace NaNs with the number that appears to its left in the row.
Set the array elements whose value is 13 to 0
Side of an equilateral triangle
ASCII code of a leter.
Write a code that will follow the equation y = x * (x + x) * x.
Given the variable x as your input, multiply it by four, then divide it by two. Then put the result in y.
Vector with a repeated entry
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Now that we have a good understanding of time analysis, let’s take a look at our first data structure, the array.
Data structures are simply just different ways to store data. Remember, computer science is all about manipulating data in some way, shape, or form. Data structures are the tools with which we can do this.
What Are Arrays?
Fixed arrays are the most basic version of an array. These arrays are created with a fixed size and stick to that size permanently. This means there is no way to increase or decrease the size of the array. (More advanced arrays can adjust size at a time penalty, but for the purpose of this lesson, we’ll assume they can’t).
Here is a diagram that shows how an array works:
An array allocates a section of memory for storage with a specific name. In code, we can give it any name we like. In the above situation, we use “myList” as the name for this array.
We can then add a number in  to call a specific point in that array. Note, computer science is 0 based. So, arrays always start at 0, not 1, meaning that if you called myList, you would actually be grabbing the second element in the array. (This is commonly forgotten among computer scientists and is referred to as an “off by one error”).
If we call myList, we will get the element at the 0 spot, which in our case, is 5.6. These calls are constant time (O(1)), meaning no searching has to be done. We call myList and it will return in the same amount of time as myList. As you’ll see later, this is not the case for other data structures.
Pros and Cons?
Arrays are great data structures for holding a locked amount of data. They have constant time insertion, removal, and access.
They are size limited, however. If you need more data, you will be out of luck. Along with this, they can be memory intensive. If you have an array that is 50,000 slots big but only has 2,000 pieces of data, 48,000 slots will go to waste. as they can’t be used by other programs.
Array Run Times
Insertion: O(1) – It’s easy to insert randomly anywhere in the array. All you need is the index number and you can insert here in O(1) time.
Deletion: O(1) – Deleting randomly from the array is just like inserting randomly.
Search unsorted: O(n) – If the array is unsorted, there is no way of knowing where the element is going to be. So at worst case, it’s going to be a search of the entire array to find the element. (Is it in element 0? Nope, then let’s check element 1; nope. Element 2, nope, etc. until found).
Search sorted: O(logn) – This is explained below.
Logn is important to computer science. In mathematics, it is the inverse (opposite) of an exponential function. This means as time goes on, it will increase less and less, until it nearly becomes a horizontal line.
This time can happen if we try to search a sorted array. We keep cutting the search area in half to find our number. Take this array, for example: [1,3,4,5,9,19,20,21,26,64,74]. Say we want to search the array to see if 64 is in it. What we do is start in the middle, see if the number is <, =, or >. If greater, we go to the middle of the right half; if less, the middle of the left half.
Step 1. Start at the middle. We take the size, 11, and divide by 2, rounding down: 11/2 = 5. We then take the element at this location (remember, the first element is 0, not 1), so 19. 64 is greater than 19, so we do the same in the right half.
Step 2. Halfway between index 5 and 11 is 8. So, we take the element there, which is 26.
Step 3. 64 is greater than 26, so we take the middle of the right half, which is 9. The element at location 9 is 64. We have found our match.
Since we are cutting each piece in half, we get O(logn).
• Arrays are a continuous section of memory.
• Accessing, storing, and deleting from an array is constant time.
• Arrays are typically locked in size, meaning you need to know the amount of data coming in before creating the array.
• Arrays can take up a lot of unused space if not filled up.
Tomorrow, we will look at a data structure that can expand indefinitely.
Java—Arrays: Learn more about how arrays work in the popular Java.
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